T-Shirt Infinity Scarf

Last year's Infinity Scarf was all the rage. Check it out here.

 I had friends all over the place that were running to their local fabric store for Jersery Knit to make it!

Now I've got the scarf for you, in less than 30 minutes you could make one too!

 First, Run out to Target and grab a Men's XXL t-shirt (in the color of your choice) and a scissors. 

Let's get started!

 Start by cutting the bottom half of the t-shirt off. From the pits down.

 You won't need the top half 

(Unless you're me, you save it cuz... you just might need it for something someday!)

 You also want to cut the bottom hem off. 

 This part you DO want to keep. We are going to use it later.

 Cut into 1" increments. I have about 16 strips here.

 Cut almost all the way to the end...keeping all the strips together with a 1/2 inch edge.

 Now here comes the fun part. Pull each end of the t-shirt and stretch it a bit. 

You will notice the strips roll-into themselves.

 Take the hem piece and tie all the strands together.

And then cut off any excess.

 This one loves it! And steals in from me often!

 We even think it's cute wearing it long like this.

 Catch ya next time, I'm on my way out to grab some more t-shirts. Christmas is coming!

Painted Drop Cloth Rug

We love the screened in porch in our new house. 

We've been spending a lot of time out there enjoy these beautiful southern temperatures. 

After purchasing new patio furniture and making some new throw pillows 

(I found this fabric on clearance at an outlet store, only $3.50 a yard!) 

I knew I had to find a great rug.

After searching everywhere and finding nothing I like I knew it was time for me to make one. 

I read several tutorials on painted floor cloths and

I decided to test out the technique with an inexpensive drop cloth from Lowe's.

I already owned this stencil from Martha Stewart and I love several of the designs.

My new favorite are these small "sample" size paints. Less than $3.00 at Lowe's. 

I chose a chocolate brown and red. 

And some clear satin polyurethane.

I used my ping-pong table (it was nice to have a large flat elevated surface to work on), and taped my drop cloth 

Men's Necktie Bracelet

I pinned it. Then made it.

After raiding my husband's tie collection (who wears ties anymore?!) 

 I crafted up a couple necktie bracelets in less than an hour with just a few supplies I had on hand.

Of course you'll need to start with a tie. I chose four ties that 

1) I knew Ben wouldn't wear anymore 

2) Something that would be a great compliment to my wardrobe.

In addition to a tie, you'll need something like an empty yogurt container. 

This is to put inside the tie to make the bracelet stiff. 

Grab some needle & thread, a button to match the tie and a metal snap.In order to get the right size for my wrist I did a rough measurement 

by wraping the tie around my wrist. 

For the purpose of this project, we are using the skinny side of the tie. 

Cut the tie to the measured length.

Cut the yogurt container into a strip that will fit inside the skinny side of the tie.
Oh, but save the other side. Maybe we'll figure out something to do with it!

I was able to get four strips out of this one container.

You may need to do a little trimming after you get the whole thing apart.

Insert the plastic strip into the tie.

Hand stitch up the end.

Hand sew on a snap.

And there you have it!

How cute and easy is that?!

Now go raid your husband's closet and see what you can do!

Burlap State Art

I LOVE BURLAP! 

 In celebration of our newest move, I created some art with a silhouette of the states we've lived in.

For this project I used some of my favorite supplies:

• Mod Podge
• Foam Brush
• Burlap
• Canvas (these are 10 x 10)

 I started out by cutting the burlap into a square that was about 3 inches larger than my canvas, 

so 13 x 13.

I painted my Mod Podge all over the front of the canvas.  

I then placed a couple magazines on top to help the burlap to adhere to the canvas.

 With my staple gun in hand, I went to work covering the canvas with the burlap.

The corners were a bit tricky because the burlap is quite thick. 

I worked at it a bit to try and create clean looking edges.

 I didn't worry too much about how the backside looked, just as long as everything in the front was flat.

 I created a stencil with my Silhouette. Vinyl worked well to keep all the states details in place.

Using some black craft painted and my foam brush I painted inside the stencil. 

Making sure to get in all the deep groves.

Using upholstery tacks from Lowes (I used 1 box for each canvas)

 I marked off 4" inches from each corner and pounded the tacks in with a hammer. 

(*a little tip: if you have a rubber mallet, use that instead otherwise put something soft over the face of your hammer so you don't ruin the head of the tack).

 I think the tacks give it a nice complete look.

My new art is so lightweight and the perfect addition to our screened in porch!

 In our 17 years of marriage we've lived in Virginia, Michigan, Ohio and now North Carolina.

We're enjoying it out here, sure wish you could come over and hang out!