DIY baby onesie vest

I recently had oral surgery, so on my down time I've been practicing my sewing. My first project I did was a onesie vest and tie combo for a friends baby. As I've said before--I'm new to sewing so if I can do this, so can you! Although I will tell you, this was my most challenging project to date.
I found the tutorial from this website (Onsie vest tutorial.)

Mine is a little different, I wanted my vest to go all the way to the top of the onesie and I added a tie from ribbon.

I made the inside and outside of my vest from old men's shirts I found at a local Good Will (each $2.99)
The tie I folded into a point at the bottom and ran a stitch, and pinched at the top to create a ''tie" look. I then put a stitch in to hold the tie part and ran a stitch across the top.

As a beginner sewer, I will say that I had the hardest part with all the corners in the vest, if you are a regular sewer than this will be a breeze for you!

Happy sewing!

DIY: Boot Socks

I've been in search of boot knitted boot socks for a while now. I havent been able to find any that I liked so I decided to make my own. Now, I cannot knit or crochet so I did the next best thing. I went to the thrift store and bought a sweater for $1.99 and used that. I got a cable knit sweater, that is the style I was looking for, not necessarily what you need-- any sweater will do. I started by cutting off both sleeves, trying to cut along the seam for minimal sweater sheading.

  

I cuffed the sleeve and ran a stitch with my sewing machine along the  bottom of the sleeve (where your hand would come out. I then cut the other end down to size and folded it over and ran a stitch to prevent the sweater from coming unraveled. 

On the right is the cuffed semi-finished boot sock, left is the cut sleeve

 Once I finished both socks I picked what button I wanted and sewed it in place. I had no brown buttons so I painted large green buttons. I first sanded them down, painted, then applied a layer of mod podge.

Let me just say--I am a beginner sewer, if I can make these; anyone can make these! 

What you need:

1 sweater (mans or womans)

Needle and thread

2 (at least) buttons

Sewing machine (optional) 

Sissors

Happy crafting!

DIY Thrift Store Chalk Board

At my last thrift store run I got a coat rack (Link to coat rack tutorial ), a mirror, and a few other things. I have wanted to make a chalk board for our kitchen for a while, but I couldn't find the right frame to make it in. The mirror I got was $10 and I got 2 cans of spray paint for about $6 each. The mirror started out looking like this:

I started out bu sanding the entire frame and mirror surface.Next, I painted the entire surface a high-gloss white, I needed about 3 coats. I waited a few days, then taped and used plastic to cover the white frame. I covered the mirror only part with the chalkboard paint and finished!
We use ours for grocery lists, notes, and reminders, not to mention it covers the fuse box!

For this project I used:
1 Large frame glass/mirror in
1 can of chalkboard spray paint (they also have available in brush on and is less expensive)
1 can of high-gloss white
Sand paper
Masking tape
Plastic grocery bags


Happy Crafting!

DIY Cricut and thrift store coat rack!

My husband recently sent me in search of a coat rack. My first thought was that Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond would have one; but I pass a "new uses" store on my way to work and I figured before spending $40 on one I'd hit the thrift store.
I walked around for a while letting all the possibilities set in. I picked up a few items including a mirror for $7 (blog to come) and a lamp base which I havent decided if I want to leave alone or decorate a lamp shade. The best find might be the coat rack for $3-all of the needed hardware included.

Before! I got a little excited and started to paint before taking a full picture, this is still a good idea of what the entire rack looked like.

Now by looking at the picture you can see why this was only $3, but like me you can probably see potential! I know my husband thought I was crazy when I pulled this out of the bag, but with some paint, a few letter, and some decoupage; my thrift store coat rack turned into one of the favorite parts of my entryways!

 For this project I used:
Sand paper
Letters
Black paint
paint brush (2)
Decoupage

I first sanded the entire piece, I found that on the areas I didn't sand well the paint didn't stick. I applied several coats of black paint. I used black craft paint, the kind they always have on sale at Michael's for around $0.50. I let this dry for about 30-45 minutes, this paint does dry fast. Using spray paint could work nicely too.
I used my Cricut to cut out the letters and phrases, however finding letters and/or phrases at craft stores is a good option. Because I used my Cricut to cut my letters/phrases out I could play with what size worked and the layout.
After I had all my letters cut out and the paint was dry I used my homemade decoupage to add my letters. I also gave the entire coat rack 2 coats to keep the letters secure and from scratches.

In total this project cost around $6! I think that is so awesome with Christmas right around the corner and Holiday travels too!
$3 coat rack
$0.20 decoupage
$0.50 Paint
$1 2 foam brishes
$1 2 sheets scrapbook paper (8"X11")

I also plan on making something like this for my wall as just a plaque, no knobs. You can purchase wood at a Home Depot or most craft stores. The possibilities for modifying this craft are endless!
Have fun and happy crafting!