Summer Starfish Door Decor

I don't want to step on anyone's toes here because I can tell

LOTS of people like wreaths.

I am not a big fan of wreaths although I do use them occasionally.

Maybe I got sick of them during the wreath craze of the 1980's.

I used this one on my door this Spring.

 I like it because of several reasons.....

 it was made for me by my husband who yanked vines down when he went hunting many years ago, twisted them up and presented me with several heavy thick, cool looking wreaths,

and because it's not round. 

So, it's interesting!

Remember Eclectically Vintage's umbrella? LOVE!

Anyway, yesterday I did show you my copycat vintage lifering

and today I did this....

Here's how it works.

Now this is not an exact science here, and you get the benefit of my 

learning experience!

I started with this

You can buy this heavy vinyl by the yard at some fabric shops

but

I was in Wal-Mart, there it was, so I bought it.

It was $9.99.

I have some other ideas for it so I didn't mind buying the big piece.

I cut out a big starfish shape

(really a big star with rounded tips)

out of some brown paper first in case it was too small, too big, uneven....

you know, all the stuff that can go wrong....

I traced it onto the plastic and cut it out.

Double the plastic...you need two...

Next, you'll sew them together but 

before sewing the two together, cut a slit in one of them 

so you can put your stuff in after they're sewn together.

Don't panic if you forget, do it afterwards, it just might not be as neat but it will still work.

OK, ready to fill 'er up?

Gather your supplies.

I used, sand, starfish, shells and brown grassy stuff.

I've had it for years so I don't really know what it is but you can use the gray

Spanish moss too.

 I think that would look just fine.

I learned, after I filled and emptied the whole thing...

that you need to use some hot glue to secure your shells, etc where you want them.

Put the glue on the shell and slide it in carefully, attaching it to the front piece.

If you don't do this, when you put the sand in, it covers your item up and you can't see it.

Gluing it to the front piece keeps it showing better.

As I said, this is not an exact science so you just have to fiddle around with it.

I will tell you that the sand is heavy and using the Spanish moss to fill in the points and elsewhere helps hold things in place and reduce the weight.

I think it would be pretty filled with just shells and moss too...be creative!

I'll try and explain this as best as I can....

You've glued the pieces in, added some Spanish moss and added some sand.

Hold it up and see how it looks. 

If your pieces seem to be staying where you want them, then lay it on it's face,

 fill in the top point with moss and sand and then stuff the back firmly with wads of moss.

Put some clear packing tape over the slit, flip it over and take a look.

Hold it up by the top point and see if you can keep everything in place.

If the sand starts going all to the bottom, then you need more packing 

to hold things where you want them.

Turn it back over, take off the tape and do whatever you need to do.

I hope that helps!

When you have it the way you want make a hole at the top with scissors

Take a loop of rope, tie a knot and push the loop through the hole,

 leaving the ends hanging on the front.

I couldn't find my deckle edge scissors this morning,

 but I will and I'll trim the bit of marker you see off with those....

so you do that.

Separate the ends of the rope to make a tassel effect.

Done!

Here are some more shots....

Here it is hanging from an iron hook next to the front door.

And on the door.....

It's different....I like that......

Do you?

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America Tablecloth Pillow

Wow! Summer sure has made a difference in how early I post!

I need to get a post or two ahead or pretty soon I'll be a 

whole day behind.....!

You know I like to make things from tablecloths, shower curtains, pretty much anything made of fabric is fair game for me!

I was lucky enough to come across this America tablecloth a few months ago.

I planned on doing something with it for Memorial Day. 

Then there was Flag Day. 

Now it's 4th of July.

I was determined to not have to save it for Veteran's Day...

which is in February for goodness sake!

So here are the two large pillows I made.

In the interest of saving fabric, I used red and white ticking 

for the back side.

I still have enough fabric left over for a couple more projects!

I plan to take some of the "America" strips to put on some tea towels.
It coordinates nicely with the little Americana footstool I made recently

I've been neglecting my sewing lately and have piles of fabric to use up!

Maybe Summertime will be a good sewing time for me!

I especially love it against the green porch swing...

Don't you?




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USS America

Here's a fun  Summer project to go with a beachy or lakeside decor.
 I saw this in the new issue of
 Country Living magazine

 I thought ...
"gee, that would make a cute door decoration for summer".
I'm nothing if not crazy ambitious!

I've seen antique liferings, ring buoys, or kisby rings in antique stores before.

I never bought one because there were usually too many dishes, linens, old spools,
antique books and many other things claiming my attention.
OK game on!
After mulling it over for a day...I finally figured out my plan of attack.
 This is not a difficult project but there is lots of glue drying time needed
so
go to the beach, have a glass of iced tea, swim in the pool, or swing in a hammock
in between gluing sessions...see, perfect for summer!
I started with a 16" flat foam ring...
Now, you're not saving anything but a munchkin with this thing 
but it's only a decoration.
I mean I can barely get one thigh through the opening...
too much blogging I guess
but
If you want to get all literal on me, go get a bigger one.
here's the deal..... I was in WalMart, it was 8 am
(because I had just dropped a kid off for camp at 7:30)
and 
I didn't feel like waiting until Michael's opened
..so 16" it was
The round one won't look right so try and find this flat foam type.

I told you I was a lazy decorator/crafter.....
I picked up some fleece stuff...use anything that will work...
because I wanted to wrap strips around this ring to soften the edges and make it look all
liferingy 
I just used scotch tape to hold all the ends together. The strips were about 3-4" wide.


Then, I cut a circle from a drop cloth. 
Trace the ring onto the circle...you won't see it and then add about 6-8"to that. 

Cut it out. Center the ring on the cloth and cut a small hole in the center...about 1" is all.
 Then cut pie wedges all along the small circle....
keep the ring on the circle so you don't cut too far...
but don't get all paranoid because we'll cover it later.


I used a  real drop cloth...like I mean it has paint on it and stuff....
so this is the time to use one if you have it 
and save your nice drop cloth for cute pillows and drapes.
Get the modpodge out and glue the pointy things to the ring...
pull taut and hold them in place with pins.
try and get the inside of the ring nice and smooth.
Then, start gluing the sides. Use a generous amount of glue just along the sides 
and just over the edge of the ring. 

You want the glue to seep into the fabric a bit because it makes it easier to smooth out the wrinkles. 
Hmmm....I'm using modpodge on my face tonight...I'll let you know how it works...
Anyway......
Pull up the sides in sections, trying to get them as smooth as possible. 
Don't worry about what is now the back of your ring...we'll handle that later.
Once you have it all glued in place and held with pins, 
slap on more modpodge over the sides and front. 
This will stiffen the fabric, shrink it just a bit and let you smooth out wrinkles.
Let it dry completely....I left mine for a few hours.


After you've had your iced tea, check if it's secure, remove the pins 
and trim off the excess. See the points showing?

This next part isn't hard to do, just hard to visualize maybe.
We need to cover the area that isn't covered where we cut the 
pointy things and smoothly cover the inner part of the ring.
Cut a wide strip of canvas which is long enough to 
curve around the inside of the ring.
Cut it wide enough to cover the gaps left on the front where you cut the 
pointy things 
and go through the center hole and wrap to the back and cover the trimmed edge.
You're trying to create a smooth look from the front, through the hole and to the back.
I know it's hard. Look at the pics and think hard.

We're looking at the front of the ring now. 

The excess part of the long strip is just bunched in the center 

and the important edge is glued around the ring to cover the part left exposed by cutting the 

pointy things

Let that dry really well while you're at the beach

Now, once again 

because covering a curved round thing 

is not easy with non stretchy fabric,

you have to clip the excess edge of the strip so that it can stretch through the hole 

and around to the back smoothly.

More gluing and pinning

Fill in the gaps with canvas bits

Once it's all secured with pins....slap on more modpodge and smooth 

all the edges with your fingers.

Real liferings were made of canvas covered cork 

so we're trying for an authentic look here!

I'm guessing they were sewn by machine as well as hand 

and then shrunk tightly against the cork.

The modpodge will tighten the fabric as it dries so we'll get a similar look.

This takes awhile to dry but don't use less modpodge, it's important to get a smooth look.

Go have a cookout......

Now comes the fun decorative part!

Pick a color and spray the ring. Two coats.

Add your choice of name

Sand the ring to distress

Make some canvas strips to hold the rope

3" wide when finished and long enough to go around generously...

you can always cut off the excess.

I used the edge of the drop cloth for one end 

so I didn't have to hem it. 

I left the other end unfinished and just trimmed it off when I was done.

I folded the long sides over and did a double row of stitching.

Put the strips around the ring and hot glue them together. 

Sandwich the rope in between the two ends and then trim off the unfinished one.

Adjust the rope how you want it around the edge as you go along.

Hide the two cut ends inside one of the strips.

I used some spray walnut ink to make it look old.

And stuck some flags in for good measure!!

Happy 4th of July (almost)

Looks pretty against the blue door

doesn't it?

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Announcing: Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint!!

I have two ...yes that's TWO big announcements this week but you only get one today!

I have to create SOME excitement don't I?

You ALL know this talented lady

Marian, from Miss Mustard Seed

She has created a new line of paints for us to use on furniture...

and I imagine anything else our devious little minds can come up with!

Now that's not news to most of you.....ho hum....

But, the BIG news for me is that

 I.....

Me.....

MISS FLIBBERTIGIBBET

is going to be a vendor for this fabulous paint!!!!

Yay for ME!!

Hip Hip Hooray!

For She's A Jolly Good Flibbertigibbet!!

You will be able to purchase the paint online, here from me! 

Shipped directly to your own front door!

No scraping off the grunge and trying to quickly brush your hair so you can make

 YET ANOTHER trek to buy more paint! 

You can have it already in your very own little paint closet...just waiting!

If you happen to be at my shop in the Lightfoot Antique Mall in Williamsburg Virginia

you can buy it there too!

The colors are wonderful and the prices are reasonable.

Miss Mustard Seed is going to have free YouTube videos to help you learn to use this new paint.....

and.....those of us who are vendors can also teach classes on using the paint!

Now before you start asking about buying the paint....we don't have it yet.....

it's coming though...this summer!!!

Just in time for Fall painting projects!!!

I am anxiously awaiting my little sample box so I can show you a project with the paint!

hurry, hurry hurry......

Are you excited yet?

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Hymn Table

I've been working on another table over the past few days...

totally different from the beachy one I did the other day.

I've named this one the  Hymn Table..

Did I ever tell you I used to sing?

A lot.

Solos, duos, trios, quartets....pick a number.

I guess I sang for maybe 25 years or more.

I traded room stenciling, carpentry and floor tiling for voice lessons too.

I loved to sing.

I don't sing anymore.

But I did the past few days and it was such a wonderful feeling!

Here is the table I'm working on

It's very pretty but very old fashioned

It has this nice lyre base

And it was in almost perfect condition

except for this

So, then the inner talking 

(or out loud talking....that's a whole 'nother post)

Begins

What does this table want to look like?

Strip the veneer?.....please say no

Repair the corner?.......better idea

It's a musical table........decoupage! YES!

I gave it a light sanding

and started placing some torn music pages using spray glue

I let them hang over the edge

Then trimmed them with a razor knife

I've struggled to keep my spirits up lately what with lots of commitments, defiant teenagers, 

too many jobs staring me in the face, hot flashes, lack of sleep....etc.

But that morning, as I chose the hymns I wanted to use, 

I found myself singing through each one!

Years of singing in a traditional church choir resulted in memorizing MANY hymns.

They all came back to me this morning 

and I found myself feeling so much better than I had in weeks!

Maybe this table should be called the Blessing Table!

Because I was blessed as I worked on it.

Once all the paper was attached, I sanded with a downward motion

(so as not to lift any of the edges)

to soften the edge a bit....like this

Then, several light coats of mod podge

As you see....I haven't even painted it yet.

I had to get the hymns on first so the table could speak to me again.

I only have one can of chalk paint left....Paris Gray.

I decided to try it and see how it looked...it can always be changed.

But I liked it!

I decided to leave some of the original wood showing along the edge.

I distressed it...

And then decided that the music pages were too strong.

So I gave them 3 coats of very thinned gesso to soften the effect.

Now the top and the bottom seemed to blend much better

I haven't finished waxing the base yet but I'm using clear wax.

The top has a couple coats of a matte clear finish but will get some more.

Decoupaged surfaces need good protection from dampness so I like to do

many coats with some light sanding between until I have a very smooth

protected surface.

It fits beautifully between these two chairs in front of my bookcase!

And the before and after

What do you think?

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Jennifer Rizzo

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