Easter Bunnies

Fabric Easter Bunnies

When you have left over fabrics - what to do? I had some scraps left over from a project and since it was Easter sewed these adorable bunnies and stuffed them to make it soft and cuddly.

My Africa Christmas Tree

My Africa stick Christmas tree

I have a painting over my fireplace and with the heat coming up the wall did not want to expose it to too much heat. Needless to say, there it was a WIDE OPEN SPACE.

In previous years I had a wreath or up but felt nostalgic and had this yearning for "home" so I decided to bring a bit of my roots home for Christmas and do something a little different.

I saw something similar online and loved the idea so I added my little Africa spin to it. With the help of my husband we searched for sticks and after a fruitless search of way too dry sticks he decided to cut some fresh branches. This made him feel more comfortable as the wood was wet and less prone to catch fire. Not that I was concerned, the fire is not even close to the mantel.

I had some ornaments and also clay letters my sister made that I used to decorate the tree. I made the burlap and feather stockings a few years ago and thought it would add to my theme. the star was just a few sticks I attached first with a glue gun and then secures them with wire. All the sticks were attached to each other using wire.





I glued the letters to rustic looking burlap ribbon.

They are in Afrikaans and spell LIEFDE - LOVE, HOOP - HOPE, GELOOF- FAITH, VREDE-PEACE

Some of the ornaments are made from wire and beads that are sold on some of the street corners for tourists.

I added a Jacaranda pod. This is from one of the most beautiful flowering trees in South-Africa, but nit indigenous to SA. The have light purple flowers that bloom in October, the beginning of spring and the streets are lined with them where I grew up. It brings back beautiful memories.

Weather worm for the door-draft - Recycled jeans!

With the beginning of winter we have a few drafty doors. I decided to make use of he old worn-out jeans I saved for projects and make a weather worm to stop the drafts.




I used the pant legs. I needed at least 40 inches and luckily I am tall so they made it to 42 inches.


                                                           

 


Because of the shape of the pants I was not able to cut them into perfect rectangles as I needed most of the length.

I separated the legs and cut the backside loose from the rest. I removed the belt loops and opened the bottom seams and them I cut the legs into as straight of a rectangle as possible.

 

I sewed the jeans into a tube (right sides together ), turned them inside out and then sewed another line about 1 inch from the seam for the rice. I sewed the one side closes and started to full th little tube with rice using a funnel.

 

I was a little difficult to get the rice all the way down, there may an easier way but I will have to explore ways to find out. For now, this works. After the rice tube was filled, I stuffed the body with scrap fabrics and old re-cycled cut-up t-shirts that has seen better days. ( I believe in no wastage )

 

The rice weighs it down to keep the worm right there in front of the door were he is supposed to be. After stuffing the worm, I sewed the top end closed to keep the stuffing and rice in.

Good use of old jeans to keep the draft out and the warm air inside.

Back Porch "Welcome" with bright yellow and a red rose.

An old chair with potted plant seat, a yellow milk can and an old window frame painted with a red rose to brighten op my back entrance.

The frame was rescued from a house set for demolition. The glass was still intact and very secure in the frame. I primed everything and then painted the yellow background with a red rose as contrast. It is under the porch ceiling so not exposed to harsh sun & elements and has been providing a happy welcome for aver 3 years. I recently fond the milk can and then added the chair to complete the look.

I guess it will change again when I find something else to add or change to the porch.

Kitchen/Nook chairs with an African twist

Chairs - the "little black dress" your kitchen or bathroom needs.

Well, we went sailing again and I found these 3 chairs. Two were stained dark and one lighter, all with different seat upholstery. 

She also had a few pieces of upholstery fabric with african animals that she threw in with the deal. It had good bones and I saw their potential, SOLD!

We started working on them, took the seats off, liquid sanded the chairs and sprayed them flat black for an informal but classy look. 

This was a quick fun project and I am satisfied with the results. I hope it will make a nice addition to someone's kitchen or bathroom. It will also look good in a little corner as a coffee break area with a little round table. 

Solar garden chandelier

I saw a video of this idea and thought it would be great to have my own solar chandelier  in my garden.
We found an used fixture at our local rehab store for  $7.50 which was perfect as the fittings were able to be unscrewed to change it from shining down to up. The solar lights came from Walmart at $.97 each. So the whole project was less than $20. We had hot glue on hand to attach the lights to the fixture.
It only took an hour to put it all together.
I am loving our new outdoor lighting and can't wait for warmer weather to start living outside again.

Fabric wrapped storage boxes

 Storage boxes

Working on my daughters bedroom. She no longer needed the toddler look and we had to come up with creative ideas on a tight budget.

Keurig k-cup boxes are the perfect size for storage containers for her bookshelf. I cut the flaps off, and chose ah fabric mix that would match her comforter. She wanted the theme to be zig-zag with teal & corral. 

I cut the fabric to cover the outside of the boxes with a 12" overhang top & bottom. The fabric was glued to the boxes in a similar manner to wrapping gifts. 

I finished the edges with ribbon and glued a wide ricrac handle on each box. 

Easy, inexpensive cute and custom storage and an excellent decor piece.

Pants too short??

I seem to strike out more often than I like with pants that shrink in the washer. (They fit perfectly when I buy them)
I decided to upcycle 2 pairs into 1 & love the results.
The Brown pants are still good, just too short. The jeans were worn out. I used the legs & back pockets, some extra fabric for lining and trim.

Inspiration in a wrapper

Has anyone ever noticed the motivation captured on the Halls wrappers?  I discovered it today, it comes at a good time when you feel miserable with a cold, sore throat and coughing. 

"A PEP TALK IN EVERY DROP"

Matthews Farmers Market

Beautiful mural at the Farmers market in Matthews NC. Saturday outing to get some farm fresh foods & were entertained by a local Blue-Grass band.

Holes in the clouds - hole punch or fallstreak hole clouds.

We were in South Carolina today & saw a hole in the clouds over the town of Lancaster. It was such a rare sight & strange feeling to watch this. We took a few pictures before it disappeared.

My research revealed per the Weather Channel:

These rare cloud formations, called "hole-punch clouds", develop in altocumulus cloud layers and are often the result of airplanes passing through the layer of clouds.
So, how does this happen?
The altocumulus cloud layer is composed of small water droplets that are below freezing called supercooled water droplets. If ice crystals can form in the layer of supercooled droplets, they will grow rapidly and shrink or possibly evaporate the droplets completely.

and National Geographic:

Clouds are made of water droplets, and hole punch clouds—also known as fallstreak hole clouds—occur when part of that cloud falls out, leaving behind a hole. That opening in the cloud is the result of an extremely localized snowfall.

Usually, atmospheric water droplets latch on to particles in order to form ice crystals, or snow. This happens on a massive scale during snowstorms. The only way water droplets can spontaneously form ice crystals without those particles is if temperatures fall to roughly -40°F (-40°C). (Learn more about these giant cloud holes.)

In a hole punch cloud, temperatures fall in only a small portion of the cloud, forming a localized snowstorm. When that snow falls, it leaves behind a hole. Refraction of sunlight by the ice crystals results in the rainbow, while the arrangement of those crystals gives us a bright patch of light in the middle called a sun dog. (See pictures of sun dogs and halos.)

The expansion of air as an airplane passes can also produce hole punch clouds by cooling water droplets enough for them to form ice crystals.

Duck-tape Flower Ring

This ring was made in less than 30 minutes. From duck-tape. Tutorial to follow.

Upfashioned tablecloth skirt

My Tablecloth Skirt

 

 

I found this tablecloth on a yardsale a few weeks ago & could see it as a DIY skirt. The lace & embroidery fabric screamed "skirt"!!

It is easy to up-fashion a round tablecloth as all you need is to cut a hole & add ribbing.

 

 

 Ribbing is found at most fabric stores I had this piece left over fro a previous project and it was just long enough to add the desired length to my skirt. The width was also perfect, so I did not have to seam the ribbing. I just folded it over to double for the top half of the skirt

 

I measured my hips & folded the tablecloth in 4, took the 1/4 measurement of my hips & cut the fabric curved to follow the tape.

 

I attached the ribbing to the cut edge of the tablecloth & serged the inside edge.

 

I will be wearing a short petticoat with this skirt.

 

Cool pictures

Photos that speak to me. I love taking pictures & sometimes you get one unique picture. I will post them here as they happen.

Flying to the sun.


Paragliding - the last flight of 2014. The winter sun was brilliant & the color contrast perfect.

 

 



Butterfly in action, one late spring afternoon.




An Angel catching the last afternoon sun.

Teal Picture Frame with Protea flowers.

An outdated gold frame that needed a new life. I cleaned the frame with soapy water & used Krylon ColorMaster in Jade to spray paint the frame

I love the detail in the frame & wiped it with a cloth right after I sprayed it to reveal the gold.

The frame is now proudly displaying Proteas. A wild flower indigenous to South Africa.

Mad Hatter Upcycle

MAD HATTER COSTUME 

 

This is what became the Mad Hatter costume
 

Purple jacket $3.49.

 

Lace & fabric for collar & cuffs, free. (I have lots of scrap fabrics)

 

The sash/bobbin belt will be made from all the old wooden spools I found on a yardsale a couple of seasons ago. ( I knew it would come in handy someday)

 

 

I had to visit Hancock's for the bow & striped pants. Found this on the $ 3.98 pile & only needed  a little. The pants will be pajamas after halloween.

The hat was found on a yard-sale for $2.00. I only needed the hat for the frame or base for my hat.

I used some of the lace for the rim & made a black felt (covered with lace)  top section to go over the frame.

 

 I attached the top felt section to the hat & added a pink silk band to match the rim. I added kebab sticks with beads, peacock feathers & the "pricetag".

 

 

 And the final product, ready for tricks & treats. We had to tweak the make-up & used orange hairspray on her blond hair.

 

 

Satisfied!