Gift Wrapping With Greenery

Tied with taupe fabric strip.

Greenery Wreath

I made this simple wreath today for my bedroom door.  I am crazy about wreaths and I'm pretty sure I have too many.

I like doing things cheaply, so to make this one, I took apart a coat hanger, shaped it into a circle and then wrapped it in taupe fabric and held the end down with hot glue.  As you may notice, I can't do much without a cat helping.

From time to time when I am at a dollar store, I check the greenery and buy a cluster so that when it comes time to craft, I have several kinds on hand to make things interesting.  This wreath has six different types in it.

Altered Notebook Tutorial

After having bought Mod Podge to do an image transfer, I gave some thought about what other sort of project I could do to use up some more of it, and decided to try my hand at altering a dollar store notebook.

I am in love with how it turned out so much that I'm going to cover my address book in the same way.  

I'm going to give this one to my mother on Mother's Day.

Here's a tutorial 

Breadboard With Vintage Ad

I transferred a Graphics Fairy vintage ad onto a breadboard (image transfer tutorial using Citra Solv is here) and I know that I am obsessed with vintage advertising but the pieces I have made are spread out over the house so I don't think it's overkill.  Yet.

Maybe I worked in advertising in a previous life...

Rolled Paper Rose Ball

I made this paper rose ball a while ago and was iffy about it and it lived out of sight for a while. I decided to display it atop a vase and I'm still not sure about it but it's living there a while until it grows on me, or not.

Here's how to make rolled paper roses: 

Image Transfer Onto Bedside Table Using Mod Podge

I was on the verge of putting this little bedside table into a yard sale and then decided I really should use it in the guest room instead.  Since I'm crazy for image transfers, I hunted for one (at The Graphics Fairy, of course)  that would suit the piece.  I simply enlarged the image into three separate parts that fit on letter sized paper using Word.

After painting two coats of white acrylic, I set to work using the photocopies printed using toner and burnished the image using Citra Solv and to my surprise, it blurred badly.  I painted over the drawers and tried again.  Another fail.  This method worked perfectly on my J.P Coats sewing box project so I was at a loss to figure out why it wouldn't work on this piece, as I had even used the very same paint on it.

I thought I must be doing something wrong so I found some tiny images I had on hand and tried to transfer them onto the sides of a drawer where it wouldn't show, and all three times every one of them blurred badly.  I am completely stumped as to why it wouldn't work this time.

I was not going to give up easily, so I did some research and decided to try out the Mod Podge image transfer method.

I followed the directions as outlined in this really good tutorial, and the dang image rubbed off as I worked on the first drawer, so - another fail. 

I felt defeated but began to work on the second drawer, gently rubbing off only a thin layer the wet paper as instructed, and then decided I was tired of it, so I left it alone overnight to be worked on the next day.

Leaving it to dry overnight after wetting it again and removing a thin layer of paper seems to be the key.  

The next morning, I saturated the leftover paper again, gently rubbing it off, and the image had firmly set onto the paint and didn't come off this time around.

So in a nutshell, this is how I managed to get a good transfer:


Brush a moderate amount of Mod Podge over the image on your photocopy - use cheap thin paper, it's easier to remove later.  Don't brush the Mod Podge onto white spaces  - you'll waste time rubbing it off later.  Don't use an excessive amount of Mod Podge, but don't be stingy either.

  

Position and then lie your copy onto the painted item print side down and gently remove bubbles or wrinkles with your fingertips or a flat item (a credit card would work well).  Do this step gently or you will rip the paper.  Also! make sure your print is properly oriented.  I put one upside down on a drawer by mistake. FUUUU....!  If you are transferring the image to drawers, make sure the images line up perfectly.  I taped my image down and used an Exacto knife to cut the print between the drawers.

Let your piece dry for 24 hours.

Put down newspaper because the next step is messy.  Completely saturate your photocopy with water (I used a spray bottle) and gently rub the paper off with your fingertips using a circular motion. Key word: Gently.  You won't be removing all the paper, there will still be a layer left.  Keep your paper damp as you work.   You will find this step to be time consuming. It's tedious, but be patient and stop yourself from wanting too rub hard because you will end up removing the image.

Let your piece fully dry again for at least 10 hours. 

Completely saturate the paper and gently rub it off with your fingertips again, some more, ad nauseum. 

You may have to repeat these last two steps a few times based on how much Mod Podge you used and whether Jupiter is aligned with Mars or not.  It's hard to say which affects the process more.

I much prefer the quick and easy method using Citra Solv, but if this is the only way to transfer an image onto a painted surface, then it was worth it in the end.

After the image had set and was ready to go, I painted a thin coat of Mod Podge all over the drawer fronts to make sure the faux finish would cover evenly over the areas of the image where trace bits of paper remained.

Next, I applied a glaze (half glaze, half leftover acrylic taupe paint) to give the piece an aged look, and added some drawer pulls that were salvaged from a dresser that was given a makeover a while ago.

Cost of project: zero.  My favourite amount to spend on stuff.

Here is the bedside table before the transformation, in danger of a rehoming: 

As an aside, I often see comments from people who use French ephemera saying that they have no idea what the words mean.  I read an entry where a woman said she chose to believe a transfer she used meant something dreamy and romantic and it literally said 'Quality chicken feed wholesalers.' 


Anyway.


This particular image I have used is either the work of someone not very knowledgeable in French who threw some unrelated and random items together for this ad, or else stores in France sold a weird assortment of goods way back when.


This place sells clothing, stationery, bootmakers' items and cutlery.  That's sort of like a pastry shop selling doorknobs and pillows.

Sewing Box Makeover with Vintage J.P. Coats Ad

I was given a wood box which contained bath products a really long time ago.  It's got sentimental value (and I have a thing for boxes) but it wasn't very pretty, so I've wanted to transform it for a while.  

I turned it into a sewing box that I can keep close at hand in the living room instead of having to run a flight of stairs to gather up the essentials which I am constantly in need of, or so it seems.

The image comes from The Graphics Fairy as usual (love her!) and the Citrasolv image transfer method tutorial is here.

I painted two coats of acrylic wall paint, then mixed up a glaze using the same black paint to add a distressed look and tone down the white paint.

Here is the box looking overdue for a change before:

Zip Lipped Fish Pouch With Tutorial

 

Dear Lord, a fish pencil case with a zipped mouth, can you even believe how adorable?  I saw this idea floating around the internet and decided I had to have one, then filed the thought away, and then promptly forgot about it.

Then my son sent me some fabric from Taiwan that arrived yesterday and one of the prints reminded me of fish scales, and I said EUREKA!! I must make a fish pencil case! So I did.

I had to develop a pattern and figure things out for myself, so I'm making a tutorial (click the read more link) for anyone who needs a fish case for pencils, double pointed knitting needles, or whatever one would like to stuff in a fish who has zipped lips.

Lavender Heart Sachet

I sewed this floral heart sachet out of felt and stuffed it with lavender.  I attached a ribbon so that I can suspend it from a hanger.  I'm going to make one for each of my lovely Eileen West nightgowns, and I'll sew a bunch to give as gifts.

A few more:

Spruced Up Knife Block

 

I've been wanting to freshen up my knife block which was shabby but not in a good way.  The blonde wood stood out like a sore thumb and it had an unattractive Starfrit logo front and center.

I used a hand sander and stripped off the finish, then stained the wood using steel wool that had soaked in vinegar for several hours.

I did an image transfer with Citrasolv, using selected parts of an advertisement I found on The Graphics Fairy.  I finished it off with a coat of mat water based fast drying sealant.

Spring Twigs

Have you seen those bundles of twigs or grasses that cost upwards of $15? Yeah, you can make those for free.

I waited until my lilacs started to bud to remind myself that I shouldn't have to put up with this never ending winter for much longer. Snip them, bundle them, tie them.

Also, If you ever find yourself undecided about painting over old brick, you should do it. I think this was the absolute best cheap makeover I have ever done which yielded the biggest impact.

Matching Crochet Edged Linens

And then I thought, why not edge the matching top sheet?  So I did.

 

Recycled Battenburg Lace

I took down and stored some Battenburg lace valences when I redecorated a guest room and now I've used the lace to make pillows.

The valences were too narrow to make pillows, so I carefully removed the lace with a seam ripper and sewed it to the new fabric, then stitched up the new pillows.

 There is almost always a reason to hang onto everything!

Crochet Edged Pillowcases

I have been wanting to dress up my white linens with some form of lace edging.  While waiting for white yarn to arrive, I got itchy to edge something so I did a test run on some vintage pillowcases I was given.

I love the results, and here's how I did it:

Using sport weight cotton/acrylic blend yarn and a 3.5mm hook, I did a blanket stitch edging all around the pillowcase.  My stitches are placed 5/8ths of an inch apart in width, and 3/8ths of an inch from the edge.  You may want to mark off where your stitches will go if you don't have a good eye for placing them precisely.

Using the horizontal thread section of your blanket stitch, crochet the edging of your choice. I improvised here, and went for a zigzag look, and how I did that was to slip one stitch, triple crochet, then double crochet in each section, and repeat until the end.

This is another pattern I considered, and it is formed with one slip stitch, then three double crochet in each section, and repeat until the end.

You can do this with different weights of yarn and patterns, but bear in mind that you will have to change the length of your blanket stitch based on your design.

Here is a shell pattern done on blanket stitch with 7/8ths of an inch between the vertical stitches.  This shell stitch was done with one slip stitch,and four double crochet in each section, then repeat to the end.  

If you have never crocheted before and feel as though it may be too challenging, I encourage you to have a look at some tutorials for each stitch I have used. I promise you, this is a beginners project, and easy to do.

Tote With Vintage Stocking Ad

I sewed this simple tote today, transferring a vintage ad for McCallum stockings from the 1930s.

I have a tutorial for the tote here You would sew the tote minus the ruffles shown on the tutorial.

If you would like to know how to transfer images onto fabrics, I have a tutorial for that here.

I had cut this brown eyelet off of a skirt and almost threw it away recently when I was tidying up my stash. I was thinking, when will I ever use this stuff? The answer is, six years after cutting it off of a skirt.  Never throw your stuff away!

Felt iPod Sleeve

I guess I am officially addicted to felt crafting.  

 

Back View

How it's kept closed.

Felt Pin Cushion

I have been sewing since I was a child and yet I've never had a pin cushion. I remedied that situation today.

I used the same colours as had in the needle case I made a while ago so that I have a matched set.

 Here's a quick and easy tutorial:

                           Cut two circles 6 1/2 inches in diameter.

Sew 1/4 inch seam all the way around.

Cut a one inch X carefully in the center on one side of the fabric and turn right side out.

Stuff firmly.

Stitch up the X.

Using 6 strands of embroidery floss (about 48 inches long) and a long needle, and starting on the wrong side (where the X is), push the needle through the center of the circle from the back to the front.

Pull the embroidery floss tightly around to the back side and push the needle through the center of the circle again (back to front). Position the embroidery floss over the same strand you just stitched, wrap the floss tautly around to the back, and push your needle through the center of the circle from back to front again.

Continue to tautly wrap the floss in the same manner as above so that you section the circle into quarters.  Remember to wrap each stitch twice.

Tightly wrap the floss in between each quarter.  You should end up with 8 sections.

I drew out a flower design on paper and traced it out onto felt, stacking the petal parts.  I did the same with circles, and then sewed a button through all the layers.  I embroidered wee stitches around the circles and petal edges, using two strands of floss.  

I attached the flower to the pin cushion (on the side which has the X) using hot glue.

Knit Shawlette

I knit this shawlette to replace one that a staff member of a department store walked away with. 

I much preferred the pattern of the shawl that was taken from me, but the yarn used to knit this one is so much softer as it contains cashmere.

I'll knit the pattern of the original shawl when the store compensates me for the loss and I can find a nice yarn in brick red.  

This photo shows the whole shawl, but the colour isn't showing up correctly. The actual colour is shown in the first photo.

More information and a link to the free pattern can be found on my Ravelry page