To-Do List Madness

I can't seem to get away from my sewing machine the last few weeks, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight!  I'm okay with that, actually, but it has been keeping me away from doing house-y things. 

Like...

• refitting the clock in my craft room to hang in the bedroom
• priming the walls in the craft room
• removing the carpet in Kress' drum room...which has just recently become the non-drum room and is soon to be outfitted as a music room + sometime guest room
• painting the walls in the guest bath
• hanging some curtains in the living room (again, always, ad nauseum)
• building a new entertainment center cabinet
• painting some artwork for the living room
• removing the tv wall bracket from the wall in the living room (oops)
• decluttering the living room
• hanging some curtains in the bedroom

AAAAA!!  Okay, actually, most of those are 15-minute jobs.  Not that big a deal.  But when you factor in all the sewing I still have yet to do, including recovering two couches for a friend...

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"Other Hobby" - Now With 30% More Bling!

Since no outfit or costume is complete without the bling, I've been working on some of that.  Last night I popped Gladiator into the DVD player, sat my butt on the couch with all my jewelry supplies and some recently-delivered loot, and set about making some costume jewelry:





"Emerald" faceted crystal flat-rounds set in pewter, from Michael's.

Green glass teardrop from The Bead Pusher on Etsy
Chain links and twisted bail made with silver wire endpins.

Same faceted crystal set beads from Michael's, in pink ($1 each, by the way), same chain links made from wire. Closure is a round ear wire (the same kind I use to make my nose rings) that hooks into a flat coin-sort of bead component.

I'm wearing these right now.  :) The metal drops were also from The Bead Pusher;  nickel-free silver french ear wires + teal glass seed beads I had sitting around.

These were to replace a nearly identical pair that I used to have (I lost one).  The teal briolettes also came from The Bead Pusher; the filigree bead caps came from Michael's. 

They came in a 6-pack: two each copper, silver, and gold.  The gold and silver pairs I cut apart and made into aguilettes which are the [decorative versions of] the little caps they put on the ends of things like shoelaces and bolo ties.  I wanted some metal ones for costume purposes (ever tried to lace up a shoe with a frayed cord? Try it sometime with a dress with 40 lace holes). 

I tried using some small, plain, flat ones I found at a local bead place, but they were too weak to hold up to being clamped onto the cording I was using;  these guys were prettier anyway, and made of sturdier stuff.   I cut them in half, which made a small aglet out of the top half of the cone.  The bottom half I flattened out, split in half lengthwise, and then re-rolled into two smaller versions of itself.  So, each pair of bead caps ended up making SIX aglets!  Not bad for a buck per pair!

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Reflect-o-Beast (Before + After)

Around the same time I was painting that lamp, I was also working on a large mirror frame.

ooh, ahh.

In October of 2010 - eight months ago! - I found a big, ugly, heavy, plastic-framed mirror from Goodwill for $7.99.   I promptly took a whole slew of "before" pictures and stuffed the thing into the garage to await the day when I felt like fixing it up.   Of course,  I lost all the "before" pictures, and didn't realize it until it was too late take more.  It was similar to this one, and probably also a dresser or vanity mirror in a previous life;  this one at least has some nifty curves:

from Reloved Rubbish

The decorative "woodwork" on mine, on the other hand, looked like it came out of the fake-wood paneling from inside a van in the 80s:

I wonder what used to be in the center??

That sucker came off the second I had the frame apart and found that the glass didn't extend all the way down past the decorative panel - it was the exact length of the rest of the frame, as I'd hoped. Yay!

And you know the rest.  Like the lamp, I hit it with some white spray-primer, and then silver paint.  This time I used a bit of black and gold as well, to make it look old and roughed-up, and slightly more like actual metal.

enjoy the green, it's going away soon

And here it sits, in my back hallway, waiting to be hung up in its new home...


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Floorplan Mischief Managed! (Living Room Before + After)

OHAI, a real post!  :D

The other week I got all fired up about re-arranging the furniture in my living room.  The old arrangement lacked seating space for guests, and while I had the space broken up into two rooms by function, they weren't really separated - it was just a bunch of furniture in one big space.  It was cluttered, and there was a bit of a floating couch situation: 

meh.

 The new plan called for taking the tv/entertainment center off the wall and arranging the seating area perpendicular to the room instead of parallel to it, like this: 

yay!

Having finally rendered the Minicouch functional (if not done - yet!), and finished the silver floor lamp, I have finally finished moving everything around:   

<-- tv's over here

It's soooo much more comfortable.  There's real conversation space, with views of the windows and the rest of the room from the seating area, instead of the couch just facing the tv.  The two spaces - living area and office/music - are separated  by the entertainment center and a screen behind it

Still to do in this room:

• art for the big empty wall above the Minicouch (er...the black thing is the old tv wall bracket, which also needs to be taken down and the holes patched)
• a slipcover for the Minicouch, too
• some sort of rug situation (working on it)
• a round coffee table??
• an ottoman and floor cushions 
• the meditation pallet is still in the corner behind the brown couch, but needs de-cluttering and spiffing up

As with everything - more on all of this later!  In the meantime, I really do love the new seating arrangement.  This little corner between the couches, I think, is my favorite...and hey, there's that silver lamp!  Tada:

To be continued...



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Off My Game (And Onto Another One)

Raise your hand if you're one of those people who can work on ONE project at a time, from start to finish, before you start another one?

♫♪♫

That's what I thought.  So, if case the lack of posts this week didn't clue you in, I stopped working on the living room for a bit.  Got all wrapped up in sewing.  Thought I'd introduce you to my other hobby today, just for something different.  I'd mentioned it, but I don't think I'd posted anything here about it, aside from the cooler cover I made earlier this year.
 

Kress and I spend quite a ridiculous amount of time with the Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA (a pre-1600 historical reenactment society).  I find it QUITE awesome, since I'm a lifelong costume geek!


Kress' persona in the "game" is Russian, 15th century - and this is a hat I made for him last night.

It's made from scraps from a damask table runner given to me by a friend, and trimmed with faux-fur cut from a throw blanket I got from Target on clearance in January for six dollars.  I'm not even kidding.  I bought a white one, too.

The pieces are easy to shape:  take the circumference of the head and divide by however many "sides" you want the hat to have.  This hat has four, and Kress' head is 24" around.

From the top of his ears to the top of his head is 5" - I added an extra inch for ease, hem, and so there'd be a small point on top.

So, I started out with four 6x6" squares, and cut the arched sides by hand.  I started wide, fitted the pieces to his head, and then brought the side seams in - the steeper the angle, the more fitted the hat.  If the arch is too wide, the hat will end up being square on top, like a box.

Here are two sides put together, which is half of the hat.

As I said, I drafted the pattern myself based on Kress' measurements; but in case you were wondering, I learned about the construction of this type of hat in the first place by reading  Sofya la Rus' excellent and well-researched website on historical Russian costume and recreation. 

 I made the lining first, to fit to his head, then used one of the lining pieces to make a paper pattern that I can use again, and then to make the upholstery pieces.  Always, always, always make a paper pattern.

The fake-fur band is 2" tall, 28" long, and sewn between the outer and lining layers, then folded to the outside.

I also tacked the top of the band to the body of the hat on the outside, underneath the fur trim, to keep it from folding down while he's wearing it, so he doesn't have to worry about whether it's staying in place, or walk around court looking like a doofus. :)

I already have ideas for improving the design and the fit for the next time I do this...but that's a story for another hat. 





Tada!  I'd never made a hat before, aside from simple hoods and veils and elastic shower-cap type things.  This was fun!  And really quick, too - only took about an hour and a half.


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Surfing Craigslist

I have no real updates today, since I'm in the middle of like fourteen different things and none of them are truly finished yet (story of my life).  I very nearly posted an old coffee table on Craigslist this morning that I've been moving around the house for like 8 years, unable to use it, but unable to part with it...until it dawned on me that I could take it apart and make it into something new!  I'm sketching out plans today; and meanwhile, I got sucked into Craigslist, and since misery loves company, I thought I'd share some nifty finds...

Here's a nifty little bookshelf with great refinishing potential.  It's solid wood, about four feet high, and only $20!  It would make a great hutch on top of a desk or dresser, or a media cabinet for a living room or office. 

The existing finish isn't in terrible shape, and could easily be cleaned, patched with a stain pen, and re-sealed - or it could be buffed down and painted.  Maybe some cute little feet for the bottom?

Glass-n-brass ceiling fan light sconces, 1984.  Reminds me of the old lights they had at Pizza Huts back then, over the tables.  You could put them on a ceiling fan, or use them in porch lights, small hanging fixtures;  or flip them over, cap off the bottoms, and use them to make sparkly little tabletop terrariums in the garden.

A fantastic little Louis  chair with a wide seat.  GREAT upholstery practice piece!  I'm thinking a deep cherry finish, maybe a tufted teal velvet? Yum. Not bad at $125.

Oh. My. God.  Have I ever mentioned that I ADORE barrister bookcases?  Only $120! Solid oak, functional doors and the glass looks to be in great shape.  This one's all one piece - originally these were designed to be moved while full of lawbooks and documents, one section at a time, if need be, and several would be stacked on top of one another. The glass doors on this one flip up and slide back on top of each shelf, out of the way.

This is exactly why I don't look at Craigslist when I have a fresh paycheck in my hot little hands.  I don't need food this week, right?? 

 

Brass + glass, and 36" wide.  This HUGE chandelier is only $95.  I'm not a fan of bright, gold-toned brass myself;  it would look great antiqued a bit to darken the tone, or done in an old, tarnished-silver color.

One of several cute, cheap little room dividers.  I love this one just as it is.  I can totally see this in the guest room I haven't fixed up yet, or out in the lush, green, secluded garden retreat I don't have in my backyard.

Good bones on this fan.  All-black is a bit much for my purposes (craft room, office, bedroom), but it's much easier (and safer) to start with a base in a metal color you like and change the blades and sconces, rather than the other way around. (You can spray-paint the motor housing, but good luck making sure the overspray doesn't get in there and screw up the motor).  $50







Everyone have a fun, safe weekend!

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