Crocheted Bangles

Hey, all!

I suppose I could save this post for Monday and revive my old "Makeover Monday" series, but meh. Yesterday I saw a video that showed how to cover bangles with old sweaters. It's prettier than that sounds, I promise. I was inspired to try to cover a couple of old bangles with crochet. And guess what? It worked!

I picked these beauties up for about 25¢ each at a yard sale. And then I may have worn them once. Turns out I'm not an 80's plastic bracelet kind of girl. Who knew? I should have known, to be honest. If you're not a yard sale shopper, craft shops have blanks in many different sizes.

I had bits of yarn left over from previous projects, so this didn't cost me anything. Yay for free(ish) projects!  I did the blue one using a Double Stitch. The rainbow one was done using a Half Double Stitch. When beginning the bangle, leave a tail of a few inches. When you've filled up the whole bracelet with as many stitches as you can fit in, tie the last stitch off and then connect it to the beginning by tying the tails together. Both bracelets took me about 20 minutes total, which qualifies this project as Super Simple. Here's a tip for you: yarn is bulky, so make sure your bracelet will still fit over your hand with the added mass. I didn't think of that until after, but they still fit. Yay, again!

I love how the yarn isn't really attached to the bracelet. The pattern is constantly changing as the yarn slips around the bangle, which makes it a bit more fun.

Love,

Makeover Monday: TV Stand to Art Cart

Z's new Art Cart

My darling daughter is quite the artist...and has a ton of supplies to prove it. I needed to corral her art supplies and had limited space. My husband and I searched many stores for a shelf that would fit, but couldn't find a single option. That's when the epiphany hit. I remembered that our house's previous owners had left a TV stand out in the shed. (Yay for free stuff!) 

Soooo not staged!

 After giving it a cleaning, Summer and Berkeley inspected the TV stand. They thought it would do nicely.

"It's ok. Kinda ugly." Berkeley can be quite harsh.

I gave it a quick whitewash. Better.

Cuter, right?

I edged it with lace washi tape. Lots better.

Close-up of the washi tape. So pretty!

 The table and chairs were moved out to the playroom for tea parties and picnics.

Makeover Monday: Pillowcase + Socks = Superhero Costume

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super Zara!

After I dyed my swimsuit cover-up and my wood clothespins, I threw an old pillowcase into the purple dye. Zara loves playing superhero, so she needed a cape and cuffs. I used that pillowcase to make her cape and a pair of baby socks to make her cuffs or pow-pows, as she calls them. More on that later.

Makeover Monday: Mannequin Makeunder

From frou-frou to streamlined.

I've had this little beauty since I was a teenager and never really knew what to do with it. It sat on a shelf, collecting dust for years (decades).  I've noticed recently that miniature mannequins seem to be popping up again. (Were they ever really in to begin with?) I decided to give my frilly mannequin a bit of a makeunder to fit in with my decor.

Makeover Monday - Ombré Swimsuit Cover Up

Yeah, I really hate to iron.

I bought this cover up a few years ago, but never wore it. I don't wear white. Not even for my wedding. So why did I buy it? It needed a makeover.

Makeover Monday - Business Card Holder Transformation

A colorful redo for a drab business card holder.

Today's Makeover Monday is something that's a bit near and dear to my heart. I gave my very first business card holder a face lift. Way back when, I actually needed to carry business cards and I've been thinking about getting some for my blog and Etsy shop. I dug this out of a drawer, consigned the cards inside to the hot glue gun drip catcher pile, and got to work.

Makeover Monday: Super Simple Berry Wreath

Berrylicious Wreath

For this week's Makeover Monday, I turned my attention to a wreath that had been given to me by my aunt. It had been in her basement for ages and needed a bit of a pick-me-up. During my last trip to a Dollar Tree, I found bunches of berries that I thought were sweet. I bought four bunches and used every bit of them for this wreath. And did I mention that this wreath is Super Simple? It took me all of, oh, I dunno, maybe four minutes to throw together.

Makeover Monday: Stripey Earrings

What's black and white and shiny all over? My made-over earrings!

So, turns out there's such a thing as being too clean. I had these silvery (and inexpensive) hoop earrings that I had cleaned a bit too much (hydrogen peroxide). The earrings' finish almost completely came off. So not cute! Most people would have tossed them, but seeing as I'm me, I kept them. And then painted them. Did you honestly expect me to do anything else?

Makeover Monday: Adding Flowers to a Plain Bag

The flowers add a bit of personality to an otherwise boring bag.

My fabulous Aunt Lizetta gave me this bag because, well, she was over it. It wasn't exactly my style, but now it is. I spent some time on Mother's Day making rosettes while watching a couple of films (My Life in Ruins and It's Complicated, if you're interested) and enjoyed my awesome day. My husband Seán took our daughter Zara to Mass and went shopping for my super-special dinner. They made stir-fry and black rice with a Dairy Queen cake for dessert. Told you it was awesome.

Makeover Monday: A Desk Chair Facelift

Much better, right?

My desk chair is an old cheap-o office chair left behind by my house's former owners.

1. Yay for free stuff!
2. Ooh! That poor chair needs help. Booooooring!!!
3. Lists should always have at least three things.

You might recognize the new fabric from the previous post Makeover Monday: Easy Memo Board Re-Do. Or not. Click the link to refresh your memory. Go on. I'll wait.

Whew! So glad you came back. I was worried for a minute. Anyway, here's how it all happened.

Makeover Monday: From Easter Egg to Egg Salad for One {recipe}

A super-yummy sandwich.

Ever wonder what to do with all of those Easter eggs once the festivities are over? Well, I made a delicious egg salad. And, since I'm the only one who'll eat it around here, I made Egg Salad for One. Technically two. This recipe makes 1/2 cup, so there's enough for two sandwiches.

Makeover Monday: Easter Basket Tutu Redo

From plain jane to just plain adorable!

Easter's coming up. No big shocker there. Happens every year. This year Zara needed an Easter basket that goes with her beautiful pink dress. The green one from last year just wasn't going to cut it. The white one worked, but it was a bit plain. So what does a mama with a glue gun do? Make a tutu, of course.

Makeover Monday: Glass Vase Update

The pink tissue paper is purely for show. It just makes the text easier to photograph.

This Makeover Monday's project is more subtle than the other things I've done, but I think it's cute. I updated a glass vase that I've been using to hold paintbrushes. This was pretty easy to do and it carries a very important message: CREATE TODAY! And, yes, my vase is shouting at me. Sometimes that's the only way I listen.

Makeover Monday: A Candlestick Table

My freebie table. I <3 it!

I have been looking for a table forever to go next to my wing chair. My requirements: small, cheap, cute, cheap, sturdy,...cheap. So when I saw a table that Erin at Richmond Thrifter did using a lamp base and a picture frame, a light bulb went on over my head. Check out her Lamp Base Turned Pedestal Table post for complete details on how to make this. I made my table using a brass candlestick that my Grandma gave me ages ago, so I did a few different steps, but the idea is the same.

Makeover Monday: Layered Necklace

For this week's Makeover Monday, I'm getting a bit nostalgic. My great-grandmother, Reathel, once gave me a beautiful flower locket bracelet that she had had for a pretty long time. I loved it. I loved how if you pushed down the right petal it would reveal a secret compartment. It seemed so magical to me. And then it broke. The clasp snapped off and I could never figure out how to repair it. I kept it anyway. Fast forward to today, when I finally figured out what to do with the locket. I've been loving all of the layered necklaces I've seen everywhere, so I made my own and used the locket as a focal piece.

Makeover Monday: Easy Memo Board Re-Do

From very 90s to very now.

Way back in the 90s I did something I thought was very cool, very clever, and oh-so stylish. I decorated my very plain memo board using stencils and sponges. Specifically, an ivy stencil that matched my curtains, my bedspread and sheets, my bedroom suite, and, yes, my wallpaper border with matching light switch plate, also decorated by me. Ivy was very "in" in the 90s. Not so much now.

Makeover Monday: A Spiffed Up Trinket Box

My pretty "new" trinket box.

For this week's Makeover Monday, I gave my sad little trinket box a new look. I've had this box since somewhere in the mid 90s and it was pretty beat-up when I bought it for a dollar at a flea market. It's been around. I had been using it to keep my hair elastics and then the hinge broke. Also, my hair is short, so the elastics are a bit useless now. Anyway.

Makeover Monday: A Tidy Junk Drawer

Seán's so happy he found his safety masks.

It may be because Spring is in the air (despite the snow on the ground), it may be because I'm starting to shape up as a housewife (doubtful), or it may be because I spent a solid five minutes searching for Scotch tape (most likely) that I decided it was about time to clean out the junk drawer.

Makeover Monday: Desk Mess to Fabu-less

Pretty embarrassing to pretty organized.

So...I went through a few weeks of not crafting at all. Any guesses why? My poor craft desk had become a catch-all for every little thing that didn't need to be thrown away, but also didn't have a home.

No more!