Janet of All Trades

I decided to update my living room over the past few weeks with some new pillows but decided it need a few other decor items as well. I thought a bar tray would be nice to organize all the utensils and bottles. I started with a plain old cookie tray. Then I selected a nice geometric pattern that actually matched one of my new pillows and some Mod Podge for fabric. Before I cut the fabric, I made sure that it covered the sides and part of the back. Next I centered the fabric and painted on the Mod Podge and adhered it to the top of the tray. I let it dry for 2 hours and then worked on the sides. This was slightly difficult since there were a few folds on the corners. I used close pins on all sides of the tray so that the fabric would stick,especially on the corners. I let it dry over a week to make sure it was completely cured and then started on the back.  I chose not to cover the back with fabric since I wanted to use a scrap piece of leather. I had a piece that was just the corr...

This weekends list looks like it could be a little boring because of what the projects look like before they are done. Just some simple items that I will transform into some wonderful home decor. So let's get started with the boring before photos. (1) The rug for my bedroom has arrived from Flor . I can't wait to open it all up and put it together. I definitely will have before and after photos to show on this projet. (2) Another Ikea Hack. This will be #4 for me and starts with these magazine holders that will transformed into another item that will not hold magazines. (3) Frog Closures. I found the instructions for a Mandarin Closure in a Vintage sewing book. I think I might use this idea for a piece of jewelry. (4) And Lastly, a couple of plastic trays from the Dollar Store that I will transform into something beautiful,, I swear. So that is the list, doesn't look like much right now but I think the after photos will be amazing once they are done. Have a lovely Weekend...

There is no doubt that I love magazines and can't get enough of them. I think it stems from the fact that my Mother was a librarian and would bring them home everyday after work. I am mesmerized by the glossy photos and the interesting places that they visit and write about. Recently I fell in love with entire issue of Southern Living,February 2011. Each page and section made me fall deeper and deeper. First it was the section Made by Southern Hands and this Winston Sweetheart Necklace. Handmade in Raleigh by Hyla Dewitt , vist her website and you might fall in love too.(sigh)  Then there was a home office redo that made me wish I had a space like this for my desk. Complete with Seagrass chair and built in file cabinets. Who said you can't be in love with a desk.(sigh) And then lastly a cottage remodel that made me miss Cottage Living magazine so much I looked for back issues online. Love that huge pillow on the sofa and the art above the door. And this Den with its large car...

I was just thinking yesterday that I don't think in my lifetime I have seen the temperature at -5 twice in a week. Or can I seriously remember when I saw it below zero in the last twenty years. But it has been cold and my photos show it. I'm still stuck in the ISO learning phase (have been for three weeks) but I find it interesting to change it and take the same photo in different settings.  Here are just a few of no flash photography and my definition of cold. Cold Picnic Snow Retreat Long Winter Icicles Snow and ice give way to some interesting photos, but I think I might need a break from it soon. Hopefully warm temperatures and spring is on the way. Enjoy!

Over the summer, I painstakingly hand stenciled orange Zinnias on to plain muslin fabric to make pillow covers. I only intended to keep them for the summer and retired them once the winter came. But they stuck around until just this past weekend when it was time for the summer to say goodbye since now the temperatures are in the single and minus digits. Now being a fan of tennis, I have been watching numerous hours of the Australian Open this past week (where by the way it is summer and 70-80 degrees) and I think it may have influenced my selection of fabric. The fabric is Kas Cavallo Spice and is designed in Australia!  Now I wanted something bold and colorful, but looked warm as well. I think I found in this fabric.I love the large scale flowers and it almost has an aboriginal art feel to it. I quickly sewed up two pillow covers and placed them on the sofa. Now to make it more interesting I also bought the lovely geometric and made a long accent pillow as well. Just a little mor...

From time to time my craft room becomes a disastrous mess and it then becomes the time to clean it up and organize. I ordered and received these fabric organizers from The Fabric Organizer  last week and they arrived just in time for the weekend. I ordered two sets of large (6 pieces) and two sets of small (6 pieces in each set) since I had numerous pieces of fabric to organize. So I started to wrap the fabric around the holders and soon as I got the hang of it, the process went quickly. Now this is just a small portion of my fabric but now it is organized and I can see what I have. The smaller pieces were more of a challenge. The smaller pieces I stored in plastic bags while larger pieces (12" and longer) I used the organizers.  I think these organizers will be great when I finish a project and I can store my leftover fabric right away. I would highly recommend the Fabric Organizers since they are easy to use, were delivered quickly and make your fabric look like a fabric st...

I feel the need to hibernate from the cold and snow of this coming weekend. I probably have enough projects on my list to get be thru until spring but right now I just want to get thru the next few days with temperatures in the single digits. So before the weekend begins I am getting a head start and rounding up all my supplies to set me up for some warm Hibernation. So what is on the list. (1) Update my Sofa Pillows. Theses need to be changed since the Zinnias no longer fit the season (they haven't for a few months) and would like a warmer and more colorful look. (2) Cookie tray soon to be something really amazing and a decoration for my home. I have a few idea and I hope a least one of them works out. (3) This coil of Leather, soon to be some sort of jewelry. An idea that I got from watching the Australian open! (4) This is not a craft project, but will once it arrives. I need to order this rug (with a few tweaks) for my bedroom. I have been wanting this type of rug from Flor  ...

I feel like my brain has been running non stop since Christmas thinking about projects that it wants me complete. So today I feel like I need to let it rest and be quiet for a few days. It would be nice to lay in bed for few hours this morning since it is 12 degrees outside and in bed is much more like 80 degrees and let it rest. Or sit on the sofa and read magazines,drink coffee and watch movies all day long and let it rest. But that is not reality and I need to venture out it to the cold to work. But just looking at these photo has relaxed me a bit to the point that I know what to make new pillows for my sofa. So much for creative rest! I guess my list just got longer without me even thinking about! Thanks brain! Enoy!

I am still experimenting with the ISO setting on my camera since it allows me to be creative with light. On Tuesday we had break somewhat from the cold and snowy weather with freezing rain. I was hoping (only for interesting photo sake) that there would be trees covered in ice and would make for some nice creative photos. But it was only a trace of ice and most was on my windshield so I made he best of it. I caught it just as it was starting to melt.  With just enough light from above and partially shadowed by the house. Next I thought I would next change the color of the photo to add more creativity. Now this is cropped a bit but the change in color makes it easier to see the texture of the ice. I really like the effect. Next are a couple of tree outside my work place that look like something from Dr Seuss. Now it had more snow mounds on it before it rained, but once I changed the color of it, it became more interesting. So I learned that a little creativity can change a boring p...

I swear this is the last book page craft I have left in my craft bag, but I must post it since I have been working on it for weeks. I started with a dollar store frame. And a book and some Mod Podge. I started by just hand shredding long pieces of the book pages and glueing them to the frame. Now I don't have a photo of this step since it is pretty messy and I had Mod Podge all over my hands and did not want to touch my camera, but it was very easy to lay the pieces across and wrap them around the back. When it had dried overnight I gave it one last all over coat to give it a vintage look. Lastly I inserted a photo and matted with a little piece of fabric. And it's done! I love how the pages almost look like a design and not pages at all. I might make a few more and use for a photo wall in my home somewhere! These are so easy but I will warn you that they do take awhile to complete but they are totally worth it. Enjoy!

With all the holiday decoration taken down and stored, my house and front door seems so sadly bare. I am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day but I thought I could forgo my feelings for it and make a few decorations. Now these were super easy and I left like I was in Elementary school again. All I needed was some pink and red card stock.. And a few leftover holiday ornaments,plastic rod and some ribbon. Now I just took the hearts in various sizes and colors and attached them to the ribbon with double sided tape. No as you can see I used some of my book pages as well since I thought it added interest to the design. I tied them all to the plastic rod and then hung on my front door. Simple,easy and really quite cute! The best part is that it cost me $0 since it was all items I had, even the plastic rod which was from a fabric shipment.  It turned out so lovely that it might just change my mind about Valentine's Day! Enjoy!

I have a few projects in the works that require bits and pieces of craft materials and that is what is on this weeks weekend list. My projects that use a little recycling and use some materials that I already have since helps my organization projects and there is less to organize! So lets get to the list.. (1) Felt and T-shirt circles. This uses up some of the old t-shirts that I have as well as about a yard of babe blue felt. This is project is not my idea but I saw a great tutorial and wanted to make this. (2) Scrap Paper into Valentines' Day Craft. This is a cute and easy one that will be a decoration for my front door that looks so bare now that my Christmas wreath is gone. (3) Dollar Store frame that needs a face lift and I have just the bits and pieces for just the right look. Should be interesting, easy and fun. (4) And Lastly, a little organization of bits and pieces with my Dymo label maker. This is anew toy for me and I have only used it to label a few things, but really...