DIY Ottoman

 

This project has been a long time coming. I have had everything just sitting in the house waiting, just waiting to start on this.

 And finally here it is.

 

 

This Old table was another treasure found. Actually falling apart, needing lots of love.

And I was in need of an ottoman, we made the perfect pair.

 

 

We used a hammer to take off the top, the boards were uneven and coming off anyway. Then we chopped off those long (beautiful) legs.

 

 

Ready for a bit of wood filling, sanding, and wiping down.

And a fresh coat (or 3) of paint.

 

 

While in the middle of painting and drying- I started in on the ottoman top. Here you will see my layers, fabric of choice( yes lobsters it is), batting, and foam. I measured out how far apart I wanted my buttons to sit and I marked it onto each layer. We used 1/4in thick finished plywood. I drilled holes small enough for my needle to fit through where I marked for the buttons. Then I sewed them without knotting through the fabric and batting. My needle was not long enough to get through the thick foam so I used a crochet needle to do this. And then finally my needle to thread it through the wood, taping it down until I was ready to pull taut.

 

 

 With the ottoman top down I began to pull tight and staple down my fabric and batting. Then pulling as taut as I could I stapled down the button thread. The foam was so thick I was unable to pull it in too much. Once I had It all where I wanted it, I was ready to attach my ottoman top to the table base.

 

 

We went to the local hardware store for some L brackets and screws 2 for each short side and 3 for the long.

 

 

And here you have it. I finally have my ottoman.

 And isn't that the cutest ninja turtle.

                                                                                               .:Liz:.

Ruffle Skirt

 

 

Warning: This is a blog post about sewing from someone who does not speak the seamstress language.

So Please excuse the lack there of. Enjoy ;)

 

So here goes nothing. Planning for my nursery and searching pinterest, I found a pin on a ruffle crib skirt by EmmmyLizzzy. I love the look of her crib ruffles. So I got with my Great Aunt to make one of my own. And with a combination of the pin found, my Aunts many years of sewing, and a few new tricks here is what we have.

 

 

Starting with just an old white fitted twin sheet, We measured out the "deck" and also lined out where each ruffle would be sewn.

 

 

Then measuring out each strip (a bit over 6" so that our edges would all be finished). Here's where the math comes in(and math is not really my friend with my preggo brain.) The fabric I selected was 44" wide, I bought 1.25 yard of each fabric. So I was able to have 7-6.5" strips of each fabric. 2 for the sides totally 88" each and 3 for the front for 132".  I admit my aunt is way better than I am so she did the sewing for me. Happy am I! First Sew the strips together, then finish your sides.

 

 

Then as shown in the second picture above, we took floss,

Yep DENTAL FLOSS, and zigzag over the floss trying to not sew the floss onto the fabric.

 

 

Then you pin your fabric onto the deck. I pinned each end in place and also found the center of the fabric and pinned it onto the center of my line. Next you begin to pull your floss out, creating the ruffle. Pin the ruffle in place along the line. Next you sew the ruffle in place. Removing floss and pins.

 

 

Repeat x's 9! We trimmed and finished hems on the deck also.

 

 

All together beautiful, LOVE it (and seriously loving on my Aunt for all of her skill and hard work).

Now I'm here, still patiently waiting Parkers arrival.

 

                                                                          
                                                 .:Liz:.

Fabric Tassel Garland

If you love a quick project, I have one for you. I made this simple garland out of fabric scraps left over from things that I have made for the nursery, a $1 spool of bakers twine, left over ribbon, and a few push pins.

Just a few easy steps for you. But first gather up all of the fun things you plan to use.

#1 Decide the length of strips then start cutting. (Here I went ahead and placed them on top of each other and cut my strips together. I also found it easiest to have a striped fabric on top, made it super easy to cut a straight line. And I'm all for super easy!)

 

#2 I made sure some fabrics were right side up and some upside down then twist in the middle and fold in half.

 

#3 Wrap it up and tie, this should leave you with a loop.

 

#4 Then run your ribbon through the loop.

 

 

 

 

Fun and Super Duper easy!

                                                    .:Liz:.

Teething Necklace Tutorial

Hey Guys, today I have a guest post for you from my cousin. So without further ado, take it away Erica!

This is Norah. We call her "the animal". The other day as I was sitting watching her gnaw on the edge of my coffee table I thought to myself, "self, this girl needs something better to chew on. Something that her big brother can't snatch out of her hand and throw at her head every five seconds." So I got my hiney off my couch and ran down to my local craft store to pick up a couple of supplies.

Material: cute fabric (I bought half a yard, that was way more than necessary!)
             coordinating ribbon
             wooden beads, I used 1in. beads

Tools: Sewing machine
          Scissors
          Iron (optional)

Nothing I do is ever precise, so in true form, to measure my fabric I folded it a couple of times to give myself a more manageable length, selected the size bead I was going to use, folded the fabric over the bead, and marked where I needed to cut to allow myself a small seam allowance. Again, I don't do the measuring thing so I don't know exactly how much of an allowance I left myself, just cut for what you are comfortable working with, I trimmed excess off after.

After I cut the fabric I opened it up and folded the right sides together so that I could sew a big long tube. I then cut off the excess fabric from the seam and ironed it so that the fabric would lay flat on the seam and not cause any bunching once I started putting the beads in and tying knots. Now comes the longest part of the project, turning your 42ish inch tube right side out. I didn't do this the smartest way so it took me approximately  3/4 of an episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

Once you are seeing the pretty side of your fabric again tie a knot about 5 inches from the end. Drop a bead in the other end and tie another knot tightly against the bead so that it can not move around. Drop another bead, tie another knot...you get the picture. Every couple of beads I would wrangle the animal and kind of measure how it was looking for length and decided that 7 was our magic number, pick whichever number makes you happiest. End like you began, with another knot.

Line the two end knots up to each other and then snip off some fabric to make them even, sorry, still no measurements! Fold the ends in a little to give yourself a clean edge. Cut two lengths of ribbon, long enough to tie a bow and to give yourself the desired length of the necklace. Cut one end at an angle to prevent it from fraying. Put the flat end of your ribbon into the tube of fabric, I put my ribbon all the way down to the knot so that I would know I had plenty of length to catch when I was sewing it in. Fold the fabric over so that it is only as wide as the ribbon, like so.

And then sew across to hold it in place, which also help to extra secure the wooden beads so that they can't pop out and choke an animal...or the animal. I had to help mine through a little since it is kind of bulky from a couple of layers of fabric plus the ribbon. Just go slowly, and watch out for your fingers, it would be a shame to get blood on your necklace after all the work you just put in! Voila!

All that's left to do is try it on yourself and decide whether to give this baby up to the baby or tell yourself you'll make another for her real soon...