Signs, signs everywhere were Signs

Before Christmas I had painted a bunch of signs for the sale. I was asked more than a few times how did I paint my signs so today I shall tell/ show you how.

The first thing you need is a computer, pencil, paper, paint and brushes and something you want to paint on. I see what's laying around and go from there. Piece of wood, piece of an old door, drawer front, bucket, hunk of metal, if its paintable it should work.

After deciding what you want your sign to say, check out all those wonderful different fonts you have on your computer and begin designing your sign. Use different fonts, different font sizes and play around till you've got something you're happy with then print it off.
I used a graphic from Graphics Fairy for a coffee sign. She literally has tons of things to choose from.

But for other signs I've just used my own fonts

Take a pencil and colour the back of your lettering to work as graphite paper. Since I live in the boonies this is much faster and cheaper than ordering on-line or driving an hour to get what I need.

 Flip your paper back around and line up your lettering so it's straight. You can draw straight lines on your sign or eyeball if you're comfortable. Now trace around your letters and you should be left with the outline of your letters on your sign.

 Paint your letters until you've got a nice solid colour or as solid as you want it. You can erase any pencil marks left over after your paint has dried. 

For this sign I made my own stencil and used it as a background or wallpaper effect for the sign. Stencils can get pricey so I found a pattern I liked ( making sure it was a freebie) then printed it off. I took contact paper and cut it out with a knife, pealed back the paper and had a sticky stencil to use. 

Here I did different size fonts on a plain old board.

I've distressed each of these signs by running sandpaper over them giving the lettering and the sign a slightly worn look then sealing it with a beeswax polish. If its going out in the elements you may want to seal it with an outdoor product.

These can be quick easy gifts and you can let your imagination run wild. Right now I'm looking at more vintage advertising to paint and suit everyday wants.

Think you can't do this...if you can colour you can paint. :)

Pinterest # 1

Ahhh Pinterest. We've all pinned ideas for fashion, recipes, diy's, and anything else that catches our fancy. A couple of weeks ago I was checking out " Pinterest Fails'  and I must say I was laughing till I cried. I myself once pinned chocolate chip cookies made with a waffle iron thinking what an interesting thing to try. I tried and my lesson...don't fool with the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

This year I thought it would be fun to challenge myself with pins I've pinned to see if I can make them a reality. Once a week I plan to bring you my successes or failures from my Pinterest desires. So let's begin shall we.

Shoes

I never thought I had a thing for shoes but this past year I've noticed that I rrreeaaallllyyyy like shoes. So much so that I've created a new board on Pinterest dedicated to shoes. 

Normally I don't wear heels but I wanted red shoes to wear with my none existent christmas soon to become valentines dress.

 Here are the pins I found that would possibly fit the bill of only shopping at thrift stores from my 2014 challenge. However the pins I used where on a secret board. How come you ask? Because I was worried someone would think I was silly for wanting to modpodge shoes. In 2015 I can be all the silly I want. Ha

crafts after college

This blog shows you how to accomplish your own pair of Dorothy's Shoes and was the beginnings of inspiration for my own shoes.

I also pinned these.

intimate weddings

Now for my shoes

I started out with these hot pink babies and I planned them to be a mix of the two shoes I pinned.

The style was right but the colour was all wrong so I painted them white and then began the modpodging.

 Painting them white ensured me pink wouldn't show through the white of the fabric. Yes it would have been easier to just find a white shoe but when you are living small town you go with what you find.  The toes and heel I glitterized.

Still very much pink inside but none of that shows when your wearing them.

I sewed the bows on with a curved needle. It was a little tough but I wanted to make sure they stay put (fingers crossed she says)  and I also glued them down with Carpenters glue. I grabbed a couple of clothes pins to hold the bows in place while they dried.

 It's what I envisioned them to be but I haven't worn them out yet to see how they behave. I'm feeling like these are a success but I don't want to endorse modpodging just yet. I know others have (first shoe link) so you can go by their opinion if you want to jump in and try a pair of shoes. I'll let you know after I wear them out and about what the pros and cons are of the shoe. For now I've got some pretty Christmas/ Valentines/ Canada Day Shoes that I can look at. :)

New/Old Stuff

Ahhh... there's nothing like it. That something that will finally push you into finishing a project. In this case my exterior/interior door and window.

A looonnngg time ago we found a window...

and then we found a door.

(In case your wondering why we have a window and a door behind our walls, this part of the house was an old porch that had been enclosed.)

Then we made an arch. We found those posts for $10 each.

Then we found and bought a 100 year old tin ceiling and added that to the mix.

Much better then a drop ceiling don't you think?

So here's the thing, the window and the door sat as a window and a door for a very long time. Not that we didn't want to finish it, it's just other things took priority.

Since M'lynn's getting hitched and the reception is at home, you start to see your unfinished projects and want them done like yesterday.

Here's what we started with on this dreary day.

I forgot to take a picture of the door but it looked pretty much the same.

Why yes that is baseboard that we saved and are now our shelves.

Makes for a perfect plate rail and a great spot for cookbooks. :)

Summer and a Rag Rug.

The dogs days of summer. We really aren't having those days and for someone who likes the heat, I'm actually surprising myself and liking these cooler days and nights. I'm also realizing that summer is not my favourite season. Oh sure I love fresh veggies from my garden that only summer can bring on as well as the lushness of the trees but I'm finding myself a little excited that the nights are getting shorter.
In trying to reason out all of this in my head and I think it comes down to the fact that I miss doing handicrafts at night. The hours of daylight kept us outside till 9:30pm and from there we went straight to bed. (yup we know, we're old.)
So this past weekend we got to use the Avion on its maiden voyage and see what quirks it had. Its got a few but its seriously missing rugs and a few throw pillows among some other more major things but I can deal with those later.
A friend of mind had requested a tutorial on rug making so heres goes my best attempt to teach you without the aid of video.

Supplies needed.
1 giant crochet hook

Cotton Sheets( The amount will vary depending on the size of the rug you want to make. With this rug I've ripped up four so far; one set of double sheets and one set of single sheets. I've also sprinkled in other pieces I've had laying around for contrast colour. This is also a good time to use up scraps or sheets that are stained.

First thing rip or cut your fabric of choice into 2 inch ( 5cm ) widths. I've gone smaller but I'm not happy with the results. This width gives you a nice thick rug.

The knot. Heres where I'm hoping pictures are enough.(please ignore my gardening fingernails lol)

First lay two end pieces end to end over each other. Next cut through both so you have a button hole size slit. Take one end and pull through the hole. Pull till you've created a nice tight knot. Now continue to making knots then wrap them up into a ball.

Once you've got a good size ball (and I mean good size) you can start to crochet.

                   With your ball, chain the desired length you want your rug to be.

Now here's where I do things a little differently from some I've seen. I use a slipstitch  instead of a single crochet.

 I like the look better and its a tighter stitch too which is what I want for rug making. Makes standing up to washing much better too.

So gather up your supplies and crochet along with me and hopefully by the end of this week I can show you how to finish off your lovely creations. :)

The Counterfeiter.

Well there it is! My new name. When I was searching for a name for my Etsy store, I was thinking about what best describes what I do and well counterfeiting came to mind. And really, thats what I do. Take something old, paint it, build it, or craft it into something new, making you feel that thats what it should have been all along.

So for example, my ceiling went from this...

...to this! A reclaimed tin ceiling, that husband says he'll never do again. (he says that a lot, and then does it again) You'd think it was there all along, but it hasn't.

An old door..

...to a new display unit for a local store. Sometimes it takes people a minute to realize its a door.

From vintage sheets and fabrics...

...to new aprons!

Doesn't it seem to just make sense that this fabric should be an apron!

So thats it! That's what I'll be selling in my Etsy store. Aprons !! It's not open quite yet, I'm still playing around with it, but  hoping to be up and running by the end of the week. :)

Why Yes that is a sheet I'm wearing!

I am beyond thrilled with this skirt so far, for a couple of reasons.

First-I made a pattern for a circle skirt myself. I got the instructions from Gertie's book, a book that I bought myself last year, with tons of patterns in it. It also has great sewing advice. But this is a simple circle skirt and you can find instructions on the internet here. There are more sites and lots of ideas to find on pinterest, but I like how that site showed you how to make so many different looks from the same pattern.
I myself love how easy Gertie's made it in the book.

Heres me making this pattern. Its a whole math, pi thing.

Using tools from the garage and my own handy dandy ruler.

My giant compass used for the skirt and the waist, and using my handy dandy ruler to join the dots.

And done. I think you get the gist of things.

You may think that the circle skirt is a blast from the past and your right, but it still shows up in todays fashion too.

pinterest

Secondly- Yes this is one of my vintage sheets I'll be wearing. Actually its two because I made the underskirt from a white sheet as well. It was a heavier sheet so this skirt has lots of body to it, but I still will be wearing my petticoat underneath to give it a little more flair. You can just see the white sheet peeking out, on my unhemmed skirt.

I used french seams , meaning everything is incased and there are no raw edges, making this a skirt I can throw in the washer and hang to dry. Give it a good iron and I'm off to the races.

But the hemming, oh the hemming. On a circle skirt it takes what seems like forever.

I measured  26 inches down from the waistband which will give me a 1 inch hem, but for the underskirt I'm actually giving it a 1 1/2 inch hem giving me a half inch clearing for the overskirt. So when finished my overskirt length will be 25 inches, with an underskirt at 24 1/2 inches (Phew, I told you its a math thing)

I measured the entire skirt from my waist at different intervals and then joined the dots, then I trimmed away excess. (One day I'll own a pretty little dress form making this so much easier, but for now this is my method)

Heres something else I like to do. I iron up the hem, then sew a little stitch close to the edge, and then hand sew the the raw edges. Overkill I know, but I like how it gives me a stiffer hem edge. 

Warning- you will have excess fabric to ease into this type of hem.

 

I've also done a different hem on a another skirt. I took extra wide ribbon folded and ironed and then machined sewed it to the skirt. I liked like shiny against the black.

 So heres the price breakdown for this project as follows.
$4.00 for the sheets
.10 for the zipper.

You can't beat that for a new vintage skirt. :)

For the love of Junk.

We have junk day in our town. That's when everyone can put out as much junk from your basements, attics, garages, you name it, it can go out. What makes it fun is watching how many people drive around, bike around, walk around looking for salvageable junk, including me.

This was one thing I found.

 This mirror is actually off a dresser, which may be long gone or the dresser made it and the mirror didn't, but what I did know, it was all mine now. It was all duct taped together and the wood was split in a few places, but it had character. And if it didn't turn out the way I thought it would, it was after all, just junk.

                      So after some cleaning, gluing, clamping and painting this is it today.

Here was the fun part. I got to see where it was going, and got to take a picture of it in its new home.  It's hanging in The Music Box in Ms Aimee brand new studio which opens TODAY!!  Her whole studio looks fabulous and I'm super happy I could be a little part of her transformation of what is now a beautiful space.:)