I made some decorative storage items

I've done this before. We have several items of furniture in our humble abode that are decked out in this manner. This idea began with a few very cool vintage books of Japanese fairy tales that I found at my local thrift shop. I couldn't read them but I so enjoyed the whimsical pictures. We had a bed that was ugly but very useful in a small house. We craigslisted a queen captains bed that had a long storage compartment up the middle and 6 drawers on each side. A storage lover/needer's dream. If only we can learn to use the darned drawers (see clown car post for more on that!) But, as I said, it was hideous. It was the epitome of 80s furniture but had none of the cool factor of some of my beloved 80s crafts. We painted a dresser last year and the first coat was fun. The 5th was not. Alas, there go my dreams of furniture refinishing! So, short of painting the bed, I saw potential in the aforementioned books. I used an exacto knife to cut out the pages and then I used spray adhesive to cover the surface of the bed. Joe did not want a "shiny" bed so I used clear cover adhesive (the kind you use for book covers and to line drawers with...an easy Target find) to protect the pages. I nailed the ends to ensure it would stay. I probably should have used something thicker but that was the easiest to acquire with the least amount of effort. I was tired after 3 nights of gluing and anxious to have a finished product. But- I have only had to patch one area (the corner of the bed) in the year we have had it. After this was done, I used some old science textbooks to cover the kids bookshelf. Six months later...we needed a shelf in the bathroom and I found a sick gardening book with brightly colored flower photos at the thrift shop. So, another addition to the book covered family. Welcome, sweet and happy shelf. I did use vinyl to cover this one since it's going to be used in the bathroom and I was worried about moisture. 

Since it was getting late..around midnight...and I was very hungry after covering and installing the shelf, I was eager to do more! I buy greenies for my dogs (they have excellent teeth, according to the vet). They come in the most fantstic cardboard boxes with a plastic lid that I find difficult to throw away. I had 4 of them cluttering up the house in anticipation of future use. So, I decided to cover them. I used the flower book for one, an old childrens Golden Book about animals on another, and some pages from my daughters' coloring books. I find it hard to throw these colored pictures away and thought this was a perfect way to keep them without completely covering up the fridge. I used clear cover to protect the pages. I traced the bottom of the box for a template and cut the clear cover slightly larger than this. I measured the sides of the box and cut a strip of clear cover to correspond. I applied the bottom and then wrapped the larger strip around the sides.

I made a rug from old t-shirts

Remember those loop pot holders? As a child of the 80s, I loved those things. You got a plastic loom that was square shaped with rows of teeth on each of the 4 sides. And you got a bag of cloth loops made of jersey knit or similar fabric. You laid horizontal rows of loops across the teeth and then weaved vertical loops through. I made gobs of these. My mother always said she liked them.... After reading on ways to repurpose old t shirts into pants, I thought maybe I could use them to make a loop RUG. We needed a bath rug...so, off I went. Since Joe didn't have any t shirts to get rid of, I went to a local thrift store and picked up 6 shirts for a few bucks. I got a white, green, and blue shirts (I later learned that you really should get all the same size...this was a problem I had to fix after I got done weaving. I tied the long loops off to get smaller loops but ended up with some"tassles" on my finished rug. Oh well, you live and learn). I looked for ones that had little or no logo below the armpits. At home, I cut the shirts into 1 inch strips, thus getting loops of fabric. You use up the shirt until you get to the armpits. A large shirt yield approximately 11-12 strips. After I cut the loops, I stretched the loop out to get the edges to curl. This way you do not have to worry if you getting jagged edges. I had an old plywood board from a defunct art project and a box of nails left over from the deck project. I nailed a row of nails around 4 sides(in the shape of a square) to create my loom. From there, I just weaved from my memory of the potholder days. I finished off the sides by pulling each successive loops into the previous one and ended with a knot. I got a really awesome retro 80s 1.5 x 1.5 foot rug. Just remember that your finished product will be 3/4 the size of your beginning product, depending on high tight your weave is. And I ain't talking 'bout hair here! 

Also, I was a little scared to wash the rug but my dog forced me to do so by peeing on it after it was on display for a measly 4 hours. I decided to go forward with the regular wash cycle since gentle just doesn't get rid of the stain. So, I am proud to say it washes just like a t-shirt. I used regular cycle on cold-cold with my usual detergent and dried it on my regular cycle. Not only do I have a cute little rug, I also have something that's just as easy to wash as a t-shirt. This is very important in a house full of little feet and paws!

You can cut the sleeves into loops to make smaller items like potholders, coasters, quilting squares. I would die in a cloud of neon pink/yellow/green (80s) if I could get up the initiative to make a quilt! Just make an appropriate sized loom. 

The beginning

I have often asked myself, others, been asked..."how did you do it?" Now that my kids are asking me this question, I really begin to wonder "how did I do it?" I've grown up with a love of making things. In fact, I was often teased by others when my response to a really cool object was "oh you can easily make that...just go to Home Depot or Michaels." One of my friends sarcastically asked me if I could replicate free spinning hubcaps after we saw them on a car while driving. I have always been tickled by the thought of replicating items just as I have always loved to break things down and put them back together. It thrills me to no end that my daughter loves to do this at 20 months. I often learn how to start a skill and get what can either be interpreted as impatience or pure excitement to produce a product, thus I mostly make things up as I go along.  So, this doesn't mean that I know what I am doing, just how I did it.