mod podge shoes.

When I shop for clothes, I generally steer away from animal prints.
Maybe I feel it's too wild for my taste and feel I can't pull it off, or that it would take more work to coordinate with them. Let's just say that I like dressing to be simple with minimum work required... ;)

Well, lately I've been loving the look of leopard print flats, and decided to get the look with an old pair of shoes I owned.

These shoes were crusty from toes...

to heels.

They were one of those pairs of shoes that are so unbelievably comfy from constant wear and it would just pain you to throw them away (...or is that a serious sign of being a hoarder?)

I used Outdoor Mod Podge to ensure there would be more durability and a bit of water-resistance, foam brushes, and a shirt I found at Goodwill for $5. I have been looking around for a leopard print for awhile, and this XL shirt had just the print I wanted.
I've used Mod Podge before on a previous project and loved the way it turned out!

I actually used two methods to try mod podging these shoes. I'll share the first (that I ended up re-doing because I didn't like the final look). I first cut out a basic square of fabric that would cover each shoe.

With scissors, I cut an 'I' shape over the shoe's opening.

Then, I started mod podging my shoes, smoothing down the fabric, and snipping the material to make it easier to wrap around rounded edges.

and I snipped away any excess fabric.

Lastly, I put two layers of mod podge over the shoes and left them over night to harden and dry. In the morning, the material was stiffer and in some areas the material folded and looked chunky (this method might work with a thinner material), but I wasn't satisfied with how the mod podge darkened the material and made it look like someone had barfed on it.

end result? grossness.

So I ripped off the material and started over.

This time, I used the previous stiff material as a pattern outline to cut sections of material, and I glued them on section by section (this worked much better than one large piece).

I used a LOT of mod podge to adhere the fabric and made sure there were no folds. And I did NOT mod podge over the material.

left: with mod podge over fabric - right: mod podge under fabric

In the end, the difference in colour was pretty significant and I was really happy with how not-chunky-dunk they were (compared to the first time around)!

The end result: no scary sharp edges, but just a comfy leopard print shoe for around $5!

(my paste-y winter feet are happy)

Not a bad deal, considering this lovely leopard print shoe from j.crew is selling for a mere $290!

Here's a before and after:

before.

after.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

two 'sewing' alternatives: tea towel doggy bag

hi there.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who doesn't have a fear of sewing machines, right? Before my MIL even taught me how to use one of those contraptions, I wanted to do some fabric projects, and found some ways to cheat at sewing.

Okay, a warning for those avid sewing folk (I was just about to say 'sewers', but that could look offensive), this could be insulting to your craftsmanship, but understand it's from one sewing-challenged person to maybe others that have the same issues :)

I found these two products and decided to try them both on one project, just to compare the two. I used Aleene's Fabric Fusion and Prym's Sewing's Stitch Witchery (a great thing for any project where the stitches would want to remain hidden, my MIL says!)
I'm sure they're not normally used entirely for a project, but rather small areas that need a quick fix rather than the machine, but... again, sewing-challenged!

While I was walking around Indigo, I came across these discounted napkins. I was smitten by the colourful fabric and the cute patterns (and the 50% off price tag), that I decided to grab one without a real plan in mind. I especially loved the red acorn print, but the tea towel was oddly shaped, so I had to pass.

I opted for the bright happy-yellow leaf-print towel. With a ruler, I measured out my various sides

and cut my fabric into 5 sections. I really eyed it and just cut along the pressed edges (again, don't judge! ;)

I used the fabric glue for the main part of my bag. I began to glue sections together and used several magazines to add weight while it dried.

The glue was great when it dried (it stayed put), but at times it did seep through the material & stick to the sides not intended (but with a gentle tug, it was a-ok).

And whenever I needed a bit more, extra could be added.

When the basic construction was complete, I wanted to cover up the fraying edges so I used the stitch witchery, ribbon, a damp press cloth and an iron for the border. This was a bit tricky, but I got the hang of it eventually and it worked out great.

I used this for my handles (my MIL had it in her scrap bin).

For the front of the bag, I wanted to use a silhouette of my dog. I found one that was as close to my dog as possible, and carefully traced it.

I just made adjustments to get it as close to my critter.

I wanted a darker fabric behind the light grey of the silhouette and decided on navy blue felt.

I used both stitch witchery for the blue frame and glue for the silhouette. The stitch witchery was far quicker than the glue (no 2-4 hour wait time for it to dry)!

And when working with any fabric, the witchery didn't seep through like the glue did. With that being said, the glue had the benefit of working around awkward corners, like in this silhouette.

When dry, I found the glue marks weren't as noticeable, but they were still visible.

When it was complete, I have to say that it would have been neater and less 'homemade' looking if it was measured and sewn properly. As wonderful as the glue and tape are, nothing beats the good ol' clean seams from a machine (see those ribbon ends starting to fray? sigh...)

But, it did end up being a good catchall bag for my dog's things for when we travel. It's a good thing she doesn't recognize a sloppy seam.

I got my purse. Where to?

(in fact, she loved it! Right when she saw her Martha Stewart houndstooth coat & rawhide bone go in, she was eager to go).

Maybe a little too eager.

So, for those of us who have never stepped foot onto a sewing machine pedal, there are ways to get fabric projects done (especially if the person you're making it for is uninterested in the latest name brand handbag and wouldn't mind toting around a glued & taped purse!)

hmm... this isn't the Gucci purse I asked for...

Have a great weekend! 

Inexpensive ways to remove wallpaper

When we moved into our home, we noticed that our previous owners had children. Thank goodness there were no handprints or crayon on the wall, but they did leave us with some wallpaper to prove it. How else could someone get away with this:

cute. 

and this:

...the birds and the bees? Maybe that's the perfect wallpaper for a baby's room...
 

As wonderful as the choices were, I didn't want to be thinking about the birds n' the bees all the time, so I knew I needed to remove them.

I have only heard of how painstaking it is to remove wallpaper, so I wanted to try some inexpensive ways that were hopefully just as effective as any product being sold on the market.

My first method was with a plastic scraper and a clothes steamer (can you spot the drippy marks on the wall? And yes, that nasty weird paint mark, too?) 

Although it did remove it somewhat well, it did turn the room into a humid sweatbox and it required quite a bit of steam to get the paper loose. After removing drooping wallpaper, some chunks of pulp were left on the walls and it even took out bits of paint (I'm guessing it could've been the plastic scraper... maybe this could've been avoided with a soft scrub brush). 

The second method I tried was with laundry detergent + water in a spray bottle (equal parts of both). 

I read online somewhere that this was an effective method when coupled with a scratchy dish scrubber. 

All you had to do was spray on location a number of times and scrub away (some spots required quite a few sprays for the wallpaper to soak up enough solution), and the wallpaper would come off quite easily. If there was a resistance, just spray some more and scrub.

The diluted detergent removed the wallpaper quite well and compared to the steamer, having the room stay the same humidity and smell like a fresh load of laundry was a bonus! The only downside was the clumps of soapy wallpaper you had to clean up.

Another option that I read about online was using a wallpaper scourer (similar to a pizza cutter, but with teeth) and some windshield wiper fluid in a spray bottle.  I was intrigued, but wasn't a fan of any chemical-soaked paper being scattered on the floor for our fur child to eat (trust me, she'll eat anything). 
Have you tried this method before?

I'm interested to hear if there are any other inexpensive ways to remove wallpaper without much of a hassle. If so, do share! :)
I'm currently spraying these rooms down and would love to be enlightened with an alternative :)

spraying away,

:)