Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Elephant For Nursery

My friend is doing an elephant theme for her baby's nursery. I decided to make a wooden decoration that can be hung on the wall or just sit on a dresser. I used a elephant stencil and cut out five different pieces, each in a different color or pattern of scrapbook paper. I bought an 8x8 wooden box (it is hallow underneath) and painted it gray. I used mod podge to attach the scrapbook paper to the wood. I put a very thin coat under the paper and then did 3 coats over the whole surface, allowing time to dry in between each coat. 



Saturday, February 23, 2013

Dried Wedding Bouquet

After my wedding my Mom took my bouquet and dried the flowers. Three years later I found the bouquet and decided I needed to do something with it. I made a shadow box out of flowers. I needed  something to put in the center of the old family photos hanging on the wall and since the flowers are aged I thought they would compliment each other well. I bought a shadow box but it was an ugly brown color so I decided to make it match the frames it would be hanging with. I painted the box and put an antique glaze on it. Then, very carefully I took the ribbon off the bouquet and cut the stems off the roses, right where the stem meets the bud. I used a hot glue gun to attach each rose bud to the back of the shadow box. A few roses fell apart when I was handling them but I had enough to fill the box and have a few extra.





Antique Frames


My uncle came to visit and brought me tons of old pictures of my mom's family. I picked my favorites and wanted to frame them. I needed frames that would be appropriate for the age of the photos. I didn't have any antique frames and couldn't find them anywhere. I decided to buy new frames that had some texture to them from Michael's and try to make them look old. I sanded them and spray painted them a nice sea green color. I then took an antique glaze, found at Lowes and painted the frames in all the little crevasses. Then, wipe off the glaze so  deciding how much you want on each one. 











Sunday, February 17, 2013

Baby Hat With Pom Pom

A friend of mine is having a baby and the sex is unknown. I decided to make a baby hat with the colors gray and a light green. I used Bernnat Softee Baby yarn. I found a preemie hat pattern and just added a few extra stitches. Thanks to a suggestion from a relative I added a pom pom to the top to give it something extra and it turned out really cute. 
Circular needles size 6. 
Cast on 62 stitches. 
Knit 1 row
Purl 1 row 
Repeat for 8 inches. 
Sew the back seam and then sew the top seam straight across. 
Add a pom pom to the top and attach it where the 2 corners meet. 



Thursday, February 14, 2013

Wine Cork Ball


My family drinks A LOT of wine. I always keep the corks thinking that I will do a project with them someday.  I decided it was time. I had about 300 corks and created a decorative wine cork ball. I was inspired by one I saw at Anthropologie. I used a hot glue gun and a styrofoam ball. I spray painted it first so that you don't see white sticking out between the corks. 

I found a spot for it on the mantel or on top of the wine rack in the kitchen.



Sunday, February 10, 2013

Table Cloths Turned Curtains

I have been looking for curtains for our bedroom for a long time. They are way too expensive. I am too cheap to even buy fabric and make my own at $19.99 per yard. Even with a 50% off coupon, I have 3 windows in my master bedroom, this was going to cost at least $60 per curtain. I went to Target and found table cloths in the perfect yellow color to match the rest of the room. 60" x 84" oblong table cloths are the perfect size for a single window. I sewed them up 3 inches to make room for the curtain rod and had really nice curtains for $13.99 each!



















Guest Room Dresser Redo

In our guest bedroom we have an OLD Ikea (yes, another Ikea project!) dresser that is reallllly ugly. I have always hated it. I decided to redo it this weekend.  I sanded it down, painted it with our leftover master bedroom gray wall color and added hardware from Anthropologie. 







               

        Before                                                                                               After

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Ikea Mirror Redo

I purchased this mirror at Ikea. I have always admired it and finally had a spot for it while decorating my master bedroom. I wanted my accent color to be yellow to go with the gray walls. 

I sanded it down and then wiped it clean. Then bought a nice yellow spray paint. After a few coats it turned out well.







I decided that the yellow color was a little too bright compared to the other items in the bedroom so I added an antique glaze to the mirror to finish it off. 





Winter Ear Warmers


I have been making ear warmer/headbands for gifts this winter. I use Vanna's Choice yarn, which is pretty cheap at Michael's Craft Store and you can always use a 50% off coupon! This a nice size yarn for this project.

Directions:
I use size 9 needles and cast on 20 stitches.
R1- Knit the first row
R2 - Knit 5 - Pearl 10 - Knit 5
Repeat for 16 -18 inches depending on the size of the persons head.
Sew up the ends and add a flower for effect or just wear it plain.





This one is all knit stitch. After I sew it together I wrapped yarn around the middle to kind of cinch it together in the front. Then I added a flower on top. 






This one I used Lion Brand Thick and Quick chunky yarn. I did the same cinching technique. I think the yarn is a little too thick but my sister-in-law liked it!



Little Girls Scarf With A Bow Button


I made this scarf for a friends daughter. She found a similar picture on Pinterest and requested that I re-create it. I used a chunky white yarn for the scarf and a thin gray cotton yarn for the bow. The bow serves as a button to keep the scarf around the little ones neck.