Meet Goldie

Meet Goldie. 

Lucy's new dolly, handmade by me. I know, I can't believe it either. I actually made a doll from scratch using scrap fabric. I truly love working on our house and it's definitely been keeping me very busy, but I've been itching for a good DIY project. Recently I decided to finally take my grandmother's old sewing machine out of the box and reteach myself how to sew. I've had it for years and never had the courage to try to remember what I learned in high school. My grandmother passed away in April just after Mila was born and never had the chance to meet our little bean. Lucy's so young I'm afraid she won't remember much about her, so I want to give the girls something to remember my grandmother. A few weeks ago during one of my Sunday visits to my grandfather, I took home a dozen of my grandmother's sundresses. She always wore these dresses in tons of different bright, printed fabrics. I love them and they remind me of her so much. Since the dresses themselves are too big for me to wear, I wanted to use the fabric and make something that would remind me of my Beebah. 

Before actually bringing scissors to the sundresses, I wanted to make a few test dolls. This doll is actually made of scrap fabric I had with my craft supplies leftover from previous projects. I sort of self taught myself how to make this after googling a few ragdoll tutorials and tweaking them a bit. I made templates for the body itself, but sort of made up the dress as I sewed. I hope I can recreate it!

The striped fabric was leftover from a chair I reupholstered 2 years ago. The pom pom fringe was going to be used for curtains in Mila's room until I scrapped that idea. The legs are leftover from when I attempted to make a window for Lucy's skylight in her old nursery (oh that was a flop). The hair is yarn and her headband and belt are leftover from last year's New Year's Eve hats Lucy and I made. The only items I actually purchased were the fabric for the body and the stuffing.

After two bad 'test' dolls, this doll took me two days to make. There are still a handful of things I would change or do better, but I'm learning so I can make more.

Lucy loves her new Goldie doll. She was so excited while I made it that she asked me constantly, 'Is my dolly ready yet?' 

Have you tackled any good DIY projects lately? With this one down, I'm ready for more.

Paint Dipped Stool

I tackled another paint dipped project this past weekend. This is by no means a new idea or project for me. Almost a year ago I dipped this table for our guest room. I really love this trend because it's so simple to achieve, yet makes a huge impact on a piece of furniture. 

 

For a few months now we've had this old chair in our living room. It was actually one of the chairs from my family's kitchen set we had growing up (so there is some sentimental attachment to it). We have this awkward piece of wall that sticks out into our living room/kitchen. As far as I know it serves no real purpose. I've had the framed animal menagerie on that wall for a while now and I had the old chair against the wall underneath. I thought I was pretty clever using this chair to stack my collection of design books. I figured it could double as both decorative and extra seating when we had people over. Of course none of our guests ever asked if they could relocate my 27 design books so they could sit on this low, hard chair.

 

Lucy also grew fond of this set up and started taking the books off the chair and either 'reading' or just relocating them. After a while I figured it was time to change things up a bit. I had a better place for the chair anyway, but still needed something to put under the frame, preferably something with a little more height. 

I purchased this stool from Target for $19.99. They had a $15 version, but I was afraid it would be too low in our kitchen. I already have a stock of spray paint and tape and didn't need to purchase any additional supplies, so $20 wouldn't be breaking the bank for me.  

I knew right away that I wanted to dip the legs of the stool. The wood alone was just too plain for our taste. Plus when do I ever leave something as is?

 

Now I'll start by saying I had big plans for this stool. To start it was going to get completely sanded and stained a darker color. Honey wood isn't my taste. However, I asked Jordan's opinion and he nixed that idea, saying he liked the lighter wood (and I do seriously take his opinions into consideration). Plus the other table I dipped was darker and I was a little intrigued as to how it would look with light wood. I also really wanted to do a double dip, where I did white paint first, followed by yellow paint a few inches lower.

 

Before I could start painting, I measured how high I wanted the painted legs to be. In this case I chose the one foot mark. I marked with a pencil on each side of each leg, then taped the lines using painter's tape. Since I wanted to do spray paint I used some old grocery bags to cover the rest of the stool that I didn't want painted. We lucked out with decent weather, minus the wind, so spray painting outside was easy.

 

A few coats of white later and I had a 'newer' new stool. Once I painted the stool white and took off the tape I just couldn't convince myself to add the yellow. I really love the contrast of the white and wood. Part of me feels that this stool might still need something, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Who knows, in a few weeks I may decide to add the yellow, or more white on the seat, or something else. For now I'm loving the new addition to our living room/kitchen space.

 

Have you tried the paint dipped trend, yet?

Lucy's Play Kitchen: A Closer Look

 

I'm finally getting around to giving you a bit of a closer look as to how we put Lucy's play kitchen together. I'll admit when I purchased the two mismatched nightstands from my favorite vintage shop, aside from slapping on a few coats of paint, I really wasn't sure how I planned to tackle this project. Once the ideas started rolling, things came together pretty easily, with only a few minor hiccups. I'll admit I had a few more grandiose ideas, but I let reality settle in that I'd mostly be doing them for myself since she's too young to really appreciate them, yet.

 

 

I spent just under $20 on these two pieces. I decided pretty quickly that the tall, skinny nightstand would be the sink and the short, 'fat' one would work best as the oven.

 

 

I purchased a cheap bathroom faucet for $11 from Home Depot and a metal bowl from the dollar store to be the sink and faucet. With Jordan's help (ok, he did it all...) we traced the outline of the bowl on the top of the skinny nightstand, and cut a hole slightly smaller to fit our makeshift sink. He also cut two smaller holes to attach the faucet. Since it's a pretend kitchen, we simply tossed any plumbing accessories for the faucet. Because of the depth of the bowl, the drawer wouldn't be able to open. We removed the drawer and detached the front so we could add new hardware, paint, and reattach.

 

Jordan attached these wooden dowels (similar to the ones I used for the schoolroom hook rack) from Home Depot to use to hold the fake oven rack I purchased from our local Dollar Deals shop.

 

We struggled a bit with how we were going to make an oven door. I really wanted to make one that looked as realistic as possible with a plexiglass window that opened from the top. We sort of did the oven door last since we were undecided, but didn't want to slow the process. Once the rest of the kitchen was finished structurally, it was time to paint.  

 

In case you're curious, I purchased the adorable flea market fabric from my local JoAnn Fabric store and the paint is Martha Stewart 'Milk Pail'.

 

I fell in love with the fabric and wanted to use as much of it as I could so I decided not only to make a 'skirt' for under the sink, but to use some of the leftover material to make tea towels. Of course I have zero sewing skills so I left it up to my iron-on-hem skills to get the job done. The skirt was attached using a tiny tension rod I found at Target.

 

 

For the oven door we ultimately decided to pick up a piece of scrap wood from Home Depot and cut it down to size. We originally attached the door with the hinges at the bottom so that the it would open like a real oven, but Lucy kept trying to stand on the open door and I would have a mini panic attack thinking it would break and she'd hurt herself. I decided safety came first and we swapped the hinges so the door opened from the side.

 

The handle is a simple drawer pull and the 'window' is actually chalkboard paint. The oven rack also didn't last long .We still have it and keep it handy, but Lucy just wanted to remove it every time she played anyway. Maybe one day we will attach it 'permanently'. The oven burners are also painted using chalkboard paint and the cork trivets were a cheap Ikea purchase.

 

 

The best part of the design is that both the oven and the sink double as storage to keep all of Lucy's play food, pots and dishes somewhat organized when she isn't playing.

 

 

We decided to keep the kitchen in Lucy's bedroom for two reasons. First being that we are pretty much maxed out on space for more toys in our living room, but also because we wanted a place upstairs where Lucy could play and keep herself occupied when Jordan and/or I needed to get ready for work, do some laundry or take a quick shower.

 

 

As you can see, Lucy loves her kitchen. She particularly enjoys sticking some of her smaller stuffed animals in the sink for a 'bath'. No matter how she uses it, this project was well with the time and effort.

 

DIY Floral Antlers

The antlers are mounted and hung! I shared with you my love for all the floral antlers I was seeing around the internet, and after a coworker of mine kindly gave me a pair of my own, I was anxious to get them up in our house. 

I cleaned my antlers up and purchased some fake flowers at the local craft store. I bought a few different types as I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go.

Once I laid everything out I decided to stick with just the largest two flowers with two big leaves.

I'll admit it took Jordan and me a few days of brainstorming to decide exactly how we were going to mount these antlers. I knew that I wanted them on the wall above our bed so it was pretty crucial that there was no chance they would fall in the middle of the night on our heads.

Jordan cut three piecess of wood from a leftover pallet we've had stored in the basement. Rather than measuring, he eyeballed the width of each as we agreed we didn't necessarily want them to be perfectly even. It would look better if they were a little 'jagged' like the hook rack I made a few months back. To attach the three pieces together, Jordan cut two smaller pieces and screwed them vertically into the wood. We chose this method so we could also use the scrap wood attach the mounting hardware. 

The tricky part of this was how the antlers were going to be attached to the wood. We ultimately decided to drill four small holes through the wood at the bottom of the antlers where the flowers would be. We used sturdy wire to wrap around the antlers and the wood three times before securing on the backside of the wood. 

Here is a side view to see how the wire was wrapped around the antlers. Three loops seemed plenty as I made sure to tightly wrap. By the time I was finished the bottom of the antler would barely move. I tightly twisted the wire around itself on the backside of the wood about two inches in length before folding the twisted pieces and sharp edges and tucking them against the wood. 

Once the bottom was secured I used hot glue to attach the antlers at the top. We mounted metal hooks onto the back pieces and used nails in the wall to attach the antlers. The wood and antlers were surprisingly not heavy and we decided anchors weren't necessary with the hardware we used.

The antlers look great above the bed and the rough rustic wood balances nicely with our (new!) Ikea bedding. Our bedroom is finally starting to look like a put together room.

Guest Blogging at Table For Three

I'm back! Well, not quite 100% but enough to write a quick post. Megan over at Table for Three kindly asked me write a guest post for her this week while she and her sweet family are on vacation. 

I feel as though I've been going a mile a minute these past few weeks (which might explain why I, the girl who never gets sick, caught the flu). The holidays are literally around the corner, this is the busiest time of year at my job, plus I'm trying to maintain my normal daily routine of being mommy and wife. I'll admit I sort of threw this DIY together at the last minute over the weekend, but I'm really glad I did. The end result was a pleasant surprise when I put them on our TV stand and they really helped complete that corner of our living room. Funny how things work, right?

Check out my guest post and learn how I made this painted planters here. 

Weekend Project: Lucy's Kitchen

About a month ago I shared some inspiration photos for DIY play kitchens I found through Pinterest. As I mentioned I want to take some old, thrifted furniture and refinish them into a little pint sized kitchen for Lucy for Christmas. 

Not long after that post I ventured out and hopped around a few thrift stores trying to find a perfect pair of night stands. I had trouble finding a set that was the right size, the shape I wanted, and in decent condition. I eventually found two different pieces at my trusty Goodeals for a steal each (one was $8 and the other $11) and had trouble deciding between the two. I ultimately purchased both. I figured I could use one as a sink and the other as an oven. Who cares if they are the same exact style or size? I know Lucy won't. 

Well these pieces have been sitting in our dining room for about two weeks know and Christmas is creeping up. Things have been so busy and crazy lately and hubby has been feeling a bit under the weather. We are closing in on a week and a half before Christmas so we need to get our butts into gear. Our plan is to get to Home Depot tomorrow and get supplies so I can get to work this weekend. Here's the plan as it stands today. Of course, knowing how I work things are likely to change on the spot.

First, we need to make a few changes structurally. The drawer will come out of the piece on the right and will be replaced with an oven door made of scrap wood. The front of the drawer will be refashioned into a back splash behind the stove. I purchased a very inexpensive bathroom faucet and I'm on the hunt for a metal bowl to use as a sink. The night stand on the left will need to be cut into to install both. Once the structure is complete, I am dying to paint! (Color is a secret until the final product is revealed!)

Finally the fun part - decorating. A skirt under the sink, swapping out the generic knobs for more fun ones, and adding a few fun kitchen accessories. 

Can't wait to get started this weekend. 

DIY Christmas Decor: Felt Leaf Garland

I think garland is one of the simplest decor items but can also be one of the prettiest. Whether strung along a mantle, wrapped around a staircase or just draped across the wall, garland makes a great statement and is such an easy way to decorate. I love all handmade garland. You can pretty much make garland out of anything these days: yarn, paper, fabric, etc. I wanted to make something easy that I could use to decorate the tiny railing we have on our steps.

I found this tutorial by one of my favorite bloggers, Nicole from My oh My. It's a very simple garland made from felt cut into the shape of leaves. I liked the idea of using different shades of green felt. I took my own spin on her version and opted to use a silver yarn to string the leaves and a red yarn to make pom-pom 'berries'. Felt is so inexpesnive and I already owned the yarn so this quick project cost me next to nothing.

I may squeeze in another one or two garland projects before the holiday gets here. There are so many great DIY garland ideas on Pinterest. The best part is with just a swap of color or change the shape, most of these can be altered for other holidays, too.

All images via Pinterest

 

 

What's your favorite garland?

DIY Christmas Decor: Painted Reindeer Art

I gave you all a sneak peek at this project yesterday and I just finished it last night. I was inspired by the below glitter reindeer canvas art that I've seen all over Pinterest. While I really like the look of the glitter version (I'm slowly turning everything in our house gold), I'm not too fond of crafting with glitter. We have a few glitter decorations for the holidays and it just ends up with giltter all over our floor, table, etc.  I wanted to use the same idea of a reindeer silhouette, but decided to paint instead of glitter, and use a piece of wood instead of a canvas.

I bought the piece of wood (approx 11"x11") from a local craft store and used some old stain I have leftover from several other projects. The reindeer shape was found online and I just cut it out to trace onto the stained wood. A little white craft to paint inside the outline and my reindeer was ready.

I liked how the silhouette looked on the wood, but when I finished I thought it still needed something. I freehand wrote some script 'Noel' above the picture and added a little decorative 'garland' at the bottom.

Happy Friday!

I linked this craft up to the Clever Chicks Blog Hop!