August 17, 2009

Chalk it up

Here’s a summer project that’s been on my list. I’ve had a quart of chalkboard paint in my studio closet for the longest time. My original intention was to add some chalkboard real estate to the basement/kids area. However, my recent read of Jen’s blog about her chalkboard paint tray transformation inspired me to do something similar, but I changed my chalk tray up with a button twist. (disclaimer: please don’t worry as the poor children weren’t left out of the quart…this tray was in addition to giving them chalk space, but that’s another post.)

If you don’t have one of these that you’re willing to transform, don’t fret. Any respectable thrift store will have a few to chose from. I purchased my silver tray at a yard sale for 25 cents. I wanted something simple with an easily embellish-able edge.

First, I primed the entire tray–front and back–with a spray primer (don’t skip this step…it makes tray painting so much easier!) Next, I used white spray paint to cover the entire front and then back of the tray. After that was dry, I applied chalkboard paint to the inside of the tray leaving the rim white. I needed two coats to get maximum coverage.

Let’s take a moment to talk about my button collection. I’ve been snatching them up for years at thrift stores and yard sales. Is it possible to have too many buttons?! I was proud of myself for actually using a small part of my button stash for this project. I tend to have some hoarding characteristics when it comes to buttons so this was good therapy.

Back to the tray, starting at the inner edge of the rim (where the black meets white), I attached various sized buttons. It’s kinda like a jigsaw puzzle fitting the right size button into the space. I kept my button palette mostly in the white family, but inserted a few chalky colored buttons for interest.

tahDah! I positioned my finished plate on a plate stand (a stand that was an ugly bronze, but a quick coat of black spray paint changed all that) and wrote my welcoming message.

I’ll undoubtedly personalize the message for the various family and friends that visit and stay in our guest room over the year. We love our visitors, so I’m very excited to have this extra welcoming touch.

August 13, 2009

When junk becomes art

junk n. 1. Discarded material, such as glass, rags, paper, or metal, some of which may be reused in some form. 2. Informal a. Articles that are worn-out or fit to be discarded. b. Cheap or shoddy material. c. Something meaningless, fatuous, or unbelievable.

art n. 1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature. 2. a. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty. 3. High quality of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic value.

Last week, my vacationing family stumbled upon works of art while on a day trip to Beaufort, South Carolina. These fabulous chairs were spotted right behind Longo gallery, which was sadly closed.

Pretty cool, wouldn’t you say? The perfect illustration of artistic transformation.

August 10, 2009

An open and shut case

Right before we left for vacation, I finished this project. After acquiring several sweet pillowcases back here in the height of yard sale season this has been a wannabe project on my list. The Internet is a gold mine of pillowcase projects, however I found the instructions for her toddler size dress on page 128 of this awesome book.

Supplies needed were a pillowcase, a pack of extra wide (1/2″) double-fold bias tape, 2 yards of 5/8″ ribbon, 1 1/4 yards of jumbo rickrack, thread and a sewing machine. I will say that the black checked pillowcase was initially a hard sell to Miss Pretty-in-Pink. However, I convinced little Nora that her favorite color would be the perfect accent for the sophisticated black. She considers herself a fashionista so she looked at me with a huge amount of trust and agreed that black is the new pink (when mixed with pink.)

After gathering my supplies, I cut off the top (the closed end) of my pillowcase. I then used a J shaped pattern to cut an armhole on each side of the top of the case.

Next, with two 15″ lengths of white bias tape, I binded the armholes (binding=strip sewn over or along an edge for reinforcement or decoration.) Then, I finished the top of the dress by creating a casing on the front and back (casing=a narrow passage for a rod or cord, as in a curtain or the waistband of a garment, made by folding over a small strip of fabric at its edge along its width and sewing it in place.)

note to experienced sewers: please disregard the definitions of these basic sewing terms I know you know. I define only for newbies like me who are still learning the language.

As promised, I added a hefty piece of hot pink rickrack to the bottom of the pillowcase. I straight-stitched right down the center of the rickrack all the way around starting and ending at a side seam. The smocking you see was already part of this pillowcase…an extra bonus.

I then threaded hot pink ribbon through the top casing in the front and the back of the dress. I pulled to cinch and then sewed the ribbon at each open end so that the ribbon wouldn’t come out (you know…like the annoying hoodie cords I find in my washing machine or catch my children holding…like those will ever go back in their casing.)

That’s it….finished! This easy project didn’t take more than an hour or so. Admittedly, if someone told me 6 months ago I’d be sewing clothing not only for me, but for my kids, I would have laughed and told them that they were CraZy. I had less fear about making a sculpture out of 250+ Red Bull Cans than pushing a pedal on a sewing machine (which I now know is ridiculous because can art is certainly more difficult and frustrating than sewing, but that’s another story.) The bottom line is if I can sew, anybody can. Case closed.

August 9, 2009

Claiming this for a week or so

Perhaps you’ve wondered where I’ve been…

…just at the most perfect spot for aqua blue toenails.

Insert big smiley face : ) under “Welcome.”

Little 4-year-old Nora took it upon herself to line footwear up ever night at our condo door. She wanted to be sure that the next morning we’d be ready to get to the beach as soon as possible.

We didn’t want to miss any of this looking for flip flops.

Refreshing having nowhere to be for a long week, but right here.

As it must, the tide came in and our little piece of beach real estate washed away. We’re now back home and diving into reality. For starters, I’m off to restock a very empty fridge.

July 30, 2009

why can’t i resist?

Every time I go here this (see above) happens. Today I muttered to myself that I would steer clear of those tempting bottles. I’d get what I needed and get back out. The curve ball was that I had my 10-year old with me. Cara said she’d be looking at “it” while I was getting the things on my list. Well after I found the list items, I walked over to tell Cara I was ready to go…and I tried not to look, but I saw them out of the corner of my eye…the colors…the bottles…the clever names…they whispered hello…and yes, they got me. I had to try this one and that one…and our groceries are melting in the car…and I’m not here to buy nail polish in the first place..and this happens every single time……but maybe just one little bottle?

After much discussion, Cara and I agreed that we needed “Mermaid to Order.” Besides loving the name, the color reminds us of swimming pools, the ocean, and sunny blue summer skies. How could we not buy a bottle with all of that?

Maybe next time I’ll make it out without another color. maybe…

July 29, 2009

Fringed fleece pillows with personality

When my daughter and one of her best friends came to me eager for a craft, I took one look at the pillow-form-tower in my craft closet and pitched pillow making. It wasn’t much of a sell. These tweens were all about creating something to decorate their nests a.k.a. twin beds. I pulled out the fleece I had on hand and thought they could easily make no-sew fleece pillows. However, these girls wanted to sew. I couldn’t argue with that given my current sewing machine obsession, so I threw in an extra step to personalize the pillows with sewn initials. Then I reasoned, we’d transfer into no-sew mode to easily add funky fringe to the pillow edges.

First, we cut 2- 22″ x 22″ squares from the fleece…that’s 2 squares per pillow (BTW our pillow forms were 16″ x 16″.) Then, we used leftover fabric to cut out an initial for each pillow. If freehanding letter shapes makes you sweat, go ahead and use a computer to enlarge a single letter in the font of choice. Print out for an instant pattern. The girls also used a heart stencil to make a pattern for hearts they wanted to add. After cutting out all the shapes from the fleece, the girls pinned them to the center of their front pillow square.

Next, we sewed each shape on to the front fleece with a straight-stitch about 1/4″ in from the outer edges of the shapes. After that we zigzag-stitched the shape edges. I told the girls to have fun with it. Fleece doesn’t fray so things didn’t have to be perfect. Sure the stitching was to secure, but also to add personality. Perfection doesn’t have much character.

Next, we laid the stitched fleece square on top of the second fleece square. We measured 4 inches in from the edge all the way around and drew a white chalk line. Then, we cut 1 inch (approx.) wide strips up to that 4 inch chalk line snipping through both layers of fleece. The corner squares were discarded.

Finally, we sandwiched the pillow form between the two layers of fringed fleece. Beginning at one corner, we tied the front fleece square to the back fleece square by double knotting the corresponding front strip to the back strip. We continued around the pillow, double knotting corresponding strips, until we had the entire pillow secured.

And here they are…two really cute, personalized, fringed, super comfy, one-of-a-kind, fleece pillows. We created these pillows in a night making this a perfect slumber party craft. If pressed for time, the sewn personalization could be omitted, but for us that’s what made the pillows special. My daughter mentioned how she now wants to make two more pillows so she has all three of her initials to line up on her bed. Clever girl! I love that idea. I may need to make a fleece run.

July 26, 2009

FaNcy FeeT

Here’s a kids project that we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Last summer around this time, I made it a point to purchase on-sale-plainish-flip flops with the intent to transform into something much fancier. So this weekend, we gathered poolside with a few other crafty friends and created several new pairs of one-of-a-kind summer footwear.

This is a great mobile project since all you need is a half yard or so of fabric, a pair of pinking shears and a pair of flip flops. To start, cut 1″ x 7″ strips with the pinking shears from your chosen fabric or fabrics. You’ll need about 30 or so strips depending on the size of your flip flops (like I’d be way more than 30 strips, but let’s concentrate on the kids shall we?!)

Next, tie your strips around the flip flop band starting from one side. Make sure to double knot. Push the strips close together as you go. Keep knotting strips until your flip flop is completely fancified.

And that’s it! Put on your fancy flops and head back to the pool before summer gets away. quick!

July 22, 2009

When Dad takes the kids to the zoo…

If you ask me, this is right up there with “Don’t run with scissors.” Talk about living dangerously. I was home working while the kids enjoyed lorikeets eating on their heads. I’m making a mental note to continue to send the camera out with the eldest on all Dad outings.

July 19, 2009

"a" for applique

You may recall a few weeks back, when I tackled the zipper for the first time. Now in the midst of back-to-school prep, it occurred to me that I could use those new skills to fashion the required zippie pencil cases (soft pouch style) and personalize them to boot. Who needs to settle for store bought when you have zipper-know-how and a Singer?

A few times every summer, I stumble upon the yard sale of an interior designer unloading boxes of fabric swatches. The quality swatches I purchase (for pennies) are usually about 16″ x 18″…plenty big enough for pouches or other smallish projects. My fifth grader chose the above fabrics from my stash for her pencil pouch. I used the same basic zippie directions back in this post except I cut 12″ x 7″ rectangles (two rectangles from the print and two from a coordinating tan fabric for the liner. The red will be the applique fabric.) I wanted the pouch big enough to accommodate pencils, markers, highlighters, etc. That size worked perfectly. After I got the zipper in, I personalized the case with her name.

To make a name applique, I chose a chunky font on my computer sized appropriately for the case. I then printed the name out as a “mirror image” (this is usually a preference in your print settings.) I ironed on “Wonder Under” fusible web (found at any fabric store) to the wrong side of the chosen applique fabric. Then I traced the printout onto the “paper side” of fabric with a ball point pen. The pressure from the pen left a mark. Next, I cut out the letters and removed the paper from the fabric. Then I ironed the letters to the pouch.

After my letters were “stuck” I blanket-stitched around them with yellow and turquoise embroidery floss. I sewed on stacked buttons for more personality. When my details were complete, I sewed up the sides of the bag including the inside liner. To top off the pouch, I used coordinating beads for a zipper pull.

Pictured above is the finished case all stuffed and ready to head to class in a month or so. Cara is quite pleased with her one-of-a-kind pencil house and dare I say a tiny bit more excited for school to begin?! Additional cases for a special 2nd grader and a preschooler are now in the works.

July 17, 2009

This is why I wear a bell….

My owners bought a sporty new collar for me with a shiny red bell. Since I’m an indoor kitten it’s not to warn the birds, but to warn my family that I’m underfoot. I admit I like to be as close as possible to where ever one of them might be. In other news, I’m really happy in my new home. In the past month, I’ve doubled in size and now weigh a whopping 2.8 lbs! If my brothers and sisters could see me now they sure wouldn’t be calling me “runt!” A couple of weeks ago, I traveled with my human family an entire 7 hours (each way) to visit out-of-state relatives. It was pretty exciting. Now I’m back home in my favorite spot. This one (the feet in picture above) says she’s really busy with design work and I’ve also noticed a few sewing projects in the works.
More soon.
XXOOXX Penny