Saturday, July 21, 2012

Hmmmmm. . . . . A lot of time has passed since my last post in April. Life has been busy, even though it is summer time and I am "technically" free from work. Between conferences, reading, cleaning, organizing, trips to the thrift store (and repeat to infinity), hanging out with friends and family, exercising, and some slothing around, this summer has been awesome so far! Still have one week to go and then back to work. I stopped today and thought about all the things I learned to make/made this summer and would like to share! Not all at once though, that would probably take the entire week!

Through trial and error (nice way to say "I encountered some frustration at times"), inspiration, and determination I made everything from changing pad sheets to shelves to aprons to boppy covers to blankets to burp clothes and my own sew-in labels. 


Anywho, check out this awesome tiered tray I made that can be used for desserts, appetizers, jewelry, or whatever you want to put on it. The best things about making this for yourself is that you get to choose the plates to match your decor/theme AND this entire piece unscrews and breaks down minimizing storage space. Just throw the pieces in a marked ziplock baggie to keep them together when you are done. I consulted a couple of tutorials, SkiptoMyLou & BacklessShirt, both of which were very helpful. Thank You!


You can also drill holes in multiple plates and change out plates as needed for different occasions. You just need the one set of thread rod, aluminum tubing, nut, washers, and knob. The total cost to make this tray was about 8 or 9 bucks. I got the plates from Target, but if you look at your local thrift stores you will be able to find plastic plates that will cost you a whopping 25 cents to a buck. 




From start to finish, this project takes ~45 minutes to one hour. I had to practice drilling in the cheapest plate (25 cents) that I had. I am glad I did though because I ended up cracking it. I changed up my technique and successfully drilled through the next two beautifully. If I have time, I will put together a tutorial for this including the tips that I thought would have been useful to know before hand. 

This tray is actually for someone. Shhhhh!, don't tell them, it is a surprise. If you ask my family and friends, they will tell you that 
"If she has just learned how to make, that is probably what your next present will be." So true, once I start, I have a hard time stopping! 



 If you want to see some more of what I have been up to, visit my Etsy shop, ThePensiveOwl or "Like" me on Facebook. Thanks for looking!!!

Aprons galore are housed there, such as: 








And Special Thanks to Dave for braving the heat to take pictures with me! Love you!

Thanks for looking, and keep your eyes and ears out for a new post again soon!