It’s about time for a new Ironing Board Cover…

Don’t you think it’s about time I made a new Ironing Board Cover?

This poor cover has seen it’s fare share of thrashing.  In fact it was so bad that I have been using a towel between it and my fabric to protect my fabric from the the mess I made.

I finally made a new cover this weekend.  I just used some fabric I had received from my Grandmother’s stash of fabric.  It’s not super cute but it’ll work.

I took the old one off and used it for a pattern.  I folded my fabric in half and cut it out twice so I could flip the cover over when one side gets looking bad or I have another Wonder Under mishap.  I then put the original padding in-between both layers and surged the layers with wrong sides together.  I also surged the original sting in so that I could use the string to pull it tight around the ironing board again. 

To do this I just pinned the sting at one end and then lined it right at the raw edge of the fabric so it wouldn’t get struck by the needles.  Be sure to lift up your cutter so you don’t cut your string.  I just continued to hold it along the edge of the fabric as I fed both the fabric and the string through.  I love it when I try something new and it works so well the first try!!!

Anyways, here it is.  Not that cute but so much cleaner and no more fussing with the towel!

Messenger Bag turned Scripture Bag

My Husband had a Messenger Bag like this that he wasn’t using anymore and asked me if I could make it into a cool Scripture Bag that he could take to church.

So he drew up some ideas of what he wanted in the bag and I figured out the best way to accomplish it with the least amount of cutting, unpicking, and stitching. Here it is:

Basically I cut down the middle of the original bag and then re-attached one of the side pockets to enclose the bag again. I then shortened and re-attached the front flap. Used some scraps from the strap and front cover to make a handle to attach to the top. Then attached buckles!!!

Voilà a messenger bag turned scripture bag!!!

Participating in:

Apron Redo and matching towels

I bought this plain apron and figured I could make it a little more stylish. 

At first I thought I would just add a little bit of trim to it but then I came across this Halter Apron by Heather Bailey and wanted to try to convert the apron into this style but I didn’t want to buy the pattern for just one apron so I decided I would try to wing it and this is what I came up with:

Here’s a brief overview of how I did it.

Materials:

Basic Apron

2 Fat Quarters

Solid cotton scrap about 64” x 4” that matches the fat quarters

Cut down the center of the top.  Flipped the two pieces of the top so the armholes then became the neck line.  Then did a little tapering to the outer edge of the top making it go smaller as you head to the top of the apron. (be sure to remove the side ties but leave the neck ties attached)

Then cut your fat quarter in 4” x 21-22” strips.  You will need five.  Three for the waist and ties and 2 for the ruffle on the bottom.

I sewed the three strips together and then attached the fat quarter strip and the solid strip to the top of the bottom portion of the apron so that the right side of the fat quarter strip was facing the right side of the apron and the right side of the solid strip was facing the wrong side of the apron.  I sewed all the way around the strip except leave an opening at the top wide enough for the top portion of your apron to slide in.  Turn the strips inside out and then press.  Make sure to press the opening so that the edges are folded inside.  Now slip the lower edge of the top of the apron into the opening and stitch the opening closed.  I did a stitch from one end of the ties all the way across the top to the other edge of the tie.

Then trim up the bottom of the apron to the length you would like.  Sew the other two strips of fat quarter together and then press it in half, right sides out.  Do a basting stitch along the raw edge to use to gather the fabric.  Pull one of the threads and gather the strip so it’s the same size as the bottom of the apron (make sure to do a rolled hem finish to the ends of the ruffle so you don’t have any raw edges showing).  Then pin the  ruffle lining up the raw edges on the right side of the apron.  After stitching it in place and went back and did a zig-zag stitch to finish the edges.  Press and your done!!

I used the remainder of the second fat quarter to make 2 matching towels.  I got the towel idea from Sew 4 Home here.

 

***on a side note I didn’t wind up attaching the top of the the apron as I wasn’t sure how it would fit her so I left it off making it only a half apron instead of a full apron***

Re-Do of wooden heart hangers

I had purchased these hearts unfinished at hobby lobby for $1 a piece and then Modge Podged scrapbook paper on them for my daughter but they never went to use so I decided to re-do them. Sorry I didn't get a before picture.

I wanted to use them in my bathroom to hang the kids' hooded towels on and our bathroom is in black and white decor.

I didn't like how bold the lines were when I was done so I scratched them up with sandpaper.

I then finished it with a Polyurethane finish.

Here they are on the wall with the rest of the decor.
Doesn't exactly go along with the decor but they will work for now!

The Dollhouse

The dollhouse is done! Okay so it's not complete but it's as done as it's going to get for now.

I started with this bookshelf:

I made all the room dividers and the additional peak out of scrap wood from another item we had in our house but was falling apart. I glued and nailed all the walls in place. I used a jigsaw to cut out the windows on the side of the house (that is NOT my favorite power tool). I cut the doorways between rooms out before I glued the walls in place. I'm eventually going to put railing along the top next to the attic room but I'm going to wait until Ari is older as she's still a little rough with things and I'm afraid it would just break off. I then painted it white.
Then I gathered up all my scrapbook papers and some Mod Pogde and started decorating. I also used acrylic paint to do the base colors. Make sure that when you adhere your papers to the wall that you put the glue on the paper first otherwise you will get bubbles in your paper (you might still get some bubbles the larger your paper is, but not nearly as bad). Oh, and don't forget to coat over your papers after they are in place with more Mod Podge. I'm still figuring out what I want to do for the flooring in the top rooms. I also plan to do wall hangings and other small trinkit but I'll probably have Ari help me make them.

As you can see Ari has lots of dolls but is sparse on the furniture. That will come later. My Mom is talking about getting her some for her birthday and I'll probably make some also to give to here for her b-day.
Bedroom
Attic

This room makes me think of a bathroom. I'll probably get some scrap linoleum to finish the floor with.
Bedroom
Living Room
I plan to make this room the kitchen/dinning room.
I know some of you requested instructions, so if you have any questions leave a comment and I will try to answer them as best as I can!

Oh and here are some links for some more ideas for the dollhouse:
Make your own Dollhouse Furniture
Another Homemade Dollhouse
Dollhouse Furniture with Everyday Objects
Homemade Miniature Villa