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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

HANDMADE NOTE CARDS

I think I've mentioned before, every time I use my Silhouette machine I learn something new....and this project stood true to that fact.  Both my daughter and I were in need of some notecards and to me, if you have the ability to customized your cards, then by all means do it!  So, here's a couple that I put together recently.
The template of this "thanks" card was something I purchased from the Silhouette online store, so I can't take credit for that.  But, I will take credit for the color combo and the fabric and burlap flowers as the finishing touches.

I cut the design using an ivory card stock, then used a navy blue card stock underneath to highlight the design and lettering.  

A handwritten note and a gift card on the inside and it's the perfect touch for a special someone.

The teal note card below is ALL MINE.....and boy, did I learn a lot on this project.  For those of you who know of my daughter's photography business, teal is her official color and the KB logo has been her trademark since she began her business six years ago.
This project allowed me to learn how to "weld".  I won't go into the detail, because there are a number of  YouTube videos out there on the subject.  The one that I found most helpful was a little British lady who did an awesome job of showing each step along the way.    I would pause the video at each step and actually complete it as she did it.   What a huge help!

I knew I wanted to incorporate the KB logo and use teal as the backing, but until I learned how to "weld" the letters, it was completely cutting the KB out of the cardstock....so frustrating!!     You should have heard me squeal when it actually worked!!  

To finish it off, I actually typed out her message on the teal cardstock, sent the cardstock through my printer and then cut and glued them to the white cover.  Now they're all ready to go, and she just grabs one as she needs it.   So this one is actually more of a "postcard" design with the message on the back side, whereas the Thanks card is a tent style with the message on the inside.

I'm so pleased with how they turned out, and now they're both saved in my design files, so I'm all good to go the next time I need to make some!

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

RE-PURPOSED END TABLE

It's been a while since I had my hands busy with a good DIY project, so I was really looking forward to working on something.  Now that I've been settled into my studio for a little over a year, I've been able to really see what's working and what's not.  I'm happy to report, all-in-all I'm thrilled with the layout, design, and functionality.  In other words, I done good!!

I have noticed a couple things, little additions that would be nice and this project definitely fits the bill.  I had bought a little wooden stool for my fitting room but since it was taller and had a small seat,  I found it didn't have the functionality for my clients that I was hoping for.  So I started looking for an upholstered bench.  First, they're tough to find: secondly, most that I liked were very pricey, and thirdly, they just weren't quite what I was looking for.

So, I started down the path of looking at thrift stores, and Craig's list to find something (antique/vintage) that I could work with.  I wasn't having a lot of luck.  So, I had the brainstorm one day that I can find a lot of tables at thrift stores, so couldn't I convert a table into a bench?  Hello, hubby ... "I've got an idea", is usually how I start.   After he sits down and takes a deep breath, I then share.  He's the one that I use to vet my crazy ideas and then handle things like drilling, etc.  After all, he's a lot better at it than I am.  And, I know deep down he enjoys it!    So as it turns out, my idea had possibilities....so here's my our adventure!
BEFORE 

AFTER 
When I bought the table (for $7.99) the glass was missing, which was fine since I wasn't going to need it anyway.  My husband figured out the logistics of what it would take to make the table sturdy enough to sit on......

You can see that one of the first things he did was add some wooden slats on the underside to add strength and support for the wood ovals he was going to create to fill the space where the glass used to be.

Three wooden ovals were cut to officially turn the table into a bench.

A fourth oval was cut out of another board which I used for my part of the project, which was the actual upholstering.

I found a great piece of upholstery fabric in a neutral color at JoAnn's, and also picked up a piece of two inch foam and some 1 ½ button shells that I could cover in the upholstery fabric since I knew I wanted to tuft the top.

I had my husband drill holes about ¼ inch apart into the board.  I used that to help me stablize and secure the buttons versus just going through the foam.   I used an upholstery needle, and embroidery thread and started from the top of the piece and went through the foam into the drill hole securing the thread through the button shank.  On the underside of the board I tied my thread to muslin pieces to prevent thread breakage as I was tugging and knotting the buttons.


Then, for those of you who have upholstered, this should sound familiar. I worked with the board side up and began using the staple gun to secure my upholstery fabric.  This step takes kneeling on the board and really pulling the fabric tightly against the foam as you staple.

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I know my clients are going to love this in the changing area!   I have to tell you, I really debated about painting/distressing the wood since many of my pieces in the studio are distressed....but, the wood was in such good condition, I chose to keep it the way it was.
The few knicks that were on the legs, I was able to camouflage reasonably well with one of those touch up stain pens from Home Depot.

There are some beautiful wood carvings on two of the ends, as well as on the legs....and, I absolutely love the lion claw feet!  I really wanted something vintage, and to me the lion claw feet are classic.  


I have to tell you, the thrift store had two of these....I was so tempted to buy both of them! Fortunately, the rational side of my brain won out that day.  

Saturday, February 4, 2017

MEATLOAF

Okay meatlovers...this one's for you!  It took me a couple tries to perfect it, so here it is! Add a side of potatoes and some veggies and you're good to go......

INGREDIENTS:

*1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
3/4 cup diced onion
½ cup catsup
1 egg
1 Tbsp. worchestershire
2 cloves minced garlic
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 cup Quaker Oats
favorite BBQ sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix meats together in a large bowl using your hands.  Add all other ingredients and continue blending until well mixed.

Form two loaves and place in large baking pan.

Twenty minutes before its done (it takes approximately 60 minutes), drain off any grease/liquid and generously coat the top of the meatloaf with the BBQ sauce.  

Let sit 5 minutes prior to slicing.  

Enjoy!

* my freezer is loaded with ground venison thanks to my husband (the great white hunter), so just about anything that calls for ground beef, I substitute venision.  Since the vension is so lean, any drippings in the pan are from the pork.  By-the-way, this freezes great!  So, we usually take one of the loaves and freeze it to enjoy at a later date.

recipe adapted from: epicurious.com