Chandelier Update

When we got our new house I was super excited, because I got to have a chandelier.  After removing a wall of mirrors and painting it just didn't show up as much as I would have liked, plus from the start I wanted to paint it.  After Christmas, I finally got around to doing just that.  

One of the house listing pictures

Gold before painting

I used Modern Masters Metallic Paint in Pewter and it took two coats.

I love how it turned out.  It shows itself off so much better now.

Fabric Bucket

With the fabric left over from my new trash can, I decided I wanted to make a fabric basket for my girls' Duplos.  They broke the drawers that they were in so they've needed a new home for a while now.  

I'm not going to tell you how I put it together since there a bazillion tutorials out there.  No need to reinvent the wheel.  I just threw it together with old jeans as the lining and braided rope as the handles.  I love how it turned out and it took less than an afternoon to sew up!  As a bonus it holds all of the Duplos and will be really hard for them to demolish.

Laundry Canister Upcycle

While I was doing some unexpected (for me) housekeeping for Camp, I found the coolest container.  My husband recently changed janitorial suppliers so now the laundry detergent comes in a fiber canister rather than a plastic bucket and there just happened to be one sitting empty in the laundry room.  I asked Michael if I could have it and he said I could.  I knew it would be perfect for a trash can for our home school room.  Yay for not having to buy one!

It was really easy to transform. I measured around the top to find out how long I needed the fabric. Then all I did was turn the edges over on my piece of fabric, so no raw edges would show and hot glued it around the bottom, then the edges running up the side and then again along the rim on the inside.  Super easy!  I think it would also look really fun done with rope or twine.

Now, I'm wanting to volunteer to do laundry for Camp to speed up getting another one for my sewing room!

Collar to Crown

I thought it would be fun if I told you how I created the darling crown I showed in the Dress Shirt Challenge post.  I didn't take pictures as I went, but it was super easy.

First seam rip the top portion of the collar (that part that folds down) off a dress shirt.  Next hem the raw edge.  Over lap the two short edges slightly and stitch them down.  Last, but not least take some buttons and sew them on as jewels.  I used the spare buttons from the dress shirt.

Chore Chart

Soon after the start of the new year, my husband and I put together a chore chart for our girls, to help us be more accountable for having them help routinely.  I looked at lots of free versions and choose one that I thought was really cute and fun and as it turns out the girls think so to.  

It is the Ice Cream Chore Trainer from Fifth and Hazel!

It was so easy to put together.  I just printed out all the sheets (two of the chores, since we have two children) and cut out the pieces.  Then I put a little glue stick on the chores to keep them from sliding while I laminated them, cut them out again  actually I got my husband to, hehe) and put a little bit of adhesive magnet strip on the back.

The girls love it!  When we ask if they want to do chores, they cheer and get so excited and run to the fridge to see what they get to do.  Then after they finish it we return to the fridge so they can get their 'scoop' to put on their cones.  We only started with a few to see how it would go and to not overwhelm them, but it is going great so I may add a couple more soon.

If you are curious, we have Eleanor (age 3) feed and water pets, brush hair, make bed, read, pick up toys, and brush teeth.  Laurel  (age 2) does all of those except feed pets, instead she gets to nap.  The next chores I'll add will be clearing and setting the table at each meal.  We already have them help, but it can be a struggle that I hope their chore chart could help fix.

Crib Front to Fabric Display

Happy new year!  I know a lot of people resolve to be more organized, so I thought I would share how I keep part of my fabric hoard supply tamed (the rest is still very wild).

A while ago, I came up with a really fun way to display some of my fabric.  Shortly after we converted Laurel's crib to a toddler bed, I was trying to figure out what to do with the crib front so that it wouldn't just sit in the closet driving me crazy in the way.  Being a fabric hoarder I tend to have a problem finding a place for all my fabric and keeping it organized.

Somehow I realized I could kill two birds with one simple stone.  I leaned the crib front against the wall and hung a bunch of fabric on the rungs.  Super easy and free!  I thought it was rather clever and pretty.

I also folded some of my larger scraps and put them into a basket with my baker's twine and ric rac.

Ice Cream Kit

Thanks to camp cancelling that last week, we got to go to a wedding!  So I needed to come up with a wedding gift.  A while ago, I came across this great link on Pinterest and knew that it would be so fun to make and give.

Family Bites

After buying a bunch of fun ice cream toppings and repackaging everything but the bottles, I arranged them in a basket with some crinkled shredded paper filler.  I repackaged the waffle cones in some clear plastic wrapping paper and tied them with baker's twine.  The candy and nuts I put in resealable sandwich bags and rolled down the tops and taped them.

I thought about taking the labels off the hot fudge and cherries and put new ones on them and everything else like in the original pin, but I got too lazy.  But I did print some great gift tags I also found on Pinterest.

Eat Drink Chic

After printing them, I trimmed them a little and then used a glue stick to glue them to the inside of a pretty blank card.  You could also print on the blank side of some pretty paper or glue on scrapbook paper.  Once dry, I cut them out and used a hole punch for where the twine would go.

 I also used the other half of the blank card to write a note to the happy couple, folded it in half, put two holes on the open side, and tied it closed with more twine (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture).  The last thing I did was wrap in more plastic and tied it closed with more twine.

Before making a bow I slide the tag on.

I think it turned out pretty cute.  Hopefully, the bride and groom agree.

Project Run and Play Signature Style

Today, I uploaded pictures to flickr for the Project Run and Play sew along for the signature style week.  The jacket I made I've been working on in my head for a while.  I think it turned out really cute.  I started with the pattern for the molly jacket by Violette Field Threads.  

I lengthened the sleeves and made them a little more fitted, added a sash and some ruffles for a little bustle.  I also did the collar backwards from what they say to do to show off the lining, because I wanted to break up the denim more. (I was afraid the denim may look too biker chick for me.)  On the front I added some cute pockets based on the tutorial on ikat.  (Someday I need to make the quilt she put all those pockets on.) 

The shirt was a challenge.  It started out as a boy's dress shirt (another shirt from my uncle). I wasn't sure what I wanted it to look like so I spent way too much time scouring the internet for inspiration and direction in refashioning button up shirts.  I finally just gave up and started cutting.  I knew I didn't want the collar or the sleeves the way they were, so I started by seam ripping the sleeves.  I tried the shirt on Eleanor to see where would be a good place to cut the neckline and just cut how I thought it would look nice.  

Next I cut the sleeves to make cap sleeves and later when I was talking with my husband I decided they needed pleats.  The points were an accident that I love.  The pocket also got seam ripped and gave me the idea to put a bow on the collar.  After everything was cut or seam ripped that I wanted, I added the pleats to the sleeves, hemmed all the edges, sewed on the sleeves, pocket and bow and it was done. 

 I love how it turned out.

I made a bubble skirt a while back that I wanted Eleanor to wear for the pictures.  It was the perfect color and a fun texture and since it was too big with an adjustable waist, it gathers in the back like a bustle (super cute), but I couldn't find it anywhere.

Another fun fact about this outfit is that everything was reincarnated from a previous life.  The jacket and pants used to be pants that my husband ripped.

Boy shirt to girl's

Today, I finished another remake shirt for my daughter. 

I started out with a green striped shirt and appliqued some bright pink stars on (covering some stains).

Then I sewed some elastic to the sleeves to make them more of a puff sleeve.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

   

Taking the Boy out of the Clothes

I have two girls.  Two extremely adorable girls.  I tend to be more girly girly when dressing them when given the chance.  Unfortunately, on our income I depend a lot on hand me downs to dress them, otherwise I have to make it.  So my uncle, who means well, kindly gives us hand me downs, but the sad part is his child is a boy.  A super hero, dinosaur wearing boy.  I'm new to the whole up-cycle movement.  I love the idea, but I have the worst time figuring out what to do on my own.  I rely on other people's tutorials for ideas and direction.  But no matter how hard or long I search Google, I can't find help in turning little boy clothes into something more feminine.  So I'm going to go it alone and try to document it here.  I don't promise anything will be amazing but it is a start.

Today, I took my first steps.  I didn't keep everything he gave me, just what I thought had any chance at maybe being passable as something a girl could wear.  Most of the shirts I kept are striped, but in very boy colors like orange.

The first shirt I tackled was browns, blue and white stripes.  A while ago I made a fabric flower based on the pattern from twirlybirdpatterns.  I didn't have any plans for it so I sewed it on like a corsage.  I should have taken before pictures, oh well.

 I'm not sure I like the fit, but I don't want to do much to change the size for now, so that she can wear it longer.

For the second shirt, I was inspired by the blog post from shwinandshwin.  I had a silk flower that I didn't know what to do with till this morning.  So I tore it apart and sewed it on with a button.  I think I like that one better.

Those are the only ones I've done so far and I still have a huge trash bag full of stuff to remedy.  If you have any tips or ideas, I would love to hear about them.

Have a lovely day!
Tonia