New Velvet Headboard, Same Old Bed

My husband didn't want to get a new bed, but I was ready for a change.  So I built a frame that hooks over the old headboard and upholstered it in velvet.  It is so cozy and I can't believe I waited so long.  I bought my first staple gun.  Love staple guns...

Ikea bed before:


Building the frame:

 

 

View from the back - messy, but keeps the original headboard protected:

I fiddled around with covering buttons, but the fabric was too thick.  Staples weren't strong enough to hold all of the layers.  So I ended up using dark bronze screws with washers (I needed the washers to keep the fabric from pulling up around the screws.)  We can call it "industrial chic," even if it was serendipitous.

Way easier than I had worried all this time.  Especially if you don't need to work over an existing headboard and just start with a piece of plywood the right size.

Supplies:

• fabric
• egg carton mattress pad for tufting.
• screws, washers
• staple gun
• power drill
• wood

~ Kellie

New rug!

It's been forever since I posted anything. I either forget to take a before picture or I haven't done anything. The latter is the most likely. Anyway, I am on summer break, so I have some time to do stuff!  I've been looking for a rug for my living room for the better part of 5 years.  I'm both picky and cheap, so it's been a long haul. On a recent trip to Home Goods (TJ Maxx) I saw a yellow and white chevron rug in woven cotton, but it was half the size of what I needed. Boo! They had two of them though, and at $15 a piece, I laid them out on the store floor to see if they somewhat lined up. It's not a perfect match of the lines, but it's close enough for me. I had to make Eddie swear he wouldn't obsess. :)  I already had the thread on hand, so there was no additional cost for that. Only HOURS of hand sewing them together.  I suppose some people could use a machine, but I wasn't willing to break mine to find out. After $30 and a few episodes of Myth Busters and a viewing of Nanny McPhee, I have a new rug.  Now to get a sticky liner so no one cracks their head open. :)

Before:
2 rugs becoming one (Avert your eyes!)

After:

I pretty much love it. I also know of two cats that will die if they hack up a furball on it.

Christmas Hats

I know this is going back a while, but I haven't posted things in a while, so you're all going to get a few out of date projects until I catch up to the relevant posts!  As you can see from the title, this one's from Christmas.  Using one old sweater and a borrowed sewing machine here's what I came up with for 2 nieces, and a nephew for Christmas (out of one sweater!). I also made some gloves, but I forgot to get a picture of those....oops!

The models are pretty stinkin' cute too, though that one up top (as you can see) was not such a willing participant!  I used one of my husbands old t-shirts for lining since the felted wool from the sweater would be itchy on little foreheads.

I love all the different colored stripes.  You could wear them with anything.  Plus I just kept getting new ideas as I made them.  Here's the detail on the owl hat.

So, there you have it.

-Jen

Valentine Card Party

Ok, so I'm a bit slow in getting these things posted, but better late than never, right?  Right?!

I always feel awkward at those home parties where your friends invite you to their home and then you get there and its just a big sales pitch.  I actually enjoy the stamping/crafty ones...up until the end when the sales lady is waiting for me to make an order.  I would rather just hang out with my friends and make cards without feeling guilty for using the supplies and then not buying something and thereby making my friends look bad for having cheap friends!

So, this was MY version of a card party:

I emailed my friends and family and invited them to brunch at my house on a Saturday.  I would provide the food and drinks if they would come, bearing any crafty/card-making supplies they cared to share and make cards with me.  I have to admit I have some pretty creative friends and family and they all had different things to bring to the proverbial table.

There were quite a few are scrapbookers (all kinds of cool gear).  My contribution was card stock and embroidery floss.  And then there were ribbons and paint and glitter and paint swatches from the hardware store, fabric, fancy pens and scissors and so much more...

I did provide one template for those who couldn't get their creative juices flowing (I found it on martha stewart's website).

And then we just went for it.  The idea was you could make a valentine card (or 4 or 6 or 10), but then we got carried away and just started making whatever came to mind.  It was hard to remember to stop for food!

So much fun! And nobody went home any poorer!

-Jen

Happy Words and Thrift Store Finds

This is a dresser I found at my thrift store for $50.  I had to fix the drawers, but now it is fine, and I have always wanted a curvy front dresser.  (Somehow, all of my favorite furniture ends up costing me $50).  I also found a super cute frame, and I framed these words...  "I love you no matter what."  (I am trying to surround myself with good words these days.)  This has been great, cuz we see it everytime we come in or out of the house.  :)

~ Kellie

Pillow for Me...

Last year I made this pillow for my bed, and the cover does come off for washing.  The front is a dinner napkin from World Market and the back was from a sheet I bought at the thrift store.  The trim, the most complicated part, was made of stretch micro mesh netting that I had to gather.  I put a velcro opening in the back.  I love it, because it has all of my favorite colors in one place.  See, Jen, I have colors!! ~ Kellie

Microwave Cabinet

I needed to save the precious little counter space I have in the kitchen by hanging the microwave on the wall somewhere.  So I took this little double door cabinet that hung in the basement and rebuilt it into a cabinet for the microwave.


Cabinet Before:

I took off the doors, sawed out the middle strip that stopped the doors, ripped off the back, and then built a framework for a ventilation screen at the back, as well as a hole for the cord to go out.

I made the back frame out of different sized pieces of wood.  I had a hard time making the hole in the wood for the cord guide.  I made a ring of holes with my drill’s largest bit, and then tried to cut the rest out with a saw. Wasn't the prettiest approach, but it functioned as a hole, and then I got one of those cord guides you see built into office desks and put it into my not-so-perfect hole.

I bought a piece of radiator screen and painted it white so that the heat from the back of the microwave could escape from the cabinet once on the wall.

Then I used an old shelf from the basement to make a ledge/inner base in the cabinet that was strong enough to hold the microwave.  

Painted the whole thing white, and hung it up.  


After:

I was so proud of it because I designed it myself and I think it is pretty and matches the pantry below.  Hooray! ~ Kellie

New Kitchen Pantry

Before:

This is an old cabinet I bought for extra storage in our tiny kitchen.  I got it off of craigslist for $50.  It has sliding glass doors for the top section, but I took those out so I could store deeper stuff there.  It was painted black with a dark teal inside the section with the doors and the top inside was cream. The hardware was brushed nickel.

I took off knobs, sanded, had to fill some gaps and damaged areas with wood filler, then painted it and put on new oiled bronze knobs.  The splurge was the glass knobs, but I really love em.  This cabinet was a gift from God, because not much else could've fit in that little corner! ~ Kellie

Wedding Gift

I made this throw pillow for Mike’s cousin, who is getting married later this month.  I took velvet and a very small amount of bridal lace, stuffed it and stitched it.  I am usually working hard to make pillows that have removable and washable covers, but the lace would have to be dry cleaned anyway, so it made the whole project a lot easier. I got my inspiration from a website that Jen showed me where someone used old lace over a pillow. ~ Kellie