Beach Shovel Love !

 I love beach shovels.. Every time we go to the beach I look for lost or deserted ones.. I prefer the smaller ones .. I told my far away friend how much I love collecting them..and that I always will snag it off the beach.. she thought  I was yanking them out of childrens hands.. But no.. I wait till they are lost, deserted or wash up.. So after collecting quite a few.. I had some of them in a bucket in my She Shed  and the sun faded and made them brittle.. so a way to stop that.. I decided to make a shovel garland and tie shovels with fun fabric.. and hang them in the  room we use the Wii and it also doubles as a quest room on rare occasions..Thankful for the bed in a suitcase that inflates, and we put a nice topper on.. No complaints from company so far..and it gives this  room flexibility.   I managed to use all of my collection.. of course..next Sept.. more will  be found !

Sweet sewing case

  I don't have a before picture.. but this was an old sewing case that belonged to a dear friends Mother who has passed. It was a black case.. My friend uses it when she carries her hand sewing to a friends on quilt days.. She asked if I could doll it up.. I  painted it with white primer, then brushed on a pale pink chalk paint.. then I spattered it lightly with a darker pink.  I ordered the decoupage dresses from a place in New Zealand.. they took weeks and weeks to get here.. But they came in three sizes in each pack.. I picked two packs to be able to have a variety. I ordered the lining fabric from Spoonflower. They will also print any design you can up load to their site.. and this print comes in different sizes..  I was able to find a  few sewing themed things to add to it..The cute singer sewing machine cut out was made from a dear "sister" friend and it fits perfect on this.Thanks Sis Robin.. After I finished the decoupage  I sprayed the case lightly with clear coat to protect it.. then added all the goodies.

.and I used all kinds of ribbons and trims,   and tied them around the handle.. also wrapped the handle with lace..  I used a  cute  ruffled trim around the lid..and glued a tape measure on top of that.Also some cute bling buttons..  I added some old metal bobbins and  things in to the lace for extra fun. I am about to ship  it to her.. I sure hope it brings a smile to her face. We  met doing a craft show in the 80;s and have stitched and bitched together for years until I moved away.

Refurbished dress on dress form

 

I had bought this dress for this form years ago. it had a thin layerd tulled skirt over it.but it sun rotted from being  near the window for years....so I removed that rotted tulle several years ago.and it sat.. very blah..UNTIL.... I bought  10 yards of tulle netting and cut strips 6 inches wide  the width of the net.. just went all the way down the 10 yards cutting off 6 incg wide strips.. then I took a piece of ribbon and  looped two pieces of tulle layerd together over the ribbon and  pulled it tight.. I measure how many inches the dress for waist was..and filled that entire area with the tulle loops...then the  ends were used to tie the tulle skirt to the waist.. I cut 3 different sized  circles of polyester fabric 5 1/2, 4 1/2 and 3 1/2 .. You can use satin, organza , taffeta.. any thing polyester.. I  cut 1 inch slits on four areas of the circles so when i held it over the candle heat..NOT the direct flame..hold it higher where you feel the heat..that will cause the fabric to shrink and curl.. other wise you will singe it.. I hold the circles with my forcepts..or tweezers.. slowly turn the circle so the  heat from the flame continues to curl all around it. ..Once all the circles are  done  STart with a large circle (petal) and stack on top another  large.then add a few medium size ..then the smaller.. after you get a pleasing look.. pinch the bottom and stitch it with thread to hold it in place.. I used longer strips of green organza to make leaves and a ribbon look.. there are good videos on you tube for these flowers.  I hot glued the flowers  where I liked them.. I added the  longer peices to fill in.. I also had  a silk flower swag I cut apart and reused the flowers and the berrys as filler..  I have  rope lights attached to the form under the dress so I can use it for  mood lighting in my craft room.  The bodice of the dress already had the bling on it.. I think I paid $14 for this dress at Ross years ago..so after giving it new life.. I am so happy.. I reached under the dress and fluffed up all the tulle on the skirt too.

ANOTHER kitchen update

 SO yes.. more kitchen fun.  We added a pink fridge a few years ago..so I had to paint my kitchen cabinets white... so fast forward two years...... and  I have always wanted recycled glass counters ..but when we updated 6 years ago.. I chose brown, cream and coffee granite..due to the natural maple cabi nets with ebony and dark cherry trim... SO after the pink fridge and white cabinets.. We decided to go for the beachy look...and orderd in  recycled glass and quartz counters.. Well if comes from Spain, and they make it when  you place  your order..so it takes a little longer..  Then it arrived to the supplier in Texas.. a 4 hour drive each way from home.. Off we went to approve the slabs.. and OH they were wonderful.. This company uses 24 lass bottles per square foot, and  broken shower  door glass, broken windshield glass..and for our blues, Nivea bottles.  We  did the back splash ourselves... using  thin tiles of real mother of pearl shell tiles..  but there was some work to do.. we planned todo our part after they installed the new..ANd the previous granite had the 4" tall back splash all around the counters.. The new did not have the 4" backsplash..we liked the more modern, clean look with out it when we saw it on some other pictures of kitchens.. I also can a few inches of counter top..but mostly it  looks so more open with out it..and the new backsplash would go right to the counter.. well we LEFT the other glass tile on the upper backsplash, then we cut backer board to fill in the  gap where the 4" granite back splash was..and we also used a product called. Muscle Bound.. it is a double stick  heavy  foam you put right on the wall or backer board or sheet rock. where ever you are going to tile.. you apply it like contact paper.. then just peel the  outer protecter cover that protects the sticky.. and apply your tile right to the sticky paper... line it up..press it in place for 30 seconds.. then add your next section of tile..  Once it is all done..you can grout immediatly. We have used it on 4 projects and it is so much nicer than mastic..NOt messy..we get the muscle bound at lowes or amazon..it took a full roll for this kitchen We tiled right up to the existing window trim..then added another trim on top of the new tile and right next to the existing window trim..I caulked it and painted so now it looks just like a wider piece of trim. Always a solution if you just step back and think for a minute. We used white grout and sure love the look of the shimmer from the  mother of pearl.. The broken windshield  glass sparkles in the light on the counter top..It is  antibacterial..I really love love the undermount sink.. more counter top...and easy to just wipe crumbs into the sink. Its extra deep, and enamel over stainless steel. The faucet shows no finger prints..

Faux Fireplace in she shed...

 I have this little white  electric fire place in my SHe SHEd... well it was white.. and WHITE.. is not my color.. so bright and colorful napkins decoupaged onto the white,.. They were  floral orangy pink.. and nice...until the sun from she shed windows faded it all to white again... SO I painted it FUSCHIA pink.. and used the rub on transfers that I couldn't use on the  fainting couch..because they wouldn't stick to the fabric. I then added some silver leafing.. I did a nice clear coat..and I also used some spray SUn Guard to prevent fading !!!  I really want to do my bedroom furniture with some of the gorgeous rub ons they have.. but I have so many projects !!!