Baby Hulk and Coffee Chest Refurb, Part One

For years, our coffee table has been a cheap press board affair, recently mounted on caster wheels because every little scoot earned a loud, creaky complaint from one of the shaky legs.  I won't go through my list but, suffice to say, I was done with this thing.

My nine month old daughter obliged me a few mornings ago by somehow managing to flip it over and snap off a leg.  (Don't worry, she's fine.  Quite pleased with herself, as a matter of fact.)  After observing a minimum of disappointment solely for my husbands benefit (he actually liked the darn thing!), I headed out to my favorite thrift store, where I found this:

Its gonna take some work.  There's some water damage and it looks like its been not-so-lovingly stored for quite some time. And it smells like mothballs.  Blech.
The first thing I did (after leaving it in the sun to air out for, like, all day) was attack it with some sandpaper.  I discovered that although the hardware was rusted and beyond saving, the studs on the corners cleaned up very nicely.

Next task: stripping off that icky black canvas!

There, much better.

I'm keeping the edge strips because I like the idea of leaving a little momento of this trunk's former life and humble origins.  That, and those studs look like they'd be a pain to take apart.

Taking my inspiration from the great furniture rescues from the ladies of Mod Podge Rocks and infarrantly creative, I plan to decoupage this baby with whatever funky fabric or wallpaper that presents itself and speaks to me.  Hopefully that happens soon.  In the meantime, a coat or two of primer is in order.  Stay tuned for Part Two!

Craft Apron Sewing Project

I've recently started teaching stained glass classes for a local arts/crafts center.  I'm really enjoying it because it helps me keep my skills sharp and I love seeing folks hold up their project and see the light pouring through it for the first time.  I'm a firm believer that when people know just how much work and heart go into creating stained glass, they'll have more appreciation for those of us who are trying to make a living from it (and understand why it's so darn expensive!).  Nothing wrong with educating the public about what we do.  We're artists, not magicians.

Stained glass is a very tool-heavy craft, and I wanted a nice little apron to keep a few things on hand while I'm bouncing around the room.  One Yard Wonders to the rescue!

I used a bit of an old skirt and a few scraps of some faux denim I had lying around.  Since I'm a bit lazy whenever the instructions say anything like "press with an iron" or "fold, then fold, then fold some more", I opted to just buy some bias tape for the binding rather than make my own.  I'll do it someday, I promise.

After a few uses, I think i might adjust some of the pockets to hold more things of the pen/marker nature but other than that, this is perfect!

Jokes of a Piratic Nature

Ahoy there, Matey!  It be Talk Like a Pirate Day in these here parts.  In honor of such event, I be wantin' to share with all ye scallywags some of me favorite observations of our brethren. 

-How do pirates like to vacation?       In an aaaaaaaaRV!

-What kind of socks do pirates prefer?     Aaaaaaargyle!

-Whats a pirates favorite letter of the alphabet?  (R?)  No, the C!

And last, but by no means the least:

-What do pirates use to clean up spills on the deck?      Bouuuuunty!



Credit for these treasures goes to me pappy, who be captain of a vessel in the Disney World fleet and the scourge of the Seven Seas Lagoon!  He and his mates torture their prisoners with these voyage after voyage.

And if ye don't be liken' it, ye can walk the plank!

Obi Hot/Cold Pack Sewing Project

And so my personal challenge begins.

My grandmother was an amazing seamstress, and pretty wicked with a crochet needle.  Been thinking about her alot the past few days, as I'm finishing up a pretty involved crochet project.  I inherited some of her nice steel crochet hooks which I use all the time.  My mom says I must be channeling her through them, because the stitches seem to almost make themselves.

But when I sit down at my sewing machine it's a different story.  My sewing skills are kinda dismal.  My bobbins tangle, I misread patterns, and I can't stitch a straight line to save my life.  However, I come from a family of amazing sewers, so I know it's gotta be in me somewhere.  That, and I get SO much inspiration from Project Runway every week.

I'll just have to learn to make it work.

 Hi, I'm on the blog again.

I love fabric.  For this reason, I've hung on to a lot of my skirts and dresses I've outgrown over the years.  I've placed the limitation on myself that I need to find a way to use up some of these and the other random remnants I have around.  No buying fabric until I've got the sewing chops to earn it.


One Yard Wonders has been my go-to pattern book for using up all these fabric scraps.  The projects are easy and the instructions simple to follow, yet there's plenty of room for creativity and customization.  There's a glossary of stitches and how tos if you come across something you don't know.  Tons of projects, and almost all of them (I'm looking at you, spats) are stylish and usable/wearable.

The first off the machine: an obi-style hot/cold pack.  Inside the pocket is a matching pad into which dry rice is sewn.  I also added some nice dried lavender buds I had around for some nice aromatherapy. 45 seconds in the microwave then into the pocket, and then it all ties around your waist obi/kimono style.  This is perfect for those days when my back is hurting, but I've still got a baby to chase around.

The best part is that I used some wonderfully soft cotton from an old but much loved hippie dress I couldn't bear to throw away.  Cheap as free!

New Painted Glass on Etsy

I know some of these have already been live in my Etsy Shop for a little while, but I realized I forgot to make an Official Blog Announcement regarding my new line of painted glassware.

I find these poor lonely pieces of beautiful glassware in the thrift stores.  I bring them home, clean them well, and paint them.  Pretty, utilitarian, AND recycled.  I think it's a great combination.

I've got the beginnings of several collections:

Autumn Breeze

Peacock Glam

Winter Snow

Poker

 

 

Surf

 

 

 

  

Double challenge

Once again, the dreaded ‘Mom Brain"’ is proving to be a formidable foe.  So I’ve decided to do what seems to be every craft bloggers favorite theme: challenge to the death!

Ok, probably not the death part.

Starting now, I’m challenging myself to:

• Complete one craft project per week.  This is any craft, from creating an Etsy listing to working on my sewing skills to finally finishing some of these crochet projects i have stashed away.
• Write a blog post highlighting said completed project.

I think I’m setting a reasonable goal for myself.  Not like I’m trying to cook my way through some doorstop of a cookbook or anything.  Besides, I tend to work better if I’ve got some sort of a deadline.

If you notice that I’ve missed a week, feel free to harass me about.  Go ahead.  You have my permission.

And away we go!

Apron Project

I recently got a position teaching stained glass and ceramics at a nearby arts center, woot!  Now I need an apron/tool belt to schlep all my glass tools to class and back.

I’m thinking about this pattern, using some leftover denim and Indian-style cotton scraps I’ve got lying around.

See Crafty Tool Belt and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

I’ll let you know how it turns out.