Tutu Lamp Shade {& tutu-torial}

 I bought a pink lamp at a thrift store for a couple bucks a while back.

I thought it would be cute in my daughter's room.

 It had a cream shade on it that was probably once cute.

The glue was yellowy-orange in places,

there were stains on it,

and it was pretty shabby.

The lamp has sat "AS IS" on my daughter's table for almost a year.

Until yesterday...{note: I did rip that top part...it wasn't sitting in her room that shabby}

I wanted to make her a tutu lamp.

There's something magical and graceful about ballerinas,

I think that's why many girls dream about becoming one...

I have made a couple tutus in the past when my daughter was first born:

They are super super easy!  I first decided on how long I wanted the "skirt" part to be.

I decided on 10 inches because I wanted a little overhang on the bottom of the shade. (plus you can always cut it shorter, but can't make it longer)

I cut strips twice that long (20 inches) because the tulle is doubled up when you tie it.

Last time I made a tutu I bought the tulle that comes in a roll that is already 6 inches wide.

This time, I just cut them 6 inches wide myself.

The great thing about cutting all of these strips is that you don't have to be perfect and precise in your cuts.

I REPEAT, you DO NOT have to be PERFECT!

I'm not sure how many strips I cut, probably around 70ish

It will vary depending on how big and frilly you want it :)

I used a hair headband elastic to tie the strips to. 

It's the perfect size and I didn't have to sew anything together!

It also doesn't matter what color because it gets covered up anyway

You can see I used blue...

 {tip: make sure it's about 2 inches smaller than what you need because it stretches after all the knots!}

NEXT STEP: go to a comfortable place {couch} and watch a TV show {Nate Berkus} and tie the tulle strips to the elastic.

Fold the tulle in half and tie a loop knot. 

{tip: make all of the knots go the same way}

 

It should look something like this:

You can leave them loose if you wish, but I chose to tighten mine quite a bit. This makes a fuller, puffier tutu because you can fit more on.

By the end of the TV show, you should have completed filling the full loop of elastic with tulle strips all the way around.

unless you accidentally got so caught up in said TV show that you didn't "work" the entire time...

then it may take you another show...

I'm not necessarily saying it happened to me, but it could happen...

 Silly me, I was about to go to the fabric store to replace the cream fabric

when it dawned on me to, 

hello, 

SPRAY PAINT it!

I already had a bottle of Krylon Ballet Slipper pink in the garage so I raced outside and doused it a few times.

{after taking off all those pearly beads, of course} 

I covered the top part of the shade with some pink ribbon I had on hand using my glue gun.

I fitted the lamp shade with the tutu skirt, trimmed up some of the edges, 

and finished her off with a purdy pink bow!

It's big and puffy but I like it that way!

 Linking to:

Chic on a Shoestring

Remodelaholic

Finding Fabulous 

The Shabby Nest 

Sassy Sites 

Simple Home Life 

Tatortots and Jello

Funky Junk Interiors

The Girl Creative

 Under the Table and Dreaming

  Home Stories A to Z 

I Heart Naptime

Coastal Charm 
Not Just a Housewife 
A Diamond in the Stuff 
Someday Crafts 
The 36th Avenue
Blue Cricket Design 
Restore Interiors  
Design Dazzle
Southern Lovely
Todays Creative Blog 
The Crafty Nest 

Long Necklace Storage

Long necklace storage can be a pain.

They get tangled so easily.

My solution used to be an over the door hook rack.

It would clang EVERY. TIME. THE. DOOR. WOULD. OPEN. or CLOSE.

It was annoying (my husband hardly ever complains and he hated it!)

So I came up with a better solution.

You know these things that show up at thrift stores all the time?

These accordian peg racks:

I'm really not sure what they are supposed to be used for...

hats, clothes, towels, mugs, purses, hotpads, coats?

Anybody know?

I picked up one for $1.00 at the thrift store for my necklaces.

All I did to it was stain it to match the wood on my bed and dressers,

then I sprayed it with a clear finish

.

It was soooo easy and fast! 

Next step: Hanging it on the wall & adding necklaces:

Wanna know a secret?  This is what it really looks like after all of most of my necklaces are added...

So I have a lot of necklaces...what's a girl to do?  

At least they're not clanging!

Maybe I need to get rid of some of them.

Maybe I need another holder.

I'm just keeping it real here.

Linking to:

Lil' Luna

One Mans Trash = This Chicks Treasure

Sheesh.  Where have I been?

Besides inlaws, work, inlaws, work, home, work...

Just trying to get settled in again and get in a routine now that I'm back from my 3 month vacay :)

I have almost everything unpacked and cleaned.

I think something about living with the bare minimum all summer has made me realize that I have a lot of junk stuff.  I have seriously been in a cleaning frenzy since I got home.

Maybe it's because I didn't fully "spring clean" but I have been going through room by room and organizing/de-junking/shining everything up.

I told you I had some trash treasures to show you.

I was just walking by our dumpster minding my own business at our apartment before we left Seattle 

when out of the blue I glanced over and saw something that caught my eye.

"Is that what I think it is?"  I thought.

I rushed over to it and snatched it up.

 Wait, there's more?

2 of them?

 score!

Hold the phone, THREE of them?!?

Say Whaaaaaat!?

Ya darn right.

Not one, not two, but three of these amazing, beautiful, perfect condition plastic frames.

I was once close to buying one like this at IKEA a few months back.

I didn't feel like forking out the $30 for it though.

Gladly rejoicing in the fact that I waited.

There you have it.

I may or may not have found other dumpster goodies too,

but we'll save that for another day.

 

I'm off to enjoy a nice summer afternoon with my family!

Don't be scared to look in dumpsters! 

Okay, maybe be a little bit cautious...

 

So Long, Seattle!

Just wanted to write a quick post while I should be packing to move...

If you don't know, we moved to Seattle for the summer so my husband could do an internship with Amazon.

We got to spend some time together as a family and see a few last minute sites in this beautiful city the past weekend. (like the Freemont Troll)

 And one last view of the beautiful skyline from Kerry Park:

I am flying home tomorrow with my daughter and my awesome husband is driving this weekend. 

I am excited to get back, I have a lot of projects already in the works.

But at the same time, I have also really enjoyed the 12 week vacation I have been on all summer :)

I'm really going to miss our view:

Bear with me as I get adjusted at home and work the next week (Can you believe they kept my job for me all summer? I love where I work!)

I really do have some awesome things to show you! (one may or may not involve some things I found in the dumpster!)  

For now, just gaze at that beautiful picture of Lake Union {taken from my balcany} and dream of whatever it is you dream of...ahhhh, so relaxing...

Jewelry Stand/Holder/Keeper

I don't know what this is:

 Could be a cake stand, but it's kinda small for that.  And not durable enough.

I think it's a candle holder, like for a big candle, or maybe a few smaller ones?

Whatever it may be, I picked it up at a thrift store by my house

(which is out of business now, boo)

I really love how ornate it is.

But, I'm not a gold person.

I decided I wanted to use it in my bedroom as a jewelry holder.

At night when I'm too lazy tired to hang my jewelry back in place, it works very nicely.

It makes the jewelry feel like it belongs there.

I decided to paint it the same color as my lamps

I love the coral color with the aqua, cream, and brown in the room.

I primed with Kilz,

Spray painted it with Krylon Coral Isle,

and of course had to glaze it to make those ornate details pop.

 

It also accommodates some of my larger odd-shaped earrings that don't fit with my other ones.

Isn't it purdy?

Side Table Save

This side table is one of my great Craigslist finds before moving from Las Vegas.

I bought it because I fell in love with the detailed scroll carvings; however, the green/gold just wasn't me.

Here's some before pictures:

 Look at the details!

 The handles on this piece were the same greeny-gold color.

Sorry, no picture.

There was glass built in over the top.

It was somewhat scary to get it out.  We had to break it (my best friend ended up smashing it with a hammer)

Then we carefully took all the pieces out.

I think there was only one minor cut in the process (my friend's finger)

I took the hose on the vacuum and sucked all the remaining little tiny pieces of glass out of the nooks and crannies. 

I debated FOREVER about what color to paint this and whether to keep it 2-toned.

I finally decided on a classic white all over.

Since this piece was in great condition, the only prep work I did was:

1) break the glass and remove it

2) remove the handles

3) wipe it down with a damp rag

Normally, I would take off the door and paint it separately...I gave the job to my trusty husband.

Apparently the screws on the door were completely striped, so he got one of the hinges off, but the other one wasn't budging. (that's why the door looks crooked in the pictures, it only has the bottom hinge on)

Seeing as how I wanted to start painting right away, and I had already been so patient {wink, wink}...

I decided to work around the little door problem and just leave it on.

Anywho, after some Kilz primer, a couple coats of spray paint to both the table and hardware, black glaze, Polycrylic, {plus some blood (my friends), sweat, and work}...Behold, the finished product:

I was thinking about getting another piece of glass made to put on the top; but I sort of like it how it is now.

I just don't know about dusting in all those nooks and crannies...
 Ah well, for now I love it.


Linking to:
Domestically Speaking: power of paint party
Primitive and Proper 
Thrifty Decor Chick
Perfectly Imperfect  
Miss Mustard Seed
Chic on a Shoestring
Fingerprints on the Fridge
The Shabby Nest
Finding Fabulous
Remodelaholic
Simple Home Life
Tatertos and Jello
I Heart Naptime 
Coastal Charm 
Sassy Sites 
Home Stories A to Z 
Not JUST a Housewife