I got this beauty today as a birthday present from my boyfriend!
Also, please comment if you have any tips for a beginner :)
Monday, December 7, 2015
Sewing Machine
Also, please comment if you have any tips for a beginner :)
Friday, December 4, 2015
How to Attach Hanging Wire to Canvas
Attaching hanging wire to the back of a gallery wrapped painting is a simple task. I was intimidated at first but quickly realized how simple it is.
My boyfriend, Chris, and I ordered this gallery wrapped print from Etsy. We love it! However, it did not come with hanging wire or hardware to hang it.
Wait, that's not right... Here it is:
It reminds me of our three dogs.
Here are the materials I thought I was going to use:
(I ended up not needing the electric screwdriver- used a regular one instead) The other materials in the pictures below are wire cutters and the hanging kit.
First, I looked around the house at a few other pieces of artwork we have with hanging wire and measured how far down from the top the screw was placed. I noticed that they were all generally placed 1/3 of the way down. So, I measured the length of this print, divided that by 3 and marked that spot with a sharpie so I would know where to screw the hardware in.
I had to cut some of the canvas to make space for the screw.
Next, it was time to get the screw in. The wood was much softer than I thought it would be, that's why I decided against the electric screwdriver and went manual. I turned the screw in a little without the hardware then removed it, put the hardware on and screwed it in entirely.
I did the same on the other side.
Now it was time for the wire. I unwrapped a good bit of the wire to see what I was working with.
Then, I wrapped one end through the hardware on the left side and followed directions on the box on how to secure the wire.
Then, I pulled the wire to the other side, leaving some give but not too much, tied it and cut it with my wire cutters (which I love using!).
And that was it!! Told you it was simple! The wire hanging kit cost us $5.
Lastly, it was time to hang. Chris and I have been using Hercules hooks/Monkey hooks to hang pretty much everything in our house. They are used on drywall and you can hang really heavy stuff on them and they do not pull out of the drywall. Plus, they leave a much smaller hole than a drywall screw. This is what they look like.
And this is that same hook in the wall.
Once, I got the hook in, it was ready to hang the print! Here it is.
I'm so happy with how it looks!!
This is the artist if anyone is interested in getting some farm animal prints on canvas to hang in their house!
My boyfriend, Chris, and I ordered this gallery wrapped print from Etsy. We love it! However, it did not come with hanging wire or hardware to hang it.
It reminds me of our three dogs.
Here are the materials I thought I was going to use:
(I ended up not needing the electric screwdriver- used a regular one instead) The other materials in the pictures below are wire cutters and the hanging kit.
First, I looked around the house at a few other pieces of artwork we have with hanging wire and measured how far down from the top the screw was placed. I noticed that they were all generally placed 1/3 of the way down. So, I measured the length of this print, divided that by 3 and marked that spot with a sharpie so I would know where to screw the hardware in.
I had to cut some of the canvas to make space for the screw.
Next, it was time to get the screw in. The wood was much softer than I thought it would be, that's why I decided against the electric screwdriver and went manual. I turned the screw in a little without the hardware then removed it, put the hardware on and screwed it in entirely.
I did the same on the other side.
Now it was time for the wire. I unwrapped a good bit of the wire to see what I was working with.
Then, I wrapped one end through the hardware on the left side and followed directions on the box on how to secure the wire.
Then, I pulled the wire to the other side, leaving some give but not too much, tied it and cut it with my wire cutters (which I love using!).
Lastly, it was time to hang. Chris and I have been using Hercules hooks/Monkey hooks to hang pretty much everything in our house. They are used on drywall and you can hang really heavy stuff on them and they do not pull out of the drywall. Plus, they leave a much smaller hole than a drywall screw. This is what they look like.
And this is that same hook in the wall.
Once, I got the hook in, it was ready to hang the print! Here it is.
I'm so happy with how it looks!!
This is the artist if anyone is interested in getting some farm animal prints on canvas to hang in their house!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Thanksgiving Table Setting
Setting the table for Holidays- one of my new favorite things to do! This year, my boyfriend Chris, and I had Thanksgiving at our house for the first time. We had 17 people total- mostly family and a few friends. It was filled with laughter, cooking, drinking, stuffing ourselves, and quality time with loved ones. I started prepping early, and only had a moment or two or being stressed during Thanksgiving week. I wanted everything to be nice, so I worked hard and once again, started early, and got everything done! And, ate dinner only 1 hour late- which is pretty successful considering everyone brought dishes that needed to be warmed, prepped, etc. Anyways, I'm getting off subject. I am going to tell you about my table setting! Leading up to Thanksgiving, I had been looking on Pinterest for ideas, and pinned some stuff, but in the end, I kind of did my own thing.
For 17 people, we needed a lot of seating and table space. So, we have our dining room table that we added a couple of chairs to, then we used a couple of plastic fold up tables and plastic folding chairs to be able to fit everyone. Luckily, the way our house lay out is, we were able to make one long table which worked out perfectly!
Initially, I was going to get some pretty and festive tablecloths and use white linen napkins. However, that idea changed when I learned that after Halloween, all Thanksgiving tablecloths are taken out of stores and Christmas everything moves in. So, I decided to go with white tablecloths ($9.99 from Amazon) and blue cotton napkins found at World Market ($9.99 for 6) with burlap for a classic, country/ farm house look. I used the same roll of burlap that I used for my fall wreath.
First, I washed and dried all of the napkins. They were wrinkled when they came out of the dryer, so I ironed them which took about 40 minutes to do all 30. I had fun with it though, listening to 60's/oldies Pandora station- feeling like I went back in time to being a housewife in the 60's.
Then, I once again looked on Pinterest for napkin folding and wow those instructions were complicated!! So, I said screw that and folded the napkins in half once and then in half again, put the silverware- knife and fork in the middle and wrapped with burlap and tied the burlap in a knot. Super simple!
They came out better then I expected!
I was so excited to get everything on the table. I set one table the night before Thanksgiving- which I was hesitant to do since my cat, Penelope, is very curious and normally likes to walk all over the table if I put anything new on it. Luckily, she was not interested in doing that once I had the table set- big surprise to me!
Here is the first table that I did:
I bought the real pumpkins and gourds in bags at Publix and the banner at World Market. All of the glasses were mixed-matched, some bigger than other, different shapes, different designs, but they looked great together! I also found the turkey salt and pepper shakers on Amazon and the rooster napkin holder at Woodstock Market (an amazing place that I'm sure you'll hear me talk lots about in the future!). The two chairs in the middle were hand-me-downs from my mom and the blue chair I got for $15 at Junk Day at Woodstock Market. I placed the burlap wrapped napkins and silverware on the plates because I liked that better than them sitting on the side and that also gave more room for all of the food to be placed on the table.
I set the next two tables Thanksgiving morning:
I used a basket from TJ Maxx and left-over napkins for the bread basket which added to the whole look. I also added small pinecones (that I had left over from making the wreath) to the middle of the table. The last table does not have plates on it in the picture because I did not have enough. Chris' mom brought some for us to use- which was a big help!
I had so much fun decorating and setting the table, I'm ready to have another dinner party! Who's coming over?!
For 17 people, we needed a lot of seating and table space. So, we have our dining room table that we added a couple of chairs to, then we used a couple of plastic fold up tables and plastic folding chairs to be able to fit everyone. Luckily, the way our house lay out is, we were able to make one long table which worked out perfectly!
Initially, I was going to get some pretty and festive tablecloths and use white linen napkins. However, that idea changed when I learned that after Halloween, all Thanksgiving tablecloths are taken out of stores and Christmas everything moves in. So, I decided to go with white tablecloths ($9.99 from Amazon) and blue cotton napkins found at World Market ($9.99 for 6) with burlap for a classic, country/ farm house look. I used the same roll of burlap that I used for my fall wreath.
First, I washed and dried all of the napkins. They were wrinkled when they came out of the dryer, so I ironed them which took about 40 minutes to do all 30. I had fun with it though, listening to 60's/oldies Pandora station- feeling like I went back in time to being a housewife in the 60's.
I was so excited to get everything on the table. I set one table the night before Thanksgiving- which I was hesitant to do since my cat, Penelope, is very curious and normally likes to walk all over the table if I put anything new on it. Luckily, she was not interested in doing that once I had the table set- big surprise to me!
Here is the first table that I did:
I bought the real pumpkins and gourds in bags at Publix and the banner at World Market. All of the glasses were mixed-matched, some bigger than other, different shapes, different designs, but they looked great together! I also found the turkey salt and pepper shakers on Amazon and the rooster napkin holder at Woodstock Market (an amazing place that I'm sure you'll hear me talk lots about in the future!). The two chairs in the middle were hand-me-downs from my mom and the blue chair I got for $15 at Junk Day at Woodstock Market. I placed the burlap wrapped napkins and silverware on the plates because I liked that better than them sitting on the side and that also gave more room for all of the food to be placed on the table.
I set the next two tables Thanksgiving morning:
I used a basket from TJ Maxx and left-over napkins for the bread basket which added to the whole look. I also added small pinecones (that I had left over from making the wreath) to the middle of the table. The last table does not have plates on it in the picture because I did not have enough. Chris' mom brought some for us to use- which was a big help!
I had so much fun decorating and setting the table, I'm ready to have another dinner party! Who's coming over?!
Monday, November 30, 2015
Reupholstering Old English Pub Chairs
Recovering Chairs- seems like a simple enough task. But, recovering old English pub chairs from the 1950's-1960's with metal springs is another story. Luckily while fabric shopping, I came across a wonderfully knowledgeable woman at Hancock Fabrics who REALLY knows how to upholster. She got me on the right track by helping me pick out all of the materials needed for this project!
Here is one of the chairs with the original fabric. As you can see, the seats were pretty dingy (as expected since they were in an English pub for who knows how many years). The fabric was actually very sturdy and beautifully embroidered. However, it needed to go.
I uncovered the chair seat by taking out all of these tiny nails- probably 100 + per chair. Then, remove the fabric. This is the underside of the chair once I got the nails out. Oh, a good trick for that is using a flat head screw driver and a hammer- get the flat head under the nail a little and hammer the end of the screwdriver and the nails pop right out. Be gentle though, otherwise you can cause big holes or splitting wood- no good!
Penelope wanted to help :/
This is after I took the fabric and padding out- leaving the burlap base. I took this to Hancock Fabrics and was told I should probably replace the burlap too since I was doing all this work. There were two layers of burlap on the base but they were about to give.
Here is the bare frame of the chair
Pretty cool right?!?! I thought so! Did NOT expect to find this under all of those layers. It definitely made things interesting. With the help of the wonderful store associate at Hancock Fabrics, we determined that I would need: burlap (enough for two layers), scrap vinyl (to help cushion the springs), 1" foam (for padding and only 1" because I still wanted the chairs to have that firm pub feel), bamboo batting (enough for two layers), and finally, the fabric! When I heard all of this, I was pretty overwhelmed and started thinking this project was going to take me a while. However, I ended up doing these chairs in about 6 hours- would've been less minus the wine breaks, etc.
These are all of the layers
Here is the bamboo batting being cut
I used a heavy duty staple gun with 1/4" staples (not too long) to attach the layers.
First, I did the burlap- two layers. You want to fold the burlap so it will hold better when you staple it. If not, the weave will come out and the staple will not do you any good.
Second, I cut the vinyl to fit over the burlap (a little longer on each side) and used the original nails, one on each side, to keep it in place.
Third, I cut a piece of foam to fit over vinyl and did not secure it with anything because the next layer of batting would hold it tightly.
Fourth, I cut two layers of the bamboo batting big enough to wrap around wood. I stapled them to the back side of the wood.
Fifth, I cut the fabric in the direction that I like the pattern the most and layered it on!
They came out perfectly!! In the end, I spent $43 on supplies at Hancock Fabrics thanks to coupons and sales on Veterans Day.
Here is the finished chair!
And, the before and after
Here is one of the chairs with the original fabric. As you can see, the seats were pretty dingy (as expected since they were in an English pub for who knows how many years). The fabric was actually very sturdy and beautifully embroidered. However, it needed to go.
Penelope wanted to help :/
This is after I took the fabric and padding out- leaving the burlap base. I took this to Hancock Fabrics and was told I should probably replace the burlap too since I was doing all this work. There were two layers of burlap on the base but they were about to give.
Here is the bare frame of the chair
Pretty cool right?!?! I thought so! Did NOT expect to find this under all of those layers. It definitely made things interesting. With the help of the wonderful store associate at Hancock Fabrics, we determined that I would need: burlap (enough for two layers), scrap vinyl (to help cushion the springs), 1" foam (for padding and only 1" because I still wanted the chairs to have that firm pub feel), bamboo batting (enough for two layers), and finally, the fabric! When I heard all of this, I was pretty overwhelmed and started thinking this project was going to take me a while. However, I ended up doing these chairs in about 6 hours- would've been less minus the wine breaks, etc.
These are all of the layers
Here is the bamboo batting being cut
I used a heavy duty staple gun with 1/4" staples (not too long) to attach the layers.
First, I did the burlap- two layers. You want to fold the burlap so it will hold better when you staple it. If not, the weave will come out and the staple will not do you any good.
Third, I cut a piece of foam to fit over vinyl and did not secure it with anything because the next layer of batting would hold it tightly.
Fourth, I cut two layers of the bamboo batting big enough to wrap around wood. I stapled them to the back side of the wood.
Fifth, I cut the fabric in the direction that I like the pattern the most and layered it on!
They came out perfectly!! In the end, I spent $43 on supplies at Hancock Fabrics thanks to coupons and sales on Veterans Day.
Here is the finished chair!
And, the before and after
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Fall Wreath
Here is a fall wreath that I made. I got the wreath base at Michaels- it is made of wooden sticks/branches all wrapped around each other. I like this type of base because it's really easy to stick plastic flowers- you do not even have to hot glue or fasten them in any way- which makes it easy to use this base all year round by switching the flowers/decoration according to season. I bought the fake flowers from Michaels- I got them in big bunches and just cut them off separately- it was less expensive to do it this way. The pumpkins, gourds, and pinecones are all from Michaels as well - I bought them in bags. And lastly, the burlap (which I did not originally plan on using, will discuss later)- I bought a big roll from Michaels last year and have used it for multiple projects.
To start my wreath, I held the flowers and other decorations up to the wreath to kind of eye ball how everything was going to go. I decided on layout and start placing flowers in the wood. Once I had those situated, I hot glued the pinecones. Then came the plastic pumpkins and gourds- these gave me some difficulty as they would not stay hot glued to base of wreath for whatever reason. I tried tying them on with wire and string but that did not work because they are so dang slippery and awkwardly shaped! So, I got the burlap out and wrapped it around and super glued pumpkins and gourds to it and it worked! And made the wreath even more beautiful. Here is the finished product- and I could not be happier about how it turned out!
To start my wreath, I held the flowers and other decorations up to the wreath to kind of eye ball how everything was going to go. I decided on layout and start placing flowers in the wood. Once I had those situated, I hot glued the pinecones. Then came the plastic pumpkins and gourds- these gave me some difficulty as they would not stay hot glued to base of wreath for whatever reason. I tried tying them on with wire and string but that did not work because they are so dang slippery and awkwardly shaped! So, I got the burlap out and wrapped it around and super glued pumpkins and gourds to it and it worked! And made the wreath even more beautiful. Here is the finished product- and I could not be happier about how it turned out!
Welcome!
Welcome to my new blog! The purpose of this blog is to share my projects with all of you. I recently became a stay at home dog mom of 3 and cat mom of 1, and now have time to do all of the crafting/ DIY's that I have been wanting to do for years! I also have a photography business with a separate blog- so please check that one out as well!
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