Oh How I Hate Making Pillows!!!!!

I know the title is quite dramatic, but it's the truth. I hate making pillows! Well maybe hate is kind of a strong word, but it definitely causes major wrinkles in my creative brain. So, I finally decided to make some new decorative pillows for my couch. I bought my couch from Ikea, and it is that typical light tan color. The pillows that came with it were also the same color and material. Total blah! I threw in 3 extra red pillows for some added pop of color. In my recent efforts of redecorating, I felt it was finally time to dress it up. Now, here comes the reason why I hate making pillows. Pillow making is such an adventure for me. Every time I decide to make decorative pillows, I have the hardest time trying to make them all go together. They don't have to match exactly, but I want them to all compliment each other in various colors and textures. Like they do in the decor magazines. I always have a general idea of where I am going, but the journey is agonizing. I can never find the right combination of fabrics when I want. This time was no different.

Now, I started out strong. There were 7 pillows total. My idea was to make 2 navy, 2 red and white designed, 1 other solid color, and 2 other designed. My coworker Jen told me about a new fabric store in Marietta, Fabric and Fringe. If you haven't been there, go! I left there with the navy fabric, a pretty yellow/mustard silk (the other solid color), and a purse FULL of swatches. A trip to a few other of my fabric store gems, and my swatch collection became increasingly large.

As you can see, no idea was off limits. Next, I found the red and white fabric at Forsyth. Now comes the road block, the other 2 designed pillows. I got in my head to have a white or cream base with some sort of multicolored print. The print had to have teal in it. Unfortunately that created tunnel vision, and I was not finding what I wanted. I came across some fabric at Hancock. I wasn't crazy about it, but it worked so I got it. I figured once I found the last pillow it would all tie in together.

Now, for the last pillow. Back for another round of fabric searching. On what probably was my 10th trip to Forsyth Fabric, I saw a brown polka dot fabric. The base was brown so it brought in some warmth, and had some of the colors of the other pillows tying the whole thing together. I got a big swatch, brought it home, and laid it across the other pillows. I tested it for a whole week and decided that it was the one. I was so delighted that I was about to be done with these pillows. On what I thought was my last trip to the fabric store, I set out to get the last piece. I got in the store, started looking around, and decided I was not as in love with it as I thought. UGH! Someone shoot me. Back to the drawing board I go. I pondered my options, and happened to see some gray fabric that I kind of liked. It had texture, but was plain. I needed a design. The sales girl suggested adding trim. They had some pretty trims, but they were a little pricey and I had no idea what direction I was going in at this point. I bought the gray fabric, and figured the rest would come to me at some point.

After days of trying to come up with ideas, I decided to make my own pillow. I was going to use the gray as a base, and add ribbon in different colors to create my own design. Now, I was not very excited about making a pillow. I had every intention of not going down this route, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. I took a trip to JoAnns, and loaded up on ribbon. Of course I got other ideas while I was in there, so I picked up some extra just in case. Now here comes the good part. My next stop was Target. Target is one of my most favorite stores on the planet. I get a euphoric feeling every time I am in there. I was in there for rubbermaid bins and spices. Of course before I go find these items I must wander a little. Good thing I did. I came across one of Target's home decor brands, and they have new pillow designs. I look down the aisle and wouldn't you know....they have pillows that work perfectly with the room! WHAT?! Are you serious? Cool designs, interesting patterns, and the vibrant colors I wanted. I couldn't believe it. Where were these damn pillows for the last month while I was looking! *sideeye* I'm not surprised though. It happens every time without fail. When I'm looking for something it's not there. Then out of the blue when I'm worried about something else...there it is in plain sight. I bought 2 of the pillows. One I liked the colors, the other I liked the design. Being that I already had the other pillow and gray fabric for the last pillow I wasn't really going to keep them. I was just looking for ideas on what to do with the ribbon. I came home, put the pillows on the couch and....PERFECT! It was just what I wanted. Not what I originally envisioned, but what I wanted none the less.

I love it! They really set the couch off, and gave it that needed pop of color. Originally I wasn't going to keep them. Being that I had already spent money on fabric I didn't want it to go to waste. But, after marinating on it for a few days it was too perfect to not keep.



I am soooooooo glad that this project is done. Making pillows are never the funnest experience, but quite rewarding once I finally get it right. Oh, and the gray fabric you're wondering. Well that went in my fabric box. I'm sure I'll use it for something else. I think I already know what so stay tuned. On to the next project!

Project Archive #2 - All little girls love a little pink

Everyone knows that one of my favorite things to make is a baby gift. Making things for little people always adds an extra level of fun and whimsy. I thought I would share some of my cutest creations.

One of the very first creations was a jewelry box for a friends daughter. She was a big Dora fan.

Next, I did rocking chairs for 2 of my friends' daughters. First one was for a baby shower. Everyone laughs because they say I showed everyone up. That is so not true though. I like to make things, and sometimes people (even though they won't admit to it) are disappointed when I show up with a "retail purchase". Who am I to crush their hopes and dreams. These 2 creations were pure joy though! Coincidentally both little girls had the same name, just different spellings.

This one was designed for my friend Taryn's daughter Sydney. It was her 4th birthday. 

I've also done several step stools. Don't seem to have pictures of the other ones. This one was for my coworkers granddaughter. 

For all that know me know how much I love color, so you can see why I have so much fun doing these types of projects. Now, I know what you're going to say. There are no boy things in here. Well, tell my friends to start having boys.  

Housing Haul

Just another week of project life. For the first time I don't have any big completed project to bring you. However, the point of this blog was to keep friends and family in the loop about my life, art, and design. Some people say I should get Instagram, that way I can just post my art and adventures in real time. I don't know not fully sold, but we'll see. I think the stories sometimes are more interesting than just the cool vase I made. What do you think?  So this week I am more in the midst of things. I have been buying things on my "want" list that I have put off for a while. I've also been doing home projects I have put off for longer than that. It's been a constant around here lately.

Honestly, I might as well come completely clean. I feel like your home is your haven. It should always be homey and comfortable, and like Oprah says "Your home should rise up to meet you". For the most part I do that. However, for the last few years I have put off projects waiting to move and get a house. (Mind you I wasn't looking for a house at that point, just knew that some day I would expand). I hate to waste things, so rather than upgrade I held on to things so I could use them as backups. After awhile I realized half of my house needed to be upgraded. I wasn't actually living in my space, but more so storing things that I may or may not want to keep later. So, rather than wait on everything I started doing it piece by piece. Thus where we are now. I have definitely been hit by the decorating and organizing bug lately. Probably doesn't help that I have spent half the day watching Color Splash on HGTV (LOVE David Bromstad), or have become quite fascinated with HGTV Magazine. All I think about is redecoated spaces. HA!

I finally bought a piece for my coffee table. I saw this piece in a magazine somewhere, and thought it was cool. Got it online at dwellstudio.com. Very different look and style from the table, so it creates a nice contrast.

Yesterday I got my new sketchbook. I saw this months ago in Urban Outfitters, and fell in love. It's not a normal sketchbook with plain white paper inside. I already have about 5 of those. It's a special sketchbook with different scenarios inside. Usually I'm more freehand, but thought it would be interesting. I'm so excited to get in there and really play with it.

My current endeavor is new decorative pillows for my couch. Now, let me start by saying making pillows is one of the most difficult projects for me. Anytime I want to make decorative pillows, I can never seem to find the exact fabric combinations I want. To find fabrics that don't match each other, but rather compliment and look like they are still part of the same collection is a lot harder than one would think. It always take several trips to the fabric store. I have a total of 7 maybe 9 to do. This is what my floor looks like as I decide. 

Right now I have 6 pillows done. Still deciding on the fabric for the rest. Hopefully, a trip to the fabric store this week will fix this.

Somewhere in the mix I picked up an end table. I had a coupon for Target, so I decided to use it on something worth while. After redoing my coffee table, I needed a new end table. I decided on a round shape. I have a few ideas bouncing around about the finish product. You'll just have to wait and see. 

I'll probably post a project archive sometime this week, so stay tuned. Until the next time!

Beans and a Vase

What a busy week this has been. The goal was to only work on one project at a time. However, that does not seem to be happening these days. I'm currently researching supplies for some upcoming projects, trying to decide on a new end table design, and I have a purse full of fabric swatches for my new pillow covers. This past week I embarked on my newest TMO project. I took an old vase, and made a new vase. I got it years ago, but really wasn't displaying it anymore. I could have gotten rid of it, but that would be a waste of a perfectly good vase. The structure was good, just not the color.

 

I was originally going to just spray paint it, but then that seemed ordinary. I decided to use a technique I did on another project and cover the vase first. I thought the added texture would give it a pop! The last time I did this technique I used clay. I created small balls and hot glued them down. Boy was that a lot of work. So, this time I decided to use the same technique but a different material. The obvious choice would be beads, but most beads have holes in them. I also needed a lot of them, and that could get pricey. After some more thinking I decided on....beans!

On a grocery trip I picked up a bag of Great Northern Beans. Now, before you ask I did check to see if beans go bad and they do not. Well, they do, but only if you are trying to eat them. One by one, I glued the beans on to the vase with a hot glue gun.

Now it's time for paint. I already had a teal color in mind. That seems to be my new go to color these days. I had to travel to a few different stores, for the color I wanted. Apparently teal is not as popular of a color as one would think. When all was said and done, this is the final product.

So the total cost of the project was $1.25 for beans and $4 for spraypaint. $5.25 total. Not bad for a new piece. Now I just need to find something to put in it. Until the next time....

Unfinished Dress Form

    Last week I finally finished a very overdue project...my dress form! Complete with a boob job. I know, you are as excited as I am. The back story: I am the occasional sewer. Never anything too sophisticated, just skirts and loose tops. I would probably do it more, but it is truly a pain to try and craft and/or do alterations to an item of clothing while it is on your body. I wanted to get more into sewing clothes, so I bought a dress form from JoAnns. Unfortunately, I don't use it nearly as much as anticipated. The proportions are a little off for my body shape, therefore I still end up having to try things on constantly. I thought of getting rid of it or selling it. However, that sounded like a waste of money and I do kind of like the idea of having a dress form. So, I decided to keep it and turn it into something pretty and more functional.
    1st- I did some boob enhancements. Yes, she got implants! One of the reasons why I didn't use the form as much was because of the proportions in comparison to my actual body. I decided to take an old bra I had and attached it the top part of the form. The cups were stuffed to give more shape and structure. Then I covered the entire form in some scrap fabric I had laying around the house. This gave the whole thing a smooth uniform texture.
    2nd- Fabric. I found the perfect fabric at Gail K. If you've ever been there you know it's an adventure. I almost picked another fabric, and at the last minute spotted this gem in the middle of the pile. The sales guy even had to help me get it out it was so buried. I pinned the fabric to the shape of the form inside out.

3rd- I sewed the cover, and then dressed the form.

Honestly, at this point I was slightly in love with her. The fabric was so spot on and exactly what I envisioned

    4th- Make a stand. What's a pretty dress form without a stand. Don't get me wrong the one it came with was just fine...for a normal person though. Not me! If I was going to go through the efforts of recovering it and making it look pretty, might as well finish the job. I wanted something modern and slick, but not too designed. I didn't want to take away or complicate my fabric choice. After staring at it for a few days, the idea came to me. I could use the foundation of the original stand, and create a dome shape at the bottom. I look 5 feet to the right, and I saw the dome. A lamp shade from my living room light. 

Now, if you can't already tell there was an emergency surgery situation with the dome. On the way to the craft store to get additional supplies, I walked into the wall and the dome shattered. So, before I could use it I had to glue it back together and recreate a smooth surface.

    5th- Operation smooth the dome. I decided to go with paper mache. This would not only smooth the dome out, but create a hard protective shell. 

Unfortunately, the paper mache did not create the smooth surface I wanted. I'm too much of a perfectionist to leave it, so that meant covering it with something else. I played around with a few ideas. Again, I wanted something interesting but not so busy it takes away from the actual form. After digging around in my art supplies I saw Reinforcement Labels and got an idea. 

For those of you who don't know what Reinforcement Labels are, they are stickers that you put around 3 hole binder holes to add strength. I added them all over the dome. I was so excited. However, once I spray painted the whole thing black the texture and look of the Reinforcement Labels disappeared. I was soooooo disappointed. I really liked the concept of the labels. What can you say though, ideas in theory don't always translate in reality. After all was said and done I decided to leave it.

I couldn't figure out exactly what I was going to do with the base, so for right now it is going to stay the way it is. At some point, some amazing idea will come to me and I will change it. Until then it's on to the next project. Well, more like finish the next project and start planning the one after that. I am on a roll and keeping the momentum!

Project Archive: Vol 1 - Shoes Shoes Shoes

So, I decided that I would start a series called Project Archives. Basically old projects that still deserved to be showcased. Not sure how often this will happen, but needless to say I have done a lot of projects over the years. For the very first installment I decided to talk about a woman's favorite group of friends....SHOES! Like most women, I love shoes. I love all styles, colors, seasons, and heights. From high tops to heels I love them all. A few weeks ago I painted my first pair of boots, but before boots there were others.

These were my very first pair of shoes. They came about because I wanted some new shoes, but I wanted them to be colorful and different. I looked around, but nothing was really exciting me. So, in typical TM.O fashion I decided to make some. They're actually one of my favorite pair of shoes now. 

Next were rhinestones. I wanted something with a sparkly yet interesting heel. Glitter would have been the obvious choice, but at the time that seemed ordinary to me. I decided to go with rhinestones.

Funny story about these shoes. When I first finished them, I was so excited to wear them out. My friend Taryn and I went to a homecoming party, and they had a photo booth. We hopped in, smiled for the first 3, and then we both attempted to lift my foot high enough to get my heel in the shot. Funniest.picture.EVER!

The most recent pair I did was for New Year's Eve a year ago. When it comes to NYE I like at least one flashy something. Most times it is my outfit. This time I went for shoes. 

Now let me just say I love these shoes. They're beautiful! BUT..... They hurt like HELL! I strutted in the place, but by the end of the night my feet were in pain. If I cold have cut my toes out, I would have! These are definitely date shoes.  

Well those are all of the custom shoes in my collection. There will probably be more at some point. Definitely dabbling with a couple of ideas. I'll keep you posted. Until then, let me get back on this new project.