1.25 TIES.... oh my!

T ies... ties.. TIES!

I made a trip to JoAnns to pick up some fabric and a couple of patterns. All of the McCall patterns were $1.99! Although I had already seen a cool tutorial on Threadbangers(check them out on youtube) I had to get a pattern so my cuts were straight. In the above mentioned tutorial it stated that it would take 2-3 hours per tie. I laughed at that remark. But 3 hours later... I was no longer laughing.

I used the tie pattern but adjusted it a bit. This pattern was for a skinny tie. I don't like skinny ties. So I cut it wider and followed the tutorial.

At $2/yard and the pattern calling for 5/8. I was able to make 2(one size 10-12 and one size 4-5) for a mere $1.25.

Painted Mirror

After hours of trying to put my blog together, I finally gave up. And then realized, I didn't blog, which was the main reason I logged on in the first place. With this freakishly weird weather we are having, my older 4 are in school and my younger 2 are still snuggled in their beds. Cold weather and these over energized kids of mine, don't get along.

So on to my post. This mirror is one in a set of 9. It was one of the first DIY projects that the Mr and I jumped into. I think it was back in 2003 and I was so taken by Christopher Lowell and all his DIY projects that he made look so easy peasy. About 30 minutes into this mirror project and I was ready to crack... literally. Luckily for me, the Mr is used to me getting frustrated half way through projects because I can be a bit picky when it comes to my own work. He finished the half that I no longer had the patience for. I was assigned painting duty for the rest of the evening. Anyhow. This is the mirror we started with. The vinyl was added a couple of years ago. Anyone that knows me.. knows how much I L.O.V.E that stuff! And since we're talking about vinyl, I have to add, Silly Vinyl Design has some really great ideas on her blog and some really great prices. So check her out!

Sorry for the terrible picture.

I taped wax paper over the mirror to avoid getting spray paint on it. but if you do happen to get some residue you can use a little water and a razor blade to get it off. I sprayed it with

Let it dry for an hour and then rubbed some black paint to give it some character. And this is the finished product.

Happy Monday!

Jewelry Tree/Accesory Tree

Plato said that necessity is the mother of invention.. well this isn't really an invention, more like a necessity! Ha!
My girls have reached that age where they aren't really into the clippy thing. They are more into headbands, and ribbons. So this
would be mostly useless to them. They needed something that could pull double duty for hair accessories and jewelry. I don't know why the word jewelry sounded so grown up. Not just to me, they thought it did too. Especially when I suggested a jewelry tree. As if that weren't bad enough, I showed them a picture and their facial expressions said it all. "Ewwww mom... what is that!"
So I had to come up with something so I could redeem myself. I had to try and melded the two above into one and it had to be appealing to my little (picky) girls.
And that is how The Accessory Tree was born! Or grown?! Yeah. I know. The name is sooo not the business. Oh well. I hope you like it as much as they did.




We started off with a 2x3 piece of mdf and the MR had it cut down to size.

Then we spray painted it with Krylon Ocean Breeze.


So this is the surface we started with

then we added the vinyl which I purchased at JoAnn's and got 50% off.







Then added the drawer pulls as hangers.

I have yet to add a couple more on the tree and then a row at the base of the tree.
And TADA!! This is the final product!

*DISCLAIMER* The picture is of poor quality due to the inhalation of the spray paint fumes... please pardon the semi crooked picture.