Organized teen bedroom
Framed photos. Loose photos. Clay Cafe figurines. Medals. Buttons. Programs. Notes. Ticket stubs. Drawings. Posters. Lanyards. Stuffed animals. Jewellery. Tchotchkes.
These are just a few of the items that might be cluttering up a teen’s bedroom near you.
I was in the process of redecorating the bedroom of a lovely 13-year-old, and I knew I wanted to keep her stuff corralled so it looked as tidy as possible.
Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …
Filing cabinet makeover
You know I love nothing more than snooping around somebody’s house and rescuing something old so I can give it a new life. So when I spotted an old beige two-drawer filing cabinet in a client’s basement, I suggested we dress it up to use in her teenage daughter’s bedroom.
I think a lot of people have unused filing cabinets in their basements these days, like sad relics of a time before the convenience of cloud storage. (I own filing boxes and file-sorters, but not an actual metal filing cabinet . . . yet . . . much to the chagrin of my paper-loving bookkeeper. Those things are expensive.)
I knew I could paint the whole thing to make it cuter — it definitely couldn’t stay blah ’90s office beige — but I wanted to try out a new treatment by using fabric on the fronts of the drawers. There were so many cute options, but I settled on a fun doughnut print ($9 for two fat quarters).
Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
What Charlotte wore …
It’s that time of year when I get *really* into dressing the kids for school in the cute new outfits I spent July and August sewing for them! I try to take a picture most mornings before school, at least of Charlotte (Dexter isn’t a fan of pictures these days).
So here’s a look at what she’s been wearing to school lately, along with a round-up on patterns, fabrics, upcycling, etc.
This is what she’s wearing today!
- Black and white top: A mishmash of fabrics in my stash + cut-up clothes, sewn with this T-shirt pattern (which is one of my most-used patterns)
- Mustard corduroy jumper: I made this from one of my favourite skirts (worn back when I was in an actual office). I cut off the belt-ish band to make the straps and the whole thing is made 100% using just the original skirt.
She wore this on Tuesday …
- Black bodysuit: Actually just her dance leotard from last year, sewn by mimicking an old bathing suit. I love the low back!
- Floral skirt: Pretty crepe floral fabric (Atlantic Fabrics) with a stretchy black waistband made from an old black T-shirt. Since the fabric was so thin, I doubled it up (leaving the fold at the bottom of the skirt) and gathered the waist before adding the waistband. No pattern required.
That time I DIY-ed on TV!
Back in June, I spent a couple of days filming in Halifax. I didn’t say much about it at the time because I was waiting until it was on the air, and now it is — eeeek!
I was a guest on an episode of “Eyes for the Job.” It’s a cool DIY show on AMI starring Chris Judge — a kick-ass carpenter who is BLIND! — and Alex Haider, who’s new to DIY and used to do the weather on Global News so lots of people know her. They were both so kind and welcoming, and I had an awesome time with them.
We turned a dresser into a bench — right up my alley, since I love repurposing furniture — and I even taught Chris how to sew so we could make a cushion for the top!
The workshop was full of tools and I even got to use ones that were brand-new to me — like the band saw (yikes!) and the table saw (which we own, but I have never used on my own).
I’ve been on sets of commercials and videos, but never a TV show so it was fun to see “how the magic happens.” It took two full days of filming just for the parts with me, and I wasn’t even in the whole 30-minute episode. It’s pretty crazy how much time and effort goes into a 30-minute show!
I caught the episode on Thursday when it ran on AMI, and it’s airing again tonight at 9:30 p.m. Atlantic, and tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 18) at 9:30 a.m. Atlantic if you want to watch. AMI seems to be channel 65 throughout most of Nova Scotia. (Pls ignore my double chins during a few unfortunate angles!)
This actually wasn’t the end of my “Eyes for the Job” journey. I went back again in July for another episode, except I got to bring the kids with me! I’ll keep you posted when that episode airs — they’re VERY excited to see themselves on TV. Dexter took his “job” very seriously and I just know they got some amazing shots of his serious little face as he sanded away. Charlotte developed a full-on crush on Alex and never wanted to leave her side — it was adorable!
Andddddddddd I didn’t cut my hand off on national TV, so I’d consider that a huge win.
How to replace sleeves
I actually did this project back in the spring and forgot to turn it into a post!
So I had a Silver jean jacket that I loved, BUT … there was a bit of buyer’s remorse happening. I’d bought a medium because it was the only size they had left and I REALLY wanted the jacket, like, immediately. The sleeves felt a titch too short, but I convinced myself they were fine.
And then ended up rolling them up 99% of the time … which led to them getting all stretched out … le sigh.
So I decided to replace them!
I started by snipping them off at the shoulder seam …
As featured on …
