Recycled Leather Ruffle Skirt

One more entry into The Crafterhours Skirt Week 2012 contest. This time, it is something for mama! I am so excited to share this with you!

Two solid days of cutting and sewing were rewarded with this little number. 
 I was tempted to call it the 'Mullet Skirt' because it is "Business up front and party in the back." I love the simple colour blocking in the front and the feminine ruffles at the back.
  Hard to believe this is how the skirt began. I have been hoarding saving these two jackets for some time now. At first I was going to make a handbag (or three) but I think they were put to much better use don't you?
 When I began the skirt, I just took pieces of the jackets and clipped them to each other with alligator clips on my sewing dummy. I was going to do a sort of peplum detail at the front but I haven't the knowledge or skill set to make it work. I'm glad I didn't push it.
   This (the yoke/shoulders of the black jacket)was originally going to be the front, but it had too much of a 'western' look to it.  After it was sewn down I realized two well placed darts would have worked well, but because I didn't do them I was able to reverse the skirt. The points fit perfectly at the back.
   I broke three or four needles gathering these ruffles by hand.
   So worth it though. I love the ruffle detail!
   The last thing I did was peel apart the red leather to get a piece thin enough to cover a button. I sewed it at the top of the invisible zipper fly and snap (I cannot stand a zipper flap that won't stay closed at the very top!)  Business up front.
Party in the back.
♥ I can't wait for Captain Awesome to take me out to dinner in this! Thanks for looking! Wish me luck! ♥

How To: Repurpose Stockings to Throw Pillows

Well, this isn't so much a how-to as a go-do! I had been meaning to make some felted-sweater-stocking-pillows for a couple weeks now but you know how things get this close to Christmas. Thankfully, I had a light bulb moment and decided that filling extra stockings with fabric scraps I have hoarded saved or just this purpose would be even better! Pretty freakin' adorable right?



All I did was fill and sew. See the seam at the top? Looks like it supposed to be there doesn't it? Well, almost. You could even hand sew it. Machine not required for this one. In fact a blanket stitch would probably look lovely.

They are surprisingly comfortable, even two stacked in a wing back chair.

I was just happy to have a use or some of the extras we had. We have a total of nine stockings. Nine. We are only three people. But A friend made Wednesday's stocking and machine embroidered her name on it so we keep that one out. I mean, how often do you think Wednesday will receive personalized items? I have the black and white denim patchwork one you see in my header. It is just too pretty not to hang, and it is kinda small so Ron doesn't go broke trying to fill it. Finally, I made Ron a new stocking this year out of two felted wool sweaters. He loves his wool socks so I mimicked one for the stocking. (I had in previous Christmases used a wool sock or his stocking but they are just too small for things like movies, cds or novels.) His ace lit up when I showed him his new stocking, I was so proud.

Happy Christmas Crafting!

How To: Turn a Bread Box into a Charging Station

This pretty little unnassuming number is one of my most recent accomplishments. It has been in the works since July or August. Yup. I think I received the breadbox from a friend in July, and it was sanded and painted in August. But I was two(ish) months finding just the right knobs, a grounded extension cord and then waiting for a drill to come back home. (Captain awesome has about seven hundred but you think I could have just one?!) Anyways, it was all worth it because looky what it does!

That's right! It is a handy dandy (and might I say beautiful) gadget charging station! On that shel is a Nintendo DS, my Blackberry and the battery charger for my brand new Olympus Pen camera. There is also room for Captain Awesome's Blackberry. We are not against Ipods, we are just not cool enough for them (But we are accepting donations and sponsorships.).

Look at that neat and tidy awesomeness. Seriously. See those cable ties? Reusable little numbers called Q-KNots from UT Wire. They are great! This really speaks to The Storage Geek in me you know?

Would you like to make your own? You would? Sweet. We can be Geeks together.

Gather ye materials:
Wooden bread box (Mine had one door in the front and a door on top for a shelf.)
Paint (I used Rustoleum Glass Black spray paint)
Knobs (if you are not using the ones it came with.)
Power bar and grounded extension cord if you, like me are not lucky enough to have an outlet right behind your planned charging station location.
Cable ties (again optional but really make take the project up a notch I think.)

Gather ye tools:
Palm sander (Or a sanding black)
Medium grit sandpaper
Drill
1/2" drill bit
1 1/2" hole cutting drill bit (I didn't have one but I wish I did)

Watch and learn:

Okay, this is not mine but it is as close as I could find to mine (I cannot for the life of me find the pictures i had of my bread box sanded before painting!). See the top knob? On mine it is fake. The top lid just lifts up, but I added a third knob to deter people from using the lid as a flat surface. I kept the fake knob because there was already a hole, and the sweet knobs I found came in a pack of three. But I digress!

Step 1: Remove knobs and sand breadbox, inside and out.
Step 2: Paint. I spray painted mine with two light to medium coats of Rustoleum's Glass Black. The second picture caught a lot of sun light but looks just as black as the outside.

 Step 3: Put your gadgets on the top shelf so you can get an idea of where you want your holes drilled.
**TIP** Attach your charging cords so you can see how far they stick out to the side. If I had done that, my first hole would have been as far to the left as possible.

Step 3: Drill holes.

Step 4: At the back of the bread box, make a hole large enough for your power chord plug to fit. This is where a 1 1/2" hole cutting bit comes in handy. I did not have one so I just used my 1/2" drill bit until I had a hole big (and ugly) enough. But nobody sees this hole, so don't worry your pretty little heads about it.

Step 5: Replace your knobs. Check out these GORGEOUS curio knobs from Tim Holtz's Idea-olgy line. I had literally been looking for two months for knobs JUST like these in thrift stores and Re-Stores. Even in new stores. Nada. Then I am walking through Michaels, minding my own business and in the clear acrylic stamp aisle they jump out at me. I nearly screamed at mom "I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THESE FOR MONTHS!" I think she thought I was nuts. But yeah, knobs in the scrapbooking aisles? Go figure. I hope I am not committing blasphemy by using the curio knobs as actually cupboard knobs. ;)

Step 6: Add power bar and plug in your adapters.
Step 7: Cable tie your chords to keep them neat.

Step 8: Feed chords through holes you drilled and plug in your (probably way cooler than my) gadgets.

Step 9: Add more storage to it by gluing and/or screwing a pocket system to the upper door for more gadget holding space. Do the same to the front door for holding more wires or extra USB cables etc. Plug another power bar into your power bar for more outlets. BUT! If you do this, make sure your extension cord can handle the load. I used a heavy duty one meant for air conditioners that Captain Awesome found for me in Mart-Wal.

Step 10: Bask in the awesomeness that is you and your creation! Seriously, I already love this thing more than my dog. (Just kidding, Sweetie is irreplaceable...by inanimate objects.)

Hope you both enjoyed this how to and are maybe a little bit inspired to create your own? I would love to see your creations if you do!
Happy creating!



P.S. Seven More days to vote Until Wednesday calls into the Top 25 Canadian Mom blogs at Circle of Moms.

Reader Question : Any Good Moving Box DIYs?

tiaras-tumblr asked:
I have a bunch of boxes from where I just moved and I'm not sure what to do with them. Got any ideas of any D.I.Y.?
Yes, yes I do! Well, they are not my ideas, more like my suggestions after some super fun Googling. :)

Tell me this shelf is not gorgeous? The one pictured is made by Leo Kempf but a DIY version can be found here at Instructables.

Cardboard Lamps made by Joe Manus of Shiner International. Made in Atlanta Georgia. goto.interiordesign.net Found via Inspirationgreen.com. I don't have a DIY link but I am sure with some thought and research you could Jimmy-rig yourself up a couple.
For the craftier sort of DIY's:

To make this show stopping recycled vase and bouquet visit Inspiration&Realisation.

At first I thought these little pretties were a wall installation, but in fact they are magnets! So cute! For the how to click here for the PDF link.

Romantic bird houses are easily made with glue, paint and lace. Source: This Recycled Life.
For the more artistically gifted or adventurous sort of DIY'er you could also try your hand at sculpting with cardboard.

With layered flat cardboard like Chris Gilmour.

Or blended like paper pulp and then sculpted like clay and finished like wood. This AMAZING table was made in Domingos Tótora's studio, Maria da Fe, Brazil
For some truly inspiring cardboard pieces of design and sculpture visit this post at Inspirationgreen.com.
I hope this post was both helpful and inspirational! I had so much fun writing it up, and now I am on the hunt for some boxes! Cheers,M.

How To : Denim Tool Roll

As promised, the denim tool roll tutorial! Sorry for taking so long but I swear I have not stopped for the last two weeks! Now, I know there are a lot of crayon roll type tutorials out there, but I didn't use one for this. And really this is probably more simple than a crayon roll because there is not interfacing or seam binding!



Materials
1 pair of jeans (Or just the bottom 21" of two legs)
1 piece of fabric 15x20" (This is the canvas I used)
1 yard ribbon/twill tape

Modus Operandi



Cut down the inside seam of two legs cut to twenty one inches.


Square your leg pieces to the inside seam.


Join pieces. But do this so one small piece meets one big piece. I tried to make it clear with the photo.


Join pieces with a 3/8" seam.


Press seams flat.


Sew down seams.


Fold and press bottom about a half inch.


Pin canvas piece to top. This should be approx 15x20".


Sew canvas around sides and top. The bottom needn't be sewn to the denim but feel free to give the canvas a quick hem before pinning. (I cut my piece from the bottom of the curtain to this step was done for me.


Turn out. Now press the denim sides in to line up with the turned canvas.


Fold up the denim and add your tie strap. I used cotton twill tape. You can pin at this stage but it is a lot of fabric and I find if you go slow, denim doesn't need to be pinned.


Sew around the entire perimetre. Don't forget to back stitch a few stitches where the denim meets the canvas.


Once you have sewn the perimetre you can either mark with disappearing marker the lines you want to sew along to create the pockets or you can use a quilting guide set to the desired pocket width. I used a marker and marked out two 2.25" pockets on the ends and six 1.75" pockets in the middle. It made it super easy to sew super quick. You can do this in one continuous line starting at the bottom of one end and ending at the top of the other end. Don't forget to back stitch where the denim meets the canvas.


Ta-daaa! Your finished your manly toll roll!


If you use denim coloured thread in your bobbin, your quilting is barely discernible!


Now go put your brushes or knitting needles or scissors in it before you change your mind and give it to a deserving man in your life!
I hope you enjoyed this how to! I hope you make your own! I hope you show me yours! I hope you come back for more great projects! Cheers!