Knitting!

Check out my newest crafting crave! I LOVE knitting, its actually great. For years I was anti knitting and only chose to crochet, mainly because I found knitting difficult. But its not at all! So I encourage anyone out there reading this that has been apprehensive to try it, its pretty awesome actually, and I think I am converted now. I will still crochet things in the future, but I prefer the speediness of knitting and how little yarn it uses to make something.

I have been busting out baby beanies like they are going out of style...or in style...or whatever that expression is trying to convey. I made four beanies in mini sizes for gifts and one for me! (not pictured below)


This fun stripped one was the most time consuming due to the switch back and forth of colors, and its long...but it came out so cute! I love the nightcap look.
Made out of soft non itchy Merino wool.



These simple beanies are fast to make but totally practical. I made them out of organic cotton yarn.




Pom pom hat made from organic cotton as well. I wish I could sport this style hat without getting the side eye. I would put pom poms on everything I make, but I restrain myself. Not everyone loves them, but come on! Look how cute!!

New Old Medical cart

Here is my latest find, its a craigslist score. I saw it and knew exactly what I would be using it for, storage in my craft room.
What is it you may ask? Well its a vintage medical cart from a company that went out of business in 1959 A.S. Aloe Company in St. Louis MO.


If anyone has any idea what age this cart is, please let me know!


We were thinking it was 60's but we must be way off. I am trying to research the year it was made but it's not easy. I have had some say 30's or 40's. I just don't know? But I do know that it is cool, and really functional. The wheels on the thing make it super easy to move around and it has a ton of storage space.



After a lot of cleaning, and scrubbing with "bar keepers friend" and then a spray with the power washer, it was allowed to come inside the house.


I am going to try to find some glass jars to fit in the rack on top to hold buttons, tools, scissors, whatever. For now the stainless steel counter top is a great new surface to work on top of with my various projects.


I couldn't help add to the "Mad Scientist" look of the cart by setting my glass head on top.
teehee...


I sprayed a few slats of wood with chalkboard paint and attached them to each storage section for labels.


The old tape and bandage drawer with metal dowel make a perfect spot for twines and ribbons.


The open shelf underneath was just asking for a rattan basket to warm up all the metal, I am using the basket to hold all of my yarns.

New things!

First things first, I made a new blog header! Up there check it out. I dig it :)

The other new thing to me, is that I am teaching myself to knit, well trying to...
I do crochet, thanks to my mother in law, who took the time to break that down for me years ago. But I have been inspired by some pretty adorable knitted baby beanies lately that I would love to make myself and give as gifts.

And with all the beautiful yarns out there I am in yarn shopping heaven!



So I'm giving it a try. Wish me luck, and if you have any advice please share!

These are a couple of cool 1940's knitting images.

DIY Quatrefoil Mirrors

Our Living room has been a decorating work in progress. We updated and refaced our fireplace this last winter, and then I removed the gray shutters from our large window and replaced them with linen curtains for a much improved look.
On either side of the window I have been wanting to put up something to finish the wall and add a shape of interest without too much time involved. So we whipped up two quatrefoil shaped mirrors from scratch. I got the idea from these online at $139.00 each on sale from $168.00 each.
I love the quatrefoil shape, it lends well to our style. Its has a very Moroccan look that I love.



Each mirror is 18"x 18" and we finished them in a day.






So here is my "How To" if you are interested in making some yourself.
(click on images to enlarge)
**Warning some fancy power tools necessary**

What I used:
• Two 15"x 15" mirrors that I had custom cut out of 1/8" thick mirror from local glass guys. $20.00


• One 8' x 12"x 3/4" piece of pine wood, $10.00 cut into 18" pieces and glued together and clamped in the center seam. Mr. B did this for me.
• Wood glue
• Clamps
• Table saw
• Jigsaw
• Router
• Silicone
• Wood stain and finish in one
• Hanging brackets $3.00
• Two drywall anchors
• Two screws
• Masking tape
• Measuring tape
• Sandpaper
• Scissors, pencil, scotch tape.... other random DIY things everyone should have

Here is the seam being glued and clamped.


• A 14" Quatrefoil template, I made in InDesign, you can get the image here if you would like to print it, you may need to adjust the size on your end.
I printed it in 4 sections and taped it together then cut off the outer edges.





I traced the template with a pencil after centering it on the 18" square piece of wood.
Then Mr. B used his Jigsaw to cut out the shape. He then Routered out a 15" square on the back at about 1/8" for the mirror to fit on the back flush.


I sanded and stained both, let that dry.
I used Silicone to adhere the mirrors to the backs of the wood in the groove cut out by the router. I let the mirrors set overnight face down.


The next day I nailed one bracket to the top center of each mirror.


You can see my custom "termite holes" that I added for an aged look before staining.


Here the are ready to be hung up.


Mr. B anchored two screws on the wall, I use the masking tape technique for easy clean up.




Side note, while Mr. B was busy putting the screws in the wall, Baxter was infatuated by his reflection in the mirrors. He stared at him self and scratched at his reflection over and over again.
Mr. B took this as a message that he wants a friend. Which means dog #2 for the "B" household. I am not so sure about that!





Here they are all done and in place, I think for the money they are a great addition. The whole project cost us about $33.00 since we had the majority of the items already.


What do you think?

I'm on Vacation!

Well we were!
Mr. B and I just got back from a much needed mini vaca to the lake. We rested and played and enjoyed the awesome views. The lake was 100% full thanks to all the rain we had this year. Its the first time since the early 80's that it has been this full.




Of course knowing me, I couldn't stay away from a project while I was supposed to be vacationing. On the way up to the lake we stopped by the craft supply store, and I picked up beading and jewelery supplies and made 2 beaded wrap bracelets.

This one below is made of turquoise round beads and dark brown leather cord.



The other one is a fun multi-colored onyx, unakite and turquoise beads with caramel color leather cord.


I enjoyed my bracelet project just as much as all the tanning, reading and relaxing I got to do on our little trip! So now back to work...

DIY Showoff Rules!

So I won the "Earthly Essentials Giveaway" on The DIY Showoff blog!! Yay, free crafting supplies!!!
I entered a few of my projects using natural materials such as burlap, linen, jute, and rope. I won with my Purse entry just by luck of the # draw.



Oh I cannot wait for the goodie bag, and the crafting that will come of it....

Frosted glass with flare

These are our front doors (actually only one door opens) they have 4 very large panes of glass so everyone can see right into our living room, which can be an issue. We haven't had that many visitors unannounced in the last year and a half since we moved in, but after a few recent drop-ins while I was sporting some not so covering ensembles, we decided to make the inside of our home more private.
Before



So we played with the idea of changing out the glass for a few hundred dollars to privacy glass, like seeded or frosted. But I just couldn't make the permanent commitment.

I do love seeing through the front door, I look at our beautiful oak tree out front (I can also see it out our living room windows) and when visitors do come by I like to see who they are before I open the door.
So I came up with an idea on how to make the glass private during the day and night but also see through the glass a bit.
Here is a partial view of our tree currently.


So I bought a $20 roll of stick on velum in frost, and then cut out the shape of our tree. I focused the majority of leaves and cut outs where we would need to view the faces of our visitors. And not so many where they can really see into our living room on the right. Plus its the same shape as our tree out front.
After


For $20 and a bit of patience with an exacto-knife its an easy trial run. I can always take it off as I am still not quite used to it. What do you think?


Okay okay, its not ideal, but it gets the job done and I like that its unique and that I DIY-ed the design myself.



It still lets in light, an option we thought over for a bit was changing the doors out for solid ones, but we quickly decided that would be too dark and close the house in.



Here is the view from outside.


We will see if I fall in love or if I will pull it off, but for now I think it isn't so bad. And now I can walk around my home in whatever I choose!