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Goodwill Junk to French Laundry Sign

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I’ve been dreaming about redecorating my laundry room for quite awhile now and it is probably going to be quite awhile before I can do anything about changing what I have.  You see, my long narrow laundry room is also where I store my cleaning supplies, craft and sewing supplies, furniture refinishing supplies, games, seasonal decor, wrapping paper, and all sorts of other junk! Oh, and it is also where we kennel our three dogs when we are away from home. One big dog kennel sits under what should be a sewing counter and a large dog bed takes up the entire end of the room. It sits in front of the washing machine so when I do laundry I have to lean sideways to throw clothes into the washer, unless I want to walk around with dog fur on my socks.
There are so many beautiful laundry room remodels that I’ve seen in Blogland. Every time I see a new one I drool and I dream and I think to myself that when I don’t have to use my laundry room as a kennel anymore . . . THEN . . . I will create a beautiful space in which to do my laundry (by the way, don’t even think of telling me I should just get rid of the dogs). 

 One amazing remodel I came across recently was from Tricia at Little Cottage on The Pond, which you can view right

Tricia had a french laundry sign in her room (La Buanderie) that caught my eye and gave me the inspiration to make a sign from an old junk piece I’d picked up at Goodwill (hey, if I can’t have the whole room I can start with one small thing).
This is the piece I had sitting around (on the counter in my cluttered laundry room). It had been attached to something, maybe a mirror or a frame, at one time.
When I picked it up I didn’t know what I was going to do with it but COME ON, it was $1.99!
I barely finished reading Little Cottage’s post before I started painting with ASCP Old White chalk paint.
I wanted this sign to look old so I used my hair dryer after each coat to ruff it up a bit. The hair dryer method can also be used to get a crackle finish but I just wanted to give it a ruff texture for later sanding.
You can see in this picture that it looks thick and awful . . . just the look I was going for!
Next was the lettering. I used Tricia’s La Buanderie sign as a reference and practiced drawing it out on a piece of paper (several times) until I had the look I wanted.
Then I used a pencil and drew it on my painted wood.  There are several typography transfer methods that can be used if you aren’t comfortable drawing freehand, but I wasn’t going for perfection here.
Here it is after a little distressing with my sandpaper block,
 . . . and here are a few shots after applying dark wax.
Tada! It is finished.
So now to hang it in my laundry room. I won’t scare you by giving you a picture of the entire room. I CAN’T! I will give you a picture of the one wall that has begun accumulating some inspiration pieces. Here is my La Buanderie sign hung over a cross stitched picture that I found at a garage sale.
Here is an ironing board that I bought at one of our lovely local shops and blogged about in A Chalk Painted What???  In that post I shared several uses for vintage ironing boards. If you click HERE you’ll see it as a buffet, an entry hall table and a plant stand! Note: I’ll be sharing the typography method used here in a soon upcoming post.
I found this funny little clothes pin bag at a church garage sale.
I think my laundry room is beginning to take shape . . .
Ackkkk!  As long as you have tunnel vision!!!

I know, I said I wasn’t gonna scare you but I’m trying to be as authentic as I can! 

“Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.” Proverbs 4:27
Maybe a little out of context but I’m takin’ it!

So here is my inspiration wall. If I look past everything on the left, and everything on the right, and everything on the floor below, I can see a beautiful and peaceful laundry room beginning to reveal itself to me.
Dreaming of great things to come . . .

   Blessings,

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Braided Cuff Tutorial

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Today I’m sharing my braided cuff made from an old T-Shirt.  This was quick, easy and inexpensive, (all things that make me smile) and I can’t tell you how many people have complimented me on this little bracelet.
 Before I get to the tutorial . . . I did a post awhile back on an “accidental” necklace that I made while trying to create an infinity scarf from an old T. Here is a picture of that completed project (I love it when accidents turn into something better than the original plan don’t you?).
 A link back to that tutorial can be found by clicking HERE
Even though that project had a good end result I still wanted to try making the infinity scarf. As my mom always told me, “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.”  
So . . . tada!  Below is my second attempt at an infinity scarf  and this time I was successful. I don’t know if I’d really call it a scarf, it is sort of a scarf/necklace, but whatever it is I kinda like it.
 This is the lovely T-Shirt I used (don’t worry Mr. OTN, it isn’t one of yours). Love the color . . . but what was I to do with the leftover fabric?If I could use it for something I was determined to do so.
I made a decision to make a bracelet and began by cutting nine 1″ wide strips of fabric from the sleeves.
I gave them all a good stretch to make them curl in on themselves.
Then I knotted three strands together on one end and began braiding. Everyone knows how to braid, right?
When I’d made three braided strands I simply stitched them together on my sewing machine.
 I adjusted the bracelet to fit my wrist, trimmed off the excess fabric, machine stitched across the ends of the braids so they wouldn’t come unraveled and then hand stitched the ends together to make the circle that is the bracelet. This is how it looked at that point. Cute enough but not quite finished!
A quick trip over to the kitchen garbage can to dig out the hem of the cuff that I’d already thrown away (it was only a little bit damp) and . . .
  . . . well, you know how I love rosettes! So here we go again with the making of a little rosette adornment. You can find a tutorial for this type of rosette HERE, the only difference being that I made more twists in the fabric to give it a flatter appearance.
I stitched the rosette to the top of the bracelet and added one final embellishment . . . a button from my stash of miscellaneous pretties.
 So there you have it! The one thing I might do differently the next time is to use store purchased snaps as a closure. With the weight of the rosette on top my bracelet tends to turn sideways, unless I put it on over the sleeve of whatever shirt I’m wearing.
 Can you even believe that that old Columbus fist bumping T-Shirt could be transformed into something I’d actually be happy to wear?  
I am having the time of my life making OldThingsNew!
       Blessings,
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Mossy Easter Egg

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I thought I’d finished my Spring decorating (link back for more of that here) until I stopped in at my neighborhood Goodwill store and . . . well . . . you know how the story goes from there.

 
I spied this (not so) marvelous ceramic egg, circa 1978.

I didn’t love the pink flowers and there was a little chip off it’s nose (can you believe they were charging $1.99 for a chipped egg?) but  that was all okay. I immediately saw it’s potential and began to formulate my plan.

  Step one: Gather some moss from my yard.

Step two: Lay it out to dry on Beauregard’s tray
(Beauregard is our porch watchdog).
NOTE: It is really good to allow the moss to dry completely. I was impatient and worked with it while it was still a bit damp, resulting in the surprise of little baby worms wiggling out of the moss when I applied the hot glue. Yuck! By morning they were all dried up and stuck to my tray.  Double yuck! 

Step three: Print an Easter graphic from The Graphics Fairy, cut a few slits for ease in molding it around the egg’s lid and ModPodge in place (a layer of glue under the paper, another layer over).

 Step four: Use the glue gun to attach moss to the bottom of the egg,
 
leaving the bottom uncovered so it would have a firm surface to stand upright.

Step five: Add a little ASCP Dark Wax to add age and highlight the wrinkles in the paper (I think they look a bit like cracks in the egg), topped by another coat of glossy ModPodge to seal and finish it off.

I think these bunnies are so darn cute!
 

          I ended up gluing the egg’s top and bottom together for stability and glued a row of moss over the seam.

So now for deciding where to display my mossy little Easter egg . . .

. . . under cover on my cake plate,

 with my vintage book Rabbit Hill (also a thrift store find),

 or tucked in among my other decoupaged eggs (tutorial here). 


I am delighted with this mossy, bunnied, egg.

 
Sometimes, I just have to say to God, “You are brilliant! I never could’ve come up with this idea without You!”
 
   Blessings,
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Easter Table Runner

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Here it is, the final tutorial based on the decorations I shared in the post Spring Dreamin’. If you missed that or the previous two tutorials, a Rosette Wreath Tutorial, or Napkin Decoupaged Eggs, be sure to link back here.
 
When I’m out and about I SO love stopping into the thrift stores in my area as I never know what new surprise awaits me. I try to drive right by but there is something that draws me in and I often find myself unable to resist the pull. In those stores, there is currently an abundance of Easter decor available for my re-purposing pleasure (insert happy face here).  Here is a close-up of what I’ve done to make a rather plain table runner a bit more to my liking.
 Seasonal table runners and place mats are easy to find at thrift stores close to the different holidays. Below is a picture of my Easter table runner “before”, a sweet tapestry of bunnies in the garden. It was nice for a very small table but not quite long enough for my dining table.
 I decided to lengthen by adding some ruffles to the ends using thrift store fabric. Used fabric for sewing can be found in the form of old drapes, sheets, tablecloths, even clothing. I used some nice soft old sheets for this project in off white and striped, like ticking.  I KNOW . . . somebody slept on these sheets and they’re going on my dining table. I washed them . . . honest!

 Old crocheted doilies, lacy table runners, etc. are also readily available. I pick them up to have on hand whenever I find something that I think I can use in one of my projects.
 
 Here are my fabrics cut to size. The sheet fabric was cut 1-1/2 times the width of the runner to allow for gathering. The lace was a wee bit smaller. I tore my sheet fabric rather than cutting it because I was going for the frayed look. I kinda’ like the contrast of fancy lace with frayed cotton sheeting. 
 After sewing a double row of basting stitch to gather the fabric (this can be done by hand or machine for you non-sewers) I simply pinned it to the end of the table runner, adjusted the gathers and stitched it all in place.
 Here you can see that I topped it off with a long strip cut from the crocheted doily. I’m so happy with the colors and textures and I like the stripe with the plaid.  Adding ruffles really softened up this little runner and I think it is so much cuter.
 This project was quick, less than an hour from start to finish. It was very inexpensive with used and leftover fabrics and, as you can tell, I’m really quite pleased with the way it turned out. My table is almost ready for Easter . . . time to lay out the china.
I’m so glad that you stopped by to share in a little touch of Spring. New life is springing forth, old things becoming new, as we come into this most beautiful time of the year!
 
       Blessings to you,

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Rosette Wreath Tutorial

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So, as promised in my last post, SpringDreamin’, I’m back with a tutorial for one of my Spring decorating projects. This is my DIY Rosette Wreath made from leftover fabrics, including drop cloth material, vintage lace, burlap, and solid and floral cotton. I could call this my Pottery Barn wreath since the cotton fabric is from a Pottery Barn duvet cover which my dogs had a gigantic playfest on, resulting in a long tear right down the center. Oh well, I’m dreaming of a bedroom update anyway.
Plenty of leftover fabric if anyone is interested!
For this tutorial I used a strip of drop cloth fabric. The size strip you cut will depend upon the size rosette you want to make. This one was approximately 1-1/2″x18″. It is better to cut it a bit longer because you can always trim off the excess. 
Start by folding your strip lengthwise and finger creasing it.
Notice the fray to the fabric? I tend to prefer the frayed look but if you don’t . . . well . . . I guess you’ll just have to hem it!
 
Next turn the corner of the fabric piece down. This will be the center of your flower. While holding your rosette with one hand, twist the fabric from front to back with the other hand.  Continue wrapping your length of fabric around the “bud”, twisting as you go.
You can see the twists in the fabric in the pictures below.
With each twist apply a drop of hot glue.
Keep going until your rosette is the size you want and VOILA!
 
Okay, so what happens if your rosette doesn’t look anything like a flower?  Don’t worry, my first attempt at rosette making was pretty sad.  Don’t give up! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again! Really! The nice thing about drop cloth fabric is that it has a little stiffness to it and kind of holds it’s shape. I practiced the twists and turns without the glue gun until I got the hang of it. 
After your rosettes are complete you’ll glue them to a wreath form. I thought a big willow wreath form from the craft store would’ve been beautiful but for this wreath, but everything I used I had on hand. Reason #1: I was in my pajamas and didn’t want to get cleaned up to go to the craft store. Reason #2: I’m fond of saving $$$. 
 
I hot glued the rosettes to a piece of cardboard cut in the shape of a circle, then trimmed close to the rosettes so it wouldn’t show from the front. I added a long piece of burlap around the outside of the rosettes as a sort of frame. I hot glued a wire clothes hanger, bent into a circle, to the back to make the wreath sturdier. Then I added a second row of burlap  to hide the hanger. I don’t know why but I tend to like my projects to look good from the back as well as the front.
Here is the end result, hanging from an old window on my covered front porch.
Below are some close-ups of my rosettes. I used 2 or 3 different fabrics to make each flower.
The entire project took an evening making flowers (while watching Downton Abbey) and a couple of hours the next morning putting it all together.
So there you have it!
If you’d like to see some more rosette wreaths for some added inspiration you can link to my post: TwoWreathsPlainAndFancy.
In this post I share a glittery rosette wreath and one made from an old flannel shirt.
 
I’ll be back in a couple of days with another Spring decorating tutorial but until then . . .
 
     Blessings,

 

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