Calculating the amount of fabric needed for your bias binding can be tedious.
I always have to look up sewing formulas and work out the math, usually while sitting in the car outside the fabric store. By having a little excel worksheet here online, hopefully it'll make it that much faster next time.
Just enter the appropriate numbers in the 3 highlighted fields.
Calculations are based on the "Magical Math Formula" tutorial found at Sew4Home. The math is the same as above, but a lady can go cross eyed trying to read through that and do the math on a small phone screen while sitting in the car. ;)
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Winning at Craig's List - New Dresser & Nightstand
I finally have my own Craig's List success story! This pair of blue beauties are scheduled to be delivered this Sunday. I hope I'm not jinxing it, but I'm too excited to contain myself.
The plan is for both to go in the guest room. The dresser will go on the wall opposite the bed.
My friend K recently bought a steal of a baby change table that was still in stores for $200 more than what she paid. It served as a good reminder not to give up on CL.
When searching for dressers, I was actually looking for a quality piece I could paint myself to use in the guest room.
And when I stumbled across this one (already painted in a coordinating color!) I was so giddy I sent a text to the number right then and there.
No response. For days! That's an eternity to walk around with your fingers crossed.
Just as I decided it wasn't meant to be, I get a text that it IS still available. Yay! Turns out the seller does this as a weekend hobby, so she was just waiting to have free time.
We chatted on the phone and she was absolutely super nice and friendly. She was even willing to wait for me to return from a scheduled trip out of town. I admit, it even crossed my mind to look into changing my flight if the seller couldn't wait.
Coincidently, my mom and step-dad arrive for a long weekend visit tomorrow, so while I wish they could use & enjoy the new furniture over the weekend, I'm glad they'll at least get to see what's in store for them on their next visit since it'll arrive the morning of their departure.
And hubs? He's the best ever. He was driving while I chatted with the seller for the first time, only hearing half the call. When I hung up, it didn't even phase him. He just had this look with a grin that said, "what are you up to now?" I shared what I had found on CL and how it was a great deal for furniture that was already painted the perfect color. I don't think he even asked what it looked like. Such a guy!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Pillow Shams for Guest Room
Finally stuffed the navy Schumacher Betwixt pillow shams and added them to the bed! They've been sitting empty in the guest room patiently waiting for some attention, so I feel like I owe it to them.
I love the shams, but not sure that I love how the bed is made. Thinking the pillows make too much of a triangle. Now that I look at it, I know why I don't like it... it reminds me of the pin set-up at a bowling alley. Argh! Not good. I will have to play with it more. Lots more!
Walking into the guest room reminded me how much is still needed in there. It's so easy to forget until you have company coming!
Seriously haven't even started looking for something to hang above the bed, but when I see the room in a photo, I can see the glaring empty spot that is so easy to overlook in person.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Painting the Townhouse Gray
Eeeny meeeny miney mo!
The colors look very different in the photo but it just shows how you can have five fabulous recommended colors and it's still a tough decision.
Since we've moved cities a few times, our first home has since became a rental. The townhouse was originally painted in beige/cream color (called Ceyon) but we wanted to update it with a neutral gray to give it a more contemporary look. Paint color and carpets would need to be picked out in person, so I flew down to check it out. Eventually picked Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray paint (SW 7044)!
The colors look very different in the photo but it just shows how you can have five fabulous recommended colors and it's still a tough decision.
Since we've moved cities a few times, our first home has since became a rental. The townhouse was originally painted in beige/cream color (called Ceyon) but we wanted to update it with a neutral gray to give it a more contemporary look. Paint color and carpets would need to be picked out in person, so I flew down to check it out. Eventually picked Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray paint (SW 7044)!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Guest Favor for Baby Shower ~ Homemade Sugar Scrub
A few weeks ago, I co-hosted a baby shower for a university friend who is due this August with an adorable baby boy! The other hostess and I decided to give guests a sugar scrub because it was something we would want to take home ourselves.
Update for printable files and instructions: Click here to use this free printable for your event. You can customize your text and label size to fit any Avery brand printer label. Graphics are available in pink or blue.
Here's how I made these adorable little jars.
Grabbed the Ball 8 oz wide mouth mason jars at Target.
Filled the jars with Shaina's Ginger & Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub recipe. As you can see from my photos, I extended the recipe a bit for the amount of baby shower guests. Plus, I could only find coconut oil in a tiny jar or a big jar, so I made the recipe to match the amount of coconut oil. Where the recipe calls for essesial oil, I picked lemongrass. And opted for non-comedogenic almond oil. Organic ingredients were used whenever possible.
When I make this again, I would use more ginger than the recipe asks for because I love ginger and can never get enough. It was fun to make, especially with a bottle of wine. Total Breaking Bad moment while "cooking" the scrub.
I've used the scrub myself and I really liked it. My skin felt like it was naturally moisturized after it, not super oily - but the results were even more amazing in the winter when it can be difficult to moisturize enough.
Printed the jar labels using Avery's 2.5" round glossy labels. I created the graphics and then uploaded them to Avery's Design & Print Online system. While it was super easy to use and print from the Avery online layout (even allowing me to save a .pdf version), the graphics in their software were quite basic and disappointing. The nursery has an animal theme, which is what we used as a basis for the baby shower, hence the elephant and giraffe print on the back ingredients label. Awe!
Last step was to use the 3/8" ribbon to tie the bows. I used about 22"-23" of ribbon on each jar (if that helps anyone calculate how much ribbon to buy) and the sheer ribbon I tried first, did not look nearly as nice as the grosgrain ribbon.
Tying a bow seems easy, but my first tries had them looking like my shoelaces, messy and not so precious. Google-fu lead me to this super helpful tutorial on tying the perfect bow. Silly, but necessary. And a quick flame to seal the ribbon's cut edges and viola, all done!
If you wanted to really get detailed, you might consider using a glue dot behind the bow to keep the ribbon attached to the lid. It was easy to pop off which made tying the bows slight more time consuming because you have to be careful.
If my math is accurate, each jar cost about $5.65 each to make (but this includes the left over ribbon and extra labels, so maybe cheaper depending how many you make). This project would make an excellent gift for Christmas. Maybe made with a peppermint scrub? Could use white sugar and dye a portion red for a candy cane stripped look in the jar? Endless possibilities!
This was so fun to make, hope I remember the next time I need gift ideas!
Update for printable files and instructions: Click here to use this free printable for your event. You can customize your text and label size to fit any Avery brand printer label. Graphics are available in pink or blue.
Here's how I made these adorable little jars.
Grabbed the Ball 8 oz wide mouth mason jars at Target.
Filled the jars with Shaina's Ginger & Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub recipe. As you can see from my photos, I extended the recipe a bit for the amount of baby shower guests. Plus, I could only find coconut oil in a tiny jar or a big jar, so I made the recipe to match the amount of coconut oil. Where the recipe calls for essesial oil, I picked lemongrass. And opted for non-comedogenic almond oil. Organic ingredients were used whenever possible.
When I make this again, I would use more ginger than the recipe asks for because I love ginger and can never get enough. It was fun to make, especially with a bottle of wine. Total Breaking Bad moment while "cooking" the scrub.
I've used the scrub myself and I really liked it. My skin felt like it was naturally moisturized after it, not super oily - but the results were even more amazing in the winter when it can be difficult to moisturize enough.
Printed the jar labels using Avery's 2.5" round glossy labels. I created the graphics and then uploaded them to Avery's Design & Print Online system. While it was super easy to use and print from the Avery online layout (even allowing me to save a .pdf version), the graphics in their software were quite basic and disappointing. The nursery has an animal theme, which is what we used as a basis for the baby shower, hence the elephant and giraffe print on the back ingredients label. Awe!
EDIT TO ADD LABELS TEMPLATE (click here for more detailed instructions): It's the first time I've made something like this, so I'd love to hear any feedback!
Last step was to use the 3/8" ribbon to tie the bows. I used about 22"-23" of ribbon on each jar (if that helps anyone calculate how much ribbon to buy) and the sheer ribbon I tried first, did not look nearly as nice as the grosgrain ribbon.
Tying a bow seems easy, but my first tries had them looking like my shoelaces, messy and not so precious. Google-fu lead me to this super helpful tutorial on tying the perfect bow. Silly, but necessary. And a quick flame to seal the ribbon's cut edges and viola, all done!
If you wanted to really get detailed, you might consider using a glue dot behind the bow to keep the ribbon attached to the lid. It was easy to pop off which made tying the bows slight more time consuming because you have to be careful.
If my math is accurate, each jar cost about $5.65 each to make (but this includes the left over ribbon and extra labels, so maybe cheaper depending how many you make). This project would make an excellent gift for Christmas. Maybe made with a peppermint scrub? Could use white sugar and dye a portion red for a candy cane stripped look in the jar? Endless possibilities!
This was so fun to make, hope I remember the next time I need gift ideas!
