Studio 27 - By Jennifer Adams: May 2020

Saturday, May 30, 2020

File Cabinet Makeover

During my recent (and never ending) quest to complete all projects, I decided to tackle an old, ugly file cabinet as well. Read on to see how easy it is to refresh a metal cabinet:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links. If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission. You can read more about affiliate links here.

Up Close & Personal

Here you can see some of the damage to the file cabinet - scratches everywhere! Even if it wasn't damaged, it was just plain boring looking. Definitely time for an upgrade!

Supplies

For this project I used an old file cabinet, Dollar Tree 8X10 frames, super glue and Krylon Fusion white spray paint. I chose the Krylon Fusion because I wanted to make sure that the paint adhered well to the metal surface. It did, though I also had trouble with the nozzle clogging.

You can click here to browse Dollar Tree's online selection of photo frames.

(I get my super glue there too, my favorite is the gel form 😉)

Picture Frame Prep

After removing the backing and glass, I flipped the frames over and used pliers to pull out the metal tabs.

Prepping the Back

Because the backs of the frames were dark in color, I went ahead and sprayed them in white before attaching them to the drawers. This way if there is ever any gap between the frames and the cabinet, there won't be any distracting colors showing through and the piece will continue to look seamless.

Glue into Place

I attached the picture frames with super glue and let dry, then sprayed the cabinet and frames in white.

The Krylon Fusion spray paint worked well for a bit, but ended up clogging in the nozzle before I was finished. I had enough of the spray on the cabinet to create a nice primer though, and ended up finishing with a roller brush and standard paint.

Stencil

While the cabinet was drying I used my Cricut cutting machine and some cardboard to create a fleur de lis stencil, planning on adding a gold detail to the drawers. If I were doing this again I would have positioned the stencil more in the center of the cardboard to help avoid overspray of the gold paint onto the white file cabinet. The cardboard worked ok, but if I had used removable vinlyl the finished look would have been crisper.

Here is an excellent tutorial from Daily Dose of DIY all about making stencils with the Cricut.

Fleur De Lis

If you look closely you can see that the detailing isn't as crisp as it could be and I also had to touch up some of the gold overspray. Overall I'm happy with how it turned out though!

Finished Result

And here is my updated file cabinet all fresh and pretty. This project was definitely worth it- only an afternoon of time and less than $10 and it's like having an entirely new piece!

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I hope you enjoyed this how-to post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

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This post was added to the following link parties:

Tuesdays With A Twist

All About Home

Wonderful Wednesday (Oh My Heartsie Girl)

Wonderful Wednesday (Penny's Passion)

Your Whims Wednesday

TFT

Friday Favorites

The Really Crafty Link Party

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Teacher Appreciation - Easy to Make Gift Ideas

Our children's teachers work so hard, especially now with all of the Covid-19 remote learning! What better way to show them thanks than with a cute little gift containing a treat or classroom supplies?

Read on for gift inspiration, a link to purchase gift tags

or a link showing yo how to make your own for FREE:

You are one smart cookie!

You're a cut above the rest!

You color my world!

To teach is to color a life forever

The influence of a good teacher can never be erased!

Thank you for helping me grow!

Thanks a latte!

You can purchase the exact labels from these photos here in my Etsy shop.
The package includes more labels which you can see here in this post.
Or go here and learn to make your own!

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I hope you enjoyed this how-to post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Personalize Beach Towels With HTV

For Mother's Day this year I made the Grandma's personalized beach towels with HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl) If you have a cutting machine and like to work with Vinyl, than this is a post for you:

Note: While the towels pictured feature several rectangular blocks of color, this is not how they actually look. When editing the pictures I used the shapes to cover up the names of the children for privacy reasons. So imagine a towel with the name of the grandmother surrounded by flowers and the names of each grandchild 😉

Beach Towels & Vinyl Scraps

For this project you will need beach towels and a supply of HTV vinyl...and of course a cutting machine, heat press, weeding tools and all other things that go along with a Cricut 😉

Tip: If you look closely at my scraps, you can see tiny markings in the corners. This is where I used a Sharpie to write either a 'C' or a 'K' on the carrier sheets. Some of my vinyl supply is Cricut brand while some is Kassa. Since each type of vinyl had different instructions for temperature and pressing time, I use this method to keep track of what's what.

Making Scraps

Lets face it, vinyl can get expensive! Especially after you've shelled out a good amount for your cutting machine, tools and accessories. Not only do I save all of my vinyl scraps, but I cut my designs with the intention of saving as many scraps as possible.

For example, with the word 'GRAMMA' - I could have used a longer sheet of burgundy vinyl and had my machine cut the word in one section. But since I already had a piece of vinyl cut from the roll, I decided to cut the letters out in a way that used as little vinyl as possible. Once cut, I trimmed off the unused vinyl before weeding and stashed it away. Then I weeded my design, cut apart the letters and arranged them on the towel for pressing.

Lay out the lettering...

...and press into place.

Moving section by section, I pressed one piece at a time and then made sure to cover that section with a teflon sheet before moving onto the next. My teflon sheet came with my Kassa vinyl, but you can use wax, parchment or freezer paper as well. The layer of teflon or paper will provide heat protection from the vinly that has already been applied.

After applying the 'GRAMMA' I began adding the names of the grandchildren (covered in black)

Side Note: For an excellent tutorial about layering heat transfer vinyl, click here to visit
Jennifer Maker.com.
And then stay there for awhile - absolutely everything you could ever want to know about using a Cricut machine can be found on her site! 😎

Scraps!!!

After getting all of the names in place, I began working on my flowers and foliage. Look at that use of scraps! Select scraps of the appropriate size and arrange on your mat. Then before directing your Cricut to cut, make sure the designs are arranged (on the mat on your screen) in a way that they will line up with your actual mat. This can be a little tricky to get right, but once you do it is a time saver as well a way to avoid wasting supplies!

Here is a video tutorial from Jennifer Maker where she explains how to arrange items on the Design Space mat. Her purpose is to cut more than one color of vinyl at a time, but the concept is the same.

Lay Out The Design

Once cut, I positioned the flowers and foliage the way I wanted them to create an overall plan. Each piece has to be individually applied, but I wanted to have an idea of where I was going before I started.

Start Layering

Similar to how I applied the lettering, I began layering the flowers. I learned through the process that some lighter colored vinyl (the yellow here) allows darker colors to show through. From then on I made sure to place it on the bottom.

Add Foliage and Details

Green leaves and black flower centers finished the grouping off nicely.

And that's how easy it is to personalize beach towels and
make your vinyl supplies last as long as possible!

What have you been creating for the summer season?
I'd love to hear from you! Email me at
Studio27byJenniferAdams@gmail.com or comment below

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I hope you enjoyed this how-to post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2020

This post was added to the following link parties:

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Tuesdays at Our Home
All About Home

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Baby Blankets to Throw Pillows

Baby Linen Pillows

Before all of the Covid-19 madness began, our family planned on purchasing a larger home this summer. But since our state is on lock-down, you can't close on a house while furloughed (which Husby is) and we want to avoid moving during a school year - moving this summer might not be able to happen. However, I am using this time at home to clean, organize, pack and complete as many projects as possible! I have no idea when we will be able to move, but I do know that we will be ready 😉

While cleaning a closet I came across a pile of baby bedding that I intended to 'one day' make into throw pillows. May as well cross another item of the list, right?

Here is how easy it is to upcycle old linens into home decor:

Supplies

For this project I used a crib bedding skirt and two baby blankets that I saved from my children's younger years, pillow forms (not pictured) and my Singer machine - though you could certainly stitch by hand if you wanted.

You can find a similar Singer machine here.

I love these Sterilite plastic drawer organizers for organizing my sewing supplies.

Linen Close-Up

I hung on to these particular pieces of bedding for their texture, detail and coloring. I always knew that I would eventually use them for pillows, and kept that in mind when choosing materials that would go well together.

Pillow Forms

I've also been stashing away pillow forms. I found two in the box with the linens, then four more in storage with my household linens (oops)! I only need four, but apparently forgot how many I had on hand 😂

You can find various pillow forms online and in stores. If you find them at the thrift store (as I have) make sure to bleach wash in hot water and then machine dry on the hottest setting to ensure sanitation.

Step 1

I decided to keep things as simple as possible by laying a blanket on the floor (finished side of the blanket facing up), placing a pillow form on top and then wrapping the blanket around the form. Once I had the pillow form positioned the way that I liked it I pinned the blanket where I wanted to stitch, and removed the pillow form, creating a pillow case of fabric.

*Make sure that your ready to sew pillow case is inside out. Once you are done sewing most of the perimeter, you will be flipping it right side out. This will hide your seams and present the prettiest side of the fabric outward.

Sewing

I ran the sides of my pillow case through the machine first, then trimmed off the excess fabric. Next I stitched the top partway - beginning at the side of the pillow and moving inward - leaving an opening in the middle. Once done I flipped the pillow right side out, using the opening.

Add the Pillow Form

Stuff the pillow form into the newly made pillow case using the opening that was left, then carefully hand stitch is closed and...

...your pillow is complete!

I repeated the same process with the rest of my fabric, using the decorative trims and lace to add detail.
And that's how easy it is to transform your children's old linens into fresh and pretty throw pillows!

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I hope you enjoyed this how-to sewing post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays With a Twist

Tuesdays at Our Home

All About Home

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Mother's Day & Teacher Appreciation Printable Surveys

I'm hosting another giveaway this week featuring three different
Mother's Day/ Teacher Appreciation surveys from my Etsy shop. With everything going on and so many people in lockdown, I figure why not spread some cheer and give away as much as possible? 😀

These surveys are a cute way to capture how a little one feels about their mom, grandmother or teacher. Just download, print and fill them out. They can be framed, mailed as a letter or even added to a scrapbook page. Don't want to risk going out at all? Scan your survey and send it electronically 😉

You can browse my shop by clicking here, or read on for the giveaway details: