Rachel Hampton

Craftiness aplenty November 14, 2011

I have been a crafting maniac this weekend! I am trying to finish up the end table that I bought (I showed you the before pic in an earlier post *shudder*). I wanted to do some kind of medallion stencil on the top. I ended up choosing something at AC Moore that was the best I could get but after doing it yesterday….I don’t like it. But I may just live with it for now because I really don’t want to have to repaint the top! I’ll show you the result when I’m completely done.

I also made one of my bridesmaid gifts. They turned out really cute and I wish I had made me some too.

Then I also had an idea to make a framed chalkboard to display an announcement at our reception. The actual announcement is a surprise so stay tuned, but all I needed was a frame from Goodwill and I was good to go. Well I stopped by there after work on Friday and found something perfect! It was a bit longer instead of square (which I wanted) and had some visual interest to the frame itself. Here is what I found:

Hideous, am I right? And excuse the ugly chair it sits in, it’s my mothers. Sorry mom, but it’s true. Back to the frame. I love grandmothers as much as the next person, but that is better expressed in a card or poem or even interpretive dance. Not with this framed monstrosity. The tag on it said $6.50, which in my estimation was a serious rip off for this thing. Especially since they were selling a nice, solid, wooden child’s bench right beside it for $15. But apparently Goodwill does not negotiate on prices. They won’t even let you finish your sentence where you implore them to accept your $5 bill instead of charging on your debit card. So don’t even try. Also can you believe I had two people tell me this thing was pretty? I had to think “no, it’s ugly but it will be pretty soon!”

So I brought it home and spray painted the frame with some pink paint I had leftover from another craft.

*side note* have you ever painted outside when the wind is blowing? That is a real treat.

While the frame was drying, I spray painted the glass with some chalkboard paint. And of course I look down and notice that the gusts of wind have apparently blown one of my hairs directly into the paint. Lovely. So now there is a slight hair-like streak from when I tried to gingerly pull it out. Mistakes give character, right? A couple coats later it was done! Easy craft and now my eyes don’t hurt when I look at it! Here’s the after:

Now all I need is some chalk and she’s ready for the wedding reception. I love crafts!

Craftzilla, not Bridezilla August 15, 2011

I have been determined that I was not going to be a bridezilla through this planning process. So far so good. Let’s hope as it gets closer I can be as relaxed and chill.

I’ve been a crafting maniac recently. It’s so fun! There is still quite a bit to do, but I’m happy with the couple things I finished today. If you remember my invitation from the link below, I mentioned that we were incorporating more bunting flags into the day. One way is to hang some on a few tables at the reception. This is what I finished today:

I started by going over to Joann’s Fabrics and perusing the fat quarter fabrics. I knew I wanted some pinks and greens to play off the wedding colors. I was in luck because they were all on sale for .99 a piece! I bought 4 different kinds. I also got some double folded bias tape to connect them all together.

Once home, I laid out the fabric and cut them into the triangle size that I wanted. Then I put two together with the main part of the fabric facing in. I sewed them together and then turned them inside out. It took a bit of work to get the tip out all the way, but nothing a little determination couldn’t handle. After ironing them flat, I measured and laid them out on the bias tape so that they were evenly spaced. I had just enough triangles to complete two of the 3 yard bias tape packets. Perfect. Finally, I sewed along the bias tape to hold the triangles in place. That’s it. Really simple and super cute! Total spent, about $9.

The other craft I finished today was the ruffle wreath!I first saw this craft idea here. Adorable, right? I thought it would be really cute to hang two on the church doors with one of our initials in each. I basically just followed the tutorial mentioned above. I found chiffon fabric on sale for $2 at Joann’s (plus coupons make it an even better deal). I have not completed the second wreath yet because I realized I need a bit more fabric, but between the two it will still only cost me about $15. Here is the completed one:

What do you think? I love them Little touches that make it personal and fun. What DIY have/are you doing for your wedding?

Drama…and my inspiration board July 11, 2011

Wow, a lot has been going on since July 4th. It’s been a whirlwind of activity. My grandmother passed away on the 4th. She was 92 and quite the firecracker, as many of my family members so aptly put it. We spent all of last week in Nashville for her visitation and funeral. It was bittersweet, as all Christian funerals tend to be. I know I will see her again so there is great comfort in that!

On the way home yesterday my mom started to have some chest/back pains and waves of anxiety. We were driving through Knoxville and my dad hurriedly found the closest hospital. Not a fun situation. We spent the next 5 hours there as they ran a myriad of tests. Thankfully, they ruled out problems with her heart or blood clots. They gave her some meds and thought it might just be chest wall pain that will go away with rest. She will check with her physician here tomorrow. I am VERY thankful that she is ok and feeling a bit better. Long day. Long WEEK.

I mentioned that I would share some of my wedding stuff. Well let me give you a sneak peek first. My inspiration board! I had already picked out our colors for a spring wedding and grew so attached to them that when our plans changed, I decided I didn’t want to give them up. So what if pinks and greens are spring colors and our wedding is in January? We like a little unconventional design. So, tell me what you think!

My first slipcover! June 14, 2011

So there is tons to update you on, but until things are more firm, it’s gonna have to wait. In the meantime….let me share the slipcover I just finished!

Months ago I came across an amazing site. A lady who makes slipcovers so beautiful that it looks like she reupholstered the pieces. Then I found out that she actually sells a DVD walking you through the process of slipcovering. So though I hadn’t sewn a single thing since 8th grade home-economics, I decided to be ambitious and try to make one myself. Yes, I am VERY ambitious, haha.

Turns out my mom still had her sewing machine and after checking, it worked perfectly. That was a step in the right direction. Then I found a $30 chair on Craigslist. Here is what the faded, flowerly, scary fabric looked like before:

I saw some fabric used on the site above that I knew I just HAD TO have. So after finding a good deal on it, I bit the bullet and bought about 9 yards of it. And it’s a good thing I did because I literally only had scraps left over.

The first part of it was good and though I wasn’t sure what to do in some instances, I winged it and tried to just figure it out. There was one point where I just had to take a break from it for awhile or else I would end up throwing my mom’s machine across the room. But then I committed myself and finished it within a few days.

It’s DEFINITELY not perfect but I’m proud of my first slipcover. I won’t point out all the mistakes but there definitely are some. Still, I’m proud. Not sure I will do another one anytime soon, but I encourage all of you to try! Here’s the completed chair!