Re-recovered dress form~

Well.... I re-recovered my sewing dress form that I puchased for $10 bucks this past summer. The dark fabric just seemed to be toooo dark, I still like it, but I was wanting a change. I made a cover that can be removed at a later date if I want to change it back! I started by covering the whole form with a thin layer of batting. I simply pinned it on and cut away the excess batting and stitched as I went. The whole thing can be pulled off to reveal the original dark fabric :-) I used foam core cut to size to fill in the arm holes. I poked yarn though the center of the foam so I could pull the foam core into place once the glue was placed on the form~This dress form is solid cardboard and it was always hard to pin things to, so I figured a little batting would help! Here is the dress form covered in batting~I then just draped some muslin fabric over the form and pinned & pinned & pinned. Then I just stitched along the pin lines..... and cut away the extra fabric and kept doing this until I finished the front & back. I added some foam core to the top of the dress form to hide the screw that makes the dress form bigger & smaller...I just taped it in place and filled in the gap with some batting. Then I just had to pin, cut and stitch the top.

I made a seam down the back that I didn't stitch closed. I simply pinned the back closed so I can remove it later if I want to. Taaaaaaa daaaaaaaaaaa new dress form~

Goofing around~

I'm still trying to streamline my studio. I think my things mutiply when I'm not looking~ Between the yarn I've accumulated...and the yarn my BFF recently gave me... I've got a ton of yarn! All of this was in various locations around my studio, hall closet and some even under the bed.I sorted the yarn, putting the same colors together and then packed it into bins which I labeled Yarn Box 1 & 2 & 3....

I cut a piece off of each skein and tied it around a ring and labeled each ring to match each bin.

I also wrote how many of each color skein was in each bin. The bins are going in the garage! and these little rings along with the paper telling me how much of each skein there are.... are going in my studio :-)

Granny cart~

I finally finished the fabric insert for my "granny cart" I like to use this when I go to some of the mile long yard sales we have here in town. Some months it is every weekend that they are held :-) I used an old worn quilt instead of new fabric... the backside of the quilt (which is now the inside lining of my cart) is a lovely rose print. I love the old look of this quilt. It was a very worn-old quilt, but I don't think it was an "antique" I picked it up from one of my local haunts for 5 bucks. I had previously taken the back fabric off of this quilt, which worked out well since the two pieces now have hidden seams. It has a very "shabby" look to it, which I adore!I also covered two bungee cords to match~ I would like to make a cover of some kind as I notice people like to peer inside my cart when its full of treasures lol-- which keeps me from delving deep into unopened boxes of treasures that have things for sale because I'm trying to keep an eye out for looters lolI often buy loads of magazines while hitting yard sales...but, what the heck do you do with them all? They start breeding when your not looking and before you know it, they are everywhere!

Over the years I've come to realize that most magazines only have a few things that I'm interested in ever seeing/reading/or trying (recipe wise) so, I've come up with a solution that works well for me. I rip out pages of things I want to view again-- and place all pretaining pages together into a single plastic binder page. Then I place all like things together in different binders. I have one solely for recipes, crochet patterns, art ideas etc. The remainder of the magazine I either pass on to friends or I donate to a thrift store-- I always mark the corners with a slash mark so I don't rebuy magazines lol

I'll post this recipe for snowball cupcakes when I make them, don't they look delicious?

Glittery life~

I've been feverishly working on organizing and decluttering my studio-- in part because it was sorely needing to be done and also because Sarah at "The Thrifty Chick" is hosting a "Declutter & organize" party on January 12th. So you would think with that deadline looming over my head (I work best under pressure) that I would be working hard on my studio clean-up... it is such an unorganized mess......things everywhere.....but noooooooooo...

I've been shopping. *woot-woot* Everything I've come across has been 75% off! Practically free! Look at all the Martha Stewart glitter I picked up for $2.20 each, the regular price was $8.97 each!!!!

I know, thats probably more glitter than I'll use in my lifetime..so I had better put glitter on EVERYTHING from now on! I got some killer Christmas ornaments for next year...Disney car stuff for my grandson, girlie things for my grandaughter (yet to be born) and finally.... ornaments from the movie "The Christmas Story" I just LOVE that movie :-) even a matching tree skirt! Heavens to Betsy! What a fun shopping day!!

ButTONS

Yep-yep...I have a TON of buttons :-) I have been visiting a blog called "Button Floozies" and I wanted to join in a long time ago...but I felt I didn't have enough buttons. (not that you need a certain amount, it was just my attempt to justify getting more) Well...I think with this last assortment of buttons I picked up for $15 bucks I am ready to join :-)I have created a mini slide show of some of my buttons.

Cutie-pie!

I got this male body form at a yard sale for .50 cents...hubba-hubba!
It was a stark white when I brought it/him home. I've covered it with this fabulous aged sheet music fabric which I decoupaged on the form. (bought at Walmart!) I had to snip it in a few places so it would go over some of the curves, but for the most part it is one solid piece covering the form. It is a work-in-progress mixed media piece, but for now its going to be nice to just have in my studio!

Sewing form~

Well.... it took me two days but I finally finished recovering the sewing form that I picked up last weekend for $10 bucks. I had thought at first I would cover the whole thing with something light in color.... but instead I used some tapestry fabric that I had on hand. It is black with little rose clusters all over it. The photo doesn't show the detail in the form-- but it is one of those "exploding" forms. One that you can pull apart to make larger. Thats why it took so long to cover, I had to cover each section individually....after pulling off all the old fabric of course. My finger tips are very sore right now with all the hot glue mishaps and the pulling off of bits & pieces of stuck on fabric! I'm just thrilled to have accomplished something-- heck, anything! I've been steadily working on the baby crocheted sweater-- eh gawds, I am so not good at crocheting clothing.... I'm not giving up-- YET but it is very slow going~

Still goofing around~

Still aimlessy goofing around... I painted this clock (with scissors as the hands... neat huh)pink-- it was a bright-bright gold color, I think the pink toned it down nicely~ It was a $2 dollar boutique find, I had it shoved in with my fabric stash for about a year. I do that, buy stuff and then just shove it in drawers/cabinets for years & years sometimes. I guess that means I'm a pack-rat? It didn't photograph all that well, it is super cute in person!I added ribbon & buttons to my bulletin board-- looks much better now. All I have to do is add stuff to the boards, but hey, I'm in the "lazy" mode so who knows when I'll get around to doing that lolHere is the "whole picture"Next, I'm going to tackle painting the little bookshelf that sits under these bulletin boards.

I started a couple more projects-- I'm crocheting a little childs sweater (for the fair) I've never crocheted clothing before :-P I've also starting making yo-yo's. I tend to make yo-yo's when I just want to give my hands something to do~ kinda mindless cutting & sewing. Still plugging away at the baby blanket I'm crocheting. The pattern is driving me buggy so I've had to distract myself with other projects~

Cleanin'....

While cleaning out my fabric stash, I came across some fabric from the Pottery Barn (actually its a sheet) that I just LoVeD and had been meaning to use for something-someday...so I stopped cleaning and started sewing and whipped up this little number. I used a plastic bag for the pattern and made an enviromentally friendly bag. It has a pocket on one side that the whole thing folds into to make a little "pillow" (excuse the wrinkles, but I had it folded up!) Upon finishing that up...I went outside and spray painted two matching small bulletin boards I just picked up for $1.50 each~ *I know, what an oxymoron...lol... lets save the environment/spray painting LOL * Anywho, I used the same Pottery barn fabric to cover the bulletin boards. I then shabbied up the frames a tad by rubbing a black ink pad along the edges :-) I LOVE matchy-matchy! these two bulletin boards are going in my studio... I am still wanting to put ribbon cris-crossed over the two bulletin boards, but I'm needing the right color of ribbon to finish it off. Hmmmm I guess I'll just have to go shopping! I had some long bits left over... so I made some flowers as well!
Anything to get out of cleaning~

Here....

kitty-kitty. All dolled up with a new red collar & bell~

Big news? Secret??? Yes, I must tell...and tell NOW :-) My daughter is two months pregnant with her second child. *hooray!* AND.... they are putting their first home on the market and will be buying a larger home-- *hooray again!* I have been busy helping them do things at their house to help them get top dollar for their home-- busy, busy, busy. I just finished putting in a small brick patio, crazy huh~ This weekend I will be doing more of the same :-P painting, laying bark in the flower beds.... and whatever else needs to be done. *fun times ahead!!*

Puttering around~

I saw a picture in a book of a kitchen appliance cover that was made to look like a sleeping cat (so 1970's!).... well, I didn't read the instructions *never do* and whipped up my version of a sleeping kitty to cover up my sewing machine. I held up some paper to the sides of my machine to get a good idea of how big to make a pattern, then I just pinned those pieces to some fabric to go over the top & sides-- and just started cutting & pinning & cutting some more until it was a good fit-- sewed a little bit and taaaaaaa daaaaaaa it was made "lickety-split" :-) In the original photo of this sleeping cat cover-- it had a collar... I'm going to do this as well, plus add a little bell! I'll post an updated photo when I've finished that ;-)

Theme Thursday~

This weeks theme is: Torso/MannequinThis torso jewelry stand I purchased for a few bucks many years ago. It was in my daughter's room for years covered in leopard fabric, now it sits in my studio... I covered it with vintage sheet music~