Console Table: Keep It or Ditch It?

Calling all of my design-y type friends and readers. I need your help. I've had this console table that lives behind the couch in the great room for about 20 years. It's pine, natural, and heavy, which I love. But it has got a Southwest style to it, which I can't stand. I've disguised it with table cloths of all types and currently have a table runner and some interesting objects on it so maybe people won't notice. Oh and don't look at the brown thing underneath. That's going as soon as I decide on 2 small stools to go underneath if I keep it. I want to keep it because of the material of it and I believe I can do something to it so it doesn't look Southwest. But what? Or should I just get rid of it and start over? Any ideas?

Kitchen Succulent Gardens

I was trying to think of some fun containers for more succulents. So I went to the thrift store and came across some vintage baking tins. They cost from $.50-$1.50. I purchased succulents from my local garden shop. They ranged from $2- $4 per container. The contrast of the greens of the plants with the aged metal of the baking tins really work well together. 

I drilled holes in the tins for drainage. 

These succulents were a great idea for the muffin tins. I could pull them apart and I've got 4 plants from each pot. So in essence, $1/plant.

 I put each plant in each opening and added some soil. I only used the soil from the pot that the plant came in, no extra needed.

I added some little pebbles over the soil. Looks great, doesn't it?

For the jelly roll tin, I bought an assortment of succulents and just planted them throughout. I allowed a bit of space for growth.

Again, add some decorative pebbles and it looks quite charming. For the jelly roll pan, you could put a candle in the middle and that would make a fun centerpiece. Or even a bigger planted pot in the middle.  It's fun to think what containers can be reused and repurposed for creative purposes. What can you come up with?

Nuts and Bolts Box DIY

I was inspired to make this decorative box after seeing the below picture of a resin box on The Foundary. The best part? It was practically free. 

 The resin box from The Foundary that inspired me was priced at $29.

I started with a wood balsa box that held sea salt caramels I purchased for a recipe for Thanksgiving. I removed the labels and it was a perfect canvas for my project.

Then I scoured the garage for various nuts, screws, and bolts of all kinds. Shhh. Don't tell my husband.

 I started randomly glueing the hardware onto the box using a glue gun after spray painting the top.

Spray paint primer is awesome for this project, because it not only primes the wood and metal, but it's also the paint that I used for the project. It results in a matte finish which is pretty classy.

 Here's the finished box. Pretty interesting as a little decorative item, don't you think?

So, a practically free project that took minimal time. What's not to like? And just think of the possibilities. Boxes hold holiday candy and cookies, or you probably have any box laying around the house. Don't like the hardware? Think of other items you could use: rubberbands, beads, rocks. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. What makes it interesting is using the same type of item in multiples.

Fixing Up an Old Chandelier

I need help from you, my crafty friends. I saw this vintage chandelier hanging in a friend's kitchen eating area when they first moved in and said, "when you replace this light, I'll take it". So a year later or so, I got a message; "it's yours if you want it, come and get it". I did. It's not as shiny gold as the picture and shows lots of age. It needs an overhaul. I'm not sure if I want to put it in my closet, my dining room, or my back porch. So, my question to you is should I paint it gold, bronze, silver or what?

The inspiration is in your bathroom: Holiday Wreath

I'm addicted to Pinterest these days and I especially love the DIY section.  I was inspired to save many toilet paper rolls because I wanted to make a holiday wreath inspired by the shape of a beautiful wreath on the now defunct, "See You There" blog. Directions on how to make it are very simple.  The best things about this project were 1. that it was recycling something I'd normally toss and 2. that it was practically free. I had the paint, the glue gun and the paper rolls. All I needed were the berries which I got 60% off at Michael's. So the whole thing cost about $2.

I saved about 15 toilet paper rolls and cut about 4 pieces per toilet paper roll. You may need less, you may want more depending on your design. Then I laid out the pieces around a salad plate for the roundness how I'd like the finished wreath to look. I used a combination of crimson red and bronze acrylic paint. I brushed it on cut up toilet paper roll pieces. Spray paint would have been easier, but it's not what I had on hand. So I painted the inside and outside of each piece with a wide brush. After they dried I used a glue gun to assemble the wreath parts. Last I glued on the berries. I'm pretty pleased with the final result. What do you think?

Coat Rack

Yeah, it's been too long. Procrastination along with poor motivation resulted in not much getting done around here including blogging. This also included a project that has been sitting around my house for a few months that I wanted done before Christmas, but didn't end up getting done until early January. A coat rack. I bought these letter hooks and thought they would be easy to hang. Then I looked at the little teeny screws they came with and realized that no way were 2 screws going to support a coat or a handbag in drywall. That resulted in the idea to hang them on a board and mount the board to the wall.

I think painting it black was a great idea because it really brings out the letters. Now when people come into my home, they have a place to hang their belongings.

White Decor DIY Project

I was watching The Nate Show the other day and he made a project that had the perfect tie-in to the theme in the last post regarding the white trend in decor. He painted animal figurines in white primer which made the item look like a porcelain white bisque fired item. I had to do this. 

I got a .50 cent pedestal bowl from an estate sale this weekend.  It was a charcoal color. I think the color would have been fine, but I was considering using it for my display for The Patchwork Show. If I put a white bowl of items out, it would enhance the look of the items, rather than a dark, dreery black bowl. so I simply sprayed it with white primer. Isn't it fantastic?

Tutorial: The Remake of a Boring Cardigan Sweater

From this

To this

I got this Gap wool cardigan at the thrift store last year and never really liked the neckline or the fit. Since I’m not a sewer, I procrastinated on doing anything to it, and only wore it a couple of times. Finally, the other day some inspiration blew in with the northern winds and I thought to myself “what have I got to lose? The sweater cost me $5.” So I stuck the sweater in a couple of warm water washes to felt it and make it smaller. I pulled out my sewing machine and thought of a way I would minimally have to use that, and instead use mostly my needle and thread, my noggin, and my love of color and design. I also decided to enter this tutorial in the Birdie “Know-it-All Tutorial Contest to see what other's think.

I suck at drawing. No matter how many years I took art, I never achieved the ability to make anything symmetrical on paper so don’t laugh. Typically I don’t plan things out and just wing it, but this time I needed some sort of an action plan. As you will see though, my drawing isn’t exactly like my finished project but just an inspiration for it and I’ll explain why in a minute.
So I cut the sleeves ¾ length, the bottom band and around the neck and button band.
I used ½ of the bottom band for each sleeve to make them flare a bit. This is where my sewing machine came in. I zig zag stitched the sleeve edging on.

Next I started cutting out pieces for the flowers and leaves as well as the fastener bands.

Flowers:

I used the sleeve portions I cut off to make the flowers. I cut across the sleeve 1 ½ inch pieces and cut that circle to open that up. I twisted that piece and rolled it from the edge around my finger and secured it with a pin.

I later sewed the back of those to secure them so that they wouldn’t unravel and then hand sewed those on with needle and thread to the sweater.

Leaves:

I used parts of the neckband and cut pieces about 1-2 inches long. I cut a long oblong on the edge opposite the fold so when I cut the leaf, I could open it up and there would be a leaf with a crease in the middle.

I used an unraveled thinner strand of the colored yarn to baste stitch the leaves onto the sweater down the center of the leaf.

Fastener band:

I used 2 pieces that incorporated a buttonhole on each end.

The Edging:

I used a basic blanket stitch with colored yarn for edging the bottom and neckline.

I used a whip stitch to go around the fastener bands.

I put 4 buttons on the sweater to attach the fastener bands.

Here’s why I changed the original pattern. Once I put on the sweater I realized that it had shrunk a bit more than I realized especially since I had cut it apart. So the back gathering with a band idea wouldn’t work. Then just laying out the sweater, I thought it would be a bit much with flowers on both sides. The way the sweater fit, the fastener band could not be single and high, but would look more interesting lower and with 2.

It’s ok to use a pattern for inspiration. Once you get going on any project, things can change and so might your finished piece. And that’s ok. I can’t wait to hit the thrift for another sweater and another set of inspirations. I learned from the first one and have some ideas for another. I might even get a bit braver with my sewing machine. Maybe.

Adding Zing to T-shirts with Crochet

I acquired this adorable handmade cowgirl and polka dot skirt from my pal Jennifer Ramos of Textile Fetish and realized I needed a top to go with it to give as a very special gift for an adopted baby in our extended family. So I purchased 2 plain tops, a black and a white long sleeved cotton t-shirt with the idea of using crochet to embellish them. I crocheted 5 stars in a white cotton yarn, which reminded me of sheriff stars and sewed them randomly on the black shirt. I got the very easy pattern here . I sewed each point on by hand from the back.

Then I made a simple crocheted edging to the length of the front of the neck and sewed it on. I figured that if I sewed it all the way around, it may not stretch enough to get the toddler’s head through. I found the pattern in a vintage crochet book called “A Treasury of Crochet Patterns” by Liz Blackwell that I picked up for a couple of bucks at a used bookstore. I’m sure if you look up crocheted edging on the web, you’ll find free easy patterns. And that’s it. I hope she likes it.

A How To: Jewelry Shadow Boxes

I had these pine shadow boxes with sliding glass fronts that someone gave me a couple years back. They've been sitting in my garage and it hit me yesterday what I could do with them. I originally was given them to use for displaying jewelry at shows, but they were a bit bulky with all of the other things I had to bring and they had glass, so I never used them and they sat in my garage all sad and lonely. So I decided to put them to my own personal use. 2 days ago I purchased a big pad of scrapbook paper on clearance at a store and I just loved the colors. I used some to line drawers of an old banquette. I also used it for this project. I measured and then put the fun scrapbook paper on the backs of the boxes with a little glue stick and added little screw on hooks. Done. And for under $5.
I have a shelf in my closet that they can be displayed. With so much of my own personal jewelry, it's nice to be able to see it sometimes.