the love of a dog.....

I usually don't share too much personal stuff here on my blog....but these last few days have been a bit more emotional than normal. My little side kick has not been feeling up to par these past few days.....so we took her into the vet to see what was the matter. She is an old girl....can't see, can barely hear and has trouble getting around as quickly as she once was able to....but hey...she's almost 12 years old....to be expected. When she was having more trouble than normal we were given the very sad news by our veterinarian that she has cancer....and only a few months left to be with us. We have brought her home to live the rest of her life with the love of her family, an endless supply of daily treats and lots of laying around in the sunshine. My heart is heavy....and the one thing I keep thinking is these words from a song that has hit close to home.....

lights will guide you home.....and ignite your bones...and I will try to fix you.

Hold your pets close to your heart....

let there be light.....

 As I have been remodeling my sweet pea's room..I wanted to continue to share some tutorials with you on a few of the crafts I have been doing along the way. Her light in her bedroom was just a simple light cover...nothing fancy and sort of plain. I wanted to make something extra fun and playful for her new light fixture and knew immediately what would look great and be fun to create. First off let me tell you that these string light fixtures were very popular in the 70's....in fact your parents might even have one stored away already ready to hang. You just need a few basic materials. 

a balloon or ball to the size you would like your pendant to be (I chose a ball since I wanted a round light fixture)

glue (I love my tried and true Modge Podge)

string (any color will do...a nice weight string....nothing too flimsy)

 This will get very messy....so I taped a big trash bag to my work surface as to not glue on the table top. There are many different ways to get your string covered in glue before winding it around the ball....I chose to just dig right in and got a handful of glue and starting covering the string as I wound it around the ball. This is the ball with one package of crochet string around it. For a stronger pendant you will want at least two packages of string to be wrapped around your ball or balloon.

 Here is the ball with two packages of string glued around it. You may want to add a bit of extra glue to any portions that look like they are not covered in glue or are more weak looking. Again...this is messy....so you very well might have glue on your shirt and a few spots on your work surface. Plus it didn't help that I had a kitty on the floor batting around the ball of string as I was trying to wind it around the ball on the table.

 Now you will need to wait 24- 48 hours for your glue to harden and dry. Now the fun begins. I originally drew a circle on the ball where I was going to leave an opening and not wrap my string on that portion...leaving an opening for the balloon to come out and also for changing the light bulb while the fixture is hanging. Well....that just wasn't in the cards for me this go around. I carefully found the deflation point on the ball and stuck an air deflator in it to deflate the ball. As the ball was shrinking I carefully cut a small hole in one end....this will be where you remove your deflated ball.

Now remove your deflated ball and you can clean up the edges where you cut to ensure a nice clean cut and even edges. I just cut the opening a bit larger than my hand...since I will also have a light bulb in my hand when I am reaching in and out of the opening. You will also need to cut a very small opening at the complete opposite end of where your larger opening is to install your light fixture hardware. Just follow the light fixture instructions to hang and install. 

And viola'.....a new light fixture that glows so pretty at night. I love how the glue from around the string gives the fixture a globe appearance. 

Here is another view at the fixture in the daytime. A simple project for a really special look. I think this would look amazing with a HUGE ball.....great for an entry way or above a kitchen or dining table. 

a window with a view......

I knew there was something missing for awhile now in our kitchen....now all is well and the room takes on a whole new look and a new love for me. I am not a big fan of window treatments in the kitchen...as I love all the natural light that flows through. The window we have in our 110 year old kitchen is small but needed something to "finish the window off". I decided to purchase an inexpensive vinyl roller blind and get cracking at remodeling the blind into something that would fit with my taste. To remodel a roller blind you will need....

an inexpensive vinyl roller blind

fabric enough to roll up and onto your shade

sewing machine or needle and thread

fabric starch (optional) and an iron

I first measured my window to determine what size the roller blind must be adjusted to fit. The roller blind I purchased would fit various sizes of windows...so I sized the roller and the plastic rod first...as per the instructions on the roller blind. Then measured my fabric to determine how much I would need for the window width and height. After I measured my fabric I serged the  outside edges of the fabric....to prevent them from fraying (this part is optional....in fact I wish I had not done it...since I will not be disassembling my shade for washing). 

Now you will need to press a hem allowance on both sides of your outside edges of your fabric...and sew them in place with a straight stitch or by hand.

 No need to make a hem or serge the top of the fabric as it will be rolled up into the blind. You will need to make a casing in the bottom of the fabric for the plastic rod to run through. I made my casing larger than what the rod size was....but it isn't necessary. Just allow for enough space for the rod to go through. Now press your fabric really well and this is an optional step....but I sprayed my fabric with heavy duty fabric starch for extra crispness.

Here is a better view of the hem allowance.

Now you will need to remove your vinyl shade material completely and there should still be sticky residue left over to adhere your fabric to the metal roller. If not you could use double sided tape. You will need to lay the fabric right side facing up. Roll the fabric onto the shade....make sure to roll evenly.

Now add your hardware....as per the roller blind instructions and add your newly updated roller blind. I don't plan on actually using mine...it is just a nice touch of color and makes the window look much more "polished" now.  It can be used though....simply pull on the bottom and viola' you have instant privacy or shade from the sun. Stay tuned for another fun tutorial coming in the next few days.