Silk Flower Birthday Gift Wrapping

Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower Pillows

I am completely in love with the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower and the Chrysler Building, too.  I have statues and wall art and wood boxes all over the house with these images on them and I decided to update my bedroom pillows and quelle surprise, I turned to my love of these structures again, some more.

I made them using my trusty Citra-Solv transfer technique and I'm running out of that stuff and need to hunt some more down.

I found images for the tower, the statue and the skyline of New York in a google image search and then downloaded a bunch of different fonts for the printed elements and arranged it all on my fabric and voilà, new pillows.

I did not use zippers to make these covers, bad move, I know.  I'm living on the edge and will eventually curse myself for not using zippers but it was another one of those gotta make it now things and I had no zippers on hand.  I can install them later when they need a wash.

Refinished Antique Chair

I bought four of these chairs at a shop that refinishes antiques. It was going out of business and I found them in the basement for seven dollars a piece.  

They had four coats of paint in questionable colours, and it was a bitch to strip them down to the wonderful wood they once were over a hundred years ago.  The original seat would have been cane, but forms were cut from wood which were also painted crazy colours.

Anyway, I didn't take before shots because I just decided I had to refinish them right now and that means get right to it, so no before photos.


I stripped going the toxic chemicals route and used paint stripper, then applied two coats of chestnut stain and then water based sealant. I found the paisley fabric a while ago and used it on an antique rocking chair and love it so much that I decided to cover the seat using it again.

Wedding Gift Wrap and Wedding Dress Card

Silk Flower Gift Wrapping

Altered Scrapbook Cover

I altered the cover of a scrapbook my friend sent me.  I had everything on hand to make this, so this was a zero dollar project for me.

Here's a little tutorial.

I started with a plain scrapbook my friend sent me.

I cut a piece of burlap and glued it down using Mod Podge.

I added some jute burlap and a ribbon to the left and glued down salt dough stars which I stamped.  I spelled out my son's name using foam lettering from the Dollar Store.  I braided jute twine and glued it down along the edges using Mod Podge.  I used clothes pegs to keep it in place until it dried.

I fashioned these curly things out of jute twine and glued them down, keeping them in place with tape until they dried.

I mounted a black and white photo using foam bits.  I might change this photo to a different one in sepia - the one I used was the only one I had that was suitable at the time.

I added a button using a glue gun and added ties using jute twine, also affixed with a glue gun. And there you have it.

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Dragonfly Tablet Sleeve

I made this tablet cover yesterday. The dragonfly is made from felt, the wings have an iridescent opaque overlay. Embroidery detail is stitched using one strand of embroidery cotton.

Toddler Arrowhead Lace Headband With Crocheted Flowers

I created this little headband today which will be for sale at my Etsy store.

Jack, Jackie, The Jackster, Jackinator, El Jackal, Ja-KAY

This is Jack, who we rescued from a local shelter. The other cats are still adjusting to this guy invading their space, but it's slowly getting better.

As you can see, he's adjusted swimmingly to having a roof over his head and three squares a day.

Moss Green Lacy Baby Cardi

I knit this little cardi this week which will be listed in my Etsy Shop.

Newborn Hooded Cardigan

This sweater was meant to be given as a gift, but the newborn baby is a chunky monkey and will need a bigger size.

Boxed Bag and Needle Holder

I made this boxed bag and sewing needle holder for my knitting odds and ends.

I used a tutorial which I found online by doing a general search; there are several great ones to chose from.

Burlap Covered Box

                         I crafted this little box for storage today.

It's a simple little project, and here's a brief explanation of how it's done:

Choose your fabric and wrap your box as you would a present. I used a plain ole cardboard box, cutting off the top to create an open box. I used Mod Podge to glue the fabric in place.

I used pegs to keep the fabric in place while it dried, like so.

Embellish with...whatever. I used Mod Podge again to glue the elements in place.  The daisy was crocheted with butcher's  twine.  I found a tutorial with photos here which shows how to crochet daisies and I sort of got addicted to making them in different sizes. See how tiny?!

Look at the horrific mess I make no matter what I am crafting.  Who would think this kind of destruction can happen while making a simple little box?  Me, that's who. I'm impossible.

And there you have it.

Baby Giftwrapping

Here's another example of my rustic wrapping with a lamb cut out of card stock, and a bow made from ripped fabric strips.

Tulip Wreath

There is still snow on the ground, but I put together this wreath to encourage spring to come.

A Crop Of Newborn Baby Beanies

I had planned on knitting preemie hats to give to local hospital NICUs and after all the knitting, I realized they are all borderline too big for premature babies, so these are all for sale in my Etsy store.  Back to the drawing board and knitting way smaller hats!

Snowflake Mittens

I should probably stop knitting mittens but I can't help myself.

Briggs Mittens

They were knit with pure wool from Briggs and Little, which is the first wool mill established in Canada in 1916, and is one of the few woolen mills still operating in North America.

The mill is located in New Brunswick on the east coast and boy, would I ever love to do a tour of that place!

Violet Radiate Cardigan

I knit this swing cardigan for the upcoming warmer weather.  

Free pattern and details can be found on my Ravelry account.

Altered Floral Notebook

I put together this little notebook yesterday when I needed a bit of distraction.

The hardback notebook is from the dollar store and was covered with cotton fabric which I left very wrinkled on purpose.

The flower petals were cut out of a thicker fabric which frays. I embroidered around each petal and stitched french knots on the center part.  I used regular markers to colour the stem and petals and then glued everything down with mod podge.

I printed out the little love quote on white tissue paper and then mod podged it onto the fabric.