Thrifty By Design

It must be a labour of love

2012-02-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Talk about busy... Lots of nerdy stuff, crafty stuff, friend stuff. I'm pooped!

Today and yesterday I worked on my cabinet. I managed to get the finish close to complete. FINALLY! So yes this is a labour of love this project. Lots of time, energy, sweat and a few tears!

Here's the cabinet yesterday - vinyl et al. What a mess!

And here are the triangles all good to go minus the vinyl. I spent a long time cleaning up the paint - making sure the edges were clean and that the colours were solid, etc. Sucks to be picky! I went over and over AND over the paint to make sure it was perfect.

You can see the natural wood triangles. This is one of the side panels...

And this is the back panel...

The cabinet is pretty much done now. I stained the top again, cleaned up the painting on the side panels and back panel. Next step is to shabby chic the cabinet then add a coat of varathane.

Hopefully it'll be easy breasy to get this piece home then I can add 'stuff' to the shelves. Pyrex? Books? Frames? Who knows!

Project Update

I sanded my wooden cars yesterday. I'm not sure how I'll paint these but they definitely will be painted. The shiny shellac finish is uber ugly!

Here they are all primed and ready to go!

Looking forward to next weekend when I can shabby chic my cabinet. Yay!

My upcycled sweater goodie bag tutorial

2012-02-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here's the tutorial I wrote for the Monthly Maker feature on Canada Arts Connect Magazine. A Valentine's Day goodie bag made out of upcycled sweaters. Post a comment here to win one of the goodie bags!

Step 1: Materials

For my goodie bag, I want to use upcycled wool sweaters. I found these at my local thrift store for a few dollars each. I felted both by washing them in hot water. Felted wool sweaters are great for making pillow covers, baby booties, iPhone sleeves and now goodie bags! It's a fun way to repurpose a wool sweater that's worn out.

Other supplies you'll need:

* Felt pieces
* Embroidery thread
* Ribbon
* Regular thread

The ribbon, felt and embroidery thread can be found at Michaels or any other craft supply store. The regular thread can be found at any sewing supply store. I bought bright colours and a lot of pink since these are for kids and for Valentine's Day.

Step 2: Making a Pattern

Next you'll need to design a pattern. Since it's Valentine's Day, I drew a heart-shaped pattern for my goodie bag. The approximate dimensions of the bag will be 8 inches wide and 7 inches high. I wanted it to be big enough to hold quite a few treats!

I also wanted to add some text to the bag. I usually go to http://www.DaFont.com to browse for a font that will work with the design and that would be legible once I stitch it on to the piece. The addition of text is optional.

Step 3: Cutting Your Pieces

Usually I cut out an outside piece and an inside piece. I'll be adding some felt applique to the front of my bag and like using an inside piece to 'cover' all of the threads. If you're not going to add felt applique or don't want to add an inside piece to your bag then only cut out a front and back.

Since my pattern is not symmetrical I've made sure to check that my pieces are cut correctly by flipping the pattern so the front and back pieces line up.

Below I have 8 pieces cut - one of my bags will have a plain grey outside and the other will have the striped outside. Both will have a pink inside.

Step 4: Adding the Felt Applique

For the felt applique, I cut out the pieces then pin them onto the front of my bag. I also pinned the text I want to stitch onto the bag.

Feel free to skip this step and keep your bag plain. Or maybe use your sewing machine to add some flair to the bag. Here's the felt applique and stitching I added to the striped goodie bag.

Step 5: Sewing the Outside and Inside Pieces Together

Next I sew the outside and the inside together. The stitching along the sides helps as a guide when I stitch the front and back together.

First I pin the outside and inside pieces together - the striped wool with the pink felt for the inside. I also pinned my ribbon for the handle. You can use a bigger ribbon or anything else for the handle. I'm adding it now since I'll sew it onto the bag. I love how the white dots on the pink ribbon work with the striped wool!

Now it's time to pull out your sewing machine. I've decided to use turquoise thread for the grey wool bag and a light green thread for the striped wool bag. Get crazy with the colour!

I usually add a 1/4-inch seam. The seam will be on the outside and not the inside of the bag. This gives the goodie bag that handmade feel plus acts as a guide for when you stitch the front and back together.

Step 6: Stitching the Front and Back Together

We're close to done! Now we pin the front and back together. At this point, it should be easy breasy! The top pins are where I'll start and end the stitching. Make sure you leave enough room at the top to add your treats to the goodie bag.

Here's the buttonhole stitch... A fun turquoise thread that works well with the grey wool and pink felt. You can see I've lined up the front and back and then used the stitching as a guide for the buttonhole stitch. This is the most relaxing part of the project for me.

If you don't know how to do a buttonhole stitch, there are tons of resources on the Internet... Even video tutorials on YouTube! Try practicing first - remember you can always remove the stitching and start again.

Here's the completed goodie bag - see how the buttonhole stitch adds a lot of fun to the bag! I also made sure to reinforce the beginning and ending of the stitching. This is where the bag will take some wear and tear.

Step 7: Adding the Goodies

I decided to buy some treats from a local chocolate store called Cinnamon's Chocolates (http://www.cinnamons.ca) - a couple of packs of hot chocolate mix, a chocolate whale sucker, a couple of chocolate hearts, a 'love' chocolate and then some jelly bellies.

Here's both of my goodie bags with yummy treats in them. I hope whoever gets these likes them! Maybe even feels the Valentine's Day love.

The never-ending project may have an end

2012-02-05T21:11:00.001-08:00

I took the plunge! I started on the painting of my triangles on the outside of my cabinet project this weekend. I've gone with an off-white base with accents of mustard yellow, robin's egg blue, grey and black. It's starting to look pretty darn swanky!

Yesterday I revisited the size of the triangles. I made them larger. I also made the triangles on the back larger than the ones on the sides. I thought the difference in sizes may add a bit more interest.

First step was to cut out vinyl for the areas I wanted to leave au natural. Love the free vinyl I got from work. It's been so handy!

Then I primed the outside of the cabinet and added some mustard yellow triangles.

I added some vinyl to protect the top of my cabinet during the painting process. I also added a darker stain to the top while I was waiting for the primer to dry. I'll add more of the darker stain once the painting is done. The wood is pretty light so adding a dark stain will help bring out the grain in the wood.

Here's where I left the cabinet this afternoon. Next weekend I'll finish up the painting then work on the stain. I'll also shabby chic the cabinet a bit. Once that's done then I'll add a coat of varathane and be done! So close! FINALLY!

Can you believe the above cabinet was made out of a wood pallet and some table legs from the dump!

Monthly Maker feature & a giveaway

2012-01-30T22:04:00.000-08:00

The Monthly Maker feature came out today! The Canada Arts Connect Magazine column celebrates independent Canadian artists and their work. Each month they introduce a new Monthly Maker (MM) who will share their skills, advice, goals and quirks with readers. Each MM will offer either a tutorial or deal specifically for CAC readers.

I am Ms. January! Be sure to read the article and comment - you could win one of my Valentine's Day goodie bags!

And definitely let me know if you try the tutorial. I tried to make it easy and straight-forward.

Big thanks to my buddies Marlene and Sylvia who are part of the Langara Art Auction - I donated a piece of furniture which led to the MM feature.

And another big thanks to Laura Nguyen for a great article on TBD! Laura rocks!

Rainy Sundays & getting the paint out

2012-01-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

I took the plunge and started on the off-white finish this afternoon. I also sanded and added some tung oil to the top. It was a perfect day for working on furniture - it was grey and super wet out! The legs I picked up at the dump look so much better now that they've been painted. I'll tweek the paint next weekend then shabby chic the cabinet.

I also penciled in the triangles. I'll work on painting them next weekend. I'm going with an overall off-white finish with grey, black, robin's egg blue, mustard yellow and then some triangles will be natural wood.

Here's the cabinet thus far. I think the off-white is definitely working!

Hopefully I'll finally have my cabinet done next weekend!

On the hunt for ideas

2012-01-29T11:53:00.001-08:00

I've been struggling. Yup it's true. I want to finish my cabinet but haven't really felt 'it' lately. Fear of failing or something. So I've been looking for ideas for the finish... I know I want to keep some of the wood au natural. I also want to add some colour. And then I want to use either a light grey or off-white for the overall finish since that would make the cabinet, especially the legs, look uber clean.

So then how do I finish it? I have tons of vinyl for stenciling or blocking out colour. Really I'm good to go.

Here are the things that are giving me some inspiration...

Lucy Turner

Lucy Turner customizes and transforms mid-century furniture. This is my favourite piece she's done so far. I love the mix of natural wood and bright colours...

Pinterest Love

I haven't spent too much time on Pinterest but sometimes you find some uber lovely stuff. This was pinned by Poppytalk via the blog, Mokkasin. I love the design of the duvet cover. So do I go with an organic shape or geometric? Either way I can infuse colour and can leave some of the shapes as the natural wood. Either could work!

Fabric as Inspiration

I have a ton of fabric that can help for design and colour ideas. Especially Ikea fabric!

Love these colours - orange, green and blue with a splash of pink!

Pyrex & Houseware Funkiness

I'm most likely going to use the cabinet to 'feature' my Pyrex collection. Fun designs and happy colours... This is what I'm hoping for with the finish.

Now I just need to bite the bullet and make it happen. I actually was leaning towards a finish like the Lucy Turner chest of drawers but now I think I should go geometric. I have nothing with a geometric finish so might be nice to have something a little different from all of my other furniture.

Feeling the creative inspiration

2012-01-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

I finished up my goodie bags this week plus wrote the tutorial with step by step instructions on how to make your own. Look for the Monthly Maker feature via Canada Arts Connect Magazine soon. As part of the feature and tutorial, I'll be giving my goodie bags away.

Here's the goodie bag using my grey wool sweater...

Next step was to add some yummy treats to go in the bags. I bought this stash from a local chocolate shop called Cinnamon's Chocolates.

Here are the finished goodie bags with the treats in them. Hope they find a good home!

Project Update

Today I started rethinking my stencil design for the finish to my cabinet. I need something simpler that will fit with the cabinet.

I found a few sites and photos that were truly inspiring. Some days you gotta love the Internet and all the kewl stuff you can find! This is my new blog love - Designamour.

Check out this absolutely gorgeous stencil via Designamour.

I also found Bonnie and Neil via a post on Life Instyle's blog. Life Instyle is a boutique trade event in Australia.

Love these gorgeous shadow boxes with a very simple stencil design. This effect is what I want for my cabinet but in reverse. I want mainly white with the wood showing through.

Next step - I need to figure out the right stencil design. Easier said than done! Sometimes getting inspired is darn overwhelming!

Sugary sweet goodie bags

2012-01-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

My goodies bags are nearly done... I have one complete and will have the other one done tonight. A bit of buttonhole stitching and I'm good to go!

They are sugary sweet! It's great working on pieces for kids - lots of fun, bright colours! And even funner when it's goodie bags for Valentine's Day!

Here's the one using felted grey wool from an upcycled cardigan...

And here's the one using a felted multicoloured wool from an upcycled sweater...

Tonight I'll write up my tutorial to coincide with the Monthly Maker interview. And today I'm picking up some super yummy chocolate from Cinnamon's Chocolates on Lonsdale in North Vancouver. I've decided to give the goodie bags plus chocolate away as part of the interview. Why not?! Pass on the love... And really I ate the chocolate I initially bought for the goodie bags - I don't want to eat any more! Best to create then give away. Love that!

It's all about trial & error

2012-01-15T09:50:00.000-08:00

And the weekend is here! Yay! Yesterday I worked on my cabinet and today I'll work on my craft tutorial. Yesterday was one of those days with a big success and then a mini failure. It's all good. Trial and error is par for the course with DIY. Or atleast that's been my experience.

The plan was to get my shelf supports added then I could insert the shelves. I went to Rona on Friday and got some scrap plywood cut. Each shelf cost me $2. Plywood is pretty inelegant but I'm painting the shelves so figured it would be A-OK.

My Dad helped with the shelf supports. We measured then drilled holes into the cabinet. I love drilling! Then when we had everything measured, holes drilled and double checked that the shelves would sit level, I removed the shelf supports and added wood glue. First step was to glue the shelf supports. Second step was to add the screws once the glue was dry.

Once the shelf supports were in, I inserted the shelves. The cabinet is slowly but surely coming together!

After the shelves, I used some wood filler to fill in the gaps where the legs are. Not a big deal since I'll be painting this piece but thought it best to make this part look seamless.

And then I moved onto the reverse stencil. This is where the fail happened! I started prepping the vinyl and realized my design was way too complicated! I love the idea of the reverse stencil but need something simpler.

I even thought of drawing a design directly onto the cabinet. I'll just come up with something new this week then get it happening next weekend!

After the stencil frustration, I started to prime most of the cabinet. Not the sides or top since that's where the reverse stencil will be. I'm feeling hopeful that the final piece will look uber snazzy!

Jaunts Around Town

I was downtown on Thursday and checked out Chocolate Mousse Kitchenware on Robson Street. It's a very funky kitchenware store. Tons of kewl stuff!

I love this gift wrap. They had a bunch on sale and I thought of getting a couple of sheets. Maybe I could try decoupaging my shelves?! But then I decided against it for now. I could always paint a design onto the shelves if I want. I might keep them uber simple. We'll see!

They also had some fun drawer liners. Another thought for the shelves but none of the designs would have worked unfortunately.

Project Update

And today's task is to continue on with my crafty tutorial to coincide with the Monthly Maker interview. Here's where I'm at with my Valentine's Day goodie bags. I'll get sewing this morning then put them together. I bought some ribbon for the handles but it might not be thick enough. I may have a trip to Michaels in my future!

I had the Monthly Maker interview on Friday. It went well. Looking forward to reading it! Many kookie stories were told about visiting the dump, ripping apart wood pallets in dark alleys and the many injuries I've given myself.

Counting down to the weekend

2012-01-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

Yup - I'm excited about this weekend... Can't wait! I'm working on my cabinet. First stop is Rona. I'm hoping to find some left over wood that I'll get them to cut into pieces for me. I want 2 shelves for my cabinet. Then I'll add the shelf supports. The cabinet will be built then...

Next step will be prepping the reverse stencil I'm adding. That'll take awhile but well worth it!

I'll also be working on my crafty tutorial for the Monthly Maker feature. I'm making Valentine's Day goodie bags for kids. Here are my supplies...

Some old wool sweaters...

And bright felt, ribbons, thread and embroidery floss... Lots of pink!

I should have a start on the reverse stencil for my cabinet and then the tutorial should be complete this weekend. It's due Wednesday so I'll get it done early. The interview is this Friday. Pretty nifty to be featured in an online arts magazine! Yay!

Recent Finds

My latest thrift store find are these wooden cars. They were $0.25/each. Someone must have spent a bunch of time making these! The thrift store had a box of them. I was good - I held back and only bought four.

I'm going to sand these a bit then add a coat of primer. And then I'll pick some bright colours for them - maybe baby blue, turquoise... They'd be great in a boy's room as a display piece. Or I guess for playing. Who knows!

Not sure when I can work on these. Such a deal-o-rama though. Funny the things you can find in a thrift store!

Here's to fabulously crafty weekend!

2012 has started off with a bang!

2012-01-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

Lots of kewl things began to happen in December... I booked my trip to England/Ireland and I was approached for an interview from an online arts magazine focused on featuring Canadian talent. I'm super excited about my trip and traveling to London and then throughout Ireland on my own. I'll be staying with relatives then doing some mini trips. And then the feature - it's a Monthly Maker interview and I'll be writing a crafty tutorial to coincide with the feature. Pretty nifty!

So 2012 is looking pretty FAB so far! I also feel rejuvenated and ready to get things happenin' again! Not that I stopped but balance is not something I'm very good at it.

Project Update

Today I finally assembled my cabinet. I got out the drill and got to work... Kind of stressful since I didn't want to mess it up!

First step was to measure where I would drill the holes...

Once I drilled the holes, I added the screws...

Then I lined up the top with the middle piece...

Once the top and middle were assembled then I could add the bottom...

So here it is... The top, middle and bottom are now assembled. Tomorrow I'll add shelf supports then I can add a finish next weekend. I won't have shelves to slide in for a bit but everything else will be done soon enough.

Crafty Tutorial

I wasn't too sure what to do for the tutorial to coincide with the feature but thought it needed to be something Valentine's Day related. I needed something that was straight-forward, that used easily accessible materials and was within my realm of craftiness.

My ideas included a gift card holder, a felt applique photo frame, a wine bag or a kids goodie bag. I've decided to go with a heart-shaped kids goodie bag. I'll use an upcycled wool sweater, felt and ribbon. I might make 2 - one with grey wool and one with some super colourful wool.

I picked up some supplies from Michaels this afternoon - white and pink felt, some embroidery floss and some ribbon.

I love the ribbon! The goodie bags are going to be uber cute!

Hope everyone is feeling the 2012 love! It's going to be an amazing year!

Button broaches galore!

2011-12-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

Last night, I stitched up the rest of my button broaches. I'm hoping to give these to friends to pin to hats or scarves. I really enjoyed making these broaches... Hand-stitching is total zen time for me!

Here's button broach #1 - turquoise felt with purple stitching...

Button broach #2 - pink felt with blue stitching...

And button broach #3 - purple felt with pink stitching...

Next crafty project will be this guy... Orange felt with a blue button in the middle... We'll see how it turns out!

Big time flower power broaches

2011-12-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Xmas! Mine was FAB... Went to yoga then to my parents' for dinner. Such a wonderful day full of lovely people and lots to be grateful for.

Not sure if it's tacky to talk about what gifts you received but I got a swanky new digital camera. So happy to have a digital camera with no shutter lag! And then I got some euros... Why? Well I booked a ticket to England and Ireland for the spring. 3 weeks away - can't wait! A few days in London then I'll fly into Dublin. I hope to travel around and see relatives and explore the Emerald Isle on my own. Should be super fun especially since I haven't been for 15 years.

Today I decided to sew and be crafty. Great Boxing Day indeed! This is what I started on. I made a bright and crazy broach made out of a button.

I first created these broaches from the green flower buttons but rethought my plan after yoga yesterday. Yoga is the best for crafty inspiration it would seem!

I took the broaches apart then made a pattern for the felt I wanted to use...

I kept the same buttons for the inset of the green button and am using bright felt for the back of the button. First step was to stitch the buttons to the felt flower. I used green thread for the center...

For this broach, I used a purple thread to stitch the sides of the button to the felt...

Next I used a yellow accent for the center...

I wanted to use the felted grey wool for the back. Next step was stitching a bar pin to the back...

After adding the bar pin, I stitched the front and back together using a buttonhole stitch. I matched the thread to the turquoise felt.

Here's the back of the broach. It's ready to go!

One broach done, 2 to go! Once I have all 3 done then I'll give them to friends... Belated Xmas gifts! Better late than never.

Sharing the jewelry love

2011-12-22T19:01:00.000-08:00

Every year I'm always making Xmas gifties at the last minute! I never learn... This year is all about jewelry. I got my bracelet repurposed into a resizable choker with a matching pair of earrings this week. All total the choker and earrings cost me under $10.

BEFORE

The bracelet consisted of four pieces chained together. Nice but not perfect.

I talked to Dominique at Collective Stone about my plan for the necklace and earrings. She helped me with the resizable cord and the earrings. I love how the choker and earrings worked out!

AFTER

I'm giving this set to my very good friend Marnie. I think it'll look gorgeous on her!

I really like how easy it is to change your mind with jewelry design. First phase for the bracelet repurposing on the left and the final phase on the right. So much better!

And the bonus was I was able to use the new chain to update a different necklace!

I'm mailing this necklace to Edmonton tomorrow for my friend Rhonda. We're exchanging crafty items. She gets the necklace and I get some wall art... Sharing the crafty love! Love it!

Button Broaches...

I gave some of my button broaches away this week. Who would have thought something so easy to create would be such a big hit but they were... So nice to make pretty things and then give them to friends. These are the buttons I added bar pins to then gave away.

2011 has definitely been full of gratitude and appreciation for me. I am a very blessed girl with lovely parents, great friends and a life full of possibility. Bring it on 2012!

Xmas break is all about power tools & yoga

2011-12-18T17:31:00.001-08:00

Finally I took some time to work on my cabinet creation. I dragged it to my parents' and got busy. Well after I stored some stuff in their attic. Purging and getting your stuff organized is darn cleansing! My place is roomy and less cluttered. Amazing feeling!

After the attic escapade, I worked on the cabinet. I'm trying to be logical in my process. First step was gluing the legs to the bottom.

Next step was using the super noisy sander. The legs were sticking out so I started with the sander to see how much I could get off. The poor neighbours - that old sander is loud!

This is part way through the sanding...

I then sanded by hand. This actually worked way better. I was able to get the sanding done in a jiffy!

I primed the bottom just to see how the legs would look. Over the Xmas break, I'm playing with power tools, going to yoga a ton and then finishing my cabinet.

Next step will be assembling it as well as adding the stencil. One step at a time and it should work out OK! And I shouldn't get too overwhelmed or stressed.

Here's to a week and a bit off - I can't wait! Three more work days then I'm gonna get crafty, do some relaxing and enjoy Xmas with my family. Yay!

Getting all girlie

2011-12-17T22:48:00.001-08:00

Something has happened to me in the past while... I've gotten uber girlie. I stopped wearing earrings and necklaces years ago but these days I'm getting into necklaces, rings, etc. I am a collector of jewelry now! Atleast you don't need a bunch of space for jewelry!

Mainly I've been acquiring necklaces that I've found at the thrift shops for a few bucks. Lovin' the whole girlie thing. And now I'm getting into making my own pieces by either repurposing or customizing.

I'm using some candleholders I updated last summer to display my earrings and necklaces. It's getting a bit out of hand!

Yesterday and today have had some jewelry moments. I decided to revisit this necklace I made from a repurposed bracelet. It just wasn't working for me. I decided to use the pendant on the right instead. This is from a necklace I picked up at the Lions Gate Thrift Store for $4. The silver is shiny like the necklace and I think the heaviness of the pendant fits the chain better.

Here's the pendant on it's original chain. The chain was too long. I think the pendant works better as a choker. All of these necklaces are thrift store finds. Sometimes you get lucky!

Here's the final necklace. I'll keep this as is.

And the bonus is this pendant is reversible. Kewl eh?

After adding the turquoise pendant to my choker, I then repurposed the chain. I added an amber pendant I bought years ago that was without a chain. I tell ya there's nothing handier than a set of pliers!

And yes I now have about 10 necklaces. I went from 2 to 10 in the past few months! I doubt I've paid over $50 in total for all of my jewelry. Deal-o-rama!

I'm also going to make this pendant into a choker. I want to use a resizable black leather cord and only use one of the pieces instead of two. I'll be making a set of earrings to go with the necklace. The earrings and pendant will both have the turquoise stones. I think the black leather will work way better! Can't wait!

After working on the 2 necklaces, I then started on some button broaches for friends. I dropped by Button Button yesterday afternoon. Here's what I grabbed... Another one of the pewter antique button reproductions for $7.75, a metal button for $5 and then 4 green coconut buttons for $4.50/each. The metal buttons are an easy update - Krazy Glue, a bar pin and tada... They are good to go!

I just need to figure out what to do with the green buttons. I want to get a bit crafty with these ones. I found some mini flower buttons that I could use for the centers.

I decided on the white flower buttons and then cut out some felted wool for the back. I'll use the felted wool to sew the buttons to and then sew the bar pin to the back. I'm using part of a wool sweater that I grabbed from the Salvation Army and felted.

I'll finish up my button broaches sometime this week as well as the black leather choker. These will be Xmas gifties for friends.

Button to broach transformation

2011-12-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

OK I'm getting addicted to making jewelry. Man it can be fun and easy... Or am I just fooling myself? This morning I dropped by Michaels for a bar pin. I actually had to buy a pack of 60 bar pins - that's all they had! I'm not a big fan of stockpiling items that I doubt I'll use but I had no other option.

Since I didn't have a coupon, I installed the Michaels app on my iPhone. Talk about kewl! I pulled up the 50% off coupon at the check out - my $5 pack of bar pins ended up being $2.50. I know it's sad I'm excited about installing an app and saving $2.50 (I also saved printing the coupon by using the app!) but it was one of those times when geekiness and craftiness collided into a happy moment for me. Yay!

Next purchase was Krazy Glue and then I was set for my morning craft adventure. All I needed was my button, a bar pin and Krazy Glue then I could create one kick butt broach!

Here's my beautiful button soon to be broach...

I added Krazy Glue to the back then added the bar pin. My pliers came in super handy and saved my fingers from getting glued together...

The directions on the Krazy Glue packaging said to press the parts together for 30 seconds and no clamps required. Not really in this case! I needed my pliers and I was holding the parts together for longer than 30 seconds... A bit annoying so I found an elastic band and left my broach project to dry for awhile.

I think my broach was finally good to go about 10 minutes later...

And so I wore it this afternoon. Love my new broach! I might use those 59 bar pins after all... Maybe try out other buttons or other items that I can turn into broaches and give to friends, etc.

This morning, after my Michaels visit, I hit Rona and saw my buddy Gord. Gord and I talk all the time and he's great for helping me find what I need. I decided to pick up a few things for my cabinet - I didn't have time to work on this at all this weekend so here's hoping next weekend isn't so busy!

I picked up some wood for the shelves. I'll use this wood as a ledge for the shelves to sit on.

I also picked up nails and screws to help me assemble the pieces together and add the shelf ledge.

Painting Party

After grabbing supplies and turning my button into a broach, I went to my friend Sam's for a painting party. I brought paint, brushes and canvasses then we painted. Fun! Makes me want to FINALLY have another craft extravaganza... Maybe in the new year!

Hope everyone had a FAB weekend... Xmas is coming up fast and I haven't made any Xmasy crafts. Where has this year gone?!

More jewelry repurposing in the works

2011-12-09T14:59:00.000-08:00

Yup I'm repurposing more jewelry... I've been wearing my heart choker a ton these days and getting a bunch of compliments. Love that I took some icky earrings and made a beautiful choker. So exciting! And now I find myself wanting to create my own pieces instead of buying them. Or repurposing items to make my own jewelry pieces.

Jewelry project #1 is for an open grey cardigan that I like a lot. I thought a swanky broach would be great for it. I didn't want to make holes and add buttons - definitely would have ruined it. So was really into finding a broach to use as a way to close the top of the open cardigan. I haven't been able to find anything too lovely that was reasonable.

Today I dropped by Button Button to check out button options. I thought I could glue a bar pin to the back and convert the button into a broach. Easy peasy and probably a pretty reasonable creation.

Now Button Button is a small store with TONS of stuff... Very overwhelming to be honest.

I wanted a silver button, pretty big and elegant... Something I knew would fit with my other jewelry and that I wouldn't get tired of.

This is what I ended up buying for $7.75. I have this 'thing' for decorative designs... Kind of girlie. It's a pewter antique button reproduction. You find the darndest things in Button Button!

I'll glue the bar pin to the back then should be good to go! I would imagine my broach will cost under $10. It'll definitely work for the time being. Maybe I'll find something in a thrift store that's better. We'll see!

After Button Button, I hit Collective Stone again. Unfortunately I dismantled the bracelet I repurposed before getting a photo of it! Bad DIY-er... Gesh! Hopefully you can get an idea of what the bracelet looked like below. I bought this bracelet from the Salvation Army for $2.50. Bracelets annoy me for some reason. I tried wearing this piece since it was pretty but I couldn't do it. I decided to repurpose it into a necklace of some sort!

I worked with Dominique this time. We looked at chains, brainstormed on ideas and then took apart my bracelet. This is the chain I decided to go with.

Here it is... It went through a few variations. I find you go from complicated (basically adding EVERYTHING) and then you remove items to make it simple and clean.

I used 2 of the 4 pieces then added a drop stone to it. I thought this would give it some weight and colour... The necklace needed something to jazz it up! I was going to try to use the bracelet's end pieces for the clasp in the back but they didn't work so we went with the below clasp. I can always use the remaining pieces for another jewelry project.

The necklace cost me under $20 in total - $2.50 for the bracelet then $15 for the supplies from Collective Stone.

Recent Finds

This weekend I hope to work on my cabinet. I found this Pyrex dish to go with my collection. Maybe one of the pieces I'll 'feature' in my finished cabinet. I love turquoise... And birds... And flowers. So sweet and it was $5.99. Great find indeed!

Purging & finding old treasures

2011-12-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

I've become a very purge friendly person in the last while. Not sure why but feeling the need to declutter. Don't get me wrong I love having a comfy place to come home to with my updated furniture, kookie pillow covers and wall of frames but sometimes it's good to clear stuff out.

First purge event was donating a few things to an art auction for Langara College and then I got rid of some chairs, etc. Gotta purge stuff so I can collect new items to re-love!

The next purge event is to go through the few boxes I have stored at my place - hopefully this weekend. Last weekend was the big purge. The biggest yet since I went into my parents' attic and went through boxes of my 'stuff' from the past 20 years... High school, art school, etc. Talk about overwhelming! And truly scary... The attic is dark and messy.

First step was going up and dragging boxes down. I went into the abyss...

And this is how my Dad has 'organized' the stuff in the attic. See why it's scary to venture up there?

I'm glad I went up... I brought down 6 boxes to go through. I kept a few things then had a pile for the Salvation Army and then a pile for the garbage. I found my high school art stuff - negatives, prints... I was uber into photography back then! And other arty, creative stuff.

I found tons from my art school days. A bunch of sketchbook/journals...

Some of my writing that I self published...

More dark and dreary canvasses to update...

And yes I found my stamps from my trip to Russia so long ago. These are the ones I want to frame...

And maybe some of these...

Found some communist ones... Good ole Lenin. Not sure he's frame worthy though...

Such a great experience to go through your history... Past trips, creative ideas, etc. Feeling inspired actually!

This weekend I'll continue on and hope to squeeze in some time for my cabinet. Tonight is the grand opening celebration for my friend Sarah's store, much & little. And then Sunday I'm meeting with a few friends and making art... We're all bringing over canvasses, paints, etc and getting messy. Such a fun thing to do with friends on a Sunday afternoon!

The wheels of creative inspiration are turning

2011-12-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I set up my yet to be assembled/finished cabinet in my living/dining room. I thought I would leave it there, live with it as is and hope that soon enough I would figure out what to do with it. Walking by it and being careful not to run into it, I revelled in its 'in progress' glory.

First thought was... It's too darn big to put in my bathroom that's fer sure! So what should it be? Not a bathroom cabinet... Not a good fit for my bedroom either so I figure I could use it in my living/dining room to 'feature' some of my funky kitchen accessory finds. Like my Pyrex bowls! Or candle holders... Maybe store some wine bottles in it. Oh the possibilities!

So I have a function for it now. Phew! Next step is working out the finish for it... And then how many shelves and how to add shelves.

Well I have the finish somewhat figured out. I want to use my vinyl remnants from work to stencil the cabinet. I'll paint it white with wood peaking through. I found a great option via DaFont for the stencil design. I'm using a dingbat called CornPop.

Here's my idea for the top of the cabinet...

And this is the design for the sides and back...

I printed out my design and placed the print outs on the top. It'll be very subtle but I think it'll work!

Next step is to figure out the shelves. May drop by the hardware store this weekend if I have time and start collecting materials. Can't wait to get this baby done!

It's just the beginning

2011-11-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

The final class was today for my woodworking course. The end of the course yet the beginning of the real work. My cabinet is not complete which is a bummer since I can't submit it for the Earth Day Canada’s 2011 Upcycling Challenge. But I'm excited to finish it up and add my personal touch.

After a frustrating day, full of debate with the instructor and a frenzy of last minute work with the power tools, I am pooped. I was able to get all of my pieces complete and now need to add a finish to the cabinet and put it all together. Great course overall... Turns out I have a slight fear of power tools and breaking them. I battled with the planer today. Eventually we made peace and I was able to get things done without shutting it down. Yay for small victories! ;-)

Anyways the course was a FAB experience. The instructor, despite our many differences, was uber lovely and imparted some wisdom. And I'll even admit I wasn't the best student since I really wasn't the greatest of listeners at times.

Here's the cabinet thus far... The left is the front, the right is the back. The top and bottom use the wood supplied by the course, the sides and back are the pallet wood and the legs are from the dump.

The workshop was all abuzz today with everyone finishing up their projects...

I started by gluing my top and bottom pieces together. I cut the pieces last week and glued them together today. Next step was to trim them to the final size.

Here's the top glued together...

And here's the back and sides glued together. After gluing side one, the instructor and I drilled holes into the side then added the screws. Once this was done then we did the second side.

While waiting for the table saw, I tested out the drill press to see if I could make a hole in the wood that would fit the legs. Good news! It was the perfect size.

I got all 4 holes drilled easily! A bit of glue and the legs will be added to the cabinet in a jiffy.

Next step is to finish the cabinet... I need to oil or stain the wood then figure out the stenciling and then assemble it. The bottom, top and middle are separate parts but not for long!

This is my friend Mike's finished bench. We're both taking the level 2 course... A taste of power tools and you're hooked! No doubt about it!

This week I'll figure out my plan for finishing up my project. I love this before and after via sticks and bricks. The finish is rustic which was what I was hoping for but after planing my wood from the pallet it's looking too slick at this point.

I'm still thinking of stenciling a design. Love these examples - the left is from Design*Sponge. It's from Barb Blair's (aka Knack) stenciling tutorial. The right is from sticks and bricks. Check out the floor! Both the tables and floor stenciling rock!

Next weekend is when I get hardcore about finishing the cabinet. Gluing, stenciling, assembling... It's all happenin'!

Kicking it at the Culture Crawl & beyond

2011-11-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to the Eastside Culture Crawl with some friends. On Friday, we checked out Railway Street. Yesterday we walked through Strathcona and then perused a warehouse full of studios on Parker Street. Man it was an amazing location! The warehouse had 4 floors of studios. And it was packed with other crawlers. Such a great vibe!

First was breakfast with Sam and Carrie. I've realized I'm a bit nosey. I was checking out Sam's art, etc. I'm going to steal some of his home decor ideas. He framed this funky stamp from one of his travels. Can't remember from where but it was a series of stamps designed by a famous artist. Made me realize I have stamps stashed in my parents' attic from a trip to Russia way back in the day that would be perfect. Hope I can find them!

After breakfast, we hit the road. It was a perfect November day - chilly, a bit sunny and dry. I got super bundled up for the crawl and was ready to check out art, etc.

Here's one of the woodworking studios in the Parker Street warehouse. There was some pretty amazing furniture. Completely out of my budget of course! And as you can see the warehouse was uber packed.

Thought these cigar boxes were interesting...

And here's an inspiring quote found in the hallways of the warehouse...

On our way back to Sam's from the Culture Crawl, we stepped into this store on Union Street called Land. Neato store with some great home decor ideas like the crate they hung on the wall to display items. I also found these cards from Saturn Press based in Swan's Island, Maine. They use recycled paper and are typeset by hand using an antique letterpress.

I bought these two cards for $5/each. I love owls and I loved the quote on the other card.

I did a quick framing job on the cards. I cut some paper I had bought for another project to mount the cards onto then used photo corners to adhere the cards to the paper.

Here are the prints in the frames. Not sure if they look crappy or not. I'll leave them as is for now and may update the framing job later. Maybe I should use mat board instead but that may not fit with the prints and frames. We'll see!

Hope to get to some more crafty, creative projects this week. I'm feeling inspired! I think Sam, Carrie and I plus some other peeps are going to have a painting par-tee sometime soon. And then next weekend is my final woodworking class. I woke up this morning at 4am in a panic about finishing my project. Kind of sad but really I'm pumped about my project. Mike and I are definitely signing up for the level 2 course. Can't wait!

DIY & the single girl

2011-11-20T21:46:00.001-08:00

Here I am updating, refinishing, DIY-ing... Quite the modern gal... Most things are easy peasy and then there are those things that are so not me. Hanging uber heavy mirrors I've decided really sucks... Or just isn't fun. Especially when you gotta do it on your own.

Last weekend I wanted to get a couple of mirror updates hung. I decided to move things around a bit then my Dad came over and we had some father/daughter time. Our quality time together is either him helping me hang stuff or me helping him with computer stuff.

Here are the mirrors Dad helped me hang. One for the area between my bedroom and bathroom, one for my living room/office and one for my bedroom.

I was going to hang this one above my bed but then decided to hang it between my dresser and side table.

I desperately needed something to jazz up this space...

First we got some wire from a framing shop and then some heavy duty picture hangers. We were good to go! Here's mirror #1 hung...

And mirror #2 hung...

And yay! Mirror #3 hung...

Feels great to have the mirrors finally up on my walls and not on the floor! There will be no more mirror updates for a bit. How many mirrors can a girl fit into a 1 bedroom suite? I'm getting close to 5 medium to large sized mirrors... Eh gad that's gotta be enough!

Ode to power tools

2011-11-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

I'm in love with my woodworking class... Despite shutting down one of the machines in yesterday's class and having a minor fear of injury I'm super thrilled with the class. Oh and then there's the debates about recycling with the instructor. Ah we're 'bonding' or so I think. He helped me glue wood together yesterday so we're at least bonding literally. ;-P

My wood pallet is going through a transformation. It's in the middle of looking classy and rustic... I might beat it up a bit to bring it back to rustic. The planing has made it look too nice! Although the holes from the nails are still pretty darn prominent!

BEFORE

IN PROGRESS

The sides are good to go! I'll trim them to the final size next week. Here are the 2 by 4s on the left from last week and now they're glued together and planed on the right. Yay!

I decided to use part of the wood supplied by the course for the top and bottom of the cabinet. I was going to use the other pallet but decided against it. Unfortunately I won't have time to make the shelves but I should be able to get all of the other pieces assembled. Next step will be staining and painting. Slowly but surely it's all happenin'!

And here's my planing incident... This piece got stuck in the planer. Oops! Man I felt like a nitwit but really it must happen all the time! Or so I'm hoping.

Eastside Culture Crawl

Today I'm off for brunch with friends then doing some culture crawling. A few of us went out Friday night to check out studios and art. Looking for inspiration!

I did find a couple of nifty ideas on my travels. Not necessarily art but more craft. Loved these necklaces that had pendants made from vintage typewriter keys. They were gorgeous!

And then these bracelets. Such a funky idea!

My favourite place was the Union Wood Company on Railway Street. Great area of town with some pretty funky studio spaces. At Union Wood Company, we were able to check out their work area with all the tools, etc. Good times!

The Union Wood Company makes custom furnishings and supplies local stores with their wares. Stores they supply include Old Faithful Shop in Gastown and The Cross Decor & Design in Yaletown. Even better they use reclaimed and repurposed materials from salvage yards, antique stores, demolition sites and other sources.

I really liked this headboard made with wood and steel. Great little shop!

Here's hoping today's jaunt brings more inspiration! At least it's sunny out... A bit chilly but not raining. That's a bonus for a November day in Vancouver!

The free stuff is rolling in

2011-11-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

Yes indeed the free stuff is rolling in. I was offered the below today. Definitely loving the green shelves. Not sure how big they are but they have potential! Once I see them in person then I'll know what to do with them... Other than cleaning them up a bit. Looks like they've been sitting somewhere dirty the last while!

I'm going to pass on the white shelf. It's a bit boring and not sure it's worth my time.

And other than updating my wood pallet in my woodworking class, I'm making a few things for friends. I'm all about sharing the TBD love!

I finished sewing up my pillow cover this afternoon. Another project done. Phew! I have a few outstanding projects but I'm getting there.

I used baby blue thread for the stitching. Next step is to give it to my yoga buddy. Hopefully she likes it!

I'm also stenciling some corkboards for my friend Thelma... Finally! I've been meaning to get the stenciling done for awhile. This is the design we decided on. Once I print out the design then it should be easy peasy to get these done.

Other creative adventures include hitting the Eastside Cultural Crawl tonight and Sunday. Here's to checking out some studios and getting inspired!