Sew Excited

Today I went shopping for upholstery fabric. I had picked it out a few weeks ago with my mother-in-law and as the sale ended this weekend, I thought I'd better get it purchased. We have a very comfortable well-worn armchair that has seen better days and she offered to help me recover it. But that's a project for another day. I guess that means a blog post for another day too.

As is often the case, I go into a crafting store for one project and get sidetracked into purchasing supplies for another. My daughter and I have been eying all those cute trendy aprons out there and I thought I'd pick up some fabric so that we could create one together. After finding some very cute fabric, I thought it just might make a cute table runner as well.

Isn't it darling? I love the fresh colors for spring and summer.



So in my usual creative mode, I had to get right to work. Never mind the dishes, I was on a mission. I tore strips of fabric in varying widths and then cut them all 17" wide. I actually have no idea how long it is. Just pieced it together in strips until I reached the right length. I knew I had some leftover white cotton for the backing. I was totally shocked that I had a piece leftover from a white smocked dress I had created ten years ago. The unbelievable part was that it was EXACTLY (no kidding!) the right length and one inch too wide.

Seriously. What are the odds?


So here's my super easy sewing project. It felt so good to sew again. I think I'm going to have to get back to more stitching.


While I was at it, I rearranged some of the stuff on the dresser. This was the old dresser I picked up and painted and am using as a sideboard in my eating area.

This is what it looked like late fall. I had just been thrifty and folded an old tablecloth into a tablerunner type thing. I loved the warm color addition then...




But I'm totally lovin' the fresh look of these prints now for spring and summer. Best of all, the project took me less than an hour. That's something to be excited about.

This post links up with Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special...


Have a great weekend!

Julia

Keeping it Together and a "new" magnetic board

Some weeks just fly by...just like my last one. I was feeling a little guilty that I didn't have a project to share but then I reminded myself, this should be about having fun and fitting into my life as I know it. Priorities are something that I believe everyone struggles with. How do I get everything done?

Here's the reality: you just cannot do everything you want to. I don't know if you've noticed a little quote I have on my sidebar. It's there because it is something I need to continually have to remind myself.

I forgive myself for all the things I don't have time to do.

I'm not quite sure where this came from. Someone had clipped it out of a magazine and put it on the bulletin board at my massage therapist's office. I just had to write it down.

This is something I try and teach my kids as well. Having one perfectionist daughter can make for lots of stress when all the school assignments arrive at the same time. Once again it's all about priorities, getting the most important things done and forgiving yourself for the rest.

I did finally get around to one project that will help keep me organized and it's been one I've had on my to do list for months. I had this metal sign I picked up at Michael's in my kitchen before my reno. I loved it but hanging it above my sink was not a great plan as it ruined the decorative paper on the sign. I knew I could make it over though so I kept it. Here's what I did this afternoon...



To start I peeled off the loose edges off the sign and then sanded off any bumps in the paper. I wanted to be able to get a good bond.


I actually got pretty excited about putting this project together quickly so this is a photo from another project I have yet to share but it uses the same idea. I used the Claudine Hellmuth Multi-Medium as an adhesive. You can also use things like ModgePodge or collage glue but I used what I had on hand and it worked well. Just brush on your surface generously and apply the paper quickly and smooth out any air pockets or wrinkles. It should dry quite quickly.



I used a patterned paper by Graphic 45 for this project. I cut it down to size and after adhering and drying, I sanding the edges for a distressed look. A sanding block is a great tool I use a mini one by Tim Holtz but you can use a larger one from the hardware store as well.

For this project I also stamped and inked up a quick tag to embellish the simple project. By layering the inks I came up with an almost exact match for my paper. Most of the stamps are from a stamp set I designed for Cornish Heritage Farms called On the Desk.


And here's my final project all hung up on a little piece of wall in my kitchen. Because the board is metal, I'm going to make some coordinating magnets and hang up photos or important notes I can't forget about.

That's it! Just breathing a little bit of new life into an old piece using things I already had on hand. I'm lovin' it! I'm so glad I found a little beauty here today.

Have a beautiful day!

Julia

This post links up with Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special.