craft night project reveal and a contest: pincushions abound

It was a lovely night, filled with the dog under our feet, delicious pie and good company. We all worked on our random projects and I was delighted with how many of these pincushion projects I was able to crank out.


These two were made from mini casserole dishes, one for me, one for gifting...I loved the coordinating pins I found in my stash. These were made by tracing the dish on the back of the fabric, cutting with a 1" allowance along the border, hand sewing through the edge and then pulling on the thread and bunching the fabric into a bowl shape. I added some stuffing and then hot glued the fabric 'bowl' to the inner edge of the dish. This would probably work great with anything from tea cups to small bowls to gravy servers!

These other versions were made using the ball canning jars, where the tops are removable. See the link in my previous post for the tutorial. They were so quick and easy to make too. And they have extra storage for ribbon, pins, measuring tape, whatever you need handy and visible.

I'll be giving away one of these small jar pincushion to a lucky reader. Just comment here with a project you want to do, want to see craft nighters make, or just something that caught your eye. You have to have a link in your comment to be entered. I will close the contest and announce the winner next monday...happy researching!

craft night mish mash

So this week, all are welcome of course, but we're basically doing a 'whatever you're working on' night. I have a few projects to do for some people, along with a few fun things to get to. My night will basically go like this:

Cake stands
Appliqued onesies
Pin-cushion jars

Anyone have other brilliant quick project ideas??

the gang

So here they are, the rest of the craft night purchases. Once the weather warms up and I have the time to work on them, they'll be transformed into delightful creatures. For now they are wretched and homely. And due to a complete bathroom design, they may stay that way for a while.

You know, it's difficult enough designing an entirely new bathroom, but throw in a complete opposites taste couple and it's doomed. Here's to compromise becoming my new best friend!

craft night project reveal

So our craft night field trip was AWEsome. MB and I couldn't stop the idea pouring through our heads as we strolled through aisles of pottery, dinnerware and candlesticks. I have quite a few more to make from my purchases, but those needed painting, and since there's currently snow on the ground, the weather just isn't peak for spray painting. For now I give you the easy ones:

This piece consists of a funky teal plate we found and a squat white glass vase, $2 each. I think they look splendid together {thanks MB!} and it's a hefty enough piece now to hold fruit, desserts, seashells, or whatever your fancy...

These two are my favorites so far. I think they'll have a new life on my dresser corralling random jewelry. Both bases were candlestick/pillar holders. I really love the brass/bronze warm base contrasting the white of the ceramic. The plate version cost $3.69, and the tulip bowl version was $4.00.

I affixed the pieces using a calking gun and some Loctite construction adhesive which was about $5 but should cover me for all the projects I'll be making. I'm thinking these will make great inexpensive gifts for eclectic entertaining...

bridge the design

So with the rest of the house in disarray, there's really only a few cozy corners of retreat. This is our one corner of the living room that's actually set-up, and where we spend our tv-time.

I made all the pillow covers myself and i'm in love with birds right now, so the clearance target tablecloth was the best solution for a spring look. I think it was $4 and I still have leftovers for minor sewing projects.

The couch came with us from Brooklyn and although the bonded leather isn't the prettiest, it's holding up well to the new paw prints. It also doubles as a full-size sleeper, so it may have a second life in the guest room or craft room.

Above the couch is one of my photographs of the brooklyn bridge. It's one of my favorites and it makes me happy to see it every time I walk in here. I had Staples print it as an engineering blueprint at 20x28". It's basically a large print out on a plain white paper, but it only cost me about $2, so along with the as-is IKEA frame at $10, I have a large piece of art for $12. Can't beat that...

And just so you know i'm not always so put together, that lampshade is totally jimmy-rigged on the base, so don't touch it or it shifts around...the husband LOVEs that!

it was a drive-by thrifting

Well craft night is going on the road this week. A field trip that is. We'll be hitting a few of the big thrift stores in the area and looking for inspiration for a thrifty project. Play along and show us your creations. I'll link to them in a follow-up post. Think hard and find some inspiration here:

DIY Pedestal Bowl
Upcycled Chalk Board
Headband Holder

sunday morning

I'm still a night owl, but I'm learning to love the quiet and peace of an early morning. Thanks to Kelly, one of the most talented sewers I know, I'll be enjoying every morning cup of tea while looking at something lovely, like this mugrug. After much whining and pleading on my part, she finally broke down and made me my very own...

Look at the detail, isn't it exquisite? It's Sunday, I'm in love...

And an added bonus {apologies for the blurry photo}, a beautiful white canvas flower ring that will work perfectly with all my spring/summer nautical outfits. LOVE. Thanks Kelly!

go poop!

A puppy changes EVERYthing. For now I feel like our lives revolve around her, which is ok, temporarily. I think once she gets older a lot of things will get easier. Like no longer having to stand guard outside while she does her thing, or going out for a walk without having to convince her that it's ok to walk four houses away from ours. She's having a much better time with eating, and she's still absolutely in love with people. And it turns out she's a leaner, which is very cute now, but may not be when she's twice as big. She's going to knock all those little kids over and then lick them to death.

I never thought I'ld be picking up poop in a little black baggy like all those nyc suckers, but here I am, pile of doo in my hand. I never thought my most commonly used phrases would be, 'go poop!' 'good girl' or 'Sadie, NO!'.

She really is a lot of fun, but I have to keep a constant eye on her when we're together. Which is easier when you get yourself a dog that loves to follow you around. Right now the construction is still an issue. We did our last bit of demo lastnight {last demo for forever, holla with me} and she wasn't too fond of hanging out in her crate while all that noise was happenin'. Once the upstairs reno is completely done she can roam around without my fear of her inhaling insulation or sheetrock bits. Oh glorious day. All in all she's a big giant learning experience with a lot of fun and loving mixed in there.

A strange thing happened this morning

I did something I haven't done in a while. I updated my shop. I know, it's crazy right? Well, after hours of fun making felt flowers, I decided I had too many hanging around and I needed to share them with the world.

I decided to package them using these adorable journaling scrapbook cards I bought somewhere on clearance at some point. I think they're swell. Please check it out an give me some feedback, I love to hear your thoughts!

{This morning's web time brought to you thanks to a very traumatic 'poo-in-the-house' episode. Poor Sadie was so shaken up, she's taken to napping the entire morning away.}

craft night is so ON

Just in case anyone was wondering...

I'm thinking since some of us have leftover yarn from our wreaths, that we could make something along these lines: yarn bowl.

That tutorial should list all the components you need! Hope to see you here tomorrow night!

Sadie Sadie married lady

Well Surpise! As if our lives weren't crazy enough we decided to throw a 5 month old mutt into the mix! She's absolutely the sweetest dog, in fact maybe too sweet. Her name is Sadie and she loves being with us, sleeping, cuddling, oh and she's smart. We've already conquered a few of her hurdles, including a fear of stairs and doorways. She's also excellent at doing her business in the backyard, way back so we don't have to step in it! That's super exciting for me.

She is in that curiosity state though, so with everything in the house I need to keep a constant eye on her. Especially now that she climbs the stairs to explore all the construction. I'm pretty sure eating insulation would be a bad thing.

Oops...speaking of which...

here i craft again

Craft night was a bit of a crazy night this past week, so luckily when only Ruth said she could make it, I wasn't all that bummed. Basically we were in the midst of dealing with the mini-flood in our basement. I say mini because it could have been MUCH worse and thankfully I just spent all that time organizing and cleaning down there so we literally only lost a rug. Which, who is silly enough to put a rug down in their basement? Yours truly, apparently.

So all the creativity I could muster up was this flower applique for my $2 tank top purchase. I literally cut a circle out of felt, a strip of fabric and started glueing and rolling. I made it into a pin, so I can remove it before washing.

In other news, I've finally been diagnosed properly {hopefully} for my skin issues. The annoying scarring rash that never goes away is actually yeast in my body manifesting itself through my skin, the largest detoxifying organ in/on your body. It all makes perfect sense, so now i'm on a regiment of a million {okay, 7 or 8} natural supplements a day and a restrictive diet with no dairy or wheat. SO in essence, I'm really hungry. But I adore salads and fruit and nuts, it's just the veggies and lack of chocolate that's driving me batty. But I will give up anything to be 'normal' again. Hopefully once this is flushed from my system I can go back to my normal cheese-loving self. The only issue I foresee is my weight. Those who know me in person know i'm a wee bit on the small side, so keeping up my weight will be an issue for me. Although, all those skinny jeans won't be as skinny anymore!

On other health-related news, the stress that is construction is well under way at the tink house. As you can see the transformation is in full swing. We literally have one more small wall to demo and a bit of flooring and then the tearing apart phase for this whole house is over. If you ever consider taking on an entire home renovation, think really long and hard about it. It's overwhelming. Yes, in the end you have exactly what you want, but in the beginning you end up with random dressers in hallways and extra mattresses propped up behind your headboard. Any normalcy we had in this house, is now constricted to the kitchen and dining room, until we're all finished. BUT it is coming along! All these walls are already sheetrocked and ready for primer.

So happy weekend to everyone, come Monday I will have a lovely surprise for you all!

it is, it was, it shall be

There are things you'll learn about me, one of them being that I will not buy it if I think I can make it. Or I will not buy the mass produced item, I will just find what I want at a thrift store and turn it into said item.

Exhibit A:

A vintage and really cute old trivet that isn't exactly even close to my kitchen color scheme. In fact it would clash, a lot. But I love the wrought iron and I love the uniqueness of it, so for $1 I gave it a go and thought, I can make it marvelous...

Exhibit B: {Which used to be Exhibit A, not to confuse...}

A really marvelous new spoon rest that flows perfectly with my current love of all things turquoise/robin's egg blue. A more modern twist and all it took was a single coat of spray paint and a new tile {created just like our tile coasters} glued in place. Who knew I could get a custom-made spoonrest...

such a tease

So thanks to Carrie's help, yesterday was a pretty productive day. Now I have about 2 1/2 hours to finish up a couple of things, clean and get ready to pick up the husband from the airport. In the meantime, i'll give you a peak of some big color changes at the tinker house. After the surprise has been revealed, i'll show some before and afters...

ring around me

Well, there is no official craft night tonight. The husband is coming home tomorrow {YAY} one week early! Oi. I have lots to do before tomorrow and there's a lot happening in the tink house today, so no time for craftiness. But don't worry, we'll be back next week!

In the meantime, I have two of these rings available in the shop. See you tomorrow...