Music Gallery Wall

We have been working on this music themed black and white gallery wall for a while now. It's in my husband's office (he is a musician) and since the space is littered with guitars, amps and a sitar, we went for all rock n' roll pieces. The picture of Iggy Pop was given to me by a friend and my man and I were at the Pavement show (he's getting a beer thrown at him!) and he bought it for me when I had our second kid. I really love how meaningful each piece is in addition to looking great together. The cds really show my age. What do you do with all your old music?

Heart Crispy Treats

I gotta be honest, Valentine's Day is not my favourite. Heart shaped plastic chocolates and enforced declarations of romance are not really my jam. But since having kids I find renewed joy in little traditions or holiday treats and when I look at these things through their eyes it sparks happiness in me, from those same little candies. 

These rice crispy treats could not be easier, you could actually make a batch AT WORK, with only a microwave. And something about those little pastel marshmallows are just so darn cute. 

This recipe is super scalable, really just a ratio of mallows to rice. For a 9 x 11" pan (1" thick) I used 2 cups marshmallows to 3 cups rice crispies. Start with a microwave safe bowl and put 1 1/2 tbsps. butter and about 2 cups mini marshmallows. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Check about halfway through that it's not bubbling over, but you do want your marshmallows to get all weird and puffy looking. The magic is working!

Stir in your rice crispies and here I added about a cup of room temp. marshmallows and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Press it into a pan, using your fingers, you want to be pretty firm and make sure they are good and stuck together. Cover in plastic wrap and stick it in your fridge for about 30 minutes.

From here it's a real choose your own adventure in terms of portion. I got these cute little cutters at the dollarstore and they were perfect for making mom sized and kid sized treats. You can cut them right out of the pan or put the whole slab on a counter. Of course you end up with some little bits of crispy treats so you will probably have to eat those as you go. Sorry, it's the rules.

You can top your treats off with whatever you want but of course I went for the ubiquitous candy hearts. I told you, I'm becoming a real suck. But so cute! Happy Valentine's Day. 

Seat Cushion Slip Cover

This here is one of the practical projects that isn't super romantic on its surface (yay, my seat cushions are now washable!) but it is such an easy, quick way to update your kitchen or dining room I had to share. In my case it is also a bit of a dollarstore hack since I found these cushions at 2$ a piece! I covered them in a vintage, waxed silkscreened fabric I've had kicking around forever but you could really use just about any durable, sturdy cotton, canvas or (next up) denim. You need around double the length of the cushion (back to front) and about 1" added on the width per cushion. You also need hook and loop velcro (I like the sticky kind) and thread that blends with your fabric.

Start by cutting a piece of fabric that is twice the length of your cushion (add an inch or so for seam allowance) and 1" more than the width. Fold over a 1/2" seam on both the short ends of your fabric and straight stitch a hem on the wrong side. Fold your piece in half and sew a 1/2" seam on both sides of your cover making sure to backstitch the start and finish, or it will unravel over time.

If your cushion already has ties (like mine) cut your velcro so it fits between them and stick it in place on both sides of your pocket. You can go ahead and make sure it closes nicely.

After you've made sure it's in the right spot, go ahead and zig zag your velcro in place again making sure to backstitch the start and end of your sewing.

That is it! Go ahead and make slip covers in every fabric, for every season and table setting! I am digging this grandma kitch look right now but I can't wait to try some light denim for spring. 

Rope Basket

                 

I have to warn you. Once you start making rope bowls/baskets/cache pots you will have a hard time stopping. They whip up so quick and much like pottery, no piece is exactly the same. The more you make, the better you will get at controlling what you end up with. If you are using a regular sewing machine (not industrial) you will want to use a width of 1/8-1/4" approx. of cotton or nylon cord (used here), jute or even braided fabric. The possibilities are pretty much endless. You will need 50' of a wider cord to make a small pot, or 100' for a larger diameter pot. Choose a thread of the same (or contrasting!) material and colour. I used green and black on this one so you could see both.

 

Start by rolling up a little snail shell of your cord, keeping the working end on the right hand side. Go back and forth a few times in an x shape with your zig zag over your little snail, making sure to hit every seam. Finish with your needle in the center of the cord on the outer edge of the snail. Direct the seam of the cord to the center of your presser foot and ensure the needle is catching both ropes. Continue around and around adding rope to your spiral. Make sure the rope is unfurled and there is no tension, it goes pretty fast. Hence, the addiction!

At this point you can decide the size of your base. The curvature of the base is determined by the angle you raise up the spiral. You can raise it up slowly for more of a bowl like base, or in this case I brought it up to about 50* for a straighter sided pot. Continue sewing around checking you're hitting both ropes. If you skip some stitches you can just stitch back and pick it up, or sometimes I just get it on the next go round. I kind of like the way it looks when the stitches aren't perfect or even.

You will have to fold your pot sideways at some point if you want very straight sides. 

Once you get to the end of your pot you can cut the rope and then go back and forth on the end until all the rope end is secured. This plastic rope really frays so I hit it like crazy. 

Et voila. You can use your creation for so many things. Baby toys! Cotton balls! Sewing things!

Or of course just find the perfect little plant that needs a cozy new home. 

Happy sewing!