The Clock

I work at a daycare, and by the front desk, there is a wall decorated with several painted canvases. In the middle, there is a clock. The problem is that the clock is heavy and likes to fall unexpectedly.

Poor clock. Its numbers are askew from hitting the floor too many times. Time for a change.

First, I took the clock apart. The structure was easy enough to remove, but I had to consult with a higher authority (Google) to take apart the mechanism and found this helpful guide. Using a box knife, I slit a little X in the middle of one of the painted canvases, inserted the clock mechanism through the hole, then put the hour, minute, and second hands back where they belonged.

For the numbers, I used my Cricut and some scrap vinyl. Getting them evenly spaced around the clock face was a little rough, so the time displayed isn't exactly correct all the time, but it's close enough for our purposes.

 

Ta-da! No more falling clock.

Messy Mugs

I like coffee. It's my favorite. It keeps me awake and alert. It's good for reading and time with friends and rainy days and sunny mornings and Saturday morning cartoons and road trips....

SusanNewberryDesigns

Ahem. I digress.

When people know that you like coffee, you tend to be given coffee related items. It's been years since there has been a birthday or Christmas without at least one mug hidden under the wrapping paper. Which leads to this:

Mountains of mugs. It was becoming dangerous to open the cabinet door.

After consulting with the fellow decision-makers of the home (mom and dad), we settled on a peg board with hooks. No ordinary pegboard would do, of course. We had some left over medium blue paint in the basement that dad used for the base coat. I went to Lowe's and bought light blue and bright green paint samples.

I wanted a floral design, so I created a stencil using a plastic 2 pocket folder (I got mine at Staples) and an X-Acto knife. I also made one to use for the vine.

Next, I grabbed a tasty beverage, turned on some dancing music, and started painting. I used a foam brush for this project. The vine was fairly simple, just rotating one stencil back and forth. For the flowers, I had to flip the stencil from one side to the other which meant that I had to clean it a lot more often and got paint all over my hands (not unusual).

Connecting the flowers to the vine was a little more difficult. I tested the foam brush that I had been using, but it was no good. Really messy and hard to control. I had another brush hanging around the house, but wasn't happy with those results either. I finally dug an extra cosmetic sponge out of my makeup bag and was able to have a little more control over where the paint was going.

Everything dried without being smudged or walked on by the cats. Success.

 Welcome Aboard!

The Dress: From Tacky to Fabulous

Occasionally, I am lucky enough to find or be given a piece of clothing that is undeniably from a very specific era, that it can only be worn by the most adventurous fashionistas who don't mind walking the thin line between tacky and retro.

This dress was one of those pieces.

Take a moment to soak it all in.

Giant mutton sleeves. Bustle and bow on the backside. Cathedral train. Loads of gathering at the hips. Basque waist. Enough beading to sink a boat.

All things that might be wearable on their own if you wanted to stand out a bit. All together, however, and you're asking for mockery.

It seems a shame to let such a unique dress go to waste. So I got to work.

First thing to go was the sleeves.

Seriously. So much stiff tulle in there, you could use it as a pillow if you didn't mind waking up with the lace and bead pattern embedded into your face.

I saved all of the small pieces of lace and the beads to use for other projects (waste not).

After the sleeves were off, you were able to appreciate the beautiful work on the bodice without being overwhelmed. It had a lovely shape all on its own, but needed straps to hold it up. It's just too heavy otherwise. I chose to go with thin ones using some of the fabric from the train.

Next, I tackled the bustle and the bow. I'm all for retro and reinventing old styles, but is this a trend that we want to revive? No. I think not.

Oh, my, god. Becky, look at her butt. It is so big. She looks like, one of those rap guys' girlfriends.

The front of the dress was a conundrum. I put it on my dress form and stared at it for a few weeks before I had an idea, and it was another couple of weeks of staring before I worked up the courage to take my scissors to it.

Again, nothing intrinsically wrong with it, but my goal is to simplify. I finally decided that I would remove it, creating a high-low hemline. Perfect to show off some really adorable wedding shoes. By removing the middle of the front, I also removed a lot of the overall weight of the dress which allowed it to fluff outward a little more evenly (unexpected bonus!).

The train was the most time consuming item on the list.

Again, very beautiful, but it just doesn't work with everything else. I trimmed it down to a sweeping train and hand stitched the lace back onto the hem. It took forever, but it was worth it.

I think that I'll use the lace and tulle that I removed for a veil.

Here's a few pictures of the finished project. The plan is to sell it on Etsy. I think this would be the perfect dress for a bride with an adorable pair of shoes and a weakness for beading.

 

Rocks and Wire

I'm going to talk a little more about my recent trip out west.

I had a long list of people that I wanted to give a gift from Arizona, but couldn't afford to drop more money on the trip (if I'm honest, the byline for this blog should probably be "I'm broke, and I like to make stuff.")

My solution: Rocks

Yes. Rocks. Every souvenir shop has them. I saw them all over. Not overly special. I got a small bagful for less than $7 when we visited the Grand Canyon.

What makes them special is a little bit of jewelry wire, a pair of pliers, some ribbon, and a chunk of time.

I used 18 gauge wire to wrap the stones. I also picked up the metal clasps to attach to the bit of ribbon that I used to make the necklace.

I like the way they turned out, and everyone seemed to like their personalized gift. What more could you ask for?

Camera Bag

I love my camera. I really do. It's an Olympus Pen. The problem is, I have never been able to find a case to keep it safe on my adventures.

So here's what I did.

I tore apart an old camera bag and used the padding to make a section inside.

The trim is some kind of faux leather that I hand-stitched all the way around. The trim is the reason this project sat in the dreaded basket of unfinished things.






The straps (although I would have preferred a more sturdy material) are convertible and adjustable. If I pull them from the side, I can wear it as a backpack, but if I pull the strap from the top, I can use it as a messenger bag.




I used it on a recent trip to Arizona and it was great. As a backpack it was perfect for some hiking, and as a messenger it was great to take out around town.

It's Magic!

Knitting is a great way to pass time that I would otherwise spend twiddling my thumbs. Oil changes, doctor's visits, and long car rides are no longer total wastes of my life.

People react to a pair of knitting needles in different ways. Sometimes a get to hear a story about a favorite aunt, sometimes people bemoan their lack of creativity (Total nonsense, by the way. Anyone can be creative, they just need the practice and encouragement), and sometimes they pull out their own needles and show off their current project. Kids are, by far, my favorite though. They have all kinds of questions. When I have the patience, I slow down and show them how it works, but most of the time the answer is simply, "It's magic." I get to call myself a wizard, and the kids get a good giggle. Win-win.

However, there is one problem.

My purse is generally a mess.

I could carry a bag just for the knitting I guess, but then I would be lugging around two, separate but equally messy, bags. Hello, crazy bag lady.

So, here's the solution: a bag that I can toss in whatever purse I'm already carrying, without fear of lost stitches or sunglasses getting stuck in the middle of a row.

Pretty simple design. It's about 11" square, lined with muslin, zipper closure, and one outside pocket (handy for storing a copy of the pattern).

I wanted the embroidery to be messy, so I used a straight stitch back and forth.

I would have like a bigger opening, but I happened to have a 7" zipper laying around and couldn't justify buying a new one.

I love it. My knitting is now safe from errant sunglasses and lost stitches. Plus, it makes it slightly easier to switch purses.

A Few Sticks and a Bench Grinder

No one in my house uses the flat sheets that come in bedding sets.  No one.  We have a giant stack of them in our linen closet, so when I discovered this post that puts them to better use, I was very excited and promptly tore the sheet to bits. I was left with a ball of rags that was bigger than my head, but no desire to spend $12 on a pair of giant knitting needles or even $3 for a crochet hook.

So I made my own.

I picked up a 5/8 dowel rod (about the same diameter as size 19 knitting needles and size Q crochet hook) for less than $2 and cut it into three pieces.

After some thinking and consulting with an expert (thank you, dad), I discovered we had a bench grinder in the basement that dad had bought to sharpen lawn mower blades. Perfect! 

Now I have by giant needles and hook for less than $2.  I used the same basic pattern as she did, but did a row of reverse crochet around the edge of the mat to keep it from curling up on the edges. I love it, and I am already trying to think of another project to use up a few more of those sheets that are only being enjoyed by the moths and looking forward to making some nice, chunky scarves and afghans with my new (super inexpensive) needles and hook.