Fabric Coasters from Vintage Scraps

I've hit my nesting stage of pregnancy with full force this week. One project I decided to tackle was our entry way closet, which is home to my craft supplies. After organizing everything (while making a list of what supplies I have and future crafts I want to make), I decided not to bring in any new materials until I started to use up what I have.

One thing I decided to do with all my vintage scraps that I just can't seem to throw away is make coasters. This was a super easy project that I got done in about 30 minutes.

There are a ton of fabric coaster tutorials online and this one from Make It and Love It was the closest to what I did. The only difference is that I ironed on my fusible fleece onto the wrong side of my printed fabric first and then sewed my two pieces together.

Now I get to see my favorite fabric scraps every day, while protecting our delicate craigslist Ikea furniture:)

I'm linked to:

Sew Much Ado

Tatertots and Jello

Easy Lace Headbands

I've been wanting something new to wear in my hair lately so I went to my local fabric store and picked up a bunch of different lace for $.25 a yard. I came up with a few simple headbands to wear to feel a little more feminine...you know...while doing errands, cleaning the house, and doing laundry:)

This one is a half a yard of lace that I ruffled into a circle (sewing along the way) and hot glued onto an elastic headband. I added a craft pearl to the center too.

This next headband was super easy:

I measured the lace on my head and cut it to that size, plus about 1/2" (from just below one ear to below the other). I applied really thin strips of hot glue to the inside of the lace (to make it stick in my hair better) and let that dry.

I cut out a little piece of elastic (about 2"), folded the lace under, and sewed it onto the elastc (making sure the glue side is underneath).

I sewed the other end of the lace onto the other end of the elastic and that was it!

I found two other kinds of lace that I liked so I made similar headbands with those too:

This one was a stretchy lace and fits the best:

So I made 4 fun headbands in about 15 minutes! I love those kinds of crafts:)

Felt Flower Bobby Pins

I recently found this tutorial for these felt flowers and decided I needed some of my own! I whipped up some this week after my daughter went to bed and now we have new clips that we can share:)

I'm linked to:

Tatertots and Jello

Mine for the Making

DIY Play Kitchen (from a nightstand)

I am finally getting around to posting the play kitchen my dad (and husband) and I made for my daughter! I am really ashamed at how long it has taken me to finish this. Oh well...it's done now, right?

I started with a nightstand that I got off craigslist for $5 and pulled the drawers out. Luckily there was a board between both drawers..so we didn't have to build one for the "oven" bottom. My dad took the front off one of the drawers and attached it to front of the nightstand with hinges at the bottom so it could swing down like an oven door.

The backing of the kitchen is just a large piece of wood with two smaller pieces nailed in through the back for shelves. My dad already had the wood in his scrap pile...but I also priced it at Home Depot for about $5.

Here is a view of the top. I used a wooden letter "J" from Joanns for the faucet and a round cake pan from the dollar store from the sink. I didn't want anything too deep, otherwise nothing would fit in the oven compartment. Also, here are the burners I showed earlier. The burner knobs were also made with pre cut round pieces of wood. I just layered them, glued them, and then cut pieces of a dowel to put down the center to make them look more like knobs. The faucet knobs were something I already had. All the knobs are attached through the bottom with a screw and a washer so that they can turn.

Remember these cups, saucers, and canisters? I love they way they look on the shelves:)

The nightstand had two drawers...so for the bottom part, we took the drawer out and I made a little curtain to go across it for storage. My daughter keeps her play food in there. I attached it on the sides with sticky velcro so that it can come off. I got the material while in California. I think it adds to the retro look of the kitchen.

Finally, on the inside of the "oven" we painted everything with silver paint:

I really love the way it turned out! My daughter loves playing with it too...so that makes me happy:) I am in the process of making her some more accessories to go with the kitchen for Christmas such as oven mitts and dish towels....but more on that later:)

Price:

nightstand: $5

spray paint (2 cans): $6.00

wood for burners and knobs: $3.50

letter "J" for faucet: $1.00

material for curtain: $1.50

cake pan for sink: $1.00

all other materials I already had

Total: $18.00

I'm linked to:

Sugar and Dots

Someday Crafts

Sew Much Ado

Tatertots and Jello

Pillowcase Wall Art

I have mentioned my never ending love for crewel embroidery before and although I still have yet to run into my love match in that department...I did find a way to ease my need for vintage wall art.

Enter vintage pillowcase wall art:

I found this vintage pillowcase at Goodwill a few months back knowing that I wanted to frame it right away. It got stashed in my fabric drawers until I found the right sized frame (for the right price).

Finally I came upon the perfect sized frame (with art and glass) for $1 at Goodwill and the rest of handmade wall art history!

I took the art and glass out of the frame (I saved the art for another project coming soon...) and stained the frame to make it darker. I cut the pillowcase in half (the design was also on the other side...which will also get used later) and wrapped it over the cardboard that was already in the back of the frame.

I chose not to put the glass back in the frame...just the pillowcase because I wanted the texture to show through. I keep thinking that I might get brave someday and actually embroider on it as well to create my own version of crewel. But for now it satisfies my need for vintage wall art (for under $2) and makes me very happy:)

What are some different things you have used for wall art?

Embroidered Transformers Onesies

My husband has lots of opinions about how our little boy will dress. He doesn't care for a majority of the boy clothing available in stores and I can't say I blame him. I can only take so much "Daddy's Allstar" and "Mommy's MVP" onesies.

One thing he mentioned would be "awesome" was Transformers onesies. We decided on one Autobots version and one Decepticons version.

I started by tracing the logos onto plain white computer paper with an ink pen. They were rough sketches.

I flipped the paper over and traced over my sketches with a ruler to get more crisp lines and edges so I could transfer the images onto the onesies. I like using computer paper for this because it is transparent enough to see through to the other side.

Next I used my fabric iron on transfer pen. You can get this in the notions aisle of Joanns or another craft store.

I used the transfer pen to trace over my final drawings.

I cut out the images and flipped them (iron transfer pen side down) onto my plain onesie and ironed over them per the pen instructions.

This is what it looked like when I was done ironing.

Note: Your image will appear mirrored once its ironed on...so if you need it to go a certain direction, make sure to draw it mirrored before you transfer it onto the fabric. In this case my images were symmetrical so it didn't matter beforehand.

Here are both onesies after they have been ironed:

Finally I ironed some lightweight interfacing to the inside of the onesie (only where the image was) and stitched over the lines with embroidery thread. My husband was the one who told me that the Autobot needed to be red and the Decepticon needed to be black. Who knew?

Price:

embroidery thread: $.50

2 onesies (from Walmart): $4.00

Total (for both): $4.50

Soft Taggie Blanket: Part 2

I shared with you the taggie blanket I made a few months ago for my friend's baby shower. I had some minky left over and some more Harley fabric from my bassinet makeover...so it seemed only right that our little man have his own taggie blanket too:)

I was kind of lazy with this one and didn't put as many ribbons on the edges. I did find the cutest motorcycle ribbon online...but I just wanted this done now and couldn't really justify spending $5 on one yard of ribbon.

Now our little man can cuddle in style!

The Best Whipped Frosting EVER!: Chocolate Edition

I have already mentioned my favorite quick and easy "go to" frosting here and here. I really can't eat any other kind of frosting anymore. I am a total diva about it now;)

This frosting is the same as the other two. A tub of whipped cream (this time I found the extra creamy kind and it rocks!!) and one can of chocolate frosting (not the whipped kind). I mixed the two together and then piped on the icing. I also can not make cupcakes without piping the icing on anymore. They just look SO much prettier this way...and you get a lot more frosting:)

One thing I did differently with this frosting is I mixed it with a spatula by hand instead of using the electric mixer. I did this because my daughter was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her up...but it actually made the frosting so much more dense and creamy. I took a lot of the air out of the whipped cream and it left me with a frozen custard like texture that is SO good.

Enjoy!

Boppy Nursing Pillow Cover with Zipper

I liked the idea of recovering this Boppy pillow so that I could take the cover off and wash it if (and when) I need to.

First I started by taking the cover that was already on my pillow apart with my seam ripper. I also saved the zipper from that cover to use again. I used one piece of fabric for the front and another for the back. The front fabric was one I found while in California last month and the backing fabric is from the crib bedding I made.

If you don't have a cover to use as a template...just trace your pillow and if you are interested in a zipper...this one was 22" long.

I placed the zipper (right side down) on top of my front fabric (facing right side up) and pinned it to the middle of the curve.

I sewed it on with a straight stitch and the zipper foot attachment on my sewing machine.

Next I placed the other side of the zipper (the side not sewn on yet) to the right side of my backing fabric and sewed it on the same way.

Here is what it looked like when both sides were sewn on.

To secure the zipper I sewed over both ends with a 1/2" long stitch. Finally, I unzipped the zipper (you HAVE to do this in order to turn the cover right side out!) and placed right sides of the pillow cover together, pinned, and sewed from one end of the zipper to the other. Sorry no pictures of this..it was late:)

I flipped it right side out (through the zipper opening) and put my pillow in. Now I have a nice new cover for my Boppy pillow. Here is the backside:

Now I just can't wait for this little guy to get here and use this:)

Summer Thrift Store Finds

I haven't been out much this summer looking for good thrift store finds. There is just something about 115 degrees that makes me want to hurt everyone in public...so it's best if I just stay in:)

I have found a few good things at my local Goodwill Saturday sales (seriously...who doesn't love those?) and a few other vintage shops.

One rule I have when it comes to getting anything at the thrift store (or anywhere else for that matter) is that it has to serve an immediate (or almost immediate in case it's a project) purpose. So that means leaving some gems behind because I just don't have the room for them.

One thing I was SO happy to find was this tin recipe box. One of my summer goals was to organize my recipes so finally they are all in one tidy space!

I fell in love with this jewelry box almost immediately. All that scrolling detail just makes me so happy! It does have a broken foot on the front...but it will get fixed up and repainted this week. I just can't decide if I want to give it to my daughter for her jewelry...or be a selfish mom and keep it for myself:)

I did find something for my daughter. I am putting together her Christmas present right now, which is basically just some accessories for her play kitchen (which I will share soon). These mini salt and pepper shakers made me so happy...and for $.35 each...I couldn't resist bringing them home to paint and let her play with.

I would have to say my biggest soft spot when it comes to thrifting is vintage owls. It's like I can't say no! The brown owl is an iron trivet that I found at a vintage store in a nearby retirement community. The silver owl is another trivet I found at Savers, and finally the yellow framed owl is a greeting card that I found in a different frame at Goodwill. I painted a little frame I had yellow and put him in there.

They live together on my living room wall:

This next find took a few weeks for me to purchase. I saw it a while ago at Goodwill with no price tag. The cashier priced it at $7.99...but I was too cheap to spend that (it has a small crack on the back). So we went on vacation and I regretted leaving it behind.

Another sale day rolled around at Goodwill and it was still there! I put my own lampshade on it and I love it! I was so blinded by my affection for it that I realized (on the way home) that most likely my husband was going to hate it. He was so nice when I asked him, "What do you think? Can you believe no one bought it for three weeks?" that he said, "I think it was just so beautiful that no one else wanted it." He is so nice to me...even if he is being sarcastic:)

It makes me so happy when I see it each day...I think may even say something like this when I walk past it. Here it is in our living room on my grandma's old dresser:

I also picked up some lovely vases:

And finally, my favorite piece of the summer has been my Drexel chair. It was priced at $30 but I asked if they could go any lower and they went down to $20!

It lives in our room right now...but my mom has already offered me more than I paid for it:) It's nice having a chair in the bedroom to sit and talk and also for my husband to sit and put his shoes on. Does anyone else hate butt marks on a newly made bed as much as I do??

So, have you found any good finds lately?