I bought two really ugly unfinished wood bird houses last year on clearance from Joanns.  They were shaped like an arrow and as soon as I saw them, I thought Rich could use his electric saw and cut off the front and back of the arrow, basically turning the bird house into the shape of a rectangular box.  I wanted to make a crafty project out of it and paint them and cover them with napkins, so they’re cute, but needed to make sure they would be weather-proof.  I found out that Mod Podge makes an outdoor version, and that’s all I needed to finish my houses.  Of course, right now all I have are my ideas, so nothing concrete, but hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be able to start turning the boxes into bird house masterpieces, haha..

While I had Rich busy with his saw, I had bought a cutting mat from Hobby Lobby that’s just a little bit larger than the plates that go in my Vagabond die cutting machine.  I’m tired of using the plates that warp and get cut and gouged with use, and had heard that you can make your own plates with cutting mats….so that’s what I did.  Rich said it was really easy to cut the plates down, and he said he cut the mat with his pocket knife, so I’m sure you can cut them with a craft knife.  He said it was so simple, he couldn’t believe it…So I’m going to run it through the Vagabond to see if it’s thick enough, and if it’s too thin, I’ll figure out a shim to use with it.  I can’t wait to see if it works well, because it will be such a relief to not have to continuously replace the plate for the Vagabond.  I’ll be sure to show follow up videos of it so you know if it works like I think it will.

I’m finishing the double page of my art journal where I’ve stamped a lady’s head with long flowing hair.  I’ll be painting the hair a bunch of different colors and then want to use embroidery floss to create curls and hair strands.  I’ve had this idea for a very long time, but just never took the time to put it into action, plus I lost my art journal for several months…..now I’ll be able to really get serious about finishing the art journal now.

I’ve also been working on a diamond painting I bought for us that’s called the “Tree of Life.”  It’s taken less than a week to finish, and I’m happy with the results.  I’ll be sure to show this to you once it’s done.

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