Thrifty Wall Decor!

I'm SO excited about this project! 

Since summer I've been collecting mirrors for some thrifty wall decor.

I finally got enough mirrors, and put it all together. Check it out!

(Ok...Obviously, I don't have pictures of the next step.

But for the record, I took apart the mirrors and spray painted them. Easy enough right?)

shirt surgery!

The other day I bought this terribly large and ugly shirt at the thrift store. The floral pattern was really cute...but the shirt was not. So, I decided to try and  make it into a dress!

I don't have a step by step tutorial, because I really didn't know what I was doing.

Basically, I just found some other dresses I had, and used them as templates! 

Ugly shirt:

Cute pattern:

 

Using another dress that fit me well, I just used it as a template and cut around it.

I cut it slightly bigger for seam allowance. 

 

Next I finished off the edges.

 

 I realized I would never wear a dress with a button up collar top, so I decided to cut that off too!

I found another dress I had to use as a template. 

Trust me, I did not know what I was doing.

I just took those two dresses, and tried to duplicate them.

Cut, and finish off edges.
I added some elastic in the back of the dress...just like the template. 

Next, I took the left over sleeves, and made the straps!

Attach straps!

So, after I constructed it...I think I tried it on, and did revisions at least 10 times.

Mostly around the top, so it looked and fit right.

I also ended up sewing the entire dress shut where buttons were. It's just safer that way! Haha!

Add belt, and there you have it!

 

Dustin took the pictures for me...so he wanted to show what he was wearing too. ^_^

Craft time!

Recycled Calendar Sketchbook Tutorial!

What to do with old calendars? Make a sketchbook!

(as you can see, I hoard old calendars. 2004? Ha!)

Rip out the picture you want to use.

Trim off anything unwanted, making the main piece around 10" deep.

Turn it over, and fold up about 2.5" or 3". this will become inside pockets.

At this point, I trim it down horizontally to about 10.75" so I can fit it into an 8.5x11" laminating sheet.

Laminate & trim off excess. If you don't have a laminator, clear contact paper would work too! (Oh and don't worry, you will be laminating right over the pocket so it's sealed shut. We'll fix that later.)

Sew around the perimeter.

Be sure to use a nice bright color so it looks extra cute!

Time to select the paper for inside your sketchbook. You can use recycled paper, scrap paper, or whatever you'd like. I'm just using regular printer paper without lines. Only use around 10 sheets so you can sew through. Trim it down so that it fits neatly inside the edges of the cover.

First fold the papers in half...

Then separately fold and crease the cover in half.

Line up the folds and sew down the crease!

Next, take an exact-o knife, and lightly score the pocket line. Be careful not to cut the whole way through. You just want to cut the laminate so the pocket can open.

See?

Voilà!

White Chili

I will fully admit that I'm not the greatest cook, nor do I even like to cook, but there are a few things that I can make very well. White Chili is one of them. As you'll see it's SUPER easy and requires almost no cooking knowledge. That's the way I like it! It's super yummy and very healthy, only 138 calories per cup! For those doing Weight Watchers, it's only 3 points per cup (this is for the new points plus plan).

So here ya go...Enjoy!

White Chili

2 - 15 oz cans of white whole kernel corn (do not drain)

2 - 15 oz cans northern beans (rinsed & drained)

2 - 4 oz cans diced green chili peppers (do not drain)

2.5 cups water

1 tbsp. lemon pepper seasoning

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 clove garlic

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

Put it all in a crock pot, heat through.

Top with tortilla chips (I prefer baked) and cheese.

I also like to add a little red hot to taste!

Of course if you have access to fresh corn etc...use it! :D

Snow, Kindles, Painting and Crafty fun!

So, it's been crazy snowy around here! No school for the kids yesterday and today! Not only did I barely leave the house last weekend, but now it's been almost 48 house since I left once again! It's been nuts. Snow is piling up everywhere, which makes parking very difficult if you live down town. Don't even think about visiting me any time soon! If you actually do find a parking spot, upon returning to your car you will find that someone has let the air out of your tires! LOL. For some reason when I'm snowed in I feel like it's a mini-vacation inside your own house. This is bad. Very bad. Not only do I feel lazy and bored, but then I want to treat myself by making brownies and eating everything in sight. *sigh* I must break free!

So anyway, being trapped inside for multiple days has forced me to be semi-productive. I've just had it with doing nothing!  I've cleaned and organized my desk, got back to crocheting my blanket (yea, I work on this about once a year) and did a little reading.

I've started reading a book on Travis' Kindle which has been a pure joy! Ok, I'm a super lazy reader. I really don't like to read all that much, but I force myself to just to keep my wheels turning. Haha! As soon as I started reading with it I instantly was struck by the ease of reading and drinking tea at the same time! You can easily hold it in your left hand (and flip pages with the button on the left hand side) and drink with your right. It's also very nice to be able to simply lay the Kindle on your lap while reading...hands free! I would be fighting with a normal book the whole time! Not to mention the awesome feeling I have as if a crew member of the Star Ship Enterprise. Buahha!

Oh, and the book I'm reading is Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. It's amazing! I mean, it really isn't saying anything I didn't already know, but it gives you practical ways to accomplish things and how to get motivated! Good stuff, I highly recommend it.

I've been working on a commission piece quite a bit...here's a in-progress sneak peak!

In other crafty brain overflow, I made a few little idea/sketch books over the weekend. I totally got the idea from a tutorial by Susie Ghahremani's of boygirlparty.com . I used an old calendar page for the covers, and random notebook paper for the insides. The only thing I did different was laminate the cover. Since I laminated the cover I didn't have to do any stitching on the sides. So fun and cute. Perfect little book to keep with you at all times!

Well, that's about it. Thanks for tuning in, and see you next time on brain overflow...here ya go!.

Scrabble Pendant Tutorial!

Hi everyone! I've had a lot of people ask me how to make my scrabble pendants, so I thought I'd just make a little tutorial for you. It took me quite a while to figure it out myself, gathering bits and pieces of information here and there. This is my first tutorial ever, so I'll give it my best shot!

Here we go!

First I'll go through all the things you'll need.

Scrabble pieces of course! I got mine at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Make sure the ones you are using are clean. If they have been used a lot, sometimes they have a layer of grime that just won't do!

Jewelry Bails

I got mine off of Ebay, from Art Glass Decor. I use the Large Silver Plated Jewelry Bails.

Diamond Glaze

I also got mine from ebay. I honestly can't remember the exact shop, but if you type in Diamond Glaze you'll find many places to choose from.

Mod Podge

You'll need this to coat your little pictures that go on the scrabble piece. You can get this at any craft store or even Walmart.

Gorilla Super Glue
This is what I've been using lately, but there are plenty of other adhesives that will work. This one dries SUPER quick, so if you need more than a couple seconds to place the bail on, then you might want to go with something that dries slower. Aleene's Platinum Bond 7800 Adhesive works well, but I would let it dry overnight before handeling.

Now that you know what you'll need, on with the actual process.

First you will need your image. I use an HP printer with Vivera ink that is water resistant. If you are not using water resistant ink then you may run into a problem with the next step. A magazine clipping works well too.

Now you're going to give your picture a protective coating of Mod Podge. Starting with the back of your little picture, brush on a thin coat of the Mod Podge and let dry. Repeat for a second coat. After that is completely dry, turn over and repeat!

Now attach your picture to the scrabble piece. Simply brush some Mod Podge on the wood and carefully place the picture on to the tile.

Center the picture and press down all edges. Sometimes I turn the whole thing over and press down onto a clean surface so that it's evenly pressed flat.

Now put one last of coat over the top to seal it onto the wood. Let it dry thoroughly.

Next, starting at any corner, gently squeeze a line of Diamond Glaze around the perimeter of the tile. You may want to get it started by squeezing a bit out on to a paper towel so any bubbles come out first.

Fill in the middle with Diamond Glaze. There will probably be bubbles. Sometimes you can avoid them if you are really careful, but usually there are some you'll just have to deal with.

There will most likely be a bunch of teeny-tiny bubbles. You'll need to be really picky and get them out! Once the glaze dries the bubbles will be way more noticable, so it's very important to get as many out as possible. Taking a tooth-pick, carefully round up the bubbles and pull to a corner. From there you can either pull them out or lift them off.

Let it dry overnight. I would cover it somehow to prevent dust from settling on it.

Now you can attach the bail. Just put a dab of glue on the bail itself and center it on the back of the tile. Let dry for several hours.

Voilà!

Let me know if you have any questions whatsoever!

Of course I have a bunch of these for sale in my Etsy shop featuring my art! They are all made by me and initialed on the back.

Enjoy!