Last Name Wall Art

I am one of those people who loves giving gifts.  I love it!  I love to really think about what someone might want or appreciate.  I love to see their reaction when they open it.  I love to design/create something unique that you can't find at the store. I just love everything about it! I love it!

I knew when I saw this tutorial from Full of Great Ideas that I had to make one and I knew exactly who I wanted to make it for...my parents.  Their anniversary is on Christmas Eve.  This means that even if I don't draw either one of their names at Christmas, I still get to give them a gift without breaking the rules.

After searching (and searching and searching) through all of the letters, I finally decided on a good mix of colors and designs that I knew they would like.  It was pretty quick and easy to create the design.  

Plus, I totally lucked out and came across this great frame at an antique mall.  It was originally a picture of a shoe and I only paid $12.  That's right...I said $12.

All that was left to do was print the design.  But for some reason I couldn't get my act together and get that part done.  Next thing I knew it was Dec. 21st and I hadn't done a thing yet.  So, without taking the time to check out the prices at all the different places I could have it printed, I rushed down to Kinkos and just went for it.  I am sure I could have done this cheaper, but I didn't have the time.  There was only 3 days left to get it printed and in the frame.  But, I don't regret it.  I turned out just as I had imagined.  I was thrilled with the final result.  

And more importantly, so were mom and dad!!

An Etched Cake Plate Tutorial

I love giving gifts!  And not just any gift, but unique personalized gifts.  

What better way to personalize a gift than with a name, initial, monogram, nickname, etc. on it?

A great way to make a personal, unique and sophisticated gift is to etch a cake plate (or pie plate or casserole dish or glass pitcher or glass vase or glass jar or mirror or window...you get the idea!)

Now it's your turn...

What you will need:

Glass Dish

Printout of the design you want to etch

Masking tape

Clear contact paper

X-acto knife

Paint brush

Armour Etch Cream

**Just a quick note about the Armour Etch Cream: I bought the 3 oz. bottle (with a 40% off coupon of course) and I was concerned it wasn't going to be enough to etch two pie plates.  I almost bought the larger bottle, but luckily I didn't.  Since I bought that bottle, I have etched 3 cake plates, 2 pie plates, 2 casserole dishes and a large counter top glass beverage dispenser and I still have half of the bottle left.**

Once you have decided on a piece to etch, make sure you clean with soap and water and the piece is completely dry before you begin.

Print your design in bold black print and trim to fit.  Tape your design to the inside of your piece.  Be sure to line it up exactly where you want the etched design to end up.  This will work as your stencil.

**If you choose to etch a piece with a rounded edge like my cake plate cover, it may be difficult to get it lined up perfectly.  Smooth it against the glass as much as possible.

Once you have your stencil where you want it, cut a piece of clear contact paper larger than the design.  You want to have plenty of extra area covered on each side of the stencil.  Smooth out all bubbles (or if the edge is rounded, smooth as many as you can...you want to make sure there are no bubbles in the same space that you are going to etch)

This part can require a lot of patience, depending on how intricate your stencil is.  Use your X-acto knife to create the stencil.  Trace along the outline of your design to cut out the same design in the clear contact paper.  **Keep in mind the etching will be done on the area where the contact paper is removed.

(It's pretty hard to get a picture of the design in the clear contact paper, but if you look closely you can see the "W")

Elevate the side of the glass piece you are etching before applying the Armour Etch.  This will help minimize any dripping.  If possible, lay the piece down so the stencil area is parallel to the counter top.

Using a paintbrush, fill in the entire stencil.  I have found that it works best if you put a thick coat on.  I always use a layer thick enough that you can't see any glass through the cream.  Let it set on the stencil for at least 5 minutes.  If you're not in a rush, let it set for 10 minutes. 

 After letting it set up, rinse all the cream off using cold water.  Once the thick layer of cream has been washed off, remove your stencil and thoroughly wash the entire piece.

Viola! A personalized unique piece!

A Piece of Family History

A few years ago my brother emailed me these pictures he found online of the U.S.S. Billingsley.  I thought this was so cool since my grandparents are Billingsleys and my grandfather is a retired US Army Colonel.  At the time, I had no idea what I could do with them, but I knew I would someday find a good project. 

I found this great tutorial at Under the Table and Dreaming on how to make your own printable photo canvas.  Check it out here.  When I saw this, I immediately knew which pictures I wanted to try this with.  I did have to make several attempts at getting these printed, but I think the problem was more with my printer than anything else.  But, if at first you don't succeed.....try, try, try, try, try and try again.

Thanks to Stephanie for the great tutorial!!  I love how they turned out and so did my grandpa!

A New Slipcover for my shameful couch

Several years ago I inherited this ugly, schizophrenic yet comfortable couch. 

She sat in the unfinished basement for a few years and was never used.  Then about 4 years ago, I moved and didn't have an unfinished area to hide her in.  So, I am embarrassed to say this, but she has been sitting in my house just as ugly as can be and I didn't do a thing about it. 

Finally, I have gotten my act together and made my very first slipcover...

Doesn't she look so much better?  Now I don't have to be ashamed when people come to my house.

Did you notice the adorable embroidered throw pillows?  Aren't they great?  These were a gift from my mom and you can read all about them here.  Stop by her blog and check them out!!!

  

The Ruffled Rose Petal Pillow Tutorial

I knew when I recovered my chair, I wanted to make a cute, fun and flirty pillow to decorate it.  It seems like everywhere I look, there are ruffles, ruffles and more ruffles.  And who doesn't love ruffles? 

So, I decided to make a Ruffled Rose Petal Pillow...

...and now you can too!!

Materials Needed:

White cotton fabric for pillow form (amount depends on size of pillow you want)

2 yards white (or whatever color you want the flower to be) jersey knit

Batting to stuff the pillow

Thread

Step 1:  We start out by making the pillow behind the rose petals.  Determine how large you want your pillow to be and cut two circles.  I decided to go big, so my circles are 18 inches diameter.

Step 2:  Now it's time to make some ruffles.  Cut jersey knit into 3 inch strips.  I used my serger  and serged the outer edge with a mixture of threads in blue, light blue and gray.  If you don't have a serger you could use a decorative stitch or leave it untouched.

Next you want to ruffle the opposite edge of the jersey knit strips than the one you just serged.  My serger has a built in ruffler, so I used that.  If you don't have a ruffler foot to attach to your machine, you can hand ruffle the strips as you stitch it on to the pillow.  Also, if you don't have a ruffler foot....get one!  They are amazing!!

Step 3:  Time to create a rose!  Now that we have all the ruffle we need, it's time to stitch it on the pillow.  Starting from the outer edge of one of your circles you cut out in step 1, pin the ruffle all the way around until the entire edge is covered and stitch in place.  Without cutting the ruffle, pin another circle between 1/2 inch to an inch in from the outside ruffle.  It isn't necessary to be exact here...I just estimated as I went. 

Continue stitching each circular row down, one at a time. This can become a little time consuming, but it's worth taking the extra time to pin one row at a time. 

Eventually you end up at the center.  I folded in a few extra inches of my ruffle to give the center some fullness.

Step 4:  Put the pillow together!  Now that you have created your rose, you want to create your pillow.  With right sides together, stitch the other circle to your rose petal.  Leave a small opening so you can flip the pillow right side out and stuff it. 

Step 5:  Flip the pillow right side out and stuff with batting to desired fullness.  Hand stitch the opening closed.

Viola!!  You now have a fun and flirty ruffled rose petal pillow!