January recap

I thought I would post a recap of some of my favourite projects from January.

I haven’t been feeling very inspired lately, bordering on lazy really :)

Click on any photo to get the the original post.

Union Jack cushion

I’ve been itching to sew something, but I haven’t had much luck in finding fabric that I like.
So I made my own.  Using my Sure Cuts A Lot software, I traced an image of the Union Jack and cut it out using my Cricut onto freezer paper.
The most difficult part was trying to get the freezer paper centered and flat.

After lots of fiddling, I got it ironed down onto my drop cloth fabric, and then painted it in. I used a dark gray and a metallic silver, although it’s hard to tell.

I sewed it together using the basic envelope pattern.
It started as this, which just wasn’t cutting it any more, so I took the cushion out and quickly tossed the cover aside :)

And here it is now





I’m joining in on these parties
Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special
Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different act Normal
Along for the ride Saturday is Crafty Day
Saturday Soiree at A Little Lovely
Sunday Showcase at Under The Table and Dreaming

Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds

Making Monday Marvellous at C.R.A.F.T.

I’ve been framed

I was inspired by a sweet framed heart that I found at Peg’s Sister Sal.
I found a few Ribba frames at the GW today for $2.00 each, popped into the dollar store right next to the GW (how convenient is that!) and bought an acrylic necklace for a dollar.
I put it all together and came up with this little cutie…


I so enjoy having something to add to the fabulous parties found here. There is always something inspiring.

Pottery Barn inspired Valentine plate

The original photo has been removed from the source site. I don't have a tutorial either :)



So I decided to make one for myself. I didn’t have a round plate that didn’t have a groove for a cup, so I used a square plate.

Peeling the vinyl was the hardest, most painful part. Mine isn’t completely straight, and I don’t have that kind of bling :)

Coffee sacks as upholstery

A few months back, I rehabbed an old dining set.


The fabric on the chairs and bench were ok, but not exactly what I wanted.
I wanted something more organic and while starring at it today (yeah, I was bored), I thought of using my free coffee sacks.



I also reoriented the angle and am smacking myself for not thinking of it sooner!  This layout gives me more room, in what is a very tight space.

It was 50% off day at GW yesterday and I snagged two of these frames. Not quite my cup of tea.



As I was thinking about the origins of the coffee sacks, Brasil, I wanted to add something that would conjure up an image of jungle. Since I already had some birds under the cloches, I used my cricut and some yellow vinyl to cut out some parrots, bringing another touch of yellow to the room, along with the mirror. I left the frames gold to match the Italian Florentine chest, which I moved from under the window, to under the mirror.



Not a major change, but quite impactful from my perspective.

Party at Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special
Linking up to Frugal & Fabulous Design Fab Friday

Picture ledges

I had the day off today, so I decided to make some picture ledges for this big expanse of emptiness in my stairwell.

I used the instructions, Ana White’s $10 ledges and they were easy peasy.

I could have purchased these Holman shelves from pottery barn at $85 each, or I could spend some time making mine for $11 worth of wood for 2, 48” shelves. total savings of $159.00!

I grabbed some things to put on them but I’m not totally satisfied with the composition yet, but it is certainly better than a big wall of nothing :)

The only thing I would have done different is used a 1 x 3 for the depth, rather than a 1 x 4, as I find the items lean too much.

As the letters indicate, this was E- Z!

crappy photos…I’m tired.

I’m linking up to the parties found here

updated bench

I have received lots of nice comments on this little bench, so I thought it deserved a post of it’s own :)
I bought it at the GW for $10, which I thought was a LOT of money. I paid that exorbitant amount any way because I knew that it would fit my space.
I needed something small, that was sturdy, with clean lines and didn’t take up too much visual space, since it was going in a very tight area at my entry.
Blah!

Much nicer

I am going to post this update at Cassie’s Piece of Work Wednesday party.

Front entry updated

It has taken me far longer than I anticipated, but it’s done and it’s so much brighter and fresher.
I painted, replaced all of the baseboards and door trim, installed a new light (so long boob light), made some coat hangers, put up some accessories, got a new carpet and updated a little bench.
Here are some before and afters
I picked this little bench up at GW. It just may have belonged in a Texan bordello :)
It got a coat of spray paint on the one day that we had good weather and the red velvet and fringe was replaced with a matelassé pillow cover, that I also got from the GW
This adorable metal umbrella was new with the tag attached and I got it for $4.00 .Love it to pieces

Previously I had a coat rack in here to hang our coats. If you read my previous post you will know that I don’t have a coat closet in this space.
I made these coat racks and put them behind the front door so you don’t have coats staring at you, as soon as you walk in the door. The top hooks are for my son, and yes they are really high up, but he is 6’6”, so it’s quite accessible to him :)

I just love the new light.  Again hung very high so my son’s head doesn’t hit it. I can’t wait to see the reflection the light gives off at night; I bet with the cutouts it’s going to be gorgeous.

Here’s the ugly door to my basement apartment. In order to help it blend in a little more, I painted it and the door frame the same colour as the walls. I would like to replace the door altogether, but it’s a little out of my skill set, for now

And this is the view as you walk in to my house

I have some tweaking to do; a few more decorative touches to add and all of the caulking, which I am dreading, but overall it’s done.
I wanted to mention my floor. I had this floor put in when I first bought my house almost 10 years ago. It was pricey and a new product at the time. It is plank vinyl ,installed right over concrete with adhesive.  This stuff is the bomb! It is easy to keep clean and indestructible. I highly recommend it.

I'm joining in on some parties, please check out this page to see where all of the great linky parties are.

Wine glass lanterns

Lorie at Be Different…Act Normal posted a link to a template to make these adorable wine glass lanterns.
I don’t have a printer, so I downloaded the template, which is a .jpg, imported it into my SCAL2, traced the image, adjusted the size to fit a 12 x 12 piece of scrapbook paper, and cut out several. If you have SCAL, I am more than happy to send you the file.

The Link to the template has been updated. Her blog is in Portuguese (I think), so you will have to translate it, but it's not difficult to figure out her instructions.

They are adorable! My head is reeling with all of the possibilities. These would make a great hostess gift.

I used two different sized wine glasses. Pop in a tea light and presto!
Wine glasses can be found at the thrift store for a dollar or less.

And lit up with a tea light

And lit up in the evening

I'm linking this project up to the parties found here