How-To: Vintage Suitcase Coffee Table

I love, LOVE vintage suitcases. What is better than a vintage suitcase......

A Vintage Suitcase Coffee Table

This project is fairly cheap and takes less than 15 minutes to do!

Lets get to it...

What You Will Need:

Power Drill

Vintage Suitcase (Preferably one made of wood. Plastic works too!)

Measuring tape

Waddell Straight (or Angle) Top Plate Hardware (4)

4 inch Tapered Table Legs (4) 

Optional: Spray Paint or Paint for the Legs

*You can use table legs that are bigger. I used 4" table legs for this project*

*Go to a hardware store, like Ace Hardware, to buy the Hardware. I went to Lowes and Home Depot and neither of them had the correct Top Plate Hardware. They did had a large table leg selection though.*

Begin by turning the suitcase upside down and placing a piece of hardware on each corner

Make sure each Top Plate is bubble side up:

*If you are using Angle Plates make sure the leg hole is pointing in the right direction before drilling the screws in*

Measure the hardware and mark its spot, so each piece is in the same spot.

I placed my Top Plate 4 inches from the bottom of the suitcase:

Screw each Top Plate down. Once you have done this screw in the legs and turn it over:

YOURE DONE!!

How easy was that!?

Feel free to ask questions and post pictures in the comments section!

Enjoy!!

This project was inspired by: http://www.designsponge.com/

How-To: Eye Dropper Drawings

This project makes anyone look like a seasoned artist. One of my favorite things about this project is that there are hundreds of different ways to go about it! Once your ink drawing is finished you can paint it, watercolor it, or use ink pens to detail it. Dont think about it too much and have fun with it!

What You Will Need:

Watercolor Paper (Mine is Cold Press 140lb Paper)

Black Liquid Ink with an Eye Dropper

Toilet Paper

Take out a piece of Watercolor Paper and cut it in half.

You can use the entire sheet if you wish. I cannot draw to save my life, so I cut my sheet in half. Using a smaller sheet doesn't seem so scary!

Take the dropper and begin to draw with it. Draw something you know or let your hand flow freely along the paper. Dont think about it too much and don't worry if you get a lot of ink on it. It will look really cool in the end if its blotted.

Once you are done drawing, quickly put a piece of toilet paper over your drawing to soak up the loose ink.

Lift the toilet paper off.

(My drawing didn't change very much since I didnt have a lot of ink blots on my paper.)

Allow the drawing to dry, then you can add pen, watercolor, or paint to it to jazz it up a bit.

Here are some drawings I did:

I used pen and watercolor to spruce mine up:

You can also get some fishing line, clothes pins, and tacks to make a Fishing Line Photo Hanger:

ENJOY!!

This blog was inspired by: 

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/how-tuesday-eye-dropper-drawings/?ref=fp_blog_title

How-To: Make Your Own Envelopes

This DIY Project is so cheap and quick. I love it. How cool are these envelopes!?!
They make great thank you note envelopes too.

What You Will Need:

Envelope (small or large)

Glue Stick

Scissors

Pen

Magazine (Or Create Your Own picture on Watercolor Paper!!)

I used an old LIFE magazine because I love the ads in them.

Let's Do it, so.... Step One.

Take an envelope and unfold it. Be careful not to rip it! Feel free to use a large or small envelope. 

I'm using a small one here:

Take a page out of your magazine:

Lay the envelope over the picture and trace the envelope onto the paper:

Cut it out:

Place the side you like face down and begin folding the sides in:

Fold the right and left sides in. The tips of the triangles should NOT touch.

Fold the bottom lip up. The bottom lip is the triangle with a flat top:

Glue along the edge of the side triangles. Press them to the bottom lip:

(See next photo. It will show you how to glue the side triangles so you don't glue the entire envelop shut)

Use a regular envelop or a piece of paper to place under the the side triangles, so you don't get any glue on the inside of the envelope. 

Once you glue the sides, fold the bottom up and press it down to make sure it sticks. Then, fold the top down. Dont glue the top since this is the envelopes flap!

YOU'RE DONE!

You can use these for snail mail if you put a label on the letter so the post office can clearly see both addresses on it. Also, if you want to use these for snail mail you need to make sure you use a type of paper that is heavy. Magazine paper will be too thin and will likely rip in the mail. Like I mentioned earlier, these envelopes are great for thank you notes or invitations!

ENJOY!!

This project was inspired by: 

http://www.everynothingwonderful.com/2011/04/tutorial-repurposed-envelopes-from.html

How-To: Dress Up a Pair of Flats or High Heels

This is a really cheap way to dress up a pair of old flats or high heels. 

I bought a pair of black flats on clearance for $8.00 and now they look like this:

What You Need:

Mod Podge - Matte

Fabric

Paint Brush

Scissors

Pair of Flats or High Heels

(Look for shoes in the thrift stores!)

Start by laying the fabric over one shoe and cutting it so it lays over the entire shoe. (mine isnt over the back of the shoe, so you can see where the fabric will lay under the shoe. Make sure you cut enough to cover the back too!)

Trim the edges of the fabric around the entire shoe:

Then, cut a slit from the back to a 1/2 of an inch from the top of the shoe's hole:

Apply the mod podge to the tip of the shoe. Make sure you use a good amount:

Lay the cut fabric over the shoe and press it onto the shoe while spreading the wrinkles out. Dont worry about extra fabric hanging over. We will take care of that later:

(I used shoes with pleats, so mine will be a bit wrinkled. I would recommend using shoes without pleats for this project) 

Once you have the front on, mod podge the sides and press the fabric down all the way to the back of the shoe. Do this on both sides:

After you are done pulling the fabric tight and smoothing it all the way to heel you will mod podge the back of the shoe:

Start by mod podging the right piece of fabric to the shoe. Then take the left piece and fold it so the raw edge isnt showing and glue it to the right piece: ( if you are having trouble bust out your glue gun!)

It should look something like this:

After you do the back of the shoe, cut the extra fabric around the shoe's hole down to 1/2 an inch all the way around:

 Now cut little slits in the fabric to help you when you glue them down:

Once you cut the slits, Mod Podge the inside of the shoe where the slits will sit and the slits. Then, glue them down into the shoe.

It should look like this:

When you are through, Mod Podge the entire shoe. Make sure you cover it really well.  Let it dry completely before trying it on or cutting the extra fabric off the bottom.

YOU'RE DONE

Do this to both shoes. If you are having trouble with the fabric not staying down, get your glue gun out and glue down the areas that are not staying put. Works like a charm.

Enjoy!