Repurposed Jewelry Stand

Here's a great way to use up your mismatched china collection from garage sales over the years. This project couldn't be simpler and makes a beautiful jewelry stand while displaying those pretty little plates.

Just use superglue or my personal favorite, E6000 (it's waterproof) with brandy snifters or cordial glasses. Alternate inverting them between the plates and voila! I would make a million of these with my kids for family gifts if only superglue and preschoolers mixed.

Post your creations in the comments below!

Water Drum to Composter

We're getting ready for spring around here and I thought I'd share an idea the hubby came up with a few years back for an easy, clean composter.

First, take an old water drum. This one is 55 gallons and has a screwtop lid.

Drill holes on the bottom (for draining the dirt), then two on the side to put a bar in the middle for rotating the dirt. Attach to a pallet to keep it off the ground and the lid keeps critters out. The drum can be spun to shake and mix the dirt and create some yummy, yummy compost!

Here's a peek inside to see how the spinning mechanics work. We ended up donating this one to our son's school garden because our dirt needs are ever growing, but this would be a great option for the backyard gardener in areas with critters or pets.

What kind of spring and garden prep are you getting ready for right now? Share in the comments!

Easy Jelly Roll Race to Postage Stamp Quilt

Two bucket list projects from 1 jelly roll, and I highly recommend! This began as a jelly roll race (a blast for every quilter or quilting dabbler to try), and then became my Holy Grail postage stamp project. This was so satisfying because it was so much easier than it looks and I think the natural stripe pattern is quite pleasing. I used a tutorial I had seen on Pinterest (here) where the finished jelly roll was joined at the ends to make a tube, the tube was sliced into 2 inch square strips (rings), and then the seam was ripped according to the pattern. For example, if one strip was topped with the cherry pattern, the next strip would be topped with the blue and turquoise brick fabric to keep with the diagonal pattern. It requires organization for keeping all the strips in order of cutting, but made the postage stamp teeny squares come together very quickly. I made this for our beloved neighbors and babysitter to our son. See links below for directions.

(Postage Stamp Quilt using a Moda Eat Your Fruits and Veggies Jelly Roll. Started as a Jelly Roll race and turned to Postage Stamp quilt when the material looked too busy. Great project, even for a beginner!)

Reupholstering with Burlap

Reupholstering was something I thought a Renaissance gal should know how to do, like chopping wood or hemming pants. But it can get expensive, so why not try it with something frugal like burlap?

These ghastly chairs made the perfect victims. Getting them apart was easy, just unscrewing the bottom from the back and making a simple slipcover. (Ahem, I did not follow any proper upholstery protocol at all!)

Sticking burlap is a little tricky due to the wide open weave and fraying, not to mention if you are doing weird patchwork tricks to jury-rig a wider piece of fabric.

This was done with absolute beginner sewing skills on the machine. Tidy hems will make it all the more polished and kick the shabby chic up a notch.

Here you can see the seam where more fabric was added, but I don't really mind it. In fact, I think it adds some personality.

This was an easy way to dive into reupholstering. What else could you burlap?!

Dress Up an Old Hat

Believe it or not, this lonely old sunhat was sitting in a pile of free stuff, ready to be kicked to the curb.

Until I snatched it up.

I found a cheery ribbon, a little glue, and voila!

Thank goodness we still have a couple more months of summer to put this baby to work.

Have you "up-cycled" anything lately?

My First Quilt Square

One small step for the community quilt ladies, one giant step for a fledgling sewer!

Mason Jar Chandelier

Walking around downtown Petaluma last weekend, I glimpsed in this antique store window and nearly kept on walking. Then, upon closer look ...

I saw a mason jar chandelier and my heart nearly stopped. And not only with mason jars, but blue mason jars!

I started looking around and found some more inspiration.

Here's a DIY version from Instructables. No wiring required.

What I really want are some tutorials from Boots N Gus on Etsy.

Come back when you're done window shopping, dear reader.

The Vardo

With Maker Faire just around the corner, it seems like everyone's getting into the maker spirit around here.

And wouldn't you know, the master craftsmanship of Paleotool created this adorable, yet extremely funtional, gypsy caravan deemed "The Vardo"- complete with a bed, stove, and ample bookshelves for evenings hunkering down. Please make a point of checking out all the photos of the process. It's pretty amazing that so much attention to detail was flawless executed.

The Vardo, From Paleotool

Make Magazine shared this fantastic little gem in their blog. I hope to see it in person one day!

My First Quilt- In the Works

Ever have a craft project you've been planning for months? How about years? 

For me, the corduroy quilt has been in the making since high school, when a dear friend of mine made a duvet cover and an overnight bag out of mismatched corduroy pieces. She has always had a knack for sewing and crafting and busted those projects out like nobody's business. What made the pieces so interesting was the different sizes of squares, and the colors and textures of the corduroy. I also loved making something so functional out of scrap pants, and my inspiration has been stewing ever since.

I must admit, collecting the right pieces of corduroy was the first challenge.

And also, learning how to sew. There was no way this would be made by hand. But I was running out of excuses once I had my grandmother's machine for over a year, so I finally got cracking.

Ironing the fabric and cutting out the squares is the first step. I was wisely advised to make my first quilt with same-size squares. (So glad I listened!)

Because I had different amounts of fabric, I wanted everything cut before I started to design my layout. I liked the softness of the pink and light blue with the brown and tan color sequence. I'm thrilled the cords are all different widths and textures to make it more interesting and touchable.

This is the fun part- making the design! Here's an experiment with the random look. Hmmm.

Then I tried laying it out into more of a steady pattern.

Yes, this is so much better! I arranged based on the number of squares available, and now I can start sewing the strips.

My main goal with this project is to get more comfortable sewing simple, straight lines on the machine, as well as loading bobbins since this uses so much thread. All the stitching is on the back, so there's a lot of leeway with mistakes, making this a perfect project for a beginner. Even if it's a big one!

After several afternoons working on the stitching over the course of two months, I have finally sewed all 12 strips of 10 squares, and combined them all for the front of the quilt! It is a huge accomplishment for me, since there were "sessions" where I couldn't get through more than a couple squares without the bobbin acting up and my temper flaring to a string of obscenities sure to make my dead grandmother blush.

The worst was when I had all a panel of 3 strips attached next to another panel of 7 strips, only to find they didn't match up. I had to rip out the seams of all 3 strips and reattach them. This mistake took 10 minutes to initially sew together, and about 3 hours to rip out. Ripping out seams is now my greatest personal hell.

Sewing is nothing if not a serious test in patience.

Next will be finding a border, the backing, and figuring out how it can be fitted over a comforter. Happy the end is in sight, but don't mind putting it aside for a few weeks so I can recharge and get my bearings.

Remind me if I ever want to work in a sweatshop that my skills would be put to better use elsewhere.

The Old Sewing Box

For most of my life, it seems I've been in a constant battle to organize my craft projects. This year, I made the goal to approach learning to sew on my grandmother's machine, a terrifying prospect for many reasons. Particularly because it means opening the floodgates to even more demands for materials, tools and space to a hoarder-in-the-making.

Yes, it's an actual fear of mine that I may one day be buried under my own craft projects if I don't rein in my hobbies soon. Maybe whittle them down a bit. (Hey, whittling! That's another thing I've always wanted to learn!)

I appreciate that my fairy godmother sought out a bona fide sewing box for me to use instead of stacking wicker baskets and shoe boxes full of random needles and thread. Consolidate, consolidate. I don't like having multiples of things just to have multiples of things, but the essence of crafting requires having a stock of materials. Knowing where to find them is kind of a big deal.

And I really like that having this sewing box makes an official statement, like an academic's regalia. Like, hey world, look out cause I'm a sewer now! Maybe I'm over thinking it.

So here's my basic start into my sewing stock, and the work in progress for perfecting my craft room (of which there will be a post, just as soon as I can get it into presentable shape for the "after" portion of the before and after transformation!).

-pin cushions
-thread
-bobbins
-rotary cutter
-thimbles
-extra machine needles
-tracing pencils
-seam ripper
-seam gage
-extra machine light bulb
-good fabric-only scissors (these live on my machine table, since the moment I put them away, I immediately need them out again)

What's in your craft basket?

What do you like to make?

The Best Nightlight Ever

From the Ya-Ya dinner the night before, one of Fairy Godmother's birthday gifts was this original nightlight made by one of her best friends. Honestly, this artist leaves a trail of beauty wherever she goes, and one day I hope to share pictures of her garden with you.

Her latest creation is a nightlight transformed from a sardine tin and adorned with old jewelry, beads and a broken watch. 

Hank really liked it, too.

What's tricky about putting them together is all the drilling and wiring parts together. The gluing has to be minimal, since the lightbulb heats the piece up.

Alas, these are one of a kind treasures are only made on a case by case basis because of all the time they entail, but they're really something, aren't they?

Rockin' the 'Tinis

I just got back from a couple days seeing my dad in the Bay Area. We usually hike or go on a silly adventure when we get together, but our options were limited while I'm still slingin' it. 

At least you don't need two hands to drink. So we did. My dad got martini glasses (actually, they're gigantic and better suited for margaritas) and mise en place for cocktails, so I showed him how to do a proper martini. Here's a refresher course for those seasoned drinkers.

First, chill the glass. Ice water will chill in it faster than ice alone. To an ice-filled cocktail shaker, pour a double shot of gin (a four count pour works best for me), and a splash of dry vermouth. For an extra dry martini, reduce the vermouth, or eliminate it altogether. For a dirty martini, add olive juice. Shake hard for 20 seconds until the outside of the shaker is frosty. Dump the ice water in the glass just before straining. There should be a thin layer of ice over the martini's surface as you serve it.

I'm not a huge clear martini gal, so I made mine with gin and homemade limoncello in place of the vermouth for a sweeter, more refreshing drink.

It made a weeknight watching Malcolm in the Middle feel way classier.