Vintage Suitcase Repurposed

For years I have used vintage suitcases to store items like computer disks and manuals, business items, my vintage Barbie collection and various craft projects, I've also used them to display items in my flea market booth- So it was a no-brainer that I was going to purchase this cute cosmetic case for under $2-

I've been seeing these suitcases relined and made into portable craft tool chests, so I knew this would be a great carrier for my crochet tools (my lastest obsession)- My thanks to Bitter Betty for her tutorial-
First I tore out the lid lining and used it as a template for the new fabric-

I also made a paper bag template of the top and used it to cut a piece of foamcore board- Then I laid out my hooks and things on  the fabric to get my layout- I drew two lines where I wanted to put elastic to hold my hooks-

I am trying to use things I already have for my craft projects- This fabric (thrift store purchase) was in my stash, the leftovers from someone's project-  I had some tiny elastic and red seam binding so I folded the binding in half and with the elastic inside, stitched the binding together stretching the elastic as I went- I hand stitched this covered elastic to the fabric tacking it down to leave spaces for the hooks- I marked where I needed holes for the scissor ribbon by laying the fabric on top of the foamcore board and using a crochet hook pressed in the right spots made little divots in foamcore-  I used my big Bite Crop-a-dial to make the holes-

For the needleholder, I made a crochet heart from this tutorial:

It is hand tacked into place and the fabric is glued to foamcore board with spray adhesive- The edges were hot glued, the corners were tabbed and hot glued, then I added seam binding trim to finish the edge-
The bottom is done in the same way, except that I cut out the side piece and folded and stitched one edge to finish it and stitched the seam binding to the top edge to finish it- I was fortunate that the locking mechanisms hardware came off easily- As I glued the sides on I cut slits for the locking mechanism hardware-
Every case is different and this one had a flap in the back, which I wasn't going to replace until I found that one of the hinges was broken and the flap helped stabilize the top of the case- I used a cereal box to back the fabric which is stitched on and then the whole piece is hot glued to the suitcase- Here is the finished case-

Things I wish I had done:  although I marked the straight lines for the covered elastic I didn't follow them very well and they are crooked- Also I should have made tack marks so they would be even on both strips- Once I started adding the hooks it became clear that there wasn't enough room on the lid to fit the larger hooks into both the elastic strips- right now they sit in one strip just fine, if I were to do it again, I would make a pocket for the hooks and stitch that in place instead of the elastic-
I plan to make a tag for my addy and ph # for the handle and some kind of decorative technique on the outside, for now: this will hold my current project work--
Linked to trash2treasures,Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Under $100, Hookin up with HoH,Make it Yours, Transformation Thursday

Bedroom lamp redo

On one of my thrift store outings I found this wonderful globe lamp. I pounced on it even though it was missing its glass top.  The beautiful swirl bottom is what I loved and a bonus, it lights up as a nightlight, very romantic!  On another trip I spotted a top that might just fit-for $2.50.  I wasn't sure it would fit so I passed it by.  Two months later, the same top was marked .25 cents- now we're talking. This particular store is on two levels-while I was trying to get my stuff to the top level-where the cash registers are- I broke the top (part of me wanted to cry).  I took the top anyway since I needed to see if it was right for the lamp.  It was perfect--(Now I really wanted to cry). 

I pieced the broken pieces back together as best I could. you can barely make out the top in this photo.

But there were pieces missing so... Mod Podge to the rescue!  I tore some pages out of my craft copy of Pride & Predjudice and Mod Podged them onto the globe. I love the way it looks in low light, in fact I hardly use the globe night light on the bottom now.  One of these days I'll run into another top for this, but for now I'm lovin' it. 

I was sorting through some papers and found a list I wrote awhile back (like a year ago). It is 100 Things That Make Me Happy. It was an exercise in a book I was reading at the time. I remember having a hard time coming up with anything. Then I found my happy place- I would be most happy at a resort hotel, wearing beautiful sandals,lying in a hammock of down-filled pillows in a garden of white roses and rosemary, holding a marquerita in one perfectly French manicured hand and a large hunk of peanut butter fudge in the other listening to my husband's laugh while gazing at the sea shore as a cool breeze blows through pine trees nearby. Anyone know where this might be?
 100 102 Things That Make Me Happy…..


1. Jane Austen Books & Movies

2. Gardening

3. Garage Sales

4. Peanut Butter Fudge

5. Scrapbooking

6. Ice cold A&W Root Beer

7. Decorating

8. Receiving Mail

9. Traveling

10. Beautiful Sandals

11. Sea Glass

12. Affectionate Words

13. Romantic Gestures

14. Dancing

15. Clean Beautiful Rooms

16. Patchwork Quilts

17. Riding on the back of motorcycle

18. Being in love

19. Walking on the Beach

20. Learning

21. Completed Projects

22. Pizza

23. Daydreaming

24. Being on a cruise

25. Smell of Pine trees

26. Having a Party

27. Fun School Lessons

28. Painting of Gardens

29. Smaell of Rosemary

30. Mixed flower arrangements

31. Large Old t-shirts

32. Fire in a fireplace

33. Holiday decorations

34. A well-written love story

35. Jacuzzi baths

36. Laying in a hammock

37. Snow

38. A good photo of myself

39. Sharing a laugh

40. Frozen Margueritas

41. Coffee shops/Cafes

42. Magazines

43. Bookstores

44. Old Junk

45. French Manicures

46. Deep Massage

47. Bananas Dipped in Chocolate

48. New lined paper

49. Torah Studies

50. Historic sites

51. Water-oceans, ponds, lakes, fountains

52. Karaoke

53. Photographs

54. Quotes

55. My children getting along

56. Words

57. Classes: Quilting, Scrapping, craft

58. Treasure Hunting

59. Collage Art

60. Country Drives

61. Catalogs

62. Acrylic stamps

63. Losing weight

64. Clean sheets

65. A good hairdo

66. Being appreciated

67. Creating Beauty

68. Being right with G-d

69. Iced sugar cookies

70. Peppermint ice cream, fudge, coffee

71. Peaceful places

72. Romantic Jewelry

73. Judah’s laugh

74. Outdoor Rooms

75. Resort hotels

76. My children’s accomplishments

77. Souvenirs

78. Fancy tablesettings

79. Plays-live theatre

80. Festivals

81. Fishing

82. Walking in a garden

83. Turquoise

84. Silver Art jewelry

85. Chinese food

86. Mosaic Art

87. Fine tip Blue Ink Pens

88. Cool breezes

89. Bike Rides

90. Family History

91. Libraries

92. Down-filled cushions

93. Snicker bars

94. Clothes that fit

95. Rooms with a view

96. Garlicky food

97. El pollo loco

98. White Roses

99. Walks in the Fall/Spring

100. Fall decorations

101. Fresh baked bread/butter

102. Vintage travel trailers

Time to Reevaluate and Redecorate

Nothing in life stays the same.  Especially true about our home.  With my oldest in college, it's time to reevaluate where we are and where we are going.  I've known for some time now that my home wasn't reflecting the changes in our lifestyle.  Now it's time to make changes and get our lives (or at least our home) back on track.
When we first moved here, my style was primitive country. Baskets, wood spools, quilts, pine furniture filled our rooms.  We didn't have a lot of money and thrift shopping was my thing.  Then I wanted to update our look and we bought (actually bought new) a few pieces of furniture. Remodeled our kitchen with custom cabinets and granite countertops and our style was now Tuscany.  Two years ago we took a trip to the ocean and that began another change. I now want a cleaner, more relaxed look.  I've started looking at colors like blues and oranges that I never really liked before.  I love the white craze...I would paint all our furniture white if my husband would let me.  Each child wants their own room, but that is off in the future. It's time to redo our home to reflect our family now.
So......
I'm going to blog about the changes in our home in the upcoming months.  I get so many ideas from the talented ladies who share via blogs their homes and projects, a lot of these will be incorporated into our home. Some of the projects I'll be working on:
Painting countertops to look like granite..(shhh! don't tell my hubby-the granite man)
Faux painting to hide less than perfect walls.
A place to scrapbook.
Turning an old eyesore shed into something fabulous
Giving our house street appeal
Landscaping for privacy and fun
Decorating with flea market finds
Incorporating our love of travel into our home
Teen girls room
Teen boys room
Updating a dated fireplace
Reworking an entry closet
Decorating an entry when there isn't one
Setting up an aboveground pool and decking it.
Outdoor lighting for style and security.
Installing wood laminate flooring
Updating furniture, because I can't afford new
learning to use power tools.
and more....

I'll be posting before and after photos and some in process too.  I will post links when I find tips and tutorials on-line. If you have any ideas for these projects let me know.  I've been scavaging through my magazine stash and every link I can find, but I can still use lots of ideas.
 I hope to have all the indoor projects completed by Valentine's Day 2011.  (I'll work better with a deadline)
We'll celebrate with a party-you're invited.
Here's my Plan of Action:
Laundry Room
Boy's Room
Girl's Room
Bathroom 1
Family Room
Living Room
Dining Room
Master Bedroom
Exterior Projects

So let me know if you find some ideas for a small laundry room.

Wedding Gifts

Don't we all have that friend that inspires us, especially when we didn't even know we needed inspiration?  Well for me that friend is Teresa. Teresa is a doer.  She always seems to be doing something- painting a room, scrapbooking, gardening,shopping, traveling, something.  (My creative moments come in spurts brain farts with lots of slack time between.)  So I wasn't at all surprised to find she's been busy making things for her oldest son's wedding. I asked for some pics that I could share here.

These adorable bags are for the

wedding party.

Teresa etched these glasses for the bride and groom and the groom's attendants.

What a wonderful frame

for the newlywed couple to display their wedding photo.

Teresa told me she used her Cricut on these items.  (I was so impressed I had to order one.)

She'll make a great Mother-in-law, I know 'cause she's been a great friend.

I"m linking this up to share with  Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special

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Visions Of A Teen Boy's SteamPunk Bedroom

My oldest son is turning 16. He really wants a bedroom of his own so does his 12 year old brother. That means that our next house must be 5 bedrooms. But first we have to sell this house and that means paring down. And that mean deciding what to keep. A difficult task because I have no idea what kind of house we will buy next and the boys may still need to share a room. Originally I wasn't going to choose a theme for their room, but when I saw my first SteamPunk computer I knew this had to be in the boy's room.
  What is SteamPunk? "Steampunk is a fusion of the Victorian era with machinery, a mix of antiques and technology.'Steam' refers to the style we're talking about: think steam engines, big leather bellows, the whirr of cogs. Materials to look out for are wood, leather and plenty of brass - materials that Victorian engineers were familiar with. The 'punk' in steampunk refers to being creative and doing something new and different rather than tartan and mohawks." -According to Sky Gazzard at Mooky Chick.

I love that all the boy's electronic stuff can be made to blend into the room.

I'm thinking stained wood floors and the suede painting technique on the walls. A victorian area rug and curtains. And a bed like this one that I found on Mother Earth's website:

-->Plans for building bed here<--

I hope I can find some interesting rusty old architectural items to decorate the bed.

For more DIY SteamPunk items, check out Instructables.com

I'll be adding photos of items we make for this room later.