Patchwork chevrons for boys

At the end of November I had a lady order a custom patchwork chevron quilt from my Etsy shop.  She wanted it for her son, and I was thrilled that she really liked the Simpatico line from Cloud 9.  I've been admiring it, but didn't have any reason to use it.

She wanted to use just the yellow, blue, and grey, and I think it turned out great!

I LOVE making this quilt, because even though it's quite large, it takes a lot less time to make than others.  This time around I also had a new iron and ironing board to work with, which made a huge difference in both time and quality. 

I've got it all packed up and ready to ship- just in time for Christmas!

Subway Block Girly Quilt

Did you know that I have an etsy shop now?  I totally do.  I only have a few quilts in there so far, but I've still gotten a lot of traffic.  I was pleasantly surprised, just one week after opening it, to receive a message from a girl in Texas who wanted me to do a custom quilt for her.  Even more pleasantly surprising, the design she wanted is a fairly quick and easy one to do, and she wanted me to use two of my favourite girly fabric lines.

I used reds, pinks, blues, and yellows from Vintage Modern, which I have used before, and the brand new line Marmalade.  

I just "made up" the pattern. It's an easy one to do, and actually a great beginner top to try if you want to start up quilting!

I then finished it with a vine/leaf and flowers topstitching and a "raggedy" edge made from scraps from the quilt top.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! The girl who ordered it LOVES it and has been raving about it, which makes me happy too :)

Ruffled Shower Curtain

I was working on another project that requires a lot of ruffles. I decided to invest in a ruffler foot that makes ruffles a pleats a breeze. Since the other project is for somebody else I figured that I should practice on something of my own first. I got the basic idea and tutorial from {Elle Apparel}.  I did end up doing things differently, but she does have a great tutorial.

Our bathroom is nice in and of itself.  But I was not a fan of our $2 white plastic shower curtain that we've had for two years.  I didn't really have any sort of decoration going on.

meh,

There was also a lot of edge finishing required for this (and my other) project, and I'm so grateful for a lady in my ward who let me borrow her serger.  It has saved me many hours.

Here is the finished project:

not bad, eh?

The liner is still in there, on the inside of the tub.  I think my next project will be doing something to that weird shelf you can see in the bottom left corner.

I also had some beachy pictures printed and put them up on the blank wall.  

Now I just need to make or find a cute clock so that I can see what time it is while I'm doing my hair so  that I'm late less often.  (I have a lot of hair right now, ok?)

Fabric: $35

Thread: already had
Curtain rings: $1

Total cost: $36

The next project- entry sideboard

I've been searching for the perfect table to put in the entryway.  We've been leaving our junk on the chevron bench, which is a pain because I'm scared I'll accidentally damage the fabric and it makes it hard to open it up to get your shoes!  I finally found the perfect sideboard at DI for a great price-- and I'm pretty stoked about it.  It's sitting in the backyard sanded and with the first layer on primer, just waiting for a second coat. I'm excited!

DIY Glitter Nails

I have trouble finding the right nail polish colours.  I also find that glitter nail polish just doesn't get the kind of coverage I want.  I'm also all for saving money.  The solution? Buy some loose glitter from a craft store and use with some plain polish! You can get a small vile for $1-2 and it lasts a really long time.  There are also a ton of different colour options!

I have found that the finer the crystals, the easier it is to make it nice and smooth. The rougher crystals work as well, but just be aware that your nails will feel a little rough to the touch.
My other best tip is to let everything dry really well after dipping in glitter and then after the clear coat to ensure that you get a nice strong hold. 

A look that I think is cute is to paint four nails matte, and then do one nail in a glitter of the same colour.

Enjoy!

Little Blue Dress

I bought this pattern a while ago to use for a school project.  I didn't end up using it, but while I was at the fabric store looking for another pattern I saw this one and remembered that I had it.  I found a great jersey knit, got home, and got to work.

If you're interested in the pattern, it's McCall's 6319.

My chiropractor would be ashamed of my posture.

I really like how it turned out. It's incredibly comfortable, and the advantage of jersey knit is minimal edge finishing (which given my lack of a serger is just fantastic). It's a little hard to see from the picture, but there is also a chunky gold zipper at the one shoulder, which really adds to it. Plus, the top is even lined!

Pattern: $1.99 (on sale)

Fabric and notions: $21 (thank you, stackable coupons)

Total cost: $23

DIY Fabric Table Top

Having completed the "new" {coffee table}, I posted the old one on craigslist for a measly $5.  After almost a month of no takers, I figured I had might as well do something interesting with it and see if an interest would be sparked if it looked a little fancier.
After a mere hour of work, the transformation is complete:

This is actually a really, really easy project to do. I might even do this with the side table in our living room!

Supplies:

• Sandpaper
• Primer
• Paint
• Fabric (home decor weight fabric works best)
• Mod Podge
• Paintbrush
• Plastic card (ex: old credit card) to spread out glue

First, just give the table legs a sand with a medium grit sandpaper. Wipe off the dust.

Give the legs a primer coat (I love using Kilz primer spray) or two.  It's best to do multiple, thin coats rather than trying to get a thick layer on in one go. 

Paint the legs!

(**Note: if your table surface is a strong colour or pattern or your fabric is thin, I would recommend painting your table surface white or black as well)

Once everything is dry, cut out your fabric to extend about an inch past the end of the table top. Don't cut it the exact size yet!

Slather a medium-thick layer of Mod Podge onto the table surface.  Carefully place your fabric on top and smooth it out really well.  Using the edge of an old credit card/membership card really helps.

Now spread the MP over the top of the fabric. Don't be scared- just cover it well, flatten it out evenly, and it will dry clear.

Let the fabric dry.  You will likely notice that your fabric will constrict/shrink a bit at this point. This is why you left a little extra fabric on there!

Once everything it dry, grab a ruler and a rotary cutter (or exacto knife) and very carefully trim off the excess fabric. You may need to put a little extra MP on the edges if they are a little loose.

If you are going to use the surface a lot, I would also recommend spraying a clear gloss sealant on there as well to improve durability. 

And there you have it!

Yes, I need to vacuum. It's from the quilt I was working on today!

Coffee table: $10 (already had, but that's what it cost originally)

Primer: $2.50 (half of a $5 can)

Paint: $2 (half a $4 can)

Fabric: $8 (already had!)

Mod Podge: $1 (barely any of my jar)

Approximate cost: $23.50 (but only $4.50 if you don't count what I already had :)

Patchwork Chevron Quilt

For my sister in law Kiersten's birthday I did this patchwork chevron quilt. I loved this pattern.  For one thing, you have barely any scraps, so you get a good bang for your buck.  You also have a heck of a lot less cutting and piecing because all of the print pieces are just 5" pieces from charm packs.  The white setting material are just big ol' triangles.
While making the front is very quick, the finishing is not so fast. This was the first finishing job I've done on anything bigger than a crib, and this baby was almost 80" square.  That's a lot of top stitching, and a lot of fabric to try to cram through a home machine.  I just did straight lines going from both directions of various distances apart, but I'd love to try this pattern again with some free motion finishing. I think it turned out pretty well, though, and hopefully Kiersten will enjoy it :)

Sam's contribution to the gift was holding it up for a picture (and loading new netflix videos for me while I sewed)

The pattern is by {Jeni} from the Moda Bakeshop blog, and the fabric is Vintage Modern by {Bonnie and Camille}. I was super excited when Kiersten said she liked that fabric line-- I've been dying to use it for something, and this was my chance!

Entry Art

A month and a half after moving in, I finally have the wall art in the entryway set up!

The mirror is from Ikea, the tree canvas is from Hobby Lobby, and all of the picture frames are from DI (a goodwill store in Utah).  Each frame cost between $0.50-1.50! They also used to be weird bronze or brown, but a coat of spray primer and some paint sure made them look nice.

I've kept a copy of keys from our apartments each time we've moved to make this little display:

This clock used to be a black, plain, $3 clock from Walmart.  I just pulled off the clear plastic front and glued a piece of scrapbook paper over the numbers and painted the edge. Not bad, eh?

Chevron Shoe Bench

The {shoe bench} is done!

I love how it turned out! The top is split into two hinged tops, and you can fit a lot of shoes in that thing! It's a step up from the big cardboard box that our pots and pans came in.

I got my inspiration from {this plan}.  We kind of just "winged it" and didn't really follow those instructions, though.

Wood: free scraps!

Paint: $12

Fabric: $15
Batting: $10

Total cost: $37!

Lovely Ruffled Lamp

Tutorial coming soon!

I will say this: It cost me $12 :)

Coming Along

The Zebra Chair

Let me tell you, this chair was a pain in the butt!  It took a lot of work and cost more than I thought it would (and would normally spend) but I love the end result.

I found the chair on craigslist, where a lady was selling it for $10.  I spent at least two weeks pulling out the many staples and cutting myself on the evil nails (and just letting it sit there in my living room being ugly and torn apart).

THE WORST!

The fluff made me SO itchy!

When I finally got it dismantled, I laid out all of the fabric pieces as a pattern to determine how much new fabric I would need to buy to cover the chair.  There are also plenty of {online guides} for how much fabric you need to upholster different common items.

I found the fabric at {Hancock Fabrics}.  They have a pretty great selection of discount upholstery fabrics!  I was deciding between this brown/white zebra print and a solid sage green.  I figured that a solid would be a lot easier for my first upholstery fabric, but I got brave and decided to try something with a lot more "wow" factor.  If I'm going to spend all this time working on this awful chair, it had might as well be awesome!  I was surprised with myself for even considering the zebra.  If you know me at all you'll know that I'm not really an animal print person, but this just seemed right! I don't know if you can tell in the pictures, but it's a dark brown and white print (not black :)

First I spray painted the legs, using Kilz primer and Rustoleum white spray paint.

Using the old fabric piece as a template, I cut out rough sizes of the fabric I would need.  I put in all new cushioning (the fact that the old stuff made me so itchy seemed sketchy), and just went to work putting stuff on.

Not going to lie-- it's really, really, not perfect.  I got impatient and stopped following the way it was put together originally and just start putting things on where I thought it would work.  It you don't shove your hands in the cracks or look at it too closely I think it looks pretty good. It definitely looks better than it did before!

So will I do another upholstery project? Probably.  I'm going to wait until I forget about what a pain in the butt this one was, though, and can only remember how awesome the result was. 

Bow pillow

Last night I finished a super cute pillow cover.  It was super easy to make, thanks to the tutorial by {E Tells Tales}.  I made mine a little smaller though, so that it would be tighter around the pillow.

You may also notice a pretty funky fabric in the background.  I'm super excited to show off that project. What a before/after that one is!

Put a bird on it!

This morning I headed down to the HD to get some board to back the shelves.  Just for the record, spray painting in intense wind makes your can run out WAY faster, and gets you painted arms.
I painted the board all white, but I just wasn't feeling it. I came inside and asked Sam what I should do, and he said, "put a bird on it!"

It was half a joke, half serious, because my brilliant husband knows I actually think birds on things are great.

I penciled out a design and then painted it in with some black paint.

I might have some scrapbooking and sewing skills, but I'm not too hot at drawing, so I'm pretty proud of myself.

Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I think the backing is kind of fun and makes the sort of hoboish shelves look a little more like it's supposed to be this way.

They are super heavy though. I'm going to need some strong brothers to come move it into the house for me!

Wood= $9

Paint/polyurethane= $11

Backing= $8

Tools= FREE (thanks Poppa White!)

Total cost= $28

Child's Play.

Today I built shelves while the boys built a garage. I feel like I'm playing with play-doh while the big boys do the real work!

Piles of wood.

The very old wood that I got a bit ago is finally being put to use! All day I've been sawing, pulling out metal, and getting cool tan lines from work gloves.  Tonight I'll wash it down, then tomorrow I'll seal it and hopefully get it all built! It's about time-- our books are pretty much strewn across our living room and I need a place to put them!
I'm thinking this project will either look super awesome or extremely horrible.

My first quilt

This is the first quilt I've ever done by myself from start to finish!

It's not perfect by any means, but I really like the {pattern} and the {fabric}.

I did a zig zag stitch around each big and small square, and then did free motion quilting in the white space.  The free motion is still taking some getting used to... So it doesn't look very uniform, but that's ok.

I actually have several quilts almost done, but the finishing parts intimidate me.  I don't want to mess them up! But I guess there's no point in just having quilt sammiches sitting around either.

Whoopsies.

Do you suppose painting my nails (on purpose) this morning was worth it:?

When you know what the perfect thing would be, you HAVE to find it!

I've been going crazy trying to find this one specific fabric for a quilt I'm doing. It's DANG cute and my favourite one in the collect, but apparently I was in dream land when they actually came out last year, so it's SUPER hard to find. Web searches mostly came up with people on forums asking where on earth to find it. I was ready to throw in the towel and find a replacement, but I JUST found a little etsy shop that had not only THE fabric, but a few of the others that I was hoping to find too.

Jackpot!

Sure, you might get stuff on sale if you wait-- or you might not be able to get it at all! It's a gamble!

It was the second one from the top, in case you're wondering.

In the works

I've got some fun stuff coming soon!

White antiqued coffee table

The {coffee table} has been painted, dried, and placed in our living room! I really like how it turned out.  I think the antiquing really adds some character and depth to the piece.

Not too bad, eh?

Glazing/antiquing

Glazing your furniture can really add definition and character to the appearance.  The {coffee table} I just got has such great details that I really wanted to emphasize them.

I use {Valspar Antiquing Glaze}, which is pre-tinted, but you can also buy clear glazes and then get the worker to add whatever colour you want.  You need hardly any to do a piece of furniture, so I would recommend getting the smallest size you can. 

Once your piece is primed and painted, you can start glazing away.  I don't like a super heavy colour, so I mix about 1/4c glaze with 2T water to thin it out and make it easier to manipulate.  With the cheapest brush you can find, just brush on the glaze in a smallish section. I like to work in sections by board or length of trim to prevent dark edges drying where you don't want them to.  Make sure you go to town with getting the glaze into all of the cracks and ridges. Right away, wipe off the glaze with a wet paper towel to get the bulk of it off. Then take a wet rag and wipe off the remaining bits that you don't want.  Then touch it up with a dry rag, getting rid of leftover water and glaze. You can leave as much glaze on as you want, or wipe off everything you can't get to.

Easy, eh? 

One man's pile of trash is my treasure.

For my {shelving project} I found that new wood at hardware places was just way too expensive for my taste. I started looking at Craiglist, and I found a guy selling "antique wood" (ie: old and probably gross).  It was part of an old fence he had torn down.  So today I buckled up and headed down south to Santaquin.  Santaquin is a pretty small town comprised mainly of hunters and/or farmers. I was in town heading to get the wood when I realized that I didn't have work gloves. Anticipating that there would be a lot of splinters, nails, and crud I stopped at the local Dollar Store to grab some. When I came out, this fellow was in the parking lot and asked me if I wanted a ride:

Welcome to Santaquin.

I got to the house where I was directed to several piles of wood around the yard that had already been picked over twice. It took a whole lot of digging around, but I think I got enough of what I wanted. I'm apprehensive about how this is going to turn out, but if what I envisioned works, it will be awesome!

Coffee table in the works

I found a great, super inexpensive coffee table this week!

Isn't it lovely? I'm excited!

The first chair

I found this chair on craigslist for only $10. The structure is absolutely fantastic and it's super comfortable.  The fabric on the arms and cushion is ripped, and I don't like the colour or pattern, so that means reupholster time!

So many staples!  I got antsy to start and we don't have needle-nose pliers, so I got a lot of the fabric off (with much difficulty) with my tiny scrapbooking hammer, haha. I'm think I'll invest in some pliers.

Only minor amounts of blood has been drawn from the evil staples.

Next step: find the right fabric!

If you want something done right...

I've been trying to find the perfect shelves for way too long. They just aren't popping up, so I've got my own plans in the works!