Painted Frame

I think I found this frame at a garage sale.  Or Goodwill.

I loved the design on it, but I thought the gold was a little much.  So I decided to repaint it!

Maxi Skirt From Goodwill Dress

I bought this dress at Goodwill a long time ago too.  The material looked super comfy, so I decided I'd make a skirt out of it.  

I actually took this picture after I'd already separated the top and the skirt, but you get the idea.

First, I took the seam out that attached the skirt to the top.  Then I sewed the top over to make the seam a little neater.  I'd bought some 1" elastic at Meijers, and I used that for the waistband.  I had meant to sew the skirt over for the waistband and then add the elastic later, but I guess I got really excited about the elastic because I went ahead and sewed it together.  So I ended up pinning the material over the top of the elastic and then sewing around it.  Of course, then I forgot to pull the material flat as I sewed, so it kind of folded over in some spots.  But it will stretched enough to go over my hips!

Sweater Purse

I bought a purse one time that was made out of an old sweater.  I thought it was such a cute idea, so I decided to try one out for myself.
I bought this sweater at Goodwill.  It was pretty simple, so I thought that would be good for my first attempt.

I started out cutting the sleeves off.  These I used later to make the strap. 

I also decided I wanted a liner in the purse, which turned out good since the material was really stretchy. I cut a square out of the top of the sweater and sewed it on the front for a pocket. 
I bought a purple zipper at JoAnn's, and sewed the two pieces for the liner and the sweater to it.  I also kept the tag on the sweater and sewed it to the liner cause I liked the horse on it.

Then I sewed the sleeves back to the sweater upside down.  I should have added a long strap of the liner material in the sleeves because they stretched really bad whenever I used the purse.  I added a strap later because I could still reach inside the sleeves.  It would've been much easier if I'd done that sooner, but it still worked out!
I sewed the bottom of the sweater together, then, and around the liner, pulled the purse through the hole in the liner, and sewed the hole shut.  I cut the cuff off the sleeves and sewed the ends together.  Then I sewed the cuffs over the top of the strap. 

I was pretty proud of my new purse!  It hasn't fallen apart yet!

Courtney's Scrapbook

For Courtney's 21st birthday, I made THE best scrapbook of all time.  I'm a little jealous of myself and my talent.

Pumpkin Pillow

This was my project from my Hook-In class last year.  It only took me a year to finish it, but I did right before Halloween.  I love this pumpkin pillow!

DIY Skirt from Old Dress

I bought this "grandma" dress at Goodwill a long time ago, and I finally finished my plan for it!

I'd thought the color and the material for it was perfect.

So I took out the seam that held the blouse to the skirt and removed the elastic from the top of the skirt.  Then I sewed around the top of the skirt to hold the pleats in place.  I found some sequin elastic at JoAnn's, so I bought that and then sewed the skirt to the elastic.  That was not as easy as I'd expected.  The first time I tried the elastic was way too loose, so the second time I ran a running stitch around the top of the skirt and pulled it tight then sewed it to the elastic.  It was a bit tighter this time, but still looser than I would've liked.  It also doesn't stretch out very much, so I can just barely shimmy it over my fairly ample hips.  But it still turned out pretty cute!  Next time I'll probably have to use some stronger elastic so that it will stretch better, then I can attach the sequins afterwards.

Repainted Magazine Table

I bought this table at the monthly antique sale at the Johnson County Fairgrounds.  It was in the booth of this sweet old man, and he was selling it for $12, I think.  I only had a certain amount of money left so I was trying to negotiate with people, and he agreed to sell it to me for $10 (again, I think).  I gave Mom the money to buy it and left to get something else I wanted, and he thought I decided not buy the table.  Mom said he looked so sad, and she was like, "Oh no, she still wants it!" He was happy then!

After sanding it

 I got interior satin paint from Menard's, and decided to go with a yellow that would match my bed quilt.  I really love the pastel, Easter-like colors, and this was perfect!

It's a great nightstand because I can put all my Entertainment Weekly magazines in it!  Or at least some of them.  I really want to do something with the neat diamond on the top, perhaps put some jewels or something in it to give it a mosaic look.  I'm also thinking about decoupaging some pretty paper on the sides of the table, on the outside of the magazine holders.

Glue Frame

I have a million frames, and I find them so cheap that I wanted to try something fun with them.

I used craft glue to make a design around the wood of the frame.  I probably used a little too much glue because some of the design started to run together a little.  I also had to make sure the glue dried enough to not be sticky still.

I picked some pink paint from Mom's stash and used it to cover the frame!

Reupholstered Old Chair

 Here's one of my most interesting buys thus far.  I found this one at the antique sale down the street, too.  It was only $5, and despite everyone else's objections, I was pretty excited.  I know that at first glance it looks like a bit of a mess, but the part that looks like a rat's nest wasn't permanent.  The wood frame of the chair was so neat!  

Dad's exact words when I brought it home were, "What the heck is THAT?!"  He was worried it would attract rats.

But then when I was taking all the stuff off it, I found a surprise!  There was a quarter in the chair!  So really it only cost me $4.75.  I took that as a good sign.

The cardboard on the chair was attached by about eight million tiny nails.  Plus there was about fifty thousand other nails and staples stuck in the chair from previous owners, so that took me a few hours, along with some blood, sweat, and tears.  Even with gloves I managed to get a few blisters on my hand.

I was listened to pretty much an endless loop of the Beatles for a music class I was taking, and Malkovitch decided to join in on my jam session.

For the material I wanted something kind of crazy, even bordering on ugly.  I think this was just about perfect!  I love the bird!

Repainted Old Cabinet

I got this cabinet for FREE!  Mom and I had gone to an annual antique sale down the street from our house.  This sale is insane.  People line up around the rope they use to block off the sale until about 9 o'clock when they take the rope down.  Then everyone all but runs through the tents grabbing anything they think they might buy.  Everything is pretty much gone within an hour.  So after Mom and I had bought all our stuff we were walking through all leftovers looking for a cabinet door to put a rug on.  There weren't any left, but one of the ladies running the sale took us to the barn where they keep all our stuff and offered one she had sitting in there.  Then she brought out this cabinet that she said she'd had for years and was like, "You can just take it if you want it."  So obviously we were like, "YES!"  It was dusty and had some stains, but I loved it!

We'd already taken the board off the top.  I really love the bread door on the bottom.  It might get stuck a little sometimes, but it still slides up and down.

The old back was cardboard and, as you can see, stained and falling apart.  We took that off, and my grandpa helped us cut a piece of plywood to fit the back and the top.

I really wanted to paint it green, so I found a color that matched the quilt Mom had bought for my bed.  I got the satin paint at Menard's, and I think it looks great!  And of course it's great for holding all the random stuff I have!

Repainted Table

One of my many summer projects, but this one I actually finished!

I found the table at a shop called Marshmallow Monkey (I think) for $12.  Mom and I had stopped there when we went to the monthly antique sale at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. I was SUPER excited about it because I'd been wanting another nightstand for my room.

This was after I sanded it before I primed it.

I decided to go with blue paint because I had some pictures hanging above it that had a pretty blue sky.  I got the paint at Menard's, and I think I used an interior satin paint.  Then I set lace over the outside of the drawer and spray painted white paint over it, which worked out so much better than I expected!  I also sanded the drawer handles to get some of the dirt off.  

It's just the perfect nightstand, with a little extra room for my million books!