Pretty's New Birthday Toy

My little Pretty turned 2 a couple weeks ago! I can't believe it, but then don't we moms say that about every birthday our kids have?

On the day of their birthday, Jake and I like to have a large bag of balloons blown up with a new toy in the middle of it all for the kids (like Hero's birthday pig). For Pretty this year, it was this new set up.

Last summer, I found a listing for these three wooden toys for $5. Total score! I'll share the make overs of the other two later, but today it's about the ironing board.

It was in rough shape. It looked like it had never been painted, just primed, and not even all over... And the previous owner had colored on the top with pencils.

So, I sanded it down,

and spray painted the whole thing white with a combo primer/paint spray.

It sat in our play room like that for the past six months. Then, one day while I was ironing a ton of fabric for curtains, Hero told me we needed an iron for the toy ironing board. I considered making one, but found this awesome homemade wooden iron on Etsy for a good price! (She's got a ton of cool wooden toys, you should check it out.)

I decided last minute to make this simple cover for the board out of flannel I had hanging around because the thought of the wood rubbing on the wood made me worry about it scratching.

Man, she is adorable! But she was so busy jumping with the balloons that this fuzzy picture was all I could get of her with the iron before the hopped off again!

Happy Birthday, Pretty!

Progress

Suddenly, after having the thing for a month, I decided to dive into the doll house project. I first took it outside where I decided it would be better to replace the roof than sand it down and repaint it. There was a great sense of satisfaction in ripping it off! Then I discovered I could rip the whole second floor out! This made is so much easier to work on. I don't know about you guys, but breaking stuff seems just as much fun as making stuff!

Any-who, here's a picture of the house after spending 3 hours in a hunched position scraping off all the "wallpaper" and sticker pictures and carpet residue with a razor blade.

After sanding it, painting the whole inside white with acrylic paint and a foam brush. And spray painting the entire outside white out in the cold weather (my poor frozen fingers!), I painted each of the rooms. I tried to pick colors I would like in a real house. But before I get comments about it, I would not make my real house this busy. Or paint a room pink like that. But it is a doll house. There had to be a pink room. (And yes, Audrey, I picked the gray because of how awesome it looks in your real house!)

Here's close ups of the top floor. Hero picked the red for "his room".

 The bottom floor (living room and kitchen). I love the pinstripes in the kitchen!!

There is still a lot to do with this project. All the flooring, one of the stairs is missing, the "yard" in the front, the shutters around the windows, the roof. . . and once that's all done there's the curtains (yes, I'm nuts and plan to make curtains for the little windows), and we'll see how crazy I get making vs. buying the furniture and dolls themselves. I have a feeling those will mainly be bought.

Sad news is I think I have to pause on the project at this point for a while. I have a bunch of sewing I've been ignoring for the Taiwan trip that I leave for in 2 weeks (btw, thanks for the suggestions)! But luckily, I'm happy with where it is at the moment.

The Bench Make Over.

A few months back, in the peak of yard sale season, I stopped by a joint sale put on by several of my neighbors. It was near the end, so the majority of the items I found, they just gave to me. But this item, the old owner was planning to take it home if it didn't sell. But she gave it to me for $3! Score!

The legs were ugly gold, slightly tarnished.

And the white seat was stained.

So I bought it with the idea to recover and paint it. It sat there for months as is, until the idea of lots of people coming into my home for the baby shower spurred me to action. I bought a yard of fabric from IKEA for $7/yd (expensive, but worth it!) and some spray paint from WalMart for $3, and went to work.

I had planned to do a whole tutorial, but then two things happened:

1. I realized that the chances of anyone having this bench too was slim,
2. I was too excited to get it done that I forgot to take pictures the whole way through! oops.

But I will give you some basics.

First, remove the legs from the seat, spray paint legs in the garage (and forget to take pictures...)

Then, remove the old fabric. There was a black cover to hide the bulk of the white fabric and give it a nice edge, secured by staples. I used a screw driver to pry them loose, and kept the black cover to reuse it.

Of course, it is impossible to do any project on the ground without help.

After the black piece is gone, remove the fabric. Make sure to watch how it was put together, so you can recover it in the same manner.

I was happy to find that there was a muslin layer under the main fabric. This meant that I didn't have to worry about placing the padding! I used Febreze to get out any left over smell (which, luckily, this didn't have. . .)

I laid out the old fabric flat and used it as a pattern for the new. This picture doesn't help much, but I swear they are the same size!

Here's where I got giddy and forgot the camera. After trying to borrow a staple gun from either set of parents without success, we decided to invest in our own.

 I love this thing. It made me feel super powerful.

To recover, I laid the fabric right side down, like it is above, and centered the seat on the fabric. Using the awesome stapler, I secured the corners on the same long side, then secured the long side in between them. Then I moved to the other side and corners, pulling tight. Staple a lot to make sure it's secure. Then I added back the black piece for a finished look.

Attach the seat to the newly painted and dried legs, and BAM! A whole new look!

I love the way the gray and yellow go together. (the yellow is Krylon Bright Idea spray paint)

After finishing this, I asked my husband if (when we have our own home) I can have a yellow couch. He said yes!

But I'm thinking a gray couch would be a better choice. Maybe I need a yellow arm chair...

Socks to Arm Warmers

You probably recognize these socks. When I make sock monkeys I usually like when the heel (that becomes the mouth) is a different color than the rest of the sock to help make it stand out. That's why the third pair in this set didn't make the cut.

So I found a different use for them. I mean, sure, I could have used them as socks; but where is the fun in that? Look at my new arm warmers!

After I showed these to Jake he asked me if I could make thumb holes in a few of his sweatshirts. . . More things for the project list.

Well? Do you want to make some?

Supplies:

• 1 pair socks
• basic sewing supplies

First step is to cut the thumb opening. I cut from one heel shaping seam to the other.

Slip the sock on your hand and figure out where you want to cut it. Mine ended up being about 4 inches from the toe.

You can just snip a little on the side instead of measuring, just be careful not to cut yourself!

Now you need to cut 1 1/2 inches from the removed toe portion. This will be used to make the cuffs.

From the cuff piece, cut off 1/4 of the length. The small piece is for the thumb and the rest for the fingers cuff.

*EDIT* After making a second pair, I have realized that the 1/4 piece is just too small! So I suggest cutting a second strip from the toe portion of the sock (1 1/2 in wide), then cut that in half and use the half for your thumb cuff. This will make the thumb cuff easier to sew and more comfortable to wear. Still cut 1/4 off of the first piece and use the 3/4 portion for the fingers cuff.

The thumb cuff is the toughest part of the process only because it is so small. 

With right sides facing, pin one end of the cuff on the inside corner of the thumb opening (next to the fingers opening). Next, pin the center of the cuff to the other corner of the thumb opening. Stretch the thumb opening out and pin in between the pins already there. Finish by pinning the other end back around by the inside corner and placing a last pin in between. You should end up with 5 pins.

Now you need to sew with the edge lining up with the edge of the pressure foot. Stretch as you go to make it as smooth as you can. It seems intimidating, but just go for it and it's easier than it looks.

Turn the sock inside out and pin down the side of the thumb cuff and sew as far down as you need to close off the opening.

Once it's sewn, poke a finger through the opening and fold the cuff down in half.

By hand, slip stitch the fold down. Don't pull the stitches too tight because the opening needs to stretch a bit when you use it.

The hardest part is done! It may feel a bit snug, just stretch it out a bit and it will fit.

To make the fingers cuff, fold the longer piece in half width wise right sides facing and sew along the short edge.

Once sewn fold it in length-wise in the circle with the wrong sides facing, matching raw edges.

Pin the cuff on the right side of the sock matching all three raw edges and sew on the edge of pressure foot.

Tuck the seam in and you're done! Repeat on the second sock.

Now go show off your new arm warmers!

Pulled up:

Or pushed down!

This would be awesome in argyle. Oh the possibilities!

No costumes yet. Halloween sewing to commence tonight!!

Glass Etching Tutorial

  Have you ever wondered how to etch glass? I have. And luckily for me, one of my best friends not only knows how, but offered to teach me; and then she even left her stuff behind for me to do more!

I learned how to etch glass using  etching cream. I wanted to start small, so I chose this jar to put "STUFF" in. What stuff? Haven't decided yet. Probably will end up with buttons in it.

Here's what you need:

Etching Cream. We used Armour Etch. Something to know right off the bat, etching cream can not be used on bake ware. That kind of etching is using a sandblaster.

  

You also will need clear contact paper. This can be found at the grocery store, hardware store, and probably craft stores.

You will also need:

• item to etch
• X-acto knife
• glue stick or spray adhesive
• paintbrush

Make sure your item is clean and dry.

Cut wide around the design, then cut a piece of contact paper that is slightly larger.

Peel off paper backing and adhere contact paper to item. Take your time to smooth out all air bubbles. Contact paper is forgiving and you can pull it off and try again and again until you are satisfied.

Generously apply glue to the back of your design and glue it on top of the contact paper.

Now is when you cut it out with your X-acto knife, but my paper kept bunching and pulling off. It wasn't until later that we realized there was a knick out of the edge of my blade causing the problem...

But here's what I did, I ended up pulling off the paper and drawing on my "STUFF" with a Sharpie. Also an option if you are artistic and want to draw your own design.

However the design gets on there, the next step is to carefully cut trace the edge with the X-acto knife making sure to not run past edges.

Peel out the pieces you want to end up etched.

Use the paintbrush to apply etching cream to the design.

Really glob it on to make sure that it's covered. Then let it sit for 10 - 20 minutes. Going more won't ruin anything, but doesn't change the outcome if you wait any longer.

After the 10 - 20 minutes are up, rinse off with water. You will need to use your fingers to rub off  all the cream.

If it looks like nothing has happened, then it's going well! Dry it off with a cloth and you will notice that the glass now looks the same as the contact paper (slightly cloudy). If there are any obvious streaks or places that the cream didn't "take" as well as others, repeat the process of applying the cream, waiting, and rinsing.

The last step is to peal off the contact paper, then enjoy!

We did a few projects, but I'll save some for another post (since this is long already).

Here is my friend working on a vase.

And if you are brave, or just plain awesome, you can free hand a design with just the etching cream like she did with this mirror:

Finished Mirror and vase:

Etching is awesome and pretty easy. Like freezer paper stencilling, but fancier!