Just a little paint..

Hello!

I made a trip to IKEA last weekend and picked a pack of trivets.I have seen so many pretty projects on pinterest with these that I decided to try a project myself!The original inspiration is at -http://pinterest.com/pin/258464466086902160.
 Here is what I used:

 That's all you need folks! I used the Scotch tape to make random patterns on the trivets.

Then the fun part! I picked a acrylic paints in lovely teal (my current favorite), cheery yellow and a chocolate brown for my trivets. I just picked a space in the patterns and started painting. Here they are, almost finished.

I let them dry a bit and while the paint is still slightly wet, I ripped off the scotch tape. The lines are more sharper when that is done. Let them dry completely.

I absolutely love the color combination! This would make an easy DIY personalized gift for Christmas. Don't you think so?

Linking this up to Pinterest Winter Challenge at Bower Power and Young House Love

Cheers,
Aps

Knit a cowl...

Hello there!

Here is my second adventure in knitting! This time around, I decided to make a cowl scarf. I chose a multicolored yarn for this and used the knit stitch - 26 stitches for the width and I knitted the length I needed. Here it is-

I also added a button hole and a button so that it can be used as a cowl. In order to make the button hole, bind off three stitches and then used a back ward cast on.This was the simplest method. This video describes it best.

Here is another shot. I love how it turned out

I made this for my friend and cant wait to give it to her. It would be perfect accessory to jazz up a plain blouse or a shirt!

Happy holidays to ya all!

Love,
Aps

Knitting!

Hello there!

I finally learnt to knit! The first thing I attempted was a stole with the basic knit stitch. There are so many helpful videos available on YouTube to help you learn. I followed this Knitting Tutorial for beginners and it was immensely helpful!
Here is my almost finished stole-

I am onto my second one, more of a cowl scarf. I shall share the details later!

Cheers,
Aps

Skirting Issues.

Howdy there!

It has been quite an absence! the same old excuse that I have been extremely buy with work ,but here I am back with a simple fashion redo. I had a dress which did not really work for me. Being a regular follower of NDAD , I decided to do a little refashion! Here is the before:

I removed the top part of the dress and make it into a skirt. So I chopped the top and hemmed the waist of my to-be-skirt. This was rather simple and took me about 15 minutes.

With the remnants of the top of the dress, I decided to jazz up my skirt a bit with what else but rosettes!

Here is a close up of the rosettes -

I didn't have to hem the bottom of the skirt cos it already was from the dress and saved me oodles of time. There it was, my first refashion. I think the skirt turned out cute! Don't you?

Cheers,
Aps

Felt flowers

Today I join the felt bandwagon :) Let us hop on right to the tutorial!
I first cut out 6 circles of felt. All of the same size.

I used the yellows ones for the flower and the maroon one for the base. Fold each of the circles to a quarter and glue/stitch them onto the base.I stitched them since I though that would make the flower more sturdy. Repeat for three others circles and you get this -

Fold the last of the circles also into a quarter and glue/stick it onto the center.

I just stuck them onto a hair clip that I have wrapped with felt and they were good to go!

They turned out real cute and I cant wait to try out more in felt!

 Cheers,
Aps

Easy Peasy Curtains

Hi there!

It was a rather hectic time at work, working weekends and hence the disappearance.
But am back with these curtains I sewed today. I have been on the look out for something summery for my room. I have an unexplainable fondness for block prints and this print did it for me -

It was a double bed sheet that I promptly converted to curtains.
Step 1 - Measure and cut the sheets to the length and width of your windows
Step 2 - Seam the open end of the curtains. Since mine was a bed sheet, I only had to seam the end that I cut.

Step 3 - Check how thick the curtain rod is. Make a fold and ensure that the curtain rod can go into this fold. Here is the length of my fold.

Step 4: Done! Now just put the rod through the fold created in the previous step and hang your curtains.
Here is a close up with the rod through the curtain.

And a shot of them in full glory.. With the window open.

With the drapes shut..

The whole process took me just about half an hour and my room has not felt more summery!

Love,
Aps

Keep pedaling on ...

Here is a first.. I have never really tried my hand at painting and I had this at my house..A plain wooden board..

And I saw this.. I was inspired by this sign from Susie Harris and decided to try my hand at painting the sign on my plank. here is the picture of the original inspiration -

 I loved the color combination in the original sign.. the pink and the teal against the yellow.. So I bought some acrylic paint in those colors. I started out with painting the entire plank yellow. I was not looking for a very even coverage.

Next I printed out a stencil for a bicycle and printed 'Keep pedaling on' in the font and size that I wanted and traced them lightly on to the plank. The yellow has not been captured correctly in this picture.

I then finished painting the cycle first and went on to my words... I enjoyed the whole process! Here is the final reveal -

 It is not perfect in the least bit but I think it turned out pretty! And yes it was a beautiful day outside. Here is another shot -

 Now to hang it in my room and enjoy it :)
Linking this up at The Pinterest Challenge: Summer edition at Young House Love and Bower power Blog

Love,
Aps

Working on ...

Howdie there!
Here is a a little bit of what I was working over the weekend... It is a Pinterest inspiration, more on that once I have completed the project! I will hopefully be able to complete it by Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how soon I can get home from work.

Love,
Aps

Revamped bag

This post is a little about going green and a redo for my mom, being mother's day!
We had this bag lying around at home..

My mom, who teaches English at  high school wanted to use this to carry some of her books and papers.But of course, I could not let her carry it while it still screamed the jeweler's name and address!

I decided to paint vertical stripes on the bag using fabric paint. I used tape to bifurcate the sections to paint.

I let the paint dry and then taped the section already painted, so that I can paint the other color.
Here is how it turned out -

Much better than having her advertising for the jeweler!

Cheers,
Aps

Embroidered Postcard

I had tried my hand at embroidering paper earlier here. I  quite enjoyed it and decided to make more and use them as post cards, following the same technique as earlier, but used chain stitches this time around...

The chain stitch for the stems and some patterned paper for the flowers and I had summer in a post card!
I cut out a piece of plain cardboard and stitched the edges. Now all I need to do is pick an address from Postcrossing and mail it! I am sure it will look great on my wall of Sent Postcards!

Love,
Aps

Sealant Pendant!

Its mod podge time again! To make these you need:

• Any sealant (epoxy compound).. The kind used to fix leaky faucets and stuff. I used M-seal
• Patterned Paper
• Wire to make loop for the pendant
• And of course Mod Podge!

I began by mixing the two parts of the sealant and making circles out of them. I then made a small hole on the top to run my loop through the pendant later. I let them solidify overnight. Here they are from the next morning.

I also cut some circles from my patterned paper.

Now mod podge time! Apply a layer of mod podge over the sealant circles and glue the paper. 
Remember to make  a hole through the paper as well for the loop. 
Once first layer is dry, apply a layer of mod podge on the paper as well and let them dry.. Here they are sun drying themselves with a layer of mod podge:

I them made tiny loops of the wire I had and ran them through the pendants. That's it! They are ready to rock now! Here is the first one I made..

And here are the rest..

Here is another professional shot! 

The possibilities with the patterned papers and the shapes are endless and it can be customized in so many ways! 

Take care,
Aps

Mod podged boxes

This weekend I turned to mod podge to give a couple of old tin boxes a brand new avatar.. These tin boxes belongs to my grandmom. When I saw them lying around unused, I knew I had to rescue them!

I picked bright patterned paper from my stash and my mod podge.Isn't it amazing that this is all you need for a make over??

  

I then applied a layer of mode podge over the tin box and glued my paper over it, smoothing out any air bubbles. Let it dry and then apply another payer on top of the paper. Here are the boxes now!

They turned out pretty good and I can't wait to mod podge more! 

Love,

Aps

Satin rose clips

This is something that my mom taught me as a kid. A real simple way to make stunning satin roses.

Pick about a meter of satin ribbon. Fold it into half to form a V.
Now move one end go over the fold. Repeat with the other side.

Do this about 25 times. These folds will make the petals of the rose.
After this, you will end up with a neat pile of folds. Knot the free ends of the ribbon.


Let go of the stack of fold and you will get something like this...

Just pull one of the ends of the knot to get this..


Wasn't that easy?? Now just run your needle through the the enter to hold the petals in place and cut the extra tape. Here they are after being sewed in place.


I stuck them onto some felt and glued them onto a hair clip. I think they turned out great!

Cheers,
Aps