DIY Oilcloth Placemats

Well, it's been awhile but I'm back with a new post and I plan on posting every day more frequently from now on.

When we got married one of the items I registered for was placemats. Exciting, right? While I love my denim colored placemats, spilled drinks and food meant tossing them in the wash, which lead to shrinkage.

I decided to make my own. I gathered my sewing machine, fabric, iron, and fusible batting. This is not a complicated sewing project. If you know how to thread your sewing machine, you will be able to handle this easily. I found my inspiration on this great blog, A Pretty Cool Life. 

I cut two pieces of fabric (15 1/2  x 20 1/2 inches) and one piece of fusible batting (also 15 1/2  x  20 1/2).

I ironed the fusible batting to the "wrong" side (the non patterned side) of the fabric.

Once the batting was ironed to the back of the fabric I took the other piece of fabric, placed it on top of the first piece of fabric (right sides facing) and stitched all pieces together. 

* Leave a 5 inch gap on the bottom of one short side to turn out *

Once all three layers were sewn together, I clipped all four corners. 

 Next I pulled the fabric through that 5 inch gap to get the "right sides" of the fabric on the outside (the batting will stay on the inside). 

I ironed the placemat, making sure to fold the pieces of the gap inward.

I then topstitched around the entire placemat (1/4 inch away from edge). I stitched around a second time, 1/4 inch inside that first stitching.

The sewing part of the project was done.

Now on to the stenciling.

I used my usual acrylic paint but this time, because I was painting fabric, I added a fabric medium. This is to prevent any cracking in the paint from bending the fabric. This comes in handy if you are painting clothing or totes. I didn't see myself throwing my placemat around but you never know how aggressive I may become if there is chocolate cake involved.

 

Don't judge, crafting makes me thirsty.

Applied a little stencil adhesive, slapped the first stencil down, and got to work. 

If these stencils look familiar, you may remember them from my Trendy Tray Table Project.

I let the painted placemats dry for about a day or so before my last step.

To avoid having to continuously wash my placemats I decided to give them an Oilcloth finish. I picked some up at Michaels, grabbed a squeegee (a balance free gift card would also work), and got to work.

Following the directions on the back of the oilcloth finish, I put a heaping amount on one edge of my squeegee and covered the entire placemat. 

Note: The finish will pool, a bit, in the stitching. I simply used the corner of my squeegee (I cannot type that word enough), and removed any excess. I applied two coats to each placemat (I made two), waitied two hours, then applied two more coats.

Here is the finished product:

Such an easy project that can be personalized with any stencil or paint color. 

~ B

Crackled Kitchen Crates

As much as I love my updated cabinets, I am always looking for a bit more storage in my kitchen. Something that wouldn't take up too much room but could hold things I use daily (coffee, sugar, bowls, etc.). I found some inspiration at the amazing blog: DIY Vintage Chic and while my project looks a bit different, I always like to give credit where it is due. I have seen wooden crates at Michaels and decided to put my 40% coupons to work.

Just a quick note, the crates are not perfect and no amount of sanding will get them perfectly smooth or measuring identically but they were about $7 each so I can't really complain.

First, I used a gray primer from Home Depot. Historically I've used white primer but because of the weathered look I was going for, I wanted the base color to be gray. 





Spray painting is such an easy, convenient way of painting or priming an object, especially a crate with slats that a brush would have a tough time getting between.

All three crates were now primed.

I wanted these crates to have the white weathered look you sometimes see in Cape Cod.

I filled a red solo cup with a little of Martha Stewart's Weather Crackle Effect, grabbed a soft bristled brush, and got to work.

This is NOT the Martha Stewart Crackle Effect you would find at Home Depot. I considered that but read a few not so great reviews and decided to use the craft type found at Michaels and most other craft stores.

I promise you, my hands are much smaller and cuter than how they look in this picture. Anyway, I lathered (for lack of a better word) on the weathered crackle effect finish all over each crate. The directions said to wait "until dry" before applying paint over it but I painted the side of one crate once it dried and felt the crackle effect wasn't quite prominent so I stopped painting. I'm glad I did.

 I grabbed my paint the next morning to try again.

I used a shade of white acrylic paint (Wedding Cake) and covered each crate with ONE coat. You don't see the weathered/crackle effect until you paint over it and that layer of paint dries. I'm glad I waited overnight to paint the rest of the crates because I was able to get the look I wanted:

Since I was balancing the crates on top of each other I wanted to connect them so they wouldn't topple off each other.

My handsome groom picked these dowels up at our local Home Depot. I can't be trusted with a drill (or the opening of a champagne bottle but that's a story for another day), so I passed this part of the project on to him.

As previously mentioned, these crates are not exactly identical in measurement but he measured and marked each one as best he could.

The bottom crate received four holes in each corner on top, the middle crate received four holes on the bottom plus four holes on top, and the top crate received four holes on bottom.

His measurements paid off and each crate was fitted with their dowels and connected. I now have some extra storage for my coffee, sugar, mugs, and bowls. This is probably the tidiest each crate will look as I plan on adding extra plates and wine glasses that have been cluttering our cabinets.

~ B

Mirror Makeover

Mirrors are a great source of decoration but they can be expensive, so I was excited when I found one for free. Anything free usually has issues and this mirror was no exception. It was pretty heavy and the wood was in rough shape. This thing needed a major makeover.

The first thing I did was sand the wood down and give it a good cleaning. 

This mirror had been in the back of a closet for years and had the dirt to prove it.

I knew I wasn't going to try to stay with this color or try to re-stain the wood so once I had a clean surface I primed the wooden frame.

I covered the mirror with newspapers (for obvious reasons) and used a white primer spray paint.

I wanted to get a denim look so I started with two coats of a cobalt blue acrylic paint that I had lying around. This one little bottle covered the entire frame.

Here is the mirror with the two coats of the cobalt blue. I wanted the "base" color to be lighter/brighter than the next color I would be adding for the combing effect I would be using later.

From cobalt blue to navy blue. I just did ONE coat of the nave over the cobalt.

Immediately after applying this coat of navy blue paint, I used these grain striping combs from Martha Stewart that I found at Michaels. 

 I chose which size comb I wanted and applied it vertically as well as horizontally until each side of the frame was done.

When the frame was painted and dried, I decided I wanted to add some "lace" or some sort of pattern to the denim effect of the frame.

I found some small doilies at the "Just $1" store in my town and some Mod Podge at the craft store. 

 

I cut 4 doilies with curves for each corner then cut more doilies in half to put along the edges.

Mod Podge is a craft adhesive as well as sealant. Some people apply it to both the object they are adhering as well as the surface they want to adhere the object to but because these doilies were on the thin side I just applied the Mod Podge to the mirror frame then stuck the the doilies to it.

Once I had all the doilies placed where I wanted, I sprayed the entire frame with a sealant. If I was using any other object besides a super thin one I would have no problem applying the Mod Podge over all the doilies to seal them to the frame (it dries clear) but, again, the doilies were thin.

Once the frame had dried completely I decided I wanted to stencil one of my favorite quotes to the bottom of the mirror and grabbed my stenciling supplies.

I've used both stencil brushes and stencil pouncers (foam) on projects but I have found that the brushes work best on mirrors. I've never stenciled letters and I'm pretty sure these particular paper stencils were not made for this type of project but I liked the font and was willing to take the risk. I'm so brave, I know.

One of the great things about using this particular paint line is you are able to mix in specific "effects" or finishes you want. Paint can look very thin on glass and I wanted the letters to look etched onto the mirror. 

I had used this etching finish once before on an old mirror that came with the house in one of the bathrooms. I painted the gold plated frame and stenciled some designs so we could hang it in our living room.

Back to this mirror.

I wiped the entire mirror surface with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any smudges or smears before stenciling.

I used painters tape and stenciled each letter.

There were a couple mistakes along the way but if I didn't like how a letter came out or got some paint outside the stencil lines, I just scraped the paint off with a toothpick or damp paper towel. 

Here is the entire stencil.

I've said this before but it is so difficult to take a picture of a mirror without getting myself or the flash in the reflection. There was a lot of balancing and contorting to get this just so you know.

This mirror didn't come with any hanging hardware attached, so I still need to acquire that, but here is the finished product before hanging.

The denim effect is more obvious in person but I think it's not too shabby considering how sad it looked in the beginning.

~ B

Beautiful Burlap Wreath

Burlap seems to be everywhere. Due to its durability, it is a popular fabric option for rugs, bags, and lately, wreaths. I've been excited to see a little bit of fabric in my local Michaels recently (see some of that excitement on my Chic Decorative Trays post.) I found they were carrying some cute burlap and decided it would be perfect to use in making this wreath. Here is what I needed:

~ Foam Wreath ~

~ Burlap ~

~ Ribbon (not pictured here) ~

~ Decorative Flowers ~

~ Glue Gun ~

I used two packages of the below burlap. As you can see, it's 3 yards and more of a trim. I probably could have used just one package but I was a bit generous when wrapping it around the foam and figured I could use the excess of the second package on a future project.

I grabbed my trusty glue gun and put a line of glue on the inside of the burlap.

Next I positioned it on the foam to begin wrapping it around.

I slowly wrapped the burlap around the foam wreath.

Here is how it looked once completely covered in the burlap.

I already liked how it looked but decided I wanted to cover up the raw edges. Since I had previously picked out the flowers I would be using, I found a ribbon that matched one of them.

The color of this ribbon was perfect but because I felt it was too wide, I cut it in half lengthwise. 

Next I dabbed some hot glue on one end.

I used a few long pieces so I would not have to stop and keep cutting ribbon. I then wrapped the ribbon along all the raw edges, dabbing a bit of hot glue as I went to keep it secure.

This is how the wreath looked once I was done attaching the ribbon.

The criss cross in the top left is where I started so there was bound to be a bit of overlap. Never fear, this is where I can cover this up with the flowers.

I'm not a big flower person. I enjoy receiving them and smelling them but about the only time I would use them in crafts is on a wreath.  What you choose for your flowers (and how much you use) is a matter of personal preference.

I happen to like the below colors together.

With my glue gun still blazing, I popped the stems off these silk flowers and strategically placed them on my wreath (by strategic, I mean I covered up my initial ribbon criss cross situation).

Finished product:

Now I need to squelch my compulsion to make a wreath for every month....

~ B