Easy DIY: Mason Jar To Memory Jar

Do you ever see giiiiiiant jars without lids at estate sales and think, "I need that!" and then think, "For what??"

Enter: the easiest DIY ever!


Get a giant jar, put all your ticket stubs and programs inside!

I hate throwing away souvenirs like those and this giant jar has been a wonderful place to stash them!


It's about 10 inches tall, so it holds all kinds of fun things like 3-D glasses from movies, printed out tickets to musicals and plays, and programs from roller derby, etc. Easy peasy!

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Restor-A-Finish Fail?

I had started noticing Restor-A-Finish in stores and read good things about it on blogs so I figured it would be worth checking out. Our coffee table has some spots and scratches I wanted to take care of, so I bought the Dark Walnut finish and cut up an old t-shirt to use as a rag.


So...I used it...and it didn't do anything. Womp womp.


Spots and scratches are still there. I rubbed and rubbed it on, but nothing. Disappointing!

Have you used Restor-A-Finish? Did it work for you? Do you have tips for me? Let me know!!

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Dress Week: Make Your Own Dress!

So, we've taken a look at some shopping options you have for dresses...but you can also make your own! Tutorials range from super easy to super complicated--I have compiled a ton of different dress tutorials on my new "Make A Dress" pinterest board!

I love to make the tank top/fabric skirt dress (seen here!)


Check it out and let me know if you get inspired to make a dress!!

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Win a PaintStick EZ-Twist!

I love painting walls. My parents and I painted every room (except the kitchen, with its crazy textured walls) in my house when I bought it in 2006 and over the years, I've changed the color of every room--most multiple times!!

Along with obsessive painting comes impulse painting. There have been many nights that I've decided to paint walls at 9pm! And over the summer, I painted our dining room when we were only a few hours away from meeting Andy's mom for dinner and we were going out of town the next day! I'm a crazy, impulsive painter! I love to paint!

That's why I was so excited when HomeRight emailed me about their PaintStick EZ-Twist! Since we're going to be listing our house soon, I won't be painting any rooms in our house in the near future, which means it's your lucky day! I get to give away a PaintStick EZ-Twist!!

Check it out!


What kind of crazy space-age paint roller is that??? I'mmabout to tell you. :)

Prepare to be amazed... the PaintStick EZ-Twist holds the paint in the handle. That's right, you don't have to use a tray!!! I'm not just an impulsive painter, I'm also an impatient one and I have the drips on my old hardwood floors to prove it. You don't have to worry about drips from tray to wall with this bad boy.

No paint trays means no having to climb up and down a ladder while you're painting to refill--which will save you tons of time!

And it has a crazy extension of 64" - that's almost as tall as me!

So, I haven't tried it out yet, but I can't wait to. HomeRight said they'll send me one when we get our new place--I will be an unstoppable painting machine then!!

I'm excited for one of you to try it out...be sure to enter the rafflecopter giveaway below! (RSS readers, you probably need to click through to the blog post to see the app!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to everyone! I'm jealous that a lucky winner will get to try it out before me!! :)

PS - I'm not getting anything for this post - just the opportunity to make someone's day!

Linking to Someday Crafts!

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How To Clean Grime Off Your Vintage Treasures

Last week, I had the opportunity to shop a private estate sale. The house was already set up estate-style and it was night which meant the lighting was pretty bad in certain rooms without overhead light. I was immediately drawn to this pink lamp but had no idea how grimy it was until I got it home and checked it out Saturday morning!

Even if I had seen the lamp in full light, a little dirt, grime, and/or rust doesn't get in the way of me taking home a new treasure. You can easily clean up most vintage wares with a few tools.

As I was cleaning up all my loot from the sale, I alternated between using soapy water and a product called Krud Kutter.

 

Krud Kutter is pretty incredible - I first discovered it when my mom broke it out to completely remove rust from my Heywood Wakefield desk. (Oh by the way, I don't know if it's actually Heywood Wakefield - does anyone know by looking at it?) 

It worked miraculously to remove rust and dirt from the desk and I knew it would be perfect for cleaning up this lamp!

I carefully sprayed Krud Kutter on the lamp then wiped with a paper towel. It works practically immediately - it really is amazing!

 

That's a lot of decades of dirt, y'all!!

This isn't a sponsored post or anything - I just wanted to share how to clean vintage items easily! This is the best way I've found without a doubt.

Next step: rewiring this lamp! I haven't decided whether or not I'll sell it or keep it. I think it would look pretty cute in my little attic craft room!

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DIY: Easy Gnomes by Shakti Dove

I recently discovered a new-to-me blogger, Shakti Dove, and I love her blog! She posted the most adorable, easy, and free DIY gnomes:




Can you even handle how cute they are?? Now I just need to wrestle some sticks away from Lucy since she pretty much controls the sticks in our yard. :)

I fell in love with Shakti's blog when I saw that she washi taped a stick to her fridge and she said:

Has my husband noticed that there is a stick taped to the fridge? No, he has not. But when he does I think he will understand.

Reading that made me feel like I had a kindred spirit out there in the world. :)

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DIY: Simple Decorated Trays

Looking for a really simple project?? Here's one!!

I picked up a few trays at Goodwill awhile ago, not sure what I was going to do with them. They ended up being really handy to hold some of my plants on my stairs! I knew that I wanted to update them, though, so I broke out the craft paint.

The smaller tray had an image that still showed through after several coats of paint (I could have used primer, I suppose!) so I decided to use some new duct tape I recently bought to cover the bottom of the tray. (This tray holds tiny plastic pots with holes in the bottom for drainage, so I think it will be easier to wipe down now that there's duct tape on the bottom!).

And now they hold some of my succulent pots!

Don't pass by an old tray next time you see it at the thrift store - it could be really handy and cute once it's painted!

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Bunting by Stockroom Vintage

Remember a few weeks ago when I met Elizabeth of Stockroom Vintage? Last week we got together to work on some bunting for an event she was styling. She was a sponsor of the recent Porter Flea in Nashville and was in charge of decorating the venue. She did an amazing job - check out photos of her booth on her blog!

She used scraps of fabric she already had plus fabric from a vintage dress that was too stained to salvage. She cut them into rectangles of various sizes and we simply glued them to twine. I never would have thought to mix these fabrics together but I love them! It was so easy and it turned out so well!

Below is a photo of the finished product in action at the Porter Flea!

Be sure to check out both Stockroom Vintage and the Porter Flea!

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Easy Quilted Patchwork Bibs

I saw this pin from a blogger named Jaime Young (what a coincidence, right?) of Sew She Sews for quilted bibs. I fell in love with them and with my sister-in-law due to give birth in July, I was so excited to make some bibs to give to her at her baby shower!

I used a coupon at Joann Fabrics and picked out several flannel and cotton fabrics that I thought coordinated well. I picked out woodland creatures, monkeys, two different kinds of stripes, cute number fabric, and brown circle fabric. I had so much fun piecing them together and coming up with different combinations and Jaime's instructions are so easy to follow! I had never sewn anything like this before and it went so well (I normally mess up a LOT while sewing). I highly recommend her tutorial and pattern!!

Here are the bibs I made!

Here's Staci at her shower, opening the bibs!

I think this is a great project for a beginning sewer who has completed some projects (like pillows and the easy dress) and is ready to try something new!

I had so much fun quilting these bibs that I even became tempted to try an actual quilt!! Something simple and modern like this one or even this "sew as you go" quilt. Those are my kinds of projects!!

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Making Terrariums!

Still following up on my thirty before 30 list, I vowed to "get and keep alive more plants." I had been wanting to make a terrarium for awhile, so I picked up a cute glass container thanks to the Hobby Lobby card I won from my good friend Danavee. I began scheming what to put in the terrarium, but realized that although bloggers put succulents in closed terrariums, they will not stay alive in that environment.

(Can we talk real quick about how fake blog photoshoots can be? Sure, succulents look really cute in closed terrariums but everything I read said they will die with that kind of moisture.)

I visited our local nursery and asked what plants would work in a closed terrarium and they only suggested moss and ferns. I wasn't loving that idea, so I kept researching. I discovered that "baby tears" (pilea) worked well. I found TerrariumHouse on Etsy, a shop that had both really cute moss AND baby tears in her shop. I ordered one of each!

They arrived the following week in really great shape. I hoped to fit them both in my small glass jar but I definitely underestimated their size! Only the baby tears would fit in my glass jar so I went hunting for another container. In January, I tried making my own laundry detergent and bought a big "fancy" jar (from Wal-mart) to hold it. When I ran out, I decided I didn't really want to continue making my own (plus, we got Lucy and I didn't really feel like the homemade stuff was getting dog-ness out of our laundry) so I then put her treats in the jar. That wasn't actually efficient, so the jar went upstairs to my "craft" room to await its next purpose.... It is now a terrarium!

Because I was slightly obsessed with making terrariums, I had been collecting both terrarium accessories (deer, toadstool, etc) and terrarium tutorials on Pinterest.

I layered pebbles/gravel, then activated charcoal, then potting soil. I spritzed them with water then put the lid on. They developed condensation on the glass, so I removed the lids for a little while and then put them back on. I think they are so fun!

The bigger one (with the cupcake moss and the deer) lives on our stairs. I think sometime in the 90s whoever owned this house finished the attic and built a staircase in front of the living room window. Strange, right? The stairs partially block the window... but the stairs also make a great plant stand and the window gets great light. The smaller terrarium lives on my "new" shelf that I will post about soon! Gotta get all my 30 updates in!

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DIY: Make a Dress!

Pinterest tells me that 9 weeks ago I pinned this pin that shows how to make your own dress from fabric and a tank top.

It's so, so easy and I became so, so obsessed! I have made 5 dresses so far - here are my 3 favorites.

I have plans for many more- I just gotta find the hour to carve out and focus! I have learned a lot along the way - be sure to enclose your hems so the fabric doesn't fray - OR just use the selvage at the bottom of your skirt and then you don't have to do anything!

All the tank tops are cheapos from Wal-mart ranging from $3-$4! The first skirt fabric was $1.50 a yard at our new Wal-Mart, the middle dress is made from fabric from JoAnn, and the third dress is made from thrifted fabric that I've had for years!

This is such an easy way to make affordable dresses! I love them!

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DIY Dilemma: Dyeing A Dress

In December, I won a dress from Beth's blog, Parsimonia. I was ecstatic! I received the dress and was so excited to try it on! The only problem was that as a pale redhead, the color of the top looked baaaad on me. There are definitely certain colors I can't wear and this particular gold/brown color looked pretty rough against my skin. I felt so guilty that I had won this beautiful dress but couldn't make it work for me!

I decided to take a risk and dye it. I had seen other bloggers dye formal dresses with great success, so I took a chance because I love the style of the dress!

I used a bottle of black RIT dye and added a cup of salt based on the instructions on the bottle.


I let it soak for 45 minutes and when I glanced in, I could tell something was not right... I pulled it out and... womp womp:


It's definitely not black... The top barely changed and the bottom turned pink/lavender. I actually tried again with TWO bottles of dye and let it soak for even longer, and it came out just slightly darker that time.

Some friends have mentioned that synthetics don't dye, but if I remember correctly, the fabrics were all listed on the RIT bottle. The top is a polyester spandex mix while the bottom is polyester, spandex, and rayon.

Anyone have any hints or tips for changing the color more? I love, love, love the style of the dress but the brown/gold still isn't working for me... unless I get a spray tan. :)

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Time To Sew: Pillows

Sew, sew, sew! I've been trying to work on a few projects around the house and we had some couch pillows that were falling apart after years of use. I bought some fun fabric at our local fabric shop, Textile*, and made a few pillow cases following this tutorial (minus the ruffle).

I picked up a subtle gray and white pattern that reminds me of bunting and then a teal flower fabric that coordinates well with the 2 teal cushions I got on clearance-clearance at Urban Outfitters. (The first time I ever went to our local UO, they were running a 50% off sale on their clearance items! The cushions were originally $40 each and I got each for $10!)

click to see the photo larger!

I had never made envelope-closure pillows before but I like them! I have a ton of zippers that but they are slightly more complicated to sew and since I haven't sewn much in the past year, I wanted to start back on an easier project. This was the perfect project to get my sewing gears turning! I hope to have more projects to share soon, but with a new puppy, I am not sure how much time I will have for sewing!

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Speaking of sewing - my talented friend Heather of Joy of All Crafts is an amazing quilter, crafter, and blogger! Yesterday, she featured my single bloom bouquet tutorial - check it out here and follow her blog! (Need extra incentive? Soon she will be posting an interview with Emily Henderson!)

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**Textile's 40% off sale lasts through Saturday! Head on in to grab a great deal!

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DIY: Giant Single Bloom Fabric Bouquet

Are you having a budget wedding and slashing fresh flowers due to the cost? If so, you don't have to sacrifice style by sacrificing real flowers - here's how to make a (giant) Single Bloom Fabric Bouquet on a budget!

My Single Bloom Fabric Bouquet was just voted one of Ashley's Bride Guide's Top Bouquets of 2011!



Supplies:

• Sharp scissors
• Sturdy fabric like canvas (tip: buy from the remnant section to save money)
• White or Ivory Organza
• Fabri-tac Permanent Adhesive
• Bouquet Holder
• Bouquet Collar
• Coordinating fabric to cover your bouquet holder (optional)
• Brooch, button, earring, etc (optional)
• Small bit of lace (optional)

Step 1:


Cut a circle from your sturdy fabric, which will be the base of your fabric flower. Match the size of your circle to the size of your bouquet collar. (See various kinds of bouquet collars.) When I made my original bouquet, I used a 10 inch bouquet collar. You probably want to err a little bit bigger than your bouquet collar - you can always cut some of it back. For the tutorial, I made a small version from a fabric sample.

Step 2:


You may need up to 2 yards of organza, depending on the size and fullness of your flower.

Cut 2" strips of organza. You can make a small cut and then rip the rest of the fabric - so much easier than trying to cut straight all the way! Begin rolling the strip of organza, creating approximately a 2" roll.

Step 3:


Cut a petal shape, similar to how you would cut connected paper dolls. The goal is to create a chain of petals, so you want to make sure not to cut all the way through the bottom of the organza roll on either side.

Step 4:


Apply glue around the circumference of your circle. I started with Aleene's Tacky Glue but ran into a lot of trouble with it. I switched to Fabri-Tac and it worked so much better. I highly recommend Fabri-Tac - it "grabs" the organza right away and stays tacky so that if you make it around the circle, you can actually press a new layer down using the same glue.

Place the bottom of a petal in the glue, pinching and gathering as you do to create volume. Continue pressing, pinching, gathering as you glue around the outside of the circle- there's not an exact science - you just want to make sure they have some volume and variations.

Continue around your fabric circle, gluing just the bottom of the organza petal strip down. You'll want your petals to be full and fluffy, so try not to glue them down and try to squeeze in as many layers as possible. Keep spiraling around the circle. It won't look pretty at first, but have faith - it will!

Step 5:

Keep layering. I noticed I had some bare spots around the outer edge of my circle, so I gently separated the layers so I could add more petal strips in between them.

Your fabric flower is now complete! You can glue a pretty bauble in the center, or leave it as-is.

Step 6:

Attach the bouquet holder to the bouquet collar. There are many different types - I used the kind with the flat cylindrical flower foam, not the domed kind.

Glue the base of your fabric flower to the fabric of your bouquet collar.

Step 7:


Take coordinating fabric and cut a small hole in the middle of it. Gather it up and around your bouquet collar, tucking your fabric under your first row of petals. Glue as you go. Wrap ribbon around the handle and add a bit of lace or pretty fabric to cover where the ribbon and fabric meet. The bottom might not be very pretty, but no one will see it! :)

Here is my bouquet in action:


Want to know more about our wedding? You can read up on it and see more photos here!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please let me know if you make one for your wedding or other projects!



Linking to:
My Repurposed Life
Look What I Made
Yesterday On Tuesday
Freckled Laundry
Sundae Scoop
Think Pink Sundays
Whatever You Want Wednesdays

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Atomic Starburst Ornament DIY

Erin at Sunshine and Carousels has been posting adorable Christmas DIYs and I fell in love with one of the ornament tutorials she posted! She created an atomic starburst ornament tutorial and I got right to work to make my own!

So fun! Check out the tutorial here!

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How to repair your high heels

image source

A few years ago, I hit the jackpot on 80s high heels in my size at Goodwill. Someone must have donated their whole collection and I picked up all kinds of really fun pumps. (Note: They were clean, plus I wiped them down with lysol wipes - the idea of buying used shoes really grosses some people out but it just doesn't really bother me for some reason - especially since I disinfected them.)

The only problem was that some of the heel tips (you know, the little black rubber thing on the heel?) were torn up and/or missing. I didn't really realize it until I got home and tried walking on them and could feel the nail poking out - which can be really uncomfortable and terrible for your floors!

I googled and found NewHeelTips.com - a site that sells heel tips in various sizes so you can replace your own at home! It can cost around $15 at a shoe repair place to do this and they sell heel tips for only $5. If you have many pairs of shoes to replace, that really adds up!



They're not giving me anything to post this- I just wanted to share this helpful tip with you guys! I have replaced many pairs of heel tips and find it so convenient!



Check them out on NewHeelTips.com!

Cleaning Thrifted Crewelwork

I love crewel work. I love the idea that it's vintage AND handmade! I found a great piece while thrifting but it was dirty, dirty, dirty. I had hopes that I could clean it so I bought it and set about restoring it.



I carefully removed it from its cardboard backing by pulling out the staples with pliers. I then filled up a small tub in my kitchen sink and carefully handwashed the piece with Woolite. I let it air dry and VOILA!



A happy new-looking piece of crewel work! Here it is in our home (with the chair I transformed by emoving the skirt).



There is just something so happy about colorful crewel work, don't you think??

3m "couple speak" DIY contest

Here's my mom's cute video entry for 3m's contest about serious DIY miscommunication! She and her friend Cathy do a lot of projects together and always bicker. In this video, she enlists Cathy's help painting a window... see what happens next! :)

Easy Wreath Makeover

Last year, I dug this wreath out of a junk closet (we all have one of those, right??) and thought it would be fun if I could hang it up year-round and the red doesn't go with anything, plus it kinda screams "Christmas!"


(this photo taken in my special "spray painting place" - aka cinder blocks out in the back yard! classy!)

Teal is my "signature color" (thank you Shelby, from Steel Magnolias, for inventing signature colors!) so I grabbed a can of spray paint and gave the wreath a quick spray-ola. Here it is hanging on the inside of our door (I like to mix things up!).



I did this project awhile ago and the wreath doesn't really match the direction I'm taking our house, so we'll see what happens... but I definitely wanted to share this simple project! With all the different holidays approaching, there are so many possibilities!

How to transform a chair by removing the chair skirt

Usually, I attend estate sales in order to find my items, but I'm up for hunting anywhere! Andy and I recently visited Music City Auction. We swung by about 2 hours after the start of the auction, so they were deep into furniture. (This auction house typically starts with "smalls" and moves into furniture as the night goes on.) We were there for about an hour before I saw anything I was interested in, but then I saw it: a cute white armchair! I bid and won - it was exciting!

When we picked up the chair before we left, I noticed it was a little more outdated (and not, in my opinion, in a cute retro way) that I originally thought. I liked the clean lines and the tufting, but the chair was skirted and I'm all about legs on furniture! I felt a tinge of regret, but decided I would make the most of my new purchase.

it was also dirty - exhibit A: huge footprint on the cushion!

I inspected the chair to see how I could transform it. I knew it needed a good cleaning and I had a hunch that if I could just remove the chair skirt, it would make a world of difference. I started researching removing skirts from chairs and came across this inspiring before & after:

An ugly chair became so stylish, just by removing the skirt and showing off the legs! I hoped my chair would have the same fate!

If you want to do this project on your own chair, be sure to inspect it carefully to make sure ripping the skirt off won't damage the other upholstery or reveal any strange defects in the chair.

You will need:

• patience :)
  
• scissors
• pliers
• staplegun (as needed)
  

In the example I found above, the owner was able to fold the fabric under the chair and staple it in place. Luckily, my skirt was stapled to the outside of the chair and there were 2 rows of piping - one above the skirt and a row of piping under the skirt which meant once I pulled the skirt off, there was a line of piping which makes the chair look really finished!

Here's a close-up of the skirt:

there's a row of piping under the skirt!

I started on the back of the chair, just in case anything went wrong. I managed to pull some of the piping away from the chair and cut it - then all I had to do was rip it.

When I ripped the piping, some of the staples came out with the piping and some did not.

I have not worked with upholstery very much, but if you're like me and you've ever pulled up carpet to reveal hardwood floors, you're really familiar with pulling staples! I used my trusty pliers to pull out the many, many staples. You can barely see the holes the staples left behind, but I've heard you can steam holes out of fabric if needed.

Be warned - some of the staples came out easily and some did not. I had to carefully run my finger across the fabric to feel if any remnants were left behind and then pull those out.

All in all, it didn't take very long - maybe 45 minutes tops! It turned out to be such a cute armchair that I think looks a little Hollywood Regency with the diamond tufting and curved arm fronts. Toss a few colorful pillows on it, and voila!


Have you ever removed a chair skirt? Do you have a chair that needs updating like this? It's so easy!

You can find affordable chairs in so many places and I highly recommend auctions. They can be a little intimidating at first, but they're pretty easy once you know the basics. You can read about my auction adventures and tips for auctions here!

A note on cleaning the chair - I used stain remover and diluted laundry detergent to lift the stains. It took several sessions of spraying it with stain remover, but it finally looked fresh and new!

Linking up to: