DIY: Lamp Revamp

The only products I used: a sharpie and some acrylic paint I had on hand. Talk about cheap!

Okay, so, my parents gave me this lamp. I loooved the body and found the curves and details to be quite beautiful. However, I hated the lamp shade and the color bronze just wouldn't go with anything I have. So I decided I to paint the body and either find a new lamp shade or somehow, try revamp it.

I saw an awesome diy on Pinterest recently that showed a lamp shade in which they wrote on the lamp shade with a sharpie.

Yay! I might like sharpie crafts a bit too much, so that is totally what I did!

This lamp shade is suede. Blech! I figured if this didn't turn out good, I was going to get a new lamp shade anyway. I chose to write Psalm 139 on it and when I realized that I had more room I wrote Psalm 100 down as well.

I painted the lamp body white with acrylic paint I had on hand. I left brush strokes that are slightly visible simply because I like that look. I don't always like a neat painting job.

After writing on it.

Two products: Sharpie and Acrylic paint...wow

 

How do you think it turned out? I really like it!

15 Ways to Re-Use Widowed Socks

A few days ago my dad wrote on my blog: "You'd be rich!" if you could come up with ways to re-use widowed socks. So here I am giving you ideas on how to re-purpose your widowed socks. That is, socks without a match. (Not at all in order to "get rich" but because I thought it was a cool idea!)

Through the help of Pinterest and Google, I found some pretty cool uses for socks! I was not able to find many uses for men, but for women, moms and decorators. If you have any ideas, please post them here by commenting and I will share your ideas!




1. Wine Bottle Cover : This cover costs $12.95 at www.zgalleri.com. I don't know about you, but I seriously think that this could be handmade at a fraction of the cost! You could make something similar for FREE with your own wandering sock!

2. Cozy for Planter : Ange from www.lushlee.com gives the idea of using a widowed sock for a cozy around a planter. How stinkin' cute is that!!

3. Just Hang 'Em Up : It's as simple as that! Have them out in the open, on display so that one day you will find its match! (An unknown source.)

4. The Sock Bun : The famous sock bun. It seems to be a big hit right now and this is definitely for the ladies! Use a widowed sock to give yourself a perfect round bun and when you take it out, your hair might just be in perfect curls! Morgan from www.xoxomeblog.com has another tutorial for this up-do!

5. Snow Man Ornament : Sheri from Childmade gives us a great tutorial on how to make a snow man ornament out of socks! Make yourself an ornament for the Christmas tree! I'm sure after looking at her tutorial you can get even MORE ideas about ornaments!

6. Baby Rattles : Jill at Homemade by Jill has a easy-to-follow tutorial of home-made baby rattles! These are so cute!

7. Baby Mobile: Make a simple mobile out of unused or unwanted socks! Very quick tutorial here at www.spoonfull.com (Courtesy of Family Fun Magazine) This idea is something I'd love to try in the near future! Maybe for baby #2! ;)

8. Sock Wreath : Becca shares with us on www.bluecricketdesign.com how to make a sock wreath! I never would have thought of this but it actually looks pretty cool! I don't know about you, but most of my socks are white and my husbands are black. A solid black or solid white wreath might actually look pretty neat! What do you think?

9. Sock Bouquet : I seriously want to put these in the nursery or in the study! A bouquet of flowers made from socks! Heather from How Does She? provides us with a great picture tutorial on how to make this! Check it out!

10. A Wire Cozy : This is for everyone, including men! Use a sock to hold your wires together. All those wires behind the computer desk you can now hold together with a sock! (Another tip, use the plastic clips/ties on bread bags to label your wires!) This tip needs no tutorial.

11. Bath Mat : Make this bath mat out of socks unused socks! It's looks pretty easy!

12. Another Wine Cozy : This wine cozy is so cute! Use a knee-high sock for this! 

13. Sock Vases : By Grace Bonney. Cover your vases with a sock to add color and texture! 

14. Use an old or widowed sock for dusting your house.

15. Washing/Drying your car.

DIY: Lace Vase

So, I did this well over a month ago. Took pictures and everything, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Not that it looks bad, in fact, my sister said it's her FAVORITE yet (of the projects I have done). The idea is BRILLIANT! Attach lace to whatever you want to paint then spray paint over it. It leaves a delicate lace print on your canvas.

I have several empty vases that have been just scattered about my bedroom and I figured it was time to revamp some of them!

I found some scrap lace in my room (haha, yea) and some eggshell spray paint in the garage and I decided I would play around with it.

Here's what I did and how it turned out!

First I put the rubber bands there in order to hold it until I could find a better way to hold the lace down.
 Then I decided it might be neat to seat if the rubber bands leave a cool pattern.

So, I used what source I had (duct tape, haha) to hold down the lace.
I covered the back side, partially because I did not have even lace to cover the enter vase, but then I thought having a clear backside would still be considered cute. I also chose to NOT paint the strip covered by duct tape. AGAIN, just playing around!

Letting it dry.

Not half bad, huh?

Close up. I like what it looks like in detail, but I definitely need to perfect it! :)
It's a little smudgy because I did not wait for it to dry 110%! Shame on me, I know. I'm a little impatient. :)

Whenever I attempt this again and really TRY to make it turn out well, I will post pictures! Bloggers promise! :)


God Bless!

~Mrs. S

Repurposing and DIYs

I am so excited! For Christmas I was given some of the greatest gifts from my family!

I received, first off, a HUGE amount of fabric, thread, needles and things of that sort from my mother-in-law. I will never need to buy needles or thread, at least for a really long time. My father-in-law bought me a beautiful case for my sewing supplies. It is white with green leaves printed all over it. ♥ Yay! He also gave me some starter supplies (SO needed) like scissors, pins, etc. My sweet husband bought me some yarn, a nice new sets of crochet hooks and a Crochet Bible. (I kept telling people that I really wanted to learn how to crochet. I know right?! How could I have not learned yet?!) My "other mother" and good friend, Katherine Oram, gave me one of her old Singer sewing machines, along with some more thread, scissors, some frames (so I can be crafty) and a bread machine! Finally, my parents bought me another battery for my camera and an AMAZING flash that I desperately needed to own. Now my pictures, no matter the location or time of day, can be beautiful! Yay!

I cannot express to you all how excited I am! I have been so blessed with the tools I need to do what I really want to do, repurpose what I have, make what I want (at an affordable rate), and learn it well enough so that I can teach my own children one day (and others) how to do it, too!

Anywhoozlebees... Yes, "any-whoozle-bees," be on the lookout for new posts! Since I have so many more craft supplies and new tools for my photography, there will be many more posts! DIYs, Sewing, Crocheting, and Photography! Oh my! ♥

Thank you so much for your support! You have no idea what your encouragement and support have done for me! I love you all! Thank you!

~Mrs. S.

Holiday DIY Challenge

Hey everyone!

Here is my challenge to you this week as you really begin to get ready for Christmas:

Take a walk. Go outside and enjoy nature. Breathe in the wonderfully brisk air. Thank your Heavenly Father for His work. Be amazed at His creation. While on your small journey, pick up some flowers or branches that you can use to put in one of your empty vases. Pick up some pine cones and create your own holiday craft/decor. Let this bit of nature remind you of all the blessings you have,...all because of Jesus Christ.

Below are websites with creative ideas.

Here are two websites with some cool pinecone craft/decor ideas!
Country Living Online            
Re-Nest

DIY: T-Shirt Scarf

I love scarves, but honestly I hate buying them. Even if I were to find a scarf that I really really really like, I probably wouldn't buy it. Unless it was maybe $5 or less. I need some scarves seeing as winter is on its way, so I figured I could cut my old white t-shirts and make another infinity scarf. One medium t-shirt (womens) is not a large enough scarf, so I used both t-shirts.

Here is my tutorial.

Step 1: Cut the bottom of the shirt off. From the end to the arm pits.

Step 2: Cut one side of the T-Shirt, opening it up to a rectangle of sorts.

Step 3: Repeat steps 1 & 2 with the second shirt.

Step 4: Sew together the sides of the T-Shirts. [_1_] <---> [_2_] The right side of t-shirt one to the left side of t-shirt 2. (Reminder: Turn the shirts inside out when sewing.)

Step 5: You should now have one giant rectangle of sorts. [____]  Now sew the two ends together so that it makes one giant loop. (Reminder: Turn it inside out when sewing.)

If you are more of a perfectionist than I am, then you can hem up the edges in which you previously cut.

As you can probably see, my two t-shirts are different sizes. I did not even realize they were until I took that picture. I am not a perfectionist and I really only made the scarf so that I could have a scarf that would keep me warm. Therefore, I did not do much to make it even. I just went along with the flow. It seemed to work out well, though!

Finished product.

1. Doubled  2. Tripled

DIY Scarf & Lamp

I am learning more and more that I am definitely someone who needs a schedule. I am what they call A.D.D. and I can be so much more productive if I plan to focus on certain chores during certain times.

Anyways, I am starting to understand what works best for me. One thing I learned in the past week, is to do my crafts first thing. That way, if I have to wait on something to dry I can go about my business and come back later. Basic. I know. I hate writing down a schedule because I have such a hard time following them and then when I look back at it in the evening I feel a little guilty knowing I didn't do "what I planned" to do. Christ has been so wonderful to me as to give me the clarity it takes to know what I should do and when I should do it.

Lately I have awakened to the smell of coffee and for some reason, the warmth that it brings (any warm drink, really) allows me to sit back and embrace the day. Then as I finish my coffee I start with my simplest of chores. Picking up trash, putting the dishes in the sink, making my bed...etc. Next I start/finish a diy project in which I dreamed about up until that point. The rest of my day involves chores on my to-do list and the occasion break where I can sit down, pick my feet up and possibly drink another cup of coffee. I choose to work all throughout the day and take a long break around dinner time so that I can spend time with my family. Possibly watch an episode of Chuck or NCIS. Family favorites. Then after everyone gets into bed, I take a few minutes to tidy the house so as to be clean when I wake up.

It has taken years to find a system that works for me. Not that this will work for the rest of my life, but as for now, it will do. ♥

Okay, enough of my rambling. I have had a few items in which I have really wanted to remake or reuse for a while now. Two white t-shirts and a lamp. So, I turned my t-shirts into an infinity scarf (one giant circle scarf) and I revamped my lamp.

1. Doubled up.  2. Tripled

LOVE the revamp!

Feeling Crafty

I love love LOVE crafts. However, I have not always had the means or the money to actively be crafty. I bought a men's X-Large T-Shirt at Summit Chase in Byron, GA and cut it up basically. Haha, okay...

More specifically, I cut the bottom part of the shirt off (from the bottom to the armpits). This is an infinity scarf, so there is no sewing involved. All I did after cutting the bottom part off, was cut strips on one end, and voila! A sweet new scarf!

Picture taken with my webcam.