Fabric-Covered Frames

Today I'm going to share with you a craft with endless possibilities- beautiful fabric-covered picture frames. A great solution for your thrifty finds and those remnant fabrics, you can take any drab frame and customize it to match your decor or the theme of your photo. A custom frame also makes a great gift! This one was for my mother for Mother's Day.

This project started with this frame that just wasn't my style. I wanted to refinish it somehow to blend with mom's decor- paint wasn't an option on the frame's mosaic surface but fabric choices were endless.  I found a beautiful pewter fabric and some coordinating accents and got to work.

Unfortunately, you couldn't disassemble this particular frame so I used painter's tape to protect the glass before spraying the front of the frame with spray adhesive. The spray adhesive worked perfectly for this project- it didn't discolor the fabric or show any lumps or bumps below.

I used an exacto knife to cut out the fabric covering the glass, making sure the edges were adhered well,  and used fabric glue to glue the fabric to the back of the frame.

Depending on the look you want, you could be done at this step! If you have some fabrics you want to showcase, they would look great unadorned and perhaps grouped together on a table. Or you could use some fabric glue to add accents of a coordinating fabric. 

You can decorate your frame with anything your glue will stick to! Have some mementos from your latest vacation? Showcase them on your frame with a photo from the trip. Use your collection of old keys, buttons or broaches- anything! I decided to decorate mine with these pretty fabric flowers I had made and some ribbon- you can read how to make the flowers here. 

I have a ton of nicked up frames I'm looking forward to refinishing- I'm thinking a groups of burlap-covered frames would look great! 

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DIY Monogram Tray: Trading Blogs with Midsouth Stagers

I have a treat for you today- I'm trading blogs with a fabulous Tennessee girl who's going to show you a DIY project that is right up my alley! Be sure to stop by her blog and check out all the other amazing things she's done!

Hi! Thanks to Trading Blogs, today you are getting to hear from a new "Lauren", as my name is Lauren as well! I am so thrilled to be hopping over to the fabulous "Inside My Present" today from my usual spot, www.MidsouthStagers.blogspot.com. I own a home staging business in Memphis, TN and my blog is a place where I share lots of DIY, re-fashioning, and design/staging from my own home as well as an occasional client job.

Today I wanted to share with you a recent DIY project.

What I used:

A wooden tray from my closet

Acrylic paint/brush (already had)

A stencil from my craft drawer

Painters tape (already had)

A plastic cup (from my kitchen cabinet :)

 This lady had been sitting in the closet for oh, 5 or so years, and it was time I did something about it.

I decided to paint the inside of the tray to give it an updated look. I wanted to personalize it as a gift to someone, so I dug through my craft collection and got busy.

First, I taped it off and gave it a spray-paint primer coat. Once that was dry, I went back over it with acrylic paint to make sure the old image was gone. 

I love the bamboo look right now, so I decided to paint a bamboo-type pattern in gray, as kind of a tone on tone effect. I didn't want anything too bold for the print. Then I used a plastic cup to trace a circle in the center.

I did all of the painting by hand with no measuring (because I'm impatient) so it's not perfect, but lets just say that adds to the charm, Ok? :) I chose a bold tangerine for the center so that the monogram would pop.

Once everything was dry, I used a stencil that I already had and centered it on the dot. I used the white paint again to really make it stand out.
Tip: Try to remove painters tape when your paint is still a little tacky for nice lines. As for the stencil, I like to remove it immediately for the best results.
Now, for a quick reminder:

And here is the finished product! About an hour and a half total time spent, all with things I had on-hand!

Although I'm giving it as a gift, I thought I would do a little "staging" to give you an idea of how to use this easy and personlized piece!

I can just see some yummy cheeses displayed on it to pair with a nice wine!

 Fresh flowers always make everything better!

I hope you enjoyed my little project today and that it inspired you to get crackin' on some of those things collecting dust in your closet!

If you love tray makeovers, check out the herringbone tray that I painted earlier this year HERE.

Also feel free to grab my button for your blog and stop by often to see more fun projects like this!



<center><a href="http://www.midsouthstagers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNR9IqGawAXUaa16ztfW7QCcdnqUkNDT82JDylTzUacGkfhBJYZASXkqLemYiWKE71EAcpytkUrrz7aZaVstgkqJ2fOoYW2zbXolLd9CVgxWI41vFEglvNW6TA3togx0d910KvyORrd1oP/s1600/blogger+button.jpg" /></a></center>  Thank you, Lauren for letting me share a little piece of my blog world today!

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How to Make Fabric Flowers

I've been having fun making these beautiful little fabric flowers. I got the idea from Martha Stewart and tweaked it with a little sparkle. We all need a little sparkle, right?

These little darlings would be great to decorate just about anything- headbands, hairpins, picture frames, boxes or even to make a bouquet out of. Anything you can think of! And the flower possibilites are equally endless. Use your favorite fabric or ribbon to coordinate with your latest project and pair it with any combination of beads, buttons or other decorative doodad to achieve the right look. Layering flowers of increasing sizes would be a great way to give your project depth! I would tell you what I'm going to do with mine but it's a secret for now!

You can find the full directions at Martha Stewart's article but I'll give you the basic run down. Start with your fabric or ribbon of choice. She recommends using 4 inches of half inch ribbon or 8 inches of inch-wide fabric. You can really play around with these numbers to get the look that you like.

Start by stitching a running stich down one side of the ribbon close to the edge. Normally you would use a coordinating thread color, but this is easier to see. I also did a running stitch on the other side of the ribbon for decoration.

Once you stitch to the end of the ribbon, pull the thread tight to bunch the fabric. You'll be able to see the flower forming now!

Sew up the two ends of the ribbon, making sure to hold the bunching in place so you don't lose your shape. A couple of stitches will be enough to hold it in place. And that's your basic flower shape! You can use some Fray Check on your edges to keep them from unraveling, but check your fabric first to make sure it wont show once it dries.

I personally liked the look of the fabric flowers better because they laid flat instead of poofing up. Perhaps my ribbon was a bit too wide?

Now for the stamen. You can use artificial ones but I like the look of the crystals. Simply take a piece of wire (mine was 26 gage) 3-4 inches long and thread on your bead. Wire color is another place to personalize your flowers, there are a lot of colors available!

Kink the wire above the bead, leaving 3/4-1" tail above the bead.

Then wrap the tail of the wire right under the bead to hold it in place. You may need wire cutters or pliers to get rid of the sharp point of the wire end.

To make the cluster of stamens, take the number of stamens you want to use and position the beads at the height you like. I think it looks best to use and odd number and to stagger the beads a little. Bend the wires in half 1 inch below the beads so that the ends are pointing towards the beads.

To finish, wrap the wire around the center of the bunch, making sure it is below the area that will show on the flower. Now you can slip the wire through the middle of the flower and glue the wire on the back side of the flower and you're done!

How will you use your fabric flowers?

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How to Make a Photo Gallery Collage

Today marks the two year anniversary of my first date with D. Hard to believe it's only been two years! In  my mind, I put him into stories that happened before we met- it just feels like he was always there! If you're wondering where we met, it was on Match.com, believe it or not. Maybe someday we'll get on a commercial- in the mean time you can read our engagement story here.

Look at that good looking couple...

Oh, you thought this post was about how to make a photo gallery collage? Well, you are indeed in the right place.

We've got a lot more house than we have furniture or decor so we are constantly tossing around ideas of where our hypothetical furniture should go. As you can see, our basement living area is pretty large and is only half-filled by our stuff. And yes, the carpet is pink.

D says hello!

This is technically the "Man Cave" area of the house and D had talked about wanting to put up a collage of the two of us using memorabilia and photos. What a perfect idea for his anniversary gift! I know it will make him so happy to come home and see it complete.

To start, I gathered anything I could find that would hang on the wall. Framed pictures and license plates, college flags and those lovely fraternity paddles. I made sure that each item was not only meaningful but also that each of us was represented.

I started with hanging D's big Mizzou flag to define the remaning space I had to work with. I think he'd be thrilled if that was the only thing I put up. He loves his Mizzou. You should have seen him when the basketball team lost their first round in the NCAA tournament. Not a pretty sight.

Next, I laid out all of the items on the floor and arranged them until they looked just right. I prefer to have everything lined up on the edge so that it all fits inside a big rectangle but you can always have it look more free-flowing if you prefer.

The next step was to tape off the gallery area I was going to use with painter's tape. This helps get everything leveled on the edges and also keeps everything at the appropriate height.

I started with the top line and made sure that it was level before I proceeded.

Then I added the sides and lastly the bottom, using the level on each.

Now to step back and make sure it looks just how I want it! I ended up lowering the top line once I took a look at things. As long as you stay within this box, nothing is going to be placed too low or too high.

To begin, I started with the upper corner using my fool-proof method for hanging pictures. There will be no stray pencil marks or holes if you try my trick! All you need is painter's tape. Take a piece long enough to reach from the picture hanger to about an inch over the top of the picture. Position the tape where the center of the straight end hangs where the nail will be.

Next, hold the tape in place carefully and place the picture level with the top tape line, pressing the tape onto the wall. Smooth the lower half of the tape down and hammer in your nail in the center of the end of the tape and finally, remove the tape. (Note: if you're using picture hangers instead of a plain nail, you will have to account for the length of the nail to the hook)

I have never been able to hang pictures level before this trick!

Look at that handsome college grad!

I continued placing pictures down the side to establish the height of the gallery...

Then I continued to fill in the space, tweaking things as the gallery evolved, using my level guides. This took no time at all! If you aren't wanting to take the time and resources to trace and cut out each item out of paper- this is the way to go to get great results! You can even use these tricks to hang a row of pictures on the wall to make sure they're level with each other.

And best of all, D loved it!

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Fruit and Herb Soaps

My sage plant, though beautiful with its velvety leaves and purple blossoms, is starting to take over its pot. I love sage, but I don't think I would use as many leaves as it has now in an entire year- and it's still growing! I was wondering what to do with it until I saw this article in last month's Martha Stewart Magazine. With very few ingredients you can make beautiful handmade soaps in the blink of an eye- it was the perfect thing to do with my herb forest!

From citrus fruits to berries to fragrant herbs, there are endless possibilities for delicious soap combinations. The article shows beautiful soaps made with thyme, basil, mint, sage, tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry. I decided try a few mixtures- sage, sage and lavender and sage and grapefruit. All sound wonderful! To begin, you simply puree the herb you are using in the food processor, adding water as needed, and wring out excess moisture using coffee filters. While berries can be added whole, citrus fruit must be zested. I did cheat a little and picked up some lavender fragrance at the craft store!

For soap molds, you can use any container you have around the house. I cut the tops off cream cartons, but you can use plastic containers as well.

 Fill the clean containers with water to the level you would like to pour the soap, then measure this amount. Melt the soap in the microwave in 30 minute bursts, adding more soap as necessary until you have the amount needed to fill the mold.

Now for the fun part! After the soap has cooled just slightly, stir in your ingredients of choice. Martha suggests about 1 teaspoon of puree or zest per cup of soap, but you can adjust it to your liking. For berries- just eyeball it! Stir the mixture frequently until it has cooled so that the ingredients are evenly dispersed.

Dry your molds well, spray them with cooking spray, and pour in the soap. To eliminate bubbles, you can spray the top with alcohol but I skipped this step. Let cool for 20 minutes to one hour then freeze for two hours to help loosen the soap from the mold. After removing from the molds you can trim up the edges with a knife or slice it into smaller pieces.

I found the soap with only sage not very fragrant. Next time I would add more herb or maybe some additional essential oils. The soaps with the grapefruit and lavender fragrance, however turned out really well. I would also like to experiment with an olive oil soap base and the other herbs in my garden.

Now you have beautiful, handmade soaps that make great gifts. Next time your herb garden is overflowing, you know what to do!

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