Sew Easy Halloween Treat Bags

posted October 27, 2013

Posted by Sheela Cooper

I know that Halloween is less than a week away, but these bags are so easy to sew that there really is time to make them! If you want to make some goody bags for parties or just for fun, these little bags are perfect, and you can even use up some of your scrap stash.

I began with some white scrap fabric – it’s actually the bottom of some Ikea curtains that were cut because they were too long. See, it really does pay to save those scraps! (The material I used is very thin. If I were buying material, I would use basic white muslin. It’s inexpensive and has a nice weight for a bag.) I folded the fabric in half to a width of 6”. I chose to cut the bag 10” long, for a finished size of about 5 ½ ” x 9 ½ ”. But you can make the bag any size you’d like. Because of the fold, I only had to sew two sides to make the bag. I used a straight stitch and a ½” seam allowance.

0 Comments / Filed under Halloween, Halloween bags, treats

Our new line of Vintage Postcard Paintings

posted October 07, 2013

We've just introduced a new line of Vintage Postcard Paintings! The intricate paintings on these vintage postcards are done by artisans from the state of Rajasthan in India. Each painting is individually hand-painted, so no two are exactly alike.

0 Comments / Filed under miniature paintings, vintage postcard paintings, vintage postcards

3 DIY Mirror Frames to Glam Up Your Builder Basic Mirror

posted September 26, 2013

Posted by Sheela Cooper

A mirror’s purpose is to reflect, and the reflection we’re usually most interested in is our own. But shouldn’t your mirror also reflect your sense of style for your home? Many of us spend a lot of time updating and upgrading our builder basic bathrooms to make them as pretty and comfortable as possible, but the mirror is something we often overlook. But a builder basic mirror is typically frameless, which gives it an unfinished look that does not reflect the time and effort that we have put into making our bathrooms beautiful.

There are mirror framing kits that you can purchase, but that can be expensive. Most of us don’t have the luxury of a large budget for mirror framing (especially if you have just invested in fancy new tile and fixtures for your bathrooms!), so I’d like to show you three different DIY options that are budget friendly but make your basic mirror look fantastic.

I have three bathrooms in my home, so I took three different approaches to jazzing up each mirror. Let’s talk about the master bathroom mirror first. I’m still in the process of updating this bathroom, but the bulk of it is done. However, the new paint job was overshadowed by the unfinished mirror, so I wanted to make a frame that was simple, inexpensive, but still followed the design theme of the bathroom and provided it with a more finished appearance. And because it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, I like to devise ways of attaching the frame to the mirror that are not permanent. Liquid Nails is a big commitment!

Here’s my master bath mirror’s new look (sorry, I don’t have a “before” pic):

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Master Bedroom Makeover at Nite Nite Mommy Blog

posted September 16, 2013

Our purple cabinet knobs are looking great on this white nightstand in the master bedroom makeover at Nite Nite Mommy Blog:

Image Source: Nite Nite Mommy Blog

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The Beauty of Mason Jars

posted August 19, 2013

Posted by Sheela Cooper

Mason (or canning) jars are so wonderfully diverse. Their original purpose was for preserving food from your garden, but today, you can use them for a variety of crafty purposes. Here’s just a small sampling of different styles of jars:

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Uncommon Uses for Common Household Items

posted June 07, 2013

Posted by Sheela Cooper

Picture this: You are ironing and putting the finishing touches on the collar of your shirt, but are horrified to see hideous brown streaks on the white fabric, courtesy of the old starch and mineral deposits on your iron’s soleplate. You don’t have time to deal with that shirt now, so you grab another one. But you will still have the same problem if you don’t clean your iron. We all know that cleaning an iron is a tedious process that requires special products, right? But wait – you CAN quickly clean an iron with some things you may already have on hand (and if you don’t, they are easy and inexpensive to buy).

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Ikea RAST Hack: Wood + Faux Zinc Tutorial

posted March 28, 2013

My sister Sheela just did an amazing hack on the Ikea RAST dresser. Here’s the step-by-step tutorial:

Posted by Sheela Cooper:

Perhaps this post should be titled, “The Little RAST that Could.” If you’ve made a few rounds through home décor blogs, you have most likely come across an Ikea RAST dresser hack. It’s amazing how versatile this little $35 pine dresser really is, and even more amazing is the amount of creativity that talented DIYers put into making these dressers unique and upscale.

I decided the RAST would be the perfect size for nightstands in our room, since our existing ones were old and far too low for our pillowtop bed. So with a bit of work, the dressers went from looking like this, to this: