Extreme Office Makeover - Youth Pastor Edition!

As a youth pastor, my husband personifies all that is crazy and fun.  Our house frequently gets targeted by teenagers equipped with toilet paper, metal flamingos, tiny army men and the like.  A crazy fun guy needs a crazy fun office, right?  We spent the better part of three days a couple years ago transforming an ugly, gray, mismatched office at the church into a funky, cozy place where Jarrod is productive, but his kids love to come hang out. Below are a couple before and after shots of the office.  I used Benjamin Moore's Personal Color Viewer (you can find it at www.benjaminmoore.com) to see what the space might look like with different paint colors on the walls.  We settled on a nice chocolate brown and a vibrant lime green, paired with brown, black and silver accents.

Jarrod built zero shelves from mdf, then we sprayed them silver.  I made a quick curtain from some inexpensive fabric we found. 

Just bringing in matching furniture made all the difference in the world.  We made a simple coat rack and painted it with leftover wall paint.

The modular couch allows Jarrod to move things around to accommodate more people.  The ottoman provides storage for a big cozy blanket his kids use when they have Bible studies.  I found a photo online of a tree I liked, so I used it to inspire this two-part painting. By splitting the painting up and wrapping it around the corner, it gives the room more dimension. 

Before...ugh! Only one seat made it tough for visitors to get comfortable.

Blah! Need I say more?

Ladie's Brunch February 2011

Lisa and I decided to host a brunch for the women in our family.  Setting the table was so fun! Heart-shaped ramekins were perfect for fruit and candy.  The shimmery black fabric is actually a shawl I bought with a formal dress in college!

Lisa cut paper hearts from scrapbook paper and strung them on black ribbon.

We enjoyed great food - Lisa is an amazing cook!  Fruit and yogurt parfaits, frittata, and the now famous "Vir-Mosa Sunrise" (sparkling grape juice, OJ, and grenadine).   

Nothing says love like chocolate!  The place cards took shape as Hersheys candy bars wrapped in black and white gift wrap and ribbon with each person's name.

A wonderful morning with my favorite ladies! From left to right: Grandma Lois, Aunt Patti, Lisa, Me, Mom (Susan) and Grandma Sandy.

Christmas Crafts 2010

Throw Pillows for Kaycie's Birthday.  They match the Christmas quilt I made for her - pic to come as soon as I can find it!

Mom Artim's Christmas throw quilt. I came up with the pattern on the computer and worked out all the measurements for fabric.  Came up with a good template for future quilts!

Mom Jackson's Christmas throw quilt. Green, brown and dusty rose.

B'GAWK!

Some may not think this has anything to do with crafts - I beg to differ.  Jarrod had to create a sort of self portrait using a small rubber chicken for work.  We came across a Santa sitting on a Harley at Home Depot.  It felt somehow wrong, but we ripped Santa's head off and stuffed the rubber chicken inside the suite, painted the red pants black, added Oakleys and Under Armor logos and, VOILA - you have my husband in chicken form! (Did I mention the chicken bounces around to "Born to be Wild" at the push of a button?)

Creating A Casino

Jarrod's 25th Birthday began with a smokin' present - no really, it was a smoker grill!

My Dad is the ultimate crafty man - he came up with the design for this Vegas-style sign. It's primarily built with 1/4" mdf.  I used craft paint to finish it off. 

Chris and Meg at Jarrod's 25th Casino Birthday

The Poker Table was a hit - the card suites above were cut from craft foam from Hobby Lobby and hung with fishing line.

One of my favorite projects - playing card images blown up and printed onto 11x17 paper, glued to foam core and suspended with fishing line.  The other side of the cards had Jarrod's very own 25th Birthday logo.

No Casino is complete without a buffet!

That Meg, she's a gambling fool! 

Images printed onto 11x17 paper, glued to foam core, then cut out with a very sharp craft knife - these are so easy to store for later!

As long as you can download a high-resolution photo, applying it to foam core is easy. I found some images and created others using power point.

The First Ever Artim Blog about the Crafts that Keep us Sane

It has become increasingly apparent to me that crafty sorts of things are what keep me going when the drones of life become too mundane.  God was crafty - He created the whole universe for cryin' out loud!  I hope that I can make Him smile when I take the time to craft something for someone else.  I hope these posts can be a blessing to someone else out there like me!  Here goes!