CarissaCarissa

a little room storage redo

When I moved to Nevada from Iowa, I moved in with my sister and her husband.  The plan was for me to just live with them to help Becca until she had her baby (they're both archaeologists and Sandy has to go out of town a lot for surveys).  Luckily, they're both super gracious and I've been crashing at their house for about a year and a half now.  It's especially nice during times like this because I have no job and would be hard core freaking out (instead of the regular kind of freaking out) if I had rent to pay as well.

The problem with living in someone else's house is a lack of space.  My bedroom doubles as my workshop and triples as a storage center for my Etsy inventory.  Over the past few years, I've been experimenting with the space, trying to maximize my storage/work space.

I had this storage cube unit in another part of the unit, not utilizing the top of it at all.  I decided to move it and use it as a computer desk so the other desk in my room could be used solely for sewing.  It worked alright at first and slowly went downhill.

As you can see, the chair just hangs out in the middle of the floor because it can't be pushed underneath (it can't be pushed underneath my other desk either).  That also means that I couldn't put my legs underneath and it was very awkward to write at.  Another problem was that it kept coming apart.  Any pressure put on the top would cause pieces to come apart/ bend the top.  Annoying.

Another problem was this bookcase.  Lots of storage potential, but a lot of odd things that take up space.  I had my I giant printer, silhouette, and shipping supplies mixed in with a bunch of random items.

SOLUTION!

Get rid of those annoying storage cubes and make myself a desk.  AND knock out #12 on my 35 before 28 list!

The space to be filled is an odd measurement.  Not many desks are available in a 14" x 70" size and I didn't think I'd be able to afford them if they did.  Luckily, my dad had some extra wood from some of his projects that I got to use.

For this project, I used 1 piece of wood that I cut down to 70"- it was already 14.5" wide, these Ikea table legs, and some 5/8" screws from Lowe's.  That's it.  This 10 minute/ $25 project gave me about twice the desk space + extra floor space because now I can slide my chair underneath.

(just because it's bigger doesn't mean it any less messy)

I turned the bookcase so it was against the other wall and moved the silhouette machine off of it.  I now have all of my inventory, shipping supplies, and printer all in one semi organized spot.

I still need to figure out another way to store my inventory but that's another storage diy for another day.

my favorite quilt

I would like to say that everything I make is my favorite, but the truth is, I love some things so much more than others.  This is the 3rd quilt I've made and it's easily my favorite (see one of the other ones here).  There are a few things really set this quilt apart from the others I've done.  

(sorry for the photo quality- these were all taken with my trusty iPhone)

1.  It's a lap quilt.  Which means I got it done fast i.e. I didn't get sick of it, rush to finish, and end up hating it.

2.  It's not a block quilt.  I decided that I wanted to do a different shape than my other ones and chose a hexagon. 

3.  It's my first handmade binding.  On my 2 other quilts, all I did was fold the backing fabric over and sew it to make the binding.  I really wanted to try something new with this one so, I made my own binding!  Hint: it's the easiest thing I've ever done and will never go back.

Pretend this is your fabric- cut diagonally and stitch the pieces together to create your bias tape.

4.  It's my first hand stitched binding.  I really wanted to do this one right so instead of machine sewing the edge of the binding, I hand stitched it.  It takes a bit more time but I love the look.  

5.  It's all about saving money.  I already had the top colors (for a few quilts I had planned on doing a few months ago) and the binding was some leftover fabric from some pillow covers I had made.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do about the back but knew I didn't want to spend any more than I had to.  I went to Wal Mart to see what they had for sheets and completely lucked out.  Since I didn't have a color in mind, I was completely open minded and got this hot pink sheet on clearance for $2.50.  Combine that with the thread I had to buy and the whole things was less than $10.  Score one for frugality.

6.  It's machine quilted.  I stitched around each hexagon and I love the pattern it made on the back.  There were a few touch and go moments when I accidentally stitched it onto itself and there were a few times it got thrown across the room, but I love it!

7.  It's colorful.  I am obsessed with these colors.  The mix of spring colors with black is my new favorite thing.  Combined with the hot pink back- I want to wear it around everywhere.

 

diy no sew fabric covered headbands

I've only recently discovered the power of a hot glue gun.  I used it when I was younger but I don't remember it working quite so well.  It's my new favorite crafting gear.

For this headband you'll need a few supplies

• headbands (I got a pack of 3 for about $4)
• strips of fabric about twice the width and about an inch longer than your headband
• hot glue gun + glue
• an iron

To get started, measure your headband.  Mine was 14.5" x 1".  You want to cut your fabric so that you can wrap it around and not have any loose ends out so I cut mine to 15.5" x 2".

Iron a 1/4" seam around all 4 sides.

Mark the halfway point on your headband and fabric and put a little dab of glue to keep it in place.

Working from the middle --> out, place a good amount of glue along the bottom edge of the headband and wrap the fabric (the photo does a better job explaining).

When you get the whole thing wrapped, put a dab of glue on the end and tuck it under.

Too cute! Plus, you don't have to worry about those annoying pokers digging into your head all day!

diy clutch

I would love to be one of those women who carries a tiny clutch everywhere she goes.  Never has to dig in her giant bag for her keys, sunglasses, wallet, bobby pin.  I'm not one of those women yet, but this clutch may just change all of that.  Don't get me wrong, this is still a pretty big clutch, but it's about a third of the size of my other bag I was carrying.

I used this super easy to follow tutorial as my starting point.  I made mine about 15" x 10" (Folded over, it's about 8x10).

I had some faux leather that I had picked up from the JoAnn's clearance bin awhile ago and attached that to a piece of leftover pillow fabric for the outside.

I lined it with duck canvas so that it's super sturdy and can still hold my keys, wallet, phone, notebook, lotion, chapstick, sunglasses, reading glasses, etc, etc.

I may have just started a whole new chapter in my life.

canvas star bag

Bags are my bag. I love 'em. I have to run through the front of Target when I go so I don't into the purse section.  When I saw this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess, I knew that I wanted to make one of my own.

This is one of my favorite quotes of all time and that is one of my favorite photos.  Bringing them together seemed natural.

To make this bag, you'll need:

canvas bag (I got a 3 pack for $8.99 - 40% at Joann's)

a yard and a half of strap fabric (this makes your straps about 26")

iron on transfer paper

this photo

seam ripper

thread

sewing machine

iron

Take off the canvas bag handles with the seam ripper.  Cut your strap in half so you have 2 straps and sew each of them onto the inside of the bag (where you removed the ones it came with).  I sewed them to the inside, because it looks better with the strap material I got.  Print the mirror image of the photo onto the iron on paper and follow the directions to apply it to the fabric.  That's it!

Love that font?  It's called Bentham and you can get it for free right here!