Candy shop

DIY Sign. 

This is a fun little project to do in a couple hours.

First I put tape down so I could paint my stripes

I always remove the tape before the tape dries. Once the paint dried I took a sander to it...You will be able to see in this next picture.

Do you notice how the paint is a bit faded?   

click on this post to find out how I copied the words onto the sign.

Then just paint it on with a little paint brush

And your done! I always run my sander over the top of the words when finished so it doesn't look so perfect

I like it! It looks like an old vintage sign and didn't cost a thing!

DIY cottage sign

OKAY, so it's not completely done. I bugged my friend from work for a couple weeks to bring me some rusty hinges..

When he finally brang them I left them at work!  They have been sitting on my desk all weekend.

Oh well, I decided to post it anyway.

The method I am using is from this great blog.

http://aimee-weaver.blogspot.com/ is one of my new favorite blogs! 

The method she uses is with carbon copy paper. I found mine in the clearance section at Hancock fabrics for 79 cents.

I first practiced on an extra board I had...not bad right?

So here is the piece of wood I'm using for my sign. I'm so lucky because I have a friend from work who has a bunch of old barn wood (and the hinges) 

I just painted it white.

I then printed out the words on regular paper (using microsoft word)

the carbon copy paper is under this printed paper. I then traced over the words so it would copy onto the board. (you know...just like old times when you would write a check and it copied)

See....I lift up the paper and the carbon paper and it copied!   Now it is time to paint...That was scary for me, i really don't paint, haven't had much practice.

So here I am practicing...not very good but oh well, here goes...

Hey...not too bad! I love it!  I was very impressed with out it turned out!

After painting the words I sanded over it so even if you have little mistakes it's okay.

 

I think it is a perfect addition to my living room.

I don't know where I'm going to hang it quite yet so there will be a follow up post with the hinges on it as well.

I will be linking up here:

 

2 for 30

30 minutes that is!

The pillows are a new addition to my almost cottage living room. 

I made both of these chevron pillows in 30 mins!

not too bad right? Since I work an 8-5 job my time is so valuable to me...i like to time things alot, 

so here goes my express version of a pillow cover...

Its about 6:40 pm when I start.

Since you only work with one piece your are not spending a lot of time cutting. You just cut one strip.

My pillow size is 22x22 so I cut the lenght of my fabric strip to 52"

Now, you only have to fold in and sew one raw edge because the other raw edge is not going to be seen. (obviously if you have more time it's always nice to do)

And I'm so sorry, I can't believe I don't have a picture of the next part.

I guess I was in too much of a hurry...lol but here is the step from another pillow I did this way

this is where you fold both fabrics in and leave the flap opening in the middle. just lay your pillow over it to make sure it is the right size. Then pin the sides really good and sew, turn it inside out then you are done!

Finished BOTH pillows at 7:10 pm

Not too bad right?

I think they are a pretty good addition. I do need to get started on some more pillows but I think my cottage living room is coming along! 

I also did the trunk myself, made the window pane hanging decor and repainted the birdcage.

So much of this living room I did myself, board and batten walls, my garage sale trunk, tv stand and window pane decor...A post will follow soon on how I made my cottage sign..that is another DIY.

Once I get a few more details in my living room I will post before and after photos...you will be amazed!

Now I will end my post with a pix of my cute dog. He is the best boy and he respects my things so much. I just purchased these couches right before christmas and he already understands that he should not lay on the couch unless there is some sort of quilt or blanket on there. Doesn't he look so peaceful? Love Him!

Hope you all enjoyed my fast paced pillow creation!

Have a great week and be sure to check out all the creativity at these parties:

http://sewcando.blogspot.com/

wrist warmers

so a friend came to me asking if I could make wrist warmers. I told her I would see what I can do and I'm not making any promises....

What do you think? I love them! And they are very warm.

I didn't follow anyones pattern...just went for it.

I will share with you some key points since I'm horrible and explaining things or writing patterns.

I used a g hook and the yarn is called charisma by Loops & Threads (its a little chunky)

To start off you will chain 23 and join to make a circle.

make sure if fits somewhat snug (because they do stretch)

And notice how I am starting at the knuckles working my way down. (some patterns might start at the wrist first)

I did 3 rows of hdc (23 on each row) then when I got to the 4th row I did 2 hdc then i made my thumb hole by chain 4 and skip 2 hdc and continue around. 

continue to hdc 4 more rows then you can start the dc clusters. I don't even know how to explain the dc clusters. honestly I really don't even know how I did it...it just kinda turned out as i went along.

The first round of the clusters is 3dc skip 2 repeat all the way around

 The hardest part was starting a new round.  I found that if you do 2 dc in the first space and move on then when you finish the round you do your last dc in that last space to make it 3 dc....clear as mud?

I did 8 rounds of dc cluster, you can obviously make it longer or shorter.

I can't wait to do another pair. I think I will try 3 different colors next time.

So thanks for stopping by, I'm linking up to these parties:

http://sewcando.blogspot.com/