sewing machine

IKEA Office Drawer Makeover {Mod Podge}

Posted by Nat on Mar 7, 2012 | 16 comments

It’s time to get craftin’ around here a bit more.  I have been spending the last few weeks really cleaning out my craft room and getting it organized.  It’s getting to be pretty awesome.  Now all that remains is plowing through some projects so that I can clear off the bed, since the room is also technically a guest room.

I’ve had this little drawer organizer for over 10 years.  It’s one of the first things I ever bought from IKEA, and it’s one of the only things I’ve bought from there that did not require assembly.  I LOVE assembling IKEA furniture.  I’m weird like that.

I decided that since we are going to be in this house until our kids are grown and in college, it’s time to commit to spiffing this thing up.  I also organized all of my office stuff, and purged a lot, so it’s much more feasible to use this in a logical way.  The little orange tabs you see above are what I used to temporarily label the drawers while I pondered what to do with this thing.

You may or may not have seen my sewing & crafting organizers, but this is the same fabric.  Here’s my before and after; below you’ll see a bit about my process.  Doesn’t it look soooo much cooler?!

To prepare the fabric, I measured the width of the drawers. I know that fabric tends to stretch a bit when you use it with Mod Podge, but I also wanted a wrap around on the drawers, so I added about 1/2 inch to the measurement.  I pressed my fabric in the middle of the pattern- you can see the crease below.  Then I measured the height of the drawers and cut very precisely.  I actually had to do this twice because I messed up and Mod Podged a piece on upside down.  Whoops.  Note:  once you put the fabric on, it’s never going to be the same, so if you mess up, you mess up.  It’s best to have extra fabric for this project, unless you are perfect in every way.  Ha.

I knew that I’d be working on this in spurts, so I labeled the pieces of fabric with the corresponding drawer and also an arrow to remind me which was way up.  To do this, I used tailor’s chalk so it just brushed off before I Mod Podged. I didn’t want to leave anything to chance- that’s dangerous for me.

To attach the pieces, I applied a layer of MP to half of the drawer face, pressed the fabric down, and gave it a good rub down.  Then I did the other side.  Before the MP dried, I also poked a hole where the drawer pulls would go back in later.  I just used a sharp pair of scissors.  On the right, below, you can see the little bit of fabric that wrapped around the edge.  These were stubborn- I had to hold them down for about 30 seconds while the MP did it’s work.  I coated the top of the fabric with two coats of MP.

For the top, I measure the fabric and cut to size.  There’s a metal trim, and the fabric stretched over it, so after it dried completely I used an exacto knife and trimmed it off.  I coated the top with Hard Coat Mod Podge, and then sprayed acrylic sealer on it (just one coat) so that it wouldn’t be tacky on the top where I am putting some often-used supplies.

The drawers I labeled with vellum so that the pattern of the fabric wouldn’t be interrupted.  I just love it.

Click here to see all of my Mod Podge projects!

Here’s the before and after again:

Also, you may have noticed my sewing machine cords back there on the left.  I stuck two 3M Command Strips to the wall and I hang my sewing machine cords on them.  That way, when I’m not using my machine and it’s covered up, the cords aren’t under the table getting in the way.  Genius, right?!  🙂

Fuzz Patrol

Posted by Nat on Aug 12, 2010 | 2 comments

I realize that sewing machine maintenance is not the most amazing thing to post about, but it might help someone out, so I thought I’d post just in case.

I was having some problems with my sewing machine.  It kept jamming the thread when I was sewing simple things, and it was getting quite frustrating.  I emailed my friend Kari at Handmade Mommy to see if she had any thoughts on why it would be jamming up.  I call Kari when I really need help- I feel so lucky to have a friend who is not only smarter than me about sewing but also generous in sharing her knowledge.  Kari suggested I try a new needle, but I already had a new needle, so at least I knew that couldn’t be it.  Then I had a revolutionary thought:  consult the manual.

I pulled it out and looked in the back.  I love manuals that are written by people who don’t speak English.  They crack me up.   Thankfully this part of my manual is very well done (most of it is, really).  It said to clean things up a bit, so I flipped to the section that told me how to take off the needle plate and opened up my machine.  I laughed heartily when I took it off because this is what I saw (sorry for the big photos, but I thought it would be nice to see how bad it was in there!):

Then, when I removed the bobbin case, THIS is what I saw:

No wonder I was having problems!  And do you recognize that color?  Gee, I wonder if all of that copper-colored lint might have come from this project.  I used a small, soft paint brush (with no paint, of course) to get all of the lint out.  Now it runs like a champ.  Here’s the cleaned up “after” photo:

Much better!  I imagine one is supposed to do this often, so I will be checking underneath my machine’s “hood” a little bit more frequently.  Hope this is helpful to all my fellow sewers!

Eek!  Update:  I emailed Chris at Pick Up Some Creativity and shared my post with her.  She then so nicely posted this on her blog- I’m in a list with some pretty amazing bloggers!  Thanks, Chris!

Shhhh… I’m trying to concentrate.

Posted by Nat on Aug 10, 2010 | Comments Off on Shhhh… I’m trying to concentrate.

Well, the time has come.  I have gotten as far as I can on my own, so the next couple of days are going to be spent two places.

Here, because I need to get crackin’ on some projects:

And here, because I need to get some schooling on the innards of my blog:

I love WordPress.  But I do not know WordPress well enough.  We shall see if this book can change that.  Time will tell.  Wish me luck!

New Series on Crafting Crazy: Martha! I Made it!

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jul 21, 2010 | 6 comments

I love Martha Stewart.  For a while I was in denial.  I was one of those people who was all like, “That Martha- she’s too perfect.  Who really lives like that?  I mean, it’s nice and all, but…..”  Then I couldn’t deny it any more. I just like the look of nearly everything in her magazines.  I don’t watch her show very often mainly due to a lack of time, but I do like the simplicity of the Martha Stewart Style.  So, I gave up, gave in, and now I’m a Martha Wannabe.  I have a long way to go.

Enter her new treasure, “Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.”

Soon after I purchased my sewing machine I went out and bought this book.  (Thankfully I had some help with a generous gift from our PTA at school- it was Teacher Appreciation Week and we all got $50!  Nice, eh?)  I actually went to Barnes & Noble and pulled a bunch of sewing books and literally sat on the floor and drooled over patterns and pictures of things I’d love to know how to make (remember- no idea what I’m doing).  I ultimately chose this book because it has a little bit of everything- clothing, gifts, doggie coats, you name it.

I thought it might be nice to showcase what I make from this book.  It’s one thing to look at a project in any book and say, “Hey- that’s rad.  I could make that.”  It’s another thing entirely to follow the directions (I’m not always good at that) and see if you actually get what’s pictured.  And since I’m such a novice, I think at the very least I will give a good laugh, right?  So here we go:  Installment #1 of, “Martha!  I made it!”

On page 311 in the book are “Felt Baby Shoes.”  They looked adorable, and awfully simple to make. First I just went to Michael’s (or Joann Fabrics- can’t remember) and bought a cheap sheet of crafting felt in pink and white.  I wanted to see if they would turn out right using the pdf pattern included with the book.  In less than 15 minutes I had an adorable pair of shoes, but because the felt only cost 29 cents/sheet, I could tell they were not going to last very long.  So I headed to the back of the Encyclopedia and looked up where Martha got her felt. I love the back of the book- you can look up where they purchased certain fabrics and such- not everything is listed, but in this case I was lucky.  I surfed over to Magic Cabin and ordered some of their wool felt.  When it showed up I started drooling it was so nice.  And here’s my end result:

First and most importantly, meet Clare.  Isn’t she adorable?

Clare’s mommy, Elizabeth (E for short) agreed to let Miss Clare model my shoes.  Of course, Clare gets to keep them, too.  I wanted to see if they would actually fit a baby’s foot.  For reference, Clare is 3 months old.

Here are the shoes- I think they turned out adorable.  You’ll see that I added a little heart to the bottom of one for flair.  I know- I’m so forward-thinking, right?  No one does that, I’m sure.  Ha.

And now my critique of the directions and steps in the book.  I think these will be helpful to anyone else in case they decide to make something from this book.

This How-To was great– the pattern was easy to use, the felt is very easy to work with.  I do need to buy some smaller pins because I did stick myself a lot since I only had standard size pins.  I used a 1/16″ punch for the little holes just as they described and it was very easy to use.  I have to wonder if gluing rick-rack, as they suggest would hold up, but that will have to wait for another pair.

Other notes:  In the future I will not use buttons.  These shoes barely fit Miss Clare, so these are best used as a newborn gift so that mommies can decide when to use them. Because Clare is 3 months old, the buttons had to be readjusted a bit and they did work, but I would worry about the felt not holding up to her little kicks and such since the fit was a bit snug around her cute ankles.  Clare was also kicking up a storm, so they were hilariously challenging to get on.  I did use a crafting knife to cut the button holes- it was very easy, but I’m glad I used the sharp knife and not a pair of scissors.  This allowed me to be more exact.

A few other photos to share:

The shoes on Miss Clare’s adorable feet (this girl has long toes!)

Full shot- I feel horrible for cutting off her head, but still- is she not just the cutest?  Talk about baby fever… E said that she wore them for quite a while and didn’t seem bothered by them at all, which is also nice to know.

Thanks, E, for letting me use Miss Clare!  I can’t wait to see what other shoes I can come up with.  I have all sorts of color combinations in mind.

Next up on Martha, I Made It!:  a duvet cover.  Yikes.  It’s coming!

If you got this far, please leave a comment and show me some love- thanks!

What was I thinking?

Posted by Nat on Jul 11, 2010 | 2 comments

….or WAS I even thinking?  Not sure.  I will have more to post about this soon, but thought this might entertain some of my crafty friends.  If you hear moans and groans of frustration, it’s probably me.

Anna’s Doll Bedding: First Project

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jun 30, 2010 | Comments Off on Anna’s Doll Bedding: First Project

My first project with my new sewing machine needed to be something that wasn’t going to “matter” in terms of looking like something expected or patterned.  I didn’t want that pressure when I really haven’t had much sewing experience since middle school.  My mom sent out my old doll bed from when I was growing up- isn’t it cute?  It’s brass and very sturdy.  However, the bedding was looking a little… well… a bit like bedding from the early 80s should.  It had lots of cats on it- and since my childhood days I have become extremely, horrendously, completely allergic to cats.  (I think I’d probably sneeze while sitting next to a hairless cat, truth be told.  But I wouldn’t sit next to a hairless cat because they freak me out.) So, the cats and the color combo just weren’t doing it for me.  On a date day, Michael and I happened upon a little fabric store in North Park- wish I could remember the name.  They had this adorable ladybug flannel.  I found some trim, pulled out leftover muslin from Anna’s room, and I was ready to sew.

*note*  These are horrible pictures.  My apologies!

First I made the fitted sheet and the bed skirt (left).  Then I simply cut a piece of muslin to size and made a “sheet” (center).   Then I made a “quilt” and I guess what one might call a bolster pillow (?) that runs along the back of the bed, since it’s sort of a day bed (right).

Finally I whipped up some pillows.  These were fun!  I think the only one I don’t really care for is the round one because I was short on trim and ended up hacking it (reference my header- clearly don’t know what I’m doing yet) to pieces.  Oh well.  Anna loves it.  She didn’t love the whole thing at first- in fact she immediately asked for the cat bedding back.  Ah, to be 3 again. Thanks, sweetie.