Swimsuit Re-fashion

Can I call it that? I don't know what else to call it. I bought this swim top last year when ShadeClothing was clearing out all of its inventory. It was the only size they had left, but at $8, I thought it would be worth a shot. Sadly, the bottoms were out of stock by the time I finally ordered (I kept putting off to get the LOWest price). So this year I have been on the hunt for some swim bottoms that would work. You would think black would be easy to work with, but every brand's black is different and some are shinier than others. I thought black and white would work, but it proved harder to find. By the time I went looking my LimeRicki supplier was out of black and white bottoms and I wasn't feeling like paying $7 for shipping $26 bottoms that I wasn't sure would look great. Anyhow, long story short I bought these bottoms and Wal-Mart ($15)that have black in the print.

Then I decided the top was too black and it needed some brightening up. I went to JoAnns, bought some swim fabric ($1.87) and added the ruffle to my swim top. It took FOREVER, but I love how it turned out. While I was at it, I took apart the straps and criss-crossed them in the back because I felt it would stay on better.

Chair Makeover + Craft room accessories

pRemember the chair from this post? Well, I finally decided what to do with it. We donated some wooden chairs to my brother-in-law and so my husband stole my office chair. Out of neccessity I grabbed this one for my craft room and wa-la inspiration! I kind of wanted to paint it green, but I didn't have enough of the floral print to cover the cushion. (I used it all on the curtain)

So I stuck with white.
This chair is not in great shape, so I decided to rough it up with sand paper and clear coat the finished product with spray paint.

I had some purple fabric in my stash that goes with the floral print and it adds some femininity to my blue craft room.

Last but not least, my ironing board. The original cover got destroyed (it was white) so I decided to make a new one. I used the old one as a pattern, cut it out, sewed a casing, and used the original string. It looks like its coming loose, but it stays on just fine.

I suggest measuring your ironing board before buying fabric as one yard was obviously not long enough to cover the whole thing. It was a happy accident though since I got to use some leftover floral to finish it up.

Lydia's Room

 I just made this cute tree out of fabrics left over from Lydia's quilt. I got the idea from trendypeas.com. I bought this frame a long time ago to use the glass for something else. When I got it home the glass was hot-glued into the frame and I broke it trying to get it out. I painted it pink and made a canvas using cardboard, posterboard, spray adhesive, and fabric. Then I attached all of the pieces using fusible webbing.

 Don't mind the black-out curtain-I'll do anything for a few extra minutes of sleep. I made the curtain using a tutorial from makeit-loveit.com, but you won't find it as a curtain, the tutorial is for a shower curtain. I think it could be longer, but I don't have any other coordinating fabrics.

 I found this blue rocking chair and a garage sale a few years ago. Someday I'll refinish it, but it works for now. The dresser I refinished here. The lamp was stolen out of Logan's room and I recovered the lamp shade with coordinating fabrics. (I bought the quilt fabric in 2007? and didn't buy any extra. I had to comb through the fat quarters at Porters to find a few that matched and then do an extensive online search to find a couple yards for the curtain and crib bumber (not shown)). I found the sweet birdcage at DI last week. It had nasty Christmas foliage in and I almost didn't see it. It is a creamy color, so I might spray paint it, but it is a nice contrast to the white dresser so it might stay creamy. I found the green clock and the bird in the cage at Real Deals.

This wall is still a little boring, but I still like it. This is the dress she wore at her baby blessing, it also happens to be the dress I wore when I was a baby. The shelf I already had, I think it's from Target, and the vases were found at DI. On the last wall next to her closet is the changing table and a bow holder that I made. I didn't take a picture of it because, well, that's where I put all the junk that was in the room before I took these pictures.
I don't think this room and 100% yet, but I am loving it. I was really nervous after I painted the walls that I wouldn't like the color, but it has grown on me and is a nice backdrop for the white furniture. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank You card turned Wall Art

I recently changed up the decor in my living room (thank you new couches) and had a bare spot I desperately needed to fill. As I was cleaning off my fridge, I almost threw away this thank-you card when I realized it was the same colors as my new living room. I set it aside for a few weeks before I got brave enough to try what I had in mind.

Finally I bought the paint and decided to go for it. I had a 16x16 canvas hanging around that I bought more than 2 years ago and hadn't done anything with. I decided this would be my canvas. So I scanned in the thank-you card, resized it in a photo-editing program and edited out all of the leaves and background. Then, since I don't have a silhouette (sigh) I printed the design backwards directly onto the back of some vinyl. (Cheap roll stuff you can buy at craft stores) Then I cut out the design and applied the vinyl to my pre-painted canvas.

And started painting

Ta-da! The first layer is finished

I did a similiar process with the leaves, but I didn't take pictures. I ended up painting them twice because I didn't like the first green color that I mixed. I also did a stencil for the leaf centers, but instead of cutting out 9, I just kept using the same one.

I tried two different birds, but settled on this one. Instead of painting in on, I decided to modpodge. Oops! The mod podge was a bit messy and I forgot that it had a glossy finish. I'm not sure what to do about it right now, but I hung it up anyways. Besides that, i really like how it turned out.