repurposed ugly picture frames

I have been seeing a lot of unique jewelry holders made out of all different household items.

Some of my favorites are:

the Rake Jewelry holder found at EveryDayRainbow’s Blog

the chicken wire inside a picture frame at  Tip Junkie’s Blog

the cheese grater jewelry holder at curbly.com

I decided to make my own.

I found 2 ugly picture frames at the Goodwill the other day.

I sanded them then  painted them a dark purple.  It is just some exterior paint i had in the garage.

Then i stapled screen door mesh inside of one.

And screwed “cup hooks” to the top of the other.

What do you think?

Reverse Applique

I got a job at Texas State University in July and we have to wear TX State Shirts on Fridays.  They gave me 2, but i like a variety.  T-shirts are anywhere from $10-$25!   I am not going to pay that right now, so I decided to make my own.   I remembered that I read a blog last year about Reverse Applique and decided I wanted to try it out for myself.

I started by buying a a tank top at Old Navy for $2.00, then I bought a TX State t-shirt at the goodwill for $1.99.   (The t-shirt is a womans small)

Then I cut out the section of the logo that I wanted and I pinned it to the inside of the tank top.

Then I cut out the oval shape and pinned it to the right side of the tank top. I sewed around the oval on the right side of the tank. Then I removed all the pins and cut off the excess t-shirt.

Flipped the tank top right side out and cut the tank top from the inside of the oval.

And here is the result!

What do you think?  Is it worth $4.00 ?

Flower Arranging

I wasn’t sure if this was considered a craft or not, so i posted it here and in my regular blog.

Today I went over to Rachael’s house to help her with some centerpieces for a wedding she is doing on Saturday.  Rachael owns Corbyn’s Floral Design & Decor.  If you or anyone you know is getting married, they should definitely check out Rachael’s talent!

She does amazing work! I was glad to help out!  I worked on these centerpieces.   They are Pink Roses with Horsetail(looks like bamboo) and Green Button flowers.  I forget the names…sorry…

This is a larger centerpiece.  This will sit on top of a tall cylinder vase with lights and black rocks inside.

I was fun and actually relaxing!

Silhouette Stenciled Canvas Grocery Tote

Every time I go to the grocery store I try  to remember to bring my own bag, but it always seems like I forget to grab it on the way out.  I’ve seen some really cute canvas grocery bags with stencils on them.   Maybe it would be easier to remember if the bag was really cute?  Seemed like an easy enough project.

I went to Michael’s and bought this canvas bag.

Next, I searched Google images for a good silhouette image.  I considered using this cute one of my husband from when he went to Knott’s Berry Farm when he was little, but I think that might make him embarassed.

I printed out my silhouette image on regular paper.  I traced it on to freezer paper (you can buy freezer paper right next to the aluminum foil and the saran wrap).  I used scissors to cut out the silhouette and an exacto knife for the tight corners.

Next, I ironed the freezer paper to my fabric.   I used a stencil brush and screen printing paint.  I used about two light coats.  Let it dry for about an hour.  Used the blow dryer to set the color, and ironed a final time.

Here is the finished product:

Fun craft project.  Didn’t take very long.  Good way to motivate yourself to be more environmentally conscious.  Trader Joe’s does a weekly promotion that if you bring in your own bag, your name gets entered into a drawing.  The winner gets $25 of free groceries.   A few weeks ago I was the winner!

My apron

This is the apron made by my mother in law. I match Jill’s pillows!!

Amy Butler Pillows

Just finished some accent pillows for the living room (with the help of my mom). I used Amy Butler fabric from her Lotus collection.  I think they really add a nice little pop of color as I’m trying to bring a little more green and yellow into my living room.

Before:

(Boring solid color, nothing too exciting over here)

After:

(Now its a party!)

Max’s new sweater

I found a great HOW TO on How to make a recycled Dog Sweater.

I found a child’s sweater at a thrift store for 88 cents and decided to try making Max a sweater!

It turned out great and he enjoys wearing it!! See here

Goodbye, Domino Magazine

Jason and I had a Claim Jumpers/Barnes & Noble night.  Which is  one of my favorite ways to spend a Friday night with my hubby.  I picked up the very last issue of Domino Magazine.  I was so bummed last month when Conde Nast Publications announced that they would stop making Domino Magazine.

I was in disbelief, but I don’t know if I should have been that surprised considering how many magazines are failing these days.  I heard that it had nothing to do with readership.  The editors reported that in a down economy advertising revenues just could not keep up with expenses.  I wonder where all the talented Domino staff is going to go?  What magazine is going to fill that void that’s left?  

Stupid economy, that was my favorite magazine.

tattoo finished

Remember this post?  Well,  it looks like it is done!

Looks good, but slightly painful…

Wii i am KNiiTTiiNG!!

I was reading up on some blogs and came across this post KNiiTTing for the Wii.  I thought it was a joke, since the picture looked silly.

KNiiTTiiNG uses the Nintendo Wii to knit.  KNiiTTiiNG was created by an artist and an engineer turned behavioral scientist.

Artist Rachel Beth Egenhoefer works with overlaps between technology and textiles. Scientist Kyle E. Jennings is interested in repurposing technology for creative human machine interactions.

From what i can tell, they really want to teach people how to knit!  This may be exactly what i need to learn…I just can’t get it.