New kitchen decor!

(This is a quick interlude from my countdown, I'll continue with that in a few)

My mom laughs at me constantly because I am never happy with my decor. Ever. I redecorate/retheme like every 6 months.  Lately, my problem has been with my kitchen...so it was time for a redo!  I just ordered fabric to recover my chairs (pictures soon) and in addition to my mixer art I did a few more framed pieces.

I bought a set of 40+ vintage advertising cookbooks on eBay (yep, still an addict) awhile ago for $15 (including shipping!) and have been waiting to get inspired for the perfect project.

Here's what I ended up with:

My main colors are going to be green, yellow and teal (all vintage hues, of course) with other colors added in...because heaven forbid I have a room with matchy matchy decor. Which, when I have my own house with it's 1950's kitchen* will look fab.

*post-Mega Millions lottery win, of course.

You could do this with any sort of old media--advertisements, newspapers, magazine/book covers, etc.

My next project will be with this little wonderment (picked up at a yardsale for 50 cents...and yes it works, but I totally bought it for the box):

"Guaranteed to crack your nut."

Top 10 crafting necessities...#9

Number 9 on my countdown is a rotary cutter, mat and clear ruler.

Seriously, even if you don't sew, this will change your life.  I use mine for sewing, papercrafting, measuring walls, slicing my fingers open...you get the idea.  And it's not just for cutting straight lines either, they're great for cutting around patterns.  My biggest piece of advice: even though blades are expensive, change them frequently! If you are sawing through fabric or paper...probably time to switch that thing out.

My top 10 craft necessities countdown...#10

I thought that starting this blog in the winter would be perfect, because I tend to craft less in the summer.  What I didn't think about was that the majority of my crafting right now is Christmas presents...which I can't really post on here, as my family does read this (or they better be).

But post-Christmas, get ready!

To start off the countdown to the holidays, I thought I'd share my top 10 crafting necessity countdown (there'll be one a day so stay tuned.)  Without these, my life would be incomplete and gray.*

*slight dramatization



These are in no particular order (I just couldn't value one above the other):

A good sewing machine

Note that good does not necessarily mean new.  Deciding what your needs are will determine whic machine is best for you.  For instance, if all you need is a machine that goes forward and backward, I would recommend a vintage Singer (you can pick one up on eBay for less than $40).

My mom and I purchased a heavy duty vintage Singer that I still use to sew leather, because as much as I love my new machine..."they don't make 'em like they used to."

However, if you need something with a few more bells and whistles, consider a Brother machine (not a paid advertisement, I swear).  I did a lot of research before I bought mine--yes I'm one of those people--but I couldn't be happier with my Brother CS6000i.

Next on my wishlist? A serger...

ten minute wall art

This title may be a little misleading for some, but to be clear: this would take 10 minutes for a person to do IF they're alone and without distractions.  I, however, had "help":

Don't let the face fool you.  He's a devil. His version of "help" was pouncing on my hands as I cut, racing through the middle of my projects and attacking the iron.  And of course now, NOW that I'm all done, he's curled up next to me taking a nap.  Punk.

Anyway, on to the project.

Preface: Tomorrow is going to be a great day. Why? Because after two years of agonizing over price, color and model, I finally bought a KitchenAid mixer.  Which means today was spent cleaning and decorating my kitchen for my mixer.

Totally pathetic, I know.

I needed something big and simple for one of my walls, so I thought what better way than to make mixer art?!

(Of course, if you are not obsessing about a new appliance, you could pick anything)

Supplies

Poster frame (I bought a black frame at Wal-Mart and spray painted it the color I wanted)

Graphic that measures about 20"x20", or whatever is appropriate for the size of your frame

Muslin, or other solid fabric

Cotton fabric

Fusible web (I actually didn't have any of this on hand (crafting sin, I know!) but I had some double sided heavy duty stuff that I used, and I kind of liked it...it gave the mixer some dimension)

1) Wrap the muslin around the cardboard backing of the frame, and tape in place.

2) Fuse a square of webbing onto the backside of your cotton print and trace your graphic (reverse side up).

3) Cut out and figure out placement on your muslin.

4) Iron.

5) Place in frame, pull muslin taut.

All done!

You may now hit your easy button.

It's fun, simple, and goes with my vintage-themed kitchen.

slipper bench redo!

Quite some time ago (actually it's been even longer than I'd like to admit) I found this little treasure at a flea market with the whopping price tag of $3.

I actually liked it as is when I bought it, especially the color of the top (the pale pink bottom I could have done without), but I always figured I could redo it when I got sick of it.

....annnnnnnnnnnnnddd 4+ years go by...

There, I admitted it. I never could make up my mind on what to do, and it wasn't really a priority.  A week or so ago I realized I was storing it under my coffee table because it clashed so badly with my living room.  Totally unacceptable.  Now it was priority level one.

First step...new paint.  I coated the bottom with a navy satin spray paint.  I used to actually sand, prime, and paint all my furniture, but once you use spray paint, you never go back.  It's faster, easier, and gives you more even coverage...IF you can get the right color.

My original plan was to rip the foam on the top off and replace it with something thicker, but once I pulled all the vinyl off, I realized that foam was not going anywhere.  So I just put the padding on top.  I bought this stuff called NU-Foam at Jo-Ann's (mostly because it was cheaper than regular foam) but it is pretty neat stuff.  I cut it to size and tapered the edges.

I put duct tape rolls between the layers to (kind of) hold them in place, then I layed the fabric over it, flipped it over, and staple gunned it on the underside.  Note: The more staples you use, and the tighter you can get the fabric, the better overall look.

To place the buttons on the top, my original plan was just to staple gun where I wanted them to go and then hot glue the buttons over the top.  Epic fail.  After my 5th staple sproinged out and went flying across the room*, I had to go to plan B...nails.  It worked surprisingly well.

*At which point I had to get up and run and grab the staple before Thor ate it.  He thought this was pretty much the best game ever.

Then I used some trim that I had purchased for a project I never got around to for the edge, and held it on with upholstery tacks.

It turned out even better than I thought! And because I love before and after pictures (and am trying to teach my self photoshop)...

Cost

Slipper bench: $3

Foam: 4.79*

Trim: Already had

Buttons: $1.93*

Fabric: $3.74

Upholstery Tacks: $3.00

Spray Paint: $3.44

TOTAL COST: $19.90

*Special thanks to the lady at Jo-Ann's who slipped me coupons when I realized I stupidly forgot mine.

DIY Bathroom Organizer

I have a serious love/hate relationship with apartment living.  I love that someone else shovels my sidewalks, pays for W/S/G and comes and fixes things when they break.  I hate that I have to listen to my neighbor's conversations and most of all, my lack of storage. 
But it does force me to be creative.

I saw a picture of a similar organizer online and had to have it...

First step: Call my dad and ask him what those thingys are called that look like metal zip ties. Apparently they are called ring clamps. And you can get them anywhere. Who knew?

Let me preface by saying I am really not a ditz...but when it comes to power tools and the like I am pretty clueless.*

*My dad got me this really extensive tool set when I graduated high school, so far I have discovered that the clamps work great as chip clips and the screwdrivers also work well as prybars for unfortunate oven accidents (don't ask).

Next step: Pick a day when my pops would not be in his shop and thus unable to cringe at my misuse of his power tools.

Supplies

Cool board (or uncool, your choice), cut to the length to fit your space.  I used a piece of old molding**

**which I cut by hand because I was pretty sure I'd lose a limb with the power saw. #goodworkout

2 eyehooks

Baling, or other thick wire

Drill

3 ring clamps (also these come in sizes, again...who knew? so sized to fit over the lip of your jars)

3 mason jars

Step 1

Set your jars on the board, and figure out how low you want them to hang. Measure the length of your board and divide that into fourths.  Mark the middle three at the level you want your jars to hang.  Next, place a ring clamp centered over the mark you just made (sticking out like it was holding a jar) and mark above and below it.  These will be the holes you drill to wire the ring clamps onto the board.

Drill holes where you marked...these do not have to be pretty or perfect (mine certainly weren't).

This is also a good time to install your eyehooks at the top.  I measured equidistance from each end, drilled a tiny bit and screwed them in by hand.  There might be a better way, but I don't know what it is.

Step 2

Cut a length of wire (the longer the easier to work with...I probably cut them at around 12") and poke one end through each of the holes. Pull the ends and get the wire as tight as you can.

Using pliers, twist the wire a couple of turns to secure it.  Cut off the long tails, and bend the twisted wire to one side or the other.

It should look like this from the front when you're finished...

Step 3

Open your ring clamps all the way and thread one end through your wire loop.  Repeat with remaining 2 clamps.  Tighten them down part way and set jars in the clamp.  Tighten as much as possible...and viola! Organizer complete!

Organizer in use:

freepeople knock off cowboy boots

I saw these boots on freepeople.com...

...and totally fell in love.

But not with the price tag ($438). Are you getting the idea that I'm cheap yet? Or that I like to shop for things I can't afford? Good. We'll be besties before you know it.

There's one more thing you should know about me before things get too serious--I am an eBay addict. Which is how I ended up with a pair of vintage cowboy boots in my closet.

See the problem with eBay is that the pictures aren't always perfect representations of the product...so I have these men's vintage cowboy boots that really aren't cute enough to wear with skirts and jeans (they're a little too industrial) but I paid $18 for them and wasn't quite ready to give up on them.

And then I saw the magical boots above. Perfect.

In addition to the $18 boots, I bought 4 kind of matching leather belts from my favorite thrift shop.  Total cost for my version: $20.

I cut the boots down the back (no special tools necessary, I just used kitchen scissors, and these were way thicker than any of my other cowboy boots).

I apologize in advance for the photo quality...I am currently without a digital camera, so these are off my phone.

Then folded the tops over.  This took some serious manuevering because of the super thick leather, but I figured it could also count for my daily workout.

Then I wrapped the belts around (and through the pulltabs) until they cinched the tops.  I lucked out, because the belts I bought were punched where I needed, but otherwise I would have just added a hole where I needed it.

Overall, I love the look of these, they're really different, and I got a lot of compliments on them their first time out.  However, there are a couple of things I would do differently:

1. I secured the loose ends of the belts with hot glue in the hope that if I wanted, I could switch them out.  That held for maybe half a day.  I would definitely use a stronger glue, or maybe make a leather belt loop to hold it.
2. The boots I used were way too heavy duty...it was sort of like wearing cement blocks for shoes. But no one said beauty was comfort, so I'm still wearing them.  That is, until I find a new eBay love.