Oh, Brother!

My nephew is turning four next week.  He is also going to become a big brother in about a month.  Two major milestones in a short period of time for the little guy!

I usually try to make something special for him on his birthday.  This year, I thought he might enjoy a Big Brother shirt.  Just so the new baby wouldn't be left out, I couldn't resist making a Little Brother shirt too.  Here is how they turned out.

Aren't they adorable?  I used two techniques I had never used before to create them.  Over the next two days, I'll show you how I did it.

First of all, I wanted to have the t-shirts match.  I didn't want them to be white either (how boring).
Surprisingly, it is hard to find a plain t-shirt, especially for kids. After searching at several stores, I found a great plain, white t-shirt at Meijer for $5.  Their Falls Creek brand shirts are great quality at a good price.   Then, I raided my little girl's baby clothes and found a white onesie.

Using Rit Dye in the color denim, I dyed the shirts so they would match.  The only catch is that I have a front load washer and had never dyed fabric in it.  There was no way I wanted to use the sink or pots to dye.  That seemed way too messy.  I knew the washer was the way to go, but it seemed really risky to me.  I decided to take the plunge anyway. 

Family Photo Gallery Wall

There has been a wall in our hearth room that has been empty since we moved into our house.  I have always kept my eye out for something to hang there, but nothing has ever been just right.  After moving the piano to the dining room recently (to provide more room for toys), the wall seemed even more bare.  That's when I decided I wanted to create a gallery wall to help fill it up. 

First, I looked all over Pinterest for ideas on how I wanted my wall to look.   There are so many variations on picture arrangement.  Pinterest is a great place to start. My favorite idea came from Martha Stewart's website here

Even though my wall didn't end up looking anything like this one, it served as my inspiration.
I followed the instructions per Martha's site and, using a level, created two horizontal lines in the middle of my wall equal distance apart from one another (2 1/2 inches) using a pencil.  I didn't use painters tape as suggested, but the lines served as my top and bottom level lines for the two levels of pictures. 

Next, I gathered up all the frames I had in the house.  They looked something like this:

I needed them to match, so instead of buying new frames, I spray painted them all black. It didn't matter to me that the frames were different styles. I thought that it would help add some interest.  In the end, I did end up purchasing 6 more frames from Walmart. Those frames (super cheap) were a tacky, fake gold, so I painted them as well.

Next, I traced the outline of each frame on craft paper and cut them out.  Using painter's tape, I started hanging the templates on the wall and playing around with them until I came up with an arrangement I liked.  I won't fool you into thinking this was a quick process.  It took a lot of arranging, rearranging, standing back, etc. to figure out my arrangement.  Finally, it was beginning to take shape and I decided I liked something like this:

The next part was tricky.  Some of my frames weren't meant to be hung on the wall.  I took the legs off of them and put hangers on the ones that didn't have them.  The hangers were just the kind that you tack into the back of the frame using a hammer.

Since all of the hangers were at different distances from the top of the frame, there was no formula for hanging.  I ended up making a tool that I saw on Pinterest for this very sort of thing.  Using a scrap piece of wood from my custom drawer organizers seen here, and a nail, I hammered the nail through the middle, bottom edge of the piece of wood leaving the nail head sticking out on one side and the tip sticking out on the other.  The piece of wood was about 6-8 in. long.

Finding the center of my wall,  I took the two middle frames on the top and bottom and hung them first using my two lines on the wall to help. On the top row, I matched the bottom of the frame to the line.  On the bottom row, I matched the top of the frame to the bottom level line.  Using the hanger tool, I hung the frame on the nail head, used the piece of wood to adjust the picture to where it was level and centered, then pressed the frame to the wall.  This allowed the tip of the nail to penetrate the drywall exactly where the hole needed to be.  I hammered a nail in the hole, hung the picture, and moved on to the next frame.  

I kept going working my way out.  I chose to hang the pictures about 2" away from one another.  The hanging process took about an hour to complete.  My hanging tool helped tremendously.  I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to help erase the pencil lines once I was completely finished.

The frames shift and move a little on the wall.  This problem was easily solved using some sticky tack on the back of the frame to secure it to the wall without damaging it.

This wall has made such an impact in the house.  It spans about 12 ft wide. Everyone that comes over loves to look at the photos.  I love being able to view so many of our memories all at once, and my little girl loves pointing out and naming all our family members.  It has been a wonderful addition to our home.

*Still deciding on a picture for the bottom, center frame.

It was a fun and rewarding project.

Easier Than I Thought!

Cost: About $25 since I had most of the frames.

Pouring Money Down the Drain

The drain has been clogged on our bar sink in our kitchen for a while now.  I have no idea why because the only thing I really use it for is to wash my little girl's hands after she eats.  Oh well.

The problem is I keep forgetting to buy drain cleaner at the store.  It is so expensive I feel it is literally like pouring money down the drain.  I thought there had to be a home remedy to this problem.  So I turned to Pinterest.  Sure enough, I found a recipe for homemade drain cleaner. Vinegar and baking soda.  Both in my pantry. 

One cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar.

Pour the baking soda in and then the vinegar.  It started bubbling immediately.  I covered the drain with a plate and set the timer for 30 min. This is what it looked like after 30 min. 

Then, I ran the warm water in the sink for 3 min.

The results? 

It didn't work.  At all.  I consider this to be a minor clog since I know there isn't a hair ball or food in the sink. It might eventually work, but I don't want to waste large amounts of baking soda on the chance it might work. I fell into a Pinterest pitfall.

Looks like I'll be going to the store for some professional strength drain cleaner. 

Easier Than I Thought.  NOT.

Selfish Sewing

I sew a lot of things for my little girl. I have become a MUCH better seamstress since she has been born.  Nap time has become sewing time for me as often as possible.  It is part of what keeps me sane.

For Christmas, my husband bought me a serger. A serger gives your seams a finished look like garments have that you buy at the store.  At first, it was daunting and sat in the box for about a month.  Four threads for one machine?  AHHH!! However, once I decided I was going to learn how to use it, it was really easy.  For about $200 on Amazon, it was a great deal and has really propelled my skill set. It came with an easy to use disk that explained the threading process (by far the hardest part). Now, sewing with knits is a breeze, and my clothing looks very professional.

In fact, I used my serger almost exclusively to create this spring top for the Spring Top Sewalong on made-by-rae.  There are some really cute tops on there!  You should check them out.  If you don't sew, you will want to start.  If you do sew, you will be inspired.

The first top I created I titled, Polka Dot Party.  I created the basic pattern for this shirt using an existing shirt from my closet.  After seeing a similar style at the mall, I thought I would try to make one for myself.  I am very long waisted, so I always have a problem finding clothing that is long enough.

The raglan lace sleeves were a bit tricky to cut out.  It was the first time I had ever worked with lace.  The knit fabric for the body and the lace came from Joann's. After the pieces were cut out, I quickly serged the seams together and voila! This is the finished product:

I wore this to a Pinterest party about a month ago.  Everyone complimented me on my top and couldn't believe I had actually made it.  I would say that's a big accomplishment, wouldn't you? 

My second top I call Pretty Peacock.  After seeing the fabric at Joann's, I knew I had to make something out of it, so I bought a yard for only $6!  It is so gorgeous, right?

Again, using a top from my closet, I cut around the shirt leaving a generous seam allowance on either side. Very generous. Serging the side seams made it super easy.  I used single fold bias tape to create the neck and sleeve hems. It helps give them body.   I added some ties in the back so that it would look less like a smock and more like a fitted tunic.  The ties were actually my husband's idea!  I really loved the results.  Here is the front and back:

 I think the best part is it is reversible.  I can wear either side in the front!  I think I like the blue side the best. What do you think?

Each top I finished during one nap time.  


Easier than I thought!

Drawer Organization

I don't want to pay $100 for custom drawer organizers from the cabinet company.  If you know me, this is not surprising.  I love to save money, so I decided I was going to make some custom dividers.  Here is what one of my drawers looked like:

Pretty much as huge mess.  I hate the plastic dividers (that aren't cheap). They are never available in the sizes you need.  The dividers I'm going to show you how to make were inspired by plans I saw here:

http://ana-white.com/2011/03/wood-drawer-organizers

If you don't know Ana White, her blog is awesome.  I am really inspired to become a woodworker every time I visit her site.  I liked these plans, but I felt like the materials were a little bulky and unnecessary and there weren't really any pictures or detailed instructions on how to go about it. So here is what I did...

Materials :

• 1/2 x 3 x 24" craft wood- I found this in the unfinished wood section of Lowe's
• #17 x 1" wire nails
• wood glue
• hammer
• measuring tape
• pencil
• saw (if you plan to make the cuts yourself)
• safety glasses (for use with the saw)
• sandpaper
• wood filler (optional)
• center punch (optional)
• clear coat polyurethane (optional)

Step 1:

I cleared the drawer and decided how I would like to section it.  I took the utensils I knew were wide or odd shaped and placed them where I wanted them to end up in the drawer. This helped determine the dimensions for my dividers.  In terms of stability, I needed pieces to span the depth of the drawer in order to build the compartments. I knew I needed one long piece on the left.  Then, two more pieces across the top would create three sections and one more piece horizontally placed to create the bottom right section. You'll see... Keep reading.

Step 2:
I marked and cut the pieces.  This is where a circular saw came in handy.  However, it is not necessary.  I learned how to use the circular saw and cut the pieces for this project all by myself!  Well, my husband helped a little. If you don't have a saw, your local home improvement store can make the cuts for you.  Just make sure your measurements are precise.

Step 3:
I dry fit the pieces to make sure the cuts were accurate.  Then, I determined the exact placement of each divider marked the placements on the vertical and horizontal pieces that serve as the stabilizers. I didn't worry about equally spacing them.  This is a custom divider.  Notice the long, vertical piece on the left?  This is the stability piece that everything will hang off of.  An extra wide drawer will probably need more pieces like this.  Looking good already!

At this point, I marked where the pieces meet up.  I placed marks on both sides of the boards, using a pencil, like so:

This helped me place the board when I fit them together.  Which leads us to...

Step 4:
I lined up the marks and placed a thin bead of wood glue along the edge of the board. When I held the boards together, the glue seeped out.  A paper towel did the trick and wiped the excess glue away. 

Step 5:

Finally, I placed the nail in the middle of the thickness of the board.  This was important so I didn't nail too close to the sides and see the nail sticking out. Another pair of hands would have been nice at this point, but I persevered and was able to do it on my own.   I placed a nail at the top and bottom of the board.  Take a look:

 On the first one, I used a nail punch to countersink the nails, filled the holes with woodfiller, and applied a polyurethane before installing in the drawer.  This was overkill.  I suggest to leave the wood raw and the nails showing. Once everything was back in the drawer, I couldn't see it anyway.  After all, the "custom" units I saw at the home improvement store displays were made of raw wood, nails showing and all!

Voila! Custom organization at its finest.

Easier than I thought!
Cost: Around $8-$10 per drawer and 45 min. This time estimate includes time spent learning to operate the saw.