Sunday, August 5, 2012

Pillows and a Night Light Rug

 I made a 20 inch by 20 inch yo-yo pillow with scraps leftover from some napkins and such. It's a pretty easy pillow to make, all the circles and connecting the circles don't require a sewing machine, so it's perfect for Olympic viewing.
I also made a monogrammed 18 inch by 18 inch burlap pillow. I washed the burlap in a bucket, it frays really bad and I was worried about jamming up my washing machine.  I washed it a couple of times as well as let it sit out in the monsoon rains. I also sprayed it with some homemade fauxbreeze to help with the smell as well as soften it a bit.  I couldn't print an H big enough, so I printed it as big as I could on a 8.5 x 11, and then decided the ratio and then taped off the straight lines with painters tape and drew out the rest of the border with a Sharpie. I sponge-painted on the burlap with acrylic paint combined with fabric medium, 1 to 1 ratio.  Then I zig zagged it to a muslin backing, and made an envelope pillow with black fabric at the back. 


The combination by day.

 The rug by night.

The rug was a bit of a project, but I really liked how it turned out.
Materials:
4 rope lights
7-9 100 ft clothesline ropes ( I actually can't remember, I got them at our local dollar store)
large crochet hook (the largest you can find)

I was inspired by http://topstail.com/diy-area-rug-led-floor-lamp-bright-white-carpet-light, but I have had little to no experience with crocheting.  Well I consulted a very helpful neighbor as well as looked for specific directions here. Once on that website, you can click on google preview, scroll to page 14-15 to see how to do it specifically. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it.  You just need to add a quick chain/running stitch every now and then as you expand the circle so your rug doesn't turn into a basket. Also the hardest part is at the beginning, but after the first 3-4 circumferences it gets together. I didn't take any pictures of the progress as I wasn't very confident on how it would turn out. Pin It

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Frame Modification

Zoe and I found an old wood frame at Goodwill.  I removed the glass, cleaned it up, and then painted it roughly with teal paint.  I used eye hooks to attach picture wire along the back. I also added some hooks along the bottom of the frame, for keys and lanyards.  I also got some small wood clothespins and spray painted them a rust color.

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