Sunday, November 20, 2011
New Items in the HOUSE
I have some BEAUTIFUL creations from "Pink Squirrel Studios" new to the shop on Friday! They are hand made glass bracelets and necklaces from a very talented lady! I loved her style and had to add her products to my shop. Stop by on Black Friday for 25% off everything in the store (and Small Business Saturday)! Check out these unique, one-of-a-kind items!
Friday, November 18, 2011
How To: Dress Form... so that's what it's called...
At my shop I had a little dilemma... too many necklaces and not enough cool places to display them. That problem was solved with this idea to get a "dress form" that is the fake bodice thing that looks like the silhouette of a woman... well, a fake woman... a real woman would never have that narrow of a stomach and that wide of a chest.
So, that leads me to my second problem. Those things cost HUNDREDS of dollars! Really. Vintage Dress Forms are very expensive and even a new one at Hobby Lobby was out of my range.
So I thought to myself... I could make one of those... easy... but how...well, with chicken wire and burlap of course!
I started with a tall spindle that was recovered from a house remodel (free :) ) Then, I screwed it to the bottom of two wooden discs from Hobby Lobby. I measured it to find center and drilled holes from the back side and then used 3 inch screws to secure it.
Next, I took chicken wire and cut a piece that was about 35 inches long. Then, starting at the bottom, I folded it around and twisted the wire onto itself to secure it. That created the bottom of the skirt. Moving up about where a waist would get skinnier I overlapped the wire more to make it skinnier and twisted the wire to secure it. To create the bust, I found the spot where the two ends meet and secured them, by leaving a space for... cleavage... can I say that here... :) I did. Now, push and pull the chicken wire to create your preferred shape. You can use other pieces of wire to hold the form. Next, place your form over the tall spindle and secure it with screws.
Now, you need to create the upper chest and neck. Take a second piece of chicken wire that is 1/4 the size of the other and shape it like so.... then attach it to the bigger form by twisting the metal ends.
Then, cover your whole creation with badding. Use hot glue where you can to secure it.
Now, cover the badding with any fabric of choice. This is a "sewing-free" option. All I did was glue burlap onto the badding in strips starting from the bottom and working my way to the top.
Then, I added a little disc to the top of the neck that I painted blue, added bulky necklaces and a cute ribbon belt to give it a feminine touch.
So, here it is: my ten dollar dress form.
So, that leads me to my second problem. Those things cost HUNDREDS of dollars! Really. Vintage Dress Forms are very expensive and even a new one at Hobby Lobby was out of my range.
So I thought to myself... I could make one of those... easy... but how...well, with chicken wire and burlap of course!
I started with a tall spindle that was recovered from a house remodel (free :) ) Then, I screwed it to the bottom of two wooden discs from Hobby Lobby. I measured it to find center and drilled holes from the back side and then used 3 inch screws to secure it.
Next, I took chicken wire and cut a piece that was about 35 inches long. Then, starting at the bottom, I folded it around and twisted the wire onto itself to secure it. That created the bottom of the skirt. Moving up about where a waist would get skinnier I overlapped the wire more to make it skinnier and twisted the wire to secure it. To create the bust, I found the spot where the two ends meet and secured them, by leaving a space for... cleavage... can I say that here... :) I did. Now, push and pull the chicken wire to create your preferred shape. You can use other pieces of wire to hold the form. Next, place your form over the tall spindle and secure it with screws.
Now, you need to create the upper chest and neck. Take a second piece of chicken wire that is 1/4 the size of the other and shape it like so.... then attach it to the bigger form by twisting the metal ends.
Then, cover your whole creation with badding. Use hot glue where you can to secure it.
Now, cover the badding with any fabric of choice. This is a "sewing-free" option. All I did was glue burlap onto the badding in strips starting from the bottom and working my way to the top.
Then, I added a little disc to the top of the neck that I painted blue, added bulky necklaces and a cute ribbon belt to give it a feminine touch.
So, here it is: my ten dollar dress form.
Monday, November 14, 2011
a rose by any other name....
Friday, November 11, 2011
How to: Window Picture Frame
Here's a REALLY quick and REALLY easy DIY project - A 5 minute task....if you have an old 6 pane window lying around ;)
This old window was found at a Garage Sale for a real bargain. The lady put in new windows and wanted the old ones to go to a good home. I considered my home as good as any, I suppose, I'd treat the window right. This window was an easy clean-up. Just a little Windex really. Some older windows that I have gotten require MUCH more labor. Some have required bleach, sanding and/or layers of varnish.
Once your blank window "canvas" is ready, pick out your favorite 6 photos. It is important to pick pictures that will coordinate. Either in theme, or color, or people... or something. I chose my WEDDING photos! Yay! Shameless, I know... but I wanted something that would look elegant. And, I used photos that didn't show my husband or my faces to keep it intriguing.
Decide the layout of your 6 photos. My pictures included 3 that were up close pictures with texture and 3 that were people shots, I staggered the photos to make the over-all appeal balanced.
Next, use "Scrapbook Corner Adhesives" from Hobby Lobby. A cheap and AMAZING way to keep the photos in place. And they're clear, so it is an illusion that the photos are squashed between two sheets of glass, but no, this is SOO much easier!
Then, grab the corner stickers place them on two corners of a photo (I start with only two corners with stickies so it doesn't get out of hand with four stickies getting in the way). Now, from the back side of the window, I "eyeball" where center is for each photo in the frame (if you are a meticulous type, then grab a measuring tape already!) Do that to all 6 photos. Then go back and stick the other two corners of each photo.
And viola! There is your 5 minute picture frame... Or, in my case, the 2 hour picture frame. Between cleaning the window, picking and printing my FAVORITE wedding pics and fighting the corner stickies!
Also, consider what hardware you'd use for hanging the window. I prefer thick gauge wire strung between two sturdy screws.
This old window was found at a Garage Sale for a real bargain. The lady put in new windows and wanted the old ones to go to a good home. I considered my home as good as any, I suppose, I'd treat the window right. This window was an easy clean-up. Just a little Windex really. Some older windows that I have gotten require MUCH more labor. Some have required bleach, sanding and/or layers of varnish.
Once your blank window "canvas" is ready, pick out your favorite 6 photos. It is important to pick pictures that will coordinate. Either in theme, or color, or people... or something. I chose my WEDDING photos! Yay! Shameless, I know... but I wanted something that would look elegant. And, I used photos that didn't show my husband or my faces to keep it intriguing.
Decide the layout of your 6 photos. My pictures included 3 that were up close pictures with texture and 3 that were people shots, I staggered the photos to make the over-all appeal balanced.
Next, use "Scrapbook Corner Adhesives" from Hobby Lobby. A cheap and AMAZING way to keep the photos in place. And they're clear, so it is an illusion that the photos are squashed between two sheets of glass, but no, this is SOO much easier!
Then, grab the corner stickers place them on two corners of a photo (I start with only two corners with stickies so it doesn't get out of hand with four stickies getting in the way). Now, from the back side of the window, I "eyeball" where center is for each photo in the frame (if you are a meticulous type, then grab a measuring tape already!) Do that to all 6 photos. Then go back and stick the other two corners of each photo.
And viola! There is your 5 minute picture frame... Or, in my case, the 2 hour picture frame. Between cleaning the window, picking and printing my FAVORITE wedding pics and fighting the corner stickies!
Also, consider what hardware you'd use for hanging the window. I prefer thick gauge wire strung between two sturdy screws.
Hours
Since I'm not techno-savvy..... I will put my hours as a post for now and I'll try to put it on the side wall later...
Thurs - Sat.... *10:00 - 5:00
*ok, ok, sometimes I'm a couple minutes late.... mornings aren't my strong suit.
Thurs - Sat.... *10:00 - 5:00
*ok, ok, sometimes I'm a couple minutes late.... mornings aren't my strong suit.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Hook Me Up
Awesome websites for inspiration!
theletteredcottage.com
100layercake.com (click on the blog)
younghouselove.com
Just some of my favorites :)
Enjoy!
theletteredcottage.com
100layercake.com (click on the blog)
younghouselove.com
Just some of my favorites :)
Enjoy!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
How to: Hymn Christmas Tree
Well, I thought I'd add a few "how-to" guides of some of my creations. My new invention is the swirly hymn tree.
First, you take chicken wire and wrap it into a cone. About 14 inches tall.
Next, I cover the entire frame with full hymn pages. Then, I cut 1 1/2" wide x 4 " long strips out of pages of an old hymn. Then I curl just the ends of them up when they're in a stack. Using a hot glue gun, start gluing from the bottom up. I go around the base and then add the next layer on the joints of the layer below it (like a brick layer puts new bricks on the joints of the bricks below them). And keep working up until you're to the top! At the top you may have to adjust your hymn cuts by making a triangle cut to fit the top point, and you may even need to cut some fatter or thinner strips to fill in gaps as you go. Just work with it.
You can also hot glue a piece of black felt to the bottom to make a soft base.
And Viola! Twenty minutes later and you have a fun and swirly DIY Christmas tree:)
First, you take chicken wire and wrap it into a cone. About 14 inches tall.
Next, I cover the entire frame with full hymn pages. Then, I cut 1 1/2" wide x 4 " long strips out of pages of an old hymn. Then I curl just the ends of them up when they're in a stack. Using a hot glue gun, start gluing from the bottom up. I go around the base and then add the next layer on the joints of the layer below it (like a brick layer puts new bricks on the joints of the bricks below them). And keep working up until you're to the top! At the top you may have to adjust your hymn cuts by making a triangle cut to fit the top point, and you may even need to cut some fatter or thinner strips to fill in gaps as you go. Just work with it.
You can also hot glue a piece of black felt to the bottom to make a soft base.
And Viola! Twenty minutes later and you have a fun and swirly DIY Christmas tree:)
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