The Cable Spool: Repurposed

Holy long time no blog batman! Sorry for the break but I felt that this lateset DIY was worth mentioning. With the help of some great neighbors (and hubby) I was able to welcome this gorgeous new addition to our living room!

THE CABLE SPOOL COFFEE TABLE!

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on an old cable spool then you will be lucky enough to sport one of these bad boys in your abode.  The great thing about these babies is that there are so many ways you can fit it to your personality.  They are all over the net but I didn't quite find one that stole my heart. 

I find that I rely too much on the internet.  It really makes me sad sometimes.  No...really.  I can slowly feel my own creativity getting lost.  So after a little while I put down my computer...and my phone...and my Kindle and I just went with it!  The Chalkboard Cable Spool Coffee Table was born!!

I love it so much!  My baby boy had been dying to use it.  He finally convinced me with his sweet, sweet voice...

"Mama, may I please color with the chalk on the chocolate table?  Please, mama??"

 *Sigh* There were a couple things I couldn't resist about that sentence.  One, his sweet manners.  Two, the fact that he describes everything that is black as "chocolate".  Good thing I have my SMASH book to jot all that cuteness in to remind me of when he grows older and less cute :) 

So here it is being put to use (2 hours before it's recommended curing time)!

Just pretend you can't see the random smeared white dots.  I didn't pay attention to the weather and left it outside in the rain before the wood filler had time to dry...oops!  Good thing I have teenage awesomeness next door!  Thanks Atikus for moving it in for me while I was out!!!  It has been spot treated with left over paint and is perfect now. Yay.

It fits so perfect!



Here are the guys doing all the hard work..Thanks y'all!

I hope you all are inspired to try one of your own!

Living, Loving, Crafting.

Chris

 

 

The Baby Shower: A Deserving Friend

It's been a while my friends!  But I am back and with some delicious snapshots of a celebration that is dear to my heart. 

If you are as lucky as I am you are blessed with a friend that goes back into childhood and is still around to share those happy moments in life.  We have a beautiful relationship that allows us to effortlessly pick up where we left off at any time even if that means we haven't spoke for months. 

So you can imagine how excited I was when she called me to lunch to share the news that she was having a little baby of her own!  And then later we found out it was a little girl!!  OH MY GOSH!!!  I want one!  HaHa, just kidding....not I'm not (but that's no secret).

I knew that a shower would be mine and I knew what it was going to have.  Frills and lace and everything gorgeous!  I was really sad when I was going through my pics and found that in my rush for time there were some details that didn't get captured like the lovely fabric flower pin for the mama-to-be, the burlap/paper banner and the AH-MAZING new three pot slow cooker my mama got me for Christmas that held the spinach artichoke dip, bbq beef links and tomato soup!  (you have to check it out...and you have to get one!)  Here are a few shots of the afternoon decor...

I had a blast planning this shower and seeing it all come together.  Thanks to all of you who helped in one way or another (Marina, Steph and Kavya)!  Love y'all!

And congratulations to Amreen and Mo!  We love you!

Living. Loving. Crafting.

Chris

Craft Night::The Yarn Wreath

So our first craft night was a major success.  The simplicity of getting great gals together around a table full of inspiration and spiked yuminess is just so darn beautiful.  And can I just point out before we go any further that I have the best neighbors ever!

We kicked off our group gatherings with a craft that all quickly fell in love with…the yarn wreath.  It’s addicting once you’ve done one.  And that my friends is a proven fact.  If you need proof just walk around my neighborhood.  And with that I leave you some fun snapshots of the night…

Apparently I open champagne movie style.  You know, how the cork goes flying through the air and champagne spews everywhere!  Thanks to Amber I now know the "twist and pull" method!

Our special guest :)

And by request, here is a quick tip on how to wrap the yarn wreath!

The Headboard: Everything's Better Upholstered

Rickey and I met in December of 2006, two days before my birthday.  We were married close to six months to the day later.  I immediately fell in love with him.  His sense of style for home decor however was another thing.  Over time and one by one pieces were sold and replaced.  It's been almost five years and we still have the bedroom set...I just didn't have the heart to take that away from him too. 

I recently have been thinking about doing our bedroom and the headboard has always bothered me.  It's just so...big...and manly.  Soooooah, I'll comprimise.  Rick gets to keep his bedroom set and I can tweak it a little!  I have always LOVED the tuffted upholstered headboards but you will come to know that I am a instant gratification kinda crafter.  So thinking of dealing with covering all the covered buttons and sewing and all that jazz, I settled for the tacks.  It turned out so great!

I was fortunate to have a great headboeard to start with.  I just had to cover it.  For those of you who do not have one to start with there are a dozen bloggers who have tutuorials guiding you through how to build one out of plywood and mdf...super easy.  $60 and three hours later, I had a gorgeous headboard!  Let me just apologize for the photos.  I did not feel like taking my camera out.  These are mobile shots :)

Materials:

• Fabric of Choice (mine is from JoAnns taking full advantage of a 50% off coupon of course!)
• Foam
• Batting
• Decorative Nailhead Trim

Tools:

• Staple Gun
• Hammer
• Scissors
• Spray Glue (I use Aleene's)

I stole the hammer from my son's toolbox :) It was much easier since Rickey wasn't home to pull out the massive bed away from the wall.  I pulled it away enough but it was still pretty confined back there.  Oh...and that reminds me.  It was much easier for me to leave the bed assembled while I did all this.  Alot of do-it-yourselfers will disassemble.  That was not an option for me!

 Finished Project

The corners were the hardest part of the trim and it was not hard at all.  I started at the leg and went ahead and stopped at the opposite leg but you could continue with the stip along the bottom if you wanted.

The Original

Cover with Foam

I placed a staple on each piece to hold in place so that I could trim (I used an exacto knife at some places).  I then sprayed some adhesive to help adhere.  Please don't go crazy with the glue.  Peeps get outta control with the stuff.  You only need a little and allow it to air for about 30 seconds before sandwiching them together! 

Cover with batting and staple to the back.

Cover with fabric and staple to the back. 

 

Nail in Trim.

The trim I picked up at JoAnns and it is soooo awesome because it comes in a strip of 5 yards with every 5th hole allowing you to nail in a tack.  I makes it uber easy because you don't have to worry about spacing and it saves so much time!

Voila!  All done!


Living. Loving. Crafting.

Chris

The Mum: A Texas Tradition

As a crafter I have never felt discomfort at any craft store, anywhere, that is until I set out to fill an order for a homecoming mum.  As I set out on my journey I walked into Hobby Lobby feeling really confident and extremely creative!  Then, I turned the corner into the homecoming aisle.  **Gulp**  I fully expected to be surrounded by Moms filling their son's request for the biggest, best and most ridiculous homecoming mum they could create so that they could get that one girl to go to the dance with them.  Yeah, not so much anymore.  It was full of young teen and even tween girls whining to their mothers that they just need more bling!  Taking a deep breath couldn't cut it.  I didn't even know why I was in that aisle.  Inspiration maybe??  That's not my style.  All that you find is a lower quality, more expensive product. 

Feeling a tad bit overwhelmed I set out to the fabric section, got focused and regained my excitement.  An hour and some change and a phone call later I was home bound to put it all together!

One thing that I remember about the mum is that after that noisy day at school (waaay to much cow bell for one day) I always put it up on my wall.  So essentially a mum could make it's way onto a wall for up to four years!  With that in mind, I knew this had to be good.  It turned out to be a ton more fun than I could have thought up.  I can't wait to make more.  So I guess you wanna see how it turned out right?  Well, here jah go!

Can I just mention how much I love, love, love this military braid!

And the feathers...don't foreget about the feathers!

So anywho...I think next year I am going to market more cause I'm in love!  Want one??!  Click Right Here Then...

living. loving. crafting.

Chris