Ribbon Storage Station

I had such a great time competing on One Month To Win It!  Thank you to everyone who went over and voted for your favorite projects.  The auditions for Season 8 are in March, so mark it down on your calendars!

Furniture is kind of a big deal, so I was pretty nervous about this week.  I had a lot of ideas and a hard time deciding.  I wanted to make something I really needed.  The ribbon in my craft room was a jumble of mass chaos, so a storage solution seemed like the perfect choice!  I made a run to the home improvement store, dusted off our power tools and got down to business!  

Ribbon Storage Station

I used a couple of 1x6 lengths of wood (cut down to size at the store for free) and created a basic bookcase.  I added a couple shelves near the bottom and drilled holes for dowel rods, which I capped off with wood finials.  I finished it up by adding scraps of crown moulding at the top and bottom.  I sanded the whole thing down and painted it.

On one side, I added corkboard, which I cut to fit.  I also added a removable yard stick so I can easily measure the amount of ribbon I need without needing to remove the spool.  

The dowels slide right out to easily swap out ribbon spools and I left plenty of space to add more rows as my collection grows.  I added some jars to hold more supplies and a couple of baskets, which I labeled with chalkboard tags.

I absolutely love that all the things I need to work with my ribbon are all in once place!  This was my first go at building custom furniture and I think I'm hooked!  For less than $50, I built something that is exactly what I need with none of the stress of trying to find something that just kind of works for me.  

And I LOVE seeing all my pretty ribbon lined up, ready to use!

Check out my previous entries:

Audition: Book Page Pom Wreath

Week 1: Shabby French Ruffle Cuff/Headband

Week 2: Thrift Store Table Makeover

Week 3: Macy Goes to the Fair Pennant Dress

Linking up to these fab parties!

Macy Goes to the Fair Pennant Dress

I am so glad I made it through to Week 3 of One Month To Win It!  I love, love LOVE this dress and am SO glad to know many others did, too.

Let me tell you, I have been most excited about this week since we got the list of themes.  When I saw "Bunting and Banner Week", this idea immediately popped into my head!  

Start with a simple white dress and add a tiny pennant-style banner and you have:

The Macy Goes to the Fair Dress!

I am beyond excited with how this turned out!  If you're anything like me, you know that ideas in your head don't always translate well into real-life items, so when it does, it's like hitting the jackpot!

I started out with a pillowcase dress and altered the pattern to work for my idea.  I added box pleats to the neckline which make me think of a Big Top at the fair.  Then I made a mini pennant banner and trimmed the neckline with it.  I finished off the neckline and arms with bias tape I handmade.  

But of course I couldn't stop there!  I cut out approximately 1 MILLION little bitty triangles (really, about 250) and stitched on 5 rows of the tiny pennant banner to the hem of the dress.  I love it so much!

This dress is a great stash-buster project!  All the little triangles were made from my scrap bag.  The bias tape was made from fabric left over from another project.  I love using things I have on hand!

Sidenote: The whole time I was working on this dress, "Macy" kept popping up in my head.  This dress really did name itself!

You might have also noticed The Macy Bow in these pics.  I had fun with this one!  I added a few more elements than I usually do and love how it turned out. 

Next time your favorite little girl needs a dress, don't run to the store!  Go grab a pillowcase and a handful of scraps and see what you can come up with! :)

I want to add a very big thank you to my friend Cheryl from

  NC Life Photography 

for taking beautiful photos of the dress for me!  If you live in Florida and need some photography done, check her out!  She does family shoots, engagements, weddings, you name it!  We've had family photos and baby pics done with her and they have all turned out amazing!

Linking up to these lovely parties!

OMTWI Week 3 Projects Posted!

Ahhh!  The competition is getting stiffer each week!  The projects for Week 3 "Banners and Bunting" have been posted.  Head on over to One Month To Win It to check them out and vote for your favorite! A head's up: it's going to be a tough decision this week with so many great projects to choose from!

So... Go Vote!

Check out my previous entries:

Audition: Book Page Pom Wreath

Week 1: Shabby French Ruffle Cuff/Headband

Week 2: Thrift Store Table Makeover

Thrift Store Table Makeover

I'm SO excited to have made it through to Week 3 of One Month to Win It!  This is the project that got me through Week 2 (and just barely won the week)!

So, I was at the thrift store and I spotted this hideous table.  It had good bones, but the hinges were all shoddy (pins were missing and replaced with Q-tips.  Q-TIPS, people!!) and it was seriously not-my-style.  But the price was low.  They were practically giving it away.  So I kept making my way back to it and finally decided (against my husband's pleas to please not bring anything else for the garage) to bring it home!  And boy, am I glad I did!

I started out by removing the hinges, cleaning it up and sanding it down.  Then I applied a couple coats of primer and allowed that to dry.  

I painted the whole thing with DecoArt Designer Series All-Purpose Home Decor Acrylic in Lush Foliage.  I LOVE this stuff.  I put on just two coats and everything was completely covered!  You know when you're making something and you get an endorphin rush because of how great it's turning out?  DecoArt Designer Series in Lush Foliage = endorphin rush.  

Once the paint was dry, I added brand new hinges and freehanded some polka dots on the top of the table and filled them in with DecoArt Traditions Artist acrylic in Warm White. 

I gave it a day or so to dry and sprayed it with a poly coat.

The best part is that it was cheap!  A little goes a long way with the DecoArt paints I used, so I still have several projects left out of them.  

What do you think?  Worlds better, right?  I think it'll go perfectly in my craft room! :)

Check out these fab parties I link up to!

Check out my previous entries:

Audition: Book Page Pom Wreath

Week 1: Shabby French Ruffle Cuff/Headband

My table was featured!

Revamped Chess Set

Now that voting is closed, I can share the project I did NOT enter in the competition.  I fondly refer to this as my reject project. :)

I snagged this chess set from a friend and loved the scroll detail on the sides, but wanted something a little softer.

I decided on DecoArt Traditions Artist acrylics in Warm White and Aquamarine.  I gave the black chess pieces a base coat of Warm White and repainted the board and white chess pieces in Warm White also.  Once they were dry, I painted the black chess pieces with the Aquamarine and stenciled Aquamarine squares on the chess board.  In real life, the color is greener, but it's pretty difficult to photograph. 

*Quick tip: if you have small things to dry, stick some push pins into foam board and set the pieces on top - no more sticking to the surface!

Then I mixed DecoArt Traditions Glazing Medium with a little bit of black paint (little goes a long way!) and mixed in water to thin it out.  I distressed the board and chess pieces with the Glazing Medium by painting it on with a foam brush and wiping it off with gauze.  I am so happy with how the glazing brought out the scroll design!

To finish it off, I hit just the board with some spray adhesive and sprinkled a little bit of DecoArt Glamour Dust in Crystal over the top to girly it up a little bit.

Linking up to these parties!

OMTWI Week 2 Voting is open!

One Month to Win it Week 2 projects have been posted!  There are some really great projects.  I can tell the competition is heating up!  This week's theme is DecoArt and I love seeing the variety of ideas all the bloggers have come up with!

If you have a minute, go check 'em out and vote for your favorite!

I actually had a little bout of crafter's remorse and made two projects for this competition.  I'll show you the one that didn't make the cut this week. :)  Still cute, but not as awesome as the one I submitted.

Now I need some ideas from you!  Do you collect anything?  I've been asked about starting a collection of something for Baby E but have no idea WHAT.

Check out my previous entries:

Audition: Book Page Pom Wreath

Week 1: Shabby French Ruffle Cuff/Headband

Shabby French Ruffle Cuff/Headband

I made it through to the next round of One Month to Win It, probably by the skin of my teeth!  Here is my project submission.  Did you guess which one was mine?

I was so excited about this week's theme, cause let me tell ya, I love me some Graphics Fairy!  The biggest challenge was narrowing down which graphics to use.

I settled on some sheet music and a fleur-de-lis and got to work on my Shabby French Ruffle Cuff!

First, I printed the graphics directly onto fabric using the freezer paper technique from The Scrap Shoppe.  This was seriously SO easy!  If you have an inkjet printer and didn't know you could print on fabric, head on over and let Michele tell you how it's done.  I feel like I've been missing out!

Then I cut a strip of sheet music from the fabric and ruffled it up with my trusty sewing machine and added some lace & trim.  To make the flower embellishment, I used the fleur-de-lis to cover a button and hot glued a bit of lace to the back.  I cut out a couple flowers and inked the edges, then stacked it all up and stitched it to the cuff.  I then added a length of black satin ribbon to each end and covered the back with a bit of black felt to finish it up!  All done! :)

BUT WAIT!  You didn't think that was all, did ya?  This Shabby French Ruffle Cuff lives a secret double life as a Shabby French Ruffle HEADBAND!  Just tie it around your head and you've got an accessory that pulls her own weight!

So there you have it!  A Shabby French Ruffle Cuff/Headband!  Do you have any accessories that pull double duty?

Linking up to these fun parties!

The Shabby French Ruffle Cuff/Headband was featured!

OMTWI Season 7 Week 1 Voting is Open!

It's time! It's time!  All of the AMAZING projects have been posted for Week One of One Month to Win It Season 7 and voting is OPEN!  This week's theme is The Graphics Fairy and I am seriously blown away by the competition!  

So head on over and cast a vote for your fav! :)

One Month to Win It

Soooooo, I got some news...

I made it through auditions and have been chosen as one of the 12 contestants for One Month to Win It!  I am so excited!

I've been scoping out the competition and I'm a tad nervous!  We also got our schedule of themes and I'm already brainstorming ideas. :)

This season of OMTWI starts in January, but in the meantime, go check out the site to see the rules and themes and meet the judges and contestants!