Author Archives

by

Frame It

Random Statements:

I have come to learn that art can be all sorts of things.

In my house almost anything that is purple can be put on display

I have a unhealty love for big earrings and necklaces

I think brown makes just about anything look classy

 

Now that I have that out of the way, I am really excited to show you the really practical art idea for my bathroom.

I found an old frame with not-that-nice picture in it and attacked them with Krylon’s Leather Brown spray paint.  Chip board was perfect to cover with some paintable wall paper.  Mr. Chaos cut to the size of the frame.  The hooks were white so they got in the spray paint line up as well.  The mat that was orignally with the frame had brown in it so I used that as well.  2013-01-24 12.34.44

  Look what I came up with. It now lives on my closet wall and is adorned with my scarves and sweaters.

2013-01-24 12.35.25

Here is another frame that I found.  I loves all the nooks and crannies and the shape of this one.  I decided to paint this Krylon Semi-Gloss White Spray paint because it was going in my ensuit and white looks good in there.  I glazed it with purple so as to accent all the texture of the frame.  Again with this one I covered chip board with paintable wall paper.  White nails are lined across the top about an inch apart. 2013-01-24 11.54.59

 Now it holds my necklaces. I realize that there is a lot of purple jewelry in my collection.  I’m working on that.

2013-02-20 10.17.39

Mr. Chaos made this frame from base boards.  He cut them all at a 45 degree angle so they would fit together.  I’m not sure where the mash came from or what it is really for but it was perfect for earring storage.  I stapled and glued it to the back of the frame the whole thing got hit with a few coats of Krylon Semi-Gloss White Spray Paint.  Then I roughed it up a little to make it look a little more interesting.

2013-01-24 11.54.48

And now it is also covered in purple earrings….

2013-02-20 10.16.24

 

I have recently discovered the great jewelry at Stella & Dot so there will be a little less purple and way more everything.

signature

by

February Door Decor

February screams hearts and cinnamon to me… and I thought about it, but I cannot figure out how to decorate my door with cinnamon.  So here we go with some hearts.  My door is flaming red already so I decided to decorate the windows around it.  I’ve spotted these felt hearts on Pinterest a few times.  They are not hard to make, just basic sewing skills.

First cut a sheet of felt in half,  stake them and sew a 1/4 inch seam down the side. Now open that seam and bring the other sides together.  Now sew another 1/4 inch seam.  PicMonkey Collage

Using clear fishing line or any colored thread and a large sewing needle bring the thread through the center at the top of the heart.  Tie a knot in the thread and the seam of the felt.  This is the best way to make sure your heart keeps it shape and stays spaced apart from the others.  Now bring the thread through the center point at the bottom of the heart, play with the length a bit to figure out how you want the hearts shaped.  Tie a knot with the thread and the bottom seam.  Now do all that again and again until your garland is to your desired length. 2013-02-11 15.09.14

I used stiffened felt and non-stiffened and I found that the softer felt made nicer shaped hearts with no random corners. 40th BDay 028

Enjoy making heart garland this Valentine’s Day, and remember to give you special someone or someones a big kiss.signature

by

Shortening Curtains While keeping the Original Hem

I love sewing! Wether it is to fix something or make something new… but the thing I really don’t like is hemming! If there is a way that I do not have to hem, let me tell you, I will find it.

I recently acquired drapes that needed to be shortened up a few inches.  I did it in such a way that made use of the orignal hem.  Trust me, this is super easy and only requires minimal sewing skills. 2013-01-02 20.41.02

Make sure that what ever fabric you are hemming is washed and dried.  You don’t want it to shrink after you have already taken up the bottom.

Measure how many inches had to be removed.  DO NOT INCLUDE the hem in this measurement. 2013-01-02 20.40.48

I had to remove 8.5 inches.  (not including the hem) Take half that measurement (4.25) and measure up from the top of the hem on the back of the curtain. I used an Olfa ruler and chalk so that it was very precise and I would have a nice straight line in the end.

2013-01-02 20.44.50Fold on the chalk line. Press with an iron.

2013-01-02 20.47.08

Using the zipper foot on your sewing machine, sew as close to the hem as possible. But not on the hem.2013-01-02 20.57.24

(1). Cut away excess fabric, (2) leaving about a half an inch. (3)Using a seam ripper remove the stitching from the top of the original hem. (4) Seam completely open.Collage1

(5)Push half-inch seam allowance under original hem, (6) Iron the half-inch seam toward the bottom of the curtain. (7) Replace the stitching in the original hem with the half-inch hidden inside.  I used a Walking Foot for this step so that the layers would all move consistently.   Collage3 Now hang your curtains and think about how awesome you are!2013-01-03 16.51.52

This technique also works for jeans or any other garment that you wish to keep the original hem.  There are many tutorials on this, but many do not sew the excess fabric into the original hem.  Doing this makes the finished product look more polished.  One of the tutorials that I like is Magic Hem. signature