dog bandanas - something fun

Just wanted to share a quickie tonight. A quickie project I mean. Mainly cause I really enjoyed making these little dog bandanas out of scraps of fabric.

The idea of these is that they can be put on a collar, taken off and washed then put back on. They're colourful and fun. I got the idea from a little bandana a friend gave me and I thought I could put some of my millions of fabrick offcuts to use to make something different and special for the dogs I groom.

I didn't use any large pieces of fabric to make these, just small squares. First I joined two pieces together, then folded, ironed, and stitched the sides for neatness. Lastly I folded over and ironed to create a sleeve to put the collar through. Then ironed again. Easy peasy. If you don't mind all the ironing.

If I can do it, trust me. Its easy.

Ok, so you noticed the crooked stitching on the dog paw bandana. Yes... it was my first try... Not an excuse, I basically lost control of the sewing machine. It happens. (To me, it happens too often...)

No two-tone effect for that first one either, justvery crooked stitching. That's what makes it special... hehehe

I used black thread for all of these - there was no way I was going to change the thread and bobbin colour to match each one. Too fiddly and too much work for a fun little project. I put these little bandanas on grooming customer dogs cause it makes me happy to make them look good.

I want to make more. I have tons more fabric offcuts to mix and match. I just need to find the office desk. I know its in the office somewhere... under 3 metres of fabric...

z

one chair-back, three ways

What do you do with a broken chair? Fix it or throw it away, right? Or... you can re-use it as something else. For instance, you can make it into a shelf, a photo display or a coat rack. I know. Just look at Pinterest. There's tons of ideas there. 

I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted mine to be, but I found the bits to make it into an adaptable chair-back - it'll adapt to any situation you put it in! Just pick a room and it'll fit in with what you need it to do. Or be.

The best bit, I think, is the antique curtain rod holders I found. I've had these rusted and bent things for a few years, just waiting for the perfect project to use them on. They're just so cute with their little flower topped screws for holding in the curtain rod.

I got a couple of bulldog clips - with the requisite amount of rust on them - and added those to the back to hold things... 

So, here are some options: 

1.  Kitchen utensil hanger. It can hold handy kitchen tools and recipes.

2. Garden tool hanger. The bulldog clips are a handy place for seed packets and gardening gloves.

3. Hand towel holder. The clips can hold shopping lists or notes.

I also tried the variation of a tea towel on the rod... it works, but the I think it works best as a hand towel roll holder. Hand rolls really struggle to look good in a kitchen and this kind of dresses it up in my opinion.

So where will it live? I'm not sure. I have to think about it. All three ideas work.

Till then it waits to find its home...

z

Featured at:

Shared at:

electric heater mantle clock?

Some time ago I picked up this old electric heater. I can't remember where, but I do remember why. It was the shape. I loved the shape of it. I saw it and thought "hey, I can make something out of this".

I brought it home and snuck it past Wayne so I didn't have to listen to a lecture about bringing home more junk.

Then I proceeded to bury it under a ton of crap in my shed. Not in order to hide it.

So, when I started my whole 'clean out the shed, get organised, streamline my life, find the circular saw' kick, I found this little beauty and briefly considered tossing it out.

Briefly. Very briefly.

I just couldn't do it. Sometimes a vision is worth pursuing.

I was seeing it as a lamp. Or a clock.

A clock doesn't need wiring so that won out. I bought a clock mechanism on ebay and proceeded to rip the guts out of the heater. Actually, I didn't rip it all out. I loved the coiled springs so I kept those, just took out all the wiring.

I had to drill a hole in the front mesh to fit in the clock, then put it all back together.

Then promptly pulled it all apart again... The clock mechanism I got came with simple black hands which just didn't work. Too dark.

I took it apart and sprayed the hands with Antique White USA gloss. Much better.

I put it all back together. Admired it a while. Then daylight savings ended. Now I avoid looking at it cause I have to take it apart again to change the time.

I really like it. Its a mantle clock with a difference. I mean, how many people have a retro heater which is now a clock?

And its not that hard to open up... I just have to get out the screwdriver and take out 4 small screws. How hard is that? Not hard at all.

...When I find the screwdriver. I know its on the bench. Somewhere...

z

Shared at:

more on that embarassing desk makeover

Once upon a time I decided to make a new/bigger desk for Wayne - who's office is in the living room. I had been through two desks up till that point (three if you count the original desk in the office he never used!) and Wayne was sort of over it.

Anyway, the desk I decided to remake was one he'd had in the garage since we moved here - a big, heavy solid piece with a ruined top due to it being used to hold chainsaws. The thing with these old desks is that you have to have the legs of a Monster High doll to fit into it without banging your knees at each turn. So, I decided that since I had to replace the top, I may as well separate it into two drawer units and put an old door across as a top... cause don't old doors make the best tops? They're huge and the ones I had were gorgeous.

This is the first attempt at the desk... ugh. In a nutshell, it started like this...

Step one: paint it white. With chalk paint. Obviously!

Put castors on it, stencil on it, top it with a shed door. Obviously.

It didn't look right. So repaint it. Just the drawer fronts. Chalk paint. Dark grey.

Okay... not quite right... Still wrong somehow.

Wait till Wayne's away for a few days and sand it back, then lacquer it in gloss... hm. I like it better.

I may have left a bit too much paint on the drawers, you can see the grey, the white and even some of the stencils... I like it. Its so me.

Yes, its not my desk... I know that. But its in my living room. I have to look at it all day, so I wanted something I didn't dislike. This blends in much better with the room divider I created so I'm happier.

Won't Wayne be happy when he comes home and finds I've changed something again? 

hehehe.

He hates it. In fact, every time he's going to be away for more than a day his last words to me as he waves goodbye are: "Don't knock down any walls."

He didn't say I couldn't rip up floors though... hmmm...

z

Shared at: