Crafting with Glasses - A Tutorial.

Inspired by the pin from yesterday's post (thank you anonymous crafter!), I made these:

This is how I did it:

First, I popped the lenses out of two pairs of my old and broken glasses. Then I searched around my studio for images that would fit inside them.

Then I cut out the fabric (make sure to leave room around the edges - you can trim it later).

Coat the lens in Mod Podge, lay the fabric down, and coat the back of the fabric to saturate it:

I also cut out this picture from my old Woman's Day magazine.

Pretty Eve, indeed. I also chose an embroidered S and a picket fence:

Then I let those dry and went to pick up Sage at kindergarten. On the way home I stopped by the American Way in Burbank and bought these ugly glasses:


And turned the lenses into a dancing couple, a lemon, a shirt and a strawberry. These are the backs:

I hot glued flat-backed craft pins to the backs of them, then cut tiny holes in the felt for the prongs to fit through, then glued the felt down. I suggest a craft glue or super glue for this, as well as for adhering a decorative cord around the rim. Hot glue is a bitch. Also, this craft is messy. Don't do it on the new ironing board cover you just made and were so proud of, because you will end up getting glue on it and cursing in front of your children.

This was completely unintentional, but I like how these three fit together:

Happy crafting!

edited to add: After a bit of Googling, I found more tutorials for this here and here. I like this craft because every one comes out different.

also edited to add: Thanks to Jenny for featuring this on Craftzine.com! . . . and Jen from indie fixx!. . . and the folks from the HGTV message boards!

Thrift Thursday - As if I needed a new craft.

So, I went to Goodwill the other day just to drop some stuff off. I had no intention of buying anything but when I put my donations on the counter I glanced in the jewelry case and saw something with a bird on a branch. I've got a thing for birds on branches. Also, it had some ladybugs. I like ladybugs too. The lady behind the counter pulled it out and let me hold it. On even further inspection I realized it was totally made by hand:

Using an eyeglass lens! What a great idea! The lady said I could have it for half price since I brought stuff in. I think $2.50 is great deal for a handmade one-of-a-kind, so I bought it. Plus, it inspired me to come home and bust apart my old broken glasses and make some of my own. They're drying right now. I'll show you tomorrow.

Walk with me Wednesday

I don't know about Retro Wednesdays anymore. I don't think anyone likes them. I find them pretty damn funny, obviously, because I acquire these weird books and display them on my shelves and occasionally flip through them and make fun of them in my head, but maybe that's where they should stay. It's a lot of work photographing and uploading all those pictures and sometimes in the midst of it I wonder, Why are you doing this, KB? You should just quit now and find something more productive to amuse yourself. NO ONE CARES about your stupid little ramblings. They hate your sewing projects too. AND your obnoxious adorable children. In fact, everyone in cyberspace got together in a chat room and decided that YOU ARE A BIG LOSER and your blog sucks and your "business" is a joke and you should just DELETE everything you've ever done and GIVE UP.

But then I stop and tell myself, SELF! Shut up. Stop being so mean to me. I rock. You rock. We rock. Now, let's step away from the computer and go for walk.

Studio Tuesday - New life for an old thing.

Some of you may have been following the wardrobe saga (parts one and two). Well here, ladies and gentleman, is the end result. I spent two weeks working on it when I could - sanding, puttying, screwing and unscrewing, priming and painting. I probably could have put together 3 Ikea wardrobes in that time, but they still wouldn't have been as nice as this one. There's something very gratifying in restoring a piece of furniture.

I even painted the inside:

and covered the doors and drawers with contact paper.


The top seemed like a nice place to display my vintage luggage (filled with vintage needlepoint and embroidery pieces, quilt tops, etc.)

The cubby became my kokoleo office and now houses all my business info, tags, mailing labels, etc. The drawer below it is the packaging station full of envelopes, tissue paper, stationary, etc.

There's this odd square supporting a little shelf in the cubby. I hired this guy to oversee the place:

Drawer #2 holds a bunch of ladies shirts to be altered or embellished and the drawer below it holds toddler shirts. Surprisingly, these deep narrow drawers hold way more than the wide and shallow dresser drawers I had before.

The bottom drawer holds the miscellaneous - purse parts, tools, hats, bags, etc.

The closet:

There. Now I can move on. Mission accomplished. Wardrobe acquired. One little aspect of my life is organized. Hmmm, what should I obsess over next?

Made by Memorial Day

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I think I have creative A.D.D. I have hundreds of projects on my mental To Do list and a pile of projects-in-progress on my ironing board. Still, some nights I randomly whip up a bunch of stuff I wasn't even planning on making. I keep thinking I need to simplify, focus on one or two items and just do those to carve out a crafty niche for kokoleo, but I always end up working on random projects that look very different from the projects before them. The truth is, though, I like making lots of different things. I never know what I'll end up with at the end of the week. Case in point, last week I was on a skirt and purse kick. This week I ended up with these:

Size 12 months.Size 2T. Each set also has a matching long sleeved shirt:

So kids can choose their flavor. After that fabric ran out, I revisited the deer:

Size 12 months.

Size 24 months.

The image is from a photograph taken by my friend Carolyn in her backyard. I think I finally have the transfer process down pat so that the image stays vibrant after multiple washings.

Size 18-24 months.

Size 12-18 months. I think I'm going to keep that outfit for my own little doe-eyed girl. I made another one though.

I had some scraps left over from other projects, so I made these:

Size 2T. (That was actually supposed to be a cupcake shirt but the cupcake went awry so I covered it with Smokey's head. The screwup then became a happy accident.)

Size 4T. I'd make more of these but I don't have the heart to decapitate any more Raggedy Anns on purpose.

My big project this week though was my wardrobe. It's finished! And now stuffed full of kokoleo. Stay tuned for Studio Tuesday to see pictures.

Thrift Thursday - Me and my stylin' sandals.

Check out these awesome shoes I got yesterday:

As I was driving home I was all happy thinking about my cool new shoes. They're everything I love in a sandal - wooden wedge heel, tooled and painted leather, never worn, and they fit me perfectly. And only $4.99! I was so proud of my thrifty stylin' self.

Jealous?




Don't be. I put them on when I got home, walked 3 steps across the room, and this happened:

I stood there for a second and thought, Why is my foot no longer in that shoe I just put on?And then looked down and saw this. Oh well, I'll just chalk it up as my weekly donation to Goodwill. Maybe that $5 will help to clothe someone in need, hopefully in better shoes than these.

Studio Tuesday - The Clocktower

I got this tower at Target because it fit perfectly in this little space by the door. I even built it myself and screwed it to the wall. It makes a good bookcase/storage unit. The clock on top came from Ikea's clearance section ($10!). I like how it makes the whole unit look like a funky grandfather clock.

The cabinet hides a bunch of random whatnots:

Closeup of the shelves:

That "Musical Machine" plays the most annoying music ever. Naturally, Sage loves it. I haven't actually figured out how to thread it but he doesn't care. He likes to"make Braille" and watch the needle punch holes in paper.

That tin holds all my embroidery floss. I'm telling you this so I will remember it. I put them all in there a while ago and then when I needed some I completely forgot where I put them. I searched forever, gave up, and then found them days later. They're hidden in plain view.

That little pitcher is the perfect water dispenser for my iron. It holds the right amount and looks pretty too, unlike an unsightly water bottle which I'd been using for years.

I didn't even realize that the clock opened up until I got it home. The wooden boxes hold my kokoleo clothing labels and the tins hold special buttons.

Now, next time I forget where any of these things are, I'll just come read this blog.