{latitude&longitude}

it's been months since my last post, i was a tad burned out for a bit, BUT it's SPRING! i am mega motivated, so i think you can look forward to a whole series of great outdoor projects in the near future. this is a really simple one i've been thinking about for awhile, and it's finally here.




i picked up this great old window, but really didn't have a plan for it. i knew i wanted it on the porch, and that i wanted it to have a unique finish. i've seen pillows, etc. with latitude and longitude printed on them, and i LOVE the idea of identifying your little teeny tiny piece of the world where you live and where your life happens, and displaying it. 


here are the steps:


1} i googled the latitude and longitude of our house
2} measure the window space where your numbers will go
3} divide that measurement by how many numbers you have to fit in it (you could do far less numbers than i did, even no decimal points, i liked the idea of being very specific)
4} copy/paste the latitude and longitude you're using into microsoft word, choose your font, and modify the text size until it's the size you need for the window.
5} print out the numbers, and trace each number onto the back of the page it's printed on with a thin sharpie
6} tape numbers in order to front of window, letting the tracing show through (this is so you can paint on the back of the window, protecting it more from the weather and giving it a more finished look)

numbers taped to the front of the window with traced side showing through

 7} trace numbers onto back of window using a sharpie

top row is traced, bottom is not yet. please excuse my husband and dog :)

i laid it down to trace the bottom row so i would have a steadier hand and not have to lay on the floor to reach it

sorry, not a phenomenal picture but you can see the outlines of all my numbers are done

i thought for a minute i might just leave it at an outline, but only for a minute.

8} use painter tape to protect your wood from the paint. be careful though, depending on the paint you use, you may have some acrylics trying to stick to your tape and go with it when you peel it off later, like i did.

i chose some cheap paint i found at michael's, patio paint because it's supposed to be weather-resistant, andi mixed it about 1:1 with the multi-purpose sealer (per the instructions) to have it seal more as well. hopefully it will hold up!

9} paint inside your numbers on the back of the window. i did 3 coats (letting them dry between, this paint dried pretty quickly), but depending on the level of 'rustic' or 'weathered' you are going for, you may end up doing only 2 or even 1. up to you! 

10} be careful removing your tape! start slowly by pulling the tape corner by the paint in the opposite direction and trying to cut the connection to the paint early so the paint doesn't want to stretch or drag as you pull.

TA-DA! unfortunately it's too heavy to hang without putting holes in the siding, which i want to avoid, but it looks great where it is! anyway it's a great start to the big plans i have for the porch and front of the house this summer.

  

i'm hoping it will be a nice conversation piece and i love that i can display my affection for my favorite place in the world!

"The towels were so thick there I could barely close my suitcase." -Yogi Berra

Here is a fascinating tutorial on how to make the cutest little storage table out of an old suitcase you've ever seen. You'll need an old, hardback suitcase (check your favorite local thrift or consignment shop, I hit the jackpot at mine and found 3!!), table legs & leg plates (got all mine at Lowe's), and a screwdriver. I also stained and painted my table legs and used a piece of plywood inside the cases to sturdy the legs from the inside. I'll explain later.





a snapshot of my supplies at the beginning. 3 suitcases, a set of legs, and a set of plates for each.

close-up of one of the plates i got at Lowe's. they make angle top plates, where the legs will angle outward, or straight, where they will be totally vertical when attached.

they make table legs in all different sizes and styles. not a fantastic selection at Lowe's, but good enough for what i needed right away.

this suitcase could've done with all 4 plates being smaller, no need for the 2 heavy duty ones at the top, but they didn't have enough regulars in stock

i measured out where each one should go, marked with a pencil, and drilled the holes

i attached the legs before the board on the inside was in, just to make sure i liked the legs

i had 3 boards cut to fit inside the 3 suitcases, round the corners to make sure they'll go into it all the way. i either stained or painted them to match the legs.

painted them while they were attached

to attach the board on the inside, i placed that on a tray table (you can use a stool or anything that will keep the board snug against the bottom of the suitcase. you will screw in the plates at this time, so the board will be attached. sorry, for some reason i don't have any pictures to illustrate this step!!

view from bottom

view for inside after board is attached

now the plates are attached to something other than the thin bottom of the suitcase, and the inside has a nice, neat bottom for storage. no screws sticking out!

finito!!

this one was chosen by my sister as her birthday gift, she is quite happy with it in her living room. they are such unique pieces for any room, great storage and style.






here are some more pics of the other 2 i did at the same time:

i used angled top plates for the big one, i wanted the legs to be angled outward. these were the hardest for me to attach, but i don't think it was because of the plates, it was because the suitcase itself is old and warped.

the long legs just weren't working out at all!! it was way taller than i expected (you know i didn't measure first) and the warp in the bottom was making one of them stick out at the wrong angle.

stained while attached

these are straight plates and 7" legs

anyway, the little one worked out real nice.

i finally finished the big one, and decided on shorter legs. the warp doesn't affect the angle as much and it's the same height as the bed, so it's a nice little storage table at the end!

i just love it. it has all these stickers on it from travel boats in the 50's. it belonged to someone locally, the address card on the side is from here, and the suitcase was purchased by the consignment shop at the estate sale after the owner died at 104! i just love all that history.

January 7, 1954, sailing on the Cunard Line. in a stateroom. so cool!

George, George George of the Jungle, watch out for that tree!

the George of the Jungle quote is inspired by the initial purpose for this project. a good friend of mine had been living with a bay-window cushion covered in this hideous jungle print:

clearly she would like this re-covered with something a bit more modern and maybe even easier to coordinate decor with? so that's where i come in! she picked out all her fabric for the cushion, two coordinating pillows, and two couch pillows for her living room, and i went to work.

ripped all the fabric off

sorry that i did a horrible job taking pictures as i went, i had never done this before and i was concentrating more on getting it right.
this is when i had the front and sides sewn together, and i was measuring if the corners worked, and then doin a little dance because they DID!

finished! to save fabric (a lot of it, surprisingly) i used 3 pieces for the top of the cushion

to  make it removable without the hassle of having to attach a zipper, i made it envelope-style where the two sides of the back just fold over each other to conceal, but no zipper or buttons, and you can still remove it to wash the covering. it takes a little muscle to get it in and out, but i made sure i reinforced the two points on the sides where the two pieces meet so they wouldn't rip when removing the cushion


PILLOWS!

she chose square pillows, and since they'll be used a lot i thought envelope-style would make it super easy not only to clean but to replace if she wanted to change the look for cheaper next time. so here's how i did it.
-this pillow was to be 20"x20", so when you cut the fabric for envelope-style, you cut it for 21"x24". the extra 4" is for the fold-over flap in the back, the 1" of course is for seam allowance.

for the 24" length side, you cut that right in half.

then you have 3 pieces of fabric for one pillow

iron down a double-hem, 1/4"-1/2" works fine

pin down

SEW! get as close to the edge where it's folded over as possible to be sure you catch the folded fabric underneath

this fabric has a bit of stretch to it, so i found it was easier to keep it taut over the front of my machine to keep it from bunching as i sewed. not stretched- taut.

after you do this with both pieces of the back side, you just lay them on top of the front piece like you would if you were sewing a regular pillow, only allowing for a fold-over as well. right side to right side!

i pinned the fabric together in a few places throughout, not just at the edges.

sew the edges just like you would a normal pillow

back stitch a few times to reinforce the side points where the cover opens up to remove the pillow to make it last longer.

here's the pillow inside the cover without finished corners. i just like to make sure the size is right before i cut anything away!

flip inside out again, cut the corner diagonally

trim the edges coming away from the corners too, this keeps the fabric corners from bunching up and lets you get nice, pointy corners

pillow form that goes inside, on sale of course! ;)

ta-da! finito.

here's what the back of the envelope-style pillow looks like. so easy and practical! just the way mama likes it