Fleece remnants = Easiest dog toys

I happened to visit a local chain craft store twice this weekend (yep, I think I spent more time there than at home this weekend, oops).  On my second trip I was actually there for a specific item, but ended up wandering past the remnant bins and a few pieces of fleece caught my eye.  The remnant bins can be incredible if you're there at the right time.  This particular store offers 50% off of the current sale price per yard on the remnant, so you can sometimes get it ridiculously cheap.  The only problem is that you really don't have a wide selection.  If you're not particular, you can really clean up.  Let's just say I walked out of this craft store paying $8 for over 4 yards of patterned fleece. Score!

One of the prints I bought was a brown fleece with light and hot pink dog bones, from which I knew I'd make the easiest dog toys I have ever seen.  Basically you tie three or four strips of fleece together, braid them and tie the other end off.  Presto- easy and instant dog toy.  My parent's doxies are chewers and I knew these would be a great addition to their collection, especially because it was so cheap if they demolish them and they can also be washed if needed.

I started by cutting 4 strips of the dog bone print and 2 strips of a plain brown fleece, my strips were roughly 2 inches wide.  By folding the material in half, I really only had to make 2 cuts from the patterned and one from the solid, great time saver.  Once you're done cutting the strip just snip across the top to make the individual pieces.  The best thing about these dog toys is that your cuts don't have to be perfect, the braiding will hide any imperfections.

Once the strips were cut, I layered them and tied off the one end.  I somewhat tightly braided the strips and when I had about 6 inches left, I tied off the end.  The last step was the cut the ends of each strip in half to create more fringe.  That's it, about 10 minutes and I was done.  The girls got them on Sunday night and absolutely loved them.  It's great that you can get them a toy that will entertain them for less than $4.  I also made a fleece pom-pom but my camera battery died before I could get a picture of it!

So, why was I at the craft store in the first place?  Well on Saturday I found a really cute flannel print and decided that I am going to attempt to sew pajama pants. You see, I have this personal tradition over the last few years of buying a new pair of flannel pj bottoms to wear on Christmas morning, only after seeing this fabric I decided to attempt to make them myself.   I don't typically do apparel construction, so this is new territory for me. (I'm hoping that I don't think at the end of this that I should have just bought a pair at Target for $10 and been done with it.) Stay tuned to see how this turns out!

Pumpkin Spice Cake Cookies

I have an addiction from which I never want to be reformed - I love pumpkin and anything pumpkin.  Unfortunately, there was a shortage of pumpkin earlier this year and, as a result, all of my local grocery haunts had empty shelves where the pumpkin once graced.  To say I was sad would be an understatement...  Well, we finally have pumpkin back in stock in the Pittsburgh area, so I have now stocked up (there is a case of pumpkin in my pantry, I shall not be without again!)

So, while at the store the other day, I picked up a package of Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice cookie mix with the intent to not follow package directions and instead use a Weight Watchers trick and add a can of pumpkin puree to the cookie mix.  Yep, no eggs, no butter, no water.  Just cookie mix and a can of pumpkin  How easy is that?  And it's somewhat healthier to boot.  (Now mind you, if you want crispy cookies, this is not the route for you to go, by adding the pumpkin your cookies will be more of a cake consistency.)

Mixing takes a little bit more elbow grease to get everything incorporated.

 Once out of the oven, they sat for a bit to cool.  Here's a tip, however you drop the cookies on your baking sheet will be what they look like once cooked.  These cookies do not expand, so if you want a round cookie take the back of a spoon and in a counter-clockwise motion smooth the cookie out to a thinner and rounder shape.

 Mmm, marshmallow cream, cream cheese, powdered sugar, a tiny bit of unsalted butter and pumpkin pie spice!

A couple of the finished cookies, so yummy and they aren't lasting long!  The mix only made about 3 dozen, and after some taste-testing by myself and the boyfriend, as well as giving a bunch to my parents, there's probably 18-20 left. 

Yes, even dogs need clothes...

A few months ago, my parents adopted two very adorable dachshunds - Latte (a tan long-haired) and Madison (a smooth pie-bald).  The are total sweethearts and goofballs at the same time.

Well, as it's gotten colder over the past few weeks, the girlies have really been affected.  When you only weigh 10 lbs, I guess that's to be expected.  So I started to look around for something to keep them warm.  Yep, I bought them clothes...  But hey, at least it's not like we're playing dress up for kicks, their clothes serve a purpose.  I ended up getting them both hoodies- look how cute they are!


Unfortunately, the way that doxies joints are, these two tend to pull their front legs out of the "arms" in the hoodies.  They'll work for keeping them warm, for now, but they definitely needed something sleeveless.  Let me tell you, I definitely learned that there is money to be made in dog couture.  Some of the stuff I found was absolutely outrageous, I mean come on, a bikini for your dog?  Like that is at all necessary.

With the amount (or lack there of) of fabric required to make dog clothes, you would probably expect they aren't that expensive.  WRONG!  Even the simplest of dog coats that I found were upwards of $30-50.  There was no way I was spending that for a coat I wasn't even sure would fit the girls correctly.  (Dachshunds have longer backs and most dog clothes are made for an average length back, typically 4-6 inches shorter than the doxies.)

So, I'm sure you know where this is going- if I couldn't find what I needed already made... I would make it myself.  I just so happened to be at a local craft store while they were having a pattern sale.  Now mind you, I did not go to the craft store with the intent to make the dog coats, I was actually there picking up stuff to refinish this bench. Anyway, I noticed the pattern sale and, for giggles, decided to see if by chance there was a dog coat pattern.  Bingo!  So for $2, I walked away with two sets of a fairly simple pattern.  Why did I buy two sets?  Well, most patterns include multiple sizes, which I needed, but they overlap the pieces rather than nest, so by cutting out one size, you make it impossible to cut out anything else.  Advanced seamstresses use tracing paper and the nine yards, but for a buck a pattern, it wasn't worth my time.

Next decision was fabric.  The pattern showed a cute hounds-tooth (haha, get it?) and sherpa selection.  Eh, I wasn't about to spend a ton of money on coats I wasn't even sure the girlies would keep on.  I, instead, opted to buy a no-sew fleece blanket kit.  Let me explain my rationale here: fleece by the yard was on sale, sure better selection, but it would have cost me more money and yielded me less fabric to go that route.  By buying the no-sew kit I had 2 coordinated pieces of fleece and enough of it to make 3 coats, or in my case extra in case I screwed up.  Think outside the box sometimes, it can save you money!


An investment of about 3 hours of my time and I had two cute fleece dog coats, a small and a medium, with straps that looked like they'd fit a horse.  Who's dog did they measure these things for? So, despite finishing the coats off with a top-stitch and pressing them out, I knew I'd be seam ripping them to correct the length of the straps.  After fitting them on the girls, I had to shorten the straps by about 4 inches each (see what I mean when I say dog clothes, and patterns, were not made with a dachshund in mind?)

Regardless, the finished products are uber-cute and the girlies love them.

Hello Fall!

This being my first year in my own home, I don't have a lot of seasonal decor, but I've slowly been creating some to fill the void.  I think at this point my poor boyfriend has had enough of me spending hours in craft/decor stores just wandering the aisles looking for inspiration to strike me.  Sometimes I have an idea in mind before I get there (those trips are notably shorter), but lately I've been going shopping with a clear mind and letting the store's stock guide/inspire me.  (Besides, nothing is worse than having an idea and not being able to find the items to create it anywhere!)

Well, on a recent foray into a local home decor store, I found a cute iron pumpkin candle holder that I knew would look great in the middle of our dining room table.  So, I scoured for a candle ring to add a little something to make it a true centerpiece, unfortunately the selection was lacking.  There was, however, a vast array of silk florals - some better than others.  After about 30 minutes of picking through the flowers, I decided on some gold berry picks, a bouquet of these gorgeous rust orange flowers and berry bunches in an autumnal palette. 

Back at home, I spent about an hour weaving the pieces together to form an ellipse rather than just a ring for some added appeal. When I was done, the boyfriend questioned, "How did you know how much of each that you'd need?"  If you've ever watched Project Runway you'll know the quintessential Tim Gunn phrase "Make it work!"  That tends to be what happens, though I can usually gauge things pretty well, if I happen to be off, I'll figure out a solution.  I added a flameless candle and voila!  The piece cost me about $20 in total, including the candle.

Next on the list was something for our front door.  I've seen a lot of wreaths at the store, but nothing I was truly in love with, so in typical Megan-style, I set out to create my own.  I ran to one of my favorite local craft stores after work one day and picked up a few things.  (I apparently have a fascination with gold berry picks, this was the second time I picked them up!)

This piece took me about two hours, sitting at the dining room table weaving leaves and gold berries through the wire star form.  Despite it taking a bit longer and my hands being scratched up from the wire, I was pretty pleased with the result. For a focal point, I added a large cream colored flower to the bottom right.  Total cost: approximately $8.

 

 I could still probably use 2-3 more pieces of fall decor, but with needing to get some regular decor done and some art on the walls, these two pieces will have to do for now.

Craiglist Trash to Treasure: Bench

I've been looking for a bench for our entry for some time now, never quite loving anything that I've found.  Big surprise, I know.  So, I decided to peruse Craigslist and see if I could find anything with potential.  Sure enough, about 35 minutes from our townhouse was a bench for sale for $30.  I'm sure other people would look at this and say, "ummm what were you thinking, Megan?"  I'm pretty sure that was on my boyfriend's mind as he hauled it into his suv. But, I knew I could rescue it!

The bench was in rough shape: the finish was worn in spots (I wasn't originally planning on painting the bench, but as you can see, we have a mix of woods in the entry already and with the spindles on the stairs, the bench seemed a little lost), the seat fabric was disgusting, and to be honest the whole thing smelled a little, but those things can and would be fixed.

The first task was getting rid of the fabric on the seat. Luckily the seat is held on the bench by 4 screws, so removal was a breeze. Now if only I could say that for the rest of the rehab project! A flat-head screwdriver, some patience, and an hour later and it was bye-bye ugly grey fabric.  Unfortunately, that exposed an even uglier choice- the original red vinyl - complete with dust, dog dander, and a huge gaping tear.  Back to the screwdriver for a bit and that too was gone.  For good measure I also trashed the original foam (goodbye weird smell!) and replaced it with fresh, clean batting. This is not the most comfortable choice, but foam was super expensive and it's not like we're going to be lounging on this bench anyway, so I went to economical route.

I must have spent two hours staring at the fabric at Joann's, I kinda knew what I wanted but couldn't really find anything that fit that idea.  Finally, I ended up choosing a brown floral decor fabric with hints of teal and green for the base of the seat and a coordinating fabric to make an accent pillow.  To finish it off, I bought a darker teal green trim to fill the gap between the bench and the seat, this would help give it a clean finished line.  Little did I know that this decision would also be a trial.  Every time I would staple a section of the trim on the seat and then try to put the bench in place, the trim was either too long or too short.  After a lot of trial and error, wasted staples, and some frustration I finally figured it out - tape is your friend!  I put the seat in place on the bench and then tucked the trim in until it was sitting right where I wanted it, then I simply taped it in place, removed the bench and stapled the trim where it fell on the backside of the seat. 

Refinishing the wood on the bench was not as easy as recovering the seat, however.  I wanted a clean look that would help it to stand out from the other wood in the entry, so I decided to go for a white or ivory finish.  Armed with mineral spirits, I cleaned the bench- twice, and still there was more dirt and crud to be found.  After I was finally satisfied with the cleanliness, I attacked the bench with spray primer, which is uber sticky and gets everywhere (including the boyfriend's new grill cover, oops!)  The bench absolutely ate the paint, every coat I put on it just seeped into the bench with no end in sight.  Once I had finally exhausted the primer, I let it dry and then started to coat it with the actual spray paint.  It was splotchy, not at all the look I wanted and I was uber frustrated.  So I let it dry completely and pulled it back into the house.  What was I going to do?  I didn't want to buy more spray paint, nor was I keen on inhaling any more of it.

I remembered the set of test paint I bought, and if you know me well enough you'll find this funny- they are Martha Stewart paints.  Yep, Martha Stewart saved the day!  There happened to be a color- Heavy Cream, that was exactly what I was looking for.  So, while I really didn't want to hand-paint the entire bench, I broke down and did it.  It worked beautifully.  Three coats with a foam brush (so there would be no bristle marks) and I was done.   Here's another tip, if you know you'll need to do multiple coats on something, put your paint brush in a plastic sandwich or storage bag and seal it, this will keep the brush from drying out and save you from having to wash it between coats.

Last step was to put the seat back on the bench and place the finished project in the entry.  I added a simple pillow (envelope pillow covers are the easiest to make in the world!), oh and some pumpkins as part of my fall decor.  I'm totally please with the finished project and the fact it cost me less than $50. 

On another note, I recently joined CreatingTheHive.com on a recommendation from another crafty friend.  Got a blog or an interest in crafting in general?  Head over to their site and join- connect with other crafters to learn something new and share your talent too!

The shower doors have got to go!

When I purchased my townhouse there were a few decor elements that I wouldn't have necessarily chosen, one of which was glass doors in the bathroom showers.  I'm sure a lot of people love these things, I am not one of them.

Ick!

Of the past two owners, I don't think anyone wanted to take on the task of removing the shower doors in the bathrooms.  Maybe they thought it was going to be a more intensive task than it was.  All I know is, the doors were absolutely hideous and they had to go!

I did some research online and most posts assured me that the removal shouldn't be too bad or take too long, unless the doors were installed incorrectly.  So, I crossed my fingers and went for it.   I figured that if I ruined the tub, I'd just get a new one since I want to do some additional work to the master bath anyway.

I started the demolition at 10PM one evening; I just couldn't stand the the doors anymore! After finagling with one of the doors, I was able to lift it off of the top rail and remove it completely.  The other door, however, was attached to the bottom rail with two screws.  After fighting them for a little while, I was able to free that door as well. Next, I popped the top rail off (by far the easiest part!) and started to remove the six screws (3 on each) that held the side rails in place.  The side and bottom rails were unfortunately attached to the tub with latex caulking.  After a good bit of slicing with a razor blade and prying with a caulk remover tool, I was able to remove all of the rails.  Unfortunately, they left behind a lot of the caulking, which wasn't the easiest to remove. At first I thought the bottom rail had completely destroyed the tub because of the black patch I found that appeared to get worse as I scrubbed at it.  I did find out by accident that rubbing alcohol breaks the caulk down, so the spot came up with ease, thank goodness! Once the caulking was all cleaned up, I was able to cap off the holes that remained in the tub wall from the screws.  Job mostly done!

Add a shower rod and curtain and presto!

Note: Bathroom makeover still in progess!

 The guest bathroom's shower wasn't used nearly as much as the master one, so it was a lot easier to clean up.  I'm so glad I don't have any icky shower doors that are impossible to fully clean anymore!

A craft command center like no other...

It seems as though I've never had a desk big enough to work on all of the crafts that I seem to get myself into or enough storage space for all of my materials.  So, I started to shop around for a new desk for my craft room, but still couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.  I'm sure you know where this is going... I decided to take of the task of building one myself.  Hey, how else do you get exactly what you need?
 
There's been a trend lately of cube bookcases; many different brands manufacture them most notably- Closetmaid.  Being that space is a concern (I share my craft room with the "office") I knew from the start that I wanted to use the cube bookcases (I ended up with the 2x3 units- $40 each) to add storage below my desk while serving as a base for the desktop. I love things that serve dual-purposes!

I count myself lucky to live a mere five miles from an Ikea.  Why do I love Ikea?  Well, for someone like me that needs to put my own spin on everything, their cost-effective (a.k.a. cheap) products allow me to push my creative limit without fear of wasting too much money if the end result is not what I was hoping for.

As far as desks, Ikea has started to sell pieces of desks, specifically different size tops and legs, that allow you to customize. I wanted to maximize the available space by creating an L-shape desk. To do so, I attached two different-sized desk tops together, securing with some steel brackets.  I also purchased two sets of 6 inch legs, total expenditure of about $40.  

So, as you see above, I turned the bookcases on their sides and added the 6in legs from Ikea to the top to create some additional storage and to raise the height of the desktop so that I could work from a standing position as well.

Now, of course, I can't stand a plain white desk, so the next step was to customize some doors to add some color. It was important to me to make sure that however I chose to customize the desk it would not be permanent.  I change my mind and my style a lot.  I knew it would be easier to simply peel a temporary cover off of each door rather than to scrape and sand whatever design. 

I ended up using 3M's spray adhesive, which is permanent if you adhere both surfaces immediately, or temporary if you let the sprayed surface dry slightly before affixing it.  Because the doors are around 11 inches tall and wide, I was able to use standard 12x12 scrapbook paper to adorn the doors. I chose to use a different design for each door, but stuck with a teal blue theme for a unified look.  You can see my high-tech spray booth above.

One of the finished doors with the door pull attached.

The process was a bit tedious, as each door needed to be wrapped and the corners glued to ensure a smooth finish.  After about 2 hours I had all 6 doors done and attached to the book cases.  I'm really happy with the final result! The total cost for this custom desk was around $150, so not too bad. 

I've added a few more baskets since this picture was taken to help organize some of my high-demand supplies.  All in all, it's a perfect craft command center for me, now I just need to get to work doing some more crafting!