vintage metal cabinet rescue : show and tell.

I live in a small apartment and continually struggle with organization of sewing and craft supplies...creative nature? Possibly. Craft supply hoarder? Most definitely.  Anyway, when you find yourself in my predicament, closed system storage is the way to go. So, I found an old metal storage cabinet on the cheap-cheap and knew I could put it to good use. I used to have one very similar and in a fit of crazy, I "gave" it away, along with many other things during a change of residence. I have regretted letting it go many times but was stoked to have re-found this little treasure.

The cabinet was in need of some TLC, but the most I was willing to manage was putting a bandage of sorts over the nastiness of the shelves. I removed the old shelf-liner and cleaned each shelf as best I could, but not wanting to spend tons of time on this with paint, sanding and scraping: I opted for a band-aid. I used Con-Tact paper in a wood-grain pattern to cover over the rusted and scuffed metal hidden under the decades-old shelf-liner that was in the cabinet when I bought it. 

I measured the dimensions of each shelf and cut the contact paper to size, using my cutting mat and rotary cutter (gasp) that I use for my sewing and quilting projects. I added a couple of inches at the front so that it would wrap around the lip of each shelf (notice the notch in the corners). 

I peeled the backing from the Con-Tact paper, beginning in the left corner and then started smoothing it down (pictured above is how it looks when you get to the far right). I worked left to right until it was all stuck down. 

I had a wee-bit of an issue getting the Con-Tact paper to adhere properly to some areas of the shelves, likely a result of the condition of the paint surface I was trying to stick it to. I remedied that situation with my trusty Mod Podge, applying it directly to the shelf and front lip of the shelf then smoothing the paper over it with my fingers for a nice finish. Worked like a freaking charm. I'm so glad I spent the hour or so making this cabinet functional for my purposes. 

I think it looks great and it's hiding a multitude of craft hoard sins (said sins not necessarily pictured in this post).

You may notice on the second shelf from the bottom where I hadn't used the Mod-Podge to secure the shelf-paper under the lip. It made a big difference in this little project. I'm thrilled with how this turned out...it cost just dollars to do, very little mess and totally made the inside of this cabinet useable. Score. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

~erica

st. george's cross quilt.

A stunningly clean, 

modern, baby quilt with traditional appeal.

The parents of the lucky baby have exceptional taste and

were a joy to work with.

I enjoyed every single moment of putting this quilt together. 

xo

Erica 

{Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Winners}

Graph and Lined Paper Fabrics: 

1.Beth from Add a Pinch

2. Mike from The Amateur Quilter

Collage Fabric Scraps

Lena from In Polka Dots

Thanks for entering! Congrats to the winners, look out for my email.

Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day.

Awwwww yeauuuh... It's giveaway day! Here's what I'm offering:

2 winners will receive a fat quarter of each of the graph paper and lined paper print fabrics by Girl Friday for Andover Fabrics. I love these prints. These would be so great for end-of-year teacher gifts or pieced into your low-volume patchwork projects! This is my 3rd time giving them away for Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day. 'Nuf said.

AND...

1 winner will receive a scrap bag of each of the scrumptious prints (at least five inches square)  of Collage by SUCH Designs for Windham Fabrics, available in July. There is one print from the line I used up, so ya won't be getting that one. sorry.

To Enter: Leave a comment on this post telling me how you'd use these fabrics, follow the blog. International entries welcomed. If I don't see your e-Mail in your profile, I can't find you...so make it obvious. Thanks!

Giveaway ends May 10, 5:30 pm (EST) Good Luck!

Be sure to check out the other awesome giveaways happening over at Sew, Mama, Sew! There are some great craft supplies and handmade goods being offered up by great makers...get cozy, there's a lot!

Here's a link to CB Handmade on ...

~Erica

Introducing: Collage by SUCH Designs for Windham Fabrics! {Giveaway}

 

 I had the pleasure of creating this dimensional flying geese quilt with Collage, a brand new range of fabrics by SUCH Designs for Windham Fabrics. The fabric is scheduled to be released in July. Carrie Bloomston is the artist responsible for the impeccably designed fabrics I used in this quilt. I couldn't help but play with the rainbow-y graduation of colors when laying out the fabrics, they seem to beg for it.

{Hand-tied using DMC Pearl Cotton in Ecru}

     Aside from the vivid colors that this range offers, I truly loved the kernels of wisdom embedded on the 'newsprint' and 'scattered' prints. Who doesn't enjoy an uplifting, thought provoking quote? There are some goodies on here! 

You can read more about Carrie's inspiration for this line on her blog, get to know her! She's going to be around for awhile, she's a tried and true artist...I can't wait to see what else she's got up her smock sleeve. She's also got links to all of the other designers that were making some magic with this fabric....they are all having giveaways too!

  

and now for some free stuff...

To celebrate the arrival of Collage, SUCH Designs and Windham fabrics are offering up a layer cake  (10" squares) of the entire range. You don't have to wait until July to get sewing if you win one! 

{photo courtesy of SUCH Designs}

To enter the giveaway:
 Leave a comment below. Share your favorite quote, a crafty plan or your shoe size...whatever strikes your fancy.

Just be sure that I can reach you via email if you win!

Giveaway closes on Monday April 15  Midnight(ish) EST
Giveaway Closed!
Congrats to Barb! Random.org chose #153. Barb and Sharon of  the blog Wits End. Does this mean you'll have to share the fabric? Uh oh. 

 Perhaps you don't sew? Or want to double down on your chances of winning something?  Head over to my Facebook page, where you might win one of the two coin purses shown above. Adapted from the Gathered Clutch Pattern by Anna Graham of Noodlehead.  She's an amazing designer and she'll be showcasing Collage fabrics on her blog April 18th!

Thanks for stopping in. 

Collage should be available at your finer local quilt shops and favorite online retailer in July so be sure to ask if they'll be stocking this lovely line! 

navy gingham quilt.

A custom quilt.

Perfectly imperfect, in every way.

In which, tradition met modern on the East coast for an afternoon tennis match,

and fell in love. 

The hand-printed backing fabric on this quilt makes me melt. It's quite possibly the nicest fabric I've ever worked with. The price is reflective of the quality and the care put into creating this gorgeous textile. In other words, you won't find this in a bargain basement! It has the hand and drape of a buttery, vintage muslin, perfectly soft and broken in, truly a dream to sew with.  You can find it HERE, if you happen to be interested. I will seriously take this fabric into consideration when it comes time for  sewing for my hypothetical babies...until then...

Go make something!

xo

~Erica

grey and white herringbone quilt.

Yep, another one bites the dust.

This time, with a slightly softer yellow binding.

And a lively backing fabric called Silent Cinema by Jenean Morrison for FreeSpirit fabrics. Centering this puppy on the back proved to be a bit of a chore, surprisingly so. I ended up choosing my 'center' and ironing the fabric into quadrants taking care to split each of the tiny little flowers that that run the warp and weft into halves. Then I carefully pinned it to registration marks I made on my batting that corresponded with the center marks on all four sides of the quilt. Phew! Avoidance of this task might be why I use non-directional prints and solids so much in my quilting. Do you have any tricks for centering backing  fabric? I'd love to hear...

Go make something!

~E

black and white cross quilt.

Could alternatively be titled, Mourning Nurse Crawley. Alas, I thought that would be a tad morose title for a baby quilt. Inspired by my Red Cross Quilt.

This lil' guy recently departed the bitter-chill of Michigan's winter and is looking forward to living its days in sunny California. 

Cheers!

~e

a valentine for all.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

xo

~Erica

blue and green herringbone baby quilt.

A custom quilt...

with snazzy colors,

and a playful backing,

that I considered keeping 'cause it matches my chair. 

Alas, I did not. 

Oh, Uhhh....Where did January go? 

vintage postcard rescue.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across some gorgeous vintage postcards in my local antique shop. I've seen a million postcards in my thrifting and antiquing adventures but was especially drawn to them on this particular visit. Not knowing what I wanted to do with them, I spent the greater part of an hour thumbing through hundreds of occasional cards. I  read the quirky messages written on the backs that date as far back as 1900,  admiring the language, penmanship and the gorgeous artwork. 

I wanted to send a few of these to some special persons in my life. Naturally, only one made it out. However, I thought it would be as shame to glue these wonderful messages to blank card and lose the history! Lightbulb moment: use photo corners! I'm certain I am not the first to have this idea for this application but having not looked it up for myself, I thought I would share with you all. 

Using the photo corners, your recipient can easily remove the card for re-gifting or for collage or framing. Can you imagine giving or receiving a box of these as a gift? What a perfect semi-handmade gift for the snail-mail loving, vintage enthusiast. Preserving history and passing on vintage cheer, what could be better? Not much. In my book, anyway.

{a couple of my favorites}

 All supplies can be purchased at your local craft store, inexpensively. Vintage postcards can be sought at antique stores, estate sales, thrift shops, Ebay, Etsy and so forth. I would expect to pay about $1 per postcard, more or less depending on subject matter, condition and rarity. Easy peasy.