Canvas & Vinyl Bag

Here's a sewing project I'd like to share with you.  After seeing a bag that my sister-in-law had sewn for herself, I decided to attempt something similar.  I have to admit...hers was much prettier than mine and she is an extremely talented quilter/seamstress.  I just do what I can...

This is what I started out with ...vinyl, natural canvas and 100% cotton (for the lining).

I used vinyl on the bottom of the bag because it will be easy to wipe off if it gets dirty.  Plus, it makes the bag a bit more sturdy.

I also used vinyl (and canvas) for the handles...

 

and I added vinyl for the trim on the inside (liner) pockets.

 

 

When sewing vinyl there are a couple of tips that my sister-in-law shared with me that  I'd like to share with you.

 

1.   Do not use pins to secure the vinyl as the pins will leave permanent holes in the vinyl.  Use hair clips...this is a "brilliant" solution.  These clips will work well on anything that is to thick or too delicate to pin. 

 

 



2.  Use a piece of paper underneath the vinyl when sewing the pieces together to prevent the vinyl from sticking.  It just helps the vinyl to "move with easy" under the pressure foot.  Once you are done sewing you can just rip the paper off without affecting the stitching. 

I am happy with how the bag turned out and it will be very functional for lugging my stuff to and from work.

Thank you for stopping by...

Lesa

Apartment Living

As some of you may know, my husband and I moved from our home in British Columbia to Alberta.  At the moment, we are renting an apartment...however, this is only a temporary arrangement for the next four months.   The apartment is only 825 square feet, but has everything we need to be comfortable.  Two bedrooms, one bathroom, open kitchen and living space and a laundry room.  I am very thankful for the laundry room, as I can't imagine having to run up and down stairs sharing laundry facilities with other apartment dwellers. 

Anyway, I thought I would share a few pictures of our little place with you.  Keep in mind...it is small and I am not allowed to paint or change the existing decor. 



There is my last project...the Ikea pine chest makeover. 

 

 

 

This table is from "Ana White" which I built for our living room in our other home.  Works well against this small wall in the kitchen and provides counter space for my pottery canister set.

We bought this pub-style table and stool set for $100.00.  Not something I would choose for my home, but it works well in our tiny space.

Here is the kitchen island from my other house.  Before we moved, I added castors to the bottom of it to make is more portable for the new space.  I have such little counter space, so I am glad I brought my island!  Great prep and storage space!!

The cupboard doors were missing when we moved in so I made a burlap curtain to hide my pots and pans.

Here are the shelves my husband built for the other house.  And, you may recognize some the the accessories from older posts.

 

 

So there you have it...the beginnings of our temporary home aka apartment living.  Thank you for stopping by...hope your weekend is a great one!

 

Lesa

 

 

 

Ikea Pine Chest Makeover

I bought this pine chest from a local thrift store for $19.00.  It is a little beat-up but has alot of potential. 

I decided that I would try to make-it-over into an old painted chest by adding a bit of stain, paint and hardware.  Here is the result...

First I sanded it with 100-grit sandpaper.  I then applied a drak walnut stain to the surface.  Once the stain dried, I painted the chest with two coats of cream colored paint - "sandbar".  After the paint cured, I used my palm sander with 220-grit sandpaper and sanded the entire chest to removed some of the paint allowing the dark walnut color to show through.  After removing the sanding dust, I rubbed more dark walnut stain over the surface, removing any excess stain, to give the piece an aged look. 

I bought the galvanized hardware for $20.00 which included 2 handles, 8 -3/4" wide corner brackets and the latch.  I applied a spray primer to the hardware and then applied rubbed oil bronze paint.  I attached the hardware to the chest, first measuring for placement.

I still felt it was missing something so I scrounged through my husband's scrap metal buckets and bins and found this...

I have no idea what it is but I liked it, so I gave it a coat of rubbed oil bronze paint and secured it through the latch. 

I think it looks like a heart lock.  Anyway, I think it finishes off the chest. 

Now I will be using it as a coffee table in our apartment!

Just an update...my husband and I are relocated to Grande Prairie, Alberta.  We are keeping our current home in BC and renting a 2 bdrm, 1 bathroom apartment in Alberta.  I am going from 2300 sq. ft. to 825 sq. ft.!  Needless to say, I am only taking personal items and a few furniture pieces from our home...this chest being one of them!  Anyway, I guess I will be posting about my decorating adventures in an apartment!  Should be fun!!

Have a great weekend and thank you for stopping by...

Lesa

Indoor Fencing

First, let me introduce you to the new addition to our family.  Her name is Cricket.  We've had her since August 2012. 

I had to include Daisy too!

She really is adorable.  We wanted a friend for Daisy, but we also knew that we would have to find a friend compatible in size as she is only 3 pounds.  Cricket looks alot bigger (in the pic) but all her hair makes her look much larger than she really is...she is a bit taller than Daisy and weighs about the same.    Anyway, they have become best friends!

So, now that you've met Cricket...my next project will make sense!  I needed to block access to the living room - a few accidents still happen.  My husband had put in this temporary board after Daisy arrived, but, as I said,  it was only supposed to be temporary.  I ended up painting it and living with it for 3 years but it's still ugly!! 

I decided it was time to build something new...something a bit more appealing.  Here it is...

I can easily remove it when company comes over and I think it looks alot better. 

Thank you for stopping by...have a great week!

Lesa

Twig Heart

I have this twig reindeer which I bought years ago to compliment my Christmas decorating...but I've gotten very tired of it and I finally decided to throw it away. 

Until...I had an idea to take it apart and

use the twigs to make a heart wreath!

I drew a heart shape onto craft paper so I had a pattern to follow.

I then used hot glue to assemble a heart shape using the twigs.

Then it was just a matter of attaching twigs here and there until the heart was filled in.

I made a loop from a piece of twig for a hanger.

I was going to just hang it on the wall, but decided to make a frame from pallet wood.



I assembled the frame with wood glue, stained it with dark walnut and then painted it with "Sandbar".  Once dry I used sandpaper to remove some of the paint, exposing some of the stained wood.

I used a piece of satin ribbon to attach the heart to the frame and now I have it in the corner of my kitchen, behind the sink. 

Oh...and "behind the sink" now needed a shelf, so I built this corner shelf and stained it dark walnut.  I think it looks much better now.

Thank you for stopping by...have a great day!

Lesa

"Welcome" Sampler

I was somewhat overwhelmed by the emails I received asking if I would consider making and selling my rustic number samplers.  Then I had a request to make a "welcome" sign in the same style so here it is...

I followed the same process as my number sampler...drawing out a pattern, tracing onto various types and thicknesses of wood, cutting out the letters with my scroll saw, sanding, painting and staining the wood and the cut-out letters. I cut the "W" from metal and attached it to the wood background using rivots and the letter "C" is a chalkboard.  I thought it might be fun to incorporate a chalkboard since they are so popular right now.

I made a frame using more weathered lumber and attached it to a 1/4" plywood background using an air nailer.  I then inserted the letter pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle, inside the frame using wood glue to secure to the plywood.

I attached picture hanger hardware to the back.  That is it.  Now I have to figure out how I'm going to wrap and ship it AND I hope she likes it!

Thank you to everyone who has left such nice comments and thank you for visiting!  Have a great day.

Lesa 

Rustic Number Sampler

Here is a project I'd like to share with you...

I call it a "Rustic Number Sampler". 

If you are like me, I save all sizes and shapes of  wood.  "Scraps" from all my wood projects.  My husband was so glad to see that I was finally using up some of my collection.  He thinks my scrap collection is a bunch of junk wood, but I always can see it's potential.

So, I started with an idea which I then put to paper, making myself a pattern.

I  searched my scrap pile to find the right size pieces of wood cutting them all to size using a table saw.  I then traced the numbers onto more scrap wood.  I used mdf, plywood and pine lumber all in varying thicknesses.  The number "2" was cut from scrap metal, the "3" and "4" were stenciled and I did an inside cut for the number "5" on 1/4" plywood.   I sanded everything to get them ready for stain and paint.  And, I filed and polished the metal number "2".

For the color palette, I used "Sandbar" color paint from Home Hardware, "Buttermilk" and "Lamp Black" by DecoArt and Minwax stain in two colors - dark walnut and puritan pine.

Once everything was dry, I did a bit more sanding to give some of the pieces a bit more of an aged appearance.   I then secured the numbers to the wood pieces using wood glue, stenciled the "3" and "4" onto the wood and secured the metal "2" with rivots.  Oh...and because the number "5" is an inside cut, I needed a backing so I used a piece of burlap!

Now for the hard part...how was I going to secure it all?  My husband suggested that I attach all the pieces to 1/4" plywood...good idea!  So, I made a frame out of weathered wood - again, a scrap collection sitting outside along the shop wall buried in snow.  (of course, I had to be patient and let the wood completely dry before assembling)  I attached the frame with an air nailer to the outside edges of my backing piece (the plywood) and then glued the numbered wood pieces inside the frame...kinda like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.  Once the glue dried, I attached picture hanging hardware to the back. 

I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  Best of all, I used up some of my scrap lumber, the project was free and now have new artwork to hang in the living room!

Thank you for stopping by...

Lesa