Recycled Sweater Pillow!!!

For several weeks now I have had a new addiction.  Don't think bad of me...it's a good addiction.  It is Pinterest, an awesome website where you get so inspired from others and pin these photo inspirations on to your own pin boards!  Hope I'm not confusing you newbies, so go on over and check out mine here and get an idea of what in the heck I'm talking about!!!
I am one of the those people that constantly have ideas and thoughts and my ADD kicks in and I get so excited and want to make, redo, repurpose, sew or whatever my feeble mind is spinning at that second.  Whew, it wears me out.  When I finally get the time to sit down and make a plan, I have forgotten half of my ideas.  Pinterest has saved me and allows me to "pin" my ideas to my inspiration board I call "Things to Make".
Well, with that said, Tomorrow, I am joining Sherry @ Young House Love
and Katie @ Bower Power and their creative friends.

They have given us a challenge:  Make one thing each season you have pinned to one of your inspiration boards.  There are so many INSPIRATIONS and it was hard for me to choose.  However, I have been eyeballing these sweet pillows from Angella Eisman here.  She is amazingly talented. Be sure and visit her here

So being the ADD girl that I am, and only checking into the challenge at the last minute, I rushed home from work and made this.

You know I'm lovin' some turquoise and it just so happened, I had everything I needed!  I'm not a hoarder, but I sure do keep a lot of things...just in case...I ever need them!!

1 wool sweater (left from a Christmas tree project last year) FREE (Actually 3 wool sweaters, green, red, turquoise)
1 worn out old pillow form (burgandy) FREE
needle/thread/sewing machine
Scrap fabric (another previous project) to cover pillow (It looks a bit like burlap but heavier)FREE

This may not be the right way to make one, but it sure worked for me.

1. I cut the sweater into various width/length strips. (It had already been cut up from previous project so I had to go with what I had).

2. Measured my fabric to fit the form.  My form is square but I wanted it rounded  so I rounded the fabric edges.

3. I began to sew the sweater strips on the fabric gathering and rounding it as I went.

4.  When I got to the middle, there was so much bulk for my machine, I had to hand stitch the center of the flower.

5. Place fabric right sides together and stitch up three sides. Then turn right side out.

6. Place your pillow form in the new case and stitch open end closed.  As I said earlier, I wanted a more round look so I just folded the corners of the pillow in.

7. Move it around on different pieces of furniture and enjoy!!

I hope once more, you have been inspired.  Go check out Pinterest and, I assure you, the INSPIRATION for something will hit you!!
Have a Blessed Day!
Vici

Old to New

 A few months ago my parents wagged this ugly old cedar trunk all the way from Louisiana.  At that time I did not have a coffee table so my mind was spinning with the thoughts of HMMM. You may look at it and think "YUK" but when I look at it I see potential. 

 Luckily, I had all of the needed items on hand to "reinvent" this old piece to make it look new again. 
I had an extra can of stripper (we used from another project) and my handy dandy Black and Decker Sander/Polisher. 

Some of the small pieces of wood on the front were missing so I removed the remaining. After I let the stripper work for a bit, I scrapped off the old varnish and proceeded to sand the trunk.  After which, I primed it with, my always on hand, Kilz primer.

 

Here you can see the trunk stripped, 

and primed.

In my stash, I found this non-labeled quart can of paint.  Honestly, I could not tell you what brand it is or why I even have it but, I really liked the color.  After a couple of coats of paint, and hear comes the exciting part, I glazed it with my awesome Ralph Lauren glaze. This particular one used is called Tea Stained.

 And, Voila!  The finished product turned out great.  I'm happy.  And yes, there is a duck on the trunk.  The Hubs is an avid hunter and I have to let him have a 'little' bit of say in the decor!

You can see where I distressed the edges.

One woman's junk is another woman's treasure.

My inspiration came from almost stalking

Mandie@ Altar'd Designs. I purchased her Ebook awhile back.

Check out her many talents here. Or check her out on Facebook here. She "reinvents" such beautiful pieces. I am in such amazement every time I visit her blog.

Be sure to read her testimony. Not only is her work an inspiration, but SHE is an inspiration. Here is what she says about her business name.

 We chose the name “Altar’d” because it reminds us that God has given us “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3). We cannot compare what we do to as great a gift as that. But, what we do is take the old forgotten furniture and give it new beauty.

We take the forgotten, and make it Unforgettable

I'll leave you with that for today and hope that you feel inspired in someway.


Have a Blessed Day!!!
Vici

Creativity and Repurposing

Creativity is truly a gift. Through my journey of blogland, I have stumbled across so many talented and creative people.  Some of these people I hope to become friends with and learn from.  However, I am fortunate to have a friend of such right here in Missouri.

Since I have a couple of months off during the summer I have been helping this talented and creative friend, MJ, by working at her and her daughter's awesome store.  Now, those of you locally know it as the Byrd's Nest.  Famously, known for their infant/toddler clothing and accessories. What some are not aware of is the additional items that make this place so unique.

I want to share with you some awesome finds, in this quaint little store, that demonstrate not only creativity but also a talent for repurposing old, used, vintage (whatever you want to call it) into fascinating pieces of art. So sit back and be inspired!

Don't you just love this little vignette?

Wreath with old gloves, buttons, jewels and more

I just love the pearls and old door knob on this one!

Old tin made into a mirror with a touch of whimsy with wire and crystal jewels

This gorgeous chandelier is hanging in the bathroom. Notice the wall in the background.  It is wallpapered with print from an old book.  The title is Gone With the Wind. Anyone familiar with that one?

Old jewelry repurposed into wire wrapped rings!  Awesome.

Concert tags and bandana repurposed into a one of a kind necklace. Donated by our very own local boy and recording artist, Trent Tomlinson.

What are these?  I knew you would ask.  These are clothes donated  by our very own local girl and recording artist, Sheryl Crow.  All proceeds from her collection are donated to our Delta Children's Home.

I love this.  I'm thinking this might be an awesome piece for the future turquoise bedroom

See the hat?  Do you know where that needs to go? You are so right!! In the turquoise room!!

Children's items

Jewelry display on old candlestick

 I hope you enjoyed our little venture of creativity and a big thank you to MJ at the Byrd's Nest.  I am leaving you with one of my repurposed treasures I made for my mother (who happens to be an owl fanatic!)

Repurposed men's ties to make new HOOTies.  Embellish your scarves or purses with these cute little items! Aren't they a HOOT!!!

 
Have a blessed day, all!!

Busy Girl!! Teaching, Tonsils, T-Ball, Tattoos and Twirling

I am a busy girl taking care of a busy girl!!  Just a few reasons I have neglected to blog over the last few days months!!

TEACHing my fabulous Kindergarten class .  Can't wait to check out this book. 

 




Getting those nasty TONSILS removed!

 T-Ball and
a Dora Tattoo.

(I have no idea who taught her to pose that way)

And Twirling Camp!

 So there you have it!  My precious excuse for procrastination.  How lucky am I?

But I have been busy creating and more of those pics coming soon.  However, I will leave you with a project I did for our school fundraiser.

With a little elbow grease, removal of four layers of paint, a little sanding and priming, painting and glazing this little desk went from

 that.... to this!

Have a blessed day!