Opportunity Can Ring My Bell

I have a confession.  An ugly one.  This was my doorbell.

Please be clear....I have tried and tried to do better.  I just haven't been able to find something that was 'me'.

Some options I have explored:

Or possibly???

NO!!!!

But you can see my dilemma.  

Then you know how sometimes two things can just somehow come together in your mind?  Boom! A tutorial was born!!

Simple, pretty and quick.

And we get to play with electricity!

 

Here is all you will need 

An unfinished wooden switchplate

Mod Podge (I used outdoor)

A lovely paper napkin 

Gesso or primer

180 grit sandpaper

Sponge applicator

Screwdriver and/or cordless drill

I also bought a new dark brown cheapo doorbell,

but you could repaint the one you already have if need be

 Lightly sand and gesso or prime the wooden switchplate

I made sure my screw holes lined up correctly (bonus- they did!) and lightly traced where the doorbell housing would go so I could estimate the amount of space I would have left for the design of the napkin to show.  I picked up these lovely spring napkins at Tuesday Morning for $1.70

Once you figure out what part of the napkin you want to use spread a thin coat of Mod Podge on the switchplate.  You are going to get one shot at sticking down the napkin, so hold your breath and bite your upper lip.  Separate the layers of the napkin and just stick the pretty part on.

Smooth it out and tear or cut off the excess.  Add a layer of Mod Podge to the top.  Let dry a few hours and top coat again.  Now the hard part.....walk away for 72 hrs to let it completely cure.  Use a craft knife to cut paper away from the holes in the backplate.

When the wait is over the fun part starts- playing with live wires!

Remove the screws holding the doorbell.  There should be 2 wires connecting it.  Loosen the little screws on the back that hold the wires and carefully remove each one, being sure they do not come in contact with each other.

 Pull the wires through the middle hole of the switchplate, making sure the ends do not touch each other!  Use a screw or find a third hand to hold the plate on the wall while you pick up your doorbell.

 Reconnect the wires to the (new) doorbell and screw it back onto the wall.

I plan to do a different 'theme' for each season, but for now I am just happy to have this to greet my guests!

Happy Spring!!

It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got Some Bling!

I am still alive, faithful followers....but barely!  I feel like I just can't get caught up no matter how hard I try.  I wanted to put this out there: I have been having much more frequently what are commonly called 'ocular migraines'.  I was wondering if anyone else out there had any info they could share with me about this.  Of course, the first time it happened I was sure I was going blind from the Lyme.  It was super-scary, but I did a little research, and spoke to my Neurologist who said to just keep a log and if they become 'too frequent' to come in.  What is 'too frequent'??  Do any of you know anyone that has these and has determined some sort of 'trigger'??  I still have not put two and two together with these.

Okay, enough with that.  Let's get down to the good stuff!!  *Blingaholics* unite!  I have a fun project with freebies I am sharing today.   If you are interested in creating some shirts of your own, just leave a comment or send me an email, and I will email you the embroidery font files *free of charge*!

Be sure to let me know what format your machine uses!

My son goes to a new High School that opened last year with Freshman and Sophomore's only.  Awesome!  Beautiful campus, excellent staff, no Senior 'meanies' to detract from the excitement of Freshman year.  One HUGE problem though.....Ugly school sweatshirts and T-shirts!!  I have seen some from other schools in the area, and ours are definitely some of the ugliest! (sorry to whoever 'designed' them)  I thought there was certainly room for improvement- let's leave it there.  The beauty (??) of this project is that you can use the ideas to apply to any group.  These pics for instruction are actually from some sweatshirts I am doing for another school.

First the 'legal stuff':

These designs are my own, and are copyrighted.  You may use these ideas and files to create your projects and sell those projects.  You may not copy or download these files and use the files for resale.  I am giving this away to you, please do the same, but give credit or a linkback to Ticklish Moose and this blog. :)

A few notes about this project:

It is designed for use with machine embroidery, but you could also make templates with a graphics program and sew around the letters with a regular sewing machine, or even by hand!  The project I am posting today is 'reverse applique'.  I will also post a different project next week with the sweatshirts I have been doing with 'regular applique'.  You can use either one of the files I will send you to do the reverse or regular applique.

I buy Guildan sweatshirts from Jiffy Shirts 

I use between 40 and 60 5mm Hotfix crystals per sweatshirt.

April at A Crafty Family  is my source for the crystals, and her level of customer service is second to none!

The first thing I want to discuss if fabric choice.  From experience I have found that definite geometric prints do not work well for either of the applique applications.  Random patterns, solids, batiks or blending fabrics are going to be your best bet.  Use a good quality quilting cotton type of fabric, or even t-shirt knits.  Pre-wash and dry both the sweatshirt and the fabric so you don't get any 'wonky' shrinkage after you are finished.

Second- use a good quality, medium weight, cut away stabilizer.  Use a needle made for stretch/knit fabrics!  I use a 90/14 ball point.  If you use a sharp you will just punch/tear holes in the knit.