Wrap Bracelet with Natalie of Northshore Days

 

Hey Everyone,

Hope you all had great weekends. Its time for Inspiration Cafe again - yay, so lets get started.

Today  I'm going to show you how to make a Wrap Bracelet

There are so many of these wrap bracelets around blog world with loads of great tutorials. I have to admit that when I first saw these bracelets popping up on Pinterest I thought they would be too difficult to make. That was until I saw a tutorial from Happy Hour Projects. So simple and so easy.

Here's what you need:

Cord, cotton for sewing, a needle, beads (uniform in size) and a button. 

I also used a clipboard to secure the cord so that I could work neatly. 

I roughly measured my wrist and allowed for a bit extra. Double the length and cut the cord. At the bend in the cord (halfway mark) knot the loop for the closure, make sure that your button will fit snugly through the loop.

Here's how to sew it:

Thread the needle with a double thread and secure to the cord.

I worked from left to right in a figure 8.

Thread the first bead onto the cotton and pass under the right cord.

Loop over the right cord and thread back through the bead.

Pass under the left cord and loop over - thread the next bead on.

Again pass under the right cord. Over.

Thread back through the bead.

Under the left cord and over. Thread the next bead on.

 

Continue until you arehappy with the length, then secure the end of the cotton onto the cordand cut off. Thread the button onto the cord ends and secure. I likedthe end pieces sticking out but you can cut them off for a neater look.

 

  

Pretty easy right?

I love it - its by far my favourite bracelet to wear. And I get loads of compliments and "where did you buy its" when I wear it.

 I haven't had time to make more yet, but I definitely will, and I think next time I will make it longer so I can wrap it twice around my wrist.

 

I hope you enjoyed Inspiration Cafe today.  Be back next week to see what Mary from Sweet Little Bluebird has in store for us

Take care

xxx

Continue Reading ...

FREE TABLE TRANSFORMED TO GAME TABLE~ IC#12

Welcome back to Pondered Primed Perfected for another dose of Inspiration Cafe!  It's been a crazy, busy time around here but I can't wait to show you my little DIY project.

Scott brought this free table home when he went to pick up something off Craigslist and they said "You want any of this other stuff?"

You can guess what he said.  :)

It was pretty messed up so I sanded it down and then stained the square leg portions with clear poly to bring out the detailing in the boxtail joints.  :)  I thought they were dovetailed at first but looked it up to make sure...they're called boxtailed if they are squared like this.  Good to know, right? 

I stained the tabletop portion with a dark brown stain and left it otherwise unfinished.  I knew I wanted to do something fun with it, but at that time I had no idea what....

We've been working on what we call the NOOK upstairs.  It's a little gaming and movie viewing area we added to our upstairs space.  We needed some type of lightweight table for setting a cribbage board or a game of checkers on...maybe some game controllers and a juice box from time to time.  So...

Just the perfect size for board games, right?
So using our cardboard checkerboard as a sizing guide, I marked out a grid with pencil and straight edge.  I measured the tabletop and marked the center point and measured out from there so it would all be centered nicely. 

 
Once the lines were all marked I went over them again with a white paint pen.  I wasn't going for perfect so I didn't get too concerned if the lines were a bit wobbly or the amount of paint coming out wasn't exactly consistent. 
Once I had the grid done I started filling in every other square...you know...like a checkerboard!  ;)

I didn't try to fill them in completely but kind of scribbled them in from one corner to the other. Then I went around the outer edge again to make it stand out as the border.

That's it!  Simple really.

Then I got all artsy-smart and wanted to take some cool photos in the yard since the NOOK area is too dark for good photography.
A couple of stumps as chairs.  Cool, huh!?  I thought so!

Add the checkers and you're ready for some friendly competition.
BUT I decided I just had to climb on one of those cute little stumps to get a better angle.  I got a better angle alright...when it dumped me on my Patootie in the grass!!!!!

Here's the angle from down there!!!

(You'll notice the slightly broken "boxtailed" table joint...yeah...I did that when I used the table to break my fall.  :)  It hurt.  A LOT.  That'll teach me to get artsy-fartsy with my photos!  I couldn't figure out if I should laugh or cry, so I did both.  I think the table's okay.  The camera survived too.  My leg may be scarred a bit...that little stump took out a nice section of my shin.  I uttered a few choice cuss words.  I can't quite remember.  I quickly snapped this last photo to check that the camera was okay, then crawled to the bench for first aid.  Thank you Scotty!)

Little bit of wood glue and this table will be ready for some gaming action!  I hope it hosts many fun games and happy moments.  That might make up for the pain!!

I love how it looks with our glass chess set!

Time to brush up on my chess playing skills!!!

Continue Reading ...

White Board to Chalk Board ~ Inspiration Cafe #11

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend.  Crazy, busy, fun weekend here for me and my family.  Time to sit and enjoy some creativity with Danni from Silo Hill Farm.  Danni, take it away!

Welcome to the

For those of you that follow my blog, you know that most of my projects are pretty quick, fairly versatile and very inexpensive. 
With summer winding down, and a busy fall season just around the corner, I decided to make a small white board I could put on my fridge to remind me of some upcoming events that I'm looking forward to, like.....

 I started out thinking I was going to cute up this little whiteboard that I got from our bank when they had a grand opening for their new building.

Unfortunately, the pen was not a whiteboard marker.  Don't know what that was about, but anyway, I needed a change of plan.  I had a chalk marker and a piece of adhesive chalkboard vinyl that a friend gave me, so I figured it was time for my first chalkboard project.
Now I love Freedom Bank, but their logo just doesn't match my decor, so I got out my scissors, cut off the logo, trimmed down the chalkboard vinyl to fit, removed the pen holder, then got out my washi tape and trimmed the edges out.

Now it's looking a little cuter and I haven't spent a dime on this project.  I used a strip of magnetic tape that I cut in half and fastened on the marker to make it stick to my fridge so it will always be handy.

 You can see that I have some fun things coming up on my schedule.  I've decided to use it for only the fun things.  That way when I'm feeling overwhelmed, all I have to do is look at it and I'll be cheered up!  
Thanks for stopping by the Inspiration Cafe today and don't forget to come by again next Monday to see what Sherry from Pondered Primed Perfected {P3} has been doing.  You can bet it will be something special.

Continue Reading ...

Catching a Wave of Change

My boy looking out toward the sea and surf just over that grassy knoll.

Contemplating...

I was looking for a quote...something that would inspire me to see things with a fresh perspective and with a heart filled with hope and possibility.  I am working on a fresh perspective.  I found the quote below by C.Joybell C ~ it is definitely speaking to me.

My life has been surrounded by uncertainty lately.  And I know I'm not the only one going through difficulty and change.  Our nation as a whole seems to be going through an identity crisis.  And I realize I am so blessed in my life ~ to have what I do have.  A loving family, true friends, a job, a home.  I'm very thankful for these blessings and so I try not to dwell on my own uncertainties.  What I have come to realize is that if there is something in my life that needs changing...I should take steps to change it.  That's scary for me.  I've been avoiding making big changes for fear of how it will affect my family.  I don't know what the right decisions are now.  I may make mistakes and have to start over.  What I do know is that the waves of change are defintely coming.  I've been a bystander for too long.  I need to affect a change.  It's time.  I can see the waves coming and this time I'm thinking I will jump in and ride them.  That seems like a better option than sitting back on the beach and just watching and waiting.  If this seems vague it's because I still don't know what direction I will be going...I may not know until I get there!

Here are a few photos from our weekend in Westport, WA with family:

I love this!  This wave is painted on a surf shop in Westport.

Surfboarding anyone?

How about some biking?  I was drawn to these rusty old bikes with weeds growing up amongst them.  They are just beautiful to me.

This one was parked at the Tinderbox Coffee shop.  Not sure if someone actually rode it there or if it was just a prop.  Either way it was adorable.

Another wonderful vignette at the Tinderbox.  This coffee house really has an amazing beach ambience.  I could definitely hang out here regularly.

My boy played around on a skim board for the first time.  He quickly picked up the intricacies of skimboarding.  There are some tricks to doing it well!  ;)

We went out on a charter boat trying to catch our limit of King Salmon.  Christopher caught one (the guy in the hoodie in the back) but all Alex caught was some seasickness.  Poor guy.  I'm so proud of him.  He didn't once complain about being sick the whole time and he continued to fish AND smile in between!  He's such a wonderful young man.

Vanessa at least caught a dogfish ~ which actually looks like a little shark.

Vanessa's Dogfish was hungry when it came out of the sea.  Ewwww.  Isn't that eyeball menacing looking!?

This was my view from the deck.  Very peaceful and soothing.  Not much happening.

This is the only fish I caught!!!  LOL.

 But I did get a lot of sunshine and caught some pretty good waves.

If you haven't been in the Pacific Ocean lately, it's COLD.  REALLY cold.  You go numb very quickly and then you don't notice anymore.  :)

Just a coupla beach bums!!

XX, Sherry

Continue Reading ...

Inspiration Cafe ~ Week #10 with Heather & the Mustache Craze

Thanks for visiting the Inspiration Cafe this week.  It's Heather (your sewing guide), back for my turn to show you what I've got percolating this week. 

One of my favorite things about sewing, is being inspired by something and then making it my own.  My family room is sorely in need of...I wouldn't say redecorating so much as I would say...decorating.  On one wall, we have...a big screen TV.  That's it.  It needs something...almost anything to give it some excitement. This is what I decided would give the room a little...flair.  Go ahead and read what you see here out loud.  It took The Mister a few seconds to get it...so don't worry...just say it.

The Mustache craze that's going around the interwebs right now is my favorite.  So, I  have made it my own.  This project that I'm making isn't just for an experienced sewer or quilter, I am using a technique that any beginner can use with ease. Just ask my Sister.  You just need a special tool...it's called fusible interfacing, and it's a miracle product.  You are able to fake applique...and for somebody who actually does applique the traditional way, whenever I use fusible web, I think...Dang, I should only use this.  Please make sure you don't buy heavy fusible web unless that is what you want...which it probably never is  Buy the light weight version.  What's great about this is you can make personalized shirts for you or your kids.  You can make adorable blankets even more adorable.  What about holiday projects...fuhgedaboutit.

Continue Reading...

Continue Reading ...