Janet of All Trades

Every Christmas the decorating spreads to another room in my house. This year I am thinking about a small tree in the bedroom, just a little one with a few lights. While thinking about that tree I came up with some quick and easy trees for my craft room. I started with fabric scraps in my favorite colors and a 10 inch $1.00 foam tree. After ironing the fabrics, I started to wrap it around the tree, securing it with a pin. Wrapping it until it was completely covered and then securing the back with pins. Next I trimmed the bottom straight across. Then I secured the bottom with a pin. Now the pin was also used to balance the tree on a spool. No Sewing or glueing needed as my scraps can be used for another project it I want to. The perfect trees for my Craft Room Simple and easy. Festive and match my decor.  And the fabric can be reused! I love them.. Now just three more trees to decorate! Enjoy!

Not to long ago I picked up this standard black lunch box at an Estate sale for $5.00. I loved it for it's worn and well used look and thought it would make a great purse.  The inside was pretty worn too and thought just a coat of paint would help it. I painted the inside this lovely shade of yellow given to me by my neighbor. Perfect I thought just the right color to brighten it up. But I was sadly mistaken and it turned out not so lovely. It looked like a banana had exploded in my lunch box. So it sat in my craft fail closet for about 2 months, until I decided it need yet another face lift but this time with fabric.. And a little Mod Podge and it started to look a little better. Carefully I cut and glued the pieces so this time it would not be a Craft Fail. Concealing the edges with satin rope and admiring how it was starting to look pretty. Lastly it was done and ready to it's new use. It has been come my traveling jewelry studio in a b...

People know that I love to upcycle and often give me items that they think I can use. I love that people think of me and have confidence in me that will find a creative reuse for their item. In the past weeks I had been given some lovely scarfs destine for the Salvation Army. I started with this scarf since it is simple and it is one of my favorite colors. I picked a Blue Tick fabric to use with it, since it was simple as well. First I folded the scarf in half and then in half again and pinned. I sewed it up both sides and then sewed each end to a strip of the Blue Tick that was 50" long and 7" wide that I had zig zagged stitched the edge to keep it from fraying. Lastly I wrapped it around my neck three times and model it! It is light and warm. A bit of color for the winter. And oh So Easy! Enjoy!

Every year I vow not to make resolutions, but always find myself coming back around to making them again and this year is no different.  I have just a few ideas for the New Year and hopefully I can achieve them all with just a little focus. (1) Re-Organize. Who doesn't have this on their resolutions. I was the recipient of a Christmas gift that most normal women would think was awful of a washer and dryer. I love them and would talk and blog about forever if you let me. But getting these new lovelies has made my laundry room look, well not worthy of their presences. So I really need to organize and keep up and make it more respectable. (2) Re-do. A sewing storage chest from my Husband Grandmother that just needs a little TLC and a new use. I have plenty of things I can store in it, but I have special plans for it. (2) Re-Use From my Estate Sale trips this summer and fall, I have accumulated tons of buttons, costume jewelry and other cast off items. I plan to really take a look...

I love Modern Design with it's clean lines and simple patterns but part of me has a soft spot for Rustic Americana. I think it comes from the early days of decorating my first apartment with a country motif. I had quilts hanging on my walls that were family heirlooms and some that I found at garage sales. I recently came across one in my laundry room that had been storage (in plastic) for many years. I decided it was time for it to have a new life and become a little more modern. It has some serious age and deterioration issues and I knew it could never been used as a quilt top again. I decided to cut it up and before I am admonished for doing this, it has been a very good quilt for me. It has decorated may home for many years and I had even used it to keep me warm when I had a terrible flu many years ago. The first step in i's new life was to remove the batting that was very dusty and disintigrating. Then I cut a rough rectangle and the same from a piece of blue ticking. Then ...

I recently acquired a twenty five year old Encyclopedia and I really had to let it sit around for a few weeks before I figured out what I wanted to do with it. I paged thru it and marked some of the images that I really loved and then sat down one night and cut a few out. Then the inspiration finally hit me and I knew what I wanted to make,so I collected my materials. A Plastic sleeve and a glass candle holder. Then I covered them both with pages from the book with Mod Podge. I also had bought these metal edge tags for $1.00 a few weeks ago and decided to use them as well. I used them to frame an image from the Encyclopedia. The last step after they were dry was to add a little ribbon and a battery operated candle. Sitting on a old dictionary during the day.. And lit during the evening! Enjoy!