Project ReStyle Guest Post on A Beautiful Mess

I found two old children's cots awhile back at a local thrift store. This is what happened next. For the full story head over to Elsie's blog for my Project ReStyle Guest Post and favorite ReStyles from our Flickr group.

xoxo,
Rachel

Project ReStyle: Modern Mobile

I can't get enough of triangles. There were a few wire hangers taking up space in our closet from the dry cleaners so I decided to put them to good use. I used wire cutters and plyers to form similarly sized triangles, then wrapped them in 1/2" x 18" strips of fabric in aqua, yellow, and gray.

Then I arranged them on the floor and attached them all to the vintage wooden hanger. It took awhile to wrap the hangers but it was an easy project and could be altered to make a variety of shapes.

Here are a few of my favorite ReStyles from our Flickr feed this week!

Headboard by Kiki Creates.


Restyled Toms by Heidi-and-Seek.


Shelf makeover by Morganours.

We'd love to see yours in our Flickr Feed next week!

xoxo,
Rachel

Project ReStyle: Shirt to Skirt

Look what Mandi from Here's Lookin' At Me Kid made with an old western shirt! This week's Project ReStyle is something you can do if you've got some basic sewing skills and a thrift store nearby. This skirt would be perfect for spring with some vintage woven oxfords or a fun wedge sandal!

Here are a few of my favorites from the Project ReStyle Flickr pool.

From Brown Bobbin

And the Before from 003k


Before here from Tura Lura Laral

Head over to Elsie's to see some of her favorite Project ReStyle's this week.

xoxo,
Rachel

Curtains on the Cheap

I've made a master list of all of the projects I can currently think of that I'd like to finish to make our home feel mostly set up. A few of them are a little more fun than others (make a handmade cover for the teepee in the kids' room) and are expendable if I run out of time (I will) but mainly it's things like hanging art on walls, finding a kitchen table for our little kitchen space, and organizing fabric in my studio so I can have more floor space.

One thing I've already been able to check off the list is curtains for the kids' room. They share a room and it's pretty important to me that most of the spaces in our home reflect who we are as a family while maintaining a certain aesthetic. Being a vintage lover (hoarder) lends itself well to putting together a space we all love while being thrifty most of the time and definitely in this case.

I found this vintage flat sheet (full size) in the back of a flea market near Joplin, MO and paid about $1.00 for it. It's free of holes and stains, has vibrant colors, and was the perfect neutral color for a boy-girl shared room. The only thing was it was ONE sheet for TWO windows.

I decided to bend the rules and cheat a bit as far as curtain measurements go and cut that sheet up into four even panels, lined them with another thrifted white muslin sheet, and hung them high. Had this been fabric yardage, and if the space under both windows were free of things pushed up against them, I would've doubled the width of each panel (at least) and had them hang to the ground to make the ceiling look taller. I did the best with what I had and I am really pleased with the end result. Also, this is counting as my Project ReStyle #2!

Apparently, Ruby is growing a chocolate moustache. This is a picture of her telling me I did a great job and that she loves how much cozier the curtains made their room feel. The horses concur.

Also, this is the new time out spot. You decide not to finish your oatmeal and you get three minutes on the wardrobe. No tolerance of bad behavior around here.

(No vintage globes or children were harmed in the taking of these pictures.)

I'm currently sitting in my cozy studio watching the snow fall outside and avoiding the aforementioned boxes of fabric that need stacking on the shelf. I hope you have a lovely, lovely weekend. The Modern Patchwork giveaway is open until Tuesday if you haven't entered yet!

Stay warm,
Rachel

p.s. We don't really put him up there when he gets in trouble. They were just having some fun. Brett is good at diffusing things when it's headed that way with S. Just in case some of you thought we left him up there by himself or something. ;)

Project ReStyle: Week Five

Check out Elsie's fun ReStyle this week! She remade a tacky 80's mannequin into something altogether different. See how she did it here and then check out some of my favorite home-themed restyles from our Flickr pool. They keep getting better and better!

Cookie Louise Pleaze


Miriam.Madmim


Skunkboy Creatures

I have a feeling I'll have quite a few ReStyles to post this month as we get closer to feeling settled in our new place and this group is keeping me motivated! Thanks for all of your fabulous submissions to the Flickr pool each week. Elsie and I love looking through them! If you didn't see last week's ReStyle it was brought to you by the fabulous Keiko Lynn.

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. Modern Patchwork giveaway below!

Project ReStyle: Week Four With Keiko Lynn

This week's Project ReStyle is brought to us by the fabulous miss Keiko Lynn. I love how she completely restyled this matronly lace dress. I can imagine it was a mother-of-the-bride dress from 1985! It looks stunning now and makes me want to go out and find one of my own!

Before: Long 80s dress with a lot of rust stains near the top, big shoulder pads and long sleeves

After: Trapeze mini dress with 3/4 sleeves and scoop neck

Here's what I did: I started by removing the sleeves and discarding the shoulder pads and rose that was sewn at the hip. I knew I wanted it to have sleeves, so I shortened them (at the top, to avoid extra hemming) to my liking. I had to get rid of the top of the dress, because there were several rust stains. I cut off the damaged area and worked from there. cutting new arm holes and a scoop neck. After putting the newly shortened sleeves back on, I hemmed the neckline - and it was finished!

Originally, I was going to make an elastic casing for the waistline but decided against it, in favor of the trapeze cut. This way, I can wear it loose for a 60s mod feel or belt it for more definition. From start to finish, this project took me about 30 minutes - including threading the serger and sewing machine and winding a new bobbin. Plus, I was able to save a little old dress from its deathbed.

Great job, Keiko Lynn!

Here are a few of my favorites from this week's Flickr group.

Doily lamp makeover by Margot.


Chair makeover by Miriam.Madmim


The after and the before by Sara Schmidle.

These projects are great and there are so many more to fantastic ones in the Flickr group. I LOVE the way everyone is rethinking their stuff and making things new again. What have you been working on this lately? I've got about three more projects to tackle next week that I'm hoping to add to the Project ReStyle group myself. I love a good challenge and making things work in a new space is making me think hard!

xoxo,
Rachel

Project ReStyle: Week Three Presents Stephen and Shauna of Something's Hiding In Here

This next project is the handiwork of the talented couple Stephen and Shauna of Something's Hiding In Here.

candle sticks made from salvaged spindles
inspired by our new years resolution to do more entertaining, we wanted to make our own candle sticks for a cozy dinner party. to get started we rummaged our studio and found some old architectural spindles. we hand cut them to length with a small japanese pull saw. then, drilled a hole into the top with a forstner bit to fit a small taper candle. that's it - so simple!
~Stephen and Shauna

I love the way they've not only given new life to old architectural pieces but styled them so well. They are truly a talented pair and always thinking up brilliant ideas. Thank you, Stephen and Shauna, for joining in on Project ReStyle! I'm off to look for a Forstner bit.

Here are a few of my favorite wardrobe ReStyles from the Flickr group.

Amorby.


The Velvet Bird


Heidi-And-Seek

It's been fantastic seeing how many members have joined up in the Project ReStyle Flickr Group! We're close to 1,000 people already! If you love turning something old into something new we'd love to see your projects. Ya'll are getting fancy over there!

xoxo,
Rachel

Mood Lighting: Project ReStyle Week 2

When I first saw this vintage drum lamp shade at a flea market in Oklahoma City I wasn't sure if I wanted to turn it into a mobile or a fun photo display but then realized it could serve a practical purpose instead! I used four strands of white wire Christmas lights that I carefully wrapped around the lamp frame and then attached two plant hooks into the ceiling to hang it over our new bed. It's large scale makes it perfect as a focal point in our room and the glow of the light is absolutely beautiful after dark!

To celebrate 1/11/11 we built a bed fort with a few of my favorite vintage sheets and a random old curtain panel. We read books and had a tickle fight and took some funny Instax photos to mark the occasion!

You can still join us for Project ReStyle, find details here. I've really been enjoying the variety of ideas and ReStyles that are being shared in our Flickr group!

A refashioned vintage dress from Krust.

I have been enjoying this concept of painting on vintage art by Paper Sparrow... as well as Diane Reeves below.

Who knew you could ReStyle your cowboy boots!

Check back every Wednesday for more posts sharing ways to refashion and restyle unwanted or unloved things into something fantastic! Elsie and I have been so excited by the response! I love that so many of you are joining in and sharing because it shows how many of you are already restyling experts!

xoxo,
Rachel