Monday, October 23, 2017

Craft Room Creation

For the first time ever - I own a house and I can do anything I want - I can paint, I can install shelves - I can even install a pegboard!  The pic below shows my basement, which was my blank canvas for my craft room.  

Here's where I'm at right now - it took a lot of work to get to this point!  And I have a feeling this space will evolve a bit more before I feel like it's "done".  But for now - I'm loving it!  I'll take you through the steps of how I got to this point.

First, I got the two end cabinets from Habitat for Humanity ReStore - which was great - they're really well priced and my purchase helps their organization.  And they're really nice quality cabinets - they have soft close drawers and the one that's closed has pullout shelves.

Then I obsessively searched for a "countertop" that would be the exact right length between those two walls.  After considering all options, I found a "prefinished shelf" at Menards (I think this is what I ended up with).  Once I got it home and placed on top of my two cabinets, I realized it was long/heavy enough that it needed a center support.  The cabinet in this pic, topped with books was a temporary solution.

Then I started installing shelves.  Then I uninstalled them after realizing I needed wall anchors to support the weight and then I reinstalled them.


Then I installed the two pegboards.  When you buy a pegboard, you also need a "pegboard mounting kit" because when you think about it - the pegboard can't be right up against the wall, you need some space, so the peg hooks will fit in.  



I bought a thread rack like this:


And it was SO FUN to put it on my pegboard and put my thread up there.


Everything I added to the pegboard was really fun - I definitely recommend getting one!  Also I paid $6.99 for each one and it has a huge visual impact.





I searched online for a any type of cabinet that had the same height as my two end cabinets and found only a few and they were all at least $200.00, so I went back to ReStore a few more times and found one for the center.  It's not exact, but pretty close.

Then I bought (expensive) "one step" chalk paint, because that sounded easier than sanding, priming and painting.  I hadn't used chalk paint before but I understood the concept.

The first coat on the first cabinet...I was not happy.  Terrible brush strokes and terrible coverage.

But I kept going.



After two coats and a round of touch-ups I'm finally ok with the paint coverage and it was nice not to worry about sanding or priming.  At this point I was able to hook up my computer and sewing machine and start unpacking boxes.  I wanted a bunch of unique storage containers on the shelves, so I got something from Menards (wire basket holding yarn), Homegoods (gray wicker basket holding ribbon), Target (gray plastic basket holding punches), Michaels (wooden pen organizer below pegboard AND I already had the black photo boxes) and Joanns (cute tool box holding spraypaint).  I also got the little wire baskets holding paint on the pegboard from Hobby Lobby and I love them so much - they're on sale this week and they're only $2.50.  #ItsTheLittleThings

Like I said - I'm VERY happy to be at this point and I think it's still a work in progress.

I think it'd be fun to store something in an oversized mason jar.

And I'm trying to figure out lighting.
          
          

What do you think?

Monday, October 2, 2017

The Iron Giant Costume



A couple months back, my adorable nephew Henry

woke up one morning wishing he could dress as his favorite character - The Iron Giant

which apparently is a film from 1999 that is available on Netflix

Since it's a movie from the 90s - there aren't a lot of costume options out there, so I decided to construct one from scratch!

I looked at a pic online, drew out a sketch and went shopping for supplies.







I cut up and sewed a metallic table runner onto a black T-shirt.



Then I freehand drew the shape of the shoulder piece, and cut out strips of cardboard where I needed dimension.  I used hot glue to add all the strips.





Then I spray painted the shoulder piece with a hammered metallic spray paint. 

I cut this piece out of the metallic fabric and added rivets.


I added a bunch of rivets and screws to give it a realistic robot look.



I sewed arm and leg pieces, stuffed like pillows. with Velcro straps.

I decided to attempt a helmet.

I used a balloon and a piece of poster board as the base for paper mâché.




I was pretty happy with how it turned out

And it was ADORABLE to see Henry giving me his best Iron Giant stare!
Halloween costume DIY The Iron Giant

The mask wasn't that comfortable/wearable, but pretty cute on Henry.

♥♥♥

This was a really fun project for me.  Problem-solving is one of my favorite things and I loved starting from a picture - with no instructions or blog posts and figuring out how I could replicate it.  With Halloween coming up - you might have an opportunity to do the same thing!