Art 201: Being a better Martha Stewart

Yes, I admit it...I am Martha Stewart's bastard unwanted child...okay, not really. But my apartment looks like it.  Sometimes the need to create and decorate is too much and you must go with it.  Here are some of the ideas I have come up with to satisfy these particular needs. Have any ideas you want to add? Email me and I shall give you proper credit!

curtains:

If you have a favorite bed sheet, making curtains is an extremely easy thing to do.  Most flat sheets are open at the top hem.  So all you have to do is put the curtain rod through that hole and ta da! you have curtains. The size of the sheet depends on the size of your windows. I have two queen size sheets in my bedroom window. For that added touch, go to a fabric store and buy yards of frabric to hang over the curtain rod and down the sides of the curtains.

Let's say you want to make curtains from scratch but sewing machines hate you. Still, very easy!  Instead of sewing the hems, you can use a hot glue gun.  This is such an easy and quick way to do it. I made curtains for my sunroom in a weekend. (This coming from the person who is still painting her tables that she started almost a year ago.)  You can get a hot glue gun at almost any discount store and is relatively cheap.  A suggestion though, try to get a glue gun that has both a low and high setting.  You have to be careful not to use a high setting with delicate fabrics.  And the lower setting will cut down on the pain factor if you get any of the glue on  your hands.

The picture turned out blue, but they are purple! And doll heads make a great accessory for the curtain rods!

painted tables:

Everywhere I went in California, they had painted tables. And I thought, "Hell! I can do that!" In which I did succeed, just haven't succeeded in finishing them yet.  Buy some tables at a garage sale or auction. It doesn't matter how scratched up they are, because you will need to sand it and put on a primer before you paint. Then decide what it is you are going to paint, and begin!

gift boxes:

This idea was given to me from my friend Tiffany.  For Christmas she made me a trinket box, which she painted.  In which I painted boxes as Christmas presents for other friends.  Get a plain paper mache box at a hobby store, they are really cheap.  Paint them as you wish, I sponge painted mine.  For the larger boxes, you can line the boxes with fabric, using a glue gun.  We had 3 unsuccessful attempts of lining the smaller boxes. If you figure out an easy way to it, email me!

cat purse:

I dressed up as Lenore, a little dead girl, for halloween a few years back.  She often carries dead cat with her.  Then I had a problem, if I carried both a cat and my purse, I was sure I would lose one of them during the night.  So out of necessity, I created a cat purse.  Pull out the seam on the back of the stuffed animal.  Pull out all of the stuffing.  I had handsewn the velcro on the inside of the seams, but this was before my introduction to the hot glue gun, so that might work as well.  A leash and collar for the cat makes for easy carrying. The size of the purse is defined on the size of the animal you buy.  Word of advice: DO NOT pull out the stuffing of the cat in front of a live cat.  I think my friend's cat is still traumatized by that event.  A neat trick:  my cat's head fits into the opening in it's back...makes for a great converation starter! :)

You can put its head in his back for added enjoyment!

rune stones:

These can be easily made, but takes a lot of time to do.  Using self-hardening clay, roll out balls of clay, press them down. From here you have one of two choices; you can carve the symbols into the clay, let it dry, then paint them or you can let them dry and paint them without carving them.  Let them dry over night before painting.  After the paint dries, spray with a finishing spray.

paper flowers:

Paper flowers are a great little surprise for people, they are cute and can be done in any colors.  Pick out some tissue paper in whatever color you wish, cut a long strip in a width slightly larger than you want the flower to be.  Fold the paper over in squares multiple times. Cut a flower shape into the paper. You should have multiple flower shapes.  Using a pipe cleaner, poke the pipe cleaner through all the flower pieces. You may want to bend the pipe cleaner to keep the paper on it. Bring up the flower pieces one by one wrinkling them up.  To make a crown, as modeled by the bad monkey on the right, just connect the flowers by the stems.  Add ribbon to the back for a little extra something.

goth baby:

One very boring evening, my friend Amy and I created our own church and called it the Church of Denny's. This was big stuff, we had our own commandments, two popes, arch angels, disciples, the whole thing. So we decided to make goth babies in honor of the creators of the church.  Take a normal doll, cut the hair, (if you want) use a sharpie marker for black makeup, a silver paint pen for jewelry and rit dye to dye the clothes with. The outcome? Something we made in our image, only to turn out really spookily exactly like us.  We don't let anyone touch these dolls!