20 Guest Post: Jennifer of Vintage Gwen

While my life is crazy busy, the lovely Jennifer of Vintage Gwen volunteered to fill in for me and share an awesome tutorial with you guys! (We're skipping the crafty interview for now because I'm pressed for time and I didn't think people were that excited about it... it could return, but for now, enjoy the tutorial!) Jennifer is super-sweet and definitely one of my favorite bloggers so I'm super-excited to share  her and her project with you guys today!

Without further ado, here's Jennifer....

Hello Crafty Scientist readers!!  What a fun opportunity to be here at Mel's place!  I'm Jennifer aka Vintage Gwen and our love of college football brought Mel and I together! We both made Alma Mater Wreaths last fall!  I like a lot of stuff so my 16 month old blog has some variety but every Thursday is my craft project day.  I try and keep things easy and simple and budget friendly.  One of my favorite projects is my Inspired Mini Dessert Stand and most recently I took on my biggest project ever and painted my first ever china cabinet! 

We recently moved and one thing I've been working on is a craft room! {Reveal here!} I have a bookcase that houses supplies and also my sewing machine.  Which needed a cover since the flimsy plastic one the machine came with didn't last long, especially with a 2 year old boy getting into all of mommy's stuff!  I also had a stretched out in the neck knit shirt that I added to my pile of things to do something with.  Perfect combo!! So using what I had I now have a $0 sewing machine cover!

Here's what I did!

Supplies:

Shirt

Sewing machine and general sewing supplies

Scrap fabric

Pins

Hot glue gun

Such a cute shirt!! Glad I thought of a way to keep it around!

Good ole' Singer!

Started off by cutting off the top 1/4 of the shirt.  I had eyeballed measured and the top of the lace on the bottom half was just right for length wise so when I cut I allowed for a seam.

Now I have a tube basically.  I slid the shirt down over the machine and pinned at the ends of the handle to leave a slit.  

I then marked underneath....

Next I turned the shirt inside out and using the seam as a guide ran a stitch from both sides inward towards the marks....

Then I measured the sides, about 3 inches from the edge, and ran a stitch on both sides....

Finally I made a couple of rolled flower pins, pinned them on and done!!

 {My craft room is also the sun room and laundry room! Thus the sunshine!!}

At home in the bookcase!  I'm loving it and now I can mark that off the to do list!

Thanks Mel for having me! You guys have a great day and make sure and come visit me!

Vintage Gwen

A huge thanks to Jennifer for sharing this fun and thrifty tutorial with us! (Don't you LOVE her pretty button and scallop-edged photos? I'm inspired and impressed!) Remember to check out more of her awesome projects at Vintage Gwen!

25 Interchangeable July 4th Wreath

Before I left for this science-y training/conference in Philly, I realized that I needed to whip up my July 4th wreath because I would have about two seconds back in SC before the big day. I didn't have that much time so I went with the interchangeable wreath again, but this time I made felt stars...

I just printed out star shapes on computer paper, cut those out, pinned to felt and cut. Stuff with cotton batting, sew two together, and voila! Or you can sew buttons, sequins, and/or beads to the stars before you stuff and sew them too.

Here are some more close ups of the stars so you can see the beads, buttons, sequins, etc. Some of the stars had more sharp ends while others were more rounded. I just went with the shapes I found online and printed out and ended up with this mix of stars. 

I was pretty satisfied and this was by far the fastest of the interchangeable wreath pieces to make so that was a nice bonus too! So this is the wreath hanging on the door of the apartment back in SC!

And, in case you missed it, here's the whole collection of interchangeable wreath attachments including the Valentine's Day heart wreath, the St. Patrick's day shamrocks wreath, and the orange and purple polka dots wreath.

I'll be sharing this at some of my favorite parties here:

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., Polly Want a Crafter, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Life Made Lovely, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, So Very Creative, Ask Anna, Home Savvy, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Marvelously Messy, Between Naps on the Porch, Bringing Beauty, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Everything Under the Moon, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party) 


Tuesdays: Embellishing Life, New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Sassy Sites, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Rook No. 17, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, At Home With K, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Raising 4 Princesses, Lil Pink Pocket, Strictly Homemade, A to Zebra Celebrations, Jillify It, Natural Nesters, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home


Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Blue Cricket Design, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, Type A, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Eisy Morgan, Polka Dots on Parade, Passionately Artistic, Ginger Snap Crafts, Laugh Love & Craft, Not So Simple Housewife, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Faded Charm, let birds fly, The Sasse Life, Clean & Scentsible, Junk in their Trunk, Uncommon, Pincushion Creations, It's Just Called Spicy, Sew Woodsy, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, A Beach Cottage, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer


Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Making It With Allie, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Between U & Me, Christina's Adventures, Saved By Love Creations, Thrifty Decorating, These Peas Taste Funny, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Kissed by a Frog, Bear Rabbit Bear, Designer Garden, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, Just a Little Creativity, Hating Martha, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here


Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Sassy Sites, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Pocket Full of Pink, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama,  Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Faith Trust & a Little Pixie Dust, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Remodelaholic, Just a Girl, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Kojo Designs, Release Me Creations, Hello Hue, Love Notes By Lauryn, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist


Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Lolly Jane, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You


Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTalk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, Sisters of the Wild West, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer


Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

3 Come to Philly for...

I was crossing my fingers I'd have some internet here because I got so busy before this last trip that I didn't get to update the blog before I left... before you become concerned that I've suffered a head injury with that ridiculous introduction, let me explain. I'm on a business trip for two weeks to the city of Brotherly Love. That's right. TWO WEEKS. Without the puppies or the boy. It's a great opportunity and I'm learning a lot, but it's two weeks of relatively little contact from me for everyone. But I should be back to "real life"/home a week from this Friday and I do have some important goals for the trip (as illustrated, haha)... until then, enjoy the Instagram feed (@craftyscientist) and what I can only imagine will be extremely gratuitous pics of food. Like this one...

Because seriously. This gyro. Was AMAZING.

9 HGTV [Blog] Mention!

I don't normally post about features the blog gets, but I'm pretty stunned and excited about this. I realize it may not be a big deal to most of you, but I was seriously excited... my blog and the paint chip art got mentioned on HGTV's blog here in an article about paint chip projects! Check it out and don't mind me as I do a little ridiculous victory dance and pat myself on the back/celebrate with ridiculous PicMonkey experimenting... : )

28 Polka Dot Wreath: The Interchangeable Wreath Returns!

After I made the Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day wreath attachments for my interchangeable yarn wreath, I was out of ideas for creating attachments... at least until we got to around July 4th. Somehow, the inspiration was not striking me and I had so little time for crafting that an older solid color wreath went up on the door and that was it. But then inspiration struck around graduation time when I knew people would be coming to the apartment. I was feeling particularly school spirit-y and I really always love polka dots... so this wreath idea was born! I love that you can make these in any color(s) for any holidays, school colors, whatever!

Supplies

• Wreath form/yarn wrapped wreath
• Velcro (for the interchangeable part)
• A lot of one color felt (to glue your dots onto)
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Felt colors you want
• Needle and thread, embroidery floss
• Beads, sequins, buttons (if you want)
• Paint chips and Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, needle/tiny punch and 1-inch-ish circle paper punch (for the "buttons" if you want)
• Scissors, circle templates, straight pins
• Ribbon (to hang up your wreath)
• Cotton batting/stuffing

Instructions

I started with the same basic wreath form with some velcro once I removed the St. Paddy's Day stuff. Then I simply made some circles from tracing various jars, paper punches, vases, mugs, etc. Cut those out of paper and pin onto felt and cut out your circles. Sew on any sequins or beads or buttons you want and then sew your circle together, stuffing it full of the cotton batting before you stitch up the whole circle.

I searched for paint chip projects on Etsy and Pinterest at some point and saw that someone had made paint chip buttons. I thought I should try it and gave it my best shot... I think they looked good, but the Mod Podge Dimensional Magic wasn't enough to weather proof them (or at least the amount I used wasn't).

Basically, I used a little tiny needle tool that I had from scrapbooking to make the two tiny holes in the paint chip. Then I used a 1-inch or 1.5-inch paper punch to punch out the larger "button" shape around the two tiny holes. I tried punching the big circle out first, but that was way too frustrating and I kept dropping the circle or not punching the tiny holes in the center - it was easier for me to make the tiny circles first and make sure I got those right and then punch around those.

Then I covered the front sides in Mod Podge Dimensional Magic and they looked pretty good... you couldn't really tell they were paint chips until you flipped them over...

I sewed those buttons onto some of the felt circles like regular buttons, but they sort of curled up around the edges over time after they were on the wreath outside for a few days.... you can see them here...

Luckily there's lots to look at so I don't think you notice the curling buttons much. I used several different shades of purple and orange with white felt and different shades of embroidery floss, including this ombre orange thread...

Anyways, after I made all my circles, I basically just glued them onto big felt pieces, glued velcro to the backs of those, and attached to the wreath. For more details and pictures, you can see it all with the first interchangeable wreath decorations I made for the Valentine's Day wreath here.

Lots of variety in my polka dots because I'm ridiculous...

Put a ribbon through the wreath and hang it up!

The newest interchangeable wreath attachments! It's the newest in the series...

I'm pretty pleased with it and I know I can change it if I get tired of it!

Also, I decided to be a fancy, legit Blogger and spent some SERIOUS time making all of the link parties I link up to little text links that I can include at the bottom of pages. So check it out, these are some of my favorite parties... (You can still see the icons for them on the conferences page here.)

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., Polly Want a Crafter, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Life Made Lovely, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, So Very Creative, Ask Anna, Home Savvy, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Marvelously Messy, Between Naps on the Porch, Bringing Beauty, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Everything Under the Moon, Our Delightful Home, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party) 


Tuesdays: Embellishing Life, New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Sassy Sites, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Rook No. 17, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, At Home With K, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Raising 4 Princesses, Lil Pink Pocket, Strictly Homemade, A to Zebra Celebrations, Jillify It, Natural Nesters, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Oopsey Daisy, Natasha in Oz


Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Blue Cricket Design, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, Type A, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Eisy Morgan, Polka Dots on Parade, Passionately Artistic, Ginger Snap Crafts, Laugh Love & Craft, Not So Simple Housewife, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Faded Charm, let birds fly, The Sasse Life, Clean & Scentsible, Junk in their Trunk, Uncommon, Pincushion Creations, It's Just Called Spicy, Sew Woodsy, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, A Beach Cottage, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer


Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Making It With Allie, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Between U & Me, Christina's Adventures, Saved By Love Creations, Thrifty Decorating, These Peas Taste Funny, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Kissed by a Frog, Bear Rabbit Bear, The Creative Paige, Designer Garden, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, Just a Little Creativity, Hating Martha, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here


Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Sassy Sites, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Pocket Full of Pink, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama,  Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Faith Trust & a Little Pixie Dust, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Remodelaholic, Just a Girl, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Kojo Designs, Release Me Creations, Hello Hue, Love Notes By Lauryn, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways


Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Lolly Jane, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You


Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTalk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, Sisters of the Wild West, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer


Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

2 Beach Trip! (Part 1)

I thought it was time I share some photos of a recent adventure with you guys... especially since I've been falling down on the crafting job! So, here's a quick photo diary of the trip to Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) recently!

You can see the storms we drove into and through for a bit...

The boyfriend was pretty excited about going fishing from the beach. He bought a fishing license for the ocean and some coolers that were not just about holding Diet Cokes!

Our hotel was pretty... or the rooms were very pretty. The personnel were one step above "call the police." (The boyfriend did file a report with the Better Business Bureau though...) The sink in the bathroom was just awesome though... like a giant glass bowl. When I'm super-rich, I want one in my house.

We went and looked for shells as soon as we got there... it was about 11pm at night. We're like small children. 

The ridiculously shell-piece-covered beach when we got there (after it had been stormy)....

The hotel across the street had this cool pool set up... that bucket in the middle would fill up and then dump out every few minutes... I just thought it was so cool looking...

We visited Broadway at the Beach, including the inflatable playground and multiple fountains. And there was an actual store called "Stupid Factory." They had shirts and stuff from the company that created the "boys are stupid, throw rocks at them" and similar sentiments. Funny, but we didn't get any souvenirs from there.

This is WonderWorld... I think it's part of Ripley's stuff and admission was expensive so we didn't go in. But it is a really cool looking building. You can see it in the next picture too (on the right side with the upside-down palm tree)!

Sunset... with Wonderworld on the right hand side there.

We went to Liberty Brewery for dinner one night because I'm a big fan of beer. The boyfriend got the Rocket Red and I got the White Ale...

I loved mine and he was pretty happy with is choice. Obviously we got the souvenir glasses because we're super-classy.

So that's the start of the beach trip pics! Just wanted to share something from me since I know I've been very absent on the blog recently... but I'll share more beach pics and various other crafty-related projects and ideas soon, I swear!

4 Let the Opening Ceremonies Begin!

The opening ceremonies for the bloggy olympics start now! Basically, if you want to join in on the fun (and there are tons of different events so you can pick and choose or enter them all!), join the linky party here or over at Hating Martha!



Then, be sure to grab this super-cool button to let others know you'll be participating! Wohoo!

<center><a href="http://hatingmartha.com" target="_blank"><img alt="HatingMartha" src="http://www.hatingmartha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/participant.jpg"/></a></center>

AND, Janel is letting the giveaway for the awesome Olympic-themed pillow by Kijsa stay open... so click on over to Hating Martha here and find out how to enter to win one of these pillows (the winner gets to choose)! (The giveaway will end tomorrow at midnight central time.)

Just in case you forgot the schedule, it's all here...

With even more details here...

Happy crafting and see you at the olympics!

6 Etched Martini Glasses

I made this project for my sister's birthday a few months ago, but the pictures weren't great so I hesitated to share this. But I haven't gotten too much crafting done and I do think the project is pretty cute, so I'm going with it...

I saw cute little martini glasses at the Dollar Store and then I wanted to customize them a little bit before I gave them to my sis for her apartment. Unfortunately I was pretty rushed on this project so the pictures are not good, but I figured I'd share because it was super-easy and totally free!

Supplies

• Hole punch reinforcer stickers
• Dollar Store martini glasses
• Armour Etch (glass etching cream) and Q-tips
• Letters, washi tape for marking out patterns

Instructions

Clean off the martini glasses and then to make the polka dots, I just applied the hole punch reinforcer stickers to the glasses.

And then I applied the Armour Etch with a Q-tip and let that sit...

I also made one for my sis that had her name on it. I had some scrapbook stickers so I applied those and then made a border of some washi tape (because that's what I had on hand) and I just applied the Armour Etch around those stickers, but within the tape square area.

You want to peel the stickers off after about 15 minutes... 

Then you just wash the Armour Etch cream off with water (maybe a little soap if you need it) and then you have nice, pretty glasses! 

Unfortunately, you can barely see the etching here, but it's pretty, I swear...

With some sour apple liquor (or whatever you make sour apple martinis with that I mostly bought because I LOVE this color green... I don't really even like the martinis much)... 

Here's part of the personalized one... 

I'll be sharing this tutorial with my favorite conferences!