I've seen this done so many times and was itching to do something with my hands.

This was middles old desk chair lost in the attic.

Not anymore.

Now Lady Hazel doesn't have to strain her puppy neck.

room to grow

When the kids were little

I had those cute little wooden letters to spell out their names on their doors.

They were long ago pulled down and the doors left bare.

That is, until we found these embroidered name patches on our last junk hunt.

For pocket change we grabbed a couple. 

 It is difficult to find first names,

but we found one middle name and the nick-name of the middles, middle name.

These are the names I call them, so all the better.

It is a more grown up way to decorate their doors. 

ruffle reinvented

before.

after.

can you tell that we like easy headbands around here?

hot water bottle cozy

a well worn sweater.

a hot water bottle that no one would want to cuddle with.

cut sweater to size, allowing about a 1/3 inch all the way around.

you don't want it to be too tight when finished.

also, choose a fabric that will stretch some.

this will allow for easy removal when it is time to wash, and extra room for when the bottle is filled with water.

I chose to sew on the flower for fun.

simply stitch all the way around leaving it open on the top.

you can either fold the neck down or keep it up,

it's cute either way.

2 minute tunic

It has been a toasty March, and the little lady needed something to wear.

This is a small woman's shirt that I no longer wear.

This style of neck works perfectly for this no sew project.

Simply cut off the sleeves all the way to the seam on all sides.

Depending on how deep the arm holes were, you may need to throw a little tank on under the tunic.

It's very light weight and keeps her cool and comfy in the heat.

just one more way to make a headband.

keeping in the tradition of cutting up old shirts:)

a little hot glue and an old headband...

wish I had a better after picture, oh well.

a little fancy for free, can't beat that.

I will use the rest of the flowers for clips, or maybe a pin.

The shirt itself will be cut up and made into more flowers.

ruffle my feathers

We love ruffles.

Both of us have been making ruffle pants for the girls for years.

They are simple and quick to make from scraps you have on hand.

The best part is, when your daughters favorite jeans get too short,

you can add on length with a cute ruffle.

Try it on leggings & cords too.

 I have also made worn leggings into biker shorts with a ruffle which look really cute with a matching tunic for summer. 

for now

Life has swallowed us up lately, and making anything has taken a back seat.

Here is my small attempt to change that.

I've had this tiny wreath forever with the intention of making

something for the little Miss.

I didn't want to commit to anything yet,

but I was also sick of looking at my naked wreath!

Auntie C brought over this pink belt and the rest I had laying around.

It is all just pinned on, so when true inspiration hits, we can start all over.

a bed for hazel

Dog beds are expensive, and the cute ones are really expensive!

I wanted one I could wash, and something simple.

I found a small quilted blanket at the thrift store.

I had a sheet (for the back) in my stash at home as well as some memory foam.

All it is is a big pillow sham. 

I cut the sheet to size,

allowing a little extra to finish the exposed edges

and cutting it longer to allow for an overlap in the middle to slide the memory foam into.

It was a fast project, and she loves it!

The kids love it too, the memory foam is really comfortable.

I think it would be really cozy for arthritic and older dogs as well.

(If you prefer a puffy look, just use fiber fill.)

rock on

before

I have been trying to figure out a storage solution for the biggests' bass for a while.

I couldn't buy one, but a stand was the best way to safely store it.

Because it is an 1/8th size,

I also wanted something that would accommodate a larger size when he moves up.

Well, let's just say the table has one less chair.

Couldn't have been easier.

I just unscrewed the seat.

Added two foam strips I found in the garage, and there it stands.

A one of a kind bass stand.

Maybe this summer big can paint it up to give it some personality:)

gift bags and wrapping paper are expensive. 

we have made our own wrapping paper, but sometimes only a bag will do.  these canvas or fabric reusable bags are all over the thrift stores.  they are usually unused, and cheap!  the paper kind can cost up to $5.oo or more!  it is easy to have a stash of these around to use when you have a gift to give.  they won't rip, and can be used again and again!

I have recently been on the hunt for a

reading chair for my daughters kindergarten teacher.

You know how when you are looking for something in particular

it isn't anywhere to be found?

I finally think I found one that will do.

Usually I would have painted the frame and changed the fabric,

but I refrained, and I like it this way. 

To add the alphabet I used paper stencils and a

spray bottle with 2 parts water, one part bleach.

I love it, hopefully Mrs. P will too.

fairy door

A while back a friend sent me a link to little fairy doors that you can buy on etsy.

I hadn't thought much more about it because although cute, they were a little pricey.

That is until I saw this tacky photo album at the thrift store for under $2.oo

Initially I was  just going to remove the photo inserts and glue it shut,

but it looked goofy sitting out so far from the baseboard.

What kid was going to fall for that?

So I took the front part of the door off the little hinges

and simply stuck it up on the wall with my handy dandy command strips.

It is pretty cute,

and it would make a perfect little door for your Elf on the Shelf during Christmas.

Great Grandma Rena's earrings

They started off as dress up, but wouldn't stay clipped on little ears.

Some ended up as magnets, and a few turned into headbands.

I used hot glue instead of E6000 so that we can (peel them off and) reuse them when

she won't wear these headbands anymore. 

scrap garland

This is so easy, my 7 and 9 year old boys can make them.

Cut strips out of an old felted wool blanket,

then cut squares from the strips.

Line them up and start sewing a straight stitch feeding the pieces in as you go.

Don't cut off the extra thread at each end,

you can tie it off and use it to hang the garland.

I once was a lampshade

If you have an old lampshade with good bones

and fabric scraps that you can't part with...

 this is the project for you.

Simply remove the old shade.

Wind long fabric strips around the wire and hot glue or tie off to secure.

Add some ric-rac or ribbon tails, maybe beads, and you're done! 

This would be a fun rainy day project for the kids.

You could easily make it boy by

changing the colors and finding

little trinkets like soldiers, or dinosaurs to tie onto the ends.   

sweater better

I think we all have one of these in our collection.

It is probably really comfortable,

and possibly on the frumpy side as well.

One of us gilly girls has a great sense of style, and I am not her.

This is how E made her sweater worthy of the racks at Anthropologie.

One simple cut right up the center.

In our tradition, a little lace and a doily make anything better, right?

Finish off the unfinished edge any way you please, and you're on your way! 

old scarves come full circle

I apologize that my before picture for some reason would not upload...

This is a pretty simple upcycle though,

and I think that you can imagine what these scarves might have looked like as they were.

It's not that I didn't like the scarves, I just didn't wear them.

One was a scarf I had knit a long time ago and it was too skinny, the other was just blah.

Now that everyone is wearing infinity scarves,

I decided to make my own.

One simple line stitch later, 

end to end, and they were done!

One on the machine, the other by hand.

Couldn't have been easier.

roll with it

What?

An old daddy shirt and a roll of paper towels.

It all started as we were trying to figure out how to display our handbands for sale...

I bet you didn't know that a roll of paper towels is just about perfect!

Because it isn't the prettiest of displays, we decided to do what we are best at...

I am pretty sure that both of our closets must live in fear of what will bite the dust next,

if we can't find what we need in our scraps, the closet is the next stop.

Sleeves work perfectly for this project, it makes it no sew!

Just cut off at both ends and slide over the roll of paper towels.

We chose to take the plastic off, it just feels nicer and is less noisy that way.

Tuck your ends in and hot glue to the cardboard roll.

We used felted wool to cover the ends.

You could do this in so many ways,

however cutting small strips and gluing them on as a "flower" 
proved to be really quick and cute.

Once the little lady saw our displays, she asked for a red one for her room.