Thursday, August 30, 2012

How to turn an old Jumper into a Bag




I have loved this jumper. I got it for my oldest when she was little and each of my girls have worn it. When my youngest outgrew it, I knew I wanted to make it into a bag.

You will need a jumper and a coordinating shirt, if you want it lined.


Start by cutting down your jumper. I cut it about 8 1/2 inches from the top. You can see that mine is a little crooked. I didn't measure, but probably should have.



Now turn the jumper inside out. I folded the edges under a little so the bottom wouldn't be to wide. Just make a W shape at the sides. 


Then sew along the whole bottom length.



Turn right side out.



You could totally be done at this point, but I had the matching shirt so I did a liner and pockets.

First I cut along the side seam of the shirt to open it up. Then I laid it on the front of the bag and cut around it. Then I did the same thing on the back.  You can see it's not perfect. That's ok.



Next I cut out some pockets out of the excess material from the bottom of the jumper. 
Fold over the sides of the pockets and sew down.

Now sew the pocket to the liner. Sew the bottom seam first with right sides together like shown.


Then fold up the pocket and sew the sides.  The top was already finished. Because of the way the jumper was, the pocket tops are a little angled. I decided I was okay with that. 



Now sew together the sides and bottom of the liner with right sides together. 



Now turn your liner right side out and the bag inside out. Stuff the bag inside the liner. 



Next I pinned the top of the liner under and sewed all the way around the top.



Turn right side out and you're done! 



I'm really pleased with how this turned out. Let me know what you think. Do you have any old jumpers that you can turn into bags?


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Organizing the Game Cabinet



I have been wanting to organize the games for months. Honestly it wasn't that bad, except that the games were in three different areas of the house. In my son's room: 


 My daughters room:


And even the kitchen:


Now that we have the game cabinet, I've put all the games in it. It has freed up so much room in the kids closets that I can get lots of the toys off of the floor now.


Several years ago, I finally figured out that if you place games on their ends you don't have to mess up the whole stack to get one out.


 The bottom section holds all the card games, which have been sorted. We had so many piles of cards that were just shoved in there if they were found after we'd picked them up.


I know that it probably won't stay this organized for too long, but when you shut the door...

You can't see the games much anyway!



Monday, August 27, 2012

Terrific Tuesdays #30


Do you ever have a week that goes completely off plan? I was planning to organize all the kids rooms this last week, since the kids started school. It's much easier to throw away certain things when they aren't home to see;)

Well, my husband went hunting and came home with an elk. So I spent two days helping cut and wrap that. My husband would cut {or grind} and I wrapped.We got 17 roasts, 22 pkgs of sausage, 8 pkgs of steaks and  6 huge summer sausages. I'm tired just typing it up. We've never done it all ourselves before, and I'm not sure we will do it again;) 

I spent another two days canning picante sauce, pizza sauce, raspberry jam and raspberry syrup.

I like to be busy and I love canning/preserving food, but all that was a little much for one week.

So I'm ready to party!

The most viewed link:

Dressing on a Shoestring Budget by Blissful and Domestic
This post has great tips. While you're there check out some of her other stuff. She's amazing and I always come away inspired when I read her blog.


Some of my favorites this week:

Chevron Backsplash by Pressing On
I'm sure this took a lot of time and patience, but it was sooo worth it. So cute and really adds to the kitchen.

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie by Stella B's Kitchen
Doesn't this look just amazing? It's been so long since I've had cheesecake. I really want to try this recipe soon.

Stencils and Sandpaper by Little House in the Big D
I love the look of this little table. Great job! 





Check out my posts from last week:


Sewing Table Makeover 
and 


Now let's see all the terrific things you've been up to.
Here are my guidelines:
1. Link up any projects, crafts, or recipes you have blogged about recently. You can definitely link up several projects. No shops or link parties please.
2. Comment, comment, comment.  My vision for this link party is not to link and go. Please comment on two other links.
3. I'd love for you to follow my blog.{This is not required, but I’d love for you to take a minute and check it out.} Also if you're so inclined, you can follow me on facebook and pinterest as well.

4. Display my button somewhere on your blog - in the post, the sidebar, or on a party page.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Button Necklaces

Today I'm going to show you how to make two types of button necklaces.


This type of necklace is super easy. 

Start by cutting piece of string {I used crochet thread} double the length you want your necklace to be. Then fold the string in half and tie a knot in the end making a loop like shown in the picture on the left. You want the loop to be big enough to fit over a button, because this is how you will clasp the necklace. 

 I found that if I put a little tacky glue on the ends of the string and let it dry it will help the string not to unravel as you try to string the buttons.

Start stringing your buttons on both pieces of the thread. Go down one hole and up the other {see the middle picture}

Then pull your button all the  way down to the knot or to the previous button.

Keep on stringing buttons until it's done. It gives a nice layered look.



The next way is a little more complex but just as cute. 




1. Start with a long length of sting {about 1 1/2 yards}, fold in half and tie a knot in the end to make a loop.
2. This pictures just shows you how long my string is.
3. Next put one string up one button hole.
4. And down the other side.
5. Now, with the other string, go down the hole you first went up.
6. And go up the hole that you first went down.

7. Pull the button all the way to the knot.
8. Tie a knot after the button.
 Repeat until your necklace is the length you like and cut off excess string.

Use the loop to  wrap around the end button to make a necklace.

I also made a bracelet. I'm loving these colors. The blue goes perfectly with one of my t-shirts. {Which I just happened to use as my background}


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Sewing Table Makeover


I love to sew. Until recently my sewing table was the kitchen table. I actually love the space that the kitchen table offers. The problem is that my stuff gets in the way when it's time for dinner. Back when we only had two kids, it wasn't a big deal. I would just shove all my stuff to the one end and we'd eat at the other end of our large table. But now we need all the room for eating. So I have to clean up my mess by dinner time, even if I'm not done.

Enter this little table. I grabbed this up several years ago when a neighbor was getting rid of it. We've had it in our bedroom with an old computer on it that we never used. I decided that it was the perfect table for my sewing machine.

Sewing Table Collage

It was white, and other than a few nail polish spills, there was nothing wrong with it.  My new craft room/guest room/storage room is painted green and the shelves I've hung are cream. It was time for some color.

Sewing Table Makeover

I used Rustoleum Painter's Touch French Lilac in Satin.
I did two coats. 

The next day I took some sand paper and distressed it. I love the white popping through.

Sewing Table Makeover (1)

The drawer is perfect for holding all my extra thread and other sewing accessories.

And it hides all the mismatched colored containers.

Sewing Table Makeover (8)


I'm so in love with this color against the green walls. It's so pretty.

Sewing Table Makeover (9)

 What do you think? I know lilac is not really an "in" color. But in this room that is for the most part "mine" I wanted to use colors that I really like and not trendy "in" colors.




Monday, August 20, 2012

Terrific Tuesday #29

Are you all ready for school to start? I am! I am ready for a few hours of the day when only one or two kids are making a mess, instead of all four. It seems our house is never picked up in the summer. 
This year my 3rd child is starting kindergarten. So it will be interesting to see how the little one does without anyone to play with part of the day. She'll probably just follow me around and "help".
Now on to the party!

The most viewed link:

Strawberry Jam by Fun Home Things


Some of my favorites this week:
 Individual Oreo Turtle Cheesecakes by What's Cooking, Love?
This looks SOOO yummy! I've got to try it!

Pumpkin Cheesecake by Love and Laundry
Another must try! I love pumpkin desserts!

DIY X-Leg Upholstered Bench by The Chronicles of Home
I am just WOWed by this. She built it! And she shares a great tutorial so we can make our own.


Check out my posts from last week:
Stenciled Game Cabinet
and 


Now let's see all the terrific things you've been up to.
Here are my guidelines:
1. Link up any projects, crafts, or recipes you have blogged about recently. You can definitely link up several projects. No shops or link parties please.
2. Comment, comment, comment.  My vision for this link party is not to link and go. Please comment on two other links.
3. I'd love for you to follow my blog.{This is not required, but I’d love for you to take a minute and check it out.} Also if you're so inclined, you can follow me on facebook and pinterest as well.

4. Display my button somewhere on your blog - in the post, the sidebar, or on a party page.





Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Game Cabinet



Today I'm sharing a furniture refinish. I had been looking for something that could house all of our games. Right now we have board games in two bedroom closets and card games are in the kitchen. So when I came across this at a yard sale, I knew it would work perfectly. I snagged it for only $8.

It was part of a huge three piece entertainment center. Luckily, they didn't make me buy the whole set. My husband thought it was just a boring box, so he added baseboard and crown molding to give it some character.  So this is not a true before picture, but you can imagine what it looked like.

I took off the doors and gave it a quick sand. Then I painted the outside a light green I had left over from my basement. The color is Prairie Sage by Glidden. I left the interior white.

Then came the fun part - stenciling. I searched through the online Silhouette store and found this damask pattern.

I cut it out with card stock, taped it on the door and painted. I used Frosted Pine by Glidden {another leftover from finishing our basement.}

Next I cut out some smaller stencils and painted them on the sides.


Both on the bottom and the top of the cabinet.
This was so much easier and quicker than my last stenciling project.



Once I was done painting, there was the problem of the glass door. I wanted to keep games inside, but that's not always very pretty. I decided to frost the glass. But I wanted to keep the damask theme, so I cut out some vinyl and put it in place.


I also taped the edges off and started applying the etching cream.


The bottle says it is not intended for large areas, and I wouldn't recommend it if you want it to turn out perfectly. There were a few spots that looked uneven, but overall I'm happy with the results.



I lightly sanded over the stenciled areas and also along the edges to let some of the white paint show through.

And here's the final result.


It fits perfectly in this spot at the bottom of the stairs. These pictures best capture the true color of the piece.


And a look at the before and after.

I spent a total of $9. The cabinet was $8 and I spent $1 for the Silhouette stencil. I used leftover paint and etching cream. The baseboard and crown molding were also left overs.
I love a good makeover that doesn't end up costing me a lot.

What do you all think of the result? Do you like the color and the stencil?

Want to try stenciling on fabric? Try these easy stenciled totes!