OMBRE DRESSER

We bought an Ikea dresser donkeys years ago- Oh about 10 years ago now. I originally painted it white.  Now before I go any further I have to say I completely forgot to take a before shot-stupid I know!  I just got so darn excited about painting the thing!  As you all know by now, I love Red White and Blue.  And keeping with that theme I wanted to paint the dresser Ombre Navy.  For those who don't know, Ombre is when  a colour goes from one level in saturation down to another with variations in between.  You can also change he colour by "greying" it down as well.  Before I reveal my Ombre Dresser here are some examples of Ombre:

Houzz

Houzz

Miss Madison's Charmed Life

Ehow

Dr. Mommy Online

A Wedding Cake Blog

Hems Haws

How fun is this dresser- what a great use of Ombre here.

Amazon

You know I just had to put in some yarn.




Here is the dresser:

The colour that I started with was Ralph Lauren "Harbour"

It is such a great Navy.  Very deep, Very Saturated, Very Clear.  If you are looking for a muted navy this is NOT the one for you.  It definitely has a very deep bluey/ slightly purple undertone to it.  I started by painting the body of the dresser with the full on Harbour.  I then mixed up 5 variations of the colour and painted one white.  It is a white I had lying around-bought it at Habitat some time ago-again $10.00 for a gallon.  The Harbour by RL was colour matched at my local Home Hardware in their Beauti-Tone paint-eggshell finish.  They always do such a great job-thanks again Fran!

When I finish the bedroom I will show some more pics.

Hope this gives a little inspiration to everyone.

Have a great day

Megan

GROSGRAIN RIBBON WATCH

Another one of my favourite things on the planet is Grosgrain Ribbon.  What am I Oprah here??  But really....  I just think it is such a fun little thing. It is colourful, preppy and  did I mention OH SO PREPPY??  And you can do so much with it - that and a sewing machine!

Canadian House and Home

Canadian House and Home

Alexis Mabille

Alexis Mabille

I think I have found my new clothing designer crush.  Alexis's clothing is so amazing.  He really does have great detail in his clothes.  And even though they are fashion forward they aren't so forward that they are unwearable by you and I.  Just GORGEOUS!!

Etsy

Canadian Living

Threechickadees

J Crew

Alibaba

Kaboodle

PBTeen

PBTeen

PBTeen

J Caroling Creative

At J Caroline there is a great tutorial on how to make a grosgrain watch band.  The only thing I didn't do is Heat n' Bond the two ribbons together.  I sewed them together with matching thread.  The Heat n' Bond just won't hold up plus I like the look of the stitching.  Since I can sew a decent line I just held the 2 together and took my time sewing them together-Pins can sometimes snag the ribbon.  Acetate snags really easy.
Here is mine:

 even though the 1 ribbon is slightly wider than the other - even though on the package it stated they were the same -7/8",  I think that they still look great.  I can't wait to make more.  The ribbon, D Rings and the thread all came in under $10.00.  Plus I have tons of Ribbon left over for other projects.  Will be keeping my eye open for other ribbons to make more watch bands.  Note that when I tried to put the pin back in around the ribbon to hold it in place it sproinged up and out about 8'!!  I have NO idea where it jumped to!  I looked everywhere in my kitchen - even bribed the boys with a monetary reward if they found it.  Do you have any idea how small and awkward those springy pins are?  Lets just say I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!  So off to Sears Watch Repair to buy another pin - $3.00!!  Lets hope when I go to change the ribbon the pin doesn't SPROING up and out again!!

Anyways.... Hope you have enjoyed this little Grosgrain Ribbon inspiration today.
Have a great day everyone!
Megan

BUTTONS, BUTTONS EVERYWHERE!!

I just love buttons!  I am not sure why?  I think maybe it has to do with the fact that they are small but pack a big punch.  I love all kinds- plain, colourful, bejewelled and covered.  I would have to say that my favourite by far is the covered button.  Again, I am not sure why this is.  I just think that maybe it is the endless possibilities that one has when covering a button.  Plus I think it's a tactile thing.  This is especially true of Velvet covered buttons.  Here are some pics of my favourite buttons:

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How wonderful are these felt covered buttons?  I mean, how happy do these make me feel??  They are so wonderful-love all the colours- happy colours everyone!

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How lovely is this?  I really think the covered button just adds to the whole flower- Love it!!

Pinterest

Ah Covered Buttons-aren't they lovely.  You can pick any fabric as long as it isn't too bulky! 

Pinterest

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I love Gingham-as you know from a previous posting on the subject- so these little lovelies make my heart smile!

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More Gingham-More happiness!!

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If you can sew a button on to fabric then you can do the above!

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You can take the covered button idea one step further and embroider the fabric before you make the button-what a great idea!!

Etsy

How amazing are these little lovelies??  Don't ya just want to touch them? I love velvet for it's tactile properties!

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Loving all the colours mixed together- I think I especially like this pile of buttons because of the colours- red, white and blue!!!

Pinterest

I love how these are presented.  I also love all of the colours and the way they look together.  So pretty!

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I think one of my other favourite buttons is Shell Buttons.  I have such a thing for Shell buttons-either real or fake.  There is something about the iridescence that I love.  I think that because of this iridescence they tend to go with so many things.

And the great thing about buttons is that you can do so many things with them-they're not just for shirts anymore!

Pinterest

Pinterest

This necklace is so great and so easy to make- I mean anyone can string buttons.  Instant necklace-I love it!!

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Just look at these antique carved buttons.  They are like little jewels.  These would look awesome framed!

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Coloured ones!  Just look at them- so cute!!

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Mixing it up a little adds interest!





Here are some crafts with buttons:

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Love this "Heart Pillow.  So cute!!  And so easy!  Well at this point my friends would be humphing and say-"easy for you"!!  Well it is easy- either make the pillow are buy one ready made and sew on some buttons- not brain surgery.  Everyone-and I do mean everyone should be able to at least sew on a button-life skills people!!  You don't need to know how to sew a wedding dress but you should at least know how to thread a needle and sew on a button.  I am going to make darn sure my boys can do at least that much!!!

BHG

Such a great craft for the home that anyone can do- can you glue- yep!!  Then an awesome, unique lampshade you can have!

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Other button crafts/DIY:

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How awesome is this- a bouquet that will never wilt!!

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A button curtain. Now that's a lot of buttons and a lot of stringing!!  But it is amazing if you have the patience!

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So cute and charming!



And here is one of my collections of little buttons.  I actually just bought them last week.  I bought them in...... Walmart of all places!  Imagine!!  I have an idea of what I want to do with some of them so stay tuned.  The little bowl that is housing them was part of a set of bowls my lovely man bought me for my birthday some years ago- I love them!  They are the Nigella Egg Bowls.  Here is a couple of more pics:

Just me fooling around with the camera.  I just really liked all of these colours together-happy place colours!



This little lovely flower pin was made by me.  I found a flower petal pattern on the net- sorry I can't remember which one.  I then proceeded to make 3 of them in different sizes.  I then sewed them one on top of the other.  Then I added a gingham covered button (I covered the button myself) to the center of the flower.  I then sewed a latching pin to the back -  you could also glue a "rare earth magnet" to the back of the flower and then use another rare earth magnet to then attach where you like on your clothing. Basically sandwich what you are wearing between the magnet and the flower with the magnet. The advantage with using magnets instead of pins/safety pin is that you don't end up puncturing your clothes.  I use this trick especially if the top I am wearing is especially delicate.  The magnets are super strong- whatever you are wearing will not fall off.  You can get them at Lee Valley.  

Well that's it for buttons for now- I am sure that I will be revisiting these great little objects in the future.

Have a great day everyone.

Megan