Wine Box Renovation

 I found these wine boxes at an estate sale and decided they needed a little spice.  I used three different techniques with the boxes and I will explain them below.

  

Red: The red one was already painted and the box had a graphic inlay on it.  I wanted to bring out the designs and make it look grungy and old.  So, I used layers and layers of glaze to get the effect.  I learned this technique from an internet blog called All Things Thrifty by Brooke.  This post of hers is really great in showing how to glaze wood.  For my box, I just painted the glaze over the whole thing and then wiped it off so the glaze stayed in the inlay and came off the surface.  I had to do this 5 times to get the desired effect.  (it doesn't take as long as it sounds)  I really like how the glaze fills in the cracks, scratches and all the nooks and crannies.  The glaze really makes it look old and grungy.  I will be doing other glazing projects for my blog because it's so fun. 

White: This box didn't have an inlay, the graphics were just painted on so I decided to do a white wash.  I just mixed 1/2 white paint and 1/2 water and wiped it on the box with a rag.  I did a few coats to make it white enough.  Then I sanded it a bit to smooth the splinters on the box edges.  

Teal: This one is my favorite.  It had a neat leaf pattern inlay on the box.  I painted the whole thing with teal paint and them sanded it FOREVER.
 

These boxes are great for storage, toy bins, planters, log holders by the fireplace, small bookshelves, or whatever other use you can conjure up. 

Estate Sale Find of the Week

I found this old typewriter at an estate sale last week for 5 bucks!  I have nowhere in my house (which is the size of a standard porch) to display it, so I had to resort to tearing it apart.  I'm sure I can find something neat to do with the pieces.  I had a little photo shoot with it before I had to dismember it (which, by the way, was a ton of work seeing as though it's made with an astonishing number of parts).  

 Thanks for looking    

Furniture Makeover Before and After

I found this horrendously ugly cabinet thingamajig at Goodwill and decided to repaint it with an industrial feel.  I painted it with chalkboard black because I like the texture.  Then I stenciled on the numbers with spray paint and added a pinstripe box to the top.  I also added some simple white knobs and roughed up the paint to make it look old and worn.  It's pretty neat, cant decide if I want to sell it or keep it.  

 

Thanks for looking!

 

My First Quilt!

I was Stumbling along a few weeks ago and came across this tutorial for a gorgeous modern quilt, by Moda Bake Shop.  BTW, if you don't know what Stumbling is I highly recommend you figure it out, although I must warn you that it may waste many hours.  Anyway, I knew I had to make it so I decided to give it a try.  The tutorial was a great guide, very clear and easy to follow.  I ended up not using the pre-cut Jellyroll bundles, instead I picked out all my prints and hand cut them.

I made the quilt for my best friends baby shower gift and since I had spent a million hours making the quilt I thought it needed an extra special gift wrap.  I found a nice box at Michaels, painted the top white and made rosettes with the scraps form the quilt.  I thought about doing a rosette tutorial in this entry but I feel like every craft blog on the internet has the same rosette tutorial.  In an effort to be slightly unconventional I'm banning the rosette tutorial from my blog.  But, here is the box for your viewing pleasure.

Business Card Envelope Template

After scouring the internet for a cute little business card size envelope template to no avail, I decided to just make my own.  These cutie pies can be used for business cards, gift cards, invoices for your etsy shop, thank you notes, or whatever else will fit.

Click here to download the .pdf version of the template so it prints the correct size.

I used old science book pages and extra scraps of decorative paper.  I glued the template to a piece of cardboard from a cereal box and used that to cut around with a x-acto on my pretty paper.  Then just fold and glue.  I used Tombo rolly adhesive and it worked really well.  And, if you are feeling super ambitious you can even line them like I did below.  

Thanks for looking and have fun! 

 

Make a Little Rug Tutorial!!

I was inspired by the people at the Homestead Weaving Studio to make their Rustic Braided Rag Rug.  It's not the prettiest web tutorial but it gets the point across without any mumbo-jumbo.  I have never made anything like this so I puttered through for a few hours to make this rug and I love it.  I am going to plop it in my bathroom but you could also use it as a welcome mat, pet bed, baby mat, kitchen mat, magic flying rug, a very odd hat or whatever else your little heart desires. 

Supplies I used. . .
3 yards of tanish linen
3 yards of brown cotton, but you could also use rags and old shirts
Rotary Cutter
needle and thread (optional)
sticky mat stuff (optional)


Step 1
I cut the fabric into 2 inch strips that were about 3-4 feet long.  I just kind of eyeballed the 2 inches because not only do I like the irregularities but I am also too lazy to measure and cut with a ruler.  

Step 2
At this point you'll want to follow the tutorial on the web site.  The only thing I found that was deceiving about their tutorial is that it took WAY more rounds to get it to a bath mat size.  Originally I made it their size, which looked plenty big on my small desk, only to find it looked like a doll rug when I put it on the floor.  So, I had to go back and add a lot more rounds with 8 strands.  I suggest testing it out in it's new location before finishing it off to get your perfect size. 

Step 3
After I finished weaving, I sat and admired my new rug but decided that it needed a little traction on my linoleum floor.  So, I got some of this rubbery grippy stuff to put on the bottom.  But, if you're not using the rug in the bathroom or kitchen then you probably don't need to do this step.      

I then pinned it, around the edges, to the bottom of the rug. . .

Step 4
I had planned on sewing it together with my sewing machine but the tacky rubber mesh stuff kept sicking to the foot.  There may be some fancy pants foot that allows for this stuff to be sewn but I'm ignorant of its existence. So, I did it by hand, using my signature big sloppy stitch, just to tack the layers together.  Then I trimmed the mesh just inside the rim of the rug.  And, that's it.

  Thanks for looking, have fun!