Thrifty Creations

Camera Strap Revamped

2010-03-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

I decided I wanted one of those cute camera straps but didn't want to pay $15-30 for one. So with left over fabric from a previous project (Even originally the fabric was only $1.50) I made my own at no cost!!!

Materials Needed:

Camera strap

Fabric (You'll probably use about a 1/4 yard)

Sewing Machine (Hopefully you already have yours threaded, otherwise you'll need that too)

Pen or sharpie

First lay your camera strap on the fabric to prepare tracing it for cutting. Make sure that your fabric is good sides in, like seen below.

Then trace around your camera strap, I traced directly up to it- knowing I would cut extra for seems.

Here, starting to cut to pattern I just made, I gave myself enough allowance for seems.

I am very lazy when I sew, so I didn't pin anything, I just went for it holding down the seams. Feel free to pin yours if your not comfortable doing this. *Be sure not to sew shut the ends but sew the seams in to have a nice clean edge.

After your finished sewing, turn the cover inside out, I find it easiest to pin a safety pin on the end and feed it through with my finger.

Then put it on your original strap, it will be snug at first and a little difficult getting on- for me I wanted a nice sleek look so I used a stretchy cotton fabric that I just had to push a little harder to get it completely on, but so worth it now that it fits just right! And of course since you traced your original strap you don't have to worry about it being the wrong size like when ordering one.

Free Handwritting Fonts

2010-02-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Love, Love this site!!! I just had to share it. They have tons of free stuff, including free Handwriting and Scrapbooking fonts and shapes. Tutorials and more, check it out- You'll love it as much as I do!!!!

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/

Zebra, Tigers, Cows Oh MY!

2010-01-01T06:13:00.000-08:00

Lately I have really been obsessing over all animal print. I honestly have to say though, I only like it in home decor when its done right, and lightly. Its so easy to overdo and look childish? But I love them as accents, here are some fun pictures to share.

I really would love a rug like this in our LR

Fun animal print Decor:

I love the look of just a touch of animal print in a room like this,

I would like a bench like this but in brown zebra or cowprint for the end of our bed. Or a chair like this both are just adorable.

Love the candles, they would look just fabulous on a coffee table centerpiece.

The pendants, hmm not sure where I would put them if I would put them anywhere.

Just love the look!

My best inspiration yet, or where my obsession began all starts with the Pink and Polka Dot blog. Check out her animal print stuff! Love it all. For the life of me I can't get any of her pictures to post here so check out the links if your interested. I swear she had more but I can't find those either.

http://pinkandpolkadot.blogspot.com/2009/01/zebra-chair.html

Love these lamps in on her buffet.

http://pinkandpolkadot.blogspot.com/2009/01/zebra-chair.html

Weekly Goals

2009-12-21T16:16:00.000-08:00

I need to get in gear and get stuff done. I am going to start making weekly goals and updating along the way where I can anyway, without embarassing myself :D

This week:

Monday: Laundry, Laundry, Laundry!!!

Tuesday: Find and pick paint color for basement bathroom! Possibly start priming bathroom.

Wednesday: Clean Living room, Kitchen and Bathroom!

Thursday: Start organizing office, honestly my office is almost this bad, its started pooling up on our kitchen table now too!

Friday: Christmas

Saturday: Paint Bathroom

Sunday: Clean up bedrooms and stay caught up on laundry!

Rice Heat Therapy Bag

2009-12-18T19:04:00.000-08:00

I received one of these last year as a gift and use mine all the time, so I thought I would make some this year as gifts.

From my experience I learned that its best not to use essential oils because over time and after many used it actually starts to stink.

So I just got some fabric, cut them in rectangles and sewed them leaving the either short end open, filling about half full with long grain rice (not instant!) the sewed the top shut.

Then using my cricut I made cute little tags for each one.
Reading:
Heat Therapy Bag
Microwave flat 2-3 minutes
Apply to Aches and Pains
To avoid drying place a small bowl of water in microwave during heating every other use
Store in a dry place.

Original inspiration from:
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=280

Window Treatments I can't wait to try out!

2009-12-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

From my one of my favorite blogs, Frugal Home Ideas :For the instructions and tutorials see the blog @ http://frugalhomeideas.blogspot.com/

Spray Painting Blinds, who woulda thunk!

No Sew Roman Shades, easy as pie!

No Sew Curtains! Don't they look lovely! I love the look of designer curtains just not the pricetag.

Three great ideas at amazing pricetags, just a little bit of labor love and whalah! I can't wait to make my kitchen blinds into roman shades and then add some designer curtains to dress them up. Not sure where or if I will spraypaint any of my blinds but love the idea.

*Disclaimer, these are not my ideas nor do I take credit for them, just had to share Frugal Home Ideas great projects! Check out the blog you'll love it as much as I do!

Next Up on my wishlist-In home studio

2009-12-07T13:38:00.000-08:00

To expand my photography I am in the mist of putting in a home studio. We are converting our family room in our basement into a full studio. I am very very excited to get this process going. We just purchased new carpet and working on everything else. Just for fun I thought I would show some of my inspirational pictures.

I hope to have different areas staged for different ideas, I love having the shabby chic, modern, vintage and then the backdrop area. Our family room is fairly large and I have free rein of the whole room! I will update along the way throughout the process.

Tinkerbell Cricut Fun!

2009-12-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

Another freezer paper stencil job with the cricut. My neice loves Tinkerbell so I snatched up the cartridge on black friday to make some fun stuff for her as Christmas gifts. Here is the shirt I made. I love how it turned out.

Here is after I painted, I blended the "Tinkerbell" to look just like the logo. With the stars, just a touch of glitter or as I'll tell her some pixy dust :D

With the freezer paper off, the finished look.

I then put a silohette of Tinkerbell on the side with gold glitter. Here is a close up and then the finished product.

Well what do you think? Not bad eh? My only regret is putting tinkerbell right on the seam but I think when its on it will look great.

Freezer Paper Stencils with Cricut

2009-11-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

The first one I tried is just an initial for a personalized tote which I previously dyed brown and sewed on the beaded trim.

Supplies you'll need:

Reynold's Freezer Paper (or any other brand you can find)

Cricut machine with Cartridge of your choice for stencil

Acrylic Paint-color of your choice

Iron

Maybe Patience :D

1st I cut out an initial with the Cricut with Medium Speed, depth, and pressure. Cut with the waxy side up and also use the flip feature.

Iron on the freezer paper in place. Be sure to get the edges really secure.

Then I painted the K bright pink with acrilic paint.

Wait to remove freezer paper until the paint is fully dry, approx. 1 hr. You could use a blow dryer to speed up the process. Allow 20-30 minutes in between coats if you need multiple coats.

Finally run iron over entire painted surface on High for about 20-30 seconds to seal.

Next I made a shirt for my neice who is a dancer.

I used the same settings Medium for speed, depth and pressure. With 3'' letters Plantain schoolbook. With this one I had to save the inside of the letters to make sure they looked right. Follow all the same steps as above.

Here is a close up of the letters, as my second coat I used some glitter.

Here they are both together! I am pretty impressed with how they turned out for being my first try!

Check back later for more freezer paper crafts! They make great personalized gifts, or if you want to just spruce up your clothes.

Free Earrings!!!!!

2009-11-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

Urban Original and Seventeen Magazine are giving away earrings to females ages 13-29 starting at 12:01 EST on Tuesday, November 24. Fill out this form from here (http://www.urbanog.com/seventeen/ ) and use the promotional code earrings to claim your free pair. While supplies last and they don’t indicate how many pairs they are giving away.

Often the websites for these types of promos load REALLY slowly at the start of their giveaway, so be prepared for that. I had to share this great deal!!! It also doesn't even ask for your age (if your out of the age range).

Your turn: Did you get a free pair?

Creative Gift for Coffee Lovers:Part I

2009-11-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

I found these great recipes to give to co-workers for christmas gifts.

Instant coffee recipes with the easy just add water instruction. Add to pretty bag plus ribbon and nifty tag equals super cute affordable gift. I plan on them looking something like below. I want to make them more christmas themed and nice tags or stickers for the instructions.

I will give you some recipes for now and check back later for the pictures (making them tomorrow!)

[To prepare the following recipes: mix in food processor or blender until you have a fine powder.

For all recipes use 1 to 2 spoonfuls to one mug of hot water. ]

Bavarian Mint

2/3 Cup instant coffee

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. dried mint leaves, finely crushed

2/3 Cup nondairy creamer

Cafe' L'Orange

2/3 cup instand coffee

1 Cup sugar

1 tsp. dried crushed orange peel

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Cafe' Mocha

2/3 cup instant coffee

3 TBS unsweetened cocoa

1 1/3 Cups sugar

1 Cup nondairy creamer

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

Toffee Coffee

1 cup instant coffee

1 cup nondairy creamer

1 cup brown sugar

Cafe' Vienna

1 cup instant coffee

1 1/3 cups nonfat dry milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

Swiss Mocha

1 cup instant coffee

1 cup sugar

2 cups nonfat dry milk

4 tsp. cocoa powder

Cafe' Orange Cappuccino

1 cup instant coffee

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups nonfat dry milk

1 tsp. dry orange peel

Don't forget to check back to see the finished product!

Christmas around the corner?

2009-11-22T15:42:00.001-08:00

Ok not my creations or specifically budget friendly just some fun Christmas stuff to share. All of which, I believe would be pretty easily recreated at a decent price tag.

And the now almost famous Martha Stewart Ornament wreath.

I love this look for decorating outdoors! I wish I had a birdbath now!

Now all the ideas with the jars.

A cute centerpiece, I love the trees made from pinecones.

And this one, what's not to love! The color is great, its modern and not overdone.

I love that this one is traditional yet modern. Also not overdone.

Pretty Staircase

2009-11-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

From PrettyOrganizedPalace the idea of painting stairs! Brilliant, currently we have 1970's blue carpet on our stairs, we planned on replacing the carpet, but now.... I may end up painting them!

Look at these inspirational pictures: (The first & second ones are my favs and inspiration)

Missed me?

2009-11-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

I realized I have really neglected my blog and started looking for inspiration to get some projects started. I hope to have some projects done and posted next week. I have gotten busy with life, things have started to taper off to normal now so I plan to start posting more and become more of a really blogger ;)

Sunday Thrift Store goodies

2009-09-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

My thrift store finds of the day; a metal wall art $4.99 (still had the price tag from homegoods of $19.99)

Now after a little bronze spray paint:

and a plain white lamp, $2.99

Getting ready to paint, I wanted the hardware to remain white.

Also after a little bronze spray paint, and a lamp shade ($13.97 from wal-mart)

Here is without the light on, no glare.

Now all together:

Pretty happy with my sunday thrift store finds. A nice way to help vamp up the Living room for less than $20. Later this week I will show you a nice before and after.

Another ABC frame

2009-09-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

After making the first one, I had a request to make another for a friend. I love the way it turned out and after using Michael's coupons the total cost was $5.22 (minus the spray paint- I had it from a previous project) Not bad for a custom coordinating frame. I am super excited to give this to her.

And here is a close up.

What do you think?!

Hardwood floors under there!!!!

2009-08-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am so thrilled to find emaculate hardwood floors under our carpet in our Living Room. After the tile in our kitchen we plan on ripping out the carpet and finishing the floors.

Take a look at what I found.

And this is what was underneath the carpet in the hallway. I am hoping that some way there is hardwood underneath that laminate. But probably not.

Once the work gets underway I will update with more pictures and progress.

ABC Nursery Decor

2009-08-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

Thought this was the cutest idea for any nursery, just tweaking the colors for gender or nursery decor variance.

I started out with a blank frame from Michael's for $3.99 (I believe), some spray paint from a previous project and some Alphabet letters also from Michael's $2.99. Shown below

After a little textured ivory spray paint...

Then I just placed the Alphabet stickers on the painted frame as shown below...

I then thought it would be more fun the adjust the letters around as shown...

I plan on making different ones with different color schemes for some friends.

Decorative Hemp Balls

2009-08-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

I love the look of the decorative balls in either a bowl or basket as a focal point, just not willing to pay $14.99 for 3 at Target or as high as $9.99 a piece at Pier One. So why not make my own!?

The look:

So I started with a roll of twine/hemp from the dollar store, and then bought some styrofoam balls at Michaels for $3.99 for 6 balls.

Then I just started wrapping the Twine around each styrofoam ball, Try to wrap randomly to avoid criss-cross patterns

And tied the ends together and I now have my own decorative hemp balls for a fraction of the price. I did buy 2 different colors for variation. Now I have to find a bowl or decorative piece to put them in.

Next up will be different types of decorative balls. We'll see what I come up with.

Candle Slipcovers

2009-07-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Turn glass candleholders into stylish accessories by dressing them in decorative fabric. Coat natural-fiber fabric scraps, such as cotton or linen, with spray starch, and iron them. Once the fabric is stiff, cut out a rectangle big enough to wrap around a candleholder, allowing a slight overlap where the ends meet. Wrap around the holder, and join fabric ends with a piece of double-sided tape.

Thanks Martha (Stewart) for the great idea, a nice and easy way to change with the seasons or everyday decor.

Bejewled Lamp

2009-06-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

Bejewled lamp made from Christmas Ornaments

If your like me you change your Christmas decor often and don't know what to do with last year's ornaments, how about an Elegant Lamp.

A simple drum shade and round acrylic base, both available from a lamp shop, round out this beautiful stack of ornaments. Each ornament was lightly sanded, brushed with walnut stain, blotted while wet, and sealed with water-base polyurethane.

Two 4-1/2-inch silver-color plastic ornaments
Two 2-3/4-inch golden plastic ornaments
One 2-1/4-inch golden plastic ornament
19-inch-long 1/8-inch IPS threaded pipe
100-grit sandpaper
Water-base wood stain (we used Minwax in American Walnut)
Paintbrush
Water-base polyurethane
Purchased 6-inch-diameter clear acrylic lamp base
Three knurled nuts
Lock washer and nut
Bushing
1/2-inch-long coupling
8-inch harp and harp retainer
10-inch-tall barrel lampshade with a top diameter of 11 inches and a bottom diameter of 12 inches
Brushed metal finial

Instructions:Cut holes in ornaments to accommodate the pipe. Sand the ornaments in a circular motion. Brush stain onto the silver ornaments and blot off; let dry. Seal all ornaments with two coats of polyurethane, letting them dry after each coat.

Secure the lamp base to the bottom of the pipe with a knurled nut above it and a lock washer and nut below. Fit bushing onto bottom of the pipe to protect the cord from fraying. Thread ornaments onto pipe. At the top, add coupling, secure the harp retainer with a knurled nut on each side, and wire and attach the socket. Add the harp, bulb, shade, and finial. Our finished lamp measures 30 inches tall.

Hemp Pendant Lamps

2009-06-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

The fabulous idea from Craftynest.com =my new obsession!

Uber-talent Heika DeHart strikes again. These lamps she made are genius. Plus, don’t you just love how they look with her wallpaper? She writes: “I fell in love with West Elm’s abaca pendent lamp a few years ago but, as usual, my taste was more expensive than my wallet could support. However, I was sure that I could copy them at a fraction of the cost.” I love the natural look of the hemp, but you could also use white or bright-colored string.

Hemp pendant lamps

Supplies and tools
*large bouncy balls of various sizes
*clear drying craft glue (such as Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue) 1 bottle per ball approx.
*hemp string 20lb. weightestimated amounts needed:16 inch diameter ball—400 yards14 inch *diameter ball—300 yards9 inch diameter ball—100 yards
*plastic gloves (optional)
*trash bag or small drop cloth
*permanent marker
*ball deflator or something sharp to pop the ball
*light fixture and hardware (such as this one at Lowe’s)

1. Draw a circle on the ball with a permanent marker. This circle will mark a space on the lamp that needs to remain clear of string. The empty circle will be used in assembling the light fixture and will allow you to have access for changing light bulbs. If the light fixture you are using has lamp shades, make sure that the circles are big enough for the shades to easily pass through.

2. Cover your work surface with trash bags or a drop cloth, and put on gloves (this gets messy).

3. The best way, I found, to apply the glue is to squeeze a quarter size amount onto your fingers and run the hemp string through the glue and then wrap it around the ball. The string should stick fairly easily to the ball. I tried two other methods that also worked reasonably well, but were much more time consuming and made a bigger mess. You can fill a shallow tub with the glue and run the hemp string through it, or you can apply the glue directly to the string from the bottle.

4. Glue and wrap, glue and wrap, glue and wrap. Just keep going. Try to wrap randomly to avoid criss-cross patterns. The more densely wrapped the lamp is the stronger it will be.

5. Make sure to avoid wrapping string over the circle area. If there are any areas that seem weak, you can apply a little extra glue to give it more strength.

6. Repeat the steps 1-5 to make multiple lamps. Let the glue dry completely. (The glue I recommended takes about 48 hours to cure completely.)

7. Deflate the ball, either by using a ball deflator or popping it with a knife or scissors.

8. Remove the deflated ball from the lamp.

9. This part takes some basic electrical skills. Follow the installation instructions that come with your light fixture. While installing the light string, feed the wires through the circle hole of the lamp and up through the top, so that the light bulb will hang down in the center of the sphere.

I plan on making some to spruce up our back patio for summer bbq's, and if all goes well possibly some for our family room.

Fun and Fresh Idea for my blog?

2009-05-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Gosh! I am so terrible at the Blog life, part of my problem is blogspot is blocked at work and most of my internet usage is done at work, shhh ;) Anyhow I would like to start something fun and fresh to keep me coming back to update my blog. Any suggestions?

Funky Friday? -Giving you a cheap but different idea?
Thrifty Thursday? -The best deal of the week?
Super Saturday? - Thrift store or garage sale finds?
Manic Monday? -Super easy and fast project?

Any suggestions or votes would be great! And heck maybe if I get better at updating I can do more than one a week.

Pillow ideas

2009-04-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

I would somehow love to recreate these potterybarn pillows. I just love them but could not see spending $39.99 on them. Lets see what I can do.

I also love Pink and Polka Dot's idea of turning old shirts into pillows, I am sure I have a ton of them laying around I could use to make my own.

Turning this....

Into this....

http://pinkandpolkadot.blogspot.com/2009/01/recycled-pillow-cover.html

And of course if worse comes to worse I go buy some fabric and cut it in a square, sew it and stuff it. But so bland, I want something simple yet eye catching.

My take on the Coffee Filter Roses

2009-03-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

I realized I am no where near as crafty as Martha Stewart, mine do not look as good as hers. I only made one because I was disappointed but I think I will give it another try-eventually. It was much harder than I thought it would be, I even had to watch the video as I did it. But here is what I came up with, I did mine all yellow to go with the decor I plan on in our Basement FR. Doesn't really look real but what do you think?

Coffee Filter Roses

2009-03-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

What a neat idea, Thanks Martha! And if you don't already have coffee filters you can pick some up for around a buck! I printed off the templates and plan on making them tomorrow. I will show you the outcome but here are the directions if your interested.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/paper-roses

Opening Debut of my blog!

2009-03-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have always loved the idea of blogging all my ideas and inspirations, here I am I finally started. I am really excited to start showing my ideas and my projects with others. I really hope I can also inspire others along the way. I am very frugal and do most of my projects on a minimal budget and still get a great outcome so why not share my thrifty tips?