Half Apron

I went to a bridal shower this past weekend and wanted to make something crafty for her gift. I decided to rummage through my intense fabric stash to see what I could do. And my fabric stash and I came up with this little beauty.

It was so fun to make. The original dimensions of the green/white checker fabric was 18" X 24" which gives plenty of coverage to save those pants from messes in the kitchen. I decided on a removable flower clip rather than a pocket because I never use pockets in aprons. The flower originally was a ruffle that was going to go along the front edge of the apron, but I wasn't crazy with how it looked when I positioned it there. I am very pleased with the little flower.

I forgot to include a photo of the ties. I used 7/8" hot pink grosgrain ribbon for the two ties. I like the way ribbon looks for ties and it saves so much time compared to making fabric ties.

My favorite part about this finished product is that it looks finished! I was precise with all my stitches and hems and in the one place on the under side that there is a raw edge, I did a tight zigzag stitch to give it a serged-edge look (Someday. maybe I'll have a serger of my very own!). 

I like it when my home-made creations look more professional. 

Try one yourself. And if you would like any more details of how I made this apron and flower, let me know and I can share. 

~ Chelsea ~

Nesting Theme Baby Shower

As promised, here are some photos from the baby shower my mom and I put together for Crystal a few weeks ago. We used a few coordinating fabrics to make birds, a banner and the table runner and cloths. It was fun and it turned out lovely.

These dangling birds were made using my Silhouette machine, but can be made without one too. I used the clean cut fabric interfacing, cut out the basic bird shapes and wings in contrasting colors. They are double sided, with a little batting in between. I ironed on the wings and around the edges and the interfacing adheres them together with the heat.  Easy and cute. 

~ Chelsea ~

99 Cent stores

Decorating on a budget? Check out your local 99 cent or dollar stores for little bits of decorations that may just need a little tweak of color or added beauty to make them work for your theme. 

We'll be posting soon about some fun baby shower decorations that we made and used this past weekend. Here are three accents that were added to the "Nesting" theme, found at the 99 cent only store and simply spray-painted white.  

Before:

After:

As promised, there are more baby shower decoration ideas to come!

~ Chelsea ~

Preparing to PAINT!

Hello Everyone!

I hope your summer is full of happiness with the many simple things that life gives to bless you with!

I found some great videos from Lowes that shows instructions on painting. The videos show how to paint cabinets. Painting wood furniture is pretty much the same process, so, I thought you might like to see it step by step.

There are a couple of things that I do different than the folks at Lowes ~ I use diluted Dawn dish washing liquid to clean any grease & grime off of the piece I am about to paint. Also, I often use a wide foam brush to apply paint when we aren't using the sprayer.

Here is the link to get you on the Lowes video site~ Then look for the video "How to prep for painting cabinets".
http://www.lowes.com/cd_Lowes+Video+Center_94400869_?ytID=oxOJbS-1AiM
Happy Painting! ~*~Lynda~*~

~Amazing Armoire~

I found this armoire at a yard sale! Woo Hoo! The bright blue was pretty, but unfortunately a child went sticker crazy on the doors. It took some muscle & GooGone to get them all off.

This is what I decided to transform it into. I know, it looks like the same finish I gave some previous projects. Off-white satin paint, gray glaze & clear lacquer finish. It's a winner for sales. I had 3 buyers 20 minutes after posting it on Craigslist.
I was reminded when glazing that when the temperature warms up the glaze dries very fast. I actually didn't want the 2 bottom drawers that dark, but the temperature was warmer (92 in the shade) when I glazed the drawers than when I did the rest of the armoire. I will need to remember this because summer is just starting & I live in the valley of the sun.
I left the inside un-glazed, but sprayed it with the clear lacquer to give it a nice hard finish. I also painted the hinges with black enamel. It makes them look clean and new.

Now for the big surprise! This beautiful piece of furniture is made completely of particle board and pressed woods. It is made by the Colony Furniture Company. It seems like better quality than IKEA.

The detail on the front of the doors is really the reason why I bought this armoire! I knew that would look amazing glazed!

I painted the pulls two colors. They were gold. After preparation, I painted a coat of oil-rubbed bronze and then 2 fine coats of black enamel. I really like giving interest to the metal by letting a little bronze show through, but when you look at the pulls you mostly see black.

And here is a close-up of one of the knobs. I love all of the detail in them.

TTFN ~*~Lynda~*~

Bath Apron

I got the wonderful idea of a bath apron from a friend on her Secret Stitch blog.

The idea of a bath apron is to keep mom as dry as possible during the splashy bathing process and to have the towel ready to surround baby once they're all clean. I love it! I made this one as a baby shower gift, but will definitely make one for my next baby too.

I apologize that this is the only photo I got of it, but hopefully you get the idea of how it can be used.

To make it, you just need one large bath towel (I got mine at Anna's Linens for about $5), ribbon for the strap and a pack of bias tape. Take your full towel and fold it in half and cut out your shape so it is symmetrical, then unfold and pin and sew on the bias tape and straps. Pretty quick and inexpensive project... my favorites. Check out Christie's tutorial for more details if you need them.

Also, with the scraps that I cut off of the towel, I made a few easy baby bibs by using my favorite bib as a template.

~ Chelsea ~

Mid-Century Accent Tables Turned French Country

I had a very lucky (blessed) day at Goodwill and found 2 awesome accent tables to refurbish! Yippee! As you can see the old varnish had yellowed and it was a little beat up, but I know how to fix that.
TaDa! Pearl White satin paint & Gray Glaze! Just beautiful!

I really liked the pulls just the way they were, so, I cleaned them up a bit.

Look at the gorgeous scrolly cut wood lattice! You know how much I love scrolly details!

The drawers were dove tailed construction! Always a special feature. I found some pretty contact paper at Dollar Tree to line the drawers with.

This next table is really special! The top was very messed up, but it was a very exciting moment when I discovered that I could sand it down to refinish it with some nice dark ebony stain.

How do you like her now?

What a beautiful top! Burl Wood on the edge and Pecan (my best guess) in the center.

These drawers were solid wood, but not dove tailed. A very well-made piece of furniture!

The pulls were beautiful too, but I preferred them painted with black enamel.

~*~Lynda~*~

~3 Gorgeous Wall Shelves~

Here are some fun wall shelves made out of chairs! I really liked the old varnish that was on the backs of 2 of these, so, it didn't get sanded off. I gave them the old worn look by painting 4 different colors of paint and then sanding to expose each layer a little bit here and there.

The paint colors that I chose for this project are ~ first a thick coat of dark brown, next a homemade color of olivey/bluish green, then light aqua and lastly a thin coat of white.

I am very happy how they turned out and I am so excited to actually keep these for our home.

This small little shelf ended up looking great sitting on our buffet instead of hanging on the wall!

I love birds and bird houses!

This is the 3rd shelf that I am showing today. I know it's so cool with all of the rock-n-roll magazine pictures glued to it. It had 3 shaker pegs too, and the 4th one was missing. After looking in 4 different stores for another peg the same size and couldn't find one, I decided to go with plan "b".

I like it a lot better with the 2 awesome hooks from Hob Lob anyway!

I stuck with the distressed look and glazed it with brown!

I also Mod Podged the pretty scrapbook paper on the tops of the 2 shelves! Then gave it a few swipes with the brown glaze!

I love these looks! ~*~Lynda~*~

Another Homemade Toy (Or Pillow)

I made this stuffed owl friend for a Christmas present this past year. 

I loved making it. It was a tad time-consuming, but that is coming from an impatient fast-results crafter. The tutorial I followed was amazing and can be found here. 

Just click on Download PDF and you will have the pattern and instructions.

So fun and cuddly!

~ Chelsea ~

Loving the Look of Gray Glaze!

I found this old door and turned it into an awesome piece of home decor!
I hope that the graffiti on there isn't a really awful slang word. I'm not very up on gang terms. Or maybe it's just from someone being silly and enjoying spray painting on an old door. Now it looks a little different, doesn't it? This picture is actually the other side of the same door (which was very disgusting too). It took 3 coats of paint and one coat of gray tinted glaze. Old wood is very dry and the first two coats of paint soaked right in.

I would like to give a very special "Thank You" to one of my favorite stores for having a half off sale on this gorgeous, old looking, door knob!

I love the half round window. It really looks like etched glass, but it's actually plexiglass. I would also like to mention that I took a fine light aqua colored felt pen and gave this door a few touches here & there. I think it gives more interest and dimension to the paint job.

One more close-up picture of the new finish that's made to look old & worn.

I forgot to take a before picture of this hope chest turned toy box. This was a fun repurpose/refurbish project. I was just asking my Handy Honey if he would build a toy box for our Grandcuties and then I stumbled across this one for free. Blessings come in all sorts of ways!

My Handy Honey did help me to line this toy box. It was a 4-hand job. The lining is a cool silver embossed vinyl! Isn't it pretty?!

I'm a stencil kindof gal. Maybe someday I will be better at freehand drawing, but for now I love stenciling!

Bye for Now ~*~Lynda~*~

Portable Play Road

I love making children's toys. I think that is my favorite when it comes to sewing. 

For my nephew turning two, I made a fabric portable road with a pocket for 2 hot wheels-size cars. This project is a mixture between some car mats I have seen and the crayon rolls I have made in the past. One of the best parts was that I used materials that I had already, thanks to my hefty fabric stash.

Here it is:

I first decided how large I wanted it to be. Then I cut out 2 pieces of the blue cotton fabric that size (plus an inch for seam allowances). Then, I "decorated" one blue piece of fabric by sewing on the strip of black road (leaving an open slot for the car pocket), the felt road stripes and felt stop sign.

The black fabric I used was really different. I'm not sure what it is called because I got it from someone else's fabric scraps, but it is slightly rubbery and smooth on one side and textured on the other side. It doesn't fray, so the cars pocket was simple. Choosing a fabric that doesn't fray for the detailing on this project is preferred. 

 After I added all the details, I sewed the 2 blue pieces of blue fabric with right sides together along 3 edges, leaving one small side for turning right side out. While doing this, I attached the black grosgrain ribbon in the center of one short end. Then, I folded and top-stitched the last short end closed. I also top stitched all around because I like the way that looks and it helps it stay more flat.

Then, I rolled it up with the 2 little cars inside the pocket and I was happy that they stayed in there when it is rolled up tight. I think it turned out great and it makes a great, simple and portable toy that encourages imagination and fun. Goal accomplished!

~ Chelsea ~