Old Suitcase + Old End Table = New Suitcase End Table

I love my new end table!!! I think this project took me about 15 minutes and that's just because I put the legs too close together at first. I bought the suitcase about a week ago for $6 with this idea in my head. I had some furniture legs already (who doesn't keep that stuff around) but needed the proper screws so the suitcase became good storage until when (if) I found the right attachments. I ended up finding this hideously amazing end table at the thrift store that was perfect. The legs had attachments that made this project super easy. This is great for storage and is currently hiding some of miscellaneous craft stuff and looking great next to my half upholstered wing back chair.

Before:


After:

Eat Drink Be Merry Wallhanging

This was an old frame (with a hideous print in it) that I think I found by the dumpsters several apartments ago. Of course I snagged it up and ended up turning the print inside into my bottle cap heart. I coverered the frame in a piece of fabric I had and used it as a simple wallhanging. It worked well in our previous apartment that was quite large and had a lot of empty wall space. (You can actually see the fabric wallhanging above the mantle in the post about my bottle cap mosaic.) In our current much smaller apartment this floral wall hanging needed a lot more oomph. I stenciled "eat. drink. be merry." on it in a bright magenta. (I know.. pink things again!) I love my new wall hanging and have hung it above my bed. Now to hang the curtains in the bedroom and perhaps my bedroom will be complete. (oh yeah and procure a bedframe and redo my dressers)

Floral Drawstring Bags and Eyemask

This was a project I made for my MIL for her birthday this year. The bags are simple drawstring bags. The eyemask has lavender in it to aid in soothing one to relaxation (hopefully?) I ended up making two more drawstring bags in smaller sizes to use up the last bit of fabric I had. Hopefully these will be of useful but regardless they look pretty hanging.

My Apartment is(was) Beautiful: An Apartment Tour

I found these pictures I took of our apartment awhile ago. This was at a point when I really liked how everything was decorated. Things have changed at this point as we have added things, tossed things and I think even broke a chair or two.

This picture shows our "dining room." Looking at this picture reminds me that I liked this arrangement. Unfortunately two of those Ikea chairs have since broken (which makes 3 out of the original 4) and the dresser in the corner is blocking our heating vent so that had to move. The lamp above the table (paper lamp I made) needs to be rewired as it doesn't work anymore hence the lamp on the table. My favorite part of this nook is the rug which was an old tapestry I "quilted" onto a piece of sturdy heavyweight fabric. I have since moved this to our "living room" area seeing as it didn't really match the paper lamp. This is our "living room" area. I never really liked anything here. The couch we had was awful so I pieced together a love seat cover with a curtain to create the red and yellow monstronsity you see here. This was way better than the green southwest patterned couch but the cover would essentially fall off when you sat on the couch. I never really liked the arrangement of pictures above the couch either. They definitely need more continuity (same frames perhaps) and nearly all of these have since been moved to other areas of the apartment. I do like my coffee table though and my wing-back chair (both thrifted). I have started upholstering the wing-back chair and only have one "wing" left to go but have been busy with other project so its been half exposed for awhile now. (note to self: just spend the hour and finish this!!!) This is my awesome sewing & crafting nook. I loved this wall which has a few embroideries I've collected over the years (mostly crewel work) as well as some bulletin boards I made and an original watercolor a friend painted. Everything I needed for my various crafting was either in this sewing desk or on the bookcase you can see near it. Unfortunately we have rearranged our furiture (after acquiring a hideous yet comfy armchair) and this area doesn't really exist anymore. I hope to change things soon though and perhaps bring it back. This is our hallway leading to the bedroom, linen closet, water closet and bathroom. The best thing about this hall is the coat rack on the wall. This was a pot rack we had bought for a previous apartment (from Ikea). It actually makes our hallway useful and prevents a pile of coats from forming at the entrance of our apartment. This has stayed almost the same, although I would mind relocating some of the stuff on the floor for a more streamlined look. Below are a few pictures of things in the bedroom. Our staircase dresser was from a coworker of Nate's and needs to be refinished but is fairly presentable in its current state. The books were all stacked precariously on themselves and were mostly sturdy as long as the cat's didn't try to climb them. I have downsized our book collection however and they now all sit in a makeshift wooden crate bookshelf. We have also moved out mattress onto the floor as the frame and boxspring were broken and plan on replacing those with a lower Ikea or similar frame. This is some stuff (okay my stuff mostly) in our bathroom. It essentially showcases my jewelry, makeup and such so I actually remember it's there and wear it.

Poptab Sunburst Mirror

I technically made this for a craft challenge on Craftster.org but have been thinking about a sunburst mirror for awhile. I also have a very substantial pop tab collection. (and bottlecaps and wine corks and milk caps but that's an entire different story) I've been trying to work on downsizing my stash of crafting supplies lately and knew I need to start putting a dent in my tab collection. A challenge on Craftster allowed the perfect opportunity to put those tabs in action. I spent only $10 on the round mirror as everything else I had on hand. I used an old metal panel for the main back piece and cut foam board for the extra spires. I was too lazy for paint so I used black gaff tape to adhere the spires and make everything black. Epoxy was used to adhere the mirror and wood glue for the tabs (all I had on hand.) Now I have a great unique sunburst mirror that only cost me $10. I think I'm going to hang it in my bedroom, although it's quite heavy so I'm probably going to need to either find a stud or use anchors in the drywall.

West Wing Swap

I found these pictures on my old defunct camera. These projects were from a West Wing Swap I participated in at Craftster.org. It's a show Nate got me hooked on and we now have every season on dvd. Anyone who has seen this show is bound to get these projects. The first item is an embroidered quote from the show. "Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc" which is latin for "After therefore because of." I also made a tote bag (super sturdy too!) with a "napkin" saying "Bartlet for America" which is something seen in a few episodes of the show. The last item is a zippered pouch using an old t-shirt with bambi on it and stenciled the back with "Bambiesque?" which is a quote from the show. "Bambiesque: as does pertain to Bambi."



So anyone who has not seen this show please watch it because it's awesome! I really didn't think I'd like it at first but have now probably seen all 7 seasons at least 3 times. Just writing about this makes me want to start a West Wing marathon.

African Dashiki Dress to Wrap Skirt

I love wrap skirts and recently had one essentially disintegrate (I wore it too much for many years) and have been trying to replace it. I found a large mu mu like dress with a great pattern at a thrift store and knew that it was destined to be my new favorite wrap skirt. Of course I forgot a before picture but imagine it looked similar to this picture but longer. I've already worn this a lot and am looking forward to ditching the boots and wearing it with sandals. The action picture if from my recent trip to New Orleans where the weather was amazing.