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Sunday, July 22, 2012
Vintage Suitcase Chair & Pet Bed :D.I.Y



This Vintage Suitcase D.I.Y is brought to you via See Kate Sew (pictured above right)and it is genius!
Made from a recycled suitcase , fabric and 4 leg post, this is so customizable ( ottoman, pet bed) that the possibilities are endless. Depending on the suitcase size,use for a pet bed, ottoman, child seat or for an adult ( but if it is for and adult, I suggest very thick sturdy legs)

You need:
vintage suitcase
4 legs
4 screw on leg attachments
1 piece of thin plywood cut to fit inside your suitcase
Foam or pillows to fit in your suitcase
Fabric / Suitcase sizes vary so you'll have to figure out how much pillow or foam you want to make your cushions how you want them

For complete tutorial go to See Kate Sew

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Variations:

This makes a great dog bed, just add short ( 2" post/knobs) or none at all. Though a short cut is to just place a large (slightly larger than the suitcase) pillow into a suitcase and you can make it with or without the lid.
If you do keep the lid on, the best part is that when company comes by, throw the dog toys in the pocket and just close the lid !

Variation 1: Full Suitcase with back

You Need:

  • Vintage Suitcase or any hard shell suitcase
  • Tools (hammer, drill-ribbon or strap material)
  • 4 “feet” (wooden doll heads/these work well because the have a flat side
  • Gorilla glue or other heavy-duty glue
  • 2 large snaps
  • Pillow
  • Pillow Cover ( suggest a lovely pattern)

Instructions:

  1. Clean that suitcase! Febreeze any musty smell and repair any damage to the lining.
  2. Measure for pillow. Using a tape measure, measure the width plus the depth of bottom suitcase cavity x 2. This gives you the width of your pillow. Then measure the height (from front to back) plus the depth of the bottom suitcase cavity x 2. This gives you the height. You must add the depth of the suitcase x 2 or else your pillow will end up too small.
  3. Sew your pillow together. Put right sides of fabric together and sew around leaving about a ½ inch seam allowance. If your suitcase has rounded corners you might want to round the corners of your pillow. Leave an opening for stuffing. Turn pillow right side out and stuff. Sew up opening by hand.
  4. Optional: Tuft your pillow. You can use two large buttons, heavy-duty thread or upholstery thread and a long needle. Using the long needle sew the buttons on the pillow. Enter the front of the pillow and exit at the back, repeating this over and over. This will make nice tufts and give your pillow some shape and a more finished look.
  5. Attach a strap to the back of the suitcase so it will not close on your pet.Place a mark about 4 inches in from the back of the suitcase on the top and bottom of your suitcase. Open the suitcase and measure the distance between these marks, making sure your measuring tape is taut. Cut a strap using that length plus about 1 inch. Attach snap tops to both ends of the strap following manufacturers instructions. Now depending on your suitcase this part is tricky. Improvise if you need to, every suitcase is different. Choose a drill bit that will be just large enough for your snap shaft to fit through. Drill a hole on the top and bottom of the suitcase at the marks you made. Be careful of the suitcase lining. Attach the snap bottom to your suitcase following manufacturers instructions. Like I said this can be the tricky part, you might need to use a craft knife to clean up the hole and make it just right for the snap. Be creative. Once you finish this part, you should be able to snap on the strap and it should keep the bed open and not allow it to close on your pet. It can also be removed when you want to travel or close up the bed.
  6. Attach feet. Once again, every suitcase is different; you may need to be creative with this step. The pic above are painted wooden dolls heads with gorilla glue at the bottom of the suitcase. Clean the area you are gluing very well and sand the area of the wooden dolls head and make sure it has no paint on the contact point. You may also be able to screw the feet on depending on what you are using.

Variation 2: No Back

You Need:

  • Vintage Suitcase or any hard shell suitcase
  • Tools (hammer, screwdriver)
  • Pillow
  • Pillow Cover ( suggest a lovely pattern)

Instructions:

  1. Open the suitcase and examine how it is hinged together.
  2. If it is screwed together, then you just need to unscrew the top half of the suitcase from the bottom half. If it is attached by some other means, then you will have to use your inner aggression and hammer it off.
  3. Discard the top half of the suitcase.
  4. Cover a pillow with the fabric of your choice.
  5. Place the pillow in the suitcase and tuck the corners in or you can make your own custom pillow.

Don't feel like D.I.Y'ing it? Then you can purchase one of these lovely ones from Atomic Attic!

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Friday, July 13, 2012
STOREFRONT: Indie Made

Looking for a low cost alternative to host your company website? Try Indie Made.
According to the website, Indie Made is a simple, reasonably-priced online service that combines a blog, a photo gallery, an event calendar, and a shopping cart, all in one. which you can have in as little as 120 seconds....though , if you want it the best it can be, it will probably take you a little longer.

After you sign up , you choice one of the 3 monthly plans ,ranging from $4.95-19.95 . Once you have chosen, you can set up your store, design, add a blog post, gallery/images and separate pages for your company.
In addition, there are several features that beneficial to the small business owner , such as a
  • Shopping Cart: No merchant account necessary — you just need a PayPal™ account. Your customers can pay with credit and debit cards. And IndieMade doesn't take even a bit of your sales.Though the shopping cart design is very similar to Big Cartel.
  • Blog on your own website. With IndieMade, visitors can read your blog, grab a feed, and buy from your store all without leaving your site.This is useful, if you are tired of having a separate blog on another interface.
  • News:Showcase and tag press and reviews you've received, or share big announcements with your fans.
  • Company Calender to share dates and details of shows, parties, classes, or special events you're planning
  • Video Embedding ( Youtube/Vimeo, etc) Embed audio snippets or videos on your site. Include song samples for albums you're selling, or post videos of your work in your blog.
  • Reporting : Run reports on your orders or customers to get a handle on sales cycles and discover your most popular products. Print out invoices to ship and not to mention Google Analytic integration.
  • Inventory Control: You can also control the amount of easily reproduced items available, so you don't sell more than you have in stock.
Have an Etsy Store? they also let you import your etsy store listing.In addition , they have a lot of good articles about starting and maintaining your business on their own site blog.
With different, easy to change themes and custom url integration, Indie Made is definitely a low cost alternative to the pricier alternatives.

Pros:Some great features and support. The fact that there is a shopping cart is worth it. Clean , simple website themes and easy to use controls.

Cons: If you are looking for fancy layouts and themes, this may not the site for you. If you don't know any coding or have a friend who you can bribe into doing it, you are pretty much stuck with just the designs/features that they already give you. To get a custom url, you automatically have to upgrade to the 2nd ( $11.95) price tier.
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Monday, July 2, 2012
Tiffany Red Velvet Cake Balls

Though the Cake Pop and the Cake Balls originated from Bakarella, people have really taken the idea and run with it, creating some fantastic creations, such as this Tiffany inspired pretty Cake Ball from AudreyKateRae.


Now, its even easier to make these, with the new "Bake Pop" Pan or the even better "Cake Pop Maker" for $20.


For those of you who would like to try making your own Cake Pop or Cake Ball, try the following recipe:

::::::::::Red Velvet Cake Balls::::::::::

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular , colored or white chocolate)
wax paper


::::::::::Instructions::::::::::

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra ).

]IF YOU WANT TO MAKE CAKE POPS. Just follow the directions on the Cake Pop Maker or bake in your oven with a Bake Pop Pan. Both methods use a box cake. Then just insert LOLLIPOP STICKS into the cake balls or rolled balls ( if using recipe above) and then dip in to the chocolate mixture. Lay on the wax paper until firm.

please note: only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot

If you are using a bake pop pan or cake pop maker, the texture will be different. These pans/makers will give you a truer cake taste/texture.


picture and recipe courtesy of Bakarella & AudreyKateRae
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