Mary's Meanderings: March 2011

Discovering Beauty #8

This is one of the most beautiful and amazing transformations of a piece of furniture I have seen yet. You have to go over and see the before of this gorgeous piece!

Divine Theater is a cannot miss blog.

Another fabulous blog is Maison Decor . She just showed off her Heavenly Washroom!

Pullover turned adorable ruffled sweater jacket

Sewing Machine cover

Paper Nests

I have 1/2 dozen or so less then perfect Chenille spreads and love this darling idea of making a chenille patchwork baby blanket!

Dye paper doilies

Are you ready to win some awesome beauty ?

OC Cottage is having a fabulous giveaway!

Creating Country Charm is having a fantabulous (spell check says that isn't a word) giveaway over at here fantabulous blog!

A Kind of Sort of Reversible Purse Made By Lil Ol Me!

I have not purchased clothes in several years.

We are going to Oregon for a conference I was so wanting a few fun things to wear on the trip.

I scoured my closet and pulled out several things that I thought I could alter and update and I am so excited to show you what I have done.

It has been so much fun and just feel so excited that I have a few cute "new" things!

I also needed a spring summer purse and so this what the first project I started on. Isn't it too cute!!

This project was a NO COST project as I had everything in my craft closet I needed!

My inspriation was this gorgeous bag that

Joy Campbell of The Joy's of Life made.

I met Joy last summer while working at the antique store where I have my booth and she was sporting this gorgeous creation!

I had this book bag that was given to me at one of our AMF Conferences several years ago.

I decided to use it as a starting point.

I will try and do a tutorial after I get back. I was thinking of Labeling it- How not to make a ruffle purse because I did so much of it wrong but learned from my mistakes so will have to try another one!

After much fumbling this is how it turned out- This is one side of the purse-

This side I used part of an embroidered tablecloth, eylet piece from a torn pillowcase, muslin and piece of barkcloth

I had some yummy pink barkcloth that I decided to line it with and make a few pockets

for my cell phone, note pad, etc.

Love those pom poms!

And here is the other side again. This side has more crochet pieces from my stash of linens. Of course more pom poms too!

I am so excited to do a little shopping with Vanna, and Adrienne with my new purse!!

Oh, did I tell you I get the priveledge of meeting these 2 precious gals face to face!!

I can't wait to show you the other refashioned things I came up with.

I'll give you a hint - one has a lot more of that pom pom trim being used on it!!

It might take me a little time so please be patient-

I am joining Pink Saturday since there is some yummy pink this week and also

these other parties-

Show and Tell Fridays

Vintage Inspiration Friday

frugal Friday

Creation Corner Friday party

Chic on a Shoe String

Fabulous Friday Finds

Inspiration friday

Stuff and Nonsense

Favorite Things Saturday

Saturday Nite Special
Saturday Is Crafty Day

It's So Very Cheri
MET Monday
You're So Creative @ MakinDo
Mad in Crafts
The CSI Project
A Round Tuit
Sumo's Sweet Stuff Monday
DIY Showoff Monday
Amaze Me Mondays
FWF
Making the World Cuter Monday

The Good, the Bad and The Ugly! A Guest Room Transformation = before

The GOOD-

There really is no good to the Guest Room Makeover at this point so I have to share some Good things that have happened to me instead.

Then we will go to the Bad and Ugly Makeover!

I received my lovely goodies from a recent giveaway I won over at Julie's great blog,
Life at Fire Lake Camp
I had been working on the Bad and Ugly part post his post when the box arrived and oh, what a sweet reprieve!! Just look at the lovelies I received-

Thank you so much Julie!! I am saving the book to read while we are on our trip-

My Easter Basket Tutorial was featured at these lovely blogs last week!

Cheri's Lovely Blog

Earlier this month my Apple Blosssom Branches Tute was featured at

One Pretty Thing

Thank you so much for this great honor to be a part of your wonderful blogs!

One of the really good things that is happening here is that I will be hosting a ladies retreat in May at our home!! I am so excited to have been asked to do this. We have used our home for families and couples staying for a time of rest from a day or 2 to several months stay but I have always wondered if we could make the home work for retreats. Well, now I will be put to the test!

THE Bad

This room needs a major overhaul before those ladies get here!

This has been the catch all room for my booth items that need painted or fixed plus the room that anything else gets thrown in when we don't know what else to do with it for the moment!

These 2 pictures are actually after I organized the "stuff" into boxes. I totally forgot to take the real before picture (yeah right!)

The Ugly

One of the first things we did when we moved in the house was to update all the electric through out the house. In order to do that in an older house is to cut through the plaster to rewire then mud it back over which results in--

very ugly!

The picture railing molding towards top of wall had to be removed also.

So ladies this is my newest project. I have several pieces of furniture that need painted plus some inspiration pictures that I have stashed away wanting to use some of the ideas and will hopefully post those and my progress.

Also I am sure there will be many HELP posts as I figure out what I am doing or not doing!

WARNING- This won't be done next week! I almost didn't post about this room till it was all done

but thought since I will need to get it done by May I definitely have a deadline!

So there you have it - The good, the bad, and the ugly

which hopefully will be like the story of the ugly duckling and be turned into

a beautiful swan of a room.

Linking up to

Met Monday
Show off Your Cottage Monday
Nester's National Take a Risk Party-
Getting this room done on time for the retreat is a real risk for me!
Purge Party

Discovering Beauty this Week # 7

Doily Baskets

More nests in a cute painted tray

Sugared Rose Petal Cake

Adorable Ruffles Skirt just in time for Easter

Ruffle umbrella

Serendiptiy Drapes Treatment!

Get you some beauty with this wonderful giveaways

going on right now!

Win some beauty with this CSN giveaway going on at Frugal with a Flourish

Shabby Cat and Roses is having her 1 year and 400 post giveaway.

Love the Decor is having A Shabby Appple Dress giveaway!! Gotta love those beautiful dresses!

Cassandra over at An Artful Adventure is giving away one of her beautiful creations!

Win Sewn Spaces- a Beautiful book to make your own beauty over at DIY dish

It's Easter Basket Time!

Last Easter I joined in on a Easter Basket Swap. Gosh it was so much fun and look at the darling baskets I created.

This was my inspiration for my baskets-
I just loved the lines of my antique silver basket and wondered if I could recreate it somehow.

I had such a fantastic time creating the ones for the swap that I had to make more-

Easter is right around the corner and what better way to celebrate by making some pretty baskets!

I thought I would do a little tutorial on how I made mine

Supplies needed are a yogurt cup a plastic container top and something to use for a base- I found the plastic Palette cups at Hobby Lobby, 2 to a package for 99cent. Other supplies

spray paint

spray adhesive

-glue gun

fabric scraps

chenille for basket handle

misc pretties to decorate basket

Little chick for moral support!

I cut the outer rim of container top off then cut an inner circle

Snip donut shape piece and overlap about an inch or so then hot glue ( I used the paper clip thingys to hold it while glue dried)

I placed the 3 plastic pieces together just to get an idea of what basket would look like (don't glue them together at this point) . Little Miss Chick is not so sure this is going to work at this point-can you see the confused look on her cute face?

Take all pieces outside and spray paint away!

Make a pattern for basket body by laying yogurt cup on side and with pencil slowly tracing top then bottom of cup as you roll it on its side

Cut out pattern - place on fabric and cut fabric about 1/2 inch on all sides. For basket rim cut fabric about an inch wider than collar. I just took a pencil and traced around an inch wider then plastic then cut out. Cut another fabric collar piece of coordinating fabric (I used a satin) to use as underlining.

Spray the outside yogurt cup with spray adhesive. Take fabric yogurt piece and wrap around cup leaving 1/2 inch above and at bottom of cup. With hot glue, tuck the fabric ends over and below cup. Use a piece of lace or other trim and hot glue on inside edge of cup.

Spray basket collar with adhesive and cover with fabric same way as you did the basket. Cut an X in inside area -cut excess fabric as shown leaving a little over 1/4 inch to glue and tuck under inside rim.

Make handle for basket with chenille wire stem. You may wrap ribbon around it or leave plain- what ever look you like. Bend each end of stem 1/2 inch from end and glue on the inside collar bent stems glued to underside of collar.

I kind of fiddled with the under side of collar lining- and I am sure there is a better way. I sprayed the underside of collar with adhesive, took the circle I had cut out and placed it on underside of collar then trimmed away excess to just 1/8 inch from edge of collar. Trims and laces were then hot glued to cover raw edges.

Glue pedestal base on basket and use trims to cover. You may also choose to cover pedestal in fabric then glue to basket.

Using beads, silk flowers, lace etc. pretty up the basket to your heart's desire!

If you have any questions let me know- I am not the best at tutorials and would love this to be as simple as possible so will edit as questions are asked!!

Here is another version of the same basket-