Slipcovered Glider for the Nursery

This post is shared on That DIY Party 

At the end of my last post I told you that I had gotten a start over the weekend on recovering the glider for the nursery.  I had also said that it would probably be a long time before I posted because the project would take me a while because it was complicated.  I am happy to report that it was not nearly as complicated as I thought it would be and I actually finished the project on Tuesday night!

I bought this glider several years ago for $20 at a thrift store.  Other than some ugly and stained cushions it is in perfect condition.  It took a lot of will power to leave it as is for so long so as soon as my 1st trimester fatigue was gone, I was ready to get started on this thing.  I scoured the blogosphere for tutorials on how to recover gliders and finally decided on this excellent tutorial from a blog called Runs With Spatulas.

I am not going to include detailed pictures of the process in this post so you will have to use her tutorial if you want to replicate this project.  I like this tutorial for several reasons.  First of all, it is one of the most detailed sewing tutorials I have ever come across.  Every single step is detailed with pictures and written instructions.

Secondly, every piece is removable so it can be washed.  I was intimidated by all the zipper sewing that goes along with this but because of the detail of the tutorial I was able to successfully and easily install 4 zippers!

I did do a few things differently than the tutorial however.  First of all she made ties to attach her cushions to the back of the chair but I just decided to replicate the velcro straps that were attaching my glider cushions.  I measured the original ones and then used some fabric scraps to make them. Make sure to sew the velcro on opposite sides of the fabric.  I made this mistake once and had to get out my old friend the seam ripper.

Another thing that I did differently than the tutorial was how I covered the ottoman.  She made a cover with elastic that was removable.  I didn't know how well that would stay on while feet were resting on it and rocking so I decided to just staple my fabric on.  I figured that would be the piece that would be the least likely to get dirty anyway.

Well I suppose I should get to the big reveal.  Here is a reminder of what I started with:

And here is the glider now:

Here is a cost breakdown for this project:

Glider-$20

4 yards of fabric-$42

Zippers and Thread-$13

So this entire project ended up costing me only $75! Not too shabby.

If you are wondering what color the fabric is, it is in fact navy.  It reads a little black in the photos in the nursery but it definitely looks navy in person.  Also, I found that adorable fox pillow at Homegoods.  Isn't it cute?  I am not sure what project I will be working on next but hopefully I won't make you wait too long for another post!

Baby Announcement Gifts

I am back today with a post on the gifts that I gave to my family to announce my pregnancy.  I told my parents pretty much right away but I waited until Christmas to announce it to my brother and sisters. I was 10 weeks at the time.  I thought it would be a cool idea to announce it through Christmas gifts so I scoured Pinterest for ideas.  First, I found these great necklaces from an Etsy shop: JennsHandmadeJewelry.  

You can choose the bead and chain that you want so I chose a pearl bead for each of the necklaces that I purchased.  I love the simplicity of the design.  And the bonus was a great price and fast shipping.

It was a little bit harder to figure out a gift for my brother but I finally decided to make a stenciled ceramic mug.  I also made one for my dad.  I designed the stencils in the Silhouette software.

It took some experimenting to figure out what size would be right for mugs.  I made a little stencil so I could do a little test with the paint first.  I used adhesive vinyl for the stencils.

I found the mugs at Michaels.  They came with cute little ceramic spoons but I broke one of them :(. I used the broken spoon to test the paint with the stencil.

I had considered using sharpies for the mugs but I found mixed reviews on the durability of sharpies on ceramic mugs so I decided to use Martha Stewart glass paint instead.  I purchased the paint at Michaels as well.

I placed the stencils on the mugs.  I made sure that their weren't any bubbles or wrinkles in the stencil.  It takes some time to get it on there perfectly because of the curve of the mugs.  I did end up with a tiny wrinkle in the Grandpa mug but it didn't affect the design at all.

I then used a small stencil brush to apply the paint.

I didn't let the design dry completely before I removed the stencil because in my test I found that the paint would peel off with the vinyl if it was too dry.

I then followed the online directions for curing the paint in the oven.  I am not completely sure that the paint is dishwasher safe so I would hand wash the mugs.

I love the way that they turned out.  The gifts were such a fun way to announce our pregnancy to my family.  My brother and sisters are all teenagers so their reactions were pretty muted (typical teenagers) but it was still fun.  I have started on the glider chair this weekend and I can't wait to share but unfortunately it will probably be a while because it is a complicated project.  Hopefully it won't take me too long!

A Small Living Room Update

I am back today with a tiny update to our living room that involves the curtains.  I believe that the living room curtains were actually my first sewing project for the house.

I liked the way they looked a lot but after making the grommet curtains for the bedroom I decided that I wanted grommets in the living room curtains as well.

So here is a look at the living room curtains now:

Just try to ignore the clutter and the sleepy cat in the photos above.  I just wanted to get a quick blog post done so they aren't my best photos.  

You may have noticed a few less blog posts than normal lately.  That is due to the fact that I have been very tired the last few months and haven't completed very many projects.  And the reason for this tiredness is (drumroll please)...

I am beyond excited about this!  And now that I am a few weeks into my 2nd trimester and most of my energy has returned I am ready to get started on the nursery.  I have been pinning ideas to a secret Pinterest nursery board for a long time.  Actually, I have to admit that I created the board well before we found out that I was pregnant. 

My first project will be to create slip covers for the chair pads on a glider chair that I found for $20 at a local thrift store.  I found an excellent, detailed tutorial that will hopefully make it easy (it involves zippers which is not my forte so there may be a little frustration involved).  The fabric should be arriving today so I hope to get started on it this weekend.  Here is the fabric that I will be using:

I will also be back this weekend with a post on some Christmas gifts that I gave to my family to announce our pregnancy!

NYE Party Take 4

This New Year's Eve we hosted our 4th party.  3 of the 4 parties have been hosted at our current house.  You can read about last years party here.  This year I kept the decor pretty much the same and also included a photo booth again which you can read more about in the post from last year.  What I always change up a little bit is the menu.  So this blog post is a look at what I served at the party.

The last few years I have served a queso dip but this year I decided to change it up with a delicious hot jalapeno corn dip.  I used this recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen.  The recipe calls for you to bake the dip in the oven but I doubled the recipe and just stuck the ingredients in my small crockpot.  It worked just fine and was very tasty.

I once again served meatball sliders at the party.  Last year I made the meatballs and slider buns from scratch but this year I decided to make it a little easier.  I bought some pre-made frozen meatballs at Target and a couple of jars of marinara and threw it all in the crockpot about 5 hours before the party. For the slider buns I just bought some rolls at Great Harvest Bread Company.  I love their potato dill bread and the potato dill rolls made delicious slider buns.

I had a hot chocolate bar again this year but I made it a little fancier this year.  I used this hot chocolate recipe from Graceful Little Honey Bee.  It is so delicious and easy.  I doubled the recipe since I got a brand new large crock pot for Christmas.  It is really had to get the cocoa powder to mix in instead of just sitting on the top so I discovered this year that using an immersion blender really helps to mix it up.  The printable was a freebie that I found here from Upcycled Treasures.  I just stuck it in a frame that I had lying around.  For mix-ins I had raspberry and caramel syrup, amaretto liqueur and salted caramel vodka, chocolate chips, marshmallows, cinnamon, candy canes, pirouette cookies, and fresh whipped cream.  The hot chocolate bar was a big hit at the party.

The caprese kabobs and deviled eggs were two simple appetizers to put together.  For the kabobs I just cut up fresh mozzarella and skewered it onto toothpicks with a cherry tomato and a leaf of fresh basil.  I then drizzled olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the kabobs.  I never use a recipe for the deviled eggs.  I just mix mayo, mustard, and pickle relish into the yolks until I get the right consistency and taste.  Then I fill the eggs and sprinkle paprika over the top.

For a dessert I served eggnog gingerbread trifle. I used this recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff.  The recipe uses a spice cake mix for the cake layer but I love homemade gingerbread cake so for my cake layer I used this recipe.  I doubled the recipe and baked it in a rectangular cake pan because I wanted leftovers just to eat with whipped cream.

I served fruit and teddy grahams with a gingerbread cheesecake dip.  I used this recipe from Food, Folks and Fun. The only thing that I changed was adding about half the amount of molasses that was called for.  I also made some delicious toasted ravioli served with some jarred marinara sauce.  I used this recipe from the Land O Lakes website.  I actually changed quite a bit of the recipe after reading comments on the recipe.  I used frozen cheese and frozen beef ravioli from Target.  I thawed it the day before the party.  For the bread crumb mixture I used half italian seasoned bread crumbs and half panko bread crumbs for a little more crunch.  For the sour cream mixture I actually only used half the amount of sour cream and used ricotta instead.  To bake them I used my largest cookie sheet with two cooling racks.  This is my favorite method of baking things like chicken strips and coconut shrimp because it helps the air in the oven to circulate all the way around whatever you are baking and it turns out so much more crispy.

Last but not least I served cowboy caviar with scoop tortilla chips.  I always serve this at my NYE party because black-eyed peas are said to bring good luck in the new year.  This year I thought I would share my recipe as there are many variations on the internet.

Cowboy Caviar

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1.5 to 2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1.5 tsp oil
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 firm ripe avocado, cubed
• 1-15oz can black-eyed peas
• 1-15 oz can corn
• 2/3 cup thinly sliced onion
• 1/3 to 2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3-4 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• salt to taste

In a large bowl, gently mix all ingredients together.  Serve with tortilla chips.

I wait until right before the party to add the avocado since it turns brown quickly.  I usually make a double recipe because this stuff is so popular.  I could seriously just eat this stuff as a meal.  Wait, I've done that before!  

I haven't been working on a whole lot of projects lately but I hope to start on some surprise projects soon.  I can't wait to share those with you once I can!

Design Your Own Christmas Card and Silhouette Address Labels

I love using Shutterfly to make our annual Christmas card.  For the last few years we have taken our Christmas card picture in front of our house with the camera set up on a tripod.  This year I went through every page of Christmas cards on Shutterfly and couldn't find one that was exactly what I wanted and then I saw that you could upload your own.  That was really appealing to me so I opened up Pixelmator (my photo editing software) and got to work.

I started by opening up a canvas with the size of Christmas card that I wanted.  I then opened our photo in a different window and resized the image and copied and pasted it onto my Christmas card canvas.

I knew that I wanted a chalkboard look so I googled chalkboard background, found one that I liked, and dragged it to my computer desktop.  I then opened the image on my Christmas card canvas and adjusted the image size until I got the right look next to our photo.  I used a mix of fonts that I have on my computer.  The floral images were a purchased item which you can find here.  Once I got everything to look like I wanted it on the card, I saved the image as a JPEG and uploaded it to Shutterfly.  It was that easy folks, I'm not kidding!  I am excited to design more cards of my own in the future!

Once the cards arrived my next task was to create some address labels using my Silhouette.

As you can see, I put registration marks on the page so that I could use the Silhouette's print and cut feature.  Originally I planned on just buying some white sticker paper for these labels but Michaels was out so I decided to buy the printable silver foil instead.  I was skeptical of how it would work in the printer but it worked fabulously.  I set my printer to glossy photo paper just because I thought it would help it to print properly.

Once the labels printed I put the sheet on my Silhouette cutting mat and loaded it into the machine. Before sending the design to cut I made sure to select all the labels and set them to cut outside edge in the cut settings window. This is an important step, otherwise all of the designs and letters will be cut out too.  Once you send the design to the Silhouette it will start by reading the registration marks and then it will cut all the labels perfectly.  It is so easy!

I love how the labels turned out!  It was exciting to send out Christmas cards that were so personalized this year!  Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Twinkle Christmas Art

Christmas is one of my favorite seasons but as a music teacher it is also one of my busiest seasons.  I spent the month of November prepping my students for Christmas concerts that have been happening over the past two weeks.  I spend a lot of time outside of the school day working on Christmas program related things which doesn't leave much time for projects at home.  I have, however, found time to decorate the house for Christmas and my decorations include one new addition in the form of an art project which I am excited to share with you today.

O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas carols so I thought a piece of art featuring the carol would be a perfect addition to my Nativity scene.  For this project I used an art canvas, a print of O Holy Night sheet music on card stock (click here to print your own), Mod Podge, Silhouette brand adhesive vinyl, a foam brush, a battery powered string of lights, and dark blue craft paint.

I used the Mod Podge to attached the card stock music sheet to the canvas.  I applied the glue to the canvas and the back of the card stock.  After it dried I applied a layer of the glue over the top of the card stock.  There were a few bubbles but they aren't noticeable in the finished art so I didn't mind.

Next, I created the word file in my Silhouette software.  I chose to make some of the words script and others more bold.  I then cut the words out on adhesive vinyl.

I then put the letters on the vinyl using transfer paper.  I applied a very light coat of Mod Podge over the letters to prevent bleeding of the craft paint. I then painted the entire canvas with the blue paint. It took a couple of coats.  Once it dried a little bit I started to remove the letters.  If I did this project again I would have waited for the paint to dry completely because some of the paint lifted up as I was removing the letter.

I used a box cutter to carefully remove the vinyl setters.

I realized later that I forgot to remove the vinyl letters for the word "it."  That is how I discovered that it worked a little better when you let the paint dry completely.

I used one of my small drill bits to put holes in the canvas and then poked the lights through.  I didn't end up putting all of the lights on the strand through the canvas.

I propped the canvas against the back of the built-in in our dining room next to the Nativity scene and then put the battery box for the lights behind the creche.  I interspersed the extra lights into the greenery in front of the canvas.

It was hard to get a clear picture for some reason so sorry for the bad pictures.  It looks so much cooler in person, trust me.  I will be back soon with a post on designing your own Christmas cards in Pixelmator and making address labels with the Silhouette cutting machines.