Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Pleated Top

I've had this little top pinned for some time and finally got around to making it.  It is really adorable and Chess loves it.  The tutorial is very easy to follow, as well.  I love her whole website.











-Alison

Book Shelf Re-do

I saw a bright green book shelf on the side of the road.  It was calling my name, so I had to pull over and put it in the back of my car.  Yes, I was that girl hauling someone else's junk away.



It was not the most quality bookshelf, but still very stable and in perfect condition.  It sat in my garage for awhile, annoying me, until I figured out what to do with it.



Most of the green paint peeled right off, except for on the shelves.  I had to figure out a way to hide those nasty shelves.  So first I spray painted the whole thing brown with two cans of spray paint.  Then I covered the shelves with fabric I bought at Hobby Lobby, and Mod podged it on!  It worked great!



The best part is, the fabric is rough, not slick, so books do not fall over very easily.  It looks nice and is functional.  And inexpensive.  All very important qualities to me.



-Alison

Pillowcase Dress

There are tutorials for these cute little pillowcase dresses everywhere online.  They are very simple to make, so they make a great beginner sewing project.



I got the pillowcase for this dress at an awesome thrift store for $0.25.  I already had the thread, ribbon, and rick-rack, so this was one cheap dress to make.



I've seen these on sale at boutiques for $25 or more!  No need spend that!



Go make your own!

-Alison

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Brass Door Knobs

Since our house was built in the 90s, we have shiny, brass door knobs.  Or should I say, HAD.  My husband has been taking them off for me a few at a time and I have been spray painting them.



I set up my station out back.  I sprayed with a primer first, then used metallic spray paint in nickel for the finish.

Before:


After:







Freezer Paper Stenciling

I've done a few freezer paper stenciling projects before, and I really enjoy seeing the outcome.  I thought I'd share my most recent one.  I wanted to make a Rainbow Brite shirt for my daughter, so I googled Rainbow Brite and found and printed the image below.



I traced the image with a sharpie onto freezer paper (find it in a big roll near the tin foil), simplifying the design to make cutting easier.



The most tedious part is cutting out all the black parts with an exacto knife.  If you have a machine that cuts for you, that makes this project really simple, or just go with a less-detailed design.



Save all the white parts that might get removed in the process, then carefully place them all on your shirt, and iron them in place.

Paint with fabric paint.  I did about 3 coats, letting them dry in between.



And the funnest part in peeling off the freezer paper when it dries!



I love how she turned out!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Sweatshirt Dresses


From this:


To this:


I got some Hanes sweatshirts from the thrift store in new condition, and repurposed them into dresses for the girls.  I made my own pattern using clothes the girls fit into currently.  Chess is bigger, so she didn't get as full a skirt as Lera, which she didn't like.  But both girls enjoy wearing their comfy sweatshirt dresses!






Monday, January 2, 2012

christmas advent calendar

(project as seen on the Tombow USA blog  www.blog.tombowusa.com)
i have been far too absent from this blog... but a new year's goal for me will be to update my blogs more often. so, to start the year off right i'm showing off my banner advent calendar.
on each flag is an activity that the family can do during the christmas season. some are generic, just in case we have to work around it. for example, there are two service nights and two christmas parties. some are more specific, with a movie to watch or something special to eat.
i made a tab that folds down over each one, to which i attached a piece of fastener adhesive made by tombow (a kind of velcro). then i made 25 numbers, also with fasteners on the back. at the start of the season i went through my calendar to figure out what nights already had something planned, and when we could fit in the other activities.
each day we pulled off a number to see what the activity for that night would be.
i loved that it was part of my decor for the season and served a purpose as well.