Design it, Sew it on, then Cut It Out

Hmmm... I might have to come up with a more catchy name for this technique. I use this idea a lot, mostly for shirts, but I've done pillows as well. This picture is me and my little sister, Kelsey... about 3 years ago. I had made her a pirate ship t-shirt for her birthday. On the back I just took a fabric that had little ships on it and made three window for them. On the front a pirate ship. I would print my design on a light weight paper then pin it on the front of the shirt. Then I would pin the patterned fabric on the back of the shirt. Next I would sew

over the design two times, to make it more sturdy. Then rip away the paper... this is where the light weight paper comes in handy. Finally I would cut the original shirt on the inside of the design. For the pirate ship I had to add some stitching to complete the picture. For the shirt I am wearing in the picture I chose to do a little boy fishing and some birds. I did a bird on the back of the shirt too. Most recently I used this technique on a pillow.

My Newest Muse

I hope your Christmas was all you hoped it to be.
This was my Christmas:
Her name is Polly.
I'm in love.

Miniature in Measure, Mega in iMagination

When I moved into my house I left behind a huge, double closeted, bedroom. A bedroom in which my sister decided to take over. (Double closets... how could she not!) To everyone's surprise she decided to go with a Victorian pink theme. So for her birthday I decided to make her some wall art.
I used mostly scrapbooking and beading supplies. And to make it more personal I spelt out a message in each box. (You can't see all the letters because of the angles) The left is a bedroom scene and the right is a kitchen scene. I had so much fun making these... especially trying to making the little items. An example is the broom, I made it from an old blush brush and a toothpick and a bit of hemp rope. The little apron and chef hat are made of fabric.

Happy Holidays!!!

I hope you are all in large noisy rooms filled with loved ones and food right now!

Monster Stocking Stuffers

I made these little guys as small gifts for friends. I used sheet felt and buttons. The green monster has a pocket in the back. Actually the green monster is called Monster McGiver, because I filled him with "survival" items. He has a pencil, matchbook, safety pin, measuring tape, Advil, nail clipper and room for emergency quarters. Monster McGiver is a little bit too big to be a key chain, so I'm planning to give him to someone who has a locker... he can be a locker buddy.

Display Decisions

I am a collector. I have been since I was little collecting Little Mermaid cards. Right now I am big into collecting Fossil Tins, I have over 30. Most of the them are the same size and shape, about six are different. Currently they are sitting on a few window sills, but I'd much rather have them all together displayed as a collection... so I am toying with a few ideas that I thought I'd share.
1) Stick them right up on the wall.
The example I've shown is from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5174222 (Side note: its a pretty cool site, she sells wood block art pieces that are meant to be hung in groups.)
Pro: its looks organized
Con: the "odd" shaped tins would look out of place
2) Shelves.
Pro: all tins would get to be used and a smaller space is needed
Con: Less impact and more messy?
3) Different sized display boxes
I like this idea because then I could stack the tins to make taller arrangements. Plus I like the disorder to the order... and I could paint the frames a funky color, like bright red or orange! Oh, and I could put a subtle but fun printed wall paper or fabric as the back panel. That would be kind of fun.
4) Show case coffee table.
This one is an idea I've been toying with for awhile. I haven't seen it done anywhere. Pros would be it's unique, organized, and impactfull. Cons: a lot more time and effort. I would like to do something like this coffee table (I saw it at Kesay), but maybe with a groove where the tins would sit in, so they wouldn't move around when we moved the table... or walls that from the wood piece up to the glass. I dunno, what do you think?

Let Me Introduce a Little Chi Chi Into Your Life

I have a new favorite store. It's called Chi Chi. It is beautiful! The store is set up in the layout of a home design... for example, there is a bathroom that has hand made soaps and, well, bathroom items. There is also a kitchen, and 4 other rooms. Chi Chi sells vintage and modern items, their tag line is "where eras meet". I love the 1950s woman's slogans on magnets and coasters. They also have great gift ideas, like I bought one of these little walking robots for my brother for on his desk. Me and my husband bought the Barcelona miniature chair for friends of ours. (Its not pictured, but those three are others in the miniature chair line) They also sell wall decals, clocks, jewelery, upcycled furniture and so much more. The store can be found at 515 Osborne Street. (That's south Osborne)

Asymmetrical Necklaces... with vintage beginnings

These necklaces I made in summer. (As those of you who know me can probably sleuth that one out from the fire engine hair) I used vintage chains, findings, and pearls mixed with some new beads and findings. The one to the left I wanted it to look like an ocean treasure. I had originally hoped for the piece with the three smaller beads hanging from it to be in the center... but the weight of the other beads didn't allow for that. You win some, you loose some.
Ha ha... I have to laugh at myself in this second picture, but that aside,I love the look of random pearls and chains just draped aimlessly. This last necklace is made completely of reassembled vintage jewelery. If you are into making jewelery I highly recommend taking a trip to your thrift stores to add some vintage to your pieces.

Fabric in a Frame... yep, its that easy

The frames were purchased from thrift stores and then spray painted. For fabric I would recommend using something with a large print. If you have bare walls this is a quick and easy way to fill them up. Also a good way to add in an accent color, because it's so easy to change the fabric if you decide to change you accent color. Look at me, just handing out the tips.

My Etsy Christmas List....

As greedy as it sounds, I love making Christmas lists. Sometimes it's just nice to take a break from thinking about the needs in life and focus on the wants. So that's what I did at my favorite place to browse on the web... etsy!

1) A Print from the Black Apple. I love her work... the characters she paints look so emotional. You can find her stuff at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=991


2) I love chunky necklaces.... this first one is from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5463733 the second is from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5397728


3) Coasters... this is a mix of want and need. From http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5814651


4) serving bowls from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5013687

Now I'm off to print this list and put it on my fridge.

Little Miss Match

When me and my husband started decorating our house we made a decision that we woudn't buy a bunch of mediocre furniture. We decided to either spend a good amount of money on something, and plan to keep it for years to come, or buy something cheap that would be temporary until we could afford to replace it. One item that got the short end of the money stick was our dining room set. We ended up buying mis matched chairs from thrift stores. (I'm only at three... still on the look out for chair number four) I decided to go with a crazy fabric for the seats, because the seat cushion is such a small space and I wanted to make an impact. This fabric is actually vintage 1970s. I'm not too crazy about the different colors of chairs, they are fun for now, but I'm think once chair four comes along they might all turn white... we'll see. But totally cheap to do, and upholstering chair seats is super easy if they are the type where the seat just screws off. It also makes it easier to paint the chair.

Hardware Pizaz!

Ok, so this isn't really a new idea, but I just saw some pretty cute stuff from Anthoropology so I thought I'd blog about it. They have metals, jewels and cute ceramic figures that add that special touch to you dresser or cabinets.
Another store that has really unique drawer pulls is Monkey Shine. They take vintage pictures, such as Alice in Wonderland, and put them on knobs. (See link section to find the store) But if you want to do it yourself then I suggest buying vintage and adding color. These knobs below were brass and I sprayed them white. Modern antique style.

A Feather Affair

Another Christmas craft for the day...All you need for this one is card stock, feathers and glue. (I used my hot glue gun... I use my hot glue gun for everything... I feel like I should give him a name) Really, besides the glue, this is a Dollaramma craft. Feathers and card stock... two bucks.
How I did it: First I made the cone out of cardstock. Then, starting at the top, I glued the bottom of the feathers on. At the bottom of the cone I did a few feathers going the opposite way, to hide the feather bottoms from the meddle row.
If you wanted to jazz it up I think glueing pearls on would be cute, maybe in groups of three. Or putting a pretty ribbon going around with a little bow at the top. Oh, or a tiny little bird sitting in the tree... I like that idea best.
Well, good luck everyone in finding little tiny birds! The peacock tree was my inspiration, its from Danielle's Rockaway Florist. http://www.daniellesrockawayflorist.com

Michelangelo had his Sistine Chapel.... I have my dining room!

So far in my life I think I would call this my master piece.
It took me months to complete... but like I was saying before, about customization... it makes you proud as a peach to have it. Let me give you a little "how to", just in case you have months to spare. I first made the stencil using a plastic duotang. I printed my design out on a piece of paper (it was originally a two inch design on a piece of scrapbooking paper) and taped it to my duotang then used an exacto knife to cut it out. I used a sticky spray (used for sreen printing) and tape to keep my stencil on the cieling. To keep each piece seperated evenly I used reference points on the designs all ready painted on. I had to wash my stencil keep after every use because a little bit of paint would always stay on the edge and would muck up the next design if I didn't clean it. People thought I was crazy when I told them my idea (I probably should have left out the lime green part) but most of those people who were ready to throw my in the loony bin have taken it back.

A Snowy White Winter Wonderland

I have these wonderful black candlesticks that I wanted to still keep on the table during the Christmas season. So I went with a black and white, mostly candles... which are so romantic and perfect for cold nights, themed table. So I have eleven candles on my table, luckily I have a firefighter for a close friend! My favorite item on is this display is the fake snow. It's marvelous... it's about 3$ for a little bag, it looks like powder but you just add water and it's sparkly snow. A warning though, it drys out fast so you have to keep spritzing it or adding water almost every other day. For the best effect use it on glass. The fuzzy snow flakes are from Dollaramma, so are the brandy glasses and the plate. I found the four silver candle holders at a thrift store. The two black star cut-out rolls are from Fabricland. We only use our table for eating, otherwise it would be a pain to have to move this arrangement. So if you are like me, in the matter that your table doesn't get much use, then its a great place to add a little holiday pizaz.

Custom... It's worth it

As of the moment this chest of drawers is my favorite customized piece. (I stole the picture from Design Sprout) Customizing will always cost more then the generic products offered, but it is almost always worth it. One gets a sense of pride knowing their piece is the only one and usually it was made for that specific spot you put it in and it'll look so sharp... well this is how I feel about our computer desk and wall cabinets.
We have a weird indent where we wanted to put our computer, so to use all the space possible custom was just the way to go. My husband does wood works as a hobby, so together (I did the glueing... of course, and the standing, staining and varnishing) we made this custom piece. So to sum up, customizing will maximize all the space its designed for, look sharp and make you proud as a peach to own it.

Tis the season crafters....

Tis the season of DIY decorations and I'm lovin' it.
Of course there are loads of ideas for decorating the tree... I've chosen one to share: the acorn!
I plucked these puppies myself. There are tons of types of acorns out there, I choose the ones that were slightly fatter and opened up at the bottom. I painted them white, which turned out to be a little tricky because of all the crevasses, but after a few coats I was satisfied. Then I used felt, fabric, feathers, and beading supplies to adorn the tops and my trusty hot glue gun to stick it all together. I used eye pins and bead caps for the very top fastener.
Cute, easy and fun.

Next I want to talk about the Christmas wreath. I'll be honest, you can find some pretty cute stuff out there already made for you for probably cheaper then it cost me to make mine... but it's just in my nature... if I can make it myself I will. I went to Micheals, Dollarama, and Value Village for my supplies. Metalic golds, coppers, and silvers were used as the color scheme. Since I change my mind of colors often I thought the tri-metalic design might be easier to incorperate over the years. I tried to use lots of different textures, like the little lustrous balls, to the very sparkly feathers and acorn and glittering fruit. It sparkles to the whole nieghborhood "Merry Christmas!"

A Cheaper Decal

I love the new craze of putting decals on interior walls. (Like the tree above the bed. Picture taken from Kaboodle) But since I am a crafter and I love to create things myself I decided to make my own decal... with paint. Ok, so it's not really a decal at all anymore, it's a painting, but I stole the idea from seeing all these cute images on walls.
I choose this spot in my bathroom because I broke up the chunky-ness of the blue wall against the brown walls. And the two tone tree did the trick nicely.
If you interested in decals some good sites to check out are:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6295160
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5113818
http://www.surfacecollective.com/

Paris Pictures

Changed the background, title, and font colors : check
Added picture of self: check
Insert first official blog on the topic of crafting:

On one of my many trips to the local thrift stores I found this book with amazing vintage pictures. It was filled with pictures of Paris, mostly in black and white, but a few in color. I loved the pictures because they weren't your everyday scenery post card type of photography. The book had pictures of everyday people doing random things like drawing with chalk, buying groceries, and just walking with a lover.
So I decided to put these pictures up on my wall.
Here is how I did it... I cut mdf board to the approximate size of the pictures. Painted the edges black. Cut the pictures to fit. At first I tried decoupage, but that was a huge failure. In the end I used a simple scrapbooking glue stick. I got my husband to drill a little whole in the back for the nail and my project was almost over. I spent about an hour getting my layout just right.
I'm pretty proud of them, that's why they made it into my first official blog on the topic of crafting: check!

My First Blog Spot!

Last night before falling asleep I came to the decision that tomorrow I was going to start a blog. I even said it out loud, so as it would come true... and it did! Here we are, well here I am... and maybe later "we".
So let me introduce myself, my name is Cecile and I am...
- crafty (in the glue sticks and paper way, not in the witch and spells way)
- a wife, sister, daughter, friend
- a student and waitress
- a designer and decorator (not professionally... just in my own home)
- a huge fan of using the "..." so get use to it

There is lot's more to me, but that's a good start.
I've decided my blog is going to focus on my arts and crafts... and the arts and crafts of others.
So that is all for now... I have to get busy taking picture of what I've been up to.
-cheers