Under Construction

Last week I decided I would finally have a free weekend to do my bathroom face-lift of painting and new accessories... and then... like a lot of my projects it turned into a little more than I originally planned :) I like to take an idea and run with it to the extreme. And it didn't help that my husband actually encouraged this project! So a simple face-lift led to some demolition and a bigger bathroom redo...

So my little weekend project wasn't able to be finished... yet.

CAPM

Lots of things have been keeping me busy and away from my sewing room the past few weeks, one of which I thought I'd share. The past month I have been studying for a project management certification. On Monday I sat for the exam... And passed! I am officially a Certified Associate of Project Management. Hopefully now that the studying is done it will free up some sewing time for me and projects to share with you.

Craft Closet Re-org

This action item has been on my to-do list for quite some time, so today I decided it was time to clean my craft room closet. I promise, it hasn't been this bad for that long, but I've been bad about stuffing it full so my sewing room would be clean :) Not the best strategy (I know). Pretty much all off the organizational stuff is from Target, although I've been collecting it over time. This week I found all of the pink & grey cardboard boxes and the shoe organizers in the $ spot, which kept the cost down for this project. 

I decided to maximize the space I would remove the closet doors. This way I would be able to get to the containers that are in the corners of the closet more easily. I intend to have the hubby hang a curtain for me :) 

I have this simple little black shelf right outside the closet doors and wanted to tie it in to the closet design so I added the last of the cardboard boxes and revamped my thread display. I thought by displaying my larger spools and embroidery thread on a 2-tier platter it would add a nice touch.
What do you think?

DIY Suitcase Dog Bed

A few months ago I saw a suitcase dog bed on Pinterest and decided it would make the perfect addition to my Mid-Century Modern living room design. So I went searching for an old suitcase. I scored this one for only $8 from Good Finds! Tonight I finally got around to completing my dog bed. Here's what I did:

Supplies

Old Suitcase

Fabric

Old Pillow

Legs & Hardware

Craft Paint

TOTAL COST = $36

First I started with the easy part - Added a pop of yellow paint to the unfinished wood legs

Then I needed to deconstruct parts of the suitcase. I didn't need to keep all the added bulky pockets so I unscrewed some out and cut out the ones that were stitched. Next I measured my top lining fabric.

I ironed down the top edges for a finished look. Then using measrurements from the suitcase's interior height, I calculated how far in I would need to pin the corners together to stitch the corners in place, then sewed.

Zoey seemed to figure out what I was working on before I was finished :) 

I decided to go with a minky fabric for the pillow because my dogs LOVE soft fuzzy blankets and beds. I was able to reuse an old pillow for the dog bed pillow stuffing. I simply sewed up a basic pillow case using the minky fabric and stuffed the pillow inside. 

I'm all about personalization so I wanted to include the dogs names into the dog bed, which I embroidered. I originally was going to make 2 beds (one for each) but I haven't found another suitcase yet and decided they could share. They share everything anyways! So I created a long pocket that I stitched in half so each dog could store some toys or bones or whatever they decided to hide. 

Hot glue will do just the trick for this project. I glued in the top lining. 

Added the finishing touches (once dried)

I think they like it!

Here is Gizmo enjoying his new cozy bed...

But I think Zoey might claim it as her's. She's currently in it now.

And the best part is it can be closed when not in use, and it will be easy to wash the pillowcase if it gets dirty.