Ugly Red Chair To Pretty Zebra Chair

Last week I recovered this chair for my step daughter who was off to college. She and her roommate decided that they were going to have a zebra print room. So being ambitious and wanting to try a tutorial I found (will link later) I took her nasty old computer chair and recovered it. I do not have a before picture, it was that UGLY. We used to keep a blanket over it so it was not  visible!  It only took me about 30 minutes to do, it was so easy! (that is my time minus small child distractions)
All I did was remove and destroy the old fabric with scissors and elbow grease, cut quilt batting (for cushion) and cute zebra fabric to size, and stuff both in between the plastic of the back and the seat of the chair. Easy peasy as my preschooler would say.
And here she is, isn't she a beauty now?

This might be fun!

Im going to learn to post from my phone now:) since I got a smart phone,  finally!

Family Picture

I finally got our family picture taken. We haven't done one since my 4 yr old was 9 mos. Slacker mom award of the decade for me I think. My youngest is now 18 mos, poor kid, someday she is going to think we don't love her! I even managed to get almost all of the kids smiling, the boy has this habit of ruining pictures. Want to see?

Pretty cute bunch don't you think? My hubby took it with a tripod and a timer, and it only took a few tries:)

Apothecary Jar

I seem to be getting better about posting what I am creating rather than just my thought and feelings. During nap time today I decided to be creative with one of my recent thrift finds. I got to garage saleing these last two Saturdays and I found some great stuff. My loot includes and vintage (maybe) Samsonite suitcase that has already been put to use organizing barbies and a pretty little apothecary jar each for $1! I decided my jar was too plain for my taste, see??

To make it pretty I just dug through my ribbon stash and picked out a color I am using in my bathroom and glued it on. After I glued on the striped I decided that it needed more so I made my very first ribbon flower. It isn't the most well made flower and you can see my hot glue everywhere but it will serve the purpose in my bathroom where I am the only one who will appreciate it!

It became a very cute cotton ball jar! Now I need to locate another jar to pretty up for my Q-Tips and maybe something to organize my makeup brushes :) and I have big plans for a vase that I have had laying around for ages for bathroom decor! And no the picture is not taken in my bathroom because it is a work in progress, and because we rent and cannot change the horrid walls!

Oh and my daughter decided that she needed to be involved in my jar process so here she is modeling our finished product:) (Don't mind her hair! I braided it last night and she wont let me take it out!)

Crafting

So I have been absent from posting for a while, but I have been reading. I found and fell in LUV with some decorating and DIY blogs. I think we could call it stalking (almost) with a few of them. I have found so much inspiration in the blogosphere lately. So this week I finally got my craft on and made not one but four projects. Two of them go together, but lets humor me and count them both:)

Project #1

This was so simple. I took an old wire hanger that no one had claimed for a closet and bent it around what I had lying around. Then I spray painted it pink. Finally I stuck it in the flowerbed. Easy as pie:)

Project #2

This one was very simple as well. I dug out of my scrapbook stash so cute coordinating paper and some colorful brads and made 3 pinwheels. I put them into a frame that the kiddos broke the glass out of and volia! Cute picture that matches my front room that has very little decoration.

Projects #3 & #4

I am purposely not including pics of these cuties yet. I made matching name pictures for my girls. I used old 4x6 frames I had lying around and scrapbook supplies. Paper, chipboard letters and some daisies, that's all. Very cute and personalized for my littles.

I have also started a ribbon wreath for my girls as well, but ran out of ribbon in my stash. I also have plans for sewing a dress from one of the hubby's old dress shirts for one of the girls as well just as soon as I have a place to set up my sewing machine again. I will be sure to share when these are completed!

Upcycled Sweater Dress, By Me!

I finished my dinner and I had to get my project started, I knew I would be restless until I finished it. Now I just need to find my E-Book and I will be ready to sleep tonight so I can work tomorrow, oh and clean my living room. My kids are soooooo messy!

Back to my project I started by cutting off the remaining sleeve and neck from the green turtleneck sweater from my Christmas stocking project back in December.  Then I flipped the sweater inside out and laid a dress that currently fits my preschooler on top of it so I could pin the sides in.  I also pinned around the arm holes.

I sewed around each arm and then down the sides.

Next I pinned and sewed the neckline.

Then I put the dress on my daughter and put some pleats in the neckline both front and back and sewed them in. And I ripped out the seams at the bottom of the armholes far enough to stitch in a ribbon as an empire waist.

I plan on sewing a button or finding a brooch of some kind to add to the front of the dress on the ribbon.

I also made matching leg warmers from the sleeves. I measured my daughters legs from the knee down and cut the sleeves the same length measuring from the cuff.  I hemmed them and took some of the width out of them.

I am debating sewing some elastic into them to stay up, but the with I took out seems to make them fit better and/or adding some embellishments. They are worn with the cuff at her knee.  I wanted to make them fancier, but I wasn't sure how. I am open to suggestions!

She had such a great time posing for me in her new dress!

Pretty swell for completed sewing project number 2! (I mean all by myself, my mom has helped me with a few projects in the past, but not much on my own!) What do you think?

New project!

I have been stalking Etsy for a DIY project that I might be capable of completing on my own that I have the materials for. I got an idea, remember the sweaters I used here? Well I have almost a whole green one left and it is perfect for what I have thought out. I took one of my preschoolers dresses on top of it and it is the perfect length to make a sweater dress! and I don't even have to do that much altering! I can't wait! I may get started right after dinner and document the process with pictures so I can post about it later! I was so excited I just had to get it out! I even have some thoughts for embellishments! I can't wait!