Shoe Makeovers Overload

I have been in the mood for Spring cleaning lately. I went through cubbies, drawers and closets to down size and organize. It is surprising to know how much you can accumulate over the years. I was doing pretty well and making progress thoughout the house, then, as I was cleaning my closet I hit road blocks. Can you guess what they were??

My Shoes. I mean several of them.

Those are the shoes that I no longer wear; they are still in good condition but with scuff marks and such. I thought about putting them all into the "Donate" bag, then one of my shoulder angels (I don't know if it was the good one or the bad one) whispered "paint them, it will be so fun". Grr... yes, I agree, it will be SO fun. That's what I have ended up doing. Here are the Before pictures of them.

See the potential? So let's see the before & after...

*Before* (black mary jane with kitty heel)

*After* (I loved the shape of these shoes, I just wanted to give a facelift with a subtle unusual color.)

*Before* (Brown square toe Shoes with belt) --- I have sentimental attachment to these shoes. This was the very first "heel" I bought after I got my prosthetic leg with an adjustment ability in the ankle. The highest heels I can wear are about 1 1/2".

*After* (The tip of the shoes were pretty scuffed up. I decided to paint the whole thing except the belt. I love the two tone look)

*Before* (Dark brown flat with gathered front and ankle strap)

*After* (I love everything about these shoes except I wanted to paint them with more of an unusual color)

and the final shoes... these is my most favorite and I had the most fun painting them. So, here they are:

*Before* (Red mary jane with kitty heel)

*After* (Coming up with a floral design is so much fun!)

I have several ideas for painting shoes in my sketch book. I think it will be fun to do something more modern and non flowery next time. what do you think?? If you have shoes in your closet you no longer wear, painting them might be the way to get you a customized new pair of shoes without spending a fortune. :)

Anthro inspired ~ Canvas Flower Wall Art

I did a guest post at Flamingo Toes a few weeks ago with this project. I am posting the whole tutorial on my blog today in case you missed it.

You might have noticed by looking at my blog... I have many interests; You know what that means? I have lots and lots of things in my studio; fabrics, laces, ribbons, papers, beads... etc. you name it. I do not like to waste things and have a hard time parting with beautiful items that I think can be incorporated into future projects. If you are like me and keep tiny pieces of fabrics, this might be the perfect project for you!

A long time ago, I saw this on the Anthropology website and I fell in love with it...

Because of the cost ($88 a pillow? No way!) I never purchased it, but this was on my list of "things to make".

When I was asked to join Scrap Busting Extravaganza, the pillow came to my mind, but then... I thought "hey, what if I make wall art instead!" So, that is what I am going to share with you today.

{You will need} 24" x 24" canvas Fabric scraps Thin fusible interfacing (1 yard+) Mod Podge Sponge brush Scissors, pencil

{How to}

1. Lay down the fusible interfacing on the ironing board fusible side up. Lay out the fabric scraps wrong side down on top of the interfacing. Place them close to minimize the gap between the scraps. This way when you are pressing it with the iron, the sticky thing doesn't ruin your iron. There are a couple reasons to do this step; stiffing the fabric, so they become easier to cut into shapes and also to prevent the edges from fraying.

2. Cut a circle for the center of the flower. Mine is about 3" in diameter.

3. Cut fabrics for second layer and third layer. I found that it is easier to cut several petals then paste them with Mod Podge. There are 1/8" to 1/4" space between each petals.

4. The trick to have nicely curved edges to fit with the previous petal is to trace the edge lightly with pencil...

Then cut! When you lay down the fabric on top of the previous one, you can feel a slight bump. just lightly trace it. See, what I mean? Repeat the process to make the flower to your desired size.

5. Now, you are ready to seal it. For this step, I recommend to use a wider sponge brush. Apply generous amount of Mod Podge and spread it all over the canvas. You want minimal contact with the petals and brush so you don't start fraying the edges.

6. It looks a little "milky", but don't worry it will dry clear.

Once it is dry, time to display!

I love how it turned out! I walked around my house to see possible placement of this new wall art. I haven't decided exactly where, but I will show you a few candidates...

On my mantle?

On my cabinet in the formal living room?

Or by the window in the family room?

The last few weeks, it was on my living room wall, but now I moved it to my newly painted laundry room. I had a couple different things for the wall in mind and I asked my kids which one they liked. They love the vibe this wall art gives to the room.

Rug Pad Corner Review!

My formal (well, not so formal) living room ... I want to talk about something in this picture today. Can you guess what it is???

I had a chance to review a couple rug pads from Rug Pad Corner. This review offer couldn't come at a better time than this; I had a couple rugs that are on my hard wood floor and they kept sliding. I was going to go to the store and buy rug pads that week!

I went to their web site to do some research, here is what I found out:

The founder and CEO Sam Kaoud worked at his father's oriental rug store as a part time job when he was a student. After that it became his full time job and passion! He saw too many rug pads in customers' homes actually sticking to the floor. After he did his research, he found out that mose of the rug pads contain inferior quality materials, commonly adhesives and chemicals.

He saw the need for genuine quality rug pads that would actually do what they are supposed to do. He states:

"I visited the mills, told them what materials to use and which not to use…told them I did not want any glue or adhesives at all…told them that the rubber must be real, solid rubber. I got what I asked for and started offering these pads to every customer in our rug store, but why stop there? For the millions of other people around the country with area rugs, I wanted them to have the right rug pad - so in 2009, I launched www.rugpadcorner.com."

I also found this statement on their site:

"We manufacture natural felt and rubber rug pads in the USA with American materials. Our mills know how strict we are about quality standards and there is never any imported material or chemical found in any of our rug pads. We also do not believe in coating our rug pads with common adhesives that others use – instead, we pay more time and money to utilize specialties, such as a heat pressing process to assure safety to your homes and floors."

RPC Heat Pressed™

Exclusive only to Rug Pad Corner, felt rug pads labeled as RPC Heat Pressed™ assure you that there are no adhesives or glues in them – Instead, we utilize a Heat Pressing Process to reinforce the material within the rug pads. Our Ultra Premium, Superior and No-Muv Rug Pads are Certified RPC Heat Pressed™. Click here for more on RPC Heat Pressed."

Wow! Sounds promising right? I have to admit, I am not the most Green minded person or anything, but as a wife and a mother, I would love to know what I am bringing into the home and if they are safe for my family. At first, I was just happy just to have a rug pad, but now, I am really excited to try them out! So, the rug pads came to our door...

The rug I had by my kitchen sink was from Target. I fell in love with the design, but there is no grip on the back of this rug. It was slipping all over and the kids hated it. I tried the Super Hold pad, which is made out of real rubber not plastic. Oh what a difference it made, the rug is staying in one place and we all love it!

I also have a larger rug in my formal living room. Because there is less traffic there, and because of it's size, it wasn't moving as much as the kitchen rug, but it was sliding more then I liked. I got to try out the Ultra Premium rug pad. It is 1/3" thick and it really stays on the floor!

Rug pads are not something we show off or decorate the house with, but knowing the product really works and it doesn't contain harsh chemicals is a great feeling as a customer. I totally recommend their products to my friends.

As a Tea Rose Home reader, you receive 15% off of your entire order. Just use REVIEW15 at checkout. I hope you enjoyed my post!

Maxi Knit Dress Fun

Hello everyone! Spring break started for my kids this week and I am in full gear of "what can we do together?" I don't believe in entertaining them all the time, I would love to spend time and have fun with them. I know I won't be spending much time in front of my sewing machine this week, but I wanted to share some pictures of the knit maxi dress I made a couple weeks ago.

I found the knit fabric at Joann's and I was so excited! I don't really find pretty knit fabric where I live, so an encounter like that is a sweet surprise. Ah! How I wish I could go to the fabric district anytime I pleased. Of course that could create some problems too.

Here is the dress,

and the side view...

I created a very simple style dress. I always loved this style; it gives me the illusion that I have longer legs...

Besides this is made out of knit, there is an elastic in the waist line. I love clothing that looks nice, but is also comfortable. If it's too restrictive I don't want to wear it. I would love to sew a couple more dresses with solid fabrics.

With cardigans and some accessories, I know I can dress this up or down. This dress will be one of the most worn clothing this spring. :)

Riley Blake Knit Love Blog Tour Skirt Giveaway Winner!

I shared my knit sewing project a while ago, with a skirt giveaway.

Are you ready to find out who won? Ok, the lucky winner is...

Suzy Roberts
Congratulations!!

Please contact me with your shipping info, I will send your skirt right away. :)
Those of you who entered to win, thank you for playing!

Clothing Construction Book Review

When I first started to sew clothing, I had no clue where to begin. The pattern that I bought (in Japan) had instructions, but as I was making progress, there were a few areas that needed more explanation because I was new to sewing. Eventually, I bought a sewing book that covered more details of how to do things; it had lots of pictures and that helped me a ton!

The book I had the pleasure of reviewing and introducing to you today is "The Complete Photo Guide to Clothing Construction" by Christine Haynes. The title says it all, very straight forward and the content is true to the title. When I read through the book I was very impressed with how the author paid attention to detail and explained things so well. There are over 600 colored pictures throughout the book to go with the explanations!

The author, Christine Haynes, has her own line of sewing patterns, writes regularly for many sewing magazines and teaches sewing in Los Angeles and online. Wow, no wonder this book so well organized and written from cover to cover, she is an expert!

In the book you will find the anatomy of various garments:

Introductions of all sorts of notions:

Instructions and tips on how to read patterns properly so we can get a jump start to creating quality clothes.

In addition to all the basics, she also added some beyond the basic techniques; such as French seams and rolled hems!

I look forward to returning to this book often while I sew clothing in the future, my bookshelf definitely has a spot for this gem. If you are thinking about starting to sew, still new to sewing clothing, and even somewhat advanced, you will find this book very useful. Yes, I totally recommend this book.:)