Craz-tastic Adventures

The Spinach House

2012-01-08T11:41:00.007-06:00

This past spring/summer Eric and I had a garden where we grew spinach. WOW. Freshly grown spinach is amazing. It makes you never want to buy spinach from the store. So, in order for us to eat it FRESH all year round I decided to make a little indoor garden. I bought this thing at St. Vinney's for cheap ($5 maybe?) I liked the idea that it could have shelves and that it had doors so that our naughty kitty, Becker, won't go in there and dig around (and perhaps use it as a litter box, as he likes to do with all our other plants).

My intention was to put a shelf in here along with a grow light and have a mini greenhouse. Well, I first repainted and cleaned the nasty dirty glass. Then I fastened a grow light (18" from Walmart, the fixture was $7.98 and the bulb was another $8) and then put a shallow tray of dirt and seeds in there. Well, nothing happened. Eric insisted that it was because the seeds needed to be much closer to the light. So, we put in some boxes to lift it up. The seedlings were still reaching. So, we put in more boxes. I also noticed that when we opened the glass doors it seemed like a friggin' sauna in there and the soil always remained damp. Eric's mom then told us that spinach doesn't like to grow in warm/hot weather. So, I moved the "garden" along a wall so there isn't any sunlight coming in to warm the interior. That helped a lot. Just yesterday I put in brackets and cut a shelf so we can have a layer of seedlings starting on top and then another light fastened to the bottom of that shelf to grow already started seedlings into maturity. Let's see how my plan works. If this doesn't seem to work well I know I need to move it all to the basement where it doesn't get much warmer than 50 degrees or so (that's what Linda said was ideal). But, I hate to do that because I like how we've put other plants on top of it. Oh well, I'll do what we have to do!

Navy Show Jacket

2011-08-02T12:59:00.002-05:00

I decided that my light blue show jacket is too long to ride in, so I quick whipped up this little hottie. I think I made it a bit too short, but it will be fine if I put a tank top underneath... in fact, you'll never know.

Project Complete- China Hutch

2011-06-24T12:25:00.009-05:00

Here she is, folks. Doesn't it look so much nicer than the "before"?!

So, you can see where I put it, in the dining room where the liquor cabinet was. "Oh yeah, the liquor cabinet. Where did that go?", you ask. Well, it went here- right where the chair WAS.
That guy's going to the basement to get reupholstered because the cats sheared the arms with their claws. They must not have realized that it wasn't a fancy scratching post :(

Make Way for the China Hutch

2011-06-21T20:58:00.003-05:00

A few days ago I found a china hutch on Craigslist for $10 and thought it had good bones. Before getting my hopes up I checked with the owner to see if the piece was made of real wood. To that question I was told that it's probably too light to be wood, but he wasn't sure what it was.... So, with hopes of getting a decent piece to work with, we went and picked it up. Surprise: there isn't a spot of real wood on the thing. Anyway, we took it home in hopes of working a little magic on it. As you can see, there were scratches

We went to Home Depot and got some spray cans of paint and quickly got home to work on it. We tried to sand the "wood" (I mean, plastic, fake wood) so we had a smooth surface to work with. That worked out okay, but we were worried about the little spots of gunky goo on it, so we gave the thing a bath in Goo Be Gone. We really tried to make sure this wouldn't come back to haunt us. We painted it, but some parts still bubbled up. Oh well. I sanded them down tonight and sprayed what I hope is the last coat of paint. Then all we have to do is put the handles back on the sliding doors for the bottom cabinet and install the sliding glass doors. I can't wait to see what it will look like in the house with our CHINA in it! Here's a sneak peak at it with primer...what color(s) do you think we went with for the final version?
Now, the question you might ask is, "Where on earth are you going to put that hutch, Carrie? You don't have any blank wallspace". Ahh, you're right. If you know my house, I have 2 fish tanks, both of which get algae build-up really quickly because of our skylights and windows. Well, I found a place to move the fish tank that was in the dining room to a new location. What do you think?

WAS: Dresser NOW: TV Stand

2011-05-24T12:24:00.009-05:00

I bought this dresser at St. Vinney's on Willy St. back in March because I had a vision to make it a TV stand. The tag had it priced at $35.50, but when I checked out I found out there was a sale on the furniture so it came to something like $30. Then, as I was leaving the guys who helped me load it into my car noticed that there was a nice big mirror that came along with it. I gladly took that home, too, because big mirrors (with nice wood trim) aren't cheap! Anyway, the dresser came with legs but I didn't use them (which means I have some cool legs that I can use for another project in the future!) You can't tell but there were a ton of scratches on the dresser when I first got it.

I wish I had better tools to use for cutting through the wood, but I made do with what I have. I'm really proud of the turnout. Plus, it looks great in our house and it matches all of our wood.

Here is a shot that shows how the middle drawers have the fronts that pop open so you can access the media players. As you can see, I cut the fronts of the drawers off and put a piano hinge on the bottom so they flip down. Then I put a clasp on the top of each drawer so that they snap into place and aren't just able to open up at any time.

Modification of Siri's Blanket

2010-12-28T13:16:00.004-06:00

My little girl is getting big. Her large foal sized blanket is too small and she's already fitting into a big pony sized blanket. I found an unused blanket on Craigslist for only $35, which is an amazing price because I've seen them new for $150+. The only downside to this blanket is that it was really big in the chest (because it's meant to fit a mature pony). I cut open the closed front, sewed strips of red jersey fabric onto the ends and then sewed strips of velcro across the chest. I'm happy with the way it fits her, and I'm also happy with the way it will be able to fit her for awhile because it's adjustable now.

The Showmanship Jacket

2010-12-05T21:12:00.003-06:00

Here is the show jacket that I started last year with the pattern I received as a Christmas gift from my cousin last year. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out, though I can't believe it took me as long as it did to finish. That being said, it never saw its debut into the show world yet...hopefully it will for 2011. Wish me luck on that! (Oh, and wish me luck on starting/finishing the matching show pants!)

Comforter/Duvet

2010-10-16T20:19:00.004-05:00

I was browsing through an ad from Joann Fabrics a month or so ago and came across the most beautiful comforter I've ever seen. I dragged Eric to several local Joann Fabrics trying to find this pattern and was elated to find that it was just as beautiful in person as it was in the ad. Beautiful? Yes. Cheap? HELL NO. Very expensive. But, worth it. Later I found clearance fabric for the backing, which was a relief because this project was already getting mighty expensive.

After pricing it all out I decided that it would be easier for me if I just made this a duvet so that I wouldn't have to get batting, etc. for it. I went to Goodwill in hopes of stumbling across a really cheap (but warm and fluffy) comforter that I could use but wasn't successful. In the end ended up using a comforter that I had stashed in the closet, which was ever more cheap than I had originally planned!

What do you think?

And here's my own design for the duvet. I sewed in velcro across the entire width of the bottom end of the duvet so I can easily take the comforter out. This is what it looks like:

Kitty "eat and sleep"

2010-10-16T20:00:00.006-05:00

It all started when I saw something on Design*Sponge (one of my favorite blogs EVA) a while back where someone reformed an older piece of furniture and made it into little kitty heaven. This Kitty Heaven included a kitty food station on one level and a little nook where they could take a cat-nap. Ever since then I've been looking for a piece of furniture to do that same thing but it's been near impossible. Oh, and I needed it to be kind of small and inconspicuous.

Well, here's what I got!I saw this cute little wood thing at Goodwill for $1.99 and couldn't resist.

Super cute, right? I sanded the top and painted it because it was in rough shape. Then I made a little pillow and stuck 'er inside there. There's one glitch, though- the cats wouldn't go in it. So then I swung it around so the kitties wouldn't feel so crowded in there. It now looks like this:

Guess what- they still won't go in :( Not even katnip will lure them in. I'm not giving up now, though, I'm determined to figure out how to get them to live in there. It's just too dang cute to give up on!

Beginnings of THE SHOW JACKET

2010-03-08T08:16:00.003-06:00

Here it is, what I think is going to be "the show jacket". Since this picture I've put darts on both sides and added on a slight amount of embellishments which I will show later- once I've finished putting on a few extras. Anyway, this one fits me like a charm and I'm extremely excited about it. The best part is, I've got enough leftover fabric that I'm pretty sure I can make a matching pair of pants. Of course I'm going to make a test pair first (who knows how horrible they will turn out!) and then I'll try for the real pair. Anyway, enjoy the "in-process" pictures!

The Jacket Filled with Mistakes

2010-01-25T20:23:00.000-06:00

Here's the jacket! Boy am I glad I made a cheap first-try on this as it is filled with mistakes! Does it look nice? Yes. Is it wearable? Yes. By me? No. (boo hoo). I guess I tried too hard to be Miss Tailor because I made my arms a smaller size than my body/bust...which fit together alright, but because the jacket turned out to be too big for me in the body I will have to find someone to fit the jacket that has a little bigger body than I do, but skinny arms! Oh well. What do you think?
Though you can't see them, I made several mistakes. My biggest mistake (and ultimately the most embarrasing) is the zipper. I stitched the one side of the zipper onto the jacket. I was happy with my results. Then I went to open the zipper and stitch the other side...only to find out...that IT DOESN'T SEPARATE! It's one of those that are fixed on the bottom (I'm SO embarrased!) So, if you want to wear this jacket, you will have to slip the entire thing over your head, somehow get your arms in it, and THEN zip it up! Oh well, no one will know that's the case unless you tell them, right? I'm just hoping that it will fit my Mom so that someone can at least wear it. It's really a nice looking jacket, and the mistakes I made haven't ruined the project from doing its purpose. So, it's fine, really.

My Metallic Body

2010-01-21T20:31:00.000-06:00

Look what Eric helped me do! :) Isn't it great?

What is it, you ask? Well, it's a bodyform, of course! First, I took a few plastic bags and covered myself with them. Then I had Eric wrap me up in duct tape. Then he cut up the back of the "corset" and I slipped out. Then I patched over the neck, the bottom and the arms and then fully stuffed the body with stuffing and leftover fabric scraps. One minor thing, though. I've got to restuff the bust! My boobs are a little empty. Oh well, I'll cut holes in there and then stuff them more.

This all leads me to the reason why I did this in the first place: I'm going to make myself a horsemanship jacket! This last weekend we went to JoAnn's and I bought some fabric at half-off prices to do my trial run. I like the fabric so if it turns out to look nice I'll have a spare. If not, I'm only out $6.75!!!!

My Velvet Couch

2009-11-01T14:01:00.001-06:00

I got a couch from a friend that was made entirely out of plaid silk. Though the silk was kind of pretty, the couch stunk like dogs. So, we took it home and stripped it down. I was inspired by a red velvet couch that we saw at the Orpheum downtown. It makes the couch extra comfy!

Before:

And After:

This is a close-up of the backside corner. I was so proud of how this turned out. I bought these decorative knots and pinned them on.

Mom's Christmas Chair (2006)

2009-11-01T13:57:00.000-06:00

Without my mom knowing, I snagged my grandma and

grandpa's old orange and white striped chair from my

mother's living room and reupholstered it for her Christmas

present. I think it looks fantastic.

My Most Professional-Looking Chair

2006-03-23T22:26:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this piece I bought at St. Vinney's for $25 (on SALE for $25, what a deal!) and I got the fabric at (WHERE ELSE?!) JoAnn Fabrics. (Thanks to Sarah, I will be able to afford a few more projects from JoAnn's! Happy Birthday to ME!) Anyway, this project I am most excited about. I ran out of the main fabric so I ran to JoAnn's and got a red remnant piece that I hoped would work out. I think it turned out well. I'm hoping all my future projects will turn out this nicely!

Third Chair 2.2006

2006-03-23T22:19:00.000-06:00

I admit, I find chairs to be one of the most interesting and beautiful peices of furniture. I found this chair at Treasure Mart in Monona for something like $35 or so. (I really can't believe I paid more than $50). Anyway, my husband Eric showed my mom the chair and her first reaction was "Wow, Carrie will try ANYTHING." True, I will.... You only live once!

This one I worked on with my husband. He is really good at refinishing wood projects whereas I don't quite have the patience. He sanded this piece down and then repainted it. If you ask me, I think it looks great! Fortunatley, we are a great team!

End of 2004

2006-03-23T22:08:00.000-06:00

I found these chairs at a garage sale one morning on my way to my parent's house on a Saturday morning. I found them for $10 each, can you believe it?! As you can see, the back of this project is made of a completely different fabric, that is because I ran out of the striped remnant so I had to find something else to finish the back. Fortunately it turned out to be very nice!

The final touch was a ribbon-like border that I nailed in. It was my first project with a tack-hammer and nails, but it turned out nicely! This was also my first project with a pneumatic nail gun. That has to be the best tool ever invented for reupholstery! Oh, and even though I had no hand in the creation, or recreation, of Dan, he is being featured in this blog as well.

First Project, 2003

2006-03-23T22:03:00.000-06:00

This was my first attempt at upholstering...don't look too hard cuz there are a few mistakes! I bought this chair at a garage sale and had it sit in my house during college until the end of the year. Finally, I knew it was time to get started. I usually have a hard time figuring out what fabric to use, but I found this at JoAnn's and fell in love. I made matching pillows for our couches so it ties in the whole room.