Quilted "Headboard"

I've been wanting to do this for awhile and finally found a cheap curtain rod I liked. I spent 4$ on a set of new curtain rods at the thrift store. After some measuring and drilling I was able to hang this quilt above our bed. This will be our new headboard, as we don't have one now and aren't likely to get one anytime too soon. The quilt itself is just folded and pinned so it will hang on the rod. Now this quilt can be displayed instead of living in a closet.

Wine Cork Mat

Sick of making cork boards and trivets from recycled wine corks? How about using them for a bath or kitchen mat? Inspired my this, I wanted to make my own version of the wine cork bath mat. I cut all the corks lengthwise using my regular kitchen knife (and only cut myself once). The corks are then hot glued to a non-slip mat which I had sewed the fabric border on the edge. I had originally made this mat without the border but it didn't quite look right so I added the edging. This isn't the sturdiest thing ever so using it as a welcome mat may not be the best idea (unless you want corks disappearing as people trample over it and ending up all over your house) but I think it'd work great in a kitchen or bathroom.

Recycled Sweater Cat Bed

So Audrey loves to sleep on my sweaters. It seems if its wool and warm it belongs to her. So I felted some thrift store sweaters (washed them and shrunk them). Then cut them and assembled them into this kitty bed. She has slept on it, but it seems that now that I want to post this on here she refuses to like it. I have been unable to take a picture of her napping on it. Please notice the picture without the cat, the picture with the cat after being bribed with cat treats, and the picture of the cat sleeping next to the cat bed. Oh well, I suppose one can't win every time.

Plastic Bag Rug

This is a rug made out of plastic grocery bags (plastic bag yarn or Plarn!). The first step is making the yarn. This is crochet using only the crochet stitch. I am still a newbie crocheter that doesn't like to follow patterns so I made this "pattern" up as I crocheted. This is a work in progress that I've been crocheting off and on for a few months now. At one point I ran out of grocery bags (we try to mostly use cloth but forget fairly often) so I had to put this project on hiatus for awhile. My goal is to make it dining room rug sized (such as under your table), but I may get sick of working on it before I actually get this far. (please note skinny cat used for size reference) Due to the nature of the plastic material this rug will flatten if books are placed on top of it, so if my crocheting curls a bit it doesn't really matter.

From Drab to Fab

I found this ugly box by our dumpster. Sorry there are no before pictures but it was "tannish," dirty, and essentially very hideous. But I still saw the potential. It had a mirror and a cool locking mechanism. I decoupaged the top and interior with some wallpaper I had laying around. Then used a Glidden paint sample to paint the bottom. The only part I paid for was the wallpaper, which was maybe $3 at a thrift store ages ago and I still have almost an entire roll. I've been using this for my embroidery thread stash but I think it is destined for something else; that mirror calls out to be used, so perhaps for my makeup? Or perhaps to a special someone who actually likes pink? I'm not normally a fan of pink but it really seems to work here.

First Quilt Top Ever is Finally a Quilt!

I started this quilt back in... college.. I think sophomore year so at least 5 years ago I think. Technically this would be my first quilt ever but I never quite finished it until now so not really. This was made from a bed coverlet blanket thing, curtains and old denim jeans. I remember needing another 5 squares or so of denim and asking Nate if I could have a pair of his jeans that were slightly stained and worn out. We hadn't even been dating that long but he still let me cut up a pair of his jeans . (must have been true love ;) ) I ended up using two sheets for the back and an old comforter for the "batting" so this is almost 100% up-cycled.

Twiggy Bag

This was a pattern from the book Last Minute Fabric Gifts. This book has several great projects in it, although I think this is the first I have actually made. I have lots of post-it notes in it though for future projects/ideas. The best part is everything included is really quick to make. This bag only took me an afternoon to make. Next time I want to use interfacing to make it a little sturdier but its still a great bag. I love the vintage floral fabric I used to line this. (Please ignore the ugly cat that insisted on being in the picture. I think she's just trying to enjoy the only sunshine we're going to see for awhile.)

Magazine Bowl

I recently turned some unused air miles that were going to expire into magazine subscriptions. Now I have a few too many magazines hanging around. I do recycle them, but it still seemed like a waste. Inspired by some coasters my sister made me awhile back I used the magazine pages to create this bowl. It has a slightly oval shape and is pretty large. I don't really need anymore catchall fruit bowls so this will probably be some lucky persons Christmas present this year, but I'm not telling you whom.