Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Golden Horse Containers


I have seen several posts on line on taking plastic children's toys and repurposing them. I spray painted the plastic toy horses gold. Next, I took two glass containers and painted each lid gold. The bottom version I painted a gold circle around the container and placed matches inside the vessel. I cut an emery board to fit inside the lid and glued it inside the lid. Taking a glue gun, I glued the horses hooves to each lid. Saved myself $25-35 and kept items out of the landfill.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Crepe Paper Spring Flowers





On this first day of Spring, I needed some flowers. Nothing in the stores just yet so I made some flowers out of paint and crepe paper. I used white crepe paper and painted a portion of the paper using yellow acrylic paint. Once that was dry, I folded the paper in half and wrapped it around some curly willow branches. I attached the paper using white floral tape. Next, I cut out petals using white paper and curling the edges with scissors - attaching each with the white floral tape. That's it! Looks like branches with forced flowers.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Rethinking a Clothing Remodel

I saw an ad for straight leg blue jeans with grommets at the ankle and thought, "I can do that." I have the grommets. I have the ribbon. And I have a pair of straight leg jeans like the version shown in the link.

But, why?

Just because I can recreate a trend doesn't mean I should. Metal tends to attract heat and get even hotter in summer months. Washing metal objects on fabric becomes a noisy situation when it comes to drying. (clunk, clunk, clunk) And the metal pieces can wear away the enamel inside your dryer. Creating this look limits how I wear the jeans, choices for where I wear the outfit and shoes.

The only reason I found to make the alteration was - it was cute.

Going to hold off on the alteration right now. Cuteness is not an overriding factor.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Glass Cotton Swab Holder with Lid


This is a very easy D.I.Y. Take a jarred candle with a lid. Remove the wax by heating the outside of the jar with a hair dryer and wiping the wax out with a rag. Once the jar is clean, attach a drawer knob onto the jar's lid using glue. Insert cotton swabs.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Marble Contact Paper Box


I loved how the previous box project turned out so I made a similar one using marble adhesive paper. This time, I attached the adhesive to the entire box and added a gold hued handle. A huge savings and a great look compared to the inspiration piece.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Glammed Up Box with Hounds Tooth Contact Paper


Love houndstooth pattern and decided to cover a box lid with the adhesive. I added a handle to the top of the box. The bottom of the box is solid black to contrast with the patterned top.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Easy Artisan Bread


This is the easiest bread I have ever made. And it doesn't use any sugar!

Start by mixing 3 cups of all purpose flour, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of yeast together in a bowl. Add 1-1/2 cups of warm water to the mixture. Stir the ingredients and cover the bowl. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 8 hours. You can let the mixture sit for up to 24 hours. Once you have waited at least 8 hours, turn the out on a lightly floured surface and form a ball. Now let the ball rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees and place a 6 qt. high sided pan into the oven to pre-heat as well. Something like a dutch oven is ideal. Once the oven reaches 450 degrees, transfer the dough ball into the dutch oven and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake the dough for 30 minutes, then uncover the bread and continue to bake for an additional 12 minutes. Done! Bread, anyone?

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Hot Glue Jewelry


Want to make jewelry but don't have any findings, wire, cording or jump rings. You can if you have a glue gun and some beads.

Take a string and place it around your finger or wrist. Take the length of the string and lay it out on a piece of glass. Use a hot glue gun and form a rectangle a half inch wide and the length of your string. Fill in the empty space with designs.

Once the glue has cooled, peel your work off the glass and create one last glue attachment to bring both ends together. Leave the piece as is or glue beads and rhinestones to your jewelry.


Saturday, March 3, 2018

Adding Grommets to a Sweater


Seems easy enough. Take a pullover sweater. Cut it down the center. Sew ribbon on either side of the cut yarn. Insert grommets on each side of the piece next to the ribbon. Lace the new creation with a contrasting color ribbon. NOT!

This turned out as an epic fail. The sweater didn't fit as I expected after the alteration. Although, I did learn how to install grommets. From that lesson I have another project in the works.

Just goes to show that not all ideas work on the first try. Some projects need more thought and more practice. Watch for another fabric revamp this week.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Updating Ikea Nightstand with Marble Adhesive Paper and Black Chalkboard Paint


This Ikea Tarva night stand started its life as an unfinished piece of pine. I painted it silver. Yes, silver. The color didn't thrill me. What to do? I had left over black chalkboard paint which is essentially flat black paint. Paint the whole object or part - that was my dilemma. I fell in serious like with some marble adhesive paper from Lowe's. It was Duck brand and available locally. I left the inside cubby and a bit of trim with the silver paint job. Then I cut a section of adhesive marble paper to fit the top of the table, a.k.a. nightstand. To finish the project, I found a screw that fit into a brass finial top, again from Lowe's, and used that as the drawer pull.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Friday, February 23, 2018

IKEA RAST Dresser Hack


IKEA sells a Rast pine dresser that is begging for a creative update. It doesn't hold a lot of clothes, so I made mine into a night stand or bed side table.

After assembling the wood dresser, I painted the drawer fronts with a semi-gloss white paint. Next, I stained the top and sides using a dark brown stain. Once the drawer fronts were dry, I attached brass angle brackets. The handles were scavenged from a dresser on garbage day and painted gold/bronze to match the brackets.

Suddenly, this $30 dresser was elevated into the three figure range.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Chair Covers from Curtains





These chair covers remind me of "Gone with the Wind". You know the scene where Scarlett is meeting Rhett Butler after the war and she has nothing to wear. Scarlet can't greet him in the ragged dress she is wearing and she spies the green velvet curtains. Devising a plan, she makes a dress from her mother's drapes.

I got a great deal on these blue paisley Waverly curtains.  Love the material, but the drapes didn't work with any of my windows. What to do? That's when a glue gun and stapler came to mind and like Scarlett, I formed a plan. I recovered two chairs using the curtain material. The top chair was completed using a glue gun. The second chair, I stapled and draped the material.

I actually like the second chair's results more than the first. And the second chair was also easier to assemble. Both projects took less time than sewing the fabric.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Gold Thumbtack Art



Want hip and happening art for less than $5? Check out these two pieces I made. Both use black foam core from the dollar store along with four boxes of gold thumbtacks.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Hawk Feather


While walking the dog I found this hawk feather. I think it's from a Cooper's Hawk. The bird must has been in some kind of struggle to loose this feather.

Friday, February 16, 2018

Made from Scratch Suede Purse




I had a suede jacket that had seen better days. Portions of the jacket were still in good shape. I considered tossing the clothing and then I thought, "re-purpose, re-use, recycle". I cut the jacket apart and used the side pockets as the front and back of the purse. Since I don't have a heavy duty sewing machine, I glued, yes, glued the suede pieces together. I purchased brass chain and grommets to match. Making four holes, two on each side of the top flap. I installed the grommets and threaded the chain through the grommets to form a strap. Since I had a magnetic clasp in my sewing kit, I sliced two holes on either side of the suede and glued a piece of fabric over the folded down prongs. To finish the piece, I glued a leather flower to cover the magnet. So stylish!

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Candle Making



I had a couple pillar candles that weren't too straight anymore. rather than tossing them, I melted the candles down and added 10 drops of essential oil to the wax along with a cotton wick. I used clean glass containers to house my new candles. To hold the wick in place as the wax dried, I used paperclips and binder clips. The wicks were wound around a pencil to hold the wick upright.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Homemade Bread


Something about cold, snowy days that makes me bake bread. And I bake it from scratch. I enjoy the whole process. Nothing better than fresh bread and unsalted butter. Happy Valentines Day!

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Sketch for Baby Shower


Going to a baby shower and I decided to make a quick sketch of a baby with a bunny toy to go along with the Beatrix Potter, "Peter Rabbit: book and pink stuffed bunny.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Copper and Pearl Necklace


I was going to a fancy function and wanted a new necklace to go with my outfit. As always, I try to save money on non-essentials so I went into my stash of jewelry making supplies and found what I needed for my latest creation. I stripped wire to expose copper wiring and took apart a necklace made with imitation pearls. Everything on the Lilli-Anne necklace was made including the clasp/closure mechanism. The necklace got rave reviews and it has become one of my favorites.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Bavarian China with Crowley's Department Store Name



I found this sweet sugar and creamer set at a thrift store. The information on the bottom indicates it was distributed by Crowley Milner, a former department store based in Detroit. Looks like it's Bavarian china that was sold in different patterns to major department stores. I saw a different pattern for Macy's and for J. L. Hudson stores. How cool is this?!

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Time to Start Growing Plants for Spring



After I brought my gerbera daisy in for the winter, I ignored it.I placed a plastic bag over it and almost all the leaves fell off - except for one small green leaf. That was a week and a half ago. Today, there are a couple leaves and new growth at its base.


I also started to grow micro greens. The little shoots are showing their heads after the third day. (see photo above) Soon I will have fresh salad greens. After winter is over, I plant the micro greens outside and they last well into July.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Sequinned Skirt Turned Pillow


This teeny tiny black sequinned skirt was just begging to be turned into a pillow. Total cost? $1

Succulent Watercolor Painting


Another wedding, another painting. This time the bride loved succulents and decorated her new shabby chic home with the plants. Part of the wedding gift included this painting.

Fabric Flower Pin


Chicos had a lovely leather flower pin, but I didn't want to spend the money for the item. Instead, I made a flower pin out of drop cloth material. Since then, I have made flower pins from black leather and brown suede.




Speaking of pictures, I was having difficulty posting pictures on my blog. Since I couldn't post photos, I couldn't see the point in sharing my kreations. (wink) 

I found out what the problem was and I am back to posting on my blog. Yay!

Painting A Rug

I purchased a gray indoor/outdoor rug from a store at the end of summer. What to do with the rug? I decided to paint it and all I had was latex paint. Taking a bowl, I sketched a simple pattern on cardboard. Then, I cut the pattern out and traced around it using chalk. After that, I painted over the chalk lines and got a stylish 5' x 7' rug for $5 total.So far, the rug has withstood foot traffic very well.