Paschal Halloween costume

My niece wanted to be rapunzel for Halloween so the whole family decided to play the part. Only problem was they wanted the youngest to play Paschal, the chameleon. After look up pictures of chameleons this is what I came up with. Stinking cute family aren't they??

Dragonfly Costume

My little niece decided that she wanted to be a dragonfly for halloween. She didn't want wings and wanted a pretty dress. Now this was going to be tricky...

I started with the skirt utilizing some fabric my mom had mailed me from some old curtains.

Next I added the body of the dress but it was boring. I cut out a sequin heart but it still just wasn't right.

So I decided to add some stripes to help it look more bug-like. What do you think? 

Bike Wall Art

My husband and I are really into cycling and I wanted something to hang on our wall that reflected us. Of course I grabbed my sewing box and starred at it until something came to mind. Pulling up a picture of a bicycle on my computer I started to arrange my buttons on a piece of card stock to match. The wheels blended in too much so I found some sequins in my box left over from a halloween costume for my nieces. I still didn't think the sequins stood out enough so I added little pieces of foam under each sequin to help it pop of the page. Now was the time to plug in the hot glue gun. And last of all was to put it in a shadow box and hang on the wall above our TV.

Painting a Door to Find a Husband

After college I moved to Colorado and got my very own apartment. My first endeavor was to decorate. Every time I was on Pinterest I came across the cutest painted doors. So of course I had to have one. I got lucky and found one for $5 dollars at a garage sale but my car was too small to bring it home. Luckily I met a guy at church on Sunday with a truck. After some persuasion he offered to help me pick it up the next day. And 3 months latter we were married :) And now it's a year and a half latter and I couldn't be more grateful for my pink door. 

Equipment:

Door 

Small sponge roller

Paint tray

Sandpaper

Door knob

Paint

Steps: 

1. Sand out any dents, sand away paint chips or peeling paint. 

 I forgot to pick up sandpaper so I ended up sanding with a nail file... I recommend Sand paper but a few of them did the trick.

2. Lay down plastic or sheets to protect your floor. 

3. Paint the entire surface with a mini sponge foam roller. It took 2-3 coats and I waited about 20 minutes in between coats. 

I was on the hunt for the right door knob for months before my sister in-law gave me a neat antique one from remodeling her home. I think it's just perfect.

Now the door sits in the corner of my living room with a welcome sign that changes every month. 

Recovering an Ottoman

I started with this not so fab dirty ottoman. First step is always remove the existing cover. I was careful again not to rip it too badly as it was going to become my pattern for the new ottoman. The corners were sewn to make this a clean rectangle shape. Using the seam ripper I removed the corner seems so I could lay the fabric flat. Once the orange fabric was removed I pinned it to my new fabric and cut. Next step is to sew the corners together to give shape to the fabric. Slip the rectangle over the stuffing and staple to the bottom.

The legs had a neat shape and I wanted to keep that look. Using fabric sheers I cleaned up the corners to match the shape of the legs. I made sure not to cut too close so there was a little bit of overhang. Using my hot glue gun I glued the fabric into the wooden grooves.

 I cut 4 strips of cord to fill in the grooves. Using a hot glue gun I started by glueing the cord under the ottoman (see previous picture of the underside). Using the notch or groove in the leg as a I guide, I followed the top edge of the leg with glue and pressed the cord into place. Not only did this add a nice accent but it hid the fabric I had previously glued. The end of the cord was then glued underneath the opposite side of the leg.

End table

I found an end table at a thrift store that someone had clearly made in their garage. It was $5 and even came with a glass top but had no finish or excitement. So out came the sand paper and blue paint.

Painting a Bike

I inherited my moms old GT avalanche but I felt like a fuddy diddy ridding next to my husband. So we decided to give it quite the face lift! And in the end I sold it to buy a new road bike! Best $15 I ever spent!

First we removed all the wiring and hardware. Including the forks and tires. My job from there was to sand. I had to get the clear coat off then smooth out the marble finish. I didn't bother removing all the paint down to the metal just enough that new coat would look smooth and not chip off. 

While I was at work my husband put a broom stick where the forks used to be. He then stacked tubs to balance the broomstick.

We bought primer, green and glossy spray paint. 

First he primed the body, forks and handle bars. It took 2-3 coats and an hour to dry in between. Next was the green. He only did green on the body and handle bars. This also took 2-3 coats. After everything was the right color he sprayed 2-3 layers of the gloss coat. Make sure to do thin layers with even strokes. 

I rode the bike for several months got numerous compliments and didn't have problems with chipping.