No-Sew Burlap Tablerunner

I have a secret.  Well actually I have many, ha ha, but today I am revealing one:  I can't sew.  Don't judge, don't hate... I. don't. sew.  It's true and I will readily admit it.  I truly envy all the beautifully sewn creations I see out there in blog land.  But, while I have many talents, sewing just isn't one of them.  It is on my very long list of "things to do before I die."

As with many of you, I have fallen in love with burlap.  It all began with my kitchen update to French Country and discover that natural fabrics are part of the decor.  Thus enter burlap.  Hmmm... what can I do with burlap... such a lovely fabric...

 I discovered all sorts of very cool table runners created out of burlap all over blog land and Etsy.  But, most, if not all, involved sewing.  Crap!  Well, never one to be deterred easily, I decided to create my own. 

The first one I made was super simple.  Go to Joanne's, get a few yards of fabric, cut to desired length and width, wash, dry, and iron out the wrinkles.  The washing and drying create awesome fraying which of course we want.  I loved it and it worked perfectly in my kitchen. 

But then I started seeing some more elaborate burlap runners with lace and rosettes.  I love the combination of the burlap and lace but it required sewing.  Or does it?  Not if your brain works like mine!  I. Can. Glue. It!

Now I ask you:  why was fabric glue invented?  For non-sewers right?  Well, maybe not but it works.

What I used:

Burlap fabric cut to about 72" L x 16" W

Vintage Lace

Rosette (I cheated a bit and used some Melissa Frances ones that I had)

Fabric Tac

I discovered that it's really quite easy to fray burlap myself by pulling threads at the ends.  That way I could control how "frayed" I wanted it.  Then I measured my vintage lace and glued it to the ends and also glued the rosette on.  Easy, easy, easy and yet so pretty!

What do you think?  I am in love and it looks fabulous in my French Country kitchen!



Laundry Soap Recipe on this fine White Wednesday!


I am sure many of you already know this but for those who don't I wanted to share.  I've read on multiple blogs and in the land of Google that you can make your own laundry detergent which is natural and oh so much cheaper.  I wish I would have done this years ago actually when all the children lived at home, ha!  After searching and searching, I found a recipe I like here - at the Beehive Cottage and I followed her recipe.

What you'll need:

4# Borax
4# Washing Soda
4# Baking Soda
3 Bars of Ivory, Fels Naptha, or Zote Soap

All of these items can be found in the laundry isle at your local grocery store.  Walmart should have everything too.  I used Ivory Soap simply because I couldn't find the others but I did subsequently find  Fels Naptha at Walmart and will most likely use that next time.

All you need to do is grate your soap (Ivory was super easy to grate being it's a soft soap) and mix everything together.  Couldn't be easier!  To laundry your clothes place 2 Tbsps in and you're set!  I like to dissolve mine in hot water first and then add it.  You will not see suds when you wash with this but all is good and everything comes out squeaky clean!

Now in keeping with all natural laundry cleaner, I am now using White Vinegar for my fabric softener.  When I did a post on this I forgot to mention that I use 1/4 cup which I add to my fabric softener dispenser in my washer.  Otherwise, you just add it to the rinse cycle.  Once again, your clothes will not smell like vinegar, I promise!  That come out smelling clean and there is no static cling! 

Also, I have been using the Fels Naptha as a pre-treatment for stains.  If you know me then you know that I am rarely without a cup of coffee in my hand and thus I spill quite often, ha!  I have found that the Fels Naptha works rather well!

I found an awesome 2 gallon apothecary jar at Target.com for a good price.  I also happened to notice them at Walmart too.  Of course I had to "pretty" my jars by making and adding labels from graphics from the Graphics Fairy.  I even made a cute little jar for my clothes pins!

I'm linking up today with Faded Charm for my very first White Wednesday - be sure to stop over and see who else is linking up today!

Hugs,

Jacalyn

Cloning with Picnik

After my last post on playing with Picnik a few people asked me to demonstrate how to use the cloning feature on Picnik to blend pictures.  I am more than happy to do so but please remember I am a novice at this but I will show you what I know how to do.  Please note that you must have a premium membership with Picnik to use the cloning feature.  I think it's about 25 bucks a year.

Here's the two pictures I would like to combine:

 A pretty background from the Graphics Fairy... &

 A cupcake picture (and I forgot where I got this from, sorry).

Once you're on the homepage of Picnik, click on the Library Tab, then click on "Make a Collage."  Of course you'll need to upload your pictures here.  You'll note on that on the left hand side you can select from a variety of different collage designs.  For simplicity I chose just 2 spaces for this design.  Once you've chosen your pictures (just drag and drop which pictures you would like) click done and you're ready to clone!

It will look like this.  But remember that you can choose as many pictures as you like.

 As you can see I want to clone my cupcakes to add to my new background.  So, click on the advanced tab at the top of the page and you will see a new menu of items on your left side.  The very top one is the cloning feature.  Click on the cloning feature and then click on the area of the picture that you want to clone.  Next, using your left click on your mouse, add the new picture to the second one (hold left mouse button down and drag on the area of the page that you want to add it to).  Note that you can change the size of the brush.  Remember too that you can click on "undo" in the right hand corner at any time if you don't like something.

I ended up with this

Notice in the top photo how my cupcakes have some of the former background in the new design?  No problem!  Simply click on the eraser (you can change the size of that too to get into really tight places) and drag your mouse around the areas that you don't want.

So I've cleaned up what I didn't want and I am happy with how my transferred cupcakes look like. 

Lastly, click on the edit tab and crop your picture.  What do you think????

 There is so much you can do with Picnik and they have the greatest fonts that you can add too.  So give it a shot, explore, experiment and have some fun.

I would loooovvee to see what you come up with! 

I hope this helps, even a little bit.

xoxoxox,

Jacalyn

Who needs Pottery Barn?!

WARNING:  This post contains images that some may find disturbing!

I would strongly suggest that if you are an English Teacher or Librarian you just skip this post.  Continue reading at your own discretion.

Please don't hate me...

I just couldn't help myself.  It seemed like such a good idea and it, well, is just so darn pretty!

Please don't judge me...

By now many of you have seen this:

Pottery Barn book stacks - so very pretty indeed.  But $39.95?  A little steep for my budget (someone please tell my hubby to stop laughing....).  I am also sure you have seen the many knockoffs on others' blogs.  Well, what's a girl to do when she so longs for a vintage book stack and loves to craft?  Oh what to do... what to do...

Are you hating me yet?

It seems that I had these books sitting around, lonely and unread or read and discarded.  So I thought I would give them new (old) life.  And, it was super duper easy!

Disclaimer:  I. Am. Not. A. Book. Hater.  I love books.  I love to read.  And, there actually was some hesitation in, er, ripping the covers off of these books.  Like many of you, it has been drilled into my head that books should be respected and cherished.  And I sure do.  Which is why I can't bring myself to buy an e-reader.  I love the feel, the smell, the ambiance of a good book.  But I digress.

Want to make your own vintage stack of books?  Gather up some lonely books or buy some cheapies at your local thrift shop.  For my stack I used 4 books that I had around the house that I had read and no-one else wanted.  I *gasp* ripped the covers off and used distressing ink around the edges to make them appear old.  Next, I printed off a key graphic from the lovely and generous Graphics Fairy and used mod podge to adhere it to the top book.  I had some vintage lace and seem binding which I used to tie the books together.  I finished it off with some vintage keys and paper roses that I had. 

It was so easy and I love the results.  It now resides on the bottom of my end table.

Please don't hate me.  I just couldn't help myself!  And I ask you, who needs Pottery Barn?

Hugs,

Jacalyn