Amy's Creative Space

Ironed the dolls down with clothes!

2011-02-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

Alrighty- so I ironed them all down! Now I just need to embroider the faces. If I were to do it all over again- these are the things I would do differently:

This hair piece went behind the face, so it showed through the face, you can see a dramatic color change in the neck. So I think next time- I won't do any hair that goes behind the face, only OVER the face.

This one- I think it would have looked better to place the hair behind the dress- because the dress shows through the hair piece. That bothers me.

But I'd say all in all, I am quite pleased. I have mixed emotions about the dresses. I just used scraps from my fabric pile, rather than going out and buying specific fabrics. Some of the outfits I love, but others I more so did just because that's what I had. I go back and forth with this idea. I like the idea of using up what i have, but is it really worth it, if you're not going to be in love with your creation in the end? And dont' get me wrong- I still love it, you get what I mean.

The other thing I wish I would have done was the skin color a little darker. I already wanted the skin color darker to begin with, but I couldn't find a peach color. There was only pink, off white or white. The store said they wouldnt' get peach in until the spring- can you believe that? But I checked everywhere. I didn't want to wait that long so I went ahead with the off-white. It's fine, but the arms want to disappear when you are far away. Up close you see the arms though.

Now I have to decide how I want to assemble the quilt, what fabrics I want to use, etc.

AND I have to decide if I'm going to sew around the applique. You are not supposed to sew on Ultra Hold HeatnBond, but I've heard that if you sew slowly you can do it. I'll keep you posted!

Overall I am very happy and excited about this project!

Part 3: Doll Dresses!

2011-01-23T01:03:00.000-08:00

Now we are going to make the dresses! Just like I did with the bodies and hair, I first cut on paper to see what i wanted for a dress. I decided I liked the first dress offered on the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge the best. Also, after cutting it out the dress I discovered that the size 8, (the size of my paper doll body) was a little bigger than I wanted for my body. So I tried 7 3/4 and 7 1/2 and I decided I liked the 7 1/2 the best. It makes the dress a tiny bit shorter and a little bit smaller around the waste. I figured it any of my doll waist pokes out on the side I can trim the waist! (wouldn't that be nice to do in real life?) I did the black out feature so that there wouldn't be any unnecessary detailed lines on the surface of the fabric. After cutting it out on paper I measured a surface of 6x5 inches for the dress. So I cut out 6x5 pieces, and ironed on the HeatnBond just like I did with the other pieces.

However, when I cut them out with the cricut, I discovered that my pieces were still too small.

I should have done 6x6 pieces. My dress cut very close to the edge (which isn't a problem with paper), but with fabric, it sometimes cut off the bottom of the dress entirely, or gave me torn edges (since the fibers in the fabric can stretch, paper can't stretch!) Here is an example of a dress that was torn at the bottom, so i had to cut with my own sizzors the bottom to make it clean and smooth.

SO- for your project cut 6x6 pieces of fabric. I have found that even if the fabric is big enough for the object being cut, you want atleast a 1/2 inch extra on all edges because there needs to be a fair amount of fabric sticking to the mat so that it won't pull away from the mat. The cutting action wants to pull the fabric off the mat, and if there's not enough fabric holding it down, it will easily come up. So I would suggest to have atleast a half inch extra on all edges. For this project a 6x6 inch square will be plenty.

After you get your 8 dresses cut out you can finally start thinking about ironing them down. The only reason you wouldn't want to iron them down now is if you wanted to add shoes. I am still debating shoes, so I haven't ironed mien down. I need to sleep on it :) I am also going to do aprons on each dress.

I love it! I'm so excited to iron it all down. What do you think? Should I do shoes? I'm going to embroider the face, and cut and iron on an apron on each. What do you think for shoes?

Part 2: Doll Hair!

2011-01-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

Before you do anything, DON'T IRON any pieces together YET! I will explain later.

Now we are going to make doll hair. I chose 4 different colors: Dark brown, light brown, yellow and red.

First I cut out my different hair styles with PAPER to see (like I did with the bodies) how much fabric I would need. I figured out each one ranged between 4-5 inches tall, so I cut out strips 5 inches wide.

For my project I only need 2 of each color (8 total) so I cut each strip about 12 inches long. I did this to be safe, but after I cut them out I had 1-3 inches left over on each strip. SO if you don't want to waste fabric, then measure exactly how much fabric the hair will use. Otherwise 11 inches will be good enough.

This is an example of how much the hair took up on the paper, giving me an example of how much fabric I would need. But as you can see each style of hair is a different size, so that's why I allowed extra, just in case.

once I cut out my 5x12 inch pieces I ironed the HEATnBOND ULTRA HOLD to the backs just as the directions explain.

take off the paper backing and put the rubber side facing down on the mat, just like you did with the bodies.

pre-set 2 hair styles per color, and voila! You will have 8 of the cutest little haircuts you ever did see.

THIS IS WHY I DON'T WANT YOU TO IRON THEM DOWN YET. As you can see- some of the hair goes behind the body, some of the hair will need to go over a dress. Once it's ironed down it's stuck! So- just cut out your pieces and resist the temptation to iron them down.

I love the red color and style!

Don't you wish you had my camera? Sorry for the lousy pictures. Ok- next step- dresses!!!!!!

Part 1: Doll Quilt

2011-01-18T02:32:00.000-08:00

This is a tutorial on how to make a doll quilt with your cricut:

Before you do anything, decide what size you want your dolls to be. I wanted mine to be as big as they could but still produce a good quantity. I discovered that on 24x12 mat, I could fit 4 dolls. First I cut 2 out on paper to see how far away they cut from each other and to see how far away the image started from the edge of the mat.

This way I could determine how much fabric I needed and how much could fit in the space I had. After doing this, I figured out I could fit 4 dolls that were 8 inches tall on the 24x12 mat on a piece of fabric that was 24 x 8 1/2 inches. If you don't have a 24x12 mat, you can do 2 on a 12x12 mat.

I took my skin colored fabric, ironed it, and then ironed on the HeatnBond ULTRA HOLD. Follow the directions on the label.

After I ironed my fabric onto the ULTRA HOLD HeatnBond, I cut out the fabric to the sizes I needed. 24 x 8 1/2 inches in size. If you get a piece of fabric that is 45 wide you only need to buy 19 inches. (19 so you can have 2 extra inches for shrinkage, you will want your final product to be 17 inches long.

After cutting my pieces I was left with (2) 24 x 8 1/2 fabric pieces.

Then I removed the paper and placed the rubber side of the fabric face down on the mat. Press firmly. I used I brand-new mat for this project as well as a new deep cut blade. These are the settings I used:

Blade: 4
Speed: low/ minimum
Pressure: max
size: 8 inches
(if you have an expression- quantity 4)

I also used the blackout feature so that the eyes and mouth wouldn't be cut out as I plan on embroidering them on.

Then I peeled off each doll. This is the exciting part!

This is what you should see on your mat when you're done peeling them off.

After doing the whole process twice- you will have 8 cut out dolls!!! YAY!

Stay tuned for the next tutorial!

Christmas Gift for Megan

2010-12-31T23:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I had Megan's fam for Christmas this year, I painted and distressed this frame for them, with the option of either pic. Too hard for me to decide which.

Then with my magical cricut, I cut out these baby images and made these frames. LOVE THEM. Can't wait to make them for my nursery and anybody else's in their colors. Megan's colors are red, white and black for her nursery.

Cards for the kids and cute story

2010-10-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

SO- after I left Lizzie's house awhile ago- Kate had drawn me a picture that i forgot to bring home. So she sent it to me in the mail. SO cute. Anyway- so I thought I would write her back, since she was thoughtful enough to "write" me. So I made her a cricut card of me and her, (not posted, didn't take a pic) of realistic outfits we really would wear, along with hair, holding hands. WELL, turned out she loved it, and so she immediately "wrote" me again, so I would send her another card. When Tanner saw the card....:) haha- ofcourse he was inspired to write me a card in hopes that he would also get one in return, apparently the cards were out in the mail within 2 hours of getting my card. haha. So I got them this last weekend, and I made them these cards- I loved making them, and I have a feeling I will be getting another card from them shortly :) Rebecca, if you're reading this- I will do this for your girls too if they write me.

A funny note, I talked to kate on the phone and she said "all the clothes are ripped off", and I'm like- why? and she said- "I don't know". So I get on the phone with Lizzie, and she said Tanner and his friend ripped off all the clothes, hair, and asserories, and I think they might have ripped off the arms too, not sure about that though-when Kate wasn't around. It made Kate sad ofcourse, but it still made me laugh imagiing them thinking it woudl be so funny to take it all apart. Anyway- I'm thinking about bringing the cricut to the family reunion.

practice dress

2010-09-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, I REALLY wanted to write- "look at the dress I made" but- I'm too prideful to let anyone think I might truly wear this in public. One of my friends said she glanced at my blog the other day an thought I was serious about my silly hair due because she hadn't read the actual blog. But wouldn't have that been really funny?

Ok, so- this is a dress I want to make out of a different fabric. My mom did this with all our prom dresses, made a practice one to adjust everything, then cut into the real deal. I didn't want to mess up on this dress, so I decided to do a practice dress. It really cracks me up how the baskets of flowers ended up being perfectly centered without me meaning to do that. Even the collar part of the dress matches with the basket of flowers on the main dress- haha. And please ignore my lovely hair due in this pic. That back zipper part needs to be tucked in- I didn't hem anything.

Ok- I'm not trying to show off my boobs, BUT because this fabric is so busy, it's hard to tell that the collar is SOOOOOOOo awesome! The best part!

So I'm going to make the real thing in an olive green fake suede type fabric. And then I'm going to spray paint shoes to match in the same color. I HOPE the real deal turns out as good. I have to line the real deal, and I am soooooo not a pro at that. I'm so tempted to just turn over all the seams and not do lining, but then it will look ..... homemade. So I must have patience and endure the lining. I'm really excited about this pattern. The only thing though- is if I want it fitted I should probably have a LITTLE stretch to the fabric, and mine only has the tiniest stretch, sooooooo we'll see.

made a shirt!

2010-09-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

So, from piperline (sister company of banana republic, gap etc) are these new shirts, that are the baggier look, with bigger armpits. I really like them. But they are...... 61 dollars

195 dollars

77 dollars

48 dollars

128 dollars

99 dolars

So I decided to make my own, for 4 dollars

I made this shirt today. It took me 3 hours, that included cutting out the pattern pieces, cutting out the fabric and sewing the shirt. SO- that means now that I KNOW how to make it, and have the pattern cut out- I'll be able to make it in probably an hour. It has 3 different top options. There's the flower, or plan, or a flouncy top, where it's hanging. It's a baggier style of a shirt- it's supposed to be baggy- does it look like it's supposed to be that way? Or does it look like I'm wearing a shirt that's too big? It's perfect for leggings. And it's comfortable. I want to learn how to make one that is more fitted in the armpits- but I haven't found a pattern yet. The thing that's nice about this pattern is the neck band is unfinished, it's kind of flouncy too, so it doesn't have to be PERFECT. I would like to try a finished band though and see how that turns out. Mike comes home- I'm all excited, I pose for him, and he gets this big smile/surprised look, "wow". "Do you like it?" He stares at the flower, points to it "what is this?" "a flower!" "oh. Why?" "BECAUSE THAT'S IN STYLE RIGHT NOW!" "Oh. Well, was it nice to sew?" "yeah it was". "That's good, I'm glad you could do that". Oh Mikey, he will get used to it though- he's already getting used to the headbands.

I want to find some striped fabric, and try some different neck lines, and pocket possibilities. Anyway- it was nice to sew, I haven't for awhile.

Head Bands

2010-09-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

I've already posted this on my other blog- I just wanted it in my creative space, cause eventually I will make a book and I want them in it. These are 3 headbands I made- thanks to my sister Danielle and Lizzie. Lizzie made headbands for her baby, so I learned how to do the flower from her, (but I ended up doing them a little different) and Danielle thought of making headbands for us, like the ones you see in the stores. SO- I went to Claire's, purchased 6 different styles, and bought plush suede fabric from Joann's, a pack of feathers for 1.99, and a pack of headbands from walmart for 2.45, and I made these awesome headbands that I love! (and then returned the claire's headbands) I wore this to church- I got so many compliments on my hair and the flower. It made me feel so good, because I can't do alot with my hair, and it's getting longer, and curlier! But not long enough to put it back or clip it back, so- it's so nice to have something to jazz up my hair. I LOVE IT! So many young women complimented it and asked to learn how to make it. I want to teach them how for mutual some time. k- sorry this is really braggy, but I'm really excited.

The green one- I love this one. I should make a green dress with a pink belt and wear pink shoes the color of the feather- that would be cool.

And, I didn't take a pic with the fuchsia one, cause you get the picture- but aren't they so fun? I have way more fabric and feathers, and headbands- so I'm going to make more, I just haven't gotten around to it. I'm really excited to make more though. I just have to figure out a way to store them, I don't want the flowers getting smashed.

Baby Shower Stuff

2010-09-02T00:03:00.001-07:00

This is the Baby Shower Banner I made for Megan's Baby shower.

This is her baby shower invite: I made them all a tiny different, but same idea

I ended up having to buy some regular invites because I ran out of the rain cloud paper- Megan ended up invited ALOT of people! I'm really excited, it should be a really big turn out.

This was the original card I made for the invite- but we all agreed it alluded to the idea of the baby already being born, so I didn't do it- but I thought it was so cute I wanted to share!

I'm really excited for the shower, it's next Wednesday, and I've never thrown one before- so hopefully I do I good job. If you have any great baby shower ideas for games let me know. We are going to do the diaper game, but I also wanted a shorter game to play before that.

I'm in LOVE! I'm in LOVE and I DON'T care who knows it!!!!!!!!

2010-06-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

Have to once again, give a shout out to "All Things Thrifty" (link on my other blog) and Danielle, for teaching me how to glaze!!!!!!!!!!!!! And giving me the great idea to do this! I can't tell you enough how much I love my mirror and table!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't have the greatest camera, so if you can't tell the mirror is green, kind of a yellowy green. Learn how to glaze on "All things thrifty" http://www.allthingsthrifty.com

Mirror and side table

2010-06-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ok- so the following was inspired by All things thrifty http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/ and then my sister Danielle (specific post on her project) http://danielleandclayton.blogspot.com/2010/06/projects-food-projects-food-yummmmmmmmm.html

I needed a new mirror, and the end table- well, I just love furniture....! So with the help of All things thrifty and Danielle, I got KILZ2 primer, they suggested spray paint, but I have an apartment, so I painted it on. I didn't even have to sand paper ANYTHING! It was great! I just washed the furniture before I painted it.

Don't you LOVE the mirror?!!!!!! I just don't know what colors to do yet. I will either do the green that is my hutch, the blue that is on my frames, or introduce red! I have red flowers in my pillows, and I thought if I did red, it would make them pop. Mike is weary of the red, but he's weary of everything I do before I do it, and then he likes it in the end.

I'm also debating how I want to use them, the mirror over the table? (not ontop, just above it) so they go together- or- mirror by itself and table in between my blue chairs......

I've been needing a mirror, Nate and Brooke's cat accidentally broke our mirror, knocked it over. It was kind of funny, there were paw prints all over the area, just like Cinderella when the cat leaves his prints all over the floor- ok but the broken mirror part was really sad- because Mike and I made that mirror together....... :( So- Brooke bought us a beautiful mirror, a really nice one. But it wouldn't fit in this apartment, because there's a heater switch where we would put the mirror...... the mirror was REALLY BIG. SO- with my returning talent capabilities, I returned it, without a receipt- which is a shame, because like I said, it was a really nice mirror. And I have been on the search for a new mirror ever since. couldn't find one. Then to my lovely surprise, there was a garage sale on our street, with this beauty.

"How much?"

10.

Hmmmmm.... I look around for other things that I want- I saw a GREAT cookie sheet, GREAT condition! And I said- I'll get it if you throw this in too.

ok.

COOL!

Then I saw this table- how much?

5.

ok.

The great thing is I could use the left over money from returning the mirror to buy supplies, guilt free. And all that supplies adds up quickly. The glaze alone was 15! yowsa! Plus primer, plastic sheet, etc. The good thing is- I can reuse all this stuff for other projects, the glaze will last me for many projects to come, same with primer, and the nicer brush I bought. It all worked out really perfectly.

ONE thing I did differently this time around- instead of using painters plastic, I got some vinyl from walmart for 99 cents a yard, and layed that down. It was cheaper, and heavier, and way more sturdy, stayed in place, didn't move when I walked on it. So I could lay it on my carpet without worrying about paint seeping through or ripping. I though it was pretty clever!

So- any opinions on colors? or where I should put them- I guess I probably should have put a picture of my room up....... right now it's covered in sheets..... maybe later I will take a pic to give you an idea.

2 more dresses for Kate

2010-04-24T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is the fabric that I wanted to do the chairs in- and Mike said was baby fabric, AND- the UGLIEST fabric he had ever seen in his ENTIRE life- a little dramatic? I think it's really cute, I don't know what I'll use the rest for, maybe our baby some day.

I need to learn how to do this for babies, so I can make some for Megan's baby.

A dress for Kate

2010-04-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

OK- so if you look on Lizzie's blog- she made some dresses for Kate, and I had never done shirring, so I thought I would try it. For your info- I did the scrunchy part! I didn't buy the fabric that way- that is what shirring is. Uhhhhhh. OK- the actual shirring part isn't hard- the part that is hard is determining how much the fabric is going to shrink, therefore determining how much fabric to use in the first place. Mine didn't turn out the same size as Lizzie's- I started with 42 inches- and after shirring it went to 22 inches. SO- I decided to use less fabric, I then started with 38, and then after shirring it, it was still 22 inches!!!!!!!!!!! AHhhhhhhhh. I messed with everything, tension, bobbin, stitch length, everything- Lizzie said she did the same thing- only she tried doing 36 inches- and hers still ended up being the same size as when she started out with 42! SO- the shirring part isn't hard- it's just exhausting and frustrating figuring out how to get it to the size you want. So hopefully this fits Kate! Or I'll be really sad. And this was all with fabric I had laying around! Nice to use up that random fabric.

What Danielle was talking about- poka-dots

2010-04-18T16:46:00.001-07:00

OK- alot of people read Danielle's comment about the poka dots and asked what the heck she was talking about- I originally showed her a pic with poka dot fab-
But I didn't do it- because I had the tiny red piping laying around- which is more like a burgundy actually- and I thought maybe it'd look good since it was so tiny- but I kind of think the opposite now- maybe the tiny is not enough- and maybe I should have done this poka dot with regular piping- I haven't done any other pillows so it's not too late to change- opinions?

pillows so far-

2010-04-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here is my 12x16 corner pillows

But I didn't know what to do for piping. I thought maybe red to make the red in the flowers pop- so I did a tiny red piping. I don't know if it's the tiny piping, but the pillow ended up being kind of weird shaped, plumpy, but there's a smooth brand new pillow form inside? I don't get it. I wasn't sure about the red- so I have this green laying around, to give you an idea of what it would look like- and if I did the green, I would do a regular size piping, not the tiny.

WHAT TO DO?!!!!

Mike (I am shocked by this) suggested that we could paint our table and coffee tables red, to match the red piping, and make the red in the flowers stick out- we would try to mimic pottery barn, with a black stain over it, or whatever makes the black grains show through- our frames are the light blue- green hutch- green curtains- all black furniture and mirror..... I don't know- what do you think?

Done!

2010-04-06T16:03:00.001-07:00

I love it. I still need to do the back pillow for the other chair and accent pillow, but then I'll be done. The back pillow isn't as puffy and full as I would like it to be, so eventually I will buy some batting and just wrap it around the form, to give it more puff. Anyway- I love it- and I'm so glad I changed it. Now- I need to decide how I want to do my couch pillows, I have enough fabric to re-do my couch pillows- but...another day. It's been nice to have something to occupy my time. I wish I could take a pic with my other couches and make it look nice, but there isn't enough room down here in this basement- so- this is the best I can do. I've had alot of people ask me how to do piping, and I took the pics along the way and was going to do a tutorial- but it would be alot of work to post all the pics, and explain- so just youtube how to do it- I'm sure there are a million videos on how to do piping, and just trust me- it's not hard. It's one of those things you'll say "oh my gosh- I can't believe I was so afraid to do this!"

Chair so far:

2010-03-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd add a printed piping to give it a little something since I'm just doing plain. Plus I figured if I did white piping, it would get dirty, and I wouldn't be able to wash it like I can with my slip covers.

I was almost finished with the cushion and ready to do the back pillow when ofcourse what happens? My sewing machine's timing is off- the needing is running into the metal bobbin holder instead of where it is supposed to go- uhhhhhhhh- so now I have to spend money to get it fixed, AND wait days to get it back while I stare at this chair, knowing the cushion was minutes away from being done. Uhhhhhh. Oh well, i figure I can paint the legs, and take apart the other chair while I wait. So frustrating.

chair reuphostering- what colors?

2010-03-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

I have cream couches, with the green big pillows. I will have 2 chairs to reupholster- what color?
I think this one would go nicely with the green- and I have frames in this color also-

these are 2 different yellows-

Next question- should I cover the chairs and big pillows on couch one neutral color of blue- and then do accent pillows in a print? that I can switch out? OR- Do a blue print on the chairs and match my big pillows with it? with mustard accent pillows? But then I'd be committed to those prints for awhile. OR- I can just do the chairs in the light blue that would match with what I already have- so confused! I'd love to do the chairs in mustard but Mike says absolutely not- it would be "barfalicious". But he said he could do mustard accent pillows in the corners- Help?

Applique Quilt- Finally DONE!

2010-03-17T20:49:00.001-07:00

The back is so soft and cuddly
I told Mike if he ever needed to wipe his hands on something, or pick some "you know whats" from his nose- it is NOT TO BE WIPED ON THIS QUILT!

Christmas Sign

2010-03-09T23:22:00.000-08:00

So I made I sign with my cricut. The letters are from the sticky vinyl I cut out with my cricut- pretty cool! I used crackle paint with the sign to make it old looking.

Easter cards with cricut, Class cards, and birthday banner

2010-03-03T15:22:00.000-08:00

These are some Easter cards I made with the cricut:

These are some birthday banners I made with the cricut, one for boys one for girls:

These are the cards I made in class- I'll start out with what they look like closed, and then what they look like opened, and then the cards I made on my own at home:

So this is what I made at home:

Ok, this is the next one I made in class:

So this is what I made at home:

Ok, so this is another one I made in class : (I think all the ones in class are so ugly)
So then you pull on the ribbons, and gradually you see these other papers:

I haven't made any of that one at home yet.
And these are just more cards I made at home:

Aliese's Birthday present

2010-02-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

I made these cards for Aliese my niece (12) for her birthday. She loves stationary, and likes to write letters, so with my new cricut, I thought it'd be fun. I love the castle one.

And this one I gave to her as her birthday card- all cut out with the cricut

I LOVE MY CRICUT!

Mike's Hat, Flower Quilt, desk front view, and cards!

2010-02-01T01:10:00.000-08:00

So- Mike has been watching war movies and survival movies/shows etc. and he decided he wanted a hat with a flag on it, his blood type and name. He bought a flag patch, owned his name tag from a bullet proof vest he had to wear on his mission, and bought the hat, I sewed the patch and name on, and then I embroidered with my machine his blood type, he LOVES it. Why this man doesn't join the military is a mystery to me, but I guess that's his deal.

I had requests for a front view of my desk- problem is a few feet away from it is a wall of windows, so I couldn't back up enough to take the pic- so this was the best I could do.

I screwed the tins on the desk. Question: Do you think it makes my desk look tacky now? I wanted the desk to look nice, so I can have it out in the open but still look somewhat nice, now I am worried the tins make it look cheap or crappy.... comments?

Card I made for my mom- LOVE this paper, and I have many more to come, but I don't want to display them until these people have received their cards :)

Inside of card- I was able to cut out that hat with my cricut- I LOVE my cricut The BLESSED flower quilt. So this is as Amy (my neighbor, no this is not Mike typing, he did not make this quilt :) this is the quilt that Amy and I have jokingly referred to our BFF quilt, because we were both at joanns- found an adorable quilt book, fell INLOVE with this one, and decided to make it, and try to find the exact fabrics, so it could look JUST like the picture. And I have to tell you- it pretty much looks the same! I should take a picture of the quilt book pic. Anyway- we started it, got half the flowers done, and then I got cancer, and moved. SO- Amy would visit me at chemo, show me the update on her quilt, and then we'd compare eachother's and ofcourse Amy, being who she is, would ask a nurse, "so, who's do you like better?" SO- during chemo treatments, I would work on it 2 days before my next treatment when I was feeling better, so the rest of the quilt was gradually made through my entire cancer. Then, this week I finally finished the rest- Now I have to quilt it. I don't know if I want to do it by hand or machine, I love the look of hand quilting, but hate doing it! We'll see. I absolutely LOVE this quilt, and never want to do applique again :) But ofcourse I have already been brainstorming some other applique quilt ideas, and have told Mike to not let me do any more applique, it is so tedious- but I love the look. And now for the cards- The Winegardners- Nate, Brooke, Dave and Marie, bought me some "cancer is over gifts" They got me some new paper, and money to buy stamps, and some cricut cartridges and a card making class, I haven't been to the class yet- but anyway- with my money, I bought this quote, butterfly stamps, and bird stamps, so anyway- here are some cards I made.

Megan's quilt

2010-01-20T23:52:00.000-08:00

My sister Megan has always loved a similar quilt that I made for myself. She says she wants to steal it every time she visits. SO- I decided to make her one for her birthday. I took my quilt to the fabric store and tried to find the exact same fabrics, I managed to find 6, and the rest I had to just find similar ones. I usually don't do presents this large, but being that this year has been a stressful one for the whole family, I wanted to do something a little special this year. She was very surprised and she loved it, that made the whole thing worth it.

If you're wondering, there are 25 different colors. Each square measures about 2 1/2 inches.

snake for tanner and kate

2010-01-01T18:52:00.001-08:00

I had the Lamms for Christmas this year, and I tried to think of something I could make with something I already had since we're low on the mula. And then I thought of it: I could make them snakes. I already had teh stuffing and this crazy snake fabric I got on clearance a long time ago. When I was little I asked my mom to make me a snake, I just loved the idea of having a huge long snake, so i thought maybe they would too. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures- so this is all I have from Lizzie's camera. Maybe I should I have her take a picture of the snake for me, it is probably 8 feet long, with eyes and a tongue, and then I made Kate a momma and baby snake- probably 1 foot long, and then half a foot long. They love stuffed animals (especially Kate) - so they loved them!

Cricut machine

2009-12-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well, after having Brooke's sister come over with her Cricut machine, it got me thinking..... -it can do so many amazing things, I was completely sold after using her machine, but I will get to that later- so they are originally 200 something- well, before Christmas Eve, they were on sale for 99 dollars, plus I have a business (Etsy) card- which gives you 10% off your total purchase at Joann's, (so if you have any kind of business, get one!) So that would bring down the Cricut to $90. So how could I get the mula? Well, I made some doll clothes, with matching outfits, made 50 off of that, then I got a surprise gift card to joanns from a sweet angel that took care of the rest- so off to Joann's I went- and I GOT---------- DRUM ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL- A CRICUT!!!!!!!! I don't even know where to begin- It is so amazing, I get anxiety trying to figure out how to explain to others how amazing it it, I just want to bear my testimony that it's perfect, and wish that everyone would just trust me and get one, because the list of how amazing it is, is SO LONG. Let me tell you a LITTLE bit about it. It looks like a printer, but it cuts. It can cut light and heavy cardstock, paper, vinyl with sticky backing (for signs) and bigger drum roll..... FABRIC. I've already been obsessed with signs, and go to the effort of actually painting on the letters myself, I already applique quilts, and I have recently picked up card making, so you can see why this machine was meant to be in my LIFE!

Each machine comes with 1 cartrigde. A cartridge comes with oh.... maybe 100 characters. There are "letter" cartridges, and "graphic" cartdiges, and some with a little of both. The cartridges are spendy- 90 dollars, but go on sale at Joanns for 40, plus, with my 10% coupon- that brings it down to 36. The machine comes with a letter cartridge, and a few symbols- flowers, hearts, stars.

WELL, I got some Christmas money, so I got the paper doll cartridge. You might wonder why I got the paper doll cartridge, since I dont' play with paper dolls.- well- Each paper doll (which is about 50)- comes with what is called "accesories" - so- the "cave girl" comes with dinosoars adn mountains- the "princess" comes with a castle- etc. So- really- in this cartridge you get alot more than what you ask for. Basically- you name it- this cartridge has it, graphic-wise. See, usually- if you want a snow man, you have to get the "winter cartridge" but the santa clause paper doll, has a snow man, etc. So really, if you get this cartridge, the only reason you'd need to get another is if you wanted a different style of lettering, but as far as graphics, this one covers anything you would want. Plus- the paper dolls! You can print them with or without tabs. It is REALLY COOL. So- my sister Lizzie is thinking about getting one, and since you can't look inside the pamphlet until you buy it- I took a picture of - I think every page- or almost every page- so you could see the accesories. so- here they are- OH YEAH- the cricut can cut as small as 1 inch- to as large as 5 1/2 inches. I did the letters and green flowers with my cricut: This is me testing it on fabric I don't care about- It cut out that heart perfectly, and then I adhered it to another fabric. Worked great. (that is the only way you can cut out fabric- is with a wonder under some adhesive backing to make it stiff, which is what you want anyway for applique

skeleton, paper doll, and wig-

this is what it looked like after I peeled it off the mat-

This is an example of how the paper dolls work- it will cut out all these individual things to make up a paper doll. Only there are 50 different kinds!
Different positions of face, and face expressions:

borders:

As you can see the paper doll is on the left, and the accessories are on the right:

CARDS

2009-12-31T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well, on my chemo days I got sick of sewing, and Brooke's sister showed up just in time with the idea of making Christmas cards- So i got on a real card making kick- I'm not a card maker- well- my family knows I am a card maker in the fact that I make silly cards, but I'm not a cute card maker- so this was kind of strange for me- because I probably made over 30 cards. Before I knew it I was purchasing ink and rubber stamps- ( just 1 dollar at Joann's and Craft warehouse). THEN- I drew Marie's name (mom in law) for Christmas- not knowing what to get her for Christmas with so little money, Brooke gave me the great idea of making her cards! So these are some the cards I made her- they are birthday, "just a note" and "best friends" themed. Now I don't have a "nice" camera like all you richies out there :)- so imagine a nice fuzzy blur in the back round, with a magazine look to it :) By the way- alot of people are into chalk, for scrap booking and card stamping- WELL- I know I'm new at this- but I just used colored pencils and lightly colored it in- and I think it looks exactly the same- and it's alot less messy. Not to mention- cheaper.

I love the owl birthday ones- once again people- 1 dollar for these stamps!

These are the Christmas cards I made. I was able to do the "Let it Snow" with Brooke's sister's Cricut machine. So cool.

These are my old fashion looking ones- these were Mike's favorite:

And the elf ones- love them!- and all the sayings on the elf ones, I just made up and printed off the computer- this was before I got stamps-

I don't know why, but the elf ones remind me of my mom, I feel like she would really like them

Then for Christmas Brooke gave me this box to keep all my cards, in, and I got some different colored envelopes to make it more fun- and I decorated it. Having things decorated, even though it's just storage, makes it so much more fun:

Rebecca's curtains

2009-10-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Arnold women pitched in to buy the fabric for Rebecca, and I made the curtains. The top still needs to be turned down, it won't have that white on the top.

American Girl doll Disney Dresses

2009-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

So- these are the dresses I made on my new Kit doll that I got for an early birthday present. 60 bucks on craigslist. I will not do them for Etsy, but they are fun to do for a gift for my neices.

Applique quilt

2009-09-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

The quilt is obviously crooked from the printer- it's not supposed to be crooked.

Amy and I are are working on this adorable quilt. This is a picture of the picture of the final outcome! We are trying to copy the fabrics because we like the quilt just how it is. There's a few fabrics we couldn't find so we improvised. We just do a block at a time when we feel like it. I'm really excited about it- it's applique and I have never done applique.

Sign

2009-09-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

I made this sign awhile ago but never posted it. I made it for Rebecca. I asked her what she wanted it to say and she wanted it like the one I already have, but antiqued. This is my first time antiquing- I know the pics aren't great- but the close up gives you an idea. I also like how big it is- I want one that big- mine is much smaller.

I made a pillow!

2009-09-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

SO- this is my first time doing multiple letters. I had to eyeball each word- I couldn't figure out how to have it do the whole thing continuously. So i had to start over with each word. I'm sure there's a way to do it better- but I don't know how yet. I was thinking about giving this to Anna.

Embroidery letters on machine

2009-09-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

The first one, I was going to put "Amy is cool!" BUT- I ran out of bobbin, and I didn't want to refill it.

The Innitials- first I did the black, and white bobbin,- which didn't fill out the letters enough- so I tried it with the same color bobbin and spool, and then it filled out like I wanted it to.

EMBROIDERY ON THE MACHINE!!!!

2009-09-03T23:26:00.001-07:00

Uhhhhh, so exciting! This was something I told myself "not until babies, or out of college" But now with my free time, I thought I would read through the manuals. Can i add that my sisters read cookbooks how I read sewing manuals. I read it like chapter book. Anyway- I cuoldn't resist I had try it. So ofcourse the first time I mess up- I accidently have 2 rows of grass, different colors. This is because I messed up- but didn't want to start over, so I just kept teh second row in the picture, even though it doesn't belong there- but the REAL picture covered most of it up anyway. Anyway- Here is my very first embroidery on the machine- I'm so excited for this- I am goign to do quilts, baby clothes, stockings, napkins and aprons- I'm so excited!!!!!

Steph's Napkins

2009-04-16T00:25:00.000-07:00

This is what I gave Steph for her wedding present. I bought one of her plates on her registry to match the thread color, and then just returned the plate afterward. So the thread edge of the napkins matches the actual color of the plate. And then the other stripe- I thought would go too, plus she wants to collect fiesta ware, which is all different colors, so I thought both would go well with that too.

Stockings

2009-04-16T00:01:00.001-07:00

I am doing a trade with someone, and my part is making stockings- i really like the fabric she picked, I think she did a really good job. Anyway- I had never made stockings before, so it was fun, and now ofcourse, I want to make my own! I made 3, and I have 2 more to go for her. And I also made some curtains for her, a kind I had never made either. They go on a rod, and have ... hmm hard to explain, but once she puts them up, I'm going to take a picture of them. It has been a real blessing to trade.

Finally DONE

2009-03-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

This has been laying around for a long time, and I finally broke down and put the binding on it. UHHHHHH FINALLY DONE. CHECK OFF THE LIST. I still need to wash and dry it so it can shrink up and get wrinkly but I wanted to take a picture anyway. I hand quilted it, and picked fabrics that looked older, I wanted it to look like it came from scraps. Anyway- today I get the binding, and I'm debating between two different colors, and I'm leaning towards the brown, and the lady at the counter says "oh, just go ahead and pick the brown, (like it was a bad choice) it's more you." "what is that supposed to mean?" "well you know, you like weird stuff." hmmm,,, I happen to like my style, plus she complimented my quilt, so I'm thinking, "you like my quilt, and I made that! I put the colors together!" Those Joann ladies...uhhhhh....

My dresses!

2009-03-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

So, this was a dress that I finished awhile ago, but haven't worn it yet, because it's been rainy and gross outside, but I've decided to just go ahead and wear it. This was a more spendy dress. it was originally 14.99 a yard, clearanced to 8 dollars a yard, 50% off- 4 dollars a yard- and i got 2 1/2 yards of it, so it was 10 dollars, but my mom paid for it when she came to visit, so it was free! I'm really excited to wear it. Kind of has a hippy vibe to it. And the fabric is stretchy if you can't tell. I already had a pattern for it. So that was nice.

I love this dress: total cost: $2.62. I've loved this fabric ever since I saw it at 9.99 a yard. Then it went clearanced 5.00, then 50% off clearance, 2.50, then 30% of total purchase. But that's not why I love it. I love the style. I've been wanting a dress like this for a long time, but most of them that are affordable, are too short. I am so inlove with this dress and I can't wait to wear it to church. It doesn't have a zipper because the neck is big enough to fit over, without the belt, it's just kind of a loose bag on me. I am so pleased with this dress. I actually need to hem the sleeves, but I just couldn't wait to take a picture. Also, this was originally a shirt pattern I had, and i just made it longer, because I didn't want to buy a pattern. I'd had the fabric for quite some time, but couldn't figure out what to make out of it, originally I was going to make a top, but I'm so glad I didn't, and made this dress. I love it.

Made a skirt!

2009-01-22T01:13:00.000-08:00

The fabric for this skirt was originally 10 dollars a yard, clearanced to 5 dollars, then clearance went 50% off, then an addition 10% off total purchase, so the fabric cost me $2.25. Then I got some lining for 1 dollar, so realy 90 cents. The zipper was the spendy item- somewhere arounf 3- but with a 50% coupon a dollar something. Pretty cool. I made up the flouncy part- the pattern for it I mean, obviously I didn't make up the idea! I already had the pattern for the skirt, but I wanted to do something a little more fun than plain Jane, - I love this skirt. And it's funny because teh fabric was one of those kinds where at first glance you think, "euw that's ugly," but then you give it a second look in that stack of fabrics and invision the future of a cute skirt, and suddenly- you find a treaure in a pile of ugly fabrics. And the skirt totally matches my glasses! Pink and black.

This picture reminds me of mom, she always does back views. And it always looks so funny looking at a picture of someone facing a wall, like they're being punished.

Doll for Ruby

2008-11-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

So I have Jake's family for Christmas, so I am making Ruby a doll. This is what I've made so far. I think she's done. If I do anything else- I'll add some tights or shoes or something, maybe a bow in the hair, otherwise you've got the idea of it. This one- I don't know if you can tell in the pictures but the face has more definition. She has a tiny nose, and cheekbones, and eye indentions. Amy Heid. taught me last night. And then- the skirt- I used the scraps from my quilt to do that, I didn't even have to piece it. When I straighted out the sides of my quilt, I ended up with 1-2 inch strips and i thought it could come in handy later for dolls- I'm so glad I saved them.

Burp rags for baby shower

2008-10-15T11:39:00.001-07:00

A girl in the primary had a baby boy, so I made some burp rags, double sided, one side print, one side solid. It was fun.

Anna's Doll

2008-10-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

She does have another arm it's just covered by the hair.

This is the doll I made for Anna. I wanted it to be more trendy. Giving the dolls to the girls was so much fun! They loved them. And Aliese said, "You made the dolls just like us, I like old fashioned, Anna likes rocker, and Gracie's a baby." It was so fun. Can't wait to make more for the other kids.

New Sewing table and end table

2008-09-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

I got a REALLY awesome purchase. My in-laws gave Mike and me a cash gift for our anniversary. 100 each. YOWSA. Perfect timing- our Wal-Mart is closing out their fabric department- so of course what does Wal-Mart do? DISCOUNT!!!!!! AMAZING deals- I got yards and yards of ribbon- CUTE ribbon- for like 12 cents a yard! I got fabric for a quilt (fabric that I had previously seen, wanted, but wouldn’t buy because of the price); I got fabric for some aprons, some presents, and for doll clothes. SO EXCITING- I spent I think almost 40 dollars total and got a haul. THEN, I got a closet hanger extender, much needed- so happy. THEN- I went to value village and thought I’d look around- what do I find? An amazing desk- L-shaped, with laminated type counter tops. Perfect for a sewing table. I have a sewing table- but it’s HUGE, HEAVY, and need I say HUGE again? It’s just way too big- takes up way too much space- so this is just wonderful- so we got rid of the old- and moved in the new- it was 25 dollars- but I had a coupon that brought it down to 20. So it was a spendy littler bugger, but worth it. THEN- I went to the dollar store and I bought packs of plastic cups and custard cups- got some wood from the Heidimans-(they had extra) and I screwed them onto a piece of wood- to hold all my stuff- My other desk had drawers- this one doesn’t- so I had to find a place for all my junk, like glue sticks, crayons, markers, screws, nails etc. So I screwed them on- and labeled them and I just LOVE it. So cute and organized. I just wish I knew I were going to be doing this- because then I would have coordinated my boards that I JUST did, so they don’t match- anyway- it’s totally awesome- but I haven’t even gotten to sew on it yet because I’ve been working so MUCH! I have been working so much, and whenever they need someone to cover extra hours they call me- so I haven’t had any free time. I would like to have the desk out in the family room, and I could just put the smaller couch in the sewing room where the desk is- but Mike said it would look ugly. I just like being out in the family room- I feel a part of the world- there’s sun shining through the window- the sewing room is just gloomy.

While I was there I also spotted a really cute end table. We’ve been needing one for the family room- has really cool carvings and shape- so I’m going to paint it the green of the hutch or the blue in the frames- can’t decide which- Amy Heidiman pointed out though that all my furniture is black- but I don’t know. Anyway- I’m so excited to paint it- except now I have the anxiety of “gotta brush up on my Spanish”.

My apron

2008-09-12T01:02:00.000-07:00

So- Rebecca made me an apron for my wedding, and I LOVE it, and I wear it everyday when i eat, (because I'm so clumsy) and ofcourse when I cook, so it gets dirty alot- I decided I wanted more like it- I bought a pattern, and ofcourse it wasn't what i wanted so i took it back and I just copied the pattern from my sister's apron. I LOVE IT. I tried to make it look retro- hence the bright blue- I really love it. THEN- I also made a little kid apron-which I still need to put pockets and some ruffles on, (but I was too excited so I had Ahna put it on). I made a little kid one because Ahna comes over and makes cookies alot and she gets so dirty, and when Ruby my niece used to live here- she made cookies with me alot too- and she would get dirty- so I decided- I don't care if I don't have any children- I need a little kid apron! I really love this apron because it doesn't weigh on my neck- it lays nicely on my shouldders- and I don't even have to tie it in the back- it's perfect. And by the way- the fabric was 2 dollars a yard- 50% off- 1 dollar- then 30% off special employee discount so it was only 70 cents! I paid more for the piping/tape than I did for the fabric!

Dress

2008-09-12T00:56:00.000-07:00

I found the fabric for this dress in the clearance section. 4 dollars a yard- waited until the clearance went 50% off- making it 2 dollars a yard. I only needed 2 yards. Plus my employee discount 15% so I this dress only cost me $3.40. Anyway- I LOVE this dress. I really love those long summer dresses to the floor- but they're all halter tops- so I made this one- I love it.

Doll #2

2008-09-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

So originally I made this doll for Kate, but Mom though she would like more of a babyish doll. So- Lizzie you can tell me which one you think she would like more- Mom thought Aliese would like this one, Rebecca you can tell me what you think, and let me know if Gracie would like the little one, or one like this- or more of a trendy one that i plan on making for Anna. Anyway- this one has a pony tail, and her hair is REALLY soft. I don't know why this picture won't turn the right way- I've done it twice now, oh well.

I wanted to compare the sizes of the dolls and also in comparison to my hand so you could have a good idea of the sizes.
Alrighty- so those are my dolls- let me know if you think your children would like them. Remember it won't hurt my feelings if you don't think they would- I just enjoy doing it while I watch TV. love you all! Check out the post below this one also.

Dolls

2008-09-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

So these are my latest projects- dolls. Now I was thinking about giving this one to Kate- so Lizzie: should I add the ribbon around the waist, or not? I originally made the a whole other doll, but mom said she thought she'd like a more babyish doll. So anyway- here is the ribbon- which one do you think she would like better? AND- if you don't think she would like her at all- it WON'T hurt my feelings at all. I also put my hand next to her to give you an idea of how big the doll is.

I think it's really cute with the ribbon, but that makes her look more like a girl than a baby- so that's why I thought I'd ask. Like I said- it WON'T hurt my feelings at all, if you don't think she'll like her, I'd rather give her to someone else or save her for my future children, don't worry about hurting my feelings. I just enjoy making them.

Cloth Grocery bags

2008-07-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm going to admit, I'm not doing this to save the earth, so don't give me undeserved respect. With the whole fuss about "saving the earth" one bag at a time, I have been observing cloth grocery bags. They are so much better comfort wise! I hate carrying my bag of cans, almost dropping them, with a hole getting bigger and bigger. I hate plastic bags that always get holes in them; cloth bags don't stretch, or get holes, they are sturdy and strong, and have handles!!!! So- I made 5 grocery bags out of a light blue canvas material that I got from Joann's, 50 percent off of 4.00, making it 2 dollars a yard, then an employee discount of 30% off- making it, $1.40 a yard! And this was 63 wide fabric, even better! So I made 5 grocery bags the size of Winco brown bags with handles, and left enough fabric left over to make some small pillows for my couches that will coordinate perfectly with that room. I've already used them at the grocery store and at the library, I loved it!

Organizing the toys-

2008-06-26T12:50:00.001-07:00

My mom has alot of toys for her grand babies, and they are all stuffed in a closet upstairs in a guest bedroom, that is not organized. Here are some pictures of the before:

We decided it would be best to put the toys downstairs where they all end up anyway, and keep them all in one place- in an armoire. I considered a downstairs closet- but I knew that it would end up being a "play house" and would never stay clean, the armoir was the best idea. Also- even though the guest room had that nice big closet for toys- it is a guest bedroom. Who wants kids running into their room while they are napping, still sleeping, or not wanting to be interrupted! Not to mention toys left behind randomly in the room through the whole process. The toys needed to be down stairs in one destination. The other nice thing about having it downstairs is: whenever the kids got the toys out- they would stay left out because nobody wanted to go upstairs to put them away, having the armoire RIGHT THERE- will make it much more motivational to get up and put the toys away. So VIOLA:

The basket at the top holds all the barbie stuff, the garbage looking can holds all the baby/house stuff, and the rest are organized into their categories, since then my mom has labeled everything. There wasn't room enough for one more item though: dress up clothes. So my mom has since purchased (don't have a pic though) of a cute tall basket with the lid, that will also go downstairs near the armoire. Now everything has a spot, it's downstairs- nobody has to run the Olympics to go get their child a toy! And nobody knows that there are toys in those baskets or armoire.

More napkins

2008-06-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

I got this butterfly print for a dollar a yard!
The stripe one below is what I sold at the Saturday Market last time for 15 dollars.

The stripe was a dollar a yard.

the one above and below were a dollar a yard!

the one below on teh right was a dollar a yard.
the napkins below on the left side I sold one set that was 12 and one set that was 18, (one had 4 napkins, one had 6)

the one above on teh right side was a dollar a yard!

my dress

2008-06-26T12:33:00.001-07:00

I made this dress, a project I started a year ago and finally decided to finish. Notice the beautiful bra in the back round- brother.

Napkins

2008-06-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

So- I've been making napkins- super easy if you have a surger. I am going to the Saturday Market for the first time and I am going to sell them! I have made alot more but I need to take pictures, as soon as I do I'll post them. Some of them are styles that i wouldn't necessarily like- but I think would appeal to different personalities. Some are made with a rolled hem, and others are just a really narrow stitch.

ugly mis-matched frames

2008-05-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

How do you make your wall look like an adult decorated it rather than a middleschooler? My husband and I got all our mis-matched frames (wooden, stained, plastic, metal, glass- everything) and we painted them a pale blue, painted the mats white, and had wedding pictures developed in black and white. We took down everything above the couch and made a collage. WE LOVE IT. When you paint the frames- the first coat will not paint very well. It will seem as though it is not working... blotchy. Let it dry, and your second coat will stick really well, and look great. I chose the matte finish, because I have a country shabby chic look to my home, but you can obviously do whatever finish you'd like. I would suggest doing all ONE color, or each a different color, not one the same. It needs to be unified, a package. This makes it look like you bought an expensive pack of frames. Martha Stewart gave a great suggestion for hanging frames. You stencil your frames onto brown grocery bags, cut them out, and tape them on the wall, in the arrangement you want. Then tack the nails, then hang the pics, then pull off the taped papers behind. It saved me from nailing a million holes, and moving a ton of pictures. This way I only had to move paper and tape. Much easier.

ugly shelf turned cute

2008-05-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ugly shelf from value village for 2 dollars. painted it, added pink glass knobs to match my bedroom furniture. Now i have a cute accent for my bedroom that was super cheap.

This was an ugly brown cupboard/shelf, and I accidentally deleted the stupid before pic. I painted it, added the glass knob, and gave it to my mom for mother's day.

Ugly apartment curtains

2008-05-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Now what do we do about those ugly apartment curtains? Take them down, put them under your bed, and put them back up before me you move! I found some really cool fabric that actually looked really ugly by itself, but it was the same color as the green in my accent pillows, and had really cool texture, sort of a linen, silk dupioni feel. I knew it would look perfect but there wasn't enough on the bolt of fabric. I thought I'd take the cream color from my couch and make a wide cream border to make up for the missing fabric. I tried to find a cream in the same texture as the green so it would flow better. Ideally I would have a cute black rod and clips, but I couldn't take down the apartment rod, so I had to adjust my ideas to the curtain rod provided. Also ideally I wouldn't have the cream against the cream wall, but - you can't paint apartment walls, and it's only the border, so I thought I could get away with it. If you are going to do a color against the same color, I suggest only doing a border or piping or trim, nothing too large, or it will just disappear.

Slip Covers

2008-05-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

My parents were kind enough to give me their couches for free. Problem being: a little outdated and fabric worn. Slip covers from pottery barn are well over a thousand dollars. So I purchased some 60 wide fabric at $3.97 a yard. Something plain (tiny ticking, beige and cream), and I spent more money on the accent pillows. I made piping for everything- pillows and slip cover. Ticking makes everything look more professional, rather than home-made. Sewing a cover for each individual cushion helps too (in making it more professional looking). The slip covers zip on and off on each back side corner to wash. Same with cushions. As for a pattern, the best way to make it fit is to make it yourself. I looked into patterns at the store but they were big and baggy. To make a pattern I bought muslin fabric and tacked it to the couch, drawing around all the edges adding an inch for sewing seams for a snug fit.

New bedroom

2008-05-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

Here is my new bed set. I made the 2 shams, 2 pillows, duvet cover, quilt and bench. I still need to make a bed skirt.

Here is a coffee table I got for 4 dollars at a garage sale. I'd always wanted a bench at the end of my bed but they're always atleast 50 dollars. My friend Sue suggested turning it into a bench. I painted the table, put padding on the top, covered it with fabric, and staple gunned the fabric to teh bottom. Totally easy, totally cute.

Now that I have cute bedding, I needed to remodel my ugly furniture. I found this top half of a hutch at Value Village, so I painted it and fastened it to a dresser the same width. I would have loved to paint it white, BUT my walls are white, (and since I live in an apt. can't paint the walls) so I painted the hutch a color, light green to match my bedding. But first- painted it white.

Would have been totally cute just white, but it disappears with the white walls.
So, I wanted it to look as shabby chic as I could so I bought some glass knobs from ebay.I also did a nightstand. I found the lamp at value village for 99 cents, and I covered the lamp shade with my quilt fabric.
I'd love to paint the rest of my furniture, but my husband doesn't want me to. One thing that at a time. I need to clean my room, and take a picture of the whole room now.