Cigar Box Crafting Fun

Last week while the school I am currently teaching at was on Fall Break, I drove to Oregon to visit my sister. My son has been bringing many cigar boxes home from his work for me to use in craft projects.  I took a matching pair of them with me and challenged her to  decorate one and I did the other.  We took time out from going through boxes of old family pictures to do this fun project.

 

The one on the left is the one I did.  I have no reason for the 5 except that it looked fun. Sister used the Stack paper from the Once Upon a Time collection.

 

I lined mine with a grey stretch panne velvet.  Sorry I didn't get a picture of that.  It also has a few dividers made from book binding boards.  My sister has an awesome stash of craft items? The green bead is wired on as a handle.  She had her tiny little battery operated drill and zipped right through the thin wood of the box. So much fun.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Jeannine

Wing-Back Chair Slipcovers

Here is my latest project.  First I have to say, my 22 year old daughter has the Spirit of an old man at times! She has wanted a Wing-back chair for several years.  And a good Cigar and a Globe Bar.

Well, she is on her own for the cigar and bar, unless I run across a globe for a good price at an estate sale.

We found these on Craigslist for $100 for the pair.  They are Broyhill and were originally purchased for $387 each (the price tag was still on one.)  Good Deal! And the fabric is exactly the color she loves and is in great shape with absolutely no tears or stains.

I thought it would be good for her to have slipcovers in case she didn't want them green all the time.

So I looked for tutorials and did some pinning first.

I checked out Miss Mustard Seed here and watched her videos.

Then I went to Honeybear Lane and read through her tutorial.

Then I decided to just go for it.

I had about 6 yards of a print fabric that I was not using so I created a pattern by draping, pinning, and cutting.

Then I labelled each piece and unpinned and stacked them.  It took me a while to find canvas dropcloths that were the cream color.  Home Depot and Ace Hardware had great ones...in grey.  Bleach won't help.  I checked at Sherwin-Williams and found these.  They are the 4' by 15' cloths.  It took three for two chairs.

There are so many tutorials out there that I am not giving step by step instructions.

I cut out the pieces from my pattern then pinned and sewed.

Here is the final product!  Front:

I used ribbon cut into sections for the ties. Back:

Daughter did not want a skirt of any sort.  I used the selvege edge of the dropcloths for the bottom of the slips.  The back closure is the ends where a seam hem was already provided.  Husband used the pinking shears to finish all the seam allowances. And, Yes, I did prewash!

Here are the chairs in their home: Daughter and Fiance's apartment! They have only had the apartment two weeks so there is not much for decoration-yet!

I think I will tackle slip-covers for my sofa, loveseat, and chair.  They need it!

Thanks for being kind with your comments.

Blessings, 

Jeannine

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.

Kindle Cover in a Book

This Christmas I made Kindle covers for my sister and mother.  They splurged on themselves and it gave me the perfect idea for a gift.

I looked at several tutorials on You tube and then tweaked them for my own.

This is the one for my mom.  

I visited our local used bookstore and got this copy of a Sherlock Holmes book for $4.

Then I carefully removed the pages with my craft knife.

I cut a piece of cardboard an 1/8" smaller than the inside of the front and back covers.  I get these super straight lines by using my rotary cutter and quilt mats.

I cut a piece of fabric one inch larger all the way around to cover the cardboard.

Here is the one I did for my sister, a Nancy Drew Mystery.

I glued the fabric around the cardboard and then using my Kindle (thank you Husband for the Mother's Day gift) to measure the length of the elastic to hold the Kindle in. I then sewed them in by hand. I used quilting thread.

Here is the empty cover.  I glued the covered cardboard inside and weighted it down with the 2009 California Penal Code book; it weighs a ton!  (My son has the penal code form police academy.)

Here it is all together with a Kindle.

So there it is. A Kindle cover in a book.  And you can pretend you are still reading from a paper and ink book!

Blessings,

Jeannine

I'm linking to Met Monday on Between Naps on the Porch.  Make sure you see what others have been up to by going here.

Christmas Door Decor: Ode to Pinterest

Like so many people, I am "on" Pinterest.  I love it and yes it does waste time that I could better spend on blogging, cleaning house, baking Christmas cookies etc.  However, it doesn't talk back to me or insist I repeat myself three or four times or come in tardy like students do and then promptly ask to go to the restroom. But that's neither here nor there.  I do enjoy teaching and I'm happy to have the job.

Back to Pinterest.

Earlier in October or November, this lovely picture or an urn Christmas centerpiece was being pinned and re-pinned. I promised myself that I would do this!

And so I did.  Sort of.  Husband had been given a brass urn at a garage sale when we bought a dresser and chairs.  It was scruffy and needed some TLC.  I spray painted it silver.  The candy canes in the original appear to be several different size tree ornaments.  I couldn't find these anywhere on the internet or in stores.  I improvised: I bought three packages of plastic candy canes at The Dollar Tree.  I then wrapped wire around the bottom of each cane so they could be stuck down in the floral foam.

I bought cranberry florals at Joann's. The branches are cut off an after Christmas clearance tree that my son had in his apartment two years ago.  It only cost five dollars so I figured it wouldn't be missed.

Husband and I bought the silver glittery sticks (ting-ting?) at Target.  They got glitter everywhere and in the long run didn't work out.  Ugh!

Here is the whole thing put together. It obviously is not an exact replica of the original, but it works with our other decor. I still really like the crisp white of the original.

The wreaths are left from last year.  I just added in the candy canes.

Have a blessed Christmas season.

Jeannine

December Prima Picks Giveaway

It's a new month and Prima is giving away a new palette of colors.  These are just beautiful, bold and romantic for Christmas. Go here to see them used in various projects and to enter yourself to win.

Such lovely colors.

Blessings,

Jeannine

First Christmas Stocking of the Season

It's that time of year again.  Time to start gearing up on projects for Christmas.  I have an esty shop and decided this year I would make stockings to sell.  I have been buying old linens at garage sales and added with my stash of quilting fabric, I came up with this one first.  

This was a hand embroidered pillowcase.  Lovely crocheted edging. Cute little bluebirds. I wanted to be sure to use as much of the handiwork as possible.

I even used a little leftover bit of the crocheted edging for the hanger loop.

A little flower for the stocking toe (it's a completely reversible stocking.)Same design on both sides of the toe.

I'm linking with Jami at Freckled Laundry for Air your Laundry Friday. See what other people are doing with their textiles here.

Thanks for looking,

Jeannine

Happy Prima Picks

I love all the products from Prima Marketing.  Once a month they give a chance for a lucky reader to win a goodie pack.  This is the selection for the month of June.

 

Fresh, summery brights make their way to our Prima Pick this month! These color choices and products are sure to make you HAPPY!

Included are:

• 921507-Stitched Words
• 548124-Floret Roses
• 548278-Trinket Collection
• 547202-Parfait Collection
• 544317-Turquoise Alphas
• 537593-Melange Yellow Flowers
• 920951-Cabachon Flowers
• 545215-Journaling Notecards
• 548698-Deshire Lime/Turquoise Flowers
• 538644-Yellow Fairytale Roses
• 547509-Calcutta Leaves
• 546939-Fitzgerald Beaded Flowers
• 546465- Petticoat Flowers
• 548933-Orange Regent Fabric Flowers
• 920203-Donna Downey Turquoise Album
• 546892-Treasure Rae Large Roses
• 546984-Delightful Day small fabric flowers

...............................................................................................................

Want to win some of these high-quality Prima products? Now you have TWO chances to win!

ONE: Repost this Prima PPP blog post on your blog, facebook, or any other forum (please follow all forum's TOU.) Come back here and LINK us to your repost in the comment section!

AND/OR

TWO: Complete a Prima-based project using these products, or the Palette shown above, and submit them to us: sharon@primamarketinginc.com by JUNE 30th! Please put "June PPP" in the subject line.

Make sure to check out their new design girls, too, while you are visiting.

Jeannine

I love Prima! Give-Away

Hi, all!
I love the products at Prima and wanted to share this give away with you! Go to Prima to check it out.

That's Right! Prima is giving away two more AMAZING prize packages in conjunction with our BIG SECRET!


We want EVERYONE to have a chance to win so we are changing the rules a bit.


•Please copy this write-up and link us on your blog, Facebook, or any other site that you frequent (please follow their TOU).
•Then post here with a link to your blog, Facebook or site post for your chance to win BIG with Prima!
•One US and one International winner will be chosen on Thursday, March 4th, 2010.

I included their rules so you can post on your blog as well. Thanks for checking out all the sweet things Prima has.

Dreaming of a Beach Day

This week Daughter and I had a big disappointment. We were both in tears for a while.

Then I was visiting one of my favorite blogs, Cindy's My Romantic Home. She had just posted pics of a Seashell Wreath she had made. And posted the instructions from last year. So I closed the computer and we drove over to Dollar Tree and bought all the things we needed. Daughter and I sat down and each glued ribbon and shells onto foam wreath shapes. In a few hours we each had a beautiful personal wreath.

It took our minds off the disappointment for a few hours. But it's still there. Oh, well. Life will sort itself out soon.