Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Skirt Recycle

I picked up this great peasant top pattern from the second hand shop not so long ago.

Vogue 9862 Circa 1998
I try to stop myself from purchasing more peasant top patterns because I already have so many, but I really liked view C so I succumbed to the temptation.

I just couldn't find the right fabric that I wanted to use from my stash, and since I'm on a self imposed ban from buying sewing and crafting supplies I had to get creative.

I ended up pulling out this old cotton wrap skirt that I no longer wear.


Every once in awhile I go through a phase where I'm completely drawn to cutesy floral prints~

Vogue 9862

I was able to piece together enough fabric to  make View C!


I decided to leave the elastic off of the bottom of the sleeves but still added lace to the bottom hem.


Tah dah....my skirt has been recycled into a new peasant top!

Skirt to top, skirt recycle, refashion

This will be great for summer and for travelling!

I have a hard time letting go of clothes that still fit, especially if I've made them, even if they are slightly out of fashion.  Sometimes this bad habit comes in handy though~

How about you?  Do you recycle old clothes into something new or hand them down?  Leave a comment below~

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Maisons du Monde

You don't have to speak French to find loads of inspiration on the Maisons du Monde website.



I stayed in the south of France a few years ago and happened upon a Maisons du Monde store while I was there.  It was a small store with lots of knickety knacks and small decor items.  When I got back to my room and poured over their catalogue I was blown away.

At first I thought it was sort of like Ikea, but it's not really.  Maisons du Monde might have relatively good prices but their furniture has so much more character and personality than anything Ikea sells.



Unfortunately, they only have store in Europe, boo hoo.  But I thought I'd still steer you their way to check out their massive catalogue.  There are so many great ideas and sources of inspiration in there, 514 pages of inspiration to be exact!

I LOVE their bookcases!

If you thought you had to hunt old yard sales to try to dig up a treasure like a library card catalogue case...you'd be wrong~

They organize their products into 12 different style inspirations from around the world (from Cottage, to Fifties, to Lodge, to Baroque....my favourite is a toss up between Romantic and Exotic).


Check it out and see what you find~

Monday, February 17, 2014

Movie Monday - TGYH


In honour of my trip down under here's one of my favourite Aussie exports, Rebel Wilson.


You never know what's going to come out of her mouth so an improv with her is always entertaining.

I think Hollywood tried to do a version of this show one season but it didn't really take off, unfortunately.

If you want to keep up with me on my travels make sure to follow me on Instagram!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Friday Flashback: Pretty Dominoes

In case you missed it...I'm on the other side of the planet enjoying some sunshine.  So, in the meantime, because I wasn't overly organized before I left, I'm bringing back some of my favourite projects over the years for an encore.

I really loved this project even though it wasn't as wildly popular as I thought it would be.  It's one of those posts that just sort of came and went without much fanfare.  I still love it though~
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I was one of those kids who always kept things in their original packaging.  I was also one of those kids who rarely threw anything away.  So, when I came across my childhood domino set in it's original box in pristine condition I threw caution to the wind and gave them a total overhaul.

#mod podge, dominoes, decoupage, vintage games

 
If you want to make a pretty set of your own, here's what you need:


Materials
-Set of wooden dominoes
-Mod Podge gloss and Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
-Spray paint or acrylic paint
-paint brush
-pretty papers

Steps:

1) If you're super serious about crafting you will want to sand and prime your dominoes.  I am not that serious, so I just lined them all up and gave them several coats of spray paint.



I went back and forth on the idea of sanding down the edges to give them a shabby chic look but in the end decided that wasn't a good idea.  All of the tiles should look the same when they're turned over and they shouldn't have any distinguishing marks on them.  So... I just left them as is.

2) While you're waiting for your tiles to dry, pick out your pretty papers.  You need a different paper for every number you have (six).  You can cover the blanks too but this could be a little confusing when you're playing.  It's best to just leave them blank.

3) You're probably still waiting for your paint to dry so now's a good time to cut out your tiny little squares of paper to cover each of the numbers.  I used my Silhouette but you could do this by hand.  My squares are 18millimetres square.  Make sure to pre-measure your tiles to see if it's the same before you start cutting.

I was originally going to cover the blanks,
that's why there's seven tiles,
but I changed my mind~
4) Once your paint has finally dried, start adhering your papers.  The easiest way to do it is one number at a time.  Gather all of the one's and paste down the same paper on top of each of them, then all of the two's and so on.


I found it easier to brush the glue onto the backs of the paper squares instead of directly onto the tiles.

5) Next add a nice thick layer of Dimensional Magic to the entire top of your dominoes.


This gives them a super glossy, resin look.


It goes on a bit milky but dries super clear.  Just watch for air bubbles.  I put mine on so thick I had to let them dry overnight.


I couldn't put these lovely tiles back into their old box so I even made them a new holder!


Gorgeous!  Now I just need to find someone to play with~

Have a crafty week everyone!
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I had so much fun remaking this old favourite that I ended up recycling Rubik's Cubes as well.  You can see the remakes here.

Do you still have any of your childhood games?  Have you ever thought of revamping them to make them fun again?  Leave a comment below~

Oh! By the way...I don't really celebrate but, Happy Valentines day!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

In the Garden

Next up on my tour of Pinterest Boards is the one where I collect inspiration for the outdoors, everything from flowers and plants to gardening tips, to inovative and fun projects.

In the Garden







To find the sources of all these beautiful photos (and more) or to get lost in the garden, just head over to Pinterest and check out the board

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Valentine Loot Bag

I've gathered a few goodies for my niece and nephew and figured Valentine's Day would be a good excuse to offload them.


I wanted to just do something simple so I pulled out a couple of paper bags and went to town decorating them.

I used some scalloped scissors to cut the top edge, a little heart punch to decorate underneath that and then made a mask and used some very potent glimmer spray for the bottoms.


I used this week's free Silhouette design (#54281) to make a cute little card and envelope and then just added a tiny little  rosette for some extra prettiness.

Throw the goodies inside and put it all together....


I think they'll be pretty excited when they open them up~


Do you have any special traditions for Valentine's day?  Candies?  Chocolates?  Flowers?  Leave a comment below~

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