How to Customize Converse

I've been loving the Converse tennis shoes I keep seeing on Etsy...the ones with the fabric tongues...but they're out of my price range 

So I decided to do it myself (what a surprise).  :)

I picked up several fat quarters at the fabric store near work and then went on a quest to find cheap Converse.  Guess what there is no such thing...even T J Max wants $30.00 for a pair.  

Ahhh...but Target had these for just $19.99...a price I can live with.  :)

I had planned on making more than one pair so course I didn't take any pictures of the process but it's pretty simple and I think I can walk you through.

The first thing I did was cut the fabric in a rectangle a bit bigger than the tongue.  I also had to cut some stitching by the toe of the shoe for the fabric to fit tight to the rubber.  I then pinned the fabric on, wrapping it around to the back side of the tongue.   Easy enough!

Next step is to had stitch it with a nice sturdy needle.  

After the stitching was done I cut the excess fabric on the back side and then glued it down with E-600 (my all time favorite glue).

Lastly I re-stitched what I had to cut to fit fabric next to the toe.

That's all there is to it....pretty Tweet huh?

As usual I will be linking up tp many of the parties on my side bar...Do check them out!

Denise

PS:  I just took them out of the wash and they held up great!!!

More Vintage Remix Necklaces...

Spring is such a busy time of year...between work and gardening I haven't had much time for crafting.

Although I did, somehow managed to get a few pieces of jewelry finished for my Esty shop..

I love this first one, it's a vintage button that I glued an old earring to the front.

The wire loop that I have the other buttons hanging on, I found on a walk.  It loops through the shank on the back of the button.  I also added a sewing machine charm. 

This little owl charm took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with it....

When I came across this ceramic bead I made a long time ago...I thought what a perfect backdrop and it was!!!  :)

The spoon handle was a quickie...Loving the floral design in front, I didn't think it needed much...

Just a bird and a crystal from an old chandelier and it was done...

I almost forgot...

I finished a stocking too.

Well heck...maybe I got more done than I thought.

Thanks for visiting and stop by again soon...I'm working on some more up-styled shoes and...well I guess you'll just have to wait and see.  ;)
Thanks for visiting!!

Denise

I will be linking to many of the parties on my side bar...do check them out.

Snowman Stocking

Life had been crazy busy lately but I guess it's always that way come spring.

I did manage to finish a stocking (I'm trying to get at least one a month done til about September...then I really have to step it up).

Anyway...Here's Aprils stocking...

 
Last December (the week between Christmas and New years) I cut out, designed and pinned 7 stockings.  Two were special orders so I got them done right away.  But the rest I have worked on during down time at volleyball games and on my lunch break at work.

 Designing stockings is more work than one might think and very messy...I have piles of sweaters and scraps of felted wool everywhere....sew (ha-ha) having that many cut and ready to go, has made it easy to finish one a month!  This was the last of the 7 but I will take a weekend and see if I can get a bunch cut out again.

To see the others visit my Etsy shop here; Spittin Toad ...clicking on Christmas Stockings in the shop section will let you see them all at once.

Denise

As usual I will be linking to many of the wonderful parties on my side bar...do check them out!

Two Tone Buffet

This weeks post is going to be short and sweet...

Kind-of like this little Buffet (or is it a dry sink?  I'm not quite sure).

I got it from and friend and apparently failed to take any before pictures.

***

But it didn't need much, I just gave it a good all over cleaning and then painted the frame with some of my homemade chalk paint...did a little distressing...a little waxing....added a drawer pull and TA-DA finished!!!

My kind of project!

That's it for today...Like I promised "Short and Sweet".

Denise

I will be linking up to many of the parties in my side bar...do check them out.

Easy Fabric Garland

I love garland!!  Its such a cheap easy way to make any room look happy!  I even a have a Pinterest board dedicated to Banners, Garland and Wreaths.

Sooo....

While at Walmart the other day, I picked up a bundle of fat quarters full of lovely spring colors...I then went home and started cutting...Okay two weeks later I started cutting.

Anyway...

I just make a small cut so I could tear the fabric into 1" strips. I went the full length of the fat quarter and then cut each strip in half...mind you these measurements are all "about"...I seldom do anything exact.  I also added some yellow, orange, green and of course burlap from my fabric stash...My house is not really a "pastel house"....but I wanted the pastel spring feel.

I tied them onto a roll of twine...not cutting it off the roll until I had the desired length...because...of course...I wan't even sure where I was going to hang it...maybe the light above the table, on the mirror in the hallway, over the chalkboard, or the mantel (which is where it ended up).

In the theme of being indecisive...I couldn't decide if I wanted a nice tidy banner like this one from

Into Vintage 

or a more messy one, like this one from Vintage Pretty.

In the end I deiced to go messy and just tie them on any old way....This proved to be the perfect plan...

because I had my mom finish it while she was visiting....She loves a project as much as I do.  :)

 We then promptly hung it on the mantel...after trying it everywhere else.

Well, that's it for this week and thanks for visiting!

Denise

Yet again, I will be linking up to many of the parties on my side bar...do check them out.

How to Make Altered Art Domino Pendants

The other day I had some friends over to make pendants out of dominoes...

What fun we had!!!

 Not to mention the results were beautiful.

This whole project started when Maryanne picked up some Bakelite Dominoes at a garage sale.

Ellen tied me down to a time (which is sometimes hard to do) plus she promised to bring lunch....Yummm!  

I gathered up materials cleared the kitchen table not that it stayed clear for long...

What a fun, creative mess!!

Three of the ladies brought stamps...something I had never considered...

And Ellen kept finding the perfect words out of an old paper back that was torn up from some other project....

She also brought 3 rolls of washi tape...something that I had never used before...

Mary brought an old photo of her twin sisters...

and made a necklace for each of them.  :)

The picture was kind of grainy so I did my best to edit it on the computer before cropping and printing it out for the pendants.

I think they turned out nice.  Don't you?

So here's what we did in a nut shell...

Using scrap paper, washi tape, stamps, pages from a book and old photo's we planed our design for each domino. 

Next glue the pieces onto each domino using a craft glue.

Use a finger nail file to file the paper along the edges of your domino.

Last step is to seal them with Diamond Glaze.  Try not to get any bubbles but if you do we used toothpicks to remove them.

Diamond Glaze is wonderful stuff but I'm careful not to get it on my counter tops, so I always use a paper plate. 

I like to place a bit of sparkle in the wet glaze...which holds it for life.  :)

Want more ideas check out my Raven Collection. 

I will be linking to many of the parties on my side bar and

Thanks for visiting!

 Denise

Kids Art: Painting Octopus with Watercolors and Glue

It's been way to long since I posted a Kids Art Tutorial!!

So I thought I'd share some octopi my art students painted a summer ago...

This would be a perfect art project for a elementary classroom studying Marine Biology...

By The Way...

Did you know, we grow the worlds largest Octopus right here in the Puget Sound?

(The largest know one weighed 600 lbs and had an arm span of 30 feet.)

Anyway....

I started out having the kids draw an octopus in pencil, asking that they use the whole page for their design with some parts going totally off the paper....

The next step is to go over the design with colored glue.  This time we used black.

If you haven't colored glue before its easy, just add some acrylic paint to a bottle of glue and then stir like heck till it's all mixed in ( I use a chopstick to stir).  Then use the glue bottle to go over your drawing.

The glue works as a raised resist so after it's dry, finish your painting with watercolors.

 This talented group of kids made me look good.  :)

For more Kids Art projects check out these:  Colorful Fish, Giraffes, How to Draw a Deer,

Or 

Just search Kids Art using the "Search this Blog" button at the top of this page.

Thanks for visiting!!

Denise

I will be linking up to many of the parties on my side bar...do check them out.

Stay Weird Jewelry a Vintage Remix

Last week while my 17 year old was home sick with a fever....I took the opportunity to hang out with her, putt around the house and make some jewelry.  I do hate it when she's sick but I love our time together!!

Anyway I've been wanting to make some more jewelry and I love the old photo of our hen Pebbles...She was the sweetest thing and had the craziest head of "hair".

My plan was to say "just me being me" on the front and "be yourself" on the back.

 But...

After the Oscars and Graham Moore's speech I put "Stay Weird" on the back instead...

If you haven't read it look it up!  :)

Did I mention I use my Vintage typewriter for the words? 

It's a big ugly electric one but I LOVE it's font!!  :)

The bit of bling is an old clip on earring I picked up somewhere???

The next day I made one that has the "Stay Weird" in front....

I have more to share but that's another day...

Stay Weird!!

Denise

I will be linking up to many of the parties on my side bar...check them out.

Bicycle Dresser

Hello again friends.   Here in the PNW, Spring is in the air, (sorry to all dealing with record colds) but we have had unseasonably warm weather... (yes I know it won't last but one can hope and should at least enjoy)!

Sooo....

In honor of this spring like weather I thought I'd share the Bicycle dresser I finished a while ago.

It started as a cheap dresser that I picked up for $3.00.  Because it wasn't especially well built or even vintage, I felt very comfortable trying something new and a little bit different...

After all what did I have to lose??  Three dollars.  :)

Ha-Ha...Nice photography...you can see the tail end of my dog.  :)

So I painted the outside my favorite yellow and painted the drawers white..after removing the knobs of course.

I sketched the bike in pencil and the started painting using using an assortment of acrylic paints.

Outlining some of the flowers in black to make them pop.

So what do you think?  Wouldn't it be cute in a little girls room?

Well that's it for today...You have an awesome weekend!!

Denise

(I have an sick kiddo at home and the weekend off so I see more crafting in my near future.)  :)

As always I will be linking up to the many link party's on my sidebar. 

The Winner of Pot Holder Drawing is...

Well, I survived my first Valentine's Day as a florist...Whew...Today I will stay home, put my feet up...Clean house,work in the garden (it's be been beautiful her in the PNW), buy grocery's ...Okay maybe I won't put my feet up but I Will slow down and enjoy what I'm doing!!!

I do want to thank everyone who participated in my drawing!!  Especially my

followers old and new!!! 

I choose not to make people follow me to enter...I want you to hang out with me because you enjoy my projects, my blog, my ideas...not to win something!!!  So...to those new followers hopeful we'll get to know each other a little better and I will offer up some new ideas or projects for you to try!!  :)

Such a sophisticated way to pick a winner.

Anyway...The winner of the Pot Holders is Shirley from Hudson's Holiday Designs,  She has a lovely blog, so zip on over and check it out.  I promise you won't be disappointed!!!

Happy Monday I mean Tuesday.  ;)

Denise

Still Time to Enter the Valentine Giveaway

Here's a last minute reminder that there's still time to enter and win these sweet Valentines Hot Pads.

Just visit the original post HERE and leave a comment in the comment box.

Don't forget to follow me...There's plenty of good things to come and more Giveaways...just because it's fun!!!  :)

Denise