Easy Giant Pincushion

(that's an antiquie sewing macine-it's not that giant of a pin cushion)

I am very proud of the shelves that I hung all by myself  (tutorial here)in my craft room, but they needed something fun -worthy of their awesomeness.  So I decided to make a GIANT pincushion.  I searched and searched for a pattern, but most of them were on quilting sites and would require way more effort then I was willing to spend, so I came up with my own:

Download: PDF  Instructions Here.
Let me know if you have any questions.


Then I needed some giant pins.  I used BBQ skewers, wooden beads and spray paint (right after I took the pic, I remembered that I had some silver paint).  I just used hot glue to attach the balls on the skewers and gave them a coat of silver paint.

I cut tiny holes in the pincushion and slid the pins in the holes.

TADAA!

Here's where I party.

Laundry-Bring it on!

BEFORE

source

Most days, my laundry room looks like it belongs on an episode of Hoarders.  It drove me crazy.

I've had a few laundry sorters through the years, but they just never quit worked out.  I wanted to make those pedestals to go under my washer and dryer, but some people said it will mess up my appliances-something about not being balanced? ? Then I found Ana White's Laundry Dresser.  I showed it to my dad, and he was so excited that we started right away.  I spent $42 on supplies and a couple of hours later, we* built this:

( I know the pics aren't great-I'll take better ones when the laundry room is done)

It is 2 pieces so you can either stack them on top of each other, or place them side by side. (I like the side-by-side better, but it won't fit in my laundry room.)

I've been using it for a few weeks and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!  Yesterday, I finally got around to painting it.  I used some leftover paint from my craft room-Dutch Boy's Flickering Flame. I'm so excited, that now I want to make the laundry room all pretty-I even bought some fabric for curtains.

Its new home. 
 I stuck the Laundry Symbol Art on top.  What do you think?
Thank you Ana White!

If you want to make one, click here for detailed plans and instructions.
 Note-instead of using metal angles to hang the baskets, we used wood.

* Disclaimer: When I saw "we", I really me that my Dad built it and I would occasionally hand him a tool and sometimes even actually use a screw driver.

UPDATE: The room is done-click here to it.
Linking up here

#19 Learn how to Hang a Shelf

I've been working on the craft room for months, and it may never be finished, but I did make some progress-I hung some shelves!  I have shelves and I can cross off #19 on my 40 by 40 list.

The "craft room" also serves as the office and the library, so it's pretty crowded.  My dad suggested cutting the bookcase in half to make the room look less cluttered.  It's just a cheap one from Wal-mart, so I just sort of took it apart and then put it back together again w/out so many shelves.  I had to paint the top black and now it looks like it came that way.

I stole some shelving from my parents. The brackets were an ugly gray, but I spray painted them oil-rubbed bronze. This shelf was supper easy. I just drilled the brackets to the shelf and then drilled it to the wall. I am so proud of myself. It gave me the confidence to hang more. 

Tadaa!

(storage boxes here)

I couldn't find a tutorial anywhere to hang these types of shelves.  I'm embarassed to say that the first one took me almost 3 hours.  The second took under 10 minutes-here's how to do it.

DO NOT ATTACH THE BRACKETS TO THE SHELF BEFORE YOU HANG IT ON THE WALL, UNLESS YOU ENJOY FRUSTRATION. YOU WILL PROBABLY END UP DROPPING IT ON YOUR HEAD A FEW TIMES AND THIS WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO SWEAR.

Draw line on the wall-use a level so your shelf won't hang crooked. (or go buy yourself a lazer level, so you don't have to erase your pencil marks). 

Decide how far apart you want your brackets to be and draw dots.

If one of your dots is over a stud, just drill a hole, otherwise you need to put in a dry-wall anchor.

 Use a big-ole bit to drill a hole into the wall.

 Next screw the anchor into the wall.  Then, drill the screw in, about 90% into the wall. You want it to poke out a bit.

 Slide the bracket over the screw making sure it catches into the slot on the back.

Finally, place the board on top and screw in place.  (Next time, I'm going to try and counter-sink the screws and put furniture buttons on top)

Tadaa!  So far, all that's up there is an antique sewing machine, but stay tuned.

See that paper on my board-it's my  40 by 40 list and I just crossed off #19!

Linking up here.

Shabby Chic Giant Ruler Growth Chart

A few years back, Pottery Barn had a giant ruler growth chart.  Then about 500 bloggers knocked it off. (seriously they are all over Pinterest). I love this idea, but since 2/3's of my kids are as big as me, I think our family is past this stage of our lives.

I thought it was too fun of an idea not to steal, so I made one as a Christmas gift.

I started w/ a 6 foot piece of pine.

Step 1: Sand it
Step 2: Stain it
Step 3: Paint it white
Step 4:  Sand it along the edges
Step 5: Do not freak out when your youngest spills stain all over, instead just put a coat of stain on top of the paint
Step 6:  Sand it AGAIN

Step 7: I made a template out of contact paper to form the lines.

Step 8: Draw the lines w/ a sharpie ( I started 6 inches up, so when you hung it on the wall the measurements would be correct)

Step 9:  I cut out the numbers and their name out of vinyl

She probably would have preferred a gift card, but I love how it turned out.

I saw a cute idea: Each time you take your kid's measurement, you ask them what they want to be when they grow up and record it next to their measurement.

Linking up here

Linky # 22 Will Craft for...the cure to the after the holiday blues

<center><a <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">href</span>="http://<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">trophyw</span>.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">blogspot</span>.com/"><<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">img</span> border="0" <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">src</span>="http://i1111.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">photobucket</span>.com/albums/h480/<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">trophyw</span>/<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">willcraftfor</span>.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">jpg</span>"/></a></center>  Kids are in school, hubby is at work, and all the decorations are put away. I'm a little sad.  But seeing all your fabulous projects will make me happy! Before you start linking up, here are the fabulous features from last week's party:The most viewed link was Vixen Made's Baby Taggy Blanket: I also loved this light made from a colander from Dumped and Discovered: And this playhouse by Remodelaholic is amazing-it has a coffered ceiling and a cantilevered balcony.  Seriously! So know it is your turn! You know what to do. (Remember you only need to enter your e-mail address if you'd like to be added to my weekly e-mail reminder list-otherwise it isn't necessary).

   

How to Paint a Plaid Wall

Dutch Boy Paint sent me some paint and asked me to review it on my blog (review here). 

I was inspired by this piece of flannel and I thought a yellow plaid wall would look awesome in my craft room.

 Step 1:  Paint the base coat on your wall. I used the golden sunny yellow of  Dutch Boy's Flickering Flame.

 Step 2: Tape off your horizontal lines.  I used a metal ruler and a water soluble marker to mark the lines and then rolled out the tape. (I forgot to take into consideration the width of the tape, so I ended up with rectangles more than squares).

Step 3:  Tape off your vertical stripes.

Step 4:  Mix 4 parts glaze and 1 part paint accent paint (you don't need a lot-I used 1/2 cup paint and 2 cups of glaze).

Step 5:  Apply the glaze mixture to the vertically stripes

Step 6:  With an old towel, blot off some of the glaze.

Step 7: Repeat steps 5 and 6 to the horizontal stripes.

Hopefully that makes sense. The idea is that the squares that get the glaze twice will be twice as dark.

I am thrilled with how it turned out. I painted the base coat a few weeks ago, and was worried that the plaid would take all day, but it only took me about 2 hours.

Do you have a room that could use a little help? (who doesn't?) Click here to enter for a chance to win a room makeover by Danielle Hirsche and the Dutch Boy Design Panel.

Check out Dutch-Boy to learn more.

Linking up HERE.

Long Distance Love Pillows-Variations on a theme

My Grandma wasn't the only one that got a long-distance love pillow for Christmas. I also made one for my MIL out of this white dotted fabric and black wool felt. Good thing we don't live in Colorado and she doesn't live in Wyoming or people would just be confused why we loved rectangles.

 

 Next I made one for Aunt Peggy.  She has three adopted boys from Russia.  I found the country outlines online and printed them on freezer paper.  Then I cut out the shapes and ironed it on the fabric.  Then I just painted in each country's flag.

I made this last pillow for my sister.  We adopted her from South Korea when I was 9.  She also adopted a daughter from there and is in the process of adopting another (Adoption Rocks!). 

(Also if you check out the wall, you can get a sneak preview of my plaid wall in my craft room.)

I am super grateful to In Between Laundry for the idea.  It is such a great idea for wedding presents, Christmas presents or even Valentine's Day.

Linking up here.