the thing in my closet

there's this...thing in my closet. it's big and bulky and taking up space that could be better used housing my shoes. it doesn't seem to really do anything. it just sort of sits there and takes up space. and it's not just me. almost everyone i know seems to have one of these...things invading their closet space, too! what is this strange occupant, you ask? a troll? a monster? a relative who may have had too much to drink at the last reunion and hasn't managed to find his way out again yet? (hey, every family has at least one). but no, it's actually none of these. it's worse. it's a sewing machine.

one of the most skill-underestimated talents out there, i think, is sewing. it looks so simple! just cut some shapes out, run the fabric through the machine, press the peddle, and presto! you're a seamstress! who wouldn't want to just whip up some sassy new outfit every time we were going to a party or date or jog around the block? any time the mood hit us, we could suddenly design a whole spring collection! so we all get this harebrained urge to buy one of these seemingly simple seam stitchers. this crazy thought starts to fog our usually logical minds: i can do this. when i am in the store now and see the newest innocent idiot wandering aimlessly through the aisle of sewing machines, i want to yell as loud as i can, "DON'T DO IT!". i want to slap their hand away from the box they're reaching cluelessly for and shake them from that foggy state, to crush their delusions of grandeur as someone should have crushed mine.

because otherwise, they are going to go home and try to use that machine. they will find that it's not as simple as we all thought and, shock, there is a reason we pay for the service people who actually know how to sew can provide. so we store the machine away in the dark corner of our closets and pile our shoes and boxes and cat food on top of it and forget. until someone mentions a sewing project years later. or perhaps they need a hem fixed or a popped seam resewn. then, suddenly, we get that gleam in our eyes and, for some insane reason, think we can do it again! this happens over and over again in a vicious cycle! then we pass the dang thing down to our children whom we have never taught to sew!!

*deep breath* that's what i hear happens, any way.

seriously, though, i am surrounded by people who have sewing machines. when i see it out on the table, i remark, "oh, i didn't know you could sew." they kind of blink back at me and reply, "i can't." and then we bond over the shared lack of talent and absurdity of having a machine we have little to no idea how to use. that's how i make friends. but i am constantly amazed at how many people i know with these and how few people i know who actually sew! the ratio is not positive!!

well, people, the purpose of this post is...it's happened again. that fog has clouded my judgment and i pulled the darn thing out of the closet. i plugged it in and managed to fill my bobbin and thread my needle (surprised i know how to do that? yeh, me, too). i went to the store and bought some fabric and tulle and elastic. i even got out the measuring tape and wrote down the waist measurements of my girls. then i sat down with it all and thought: oh, crap. now what?

and why, you ask, would i do this after the rant at the beginning of my post? what could possibly make me venture into that fog again? well...it was this:

Ucreate

c'mon! is that not just the cutest thing you've ever seen?!! she calls is the cotton candy skirt. tell me that doesn't make you want to sew! and she makes it look so easy!! it's just sewing some tulle onto a long strip of fabric and attached to some elastic, right? straight lines, people! HOW HARD COULD IT BE??

so i took a chance. i downloaded her tutorial and decided that was not only going to make this, but i was going to make three of them for my girls to wear to the wedding we were going to a few days later. i was very determined that this would happen. delusional, people. i'm telling you, it's a serious problem!

should you be itching to get out your own sewing machine now, having seen the awesome cuteness that could be yours, let me walk you through the process that i went through so that you can, hopefully, learn from my...experience.

i'll walk through the tutorial from the blog i got this from. in italics beneath it, i'll comment on how that worked for me with some pics.

Step 1
Measure the rectangle for your skirt. I tripled (really--she wanted fluffy remember?) her waist measurement which is 20. So my rectangle is 60 inches by 16 inches for the height. Serge both edges and then turn under bottom and hem.


got it. this was pretty easy.

Step 2
Make your tulle "bundles." I used 4 yards of tulle and I did end up using all of it in the skirt. I cut strips that were 6 inches by width of the tulle bolt. You should have approximately 24 strips of tulle. Now cut these in half. This should give you 48 smaller strips of tulle.

Now make your bundles...

I am showing you the next steps with fabric (pretend it's tulle)--the tulle didn't show up very well on camera to fold it.

Fold tulle in half.Then fold it in half again. You should have something that looks like this.

Then bunch the top into a bundle--it will look like a tiny paper bag.

You are going to sew where my fingers are.

ok...this got a little confusing. i couldn't figure out how to work all of those measurements with what i had until i realized that she was using bolts of tulle whereas i had bought the rolls of it. so i just kind of guessed the length i needed and started folding:

then i sewed the bundles at the top and set them in a pile:
after i finished the skirt, however, i decided that "pre-sewing" the bundles like this was a waste of my time and the most tedious part of the the whole process. for the next one, i simply bunched them in my fingers and sewed it directly onto the fabric as i went. this not only saved time, but it looked "cleaner" as well without the extra messy lines of thread.

Step 3
Layer your tulle "bundles" on the skirt and sew on in rows vertically like the picture shown. I did 3 rows of 15 or 16 bundles per row.


this step was easy enough, though i will clarify that you need to sew on one line at a time, starting with the bottom since you are layering more on top of it. however, again, if you are simply sewing them on as you go rather than bundling and then sewing, you don't need the pinning step. just have your tulle cut, folded, and sitting in a pile beside you. here's the way it looked the original way, though:

Step 4

Sew up your side seam. Turn under the top to put in casing. Then, thread elastic in and sew up. And you're done!


okay, that was a bit abrupt of an ending, don't you think? where's the "how to" on threading the elastic? because that was freakin' awful!! anyway, a tip on sewing the casing. fold the top of the fabric FORWARD rather than backward and use it to cover up the top of your top row of tulle, as it is likely to look pretty darn messy. the other rows aren't a problem because they're under the rest of the tulle, but that top row...well, let's just say it needs a nice cover.

so that was it. the first one was the hardest, but it came out pretty darn cute:
of course, that model could make anything look good! including the totally mismatched outfit here. hey, i was lucky to get her still long enough to get the skirt over her clothes and get a couple of pics. i wasn't going to try to wrestle her out of the clothes she had one first!

one more tip for this one that the tutorial does not mention: make sure you choose a fabric that is the same color, or very close to it, as your tulle. the fabric i used here was too light for the tulle and showed through too much, i think.

so, there you have it. the second skirt was a lot easier to make with what i learned from the first one, so i would definitely recommend trying this one. do not, however, start designing that spring collection just yet. with my head still big from this success, i tried to make a little bubble style dress for this same model...let's just say that the fog has lifted after that one.

the gallery wall make over

my gallery wall (compliments of jamie over at kreyv) was the catalyst that sparked the living room make over (still in progress, more posts to come). i did this before i started the blog, so there is no post to refer back to. basically, i had some frames, one big canvas, two small canvases, a name plaque, and an inkling of an idea. jamie designed the wall, gave me instructions, and even hung it up for me. this is the result:


cool, huh? she has several posts on gallery walls if you want to find one for yourself and make it happen.

like i said, this started me thinking that perhaps it was time (after almost 4 years of living here) to decorate my living room. well, to make a long story short, i have to paint my walls. and the color i'm painting them no longer matches the canvases in my gallery wall. bummer.

so i needed a new idea. i've been seeing a lot of really pretty wall art lately that uses fabric. check these out:


so i could really just use the current canvases and cover them in fabric, right? really, how hard could that be? i have a nail gun, so really...not hard!

i hit the store and found some fantastic possibilities. seriously, i think i could become addicted to fabric...and not have any clue what to do with it. i went for texture in the two smaller canvases and a big bold print for the large canvas. for the small canvases, i was able to find a couple i liked in the remnant pile for a dollar each (score!). the bigger one wasn't on sale, but i only needed about a quarter yard, so it was still pretty cheap to get.

i do recommend, should you be doing this at home, lining the canvas if there is a pattern or dark color on it. even though my fabric was thick, the dark brown lines still showed somewhat. so i lined with a layer of white that i already had. then i simply started wrapping it all around the canvas frame.

i don't remember where i learned this (possibly from Trading Spaces during my college days), but you start with the corners.


then the middle of each side.


then where ever is left to tighten. make sure to fold the corners neatly because they will show when hung.


voila! first one done!


it took all of ten minutes. i finished the other two and put them back in the gallery for a nice photo finish:

easiest project ever. i definitely recommend this for all skill levels.

*note: the remnant i bought for one of the canvases was actually to narrow too fit the canvas, so i simply cut off a piece from the length (of which there was plenty) and sewed it together. if you do this, make sure to iron the seam so it will lay flat.

Baubling On and On

i have all girls. my girls are very girlie. my girlie girls love girlie things, like hair bows, flowers, and rings. they put these things on and they spin and they sing. and they laugh as the sun catches on all of their bling! unfortunately for me, buying their bling makes the register ching, and suddenly no more shuffle of bills in my pocket, but that annoying jing-a-ling.

dr. seus ain't got nothin' on me! word.

so my oldest is worse than most of the teenage girls i knew in high school. she changes clothes at least twice a day (more if i leave her unattended for more than ten minutes), is constantly checking herself out and posing in front of the full length mirror. everything she sees in the store is "beautiful" and something she really needs. her favorite game is dress up and i'm pretty sure that's what she dreams about at night. she has very strong opinions about the clothes i buy her or put out for her in the morning. the first of which always being "no jeans, mom! they're not pretty!". *sigh* and, of course, her sister just copies everything she does, so i'm already seeing the dollar signs fleeing my wallet as the years pass in my head. there are proms, homecomings, weddings.... the more immediate problem is her jewelry.

she was always admiring of my wedding rings and the few other rings that i wore. then she started noticing the occasional necklace on other women. then the ear rings were a big deal. suddenly, i wake up in the morning and she's climbed up on something to get into my jewelry box and is pulling out whatever she can get her little hands on! obviously it was time to get her some of her own.

have you seen these?


i know, cute, right? but let's be honest. these are for little kids. how long are they really going to last? so should i really pay full price for those? nah!! i can totally make that! and you know what? i can! with a little help from my blogging peeps, you can, too! go here to see where i got the idea for this project (a girl and a glue gun). i LOVE this blog. seriously, what's not to love? it's a craft blog that uses a lot of glue gun action. i have a glue gun! and i know how to use it! well, you know. the basics. plug in, point, pull trigger. how hard could it be?

so i went to the store to find the bases like what kimbo had in her post, but couldn't find them in bulk. they wanted $5 for one! i began to have second thoughts. but then my genius eye fell on these:


look familiar? well, they should. you're keys are probably hanging from one right now. well...not the exact ones, obviously. unless they're very small keys. these are about the size of a 3 or 4 year old's finger. convenient, no? so i sunk them into some Styrofoam and pulled out my stash of "some day" materials (as in "i'm sure i'll find a way to use this stuff some day). i pulled out some fabric and beads that i thought would work well, and away we go!



have you ever seen these?


well, they make awesome rings for little girls!


while i was at it, i found a couple of fake flowers in my stash that i'd used for a baby shower decoration and decided that they girls could use some new hair clips, too. so i clipped then off of the stem, found some "some day) beads, and hot glued them all to a clip that i also found at the store (25 for under $2).



then i made a couple of flowers out of fabric using the method kimbo described in her "hair crap" posts:


and that's it! it cost a fraction of what i would have had to pay to buy one already made only to have them get lost or broken within a month! and who's the coolest mom ever? me, of course!! it just doesn't get any better than this.

Pillow Talk

there are feathers littering my living and family rooms. feathers are pretty good fun for little girls. they are a favorite with all three of mine, ages 1 to 4. there's all kinds of things you can do with them: blow them up in the air, tickle each other, pretend we're dumbo and flying, eating them...(the one year old. hey, if it's on the ground, it goes in the mouth. luckily, they don't go down easy and she spits them back out pretty quickly). my oldest even collects them with the intention of building a bird, i think. it's a pretty versatile item! unfortunately, what they can not seem to do...is disappear. really, do i want these little things all over the floors? every time i vacuum, i feel like i've finally gotten them all. then i look in the room a few minutes later, and there's more!

these entertaining little buggers are from a couple of old throw pillows that a former coworker gave me. they are rather ugly and, obviously, a bit worse for the wear, so i have been letting the girls have their way with them (hence the constant flux of feathers). however, i have lately been looking for a love seat to put in my living room. the ones i've been considering do not come with accent pillows. my designer friend has recommended that i get some to add more color to my room. well, i don't know if you've ever looked at pillows in stores, but a 2x2 pillow is easily $15, and i need 2 to 4 of them. that's at least $30 to $60, quite possibly more! for pillows! why? all they are is a couple squares of fabric sewn together and stuffed with fluff! true, i don't really sew, but how hard could it be? it's just a few straight lines. i can totally do that, and it won't cost me $15 a pillow!

the plan:
i would simply recover the existing feather emitting pillows. in fact, i have two other accent pillow that came with my couch that i wouldn't mind seeing in different clothes, too. observe the contenders:

so i headed out to Hobby Lobby to look at fabric. because i am "all things craft impaired", i took one of each pillow with me to have the professionals measure and tell me how much fabric i needed. i can only assume that there are others out there like me, because they did so without blinking an eye. so after puzzling over style, print, texture, and design, i finally settled on these:



already, i think i'm ahead. the fabric only cost me $16 for all four pillows.

so here's something i learned that people don't tend to tell you in online tutorials: pre-wash your fabric before you start cutting and sewing. apparently shrinking could be an issue.

on with the show.

now that i had the fabric, i began having delusions of grandeur. that's the problem with the "how hard could it be" mentality. a few small successes can easily go to your head and start making you feel a bit big for your britches. with fabric in hand, in the middle of a craft store, i made some grand plans and started - gasp - designing. at first, it was only in my head. but later, i actually drew some pictures, making a very amateurish pattern (i drew a square and a few lines...and not to scale...or even straight lines. all in all, i think only cavemen would be impressed, and only because i used a pen rather than a rock on stone). i remembered seeing this post on making a baby blanket and thought "hey, that would be kind of cool to simplify and use for my pillows". i would make two layers on the front, then cut the top layer in strips so the bottom layer could "peek" out. simple. i mean, there it was right there, showing me how to do it. on a diy blog. so i could diy it, right? well, the big difference between myself and the author of that blog is: she know what she's doing. i, conversely, do not.

but i do have the secret to diy projects for we less-craft-capable people: friends.

so i exchanged babysitting services for help with sewing from a friend who has some nifty tools that made this job a lot easier: a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and a clear gridded ruler. she also had another good tip when it comes to sewing: never sew TOWARD a seam. it can cause "bunching". and also, for pillows like these, leave the opening on a side, not a corner.

so my friend made sure my squares were cut evenly and even drew the diagonal lines for me to sew on (definitely do this. almost impossible for less experienced crafters to do it otherwise).














then i pinned the two layers together, and sewed on the lines.


















next, i cut the top layer between the newly sewn seams (i couldn't decide which to make the top and which to make the bottom, so i did one of each). simple. quickly stitched the back to the front and came up with this:



i tossed them into the wash to get a more textured effect.

now, if you look too closely, you can still see the pattern of the pillows through the new fabric on the back. i figure you can either go back and add another layer to it, or slip some batting in.


then i used some liquid stitch to seal up the side.




the other two; the ones that started it all; the molting ones that have given me carpal tunnel syndrome from constant vacuuming...well, they would be much easier. my friend with the cool toys cut them for me again and all i had to do was sew a few straight lines and liquid stitch them.


and voila! my new pillows!


bottom line: this was a relatively easy project. all you need is a sewing machine (whether you really know how to use it or not), some fabric, and time. i won't lie to you, i did this over a few days. if you don't have young children and a house to clean, meals to cook, and errands to run, you can probably get it done a lot faster. you can get exactly the colors and style you want and save yourself a bundle. a definite DO for any skill level.