Duvet Cover Thoughts

I have wanted to revamp my bedding for some time now.  Here are a few covers I found that I like:

Here, here and here (this last link is my favorite!).

However, bedding is expensive!  I was inspired to make my own duvet cover out of two flat sheets by this tutorial.

If I found some flat sheets on sale I could make a beautiful duvet cover, embellished with ruffles, for significantly less money than buying one. 

This may be a bigger undertaking than I realize, but I am excited.  I have found a couple other inspiring tutorials here, here, and here.

Vintage Hair Accessories

I love to go to yard sales. This past summer at a yard sale I found vintage earrings for 25¢ per pair! I bought several pairs along with some other miscellaneous jewelry. I wanted to somehow make them into hair accessories.

So I bought some metal alligator clips at a craft store. Then I pried the clips off of the backs of the jewel earrings so that the jewel would sit flat nicely. Next, I hot glued the jewels onto the alligator clips.

Inexpensive Fancy Hair Clips!

Armless Chair Recover

I love reupholstering furniture.  It reminds me of wrapping a present, and I love wrapping presents.  I decided that my first chair upholstery attempt should be an armless chair. I figured it would be a good learning project. 

I found this armless chair on craigslist:

It had a 90's hotel feel.

My wonderful husband went with me to purchase it so that he could help me load it in the car.  One thing that the craigslist photo didn’t convey was that this chair is BIG!  It takes up more floor space than I expected.  My husband lovingly named the chair “Big Bertha”, and that name has stuck.

I started off by unscrewing the back off of the chair.  I didn’t realize the chair was capable of this from the craigslist photo.  This made reupholstering it much easier.  Then I took a lot of photos of the chair.  The photos were going to help me remember how it all went together.

Then comes the part that takes some nerve: tearing apart a perfectly good chair.  I removed the fabric by prying out the staples with a flat screw driver and pliers.  The trick is to remove the fabric CAREFULLY.  The original fabric was going to be my pattern for the new fabric.  As I removed each of the pieces I labeled where they came from with a Sharpie, for example, “back of chair”.  This part of the process was pretty slow, it probably took about 4 hours to get all of the staples and fabric off the chair.

I ordered new fabric called Wood Fern by Amy Butler.  I found this chart that helped me decide how much fabric to order.  This 54” heavier weighted fabric turned out to be perfect for an accent chair like this.

I cut the new fabric to match the old.  Then I stapled it all on with my electric staple gun.  I would highly recommend an electric staple gun if you are serious about upholstery.  This was the quickest part of the whole process, it only took about an hour and half!  

I am smitten with this chair!

Ta-Da!

Felt Flower Tutorial

Baby girls wearing headbands look so cute.  I found that after Kate was born making headbands was about all I had time for in the realm of crafting.  I could make one for her in about the same amount of time she napped. 

Her newest headband is a gray chrysanthemum (spell that Gilbert!). I made it yesterday while we were snowed in.

Kate looks adorable!

To start off, a good pair of scissors is helpful.  I love my Ginghers!  I cut seventeen teardrop shapes and a two inch diameter circle out of a felt sheet that only cost ten cents!

I pinched each tear drop together at the base and hot glued them into petals.  I used a ball point pen to help hold the glue until it set so that I wouldn’t burn my fingers.  Then I glued eleven petals around the edge of the circle and filled the inside with the remaining six petals.

Finally, I hot glued elastic lace to the flower, and finished it off by adding a sparkly button that I had laying around.

Lovely!

Jewelry Box Redo

I found this beat up jewelry box at a thrift store for $2.

Before

With a little TLC, I thought it would be the perfect gift for my niece’s 13^th birthday.  The outside of the box was scratched and dirty, while the inside had sustained water damage.  The felt lining on the inside was stained with brown water spots and was peeling in several places. Also it was missing a brass knob. But still, I knew I could do something fun with it.

I started off by ripping the old felt out of the inside.  It came off pretty easily.  I saved the pieces so that I would have a template to make a new lining.  I removed the hinges from the door, pulled the brass knobs off the drawers and detached the spinning necklace hanger.  I decided to spray paint the box brown. 

The most fun part of this project was putting a new lining on the inside.  Inspired by my suitcase project (link post), I found some fancy wrapping paper that would complement the brown paint.  I got some poster board from the grocery store and traced the old felt lining on it.  I did this for each drawer and for the taller compartment.  Then, I cut the pieces out and I wrapped each one in the fancy wrapping paper and glued it into place inside the jewelry box. 

The wrapping paper needed some additional protection, so I used Mod Podge to give the inside a protective, plastic-like coating.  I really like the texture and glossy look it created. 

At this point, I reattached the hinges and necklace hanger.  I scoured home-improvement stores for new tiny knobs, but I had no luck.  So, I went to the craft store and picked out some crystal looking buttons.  I attached each button by threading it with fishing line to a bigger button on the inside. They held securely. 

It turned out great, and my niece loved it!  Success!

Finished!

Happy drawers!

Kate's Ruffle Quilt

I wanted to make a quilt for my little baby girl.   I was 39 weeks pregnant when I purchased the material for it.   Several people joked with me that if I started a project it would make the baby come sooner.  So, I guess you could say I sort of hoped I wouldn’t be able to finish this quilt, at least not right away. 

I had never sewn a ruffle before.  So I called my sister, who is an experienced sewer, but is usually up to her eyeballs in trains, shooters and rockets with her two little boys.  When I asked her if she knew how to sew a ruffle she replied, “A ruffle?  Hmmm….I don’t know…we don’t really do ruffles here.”  With that, I turned to google and I found a great ruffle tutorial here.

 I folded the sides over and hemmed the raw edges down on my ruffle strips, this way the ruffles looked more finished.  I quickly learned that sewing ruffles takes a lot of fabric.  So I had to go back to the store to get more fabric halfway through. 

Before attaching the ruffles I quilted the gray fabric on my mom’s long arm quilting machine.  Then, I attached the ruffles.  I marked even, concentric squares on the gray quilt top.  I then pinned the ruffles on to my markings.  I sewed the ruffles on with my walking foot because the fabric layers were pretty thick at this point. Lastly, I put a yellow binding on.  

All finished...still no baby.  Baby Kate didn’t arrive for another two weeks!

Finished!

Kate (almost 4 months) loves how tactile the quilt is!

Turtle Recover

This adorable turtle was hiding in a closet in my husband’s great grandparents’ house.

Turtle Before

I first saw it on a family reunion trip and knew it had great potential.  I was lucky to receive it on a subsequent visit.  The paint was in great shape, it just needed a new shell!

I found the perfect fabric, “green / wall flower” by Amy Butler, which looked like it belonged on a turtle’s back!  I removed the old fabric by prying out the staples with a screw driver.  I then attached the new fabric by stapling it to the underside of the turtle with my trusty staple gun. 

To give it a more finished look, I pounded new upholstery tacks tightly around the base of the turtle shell.

New shell!