Homemade and Handcrafted No. 52

Every Wednesday  - Sunday 

I'm hoping that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Welcome back to the Homemade and Handcrafted party! Thank you so much for joining in last time. I can't wait to see more! 

Feel free to link up your posts (new or old ones). We love seeing what you've been up to! Share your crafts, recipes, DIY, and inspirations! We love to visit other parties and enter giveaways; so you can link those up too!

Let's check out the top viewed from last week! 

Chocolate and Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

by Strength and Sunshine

 Painted Rocking Chair

by Grandma's House DIY

Nifty Christmas "Thrift Wrap"

by Sadie Seasongoods

A Creature Was Stirring Christmas Vignette

by My Thrift Store Addiction

Candy Cane Hat

by Howling at the Moon

Thank you for sharing your creations! 

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"Pinning" is encouraged! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your creations and ideas!

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Easy DIY Dress Form Pin Cushion

Here's another thrift shop makeover!  I think a mini mannequin makes a perfect pin cushion due to its theme for sewing. Don't you think so too?  I bought this dress shaped jewelry hanger from a thrift store, specifically, to change it into a pincushion.

Everything I needed was pretty much "on hand" at home. All that I had to buy was the jewelry tree and the steel scrubbing pads.

Materials:

Spray paint

Stainless steel scrubbing pads

Polyfill

Plain paper for drawing a pattern

Scrap fabric

Iron on transfer paper

Hot glue sticks

Fabric trim

1 wooden screw head cover

First, I cut off the sides (or arms) of the jewelry tree with cutting pliers and spray painted the frame.

Once the paint was dry, I stuffed the inside of it with stainless steel scrubbing pads (to keep pins sharp).

Then I traced around the frame to make a pattern for the dress form look. I also found a cute sewing themed image on Pinterest to print onto iron on transfer paper to sew onto the front.

After I ironed the image on, I cut it out of the fabric, stuffed it slightly with a little bit of polyfill, and sewed it onto the front body piece.

Once I sewed the dress form pieces together, I pulled it all the way down onto the jewelry hanger and stuffed it with polyfill between the frame and the fabric.

The neck (top) of the fabric was shoved inwards at the top of the frame. Then I glued on a wooden screw head cap to cover the opening.

After pulling the fabric all the way down the frame, I glued the fabric onto the metal frame and trimmed it, using hot glue.

Now that the dress form was done, I could finish stuffing the pin cushion at the bottom. I added another stainless steel scrubbing pad, more polyfill, and sealed it with a piece of cardboard.

This dress form pin cushion is about 14" tall and 8" around in circumference. Large enough to hold a lot pins and sewing notions for busy sewing projects.

The sewing notions in the transfer image are so fitting. 

With plenty of padding inside of the fabric, the shape was easy to achieve. Similar to stuffing an animal toy. 

The back isn't stuffed quite as much between the frame and the fabric, but pins are still able to stick through it. 

The bottom of the dress form has enough space for storing scissors and pencils. 

Keeping a measuring tape handy is easy by simply draping it around the form.

This was a fun project with pretty good results! 

This is how the idea started. 

Now, it's a really handy sewing notion that looks so cute... to me anyway. 

I just might make another... with a wooden base. Maybe two more... this is becoming a bit of an obsession. I'm starting to envision a sewing room with functional decor. 

Homemade and Handcrafted No. 51

Every Wednesday  - Sunday 

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Welcome to the Homemade and Handcrafted party!

As this is a very busy time for all of us while we are preparing for Christmas, this link up is going to continue for 2 weeks to allow time for family and the holiday festivities. 

Feel free to link up your posts (new or old ones). We love seeing what you've been up to! Share your crafts, recipes, DIY, and inspirations! We love to visit other parties and enter giveaways; so you can link those up too!

Let's check out the top viewed from last week! 

 Recycled Tin Can Christmas Tree

by A Crafty Mix

Frugal Holiday Mantel Decor

by Just JP

Simple Nordic Christmas Tree

by Kreativ K

Reclaimed Wood Ornaments and Homemade Stencils

by Reduce, Reuse, Renewed

Double Chocolate Nutella Cookie Truffles

by Home Cooking Recipe Box

So many wonderful Christmas ideas were shared last week!!! 

Thank you for sharing your creations! 

Featured Badge

Facebook - Pinterest - Twitter - Instagram - Hometalk

Party Button  to be shared ONLY if desired.
"Pinning" is encouraged! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your creations and ideas!

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Antique Chair Revival

It's time for another makeover! Each month, our "Furniture Refresh" group takes a piece of furniture and refreshes it into a new life. You never know what we come up with! 

I was excited to redo this antique Windsor style chair I found at a flea market in the Hudson Valley. It's one of my favorite places to go for great farmhouse things. I scored with the chair, an antique cast iron bell, and an old milk box. 

There were several chairs available but this cutie caught my eye. 

Those spindles are so slim, crooked, and just plain sweet. Even though the chair was banged up quite a bit, I could envision it refinished to remain old looking. 

Normally any beat up piece with cracks could be filled in, sanded, then painted. But this chair deserved to show its years by leaving all of the scars exposed. 

A fan back American Windsor like this dates into the 1700's. If it survived this long, why not show it? 

So I sanded it. A lot. But not too crazy in the creases and cracks. Allowing the old paint to accentuate all of them. Including a lot of old wormholes. 

After becoming impatient with sanding, I cleaned the dust off, rubbed in coconut oil to condition the wood, then used a dark antique wax to seal the whole chair. It brought back the true identity. 

A few of the spindles were previously broken and repaired. And done well, as they were holding up. (Probably why the chair was painted.) The dark wax shows where the breaks were. Wormholes are all over the hand carved seat and they actually look amazing. 

Check out these handmade spindles. A bit crooked, but so fascinating! 

In fact the whole backrest is bit off. Like, it became twisted. 

The cracks are really obvious with the paint removed. 

Surprisingly, the chair is sturdy despite its age. 

I'm a sucker for antiques like this and believe they should be refinished if they can. Although it isn't valuable because of its condition, it sure is handsome; war wounds and all. 

With all of its scars and age lines, it's very functional. 

And it displays plenty of character. 

Sitting there all twisted and crooked, it fits into our home just fine. 

It will sit in our dining room as an accent piece. Used when necessary. After all, being a couple hundred years old, it should rest. After several more polishings, it should continue to shine in its own glory. 

Well, that's my makeover of the month. Let's see what the other group members did with their crazy amazing talent!! 

Here are the before photos: 

Click on the blogs to see the finished outcome: 

A Purdy Little House

Our Crafty Mom

Michelle James Designs

Redo It Yourself Inspirations

Shelstring