A Mother's Day Gift!

My wonderful husband found this cute little statue by the dumpster in the alley at his work! He knows me too well and brought it home so I could give it some love! Thanks, Jim!!!

 

I showed this picture to my mom and she said' "No way! You are so lucky! I have been looking for a garden statue like that!". So, needless to say I just figured out what to give her for Mother's Day. 

It was a simple upcycle. First, I power washed it to remove all the crud and dirt. Then, I let it dry. Next, I spray painted it. Finally, I planted some flowers in the little buckets! And here it is!

 LOVE YOU MOM!!!!

A Pinterest-ing Idea! Upcycle Builder-Grade Doors!

Black doors.

Pinned Image

Yes, black interior doors. I have seen this on Pinterest a few times and have pinned them on my "For the Home" board. Black interior doors give much need character to my home. In a neighborhood like ours, the builders just threw the houses up as fast as can be and there is so little "character" or "charm" to them. Here is what one of the doors looked like before.

The funny thing is, "character" had nothing to do with the reason I decided to paint the doors in the first place. Because the builder painted all the trim work in the house with FLAT white paint, I decided to repaint all of the trim work with a semi-gloss white paint. Much, MUCH easier to keep clean. Little by little, I have been painting the trim. When I got to the first door jamb, I realized that the new white and the old white weren't the same because the door didn't match the trim anymore! If you really look close in the "before" picture, you can see the difference in paint colors. UGH! Light bulb moment... Black Doors! I knew I pinned that idea for a reason!! Love, Love, LOVE Pinterest!

I am so pleased with the way they turned out. It looks great!

Scarf Style!

Scarves are so my thing right now! Wearing a scarf  is a great way to dress up a plain shirt or dress. I am noticing that scarves can be worn on any season.

But the problem for me is: What do I do with them?

I see all these cute scarves and I think, "How will I tie that?"

Well, leave it to Pinterest to come to my rescue! There are so many cute ways to tie or knot a scarf and on Pinterest I have found the instructions on how to do a few of my favorite looks.

 

The Scarf Braid.

When I saw this I was like, "YES!" This is so cool! Braids are so in style for hair, why not for scarves? I found the instructions HERE

Very easy to follow instructions with pictures. (AWESOME)

Great idea, I love it! Thank you to  Krissa, the author of the blog I saw this on, for sharing this wonderful idea!

 

I don't know what to call this one but it looks like a Celtic Knot to me so...

The Celtic Knot

I saw this picture that was step by step on how to do this one here: Celtic Knot Pic

This was easier than I thought! :)

 

Sort of Infinity Scarf

This method turns any scarf into one of those cute infinity scarves! This opened up a whole new world for me :) How to tie a scarf.

After reading this, I hope you give one or all of these looks a try! Let me know what you think, I would love to see your scarf styles!

Men's T-shirt to Tank Top Refashion with Crochet!

I saw this idea on pintrest. The directions are HERE. From a blog called Designs by Studio C

This inspired me to make a new tank top from a men's t-shirt on this yucky April (Winter Go Away Already!!!) Day.

Things you will need:
Men's T-shirt
Good Fitting tank top- to use as pattern.
Scissors
Sewing Machine and Thread
Crochet hook
Needle and thread

(For a no sew option... just use a tank top that fits you and you can skip the first few steps, just go on to where you mark the design out on the tank!)

 First I found a tank that fits how I want this new tank to fit. I turned the t-shirt inside out. Next, lined up the tank to the men's shirt I had.

 Then, I started cutting the shape of the tank. First, I cut the bottom. Then, I cut the sides open and the arms off.

 Next, I cut the neck.  This is where the sewing comes in... Two quick seams up the sides to get the top to be fitted.

OK... Now you will have a basic tank, but this could be done on any style tank. Using a ruler, or your eye, mark lines to make the cuts.

You can go in any design pattern you like. I chose some straight lines.

 Cut slits along the lines, I made mine just under an inch wide and about a quarter of an inch apart.

Take your crochet hook and insert under 2 of the first slits. Pull the 2nd slit under the 1st.

Now you have a loop on your hook. Insert your hook under the next slit and pull it through the loop on your hook. Continue this until you get to the last slit. Stitch the last loop down to keep it from unraveling.

Do this to all of the slits you cut until you are finished with the entire design. Here is how mine turned out. I am going to make more!!! It was easy and I like how the design looks!

I am definitely going to be doing this again. I would not recommend crocheting all the way to the bottom as this has caused the edge of the tank not to lay just right.  Stopping the slits about 2 inches away from the edge will help it lay better!

Can Light to Pendant In 10 Minutes!

Over our kitchen sink is a can light. I never really thought about it before, until I was at a friend's house and saw her awesome looking pendant light over her sink. How could I change the can light in my kitchen to a fabulous pendant light? I was stumped. I am no electrician. I thought that I was going to be stuck with that generic looking can light forever. UNTIL... I was wandering around at the hardware store and saw THIS

This looks easy! So I bought it... I also bought the glass shade that I was able to pick from MANY different styles.

We followed the simple step by step instructions in the box... and 10 minutes later... Ooh La La! My kitchen is fabulous!

Upcycle Fan Gear! No SEW!

Go Blackhawks!! Gotta love the ladies' fan gear over the past few years! There are so many more choices and styles. The downside is the price... some of the really cute stuff is out of my budget. So here is a great way to save some $$$ or just to upcycle a shirt that needs some love. Also a great way to make the kids clothes last after they grow out of them...(I just thought of that and may have opened a whole new can of worms for myself there!) I got this shirt from my Sister.

 She said it didn't fit so I could have it! YAY! Well, it didn't fit me either but I knew there could be something done about that!

I got a matching shirt on the clearance rack ( Nice $4)! And decided to get to work!

Supplies:

• 2 Shirts
• 1 Pair of scissors
• Fabric Glue

I cut out the graphics on the black shirt. Then I lined up the pieces to where I wanted them to be on the new shirt.

 

Using the fabric glue, I glued it into place. I used a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to keep the glue from going all the way through.

 

The great thing about this fabric glue is that you don't need to sew, or iron. The glue just needs to have about a day to dry! I wash it inside out and even throw it in the dryer and it really lasts. I like that I left the edge raw. It has a cool worn look.

Now I will be looking for some other shirts to restyle since this one was sooo easy!!! Come back and show me your projects, I'd love to see them!

Framed Print Upcycle

Are you getting tired of some of the artwork around your house? I was! I have had this framed print for YEARS. It hasn't really gone with the style in this house but it was perfect in our old house. The frame on it I just love, so I could never get rid of it. So I decided to make the print go with the decor in my house by "up cycling" it!

 The idea came to me when I had a heap of extra fabric leftover from another project. I took the print out of the frame, and measured it. Then, I used those measurements to cut a piece of fabric. I then took a pencil and drew the "twig" design free handed onto the fabric. With some off- white craft paint I had on hand, I painted over my pencil drawing.

When the paint dried, I glued the fabric onto the board that the old print was on and placed it back into the frame. I am loving my new piece of artwork!

If you plan on doing this aroung your house, share a picture of your creation with me!