It was, soon after, added to someone's treasury list, but still remains for sale. Snap it up using the coupon code from one of my previous posts, and it can be yours for a steal!
Friday, May 27, 2011
new stuff for sale at night garden vintage
I recently listed some new items for sale at my Night Garden Vintage shop, including this sweet vintage red bowling bag that I rediscovered during the clean-out.
It was, soon after, added to someone's treasury list, but still remains for sale. Snap it up using the coupon code from one of my previous posts, and it can be yours for a steal!
It was, soon after, added to someone's treasury list, but still remains for sale. Snap it up using the coupon code from one of my previous posts, and it can be yours for a steal!
burlap coffee pillow (designer diy)
I've been seeing some cool burlap projects (also called coffee sack, grain sack, or feed sack projects) in magazines (here), on blogs (here), and on Etsy (here).
These are just a few examples; you'll find tons of others with a quick on-line search, including about a ton of pillows, some in the $50 range and up. I've had a coffee sack hanging around the house for a few years now, and in fact, just dug it out of the spare room during the recent clean-out. It's possible I'm at the tail end of the New Depression trend on this one; I don't know. I still think it looks pretty graphic and cool. So I took an unattractive old cushion/pillow (also dredged up from the spare room) and stitched this nifty fitted cover for it.
Before:
After:
Instructions: Find a cushion and a burlap sack. My coffee sack came from a local coffee shop. You can also find burlap (about $2 per yard)and stencil your own designs (here's a recent tutorial that explains that process).
Wash and dry it.
Cut apart your sack so that you're working with a single layer of burlap at a time. Iron it flat.
Place your cushion over the part of the coffee sack you'd like to feature on your new cushion cover. Cut around the cushion, leaving an extra inch of seam allowance.
If your cushion has a defined side, measure it. Add two inches for seam allowance (one inch for top, one for bottom).
Using your cushion as a guide, pin and sew the two short ends of this piece to form the sides of your cushion. Leave seam on the outside.
Smooth the piece cut for the top face down on the cushion, and pin to the side, making sure the cover is taut.
Remove and sew.
With seam allowance still on the outside, put the cover back on your cushion, and pin the back piece most of the way around, leaving enough of the seam open to remove your pillow.
Remove and stitch.
Reinforce all seams with a row or two of zig-zag.
Turn inside-out, iron, and place on your cushion. Hand-stitch the opening closed.
Of course, simple, rectangular or square pillows are easier. Just cut two same-size pieces, stitch right-sides together, insert pillow, and stitch closed. I have some of the coffee sack leftover, so I'm thinking that, when this room finally gets done, I'll make another one.
These are just a few examples; you'll find tons of others with a quick on-line search, including about a ton of pillows, some in the $50 range and up. I've had a coffee sack hanging around the house for a few years now, and in fact, just dug it out of the spare room during the recent clean-out. It's possible I'm at the tail end of the New Depression trend on this one; I don't know. I still think it looks pretty graphic and cool. So I took an unattractive old cushion/pillow (also dredged up from the spare room) and stitched this nifty fitted cover for it.
Before:
After:
Instructions: Find a cushion and a burlap sack. My coffee sack came from a local coffee shop. You can also find burlap (about $2 per yard)and stencil your own designs (here's a recent tutorial that explains that process).
Wash and dry it.
Cut apart your sack so that you're working with a single layer of burlap at a time. Iron it flat.
Place your cushion over the part of the coffee sack you'd like to feature on your new cushion cover. Cut around the cushion, leaving an extra inch of seam allowance.
If your cushion has a defined side, measure it. Add two inches for seam allowance (one inch for top, one for bottom).
Using your cushion as a guide, pin and sew the two short ends of this piece to form the sides of your cushion. Leave seam on the outside.
Smooth the piece cut for the top face down on the cushion, and pin to the side, making sure the cover is taut.
Remove and sew.
With seam allowance still on the outside, put the cover back on your cushion, and pin the back piece most of the way around, leaving enough of the seam open to remove your pillow.
Remove and stitch.
Reinforce all seams with a row or two of zig-zag.
Turn inside-out, iron, and place on your cushion. Hand-stitch the opening closed.
Of course, simple, rectangular or square pillows are easier. Just cut two same-size pieces, stitch right-sides together, insert pillow, and stitch closed. I have some of the coffee sack leftover, so I'm thinking that, when this room finally gets done, I'll make another one.
Friday, May 6, 2011
wow. just, wow.
You like this? This is a cute little vintage "treat pedestal" available on BHLDN by maker E. Isabella Designs. It is an astounding $78.
This is an article from ReadyMade Magazine's MacGyver Challenge a year ago, telling you how to make the exact same thing. For $78, you could make more than a dozen, and have them on every table at your wedding. Things like this are why some people spend $20,000 on a wedding instead of on a downpayment for a house.
If you really need to buy something like this, because you don't like to use glue or have an aversion to DIY, you can buy a similar item on Etsy for between $12 and $20.
This is an article from ReadyMade Magazine's MacGyver Challenge a year ago, telling you how to make the exact same thing. For $78, you could make more than a dozen, and have them on every table at your wedding. Things like this are why some people spend $20,000 on a wedding instead of on a downpayment for a house.
If you really need to buy something like this, because you don't like to use glue or have an aversion to DIY, you can buy a similar item on Etsy for between $12 and $20.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
tabula rasa
I'll be posting more pictures of this soon, but this photo here represents about a hundred hours of work spread out over a month. More if you count the time I spent a few years back stripping the paint off that door and patching and sanding it. That was back when we'd intended to use it for a door.
So the reason for all the hours, for such a "before" looking image? This room, a few weeks ago, was packed to the brim with bins of art and craft supplies, childhood mementos, display items from my former bookstore, and theater leftovers. It's taken a monumental effort to get to this photograph: a clean slate, painted a soft, silvery gray, with the beginnings of a door-turned-headboard on the wall.
I've lost count of the trips to the charity store's donation drop-off. I've given a few things to friends. We held a one-day yard sale that paid for the bed frame and paint. And there's plenty stashed in the studio, and some stuff on my kitchen table ready to get the boot. The recycle and trash bins fill faster than Sanipac can haul it all away, so a friendly neighbor called the city to report us a couple of weeks ago. I frequently feel overwhelmed by the task at hand, which is essentially sifting through and getting rid of so much of my old self in order to have a clean, quiet space. One that we're intending for a guest room, but which the cats are pretty sure is really just for them.
Anyway, I'll go into more detail about the process later. That's all for tonight!
So the reason for all the hours, for such a "before" looking image? This room, a few weeks ago, was packed to the brim with bins of art and craft supplies, childhood mementos, display items from my former bookstore, and theater leftovers. It's taken a monumental effort to get to this photograph: a clean slate, painted a soft, silvery gray, with the beginnings of a door-turned-headboard on the wall.
I've lost count of the trips to the charity store's donation drop-off. I've given a few things to friends. We held a one-day yard sale that paid for the bed frame and paint. And there's plenty stashed in the studio, and some stuff on my kitchen table ready to get the boot. The recycle and trash bins fill faster than Sanipac can haul it all away, so a friendly neighbor called the city to report us a couple of weeks ago. I frequently feel overwhelmed by the task at hand, which is essentially sifting through and getting rid of so much of my old self in order to have a clean, quiet space. One that we're intending for a guest room, but which the cats are pretty sure is really just for them.
Anyway, I'll go into more detail about the process later. That's all for tonight!
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