Ruffle Clutch from Vintage Sheets

I just love the ladies over at Sew, Mama, Sew!  If you're a new sewer, it's a website chocked full of helpful tips, tutorials and information to get you started.  Even if you are more of a novice, you'll fall in love with their site quickly as their themed months are fun to follow and full of creativity.

The latest challenge on the blog is the Summer Reinvention Challenge.  Although today is the last day, I decided to enter with my Ruffle Clutch made from Vintage Sheets.

This clutch is made from Ali Foster's Ruffle Clutch pattern, which is super easy and quick to make.  I just love Ali's patterns and the simplicity they provide.

It has a magnetic snap closure and is roomy and spacious enough for all the needed essentials.  Interfacing makes it sturdy but not stiff.

Here's a couple of other "Reinvention" projects I've done:
Men's Dress Shirt Repurposed to Apron
Girl's Dress Upcycled from a Man's Shirt
Shirred Skirt from Vintage Sheet
Flower Power Bibs
Shirred Beach Towel Dress
Vintage Baby Bib

Vintage Eye Masks

Over the holidays I made a good handful of SleepyTime Masks using the pattern here.    It's easy and quick,  and just like the original post, I used vintage sheets.

I had these masks for sale at the Handmade Holiday Open House at my friend Stephanie's place, but they didn't sell there.  Instead they all sold within three days in my etsy shop.  Funny how things appeal to different crowds of people, right?

 I love vintage sheets and have accumulated quite the stash over the last couple of years.  I posted this article on my Facebook page that gives great tips on finding good sheets.

Another fun and easy project!  This would be a great addition to a lingerie shower gift, a relaxing gift basket, or a new mom.

Hutch Remodel

When my husband's greatgrandmother passed away in October 2009, we inherited a large amount of furniture. One of my favorite treasures was this beautiful hutch that held all of her china and silver pieces.  I love the space, the interior light, the lines and the ornate pieces of this china cabinet.  But I didn't love the color.

So this week I decided to change that.  I've been slowly remodeling our foyer/living room/dining room area for a while now, and this hutch was one of the biggest frogs I had to eat.  (That phrase is from this book on productivity that I am currently reading- and love!)

I spray painted the inside turquoise.  Aqua by Rustoleum (from Home Depot) to be exact.  I mentioned on my facebook page that I spray painted indoors, and while that wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done, I didn't do any permanent damage.  I got a lot of dust on the floors (fixed by mopping) and the house smelled of paint (fixed by opening a window), but other than that, no harm done!

I did move it to the garage (and have many bruises to show for that move!) with my husband's help for the next part.  It was there that I was able to spray paint the outside Antique White by Rustoleum.  I read this helpful post about spray paint and was instantly sold.  It covered well and is quite smooth. I also priimed it prior to the Antique White with Rustoleum 2x Primer.

I love the finished product!  The blue background really makes the dishes pop and I love how the outside is all one color, unlike before when it was mauve and green.

Vintage Mirror and Lace Earring Holder

Remember the plastic canvas earring holders I made last April?   Well, I have apparently expanded my earring collection since then and needed to make room. 

My mother-in-law gave me this mirror, which had been hanging in her garage for a while.  It belonged to her mom's mom, which would have been my husband's Great Grandma Annie (the same person who gave me her sewing machine). 



So, I removed the mirror and the brackets in the back.

I spray painted it the same color as my necklace holder, since I planned to hang them on the same wall.  It's Colonial Red by Rustoleum.

I had a growing collection of vintage lace- from a variety of grandmothers and estate sales, and found four of my favorite pieces. 

I glued them into the back of the mirror frame with hot glue.

When the glue dried, I turned the mirror frame over and hung it on the wall in my bedroom.  And smiled really big. 

I still used my plastic canvas earring holder for post earrings, but this design is perfect for the hook type earrings.

I may just have to go buy more earrings tomorrow, so I can fill in a few gaps! 

Jewlery is just so pretty to display on a wall.... or on a person!

A Door on the Wall

I've been busy this week working in my sewing room.  I will share more later in the week, but tonight I wanted to post about the amazing artwork on my wall.

Rewind to last summer- my husband and I were yard sale-ing and found two doors with three large windows.  We paid $10 for each door- a true steal in my opinion!  Many times I thought of selling them on CraigsList because I wasn't sure how to use them and they were taking up space in my garage.  Boy, am I glad I dragged my feet on that one!

When I rearranged and decluttered my sewing room, I had a large wall with nothing to hang on it.  So, I thought I would see if the door would fit on the wall.  It did- with 5 inches to spare!

I cut vintage sheets to one inch larger than the window openings (20 x 21) and ironed the raw edges under.  I used clear packing tape to press them flat into the back side of the windows.

With some very heavy duty screws, my husband hung it on the wall.  The fabric is behind the glass, and the glass now becomes my personal dry erase board!

It's perfect for drawing patterns or ideas that are floating in my head.

Or for writing scripture that I need to memorize.

No telling how old this door is, but the paint is starting to crackle and chip away, and I just love that look.

Stop back in next week to see how I reorganized my entire fabric stash.  One more trip to Ikea and I should be ready to post about it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Anyone post about how they repurposed something or have a great tutorial to share?

This post is linked to the following parties:
Tatertots and Jello
DIY Showoff
I heart Naptime
Creative Jewish mom
Sew Many Ways
Craft O Maniac
Dittle Dattle
Sew Can Do
Crafts Keep Me Sane
Creating Really Awesome Free Things
The Girl Creative
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
New Nostalgia
Coastal Charm
Tip Junkie
A Delightsome Life
Creating a House of Grace
Reasons to Skip the Housework
Sugar Bee Crafts
Giggles, Glitz and Glam
Sew Much Ado
We are THAT Family
Elle Belle Creative
Fireflies and Jellybeans
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Somewhat Simple

See my Features and Link Party page for a complete list with links.

Baby Bed Rail Transformed to Vintage Sheet Holder

A few weeks ago, I took a few hours to go thrift store shopping.  There are many thrift stores around my home and I had been meaning to spend time finding goodies, but waited until I had an afternoon without the kids.

At one store, I found a broken baby bed (and likely recalled as well) in the back of the store.  I asked the lady if I could buy just this piece, and she gave it to me for only $5.

I brought it home, gave it a coat of antique white spray paint, and asked my husband to hang it on the wall.  Because I didn't want it flush against the wall, my husband added blocks (about 3 inches thick) to the four corners of the rail.

So, we found some very long screws and anchored this rail to the wall.

I was so excited!  I grabbed my vintage sheets and made this functional wall art....

The space between the rail and the wall allow the sheets and fabric to hang freely. 

So, not only does this keep my sheets from wrinkling, but it helps me better see my collection and get inspiration from these bright colors.

This idea would also work for quilts, bedspreads, or any other type of fabric you wanted to display on a wall.  What types of things would you hang on a rail like this?

This post is linked to:
Coastal Charm
The Trendy Treehouse
Creating a House of Grace
Giggles Glitz and Glam
The Tshirt Diaries
My Girlish Whims
We are THAT Family
Domestically Speaking
Sew Much Ado
Tatertots and Jello
Funky Junk Interiors
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Finding Fabulous
It's FUN to Craft
Miss Mustard Seed
Romantic Home
Shabby Nest
Thirty Sixth Avenue

Shirred Skirt from Vintage Sheet

I love vintage sheets.  I've been known to snag them from my grandmothers, grab one or two at a yard sale and search thrift stores just for these beauties.  I have made many things from vintage sheets over the years, but now I have a new love:  Shirred Sheet Skirt.  Try saying that five times fast.  :)

I found this tutorial last week about how to make a skirt from a t-shirt.  Although my attempts with finding long t-shirts were unsuccessful, I made use of the hundreds of yards of vintage sheets in my sewing room.

Because sheets are thin, and vintage sheets have had even more time to grow thin, I lined my skirt with a neutral muslin fabric.  This gives it a little more weight and keeps everyone from seeing through it.  :)

Paired with a tank top, this is the perfect attire for a hot Florida day.

More Market Totes- I'm Addicted!

I made two more Market Totes tonight from Vintage Sheets.  By the third one, I was down to one hour from start to finish.  Now that's my kind of nap time sewing!