Rocking Chair

 Enjoy the little things in life, because one day you will look back, and realize they were the big things.

This rocking chair is very special to me, and my family. My husbands grandpa used to make them as a hobby. The one on the right was made by him for our wedding present. This was the first time I've attempted to make any kind of furniture, and I must say it turned out quite well. That being said I didn't write down a full tutorial, but I did take some pictures that I hope will inspire you to make your own furniture. 

So this picture is what not to do, don't screw on the top board because you have to screw underneath of the board before screwing the board on, so needless to say I took it back off later on.

As you can see in this picture. Sorry it's upside down clearly my photography skills need some work!

Once I had the whole chair planned out and cut all the pieces it came together very quickly.

So unfortunately I didn't take any pictures while I was making and attaching the rockers. To attach the rocker to the chair I drilled a hole half way through the rocker and put a really long screw into the rocker and the chair.

I used this stain for the chair, I finally decided to try just using a rag instead of a paint brush, and I was amazed how well it worked. I also used the Varathane Diamond Wood Finish.

 

   Pretty proud of this chair, so if I can do it you can do it. It's really not that difficult. If I decide to make another chair. I will take more detailed measurements and some more pictures. I hope this inspired you!

That's it for now have a rocking good time! (corny or what but I couldn't resist sorry)

Sewing Machine cover

 This isn't a mess, it's creative freedom.





      My sewing machine is probably my 
favourite tool that I have, but I don't like looking at it all the time, so I decided to make a sewing machine cover for it. Here's the process I went through, the mistakes I made, and the mess I created.

I started with two pieces the length and height of my sewing machine plus 1/2 inch for seam allowance.

Two pieces height and width of sewing machine. 

Cut out a top piece which would be the length and width of the sewing machine. I didn't take a good picture of it while cutting it out. Plus I cut it too short so I patched it up. The patch does add more character to the project, sometimes mistakes aren't so terrible. I also cut out some interfacing for the top piece, just to add some structure to the case.

I decided to add some pockets to the side, plus some really cute buttons and embellishments. This was partly inspired by my childhood and all the precious moments colouring books. The characters in the books always had the cutest little patches on all of their clothes. 

I used so many different stitches on this project. It was fun to discover stitches that I haven't used since I got my sewing machine.

I sewed all of the decorations on, I used interfacing for the pockets so they wouldn't slouch over when they were filled with sewing tools.

I just folded it and top stitched the pockets.

  

For the front I cut out a heart, and a little square and cute metallic button.

Start piecing the top to the front and back pieces, right sides together.

Piece the sides together, sorry about the lack of pictures, but I'm pretty sure you can figure this part out on your own.

Hem the bottom edge and you are done.

Happy Early(or late) Valentines Day, I hope you have a fantastic time with friends and family, and maybe even a significant other.

Rustic Wood Vase

  Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy craft supplies, and that's pretty close!

I've been meaning to do this project for a long time. I've had these twig like branches from Ikea for about 3 years, that's a long time of them sitting around collecting dust. So I finally decided to just start making a vase type holder for them, and it is surprisingly very fast and easy to make. It's just the motivation part that's sometimes lacking. 

For this project I chose 
very beat up wood from our scrap pile, and I very lightly sanded it. I decided to make two wood vases. One 18 in. and the other 10in. tall. So I cut four boards for each vase.

 Using some nails, hammer the boards together.

In this picture you can really see how beat up and warped my boards are, I personally didn't care because I wanted the vase to look very rustic. Next I used white acrylic paint and diluted it with water. I did one coat, but some areas where you cut the boards might need some additional paint.

And there you have it, Rustic Vases. I didn't put a bottom on mine, but you can adjust it to whatever floats your boat.