Shopping in someone else's sewing room...

I am at my parents house this weekend and I just had to share the awesomeness that his my mom's craft/sewing room.  She wouldn't let me take pictures of the desks (yes that's plural...she has 2 huge craft tables set up at all times, and a built in corner desk for my dad's computer...awesome!) because they are cluttered with all the current works in progress, but I was able to take pictures of her 4 HUGE built in cabinets full of fabric.  Are you ready to be jealous?  Here you go...

  

 I told you it was awesome!

 And all those lower cabinets are stuffed full of wrapping supplies, pillow forms, and all the notions you could ever need. 

I told you, sheer awesomeness!

How about one last up close view to really get the detail of how many yards of fabric are housed in these cabinets...

My mom has been sewing since she was a little girl, and has taught me everything I know.  I am no where near as talented as she is, but maybe some day I will be.  For the longest time she was a quilter, and that's really how the fabric collection began.  She also made tons of clothes for herself, and my sister and I growing up.  Now my daughter is reaping all the benefits of a lifetime of sewing practice!

So today I went through ALL THE FABRIC and took some small pieces for the projects I will be making soon.  Don't you just love 'shopping' in someone else's sewing room?  So much fun...and FREE! :)

So here is what I am taking home today...

Be on the look out for some fun tutorials featuring fabric from today's scavenge!

And don't worry, I have already asked her to write some guest posts so we can all be inspired by her awesome creativity!

Custom Table Covers with Coordinated Runners

This is the 5th posting for my series on how to make your own

custom party decorations

based on what I made for my daughters first birthday.

I hoping these posts will inspire you to

make some one of a kind decorations for your next party!

Once I realized that the guest list for my daughter’s birthday was rapidly approaching 30 people, I knew I would be using an assortment of folding tables and chairs to have enough seating.

But I hated the idea of mismatched tables clashing with all my great party decorations!

So I came up with an inexpensive and quick solution to add some custom table covers with coordinating runners to cover all our tables while fitting in with the overall theme.

First you will need a variety of basic plastic table covers that coordinate with your theme.

I found these table covers at Party City for only $1.69 for the solid colors and $3.69 for the floral cover. You can also find some solid color covers at Wal-Mart for $1.50 each, or at the dollar store if you’re lucky.

Using one of the solid covers for the base layer, lay it over the table and cut off any access so that the cover fits over the specified table with about 6”-8” overhang on all sides.

Using some packing tape secure all sides of the cover to the bottom of the table.

Depending on the legs of your table you might have to get creative with your “hospital corners” to get the look you want.

Using a coordinating table cover cut a 12”-18” strip to fit the length of the table, plus the 6”-8” overhang I mentioned above.

Finally, secure the table runner to the bottom of the table and you're all done. 

(My next post will be on how to make these super cute centerpieces so stay tuned)

Finding the time to add these table covers is an easy and inexpensive way to add coordinated decorations to your party, while hiding mismatch furniture.

$5 Dollar Store Challenge @ Living with Lindsay

Update: I'm going to submit this project for the CSI Project Dollar Store craft challenge...wish me luck!



I have accepted the challenge from Living with Lindsay…create a spring home decor item with $5 or less worth of items from a dollar store. You were allowed to add your own glue, paper, paint, ribbon and fabric if you already own them. Then post a tutorial on how someone else can recreate your super cheap project and wait for the judging to begin. That’s it...sounds simple, right?

First of all, I have a confession…I spent way more than $5 in my quest for the perfect project for this challenge. I hadn’t been to the dollar store in FOREVER so I was completely unprepared for what I found. There are some really cool things in a dollar store! So as soon as I walked in the ideas started flowing…and I started buying. I probably tossed around, and/or started, half a dozen different ideas for my project. But as I started to reevaluate the items I had, and coming up with some color schemes I was able to decide what I wanted to enter into the $5 Dollar Store challenge…

A clock.

Yup, as simple as that sounds, that was my big idea. I chose to do a clock because I knew I was lucky to have found a working analog clock that could be disassembled to fit a new clock face for only $1. The clock kits at Michaels and Hobby lobby are around $5 or $6, so I had to use it in some way for this challenge.

Once I knew I was going to make a clock…I needed to find a thin and strong item of some kind to be the new clock face. I ended up with a bright green chipboard sign from the Dollar Store that would fit the clock mechanism and allow me to go ahead with my idea. As you can see, it was not very pretty and not at all fitting with the modern look I wanted (it's the one in the top left, I didn't end up using the blue sign).

(Sorry some of the pictures are so dark...my office/craft room has terrible lighting and any pictures I take after the sun goes down turn out dark)

I began by cutting off the detail edge of the sign to make it a smooth rectangle. Then after a quick sand it was ready to paint. Since I’m really liking grey and pink lately, I was drawn to a night scene with a tree and some early spring buds…dramatic and whimsical at the same time. Using some simple toll paints I covered the tacky green with a grey base coat. Then I just added a simple round gradation effect to create a foggy moon in the upper right hand corner where I was going to install the clock.

For the tree and buds I used a Cricut expressions machine and cut out a tree silhouette and some simple flowers using solid colored cardstock. I thought about painting the tree instead, but I like the subtle 3-D effect of using the paper. To attach the tree and flowers I just used a regular glue stick.

Next was the all important decision of adding the clock and whether or not it would have numbers. I knew that the round area for the moon would work as a clock face…but I went back and forth on whether or not to add any numbers. After cutting out some simple 1/4” roman numerals I asked for the Hubs’ opinion and he like the numbers. So with the help of my trusty glue stick I added them to the clock. You'll want to use the minute hand from the clock parts to make sure they are spaced correctly.

Next I created the hole for the clock with the thickest nail I could find and cleaned up the back to make sure the clock mechanism would fit right up against the back of the plaque.  
(Note: if your plaque is wood you will have to use a drill to make the hole.)

I kept the clock arms silver, but you could just as easily paint the hands black to match the tree, or pink to match the flowers.

Now just a quick spray with some clear coat (with out the clock installed) and the project is all finished!

*UPDATE*
That is not the clock mechinishm sticking out on the right side of the clock, that's the roll of duct tape I used to lift it up off the table for the picture.  I made sure to install the clock far enough in from the side to completely hide the back piece of the clock.

That is about as easy and cheap (only $2 plus paint and paper) as they come. You can use this technique to make a clock for every season and just swap out the parts to update the look.

I knew from the beginning that this clock would have to stand up on a shelf because of the clock mechanism sticking out from the back, but that’s why I chose a very vertical design. I have some picture shelves in my hall way and our new spring clock has already found a perfect home!

I hope this tutorial has inspired you to rethink those boring round symmetrical clocks in your house and find the time to make your own custom clock!