Suitcase Organizer

After finding some awesome vintage suitcases at a thrift store, I had to find the perfect use for them. After pondering these awesome finds for quite sometime, I decided to use this one for craft storage.

I began by ripping out the fabric on the inside because it needed major help.

 

I took some fabric I had in my stash and simply glued it down to the inside using the amazing modge podge...

...and added some trim with hot glue...

...and PRESTO! It looks completely new!

Now for the fun part.

 I used some peel and stick velcro(industrial strength) to secure small storage boxes into the suitcase.



Now I have an awesome place to keep my craft supplies easily accesible but also out of the way!

How To...

Make yarn from old t-shirts. I love using t-shirt yarn to make rugs with but the possibilities are truly endless when you think about it. I'm thinking about attempting a cushion of some sort with the stash of old shirts I have... We shall see how that turns out, but first to make the yarn.

Step one: Take an old t-shirt and lay out as flat as possible.

Step two: Cut small strips (about 1/2 inch to an inch) horizontally to about an inch from the side.

Step three: Continue this up to the sleeves and completely cut the top off.

Step four: Take the side where the strips are still connected and cut diagonally from one strip to the next. Continue this until you have cut all the strips and are left with one long strip of fabric.

Step five: Take the strip of fabric and roll into a ball. And as simple as that you now have a ball of t-shirt yarn!

Tell me what you like to make with old t-shirts!

How To...

Transfer a photo onto canvas! All you need is mod podge, a sponge, a canvas, and a picture (no need to be on photo paper, works well on regular copy paper). Also, if you're using a picture with words, mirror it before the project as the finished product is flip-flopped.

Step 1: Spread a generous layer of mod podge onto the canvas with a sponge.

Step 2: Lay the picture face down onto the canvas. Smooth out any bubbles. Let dry. You might put a book over to make sure the paper doesn't wrinkle back up.



Step 3: Once dry, take a sponge(or your finger) and dampen the paper. Don't soak it. Begin peeling the paper off. You will have to use your finger to rub off the layers of paper. Repeat this process until you get the paper off. You might be surprised how much paper is on there but remember the finished look is well worth it!

Step 4: Once you get all the layer of paper off, cover with a layer of mod podge to finish it up!

Here's my finished product. I love the aged look it gives the picture. Might just be my favorite quick project to turn to for gifts (or just for my house...)! 

Spring Cleaning...

Do you ever have left over bits and pieces from previous projects? What am I talking about, we all do, right... Well I had this canvas that I had painted on and just really didn't like the outcome. It had been sitting around for YEARS in the closet making me sick everytime I saw it so I finally put it to use. I took some fabric I had laying around (leftover from another project...) and covered the exsisting paint. Now it's a completely blank canvas again! I also had a bunch of leftover letters of sorts from other various projects so I decided to turn to a favorite song of mine (Take This Bread by The Felice Brothers) and put some lyrics on it. After some paint and some glue, this is my outcome! (And I got to clean out my closet a wee bit!)

This next project was an attempt to dwindle my recycle/find a use for pile. I get a weekly ad from a certain chain pharamcy and it is insane how much paper they use... I stockpile junk mail like that to either recycle or use (for paper flowers, wrapping paper, ect.) and my pile was getting rather large. I had also been wanting some sort of yarn basket but didn't want to spend a lot of dollars on one. It finally dawned on me to put those ads to work! I took those ads and rolled them up into a sort of paper yarn and started spiraling and gluing. After much twisting and gluing I ended up with a pretty awesome basket. And for just the price of hot glue!

 

That's all for now, I'll post some more of these projects soon!

Challenge Time!

I have a bad habit of letting my fear get the best of me. Weather it be fear of the unknown, fear of judgement, fear of imperfections, or just plain fear. I ALWAYS let it win. I try to make big jumps to correct this but that always results in failure. So now I am challenging myself to take baby steps to beat The Fear.

My first step is simply to remeber where my inspirations come from. So let's talk about the people that inspire me. Bob Fosse, Twyla Tharp, Isadora Duncan, Pablo Picasso, Kurt Vonnegut, Tim Burton, Charles Schultz, Audrey Hepburn, Gillian Welch. While these are just a few, I think it's enough to prove my point. Each of these people is either a)unconventional, b)child-like, or c)both. If I look up to these people because of these qualities, then I shouldn't view them as imperfections in myself.

My second step is to give myself 15 minutes of "No Judgement Allowed" craft time every day and 1 hour of "No Fear" goal time a week. In these times, I will ban negitive feelings in order to help myself accomplish more. I'm hoping that I will be able to dream about my goals (short- and long-term) while remembering that it is important to keep goals, even if they change.

That's it. I said baby steps didn't I? 

Just a Thought.

Many times my crafts take much longer to finish than they should because I tend to sit back and take in every little step. For example, when working with yarn (or t-shirts and sheets that I have turned into yarn) I love to admire every row and the texture that such a simple process yields.

It never ceases to amaze me. Isn't that what crafting is about though? Creating something awesome out of raw materials. At least that's why I love crafting. The instant gratification and the knowledge that I can make things instead of buying mass produced ones.

A Few Cleaning Solutions

A friend of mine inspired me today to post about some homemade cleaning products. Not only are they cheap, they are easy to use, clean just as well, and are great alternatives to the harsh, store bought, toxic chemicals that are typically used.

Surface Cleaner

1 part vinegar

1 part water

How to Use: Mix together in a spray bottle, spray, and wipe clean. No need to rinse.

Fancier Surface Cleaner

2 tbsp vinegar

2 cups water

1 tsp Borax

10-15 drops tea tree oil

How to Use: Mix together in a spray bottle, spray, and wipe clean. No need to rinse.

Heavy Duty Cleaner

1/4 cup vinegar

1 cup water

1 tsp Borax

10 drops orange essential oil

5 drops lemon essential oil

How to Use: Mix together in a spray bottle, spray, wipe clean, and rinse with water.

Glass Cleaner

1/3 cup vinegar (I've heard club soda also works in this one)

2/3 cup water

How to Use: Mix together in a spray bottle, spray, and wipe clean with newspaper.

Drain Cleaner

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup baking soda

(I've also been told to try adding 1/2 cup sea salt)

How to Use: Mix together and pour down drain, let sit for at least 10 minutes and pour some hot water down the drain. (When I'm in a hurry I just pour the baking soda down the drain and pour some vinegar over top and consider my next shower the hot water...)

Linoleum Cleaner

1 tbsp liquid soap

1/4 cup washing soda

1/4 cup vinegar

2 gallons water

How to Use: Mix together in a large bucket and mop away! (I normally do a once-over with water after but I don't think it's necessary)

Rug Cleaner

Sprinkle carpet with baking soda, let sit for about 15 minutes, and vacuum up.

Stain Remover

1/4 cup vinegar

1 cup water

1 tsp liquid soap

How to Use: On Carpet-Mix together in spray bottle, spray on stain, let sit for about 15 minutes and scrub spot.  On Clothes- Mix together in spray bottle, spray on stain, let sit for about 15 minutes, rub into spot, and wash as normal.

These are just a few of my favorites and I'm sure I'll be posting more some other day. Until then, try these out and let me know what you think. Or let me in on the ones you've be using for years!



A Few Finished Products

I've finally gotten some projects finished and I'm so excited to share them with you!

The first is a crochet baby cocoon I made for my wonderfully handsome nephew as a Christmas gift. Yes, it was almost a month late but still he loves it! About a week before Christmas I saw a similar product on a photographer's website and simply fell in love with it. I knew I just had to make one for my nephew so I purchased some 100% cotton yarn and went to town. Now patterns are frustrating for me so I tend to just make it up as I go based on what it's looking like (which can mean fixing mistakes but I have no patients with patterns so it tends to be faster for me). When I got about half way I realized the thing was gigantic and the poor little man would be swimming in it so I went back and made it a little smaller. I got about half way again and realized again that it was still too big! I began going back down the previous path and unraveled down to make it smaller yet again. This time I started to get frustrated and I didn't even want to work on it because I knew I would continue to have to re-work everything. But every time I saw him I knew I wanted to finish it for him so I eventually finished it! I was able to give it to them this weekend and here's a picture of the little stinker enjoying it!  

This wreath is also a belated Christmas gift and she doesn't even know about it yet so hopefully she won't see this post! I just covered a wreath with satin yarn, made paper roses out of junk mail, painted some wooden letters, put it all together and this is what happened!

The last project that I'll be sharing with you tonight is this crochet rug made out of old t-shirts and fabric from the thrift store. I have made a few rugs similar to this using old bedsheets but this was my first with jersey knit fabric. The experience was much different because the fabric is way more flexible so you have to be careful to remember stretch factors. All in all, I think it works just fine!

Hope you enjoyed, more to come soon!

On a Whim

I love projects like this pop-up project! My boyfriend came to me and asked if I could crochet up some type of cover for these wall hangers he got for his ever-growing stringed instrument collection. He was afraid the rubber would tarnish the finish on the instruments so I said I'd see what I could do. I'm very happy with the way they turned out and gave me a very relaxing day off!

A Place to Start

My biggest problem that lies within my creativity is my tendency to jump from project to project. Even if I get a whole day devoted to crafting I will start eight different projects instead of  starting and finishing four. As motivation to wrap up my lose ends, I am NOT starting a new project OR posting any tutorials until I finish the projects I am working on.

Current Projects I am working on and would like to finish this week! 

• Rug made out of recycled t-shirts
• Wreath adorned with paper roses made out of recycled junk mail
• Crocheted baby cocoon
• Knitted cowl

Once I finish them I will post pictures of them and start tutorials on new projects!