Monday, December 31, 2012

Vintage Robe for Mom: Butterick 9214


Hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday! It's been very busy around these parts, but I did manage to make my Mom a Christmas present; this glamorous robe! The pattern is Butterick 9214 from 1959. I have been searching for this pattern of a little while, I love the elegance of it. I especially like how the ties are attached at the side seams.

The fabric is an off white velour from JoAnn's, which worked out well and has a nice drape for the robe. This project came together rather quickly, it was very easy to follow. My fabric was too thick to gather it at the waist as instructed, so I made pleats instead.  I also had to draft a pattern piece for the back facing, and I still finished it just in time for Christmas Eve!

I used bias trim for the seam finishing, in a contrasting red color. It makes for a very festive interior! Obviously my Mom loves it, she feels very chic in it. Its very important to be glamorous while lounging on the couch.  We had fun taking pictures with my marabou feather slippers and her crystal champagne glass, this robe requires a cocktail. 












All the best in the New Year!
Happy 2013 Everyone!
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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Christmas Craft Week: Glistening Lighting Centerpiece

 
 
Christmas Craft week continues! This is a super easy one, and there is still time left before Christmas to do it. It would really work for any type of holiday party.
 
I first saw this idea on pinterest, hang a tree branch above your dinner table, and hang ornaments off of it. I took it a step further and spray painted the branch. This branch was just lying in the street, hoping to be part of my Christmas dinner. First I hit with Krylon indoor outdoor paint in Blue Ocean Breeze (leftover from the reindeer), and finished it with Krylon Glitter Blast in Silver Flash. GLITTER BLAST! What could be better?
 
 I never knew this product existed, such a life changer.  I am going to glitter blast everything, I got both krylon products at Michael's. The glitter blast gave the branch a beautiful luster. I then hung it from the light fixture using fishing string, and the ornaments were scattered down the branch.
 
It looks magical in person, it really brings some whimsy to the dinner table. I am having 11 people here on Christmas! The ornaments and branch just so happen to match my China! Its very dreamy, I just hope the cat doesn't discover it, it's like a floating cat toy!








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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Christmas Craft Week: Knitted Stockings



My husband and I needed new Christmas stockings, I wanted something fun, and a little bit different. These stocking kits from Ann Norling were perfect. I like the fun design and the off-beat colors.
 
 
 
 
The pattern was thorough, and had some smart details. The picot edge seam, the reinforced heal, and the sewn in lining. It also says exactly what parts you should use duplicate stitch with, and that makes it a cleaner knit. It also keeps me from cheating and trying to knit in the smaller details, instead of duplicate stitching them later.
 
The sewn in lining is the best part, it acts as interfacing for the whole stocking, and protects the pattern. I used a knit fabric, which still allows for some stretch for oddly shaped presents. I really like to jam the stocking full of goodies.  After finishing the whole stocking, seaming it together, and blocking it, I traced the outline of the stocking on my knit fabric, and then added 1/2 inch seam allowance. Sewed it together on the tracing line (don't forget to use a stretch needle!), hemmed the top and then slip stitched it below the picot hem of the stocking.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
This is my third year in row knitting stockings, see my others here and here. These are definitely my favorites, he reindeer is just too cute! What do you think, have you ever knitted a stocking? Which one is your favorite?
 
visit me on ravelry
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Christmas Craft Week: Reindeer Rescue



For the second day of Christmas Craft Week, I up-cycled a sad looking reindeer. He used to be covered in lights, and displayed on my parent's lawn for many holiday seasons. Unfortunately he started to look a little tired and was retired to the attic. I found him and decided to make him over.
 
 
Here he is before-ish. I already took the lights off, but the poor guy couldn't even stand. I bought some dowels and stuck them in his legs for support. Then I spray painted him blue. Why blue? Why not! I was also thinking of pink, or even boring white but blue won out. It took almost 3 cans of spray paint to get him to be a solid blue. I added a fun bow and a spotlight at night.



He's not perfect, but he has some personality!
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Monday, December 17, 2012

Christmas Craft: Spool Garland

 
On the first day of Christmas craft week, I bring to you... a spool garland for your lovely tree.




Last year my Mom gave me a spool garland from Modcloth, I really liked it and wanted more for my tree. I saved up a scrap from each project I made this year. I kept a little cup by the sewing machine, and put a scrap in after each project was done. Now I have a spool to remember everything I made. I like my tree to have a lot of colorful, crazy stuff on it, some may even call it gaudy.

This was so easy to do, and the materials were really cheap! I got 50 wooden spools from eBay, some mixed wooden beads from Michael's, and some twine. Cut the fabric scrap to the width of the spool, dab a dot of hot glue, and wrap the scrap around the spool, glue again. Then I just made a loop at the end of the twine, strung the beads, then the spool, etc. It couldn't have been more easy! I even added some yarn from things I knitted this year. 






Here is my crazy tree!



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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Christmas Craft Week


This coming week will be Christmas craft week here on the blog. I have been feeling very inspired this holiday season, and can't wait to share some projects with you!
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

House Update

We have been working really hard on our house since June, and wanted to share some before and after pictures. The house was a foreclosure property, and was severely neglected. It is a raised ranch house from 1957, and still has some of it's mid-century charm. The previous owners may have been a hoarder/drug dealers, It was scary!  Thankfully all that was left was dirt, and a whole lot of work to do.

 
 
The outside needed to be painted, trees had to be trimmed and cut down after years of neglect, and we leveled the earth and planted grass. The house is on a main road and you couldn't even notice it from the street,  now I think it stands proudly. I chose a sunny yellow door, and gray shutters to complement the roof.
 
 
 
The Entry:


 


The door is original, and one of the only things in the house I really liked, we added a peephole. There are hardwood floors thoughout the house hiding under old dirty carpet. That was really lucky.  The over sized artwork is from MYHABIT, originally from the Saturday Evening Post. The table, was free, and used to be in a mechanic's garage with car doors on top. It is in almost perfect condition, fits perfectly and I would buy the same one if I saw it in a store, I love when things work out.


 The Living Room:


Red carpets, dirty walls, scary sconces and a lovely smell are only a memory. I love this room, it's really fun. The ottomans are Missoni for target I found on clearance, and they make the best coffee table/ foot rest. The rug is from gilt group, I wish I got another one for the dining room, and the lamp is from Costco. The art over the fireplace is from our wedding, it was displayed at our wedding, it says our names, the reception location and the date, I love it's vintage vibe. This picture is a little dated because we now have curtains, but you get the idea.



The Kitchen:

 
 


 This room was disgusting. I won't even show you what was on the floor. We ripped out the range, the vent, the tile, and painted all the cabinets. We added the subway tile back splash, which I love, changed the hinges, switched to a gas range, and added a vent hood. I was inspired by my dinnerware that I love so much (previously blogged here) and went with a turquoise and yellow theme. The island was a hand me down from my aunt, which was a forest green, and the stools are from the Christmas Tree Store, that we spray painted yellow and covered with fabric. I am in love with the giant cutlery on the wall. We bought those so long ago, and stored them until we had a place together.

The Hallway: 

 




 
 
 
 
The Guest Room:

This was the most disgusting room, and guess what: this was the drug dealer's room. The graffiti wall, a must in every home of course, said such things as "You'll never amount to anything in life" and various girl's initials that were crossed out and rewritten. That was so hard to cover-up, he ended up just spackling the whole wall. This room is nice and dark so my husband uses it to sleep during the day (he has the night shift), so I tried to make it a little bit masculine. The duvet cover is also Missoni for Target.
 
The Sewing Room:
 
 


 
 
 
Here it is, the most important room in the house. Before, it had scary, dirty flocked wall paper, and carpet that used to be pink. This is a nice a bright room perfect for sewing, with a large closet for storage. We repurposed and cleaned the light from the entry, which doesn't really give off much light but looks cute. The cutting table is new, from Home Decorators, I like the size of it, but it has some drawbacks. The armoire was also my Aunt's, lucky for me she did some remodeling, and holds my yarn/fabric stash. The setup works really well for me and I am finishing projects faster in my new workspace.

 You have already seen the master bedroom, so apart from the dining room, which I will show you next week with my Christmas decorations, that's pretty much it.

We had a ton of help from our family and friends, and are so grateful to all of them. As my Mom says we turned this "crackhouse" into a "dollhouse". Thanks for looking!



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