Janet of All Trades

I love all types of fabric. I see it in stores and online and I get numerous ideas in my head for uses for it. This is a easy and cheap idea for wall art with a small piece of fabric. I often like to scour the bargain bins and this would be a great way to use that 1/2 yard or less of some fabulous bargain. I think keeping it geometric and simple is best since you want it to compliment but not compete with your decor. I do like the different edge treatments and will have to use those in the future. For now I will just dream of all the possibilities for the fabrics I love and hope I can use this idea soon!

I love the beach and try to incorporate a little of it in our home. Over the summer I scoured the web looking for a Palm Frond Fabric. I didn't want anything to cutesy with actual palm trees, just the frond. Simple and slightly geometric. It was a difficult search and I really did not find anything that I liked until today. I found these pillows in Costal Living and they reminded me of my Ruffle pillow I made a few weeks ago. I still have some green fabric left from the bedskirt and the muslin left from the ruffle pillow so I think I can attempt to make this. Well lets see if I can otherwise I might have to find these pillows on sale somewhere!

Not that a need a craft room project table but this idea was too good not to share and keep for my possible future file.  It come from Workbench magazine that I picked up at the library this weekend after returning a book. It's a nice little magazine that as of August 2009 has no advertisements!  This is from their April 2009 issue and creating a hobby room on a budget. I really was drawn to the high craft table since I have seen similar items for $800 in catalogs. Not that is not a budget. To create this table they used 4 Closetmaid Organizers for the legs and 2 piece of MDF for the surface. Add a little paint an peg board and you have a counter height craft table. I have yet to research how much this would actually cost to complete, But the Closemaid pieces range from $15-$25 each, So would guess this would cost less than $300 to complete. Not bad and alot less than $800.

I normally don't blog twice in one day but I need some help. I found these two wing back chairs on craigslist and I really want them but I don't have anywhere to put them! They are $35 each or the set for $60.They have great lines and I would most likely reupholster them in a more contemporary fabric. I just can't bring myself to buy them and just have them sit stored away until I have a place for them. Maybe I could buy them, reupholster them and sell them. Oh the possibilities!

I love these paint combinations. The duos are beautiful and the colors together as a whole are lovely. It makes me want to paint this as a piece of art. Just simple circles on complimentary colors that also compliment the colors as once piece. I guess I just love color that much that I almost feel like framing this add or maybe just putting it in my possible to do file!

Still working on the cork board to cover the old phone line plate in the Kitchen. Finished painting the edge black and I tried to not get paint on the cork but didn't have that steady of hand. Also I looked at two options to cover up the poor painting job plus the ripped cork from the taping off. One was a metal scrapbook edge that I had left over, but unfortunately there was not enough left to cover. Next was a woven cotton ribbon in a tan color that match the color of the cork. It looked good but would have to be adhered to the board with glue or a tac. I liked the tac idea but not the brass tacs so I painted a few silver and they just didn't turn out looking goof either. I was just about done trying to figure it out when I tried something else and I will post the results tomorrow!

Years ago when we remodeled our kitchen I had seen an article on painting a countertop. I was in the process of painting the cabinets and asking alot of questions about paint so I thought I would ask at the paint store what they thought about painting a countertop. They told me don't do it unless it is the last resort since it will never hold up to water. I decided to live with them since they weren't that bad. Now this week I got the Lowe's Creative Ideas Magazine and what do I find! This add for Countertop Transformations kit. Looks like it would be easy and similar to the garage epoxy floor kit. I have not researched it at all and have no idea what the price is, but the results look pretty goof. My fear is if you mess it up then your stuck and probably would have to replace the whole countertop. Hmm.. not sure if I want to try this one yet. Has anyone tried this yet?

So the fabric is endless and I keep finding was to use it. I recovered some pillows in my Kitchen with the green fabric from the bed skirt. Then to tie it all in with the black and white,sewed a narrow strip and tied it on the pillows. Once again in cost be $0 and a quick update to my kitchen.

I always think I can improve or change something with a little paint or fabric. I think I learned a lesson on this project. I bought a small bulletin board to cover an phone outlet (no home phone any longer) since it is easier to cover it then to fix the huge hole in the dry wall. I really love the cork boards from Pottery Barn but was not about to spend $80! for one. So I bought one for $5.99 at Michaels and thought I could paint the frame black to match the decor. First I went to tape of the cork since I didn't want my unsteady had to get paint on the cork. I started to tape and when I went to adjust it, it pulled up the cork! and the cork is microscopic thin. Now I will have to cover it and have to figure that out later. On to the frame which I gave a little scuff with sandpaper and realized it is just a fake wood grain and not real wood. I applied the paint and it left streaks where it would not stick to the frame. What a mess! I left it to dry and applied another coat and luck...

In my on going attempt to create and not spend any money,I have found yet another item I could make from leftover fabric from the unused bedskirt. This time it was a table runner to freshen up my kitchen. I had some leftover black and white check fabric that I decided to incorporate with the green. Just a rough measurement of what I thought would look good and then just sewed a hem. Ironed and starched to make it look nice and fresh and here it is on the table. One more item made from the bed skirt! Still have some fabric left so I am sure I will make something else,just not clothes to rop around Austria in!

Lately glass tile seems to be everywhere I look. If it's not on a home makeover program then it is in the last two magazines that I received. In the home makeover show they remodeled a bathroom and used it in the walk in shower. The tile itself was $3000! I thought I would never use it in my house until I saw this little gem in the lastest issue of Creative Ideas from Lowes. The cost they claim is $100 to make this but I bet I can make it for less. Proabably if I got the tile on close out and used a mirror I already have. In any case I think I will file this in the possible to do/to make in the furture file!

In yesterdays mail was This Old House January/February 2010 and has numerous ideas for my favorite subject..BASEMENTS! There are tons of great ideas to gain space not only in a basement but in attics and crawl spaces too. I love this guest room and sitting area. They are so light an airy that you hard know your in a basement except for the high window. It looks like a boutique hotel suite with a lovely sitting area to entertain or enjoy a night cap. You could have your very own getaway in your basement! PS: This is my 100th Post today! Congratulations to me!

I love my basement and it's not because it's a place to hide all your junk. I love mine because it is living space and it is organized. Well with the exception of my laundry room, which has become the last resting place for items that don't have a home. You see it started out looking like this photo to the right and then we remodeled and I got doors to hide it. And now it still looks like a grey dark hole and what a mess. It makes me embarrassed to even look at the photo. It is of course a laundry room and there are certain items that have to air dry,but man look at all that stuff! My challenge is to purge some things and re-organize. I have lots of storage ideas and will post photos of the project in progress. Now I have to stop looking at it and start working on it!

I am in a cloud today and I really feel like Pig Pen from the Peanuts cartoon. Although my cloud would not be surrounding me at my feet but circling my head like my own personal solar system. Just the Winter and the cold dragging me down and out and making me cloudy.

The Christmas ornaments for my twin nephews have finally been finished. It took me awhile to find just the right ribbon for the bow around their neck. The brown polka dot was too wide and looked like a bad bow tie that was strangling them. Next was the very narrow brown which seemed to work the best since it was very simple yet almost in possible to tie. I really shouldn't be posting that they are done since I still have to place the boys names on them and also adhere some sort of loop so they can be hung on the tree, But they are too cute to keep a secret any longer!

The last step in the Ikea re-do tables was the trimming and stapling of the sides,top and bottom. As you can see from the photo the bottom has now been trimmed to follow the contour of the legs. The billow effect was eliminated by pulling the leather taunt and stapling it underneath. The top was trimmed as well and staples concealed with a black sharpie. The lids have been stained and clear coated to make the wood look fantastic and protected at the same time. This is the finished project and the little finish details make them look like custom pieces! Thanks David for making me post the real finished project!

I received a printable calendar from a friend that bought it on Etsy. After buy it you can send to as many people as you want. It has 14 months and has very simple images. It is perfect since I did not buy a calendar this year and really don't want to now since I am sure they are all picked over. So free is good! Only problem is that I needed to frame it. I love these front loading glass frames since they are so simple and very easy to open up. I think it looks more like art than a calendar,but I am not sure about the double months? I think I might cut the sheets in half and show just the one month at a time. Now all I have to do is remember to change the month just like a regular calendar!

After updating our living room with paint and new furniture before the Holidays,we decided we could reuse some of our old furniture and save some money.We have had two of these Ikea side storage tables for probably 5 years and they still have years of wear in them. They had started to look a little worn on the top and the light color did not quite work with the new furniture. My husband decided to stain just the top of each unit dark expresso brown. It was not fun since you have to get in all the holes and it was a painstaking process. Once the stain was dry,a clear satin top coat was applied for protection. But I really wanted the entire unit stained but it would take forever and I just didn't have them time. What was I going to do about the sides? I had a roll of Woven Leather in black and medium brown that I have had for years that I have been saving for just the right project. I almost threw it out last year when our basement flooded but I couldn't part with it. I rolled ...

I love fabric and have limited sewing skills, so I can only make pillows and maybe simple curtains. Pillows are super easy and can change the look of a room in an instant. My inspiration for this pillow is a lovely t-shirt that I own from Ann Taylor Loft (on sale for $9.99!) I had some off white Muslin that was left over from my bedroom curtains that I decided to use. I cut 2" strips and then basted them down the center. Pulled the thread to make them ruffle and then pinned to the face of the soon to be pillow. Looking back I think after sewing them to the pillow face, I should have washed it so that it frayed a little more,but I do think it came out pretty nice. The stuffing I had had a green tint to it so that made it even more interesting. Now I does it need a companion?

Like everyone, some of my New Years Resolutions are to get organized and save more money. I covered these two with one project yesterday. I needed to make my desk look less messy and I figured I need some storage boxes to hide the mess in. I had a few stashed away from years ago, but they were the wrong color. So I decided to cover them with some leftover fabric. Now the leftover fabric was not curtians (aka Sound of Music) but a bed skirt that would not fit my bed and the fabric is too nice not to use for something. So now I have some new storage boxes that cost me $0. Now I just need to use other lessons in the Sound of Music to get me more organized.