Found Object + Paint + nails = Treasure!

My husband has learned over the last 22 years that I will freak out over the strangest things.  Things he thinks are scraps or trash.  So when we recently installed a new dog door, he didn't even think twice when I screamed and said, "Can I have that piece of the door?!?!"  It usually takes some serious study of the object to figure out what it will be transformed into, but with my pantry to sewing room conversion in full swing, the idea came pretty quickly.

The door was already black and I love the contrast with the taupe walls.  I am an old school kind of craft girl, so I used my computer to print out the text and carbon paper (Yes...I know it is 2013!) to transfer the image.  Painted over the transfer with white paint to get a crisp image of the text.  If you have a Cricut, you could easily cut paper or vinyl to add the wording.

Then marks were measured, nails were hammered and spools were put in place.  And yes, if you were wondering, I am in love with it!

 Have you ever saved something odd and turned it into a treasure?  I would love to hear your story.

toodles,

jamie

Linking up at...

The 36th Avenue

Headband Holder - Covered in Muslin, of course!

In April a friend and I took a trip to First Monday Trade Days in Canton.  You may remember this post where I professed my love for the Santos statue I found that day.  On the list of treasures we hoped to find, was a headband holder for my friend's daughter.  We searched high and low but found nothing.  So I though I would try to make one for her and this is the end result.

It was a super quick and easy project.  This is a can from protein drink mix, but any can about this size will work.  Start out by tracing the lid and cutting out the circle, leaving a little extra to cover the edge.  Use a stencil or free hand a monogram.  The dots are just the end of a paint brush dipped in paint and dotted on the fabric.  Set that piece aside to dry. 

Now you can hot glue a little cotton batting to the body of the can and cover with fabric. (muslin was used here - SHOCKING! I know!)  then cover the raw edges with  ribbon.  Next head on over to the sewing machine and make a quick strip ruffle.  All you have left now is to cover the lid with the monogrammed piece of fabric,  glue the lid to the can, then glue the ruffle around the edge.  And there it is...a headband holder.

It can also stand upright if you prefer, but I found that the headbands keep it from rolling when it is placed on its side.  One note if your can has a metal ring on the bottom you may want to apply a clear coat of polyurethane or my favorite go to "glue all, cover all, protect all, fix all" Glossy Accents  around the bottom so that if it gets wet  - no rust on your bathroom counter.

I have one more headband holder idea floating around in my head, but for now I would love to know how you store headbands around your house.

Have a great Day!

jamie

FYI - find this project and over 300 more at the 36th Avenue and Crafty Scrappy Happy Me  linky party!

  

More Muslin!

Hello everyone!  I hope you are having a great week.  I'm back to share another sewing project with that seemingly endless supply of muslin hanging around my work room.  Today I am showing a slipcover I made for the ottoman in my bedroom. 

 (that's my lovely assistant Joe)

It is just basic box construction on the top.  I placed the muslin on the ottoman and pinned the corners.  Just simple straight sewing after that.   I was thrilled to have enough of the little fringe edge to use on the ruffle!  Simple, inexpensive and washable, yea!

This was my first slipcover and although it took me the better part of a day I was pleased with how it turned out!

Have you every sewn a slip cover?  I would love to hear about it!

toodles, j

Studio Makeover

Happy Sunday Everyone! Bo and I have been working like crazy around the house for the last few month.   We have finally completed one of the project rooms, so if your not too busy, I would love to share some photos of my new studio with you.  

This is the armoire I used for a computer desk and work station before.

I loved having all of my cards, photos, notes and mementos out where I could see them, but frankly it was a little over stimulating.  In the next photo you can see the lovely honeycomb blinds (Yikes!).  And the scalloped cornice I that has been a mainstay of this room's decor since we moving in fifteen years ago.  In my defense it has been recovered three times.  I love the line it creates across the room, but it was time for the toile to go.

  In the bottom right corner of the photo above you can see the stamping table we made a few years back.  It has a butcher block top and I wanted to stay with this kind of look.  So we decided to make another, this time with unfinished wood.  Bo cut it down to the perfect size and then we got to work. 

We sanded, stained, drilled (yes! I drilled), and applied polyurethane until it was super shiny.  We purchased two unfinished cabinets at Lowe's, painted them black and used them for the base of the desk.

And now...here is the finished desk!  I know I've said it before, but "I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!" and this time it is a desk!

It is so functional and pretty easy to keep tidy.  I added some crystal knobs to the cabinets and they have lots of storage space left for me to fill.

And guess what...no more honey comb shades.  Whoopie!  I had really put off replacing them, because oddly none of the windows in this room are the same size and so it would mean having custom shades made, and who wants to spend all that money on something as boring as blinds?  Not me.  So I decided to try my hand at sewing some faux roman shades out of muslin. 

Ahhh, much better. I covered the cornice with a beautiful paisley print and a black ruffled trim.  As you can see, I still have all my photos and things around me, they are just spaced out a little more so I can appreciate them.

Here is one last look from the same vantage point that the first photo of the armoire was taken.  It's a very big change, and I feel very lucky to have such a lovely room to call my own.

I hope you enjoyed this little Studio Tour.  Hopefully there will be an abundance of artwork produced here.

Until next time,

jamie