Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Beautiful Ribbon and Pearl Necklace!


Annie hosted our last craft night and taught us how to make these beautiful ribbon and pearl necklaces! It was so easy and soooo cute!
I've already had a few people around town ask me where I bought mine! Hee Hee

Here's your supply list:

Approx 52-56 inches of ribbon
Pencil
Pearls or Beads
Needle and Thread
 Scissors
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First thing, measure out your ribbon to 52-56 inches. We allowed for 16 inches on each side to have room to tie the bow. Then, after the 16 inches is marked... take your largest bead and mark with a pencil on either side of it to determine where you will sew each bead. Alternate sewing the beads on either side of the ribbon, like shown below.



Once that is complete and you are happy with the design of the necklace, tie a few knots at the end of the ribbon to secure the beads. Feel free to add and adorn the necklace in any way you'd like! Tie the edges of the ribbon in a bow in the back or side and you are all set! Here are a few more photos of the finished necklaces!


(Above) Angela made an adorable little ribbon flower to dress her's up!
(Below) I layered mine with a lazy ribbon and added some sparkle to the flower bow with a cute glittery button!


I love the colors of the beads that Annie chose! :)

Krystal's turned out beautiful with her two layers of red ribbon and pearls! :)


I just love how all of our necklaces reflects our own individual styles and tastes! It's so fun seeing what everyone does with our crafts! :)


Easy and Elegant Mother's Day gifts!


This year for Mother's Day, I decided to make my Mom and Mother in Law something unique and pretty. Ever since I was pregnant with my son, my Mom has said how much she wanted a charm bracelet with each of her grandkids photos in it...(Which would only be my son for the time being) So, I decided to make her one that was just her style! I went ahead and added two more charms for future grandbabies! Isn't it pretty?!


Then, it was time for my Mother in Law's! Since she has multiple grandbabies it would be way too crowded of a bracelet to put charms for each one, so I opted to only put one large locket with a photo of her parents. (who are both deceased and she was very close to) I figured that way, if she wanted to change it out later on down the road it would be easier.



So, there you have it! Easy and Elegant Mother's Day gifts! By the way... I made one for myself too! I just haven't decided on the photos to put in it! Hee hee ;)

Oh. Bob... How I love you!

So, recently my Mom pointed out that I've been having a love affair with Bob... Krylon's "Blue Ocean Breeze" spray paint that is! "Bob" has it is affectionately known to us as we see it oh so often around my house! Lol You see, I used to be a dark brown, red and green kinda girl.... but Bob changed my life! Now, there are traces of Bob everywhere! I love it! Anything that can be turned Bob and look good gets massive brownie points in my book! (Did someone say brownies??? Mmm) Anyway, I found this glass bottle at the thrift store and decided it needed to have some one on one time with Bob! (I sprayed it with some frosted glass spray paint before painting over it with the blue) I think the union turned out pretty good! What do you think?


I had to incorporate a few more of these glass pedestals I made. Don't you just love the aqua (close to Bob!! Lol) color on this one?!



It has absoluetely nothing to do with this post, but I just had to share these blue candles! I found them at Walmart and thought they were just lovely! :)

DIY buffet table!


I have been DYING to get to work on this buffet table! It's been KILLING me to see it sitting in the garage taunting me to get to work! So, finally this week Ryan and I started on it! I forgot to take a beginning shot of the dresser, but it looked a little like this one I found online...


So, after giving it a light sanding, priming and then pulling out our new paint sprayer and giving it an awesome new color... all we had to do was distress and cover with a very pretty clear gloss! Then came the Queen Anne style feet and some lovely glass drawer knobs! Voila! It's beautiful! My heart sighs at the look of it! Now, all I need is a bigger house with a formal dining room to make it look just right... Hmmm, lol.




Don't ya just love this glass plate pedestals?! I sure do! It's been my favorite hobby lately making them! They're so easy and oh so elegant! :)


I just had to show you guys the sweet little pattern on some of these! I love them!


Friday, May 6, 2011

No sew Curtains


Lately I've been making a lot of changes to my home... It's gotten a little out of hand but I'm telling myself I'm almost done now. (I think...) The dark reds and chocolate browns were beautiful but I decided to go outside of my own little box and venture into uncharted waters... I've always loved these colors but until now never really had the courage to go for it! I love the look of shabby chic/cottage style homes but they aren't exactly...me. So, I decided to blend my dark chocolate richness in with the lighter brighter colors I adore! I smile every time I walk into one of these newly redone rooms! <<Sigh>> I just love it!

Anyway... back to the curtains! As my sewing machine is still awaiting repair, I had to come up with an alternative to sewing. I really loved the hemming tape that I used for my chair cushion a few weeks ago. (Tutorial for that HERE) So, I bought two more packages and the fabric itself. Let me tell you about the fabric... I initially spent two hours in JoAnn's trying to find the perfect fabric. The problem was that the only one I liked was...get ready for this...$39.00 a yard!!!!! GASP! "I just couldn't...could I...It's beautiful...no I won't...yes I will...just put it down, Brittany...walk away now...yes, that's it...don't look back!" all of that was what was going through my mind as I paced the fabric isles of JoAnn's. Finally, I left (empty handed) and in sad spirits. But I convinced myself that the right fabric was out there and I just had to be... patient. OH, I AM SOOOO BAD AT THAT!

About two weeks later, I found it!!!! Hidden in the clearance bin at a hole in the wall store that I happened upon! A gorgeous light blue damask on tan (Almost burlap looking) fabric! I braced myself as I looked at the price...WOW...There is NO way...It couldn't be...It WAS...only $5.99 a yard!!!!

So, get this... the total cost of my endeavor was $38.50!! Less than ONE YARD of the first fabric I loved at JoAnn's! Plus, let me just say... I LOVE THIS ONE WAY MORE! The print is perfect! All I did was iron the seams together with the hemming tape and hang with the clip on curtain holders and Viola! Beautiful custom curtains that require no sewing for under $40.00!!! Yep, it's a good day! :D


Here is the secured seam...
I didn't have anything to back it with so I still have to do that, but you get the idea!


The lovely clip-on curtain rings


The finished view of the curtaints in my family room... They completely make the room!
I'm so in love with them and the aqua color in general!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Making blankets for the elderly...

Every year my church has a National "Day of Service" where each congregation does charity work for a different member of the community. Last year we had the pleasure of having a fund raiser for the people of Haiti! This year, we are collecting lap blankets, shawls and walker bags for an elderly home here in Clermont. As we still are a little low on blankets, I asked the Diva's if we could do a side project this week. We made fleece lap blankets!


Supplies:

1.25 yards of two different pieces of fleece (2.50 yards total)
Scissors or fabric cutter
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Goofy me, forgot to take photos while we were going...so here are the instructions! :D

1. lay the fleece on the floor or cutting table, one piece on top of the other
2. Cut a small 4x4 inch square out of each corner
3. Cut 1inch strips along the edges
4. Double knot the strips to unite both pieces of fabric

That's it!!! So easy and ultra comfy! :D

DIY Jersey Knit Bracelets!


Last night at craft night we made jersey knit bracelets! Krystal taught us how to make these adorable little bracelets that she found on V & Co. They are so easy to make and add such a fun splash to any summer outfit! I'm definitely making one to match my swimsuit! So, let's get started!

Cut two to three pieces of fabric about 1 inch wide about 58 inches long
(This technique can be made using two, three or four fingers for additional width)

(Krystal, I had to post it! You look so cute!)
Take the tip of two of the strips and cut a small whole


Put both of the hole's together, laying one piece of fabric over the other...
then take the opposite end of the fabric in the back and pull it through the hole from the front


Pull both ends tight to form a knot


Put tail end between your thumb and pointer finger (Or between your ring and middle for a two finger width) Drape in front of ring finger and behind pinky


Pull fabric around pinky and behind ring finger...


Pull fabric around the front...



Take the bottom loop and pull it over the top row of fabric on each finger


**Continue this process until the braid in the back is long enough to create a bracelet...
Pull fabric tight as you go along**

When your braid is finished, pull your fingers out of the holes



Take the tail end and pull it through the holes...


Pull on each tail to tighten and then tie in a knot


Once it is secured, cut off the ends...


And your done! Here are a few more photos of some of the finished bracelets! :)




I like a lot of chunky pieces, so I put both of mine together with a couple of silver pieces! Love it! :D


Monday, May 2, 2011

Jersey Knit Bracelet!


This week for craft night, we will be making "Jersey Knit Bracelet's" our Domestic Diva. Krystal found here. These are so cute and easy to make. Just perfect for those fun summer outfits! In addition to that, we will be making fleece lap blankets for a service project for the elderly.


Here are the supply lists:

*Three strips of jersey knit fabric cut to 1" each with the length of at least 58
(Or one yard if you would like to swap and share colors around)
*Fabric cutter or scissors
*2.50 yard's of two contrasting colors of fleece (1.25 yd each piece)

That's it! :D