Floor Length Burlap Curtains for $7.50 a Panel

 DIY  22 Responses »
Jan 192013
 
Burlap curtains might be all over the place, and maybe I’m late to the party but I’ve had these hanging in my living room for a few months and I’m finally getting around to posting a how-to! I’ve seen a lot of methods but nothing quite like mine.
DIY Burlap Curtains
It’s as basic as you can get, you only sew one seam for each panel. Of course this does leave you with 1 raw edge and 2 floor to ceiling selvedges. I love it, it’s not overly polished and it fits in a casual space. They let the light in while blocking the living room from the street. The ribbon along to top adds a subtle blush of color and some strength to the burlap where it’s clipped. Continue reading »

Road Kill Rescue – The Buffet

 DIY  31 Responses »
Jul 172012
 
A month or so ago I was driving home from work and saw a buffet on the side of the road. It looked sad. Unfortunately there was no way it would fit in my Honda. So I had to wait until Mike got home and then did some sweet talking.Fast forward to midnight, in the rain, (possibly in pajamas) with a flashlight, on the side of the road.
We managed to get it in the back for his truck and then home.

She was pretty rough looking. The rain had done it’s best to damage the buffet. The veneer was bubbly, large pieces were peeling off. There were no knobs on the drawers. The trim on the back was barely attached. She was missing a wheel and the drawers didn’t close.

 

Continue reading »

Fourth of July Faux Mantle

 Uncategorized  6 Responses »
Jun 222012
 
Are you sick of my rustic, country chic Americana yet? No?

Awesome! Cause I’ve got another round for you!

I re-fanicificated the newly painted bookshelf for the upcoming holiday. You might recognize the Firecrackers and the 1776 embroidery from earlier in the week.
The newest projects are the woven burlap runner and the picture frame twine star. 
For the runner:
A piece of burlap for the base, a scrap of woven fabric, a safety pin and scissors.
Rip the fabric into strips. I used 3 strips about 3/4 in wide. 
Decide where you want the strips and pull out the burlap threads. Using the safety pin weave the strips through the burlap. I went over 10 and under 5 for the middle round and eyeballed similar spacing for the outside strips
Come back Sunday for a tutorial on the picture frame star!

Summer Blog Challenge:

Day 20:
Day 21: Recent words of wisdom: “Even if it breaks your heart” 
It’s my new motto. Kinda like Nike, Just Go For It
Day 22: When I was a kid I wanted to be a vet. Or a fashion designer. Or an artist. Or an equine massage therapist. 
I wanted to be a lot but there was always a theme of creativity and love of animals. 
I guess not much has changed :-)

I’m Bringin’ Doily Back!

 DIY  14 Responses »
May 042012
 
(kinda like bringin’ sexy back, but more lacy)
I finally got around to painting my other bookshelf!

I used Beeswax by Valspar and Mark Twain House Grey Brick on the inside.
I love the DIY chalk paint method. The laminate coating on these bookshelves left me with few options. I this time I added more plaster of paris, it was like pudding! But it sanded out smoothly. Unlike my last DIY chalkpaint bookshelf I spray glued the fabric down to the shelves for a smoother look (no lace either!).



For those of you who have managed to forget what my book case used to look like:


Ugh back to the new:

I’m a book lover through and through, not that you can tell by looking at my house… ha!
The chicken bookends came from Kirklands (Christmas gift from my sister).  The milk crock was on my moms counter longer than I could remember, when she went to throw it out I screamed really loudly snagged it.

And yes. I’m bringing back the doily.

Everything on top was either gifted or thrifted! How cute is that strawberry milk glass dish? My newest acquisitions are the two embroidered birds.

I’ve got lots of embroidery in my house (you work with embroidery machines and see how much you bring home!) but it’s all done by machine. I love the detail on these hand embroidered birds. And I had no choice but to snap them up for 50 cents each!

My other bookshelf also got some doily love:

Do you see it? (and yes I’m still waiting for my milk glass chicken dish! tomorrow!)

Mr. Rooster approves.

You can even decorate your dog with one.

Bookshelf Revamp

 Uncategorized  12 Responses »
Mar 112012
 
I’ve yet to hit the garage-sale-furniture-lottery. So instead I’ve had to make do with what I’ve collected over the years. Unfortunately most of it’s either really old (true story, my couch is older than me!) or just cheap, like laminate book shelves I’ve had since high school.

Keeping it classy with the decorative tissue box

This is one of those bookcases. You can see I’m keeping it classy with the decorative tissue box

This was my first attempt at DIY chalk paint. I used a $2.50 oops jar from lowes and plaster of paris (I had a giant container left from making kill jars in college, strange but true)

I’ve gotta say, I’ve never been a mustard person, but I really like this. The paint went on really easily, but I managed to scrape off quite a bit trying to get the shelves in. Luckily I had enough left to touch it up. I used about 1/2 a quart.

I painted the tops of the shelves then put them in upside down (the bottom are nasty looking pressed wood) and covered them with a home dec-remanant I picked up a while back. The lace is from my stash, it was the boys grandmothers. I have a ton of cookbooks (this isn’t 1/2!) and these are my faves, so it’s nice to display them.

I picked up this lamp over the summer for $1 (I then lost it in the craft room for about 3 months). It was flat black so I have it a few coats of valspar Almond. The framed ‘print’ is actually embroidery, it’s pinned into the frame without glass so the texture shows in real life. There is a sadly empty spot waiting for my birthday gift. I’ve asked the boy for a milk-glass chicken dish (his response: Great! What does that mean?) and this is where she’ll got. Birthdays not until May so I might find something in the mean time….

I love the bright colors! They really open up the room (this is the one without any direct sunlight!) and I can’t wait to finish the curtains to show you all!

Chicken Vignette

 Uncategorized  6 Responses »
Jan 032012
 
Here we go! First *real* post of the new year! First I’ll be showing off debuting some of my fantastic chicken-themed Christmas gifts and showing how I’ve re-used some of my Christmas decorations and actually making something from my pinterest boards! Whew! That’s a lot..
The Rooster Clock (currently on a plate stand), the Rooster Sign and the Rooster statue are all new. They were gifts from my Mom, Sister and the boyfriends family (they know me so well!).
I stole liberated the ‘MILK’ jar/crock from my mom, I shoved in some white pine branches salvaged from some recycled Christmas Trees. I have no idea where it’s from or how old it is, but I like it and it adds a subtle touch of farm-ness.
The candles are my lazy interpretation of this pin. Probably my most popular pin with 52 re-pins. I randomly cut lengths of twine, wrapped them around the candles and tied the twine in a knot. Intense, right? I re-used the burlap bows from the Christmas chalkboard. Only the white bows were attatched to the string, the burgundy were just stuck there with magnets. 
Can’t get a good picture of this to save my life but you can see his bow. I got two of these painted metal signs from my sister. 
She also gave me this little guy. He almost matches the wall color so for now he lives in the bookshelf next to the woven basket. He has a few friends on the shelves with him. {By the way, if you are looking for straight up good info on raising farm animals look for the Storey guides, pictured above, they are awesome! This whole bookshelf is farming/gardening books, I’m a collector I can’t help it!}

Terrible picture, but you get the idea. On the left is my ‘farm stack’ I got it on clearance years ago at Pier 1 for less than $10. It’s still decorated for Christmas.

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House Tour

 Uncategorized  9 Responses »
Dec 222011
 
So… Christmas… Sunday…
Really? REALLY!?
I haven’t wrapped a single thing past the Pancake Gift Basket. In my defense my cat likes to unwrap gifts (she eats the paper) so I’m better off waiting really. I’ve got Friday off so that seems like a good time right? I’ve reached the point where I’m calling it quits on some Christmas projects (so no new tree skirt and no new stockings for Mikey and I) while focusing on a final few (stockings for the new pets and finishing up gifts). I feel like I’ve been creating and crafting non-stop since early November and there is SO MUCH left I want to do! Guess that’s what happens when you start from scratch. 
Starting with the gift-ables. Meet the New Mr. Frog (chilling with the original of course). Strangely both have bows. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find stuffed animals anymore?  
Bears are pretty easy to find compared to other animals. 
It makes me really sad that it’s hard to find a toy that doesn’t play with itself (you know what I mean, you try to say it without being dirty). Do kids these days lack all imagination? I’m only 23! Has the world changed this much in 15 years? The toys I remember are all stuffed animals. They had personality! We had adventures! I talked about our frog/bear tradition here but I thought you might like to see who we found. 
I’ve started putting up the cards we receive in the kitchen. The garland is tacked up with thumb tacks. I hot glued ornament hooks to one side of a clothes pin and a decoration to the other. Then I clipped the card to the hook and sipped the hook over the garland.My cat likes to chew on this type of garland so I can only put it up high like this.
I posted about the Nativity here. Some of my other posted projects are featured her too. 
I’m not crazy about the wreaths here but it’s an odd space. The paper chain is on the TV, again not crazy about there but what-ev. The stockings on the bookshelf are for the chinchillas and the parrots. 
Madagascar anyone? 
We’ve got out lame stockings up (found the other bow!) on my stocking holders. I covered the ‘candles’ with some scrapbook paper. 
This is our first Santa! We didn’t have one so I picked him up a Joann’s, I think he was about $5 on clearance. He fits my ‘modern rustic’ theme pretty well. The wooden stand is from a garage sale, it’s filled with yarn balls (real balls! Not styrofoam covered in yarn! When I finish a project I wrap the leftovers into a ball like this) and some bells. I made the yo-yo garland last year, it’s not long enough to put on the tree and it hangs funny so I just snaked it over the table. The scent warmer is from Walmart, the BHG collection. 
And my tree. It’s been mocked by my family for being short and REALLY fat. It’s also been called… the blair with tree… But I love it! I handmade EVERY ornament on it, save the lights and the teal beads. The topper is a giant twig star. There are more smaller stars scattered around the tree. It’s got bells, gift tags, stuffed trees (and two snowmen!) and twisted felt garlands. The tree skirt is just green fleece I tucked around the stand. See the Pancake Breakfast Gift Basket?
All lit up! I love my lights! They have 16 different settings. I change them every day. Sometimes I really like the slow glow while sometimes I’m in the mood for crazy flashing. 
Blair Witch? I think not!

Sticky Love: NoSew DIY Magic

 DIY  1 Response »
Oct 152011
 

I’m in Love. Capital L Love. I shouldn’t even be posting. I should be cleaning. Party this Sunday remember? I’ve been on a rampage to finish (and start) projects to make my house look really, really good. One such project has led to my current emotional affair. I even took pictures on my phone and sent them to people. If it wasn’t raining I’d take it to my neighbors for a play date. 

 I’m a pretty crafty person. I can sew with the next-to-the-best of them. But… I’m known to indulge in a short cut or two. This is the perfect 10 minute (or less!) project. Due to the Crazy PreParty shenanigans I don’t have any in progress pics. If anything is confusing ask and I’ll get some up next week.
All you need is an iron, some fabric, a pillow case (I made this one but you could just buy a plain one) and some paper-backed fusible web. They have it at Joanns, about $2.50 a yard. You need maybe a 1/4 of a yard for this project. I will say while you’re there, buy more.  
Step 1. On the paper side of the web draw out tree shapes and trunk shapes. Be creative, they don’t have to be based on actual trees. Cut out around the shapes leaving 1/8 to 1/4 inch all around each shape. 
Step 2. Following the directions for your web adhere it to your fabric scraps. I used red, oranges, yellows and brown for my leaves and different browns for the trunks. 
Step 3. Cut out around the shapes you drew. Don’t use your good fabric shears, this is paper after all. 
Step 4. Lay the shapes out on the pillow case. Move them around until you like how it looks. 
Step 5. Peel off the backing and start fusing, working from the  back to the front. Over lap a little to make it look more forest-y
Step 6. Enjoy!
You could sew around each shape, and if you thing your fabric will be washed a lot its best for longevity. However… I’m lazy so I didn’t. I will be using this same process for some winter/Christmas pillows (That’s what I saw in the BHG Holiday Crafts 2010 magazine) and probably add some decorative stitching.

I love the yellow-checker board bubble-tree
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Halloween Tour: Living Room

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Oct 052011
 
Check out Part Two: Buffet

The dinning room is a mess and the kitchen is still ripped apart so all you get is the living room! For now that is.

Stop one: The bookcase. Previously seen here.
Ignore the bowl, this is the only picture I got that didn’t have an awful shadow. It was moved to the buffet. I made the garland with my slice cutter. I used the Back to School card to cut out four different leaves in different sizes and added some fancy-ness dimension with watercolor pencils.

Stop 2. The TV stand. 
Another leaf garland. Some pumpkins I bought last year on clearance and some flowers that didn’t make it onto the wreath.

Stop two: The Windows. These are the windows to nowhere. See the cat condo?
 I love my trick or treat banner. It was supposed to be in the dining room but it’s too long. I like it here though, the three sections fit nicely. I cut the triangles from black quilters cotton and cut the letters with my slice (candy from the Spook Alley card and letters from Noel) from 2 fat quarters. 
Close ups. I love the little candy pieces.
Stop 4. The coffee table.
Rocking the yo-yo runner. I used this, the extra-large yo-yo maker from clover. This was a stash buster (or a way to stay off Horders). The felt was left over from a wreath, the buttons from my boys grandma and the orange (it has pumpkins!) from something last year. The cloth was a remnant from Joanns, organza with velvet spiderwebs and iridescent orange dots. 

The tiles in the window were inspired by this from pinterest.

Once again. Used the slice, either the spook alley or spellbound card.

Uncooperative DIY Decor

 DIY  No Responses »
Oct 022011
 

Ever have a project that wouldn’t cooperate? This is the back story, I’ve put most of my decorating efforts into the dinning room and the living room is still a bit blah. I’ve got some of the more major things done, the hideous coffee table now has a cover, the windows have a valance and I painted the lamp base and covered the shade.
Before
This is sort of a tricky space to photograph, there is no direct natural light at all. The original color was actually brown (the flash bleached it out) and made the room look like a cave. My grandmother and I painted it literally the day after we closed on the house. My grandmother lives to paint. I kid you not, she and my grandfather showed up with ladders, plastic, paint trays and brushes ready to go. 
Shame!
 This is more or less what it looked like for the last 2 months.The ribbon rosettes matched the last wreath. See the horrible coffee table the tv sits on? It was my boyfriends for a million years before we met. It’s been the home of our TV since we bought it. The top is a wicker mat over a metal base and over the years its gotten broken and….. gross. For $9 dollars I bought 2 yards of clearance heavy-weight home decor fabric and made a cover.
Tada!
 
It has slits on all four corners. We keep the Wii and DVD player on the shelf under the TV so we needed to be able to get to them. When we watch a movie we just flip up the front. We tend to watch more from netflix via the wii so it’s not much of an issue because the wii bar in on top of the TV. 
Now onto the uncooperative part…

We got two of these lamps from my boyfriends grandmother when she passed away in January. The shades I got a a garage sale for $1 each. I hate the finish on these lamps. Step one was to paint them. I used Rustoleum Hammered Copper. I use that for everything from the $3 shelf from hobby lobby to the frames for the cow pics.
After!

Once again this is pretty bad for color. The walls are actually a light creamy yellow color. I covered the shade with some leftover dark brown burlap. It’s pretty puffy. And if you sit on the couch you can see up the shade. I’m waiting for it to grow on me. Or to find a another cheap shade. It’s probably going to stay at least  until the party. What do you think? Should I burn the shade? Keep it forever? Add something more?
I do like the way it looks all lit up…