DIYpics

Punk from Junk

This week is the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. And tonight is the ball where all the celebs display their designers’ interpretations of punk.
Of course I wanna be there, so–as we sometimes do with the Oscars here at home–I’m “going to the MET ball” right here on the farm. Get all dressed up and prance around for the geese, dogs, and deer. Continue reading »

Easter Bunny Craft

The other day I went in search of a pattern for the velveteen rabbit and couldn’t find one, so I decided to make one from scratch. But before I go on, one thing I did find was a free copy of the book The Velveteen Rabbit by Margerie Williams Bianco on Gutenberg.org (a site that is full of free public domain books). So if you don’t already have a copy, please rush over and download yours.
Anyway, back to the pattern. In order to make a pattern from scratch, I studied the original pictures in Margerie’s book and drew what I thought was the perfect pattern on a couple pieces of paper. I made one bunny out of muslin and decided it was too this and that. I made a second bunny out of felt and though it was better from the first attempt, it too was out of proportion. Taking my mistakes into account, I drew one more pattern. And that’s the pattern I used for the bunny above. As I didn’t have velveteen on hand, I made it out of felt as well, and called it my Easter bunny.
The pattern will be available for free at least until Easter, so register in the sidebar to the right to get your free pattern. To make a bunny with this pattern, simply print the three pages out on standard printer paper, cut the pieces out, and cut the quantity of felt pieces that the pattern pieces indicate. Then watch the video below to see how I put it together. This bunny was stitched together on the outside with about 1/8 seems–all by hand.
One thing I didn’t show in the video is how to make the tail. For my tail, I covered a little stone with cotton filler (from an old pillow), then wrapped that with white wool roving and wet felted it into a ball (just like I did the ping pong balls for my string lights).
At minute 6:30 in the video you can watch how the eyes on this Easter bunny were made using the needle felting technique. A tiny bit of white roving poked into the upper part of the eyes make them look extra realistic.
I hope you enjoy making a few Easter bunnies with this pattern!
You can get tons more inspiration for Easter bunny crafts on Pinterest.

Here’s a free pattern for the Easter Bunny.

Country Door Frame

One of the home decor projects I’ve been putting off for a long time was the framing out of our kitchen entryway. I wanted it to look rustic and artsy. The entryway is wide and awkwardly angled. My fear was that it would be tricky to get the right angles on the wood beams, and besides, I couldn’t see handling the weight of the sized beams I really wanted. Fortunately, I bartered with Bob the fix-it-up chappie to use his manly strength on this project in exchange for some office work.
To my delight, I found the perfect 6 inch x 6 inch by 14 foot weathered wood beam at Habitat for Humanity for $21. Bob bought 12 hex bolts and washers which he soaked in acid to give them a rusty look, and with the help of his assistant, installed the door frame in about four hours.

How to Frame a Doorway with Rustic Wood

Ripped Beam

1. Measure the top of the door frame and cut a piece of 6″ x 6″ weathered lumber to fit.
2. Measure the height of the door frame and subtract the 6 inches (or 5 1/2) for the top beam. Rip a piece of 6″ x 6″ lumber in two to fit the height of the doorway. One piece will go on each side.
3. Drill holes in the beams the side of the hex bolt washers and the depth of the hex bolt head. This will allow the hex bolts to sit inside the beams rather than stick out.

Rustic Wood

4. Stand the side beams against the door frame and drill holes for the hex bolts right through the beams and into the wall. Attach the side beams to the door frame with hex bolts.
5. Drill holes in the head piece (transom) for the hex bolts and washers. Slide the head beam over the two side beams and bolt in place. Note: the bolts in the head piece do not have to make contact with any ceiling joists. They can be merely decorative.

New York Holiday

For many, the holiday season is a time of parties, togetherness, gifts and good cheer. But for some, it is a time of loneliness and despair. Recent disasters and senseless violence threaten to overshadow all that is good in our holiday celebrations. Is it best to let grief silence our joy, or can we, in our joy, lighten the load of those who grieve?
I say let’s celebrate the good things we have and use our blessings to help those who aren’t as fortunate.
I was thinking, after superstorm Sandy hit and shut off the lights of New York, how central that city has become in the American tradition of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. The parades, the tree lightings, the big New Year’s ball drop that everyone stays awake to watch. I love living in the countryside, but I would love, love, love to spend the holidays in New York one day.
As I was thinking that, it occurred to me that we who live in the remotest corners of America can help keep those lights shining by throwing a New York themed New Year’s party and using it to raise funds for victims of Sandy. Continue reading »

The Fitted Black Dress

There is nothing more basic to a woman’s closet than the little black dress. It is simple, yet elegant; tailored, yet comfortable. And every girl should have one.
This post is for those who can’t afford to buy the perfect little black Rebecca Taylor dress (even on on sale). This post is for those who, like me, have to settle for “the little black thrift store dress.” And make it fit. Continue reading »

15 Minute Chandelier

I recently saw a cool floor lamp made out of cardboard where the light shines through all the cells in the cardboard to make a spectacular pattern on the wall. I wanted to do something like for our black & white holiday party, but didn’t have the time to do it exactly like the cardboard floor lamp. Continue reading »