Extreme Makeover: Piggie Bank Edition

She started out as a simple pink piggie bank. Then a career shattering accident destroyed her. We've rebuilt her into a new and improved, more glamorous piggie bank.

Here's what happened. We bought my daughter a simple $10 pink piggie bank from Target. They are super cute. The other day she put the bank on the corner of her night stand and gravity won the ensuing battle. So I carefully gathered the pieces and glued them back together. There were a lot of cracked pieces so it was obvious the piggie would need some serious reinforcement. I decided to decoupage her with tissue paper (old sewing patterns to be exact) in 2 or 3 coats. Once that was completely dry, I gave her 2 coats of white paint. She has more texture now, since the tissue paper didn't go on super smoothly (I was intending to turn her into an art piece for my shelf, not give her back to my daughter.) But I like the texture under the paint, it gives her character and camouflages the places where I didn't get her glued back together smoothly.

Sadly, I cannot take credit for drawing her fancy adornments. They are simple scrapbooking stickers that I cut and carefully placed to make her "wings", "shoes", ears and eye lashes (oh and what I think may be a tramp stamp.) Then I took my very cool Tul permanent markers and highlighted the designs. I think she turned out pretty glamorous. And just to make sure no one peels the stickers off, I then sealed the whole bank with a coat of Mod Podge.

DIY Jewelry Organizer

Lately I've been noticing what a big mess my dressing table seems to be. I have a nice jewelry box where I keep my expensive jewelry, a store-bought organizer for my costume jewelry and I keep my bracelets on vases. But it looks cluttered. And tacky. And I wasn't overly thrilled with the store-bought organizer. What to do?

Well the obvious solution is DIY!!! So after a few fails (and I mean epic fails that basically ruined the store-bought organizer) I decided to hit the thrift stores and find a sturdy shelf that could hold my necklaces, earrings, dangling earrings, rings and bracelets. Not as easy as it sounds, but for $4.99 I found this:

It isn't gorgeous, but it has the bare bones of something useful. Since the brackets on the bottom shelf were broken, I took the shelf apart and removed all the brackets. Then I decided to move the bottom shelf down (there were already holes drilled where I think it might have attached to a dresser or something.) Then I broke out the Clorox wipes and cleaned it up.

Oh, and here is Jack demonstrating that the shelves are placed approximately sausage-sized-cat apart.

See? Better already.
My first approach at painting the shelf was a black and white motif with women's silhouette's...my husband wasn't too thrilled with that. And before you ask, the organizer is going into OUR bedroom so I guess HE should get A SMALL bit of say in how it looks. He's more conservative than me, prefers neutrals and would be happier if I only wore small unobtrusive jewelry. Yeah, trying to please him only goes so far.
I went down to the storage room and found an old can of latex paint. It's satin finish, which I like, and a nice pale brown. My original plan was to do the pale brown base coat, use lace as a stencil and spray paint a dark brown over the lace. Would have been gorgeous...but not for $7.97 a yard for lace. Never one to pass up a bargain, I noticed that sheets of duct tape were on clearance. I figured, I can print on the duct tape (right 'cause anything will go through my printer,) and then cut the shapes out, use them as stencils with the spray paint and peel them off.

All I'd need to do was whip out my really cool rotating finger knife and cut out some butterflies.

Flaw #1 The printer would absolutely not feed the duct tape sheet through.
Flaw #2 The duct tape was hard to cut through the backing paper, and as a result, not all the butterflies came out pretty.
Flaw #3 My carpal tunnel wasn't feeling the whole carve 3 sheets of duct tape with extreme pressure on the blade to get all the way through.

So I just traced over the butterflies I had printed on regular paper onto the backing paper side of the duct tape sheet. There isn't any ink transfer but you get the impression to work with. I whipped out my scissors and cut out as many as I could get in various sizes - I ended up just using 2 sheets. All that was left was to apply them in a pleasing design, spray paint over them and then peel them off.

Flaw #1 When you put duct tape shapes onto latex paint and then try to peel it off, it takes the paint with it.

Now I have something I kind of like. I can scrap the whole spray-paint idea (it's cold and windy out anyway) and just leave it pale brown with the shock of neon pink butterflies scattered over it. It appeals to my need for color and hopefully it will appeal to his belief that it has to "fit in" with the rest of the bedroom.

But I'll have to leave the story off for now. I have decided to use 3 vintage coke bottles to keep my bracelets on, probably hot glued to the shelf...and I have a rough idea for my dangling earrings and necklaces...but so far no real victories in coming up with a DIY earring holder for post earrings. Oh and I want to make one of these for my rings, but I don't have a pair of heels to do it with just yet.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Recycle a broken spoon ring into earrings.

I have been blessed to get some of my Dad's mother's jewelry. Grandma died about 30 years ago, so her jewelry is at least that old; most of it was costume and I use it in other projects, but some of it was nice stuff so I kept them to wear. My 3 favorite pieces were my angel wings ring - like a spoon ring that wrapped around my finger (sterling silver), my gold and silver cuff bracelet and my sterling silver spoon ring. I can't wear the angel wings anymore because it broke, probably from constant wear and readjustments. My husband took it to the jewelers and had it fixed, and that is when we discovered it was sterling silver. But I have been told it is too thing for everyday wear, so I save it for special occasions. So I started wearing my spoon ring, it was a really cool one that was identical on both ends instead of one being smaller than the other. Unfortunately last month it broke, almost exactly in the center.

So, what to do??? I had a flash of inspiration and thought I might make the two sides into earrings since they matched pretty closely. I started by putting the pieces of the ring between 2 washcloths and gently hammering them flat. Then I used a pair of needle-nosed pliers and carefully bent the skinny top part back on itself to make a loop behind each piece.

Finishing the earrings was a simple as adding a jump ring to each one and some french hooks. Super easy, and I think super cute.

A new sewing box for me!

I've always wanted one of those pretty fabric covered sewing boxes to keep my thread and supplies in, and never found one that I thought matched my tastes in fabrics and colors. But then it occurred to me I could pick one up cheap at a thrift store and then recover it any way that I want. One of our regular library volunteers also volunteers at the biggest thrift store in town, so I offhandedly mentioned to her to keep an eye out for a sewing box for me. She called me back that very same day and said there was one available for $3, but it wasn't anything amazing.

I ended up going down at the end of the week and looked at the box. She was right, nothing too special.

I found a little sticker on the bottom that said "Made in Japan" and I'd be willing to bet it was done during the middle part of the last century. So, now for the fun part, DEMOLITION! I needed to take the box apart so that I could work with the "bare bones". I started by removing the salmon pink lining. There were tiny little dust bunnies all over in there...yucky. Then I removed the red plastic trim from all the sides. The lid pretty much fell apart without the trim to hold it together, so I hot glued it back into roughly its original shape.

My next step was to soften the basket a little, so I hot glued red felt all around the outside. After I finished that, I decided to tackle the lining of the box. I had an idea to use some zebra print stuff (like the handles on tote bags) to make the bottom of the box, then I thought I'd do a basket weave with the zebra-stripes and black and make an inner basket. It didn't turn out well. It ended up not being square and not matching up at the top correctly, so there were gaps down into the inside of the basket visible too, so no good. I ripped all that out and changed my game plan. I ended up going with a cute black fabric with little white birds on it. I cut a rectangle of cardboard to the size of the bottom of the basket and covered it with a layer of felt and then the fabric (tacky glued the edges to the back of the cardboard). After that I added up the sides of the rectangle (6+9+6+9) to get the length of fabric I'd need to line the sides of the box. I added 1/2 an inch for the seam allowance. I sewed the one seam and then glued a small edge to the bottom of the cardboard. It now fit inside the box and there were no gaps to lose important sewing tools down into. But because of the inner structure of the basket, I decided to add some pieces of poster-board behind the lining to give it more structure.

With the lining done, I decided to work on the lid. I knew I wanted it to look kind of puffy, so I put 2 layers of quilt batting on it and then put the fabric on top. The fabric had to be big enough to wrap completely around the edge and tuck under. To make the top edge look finished, I used a ready-made piping. For the handle of the box, I used the original handle. It was made of bamboo, and I needed it to be a little smaller than the original size, so I found a drinking glass with about the right sized opening and filled it with water. Then I put the bamboo in and manipulated it to the right place in the glass. It only had to soak for about an hour before I saw the shape change the way I wanted. I kept it in the correct shape with a twist tie and let it dry over night. To finish it off I wrapped it very tightly in ribbon that matched the red in the fabric. To attach it to the lid, I used a sturdy white ribbon and "sewed" it on. I needed to widen the needle holes to get the ribbon through so I dabbed each hole with some tacky glue for safe measure. The white ribbon is secured inside the lid to a wooden cross-piece that was part of the original basket.

To cover the outside of the box, I had some thinking to do. The shape of the box wasn't really rectangular because of the rounding on the edges. So I thought I'd try putting some more of the red piping on the corners and then coming right up to it with the black wavy-lined material. I figured the wavy lines would help draw the eyes away from any imperfections instead of pointing to them the way a regularly patterned fabric might. It was a slow process, but I figured out if I pinned down one side of the piping with sewing pins I could place the black fabric where I wanted it and nail it and the piping in place. I worked in a circle all the way around. I made sure to have some left over fabric at the bottom edge of the box so I could fold in under and nail it to the bottom of the box. Worked like a charm and left the original bottom exposed, which is okay with me. For the top edge of the box, I had extra black material from the sides, so I folded it over the edge and then folded my raw edges under. I nailed it into place with the bird fabric underneath of it to create a finished edge. It isn't perfect but it worked.

The last step in recovering the box was an inner panel to finish off the lid. I cut a piece of cardboard to come to the edges of the piping and then covered it with a layer of the bird fabric. I used tacky glue to hold it in place. I wanted a pocket in the lid to hold my scissors, so I took a piece of the cover material and sewed it to a piece of felt with some of the red piping as it's edge. Then I glued it to the cardboard like I had the bird fabric. I then nailed it into place using those tiny nails...grrrr. But I got it into place after only minimal cussing and swearing. The lid isn't exactly square, probably from me pulling it apart, so it did cause me problems with this step and then with attaching the hardware later.

The finishing touch on the box was to add hinges and a latch. I found some nice brass ones at the hardware store and only spent $2.50 on the hinges and $2.50 on the latch. The affixed with screws so were pretty easy to put in. Then I added my sewing supplies and viola!

The sewing box cost $3, I spent $7 on 3 pieces of fabric (1/2 yard each), and $5 on the hardware. Everything else I used was part of my stash of supplies. I was also able to use all the 1/4 inch nails that came with the box, although they were the bane of my existence and caused me more than a few sore fingers.

Quoted Jeans?

I have one pair of jean capris that I wear to work on Fridays in the summer. I noticed last weekend that there was an odd brown stain high up on the left thigh...hmmm, throw them out or find an imaginative way to cover it?

I considered drawing on them with fabric markers or sewing on embroidered patches. But then I remembered the iron on letters I had bought on clearance at Wal-Mart. Are you picking up on my love of clearance items yet? So, what to do with those letters? I decided to put on a quote with short words that could be "written" down the leg of the jeans.

"Create your own life and then go out and live it."

I knew right off that I wouldn't have enough of any color to write the whole quote, so I decided to highlight the key words in glitter letters. What do you think? My husband says he won't be seen in public with me when I wear them -- we'll see about that. I like them but I am noticing that they aren't wanting to stay adhered 100%. I don't know how long the design will last, especially when I need to wash them; I'll keep you posted.

The Quest Continues!

After a week with my customized purse, I decided that the chain for the charms needed to be better anchored. So as you can see in the picture, I used heavy-duty jump rings to attach it more firmly. I like it better this way. I've gotten more than a few compliments on it.

I have been thinking that I'd like some extra sparkle on the purse but I didn't know how to add it. I was at Wal-Mart the other day and I found an iron-on rhinestone skull on clearance for $1.00. So for that price I figured I could experiment. The directions said to pre-iron the fabric to heat it up. I did that with the leather and discovered that it really holds the heat. It took me quite awhile to get it where I wanted it and some of the little rhinestones had to be moved around (needle-nose pliers), but I got it onto the purse with it's sticky cover film adhered to the leather. Then I couldn't iron it from the backside as the directions called for, so I doubled a thin wash cloth and ironed it onto the leather. I probably ironed it longer than necessary, but when I would peel the film back part of it always came back up. Finally I gave up and thought I'd let it sit until the leather cooled. When I did, the whole design was adhered to the purse. I am thinking the leather held the heat and kept the glue from setting very quickly. It isn't perfect but it's pretty much what I wanted, I keep asking myself though, is it possible to paint designs on leather?

Exactly What I Wanted!

I have worn glasses since I was about 9 years old, so I've never been one of those women who can go out and buy a cute pair of sunglasses whenever I feel like it. About a year ago I discovered fit-over sunglasses available at Wal-Mart. I know, it doesn't sound too stylish, but they don't make me look like a little old lady who has just had her eyes dilated, and I found a pair that works pretty well with my face. The problem is that I couldn't find a case for them that actually fit, they are bigger than a normal pair. So after a few trial and errors, I made this case from wool felt. The inner liner of the case is regular felt (thinner than the wool) and I hand stitched the purple cording seam. Before I put the whole thing together I cut a Cheshire Cat out of purple felt and hand-embroidered him onto the outside of the case. I think he turned out super cool!

I enjoyed the project so much and it worked so well to keep my lenses from getting scratched, that I had to make a case for my new MP3 player. The new player is purple and I have put my two favorite charms of Jack Skellington on it, so who else should have the place of honor on the front of the case?? I started by attaching the white felt of Jack's face and then cut the black felt into the shapes of his eyes and mouth. Then I used black embroidery floss to attach them and create his features.

The Quest for the Perfect Purse

As many women out there can attest to, there is no such thing as the "perfect" purse. My husband often wonders how he can use the same wallet for 10 years and I need a new purse at least every 3 months. Well, I don't know why, I just know that's how it is. So in an effort to diffuse this particular marital squabble, I'm on a quest to find the perfect purse. Ha ha, this oughta be fun.
Purses must meet the following criteria:
1. Zip top to help prevent loss of wallet and other necessities.
2. Just-right length of straps, it should fall between my elbow and my waist when I am carrying it on my shoulder.
3. Big enough for my stuff; i.e. wallet, planner, sunglasses, MP3 case, emergency medications and any toys my kids might stuff in.
4. Easy access to my stuff. It doesn't do me any good to have to spend 5 minutes extracting my wallet at the checkout counter.
5. Divisions so my stuff isn't all crumbled up together.
6. Be cute! I don't want a purse that doesn't match my personality. It must be FABULOUS, it has to show a little bit about me.
Today I was a the thrift store looking for a vase to put some paper flowers in for Easter -- my girls are making them to give to Great Grandma -- and I found 2 purses that I kind of liked. The first was a cream colored leather with antiqued gold accents. It was cute, and it fell at the right place on my shoulder, but it had a weird stain on it. It was a zipper top but there was just one big open cavity for my crap to get lost in. Oh and it was $5, whereas choice #2 was $2. Choice #2 was a black leather purse, about medium sized. It had 2 dividers, so 3 main pockets. The center divider is zippered and the whole purse closes above that with a snap. Hmmmm, $2 and all those pros? I'll take it!
But the problem remains that it was still just a black leather purse. No flair, no personality. So here is what I came up with:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I had a flash of inspiration and thought it might be fun to personalize the purse with a heavy-duty charm bracelet. I have on there right now a watch, 'cause I'm terrible at carrying my phone so I don't know the time 90% of the time, a lucky turtle, a LOVE charm, a MOM charm and a "diamond" ring. Oh, and a fun heart shaped padlock I picked up somewhere or other. I like to sparkle, I like to make people wonder what goes on in my head, I think this charm bangle will give me a chance to change it up and really play with my style.
I attached it by putting very heavy duty jump rings through the holes created by sewing the seam of the purse. I didn't have to make any holes of my own. I'll just have to see how it holds up.

Now, wonder where I can find a rhinestone skull to put on the purse? Or maybe a Cheshire Cat? Or maybe Jack Skellington?