Attaching Door Handles

 Hello Readers. I added doors to my bedroom closet. The only were so pretty but something important was missing. Can you see it? Handles. That's right, There were no handles to use to open the doors. Lets fix that right now. 

  These doors didn't have any handles!

I loved these doors so much. I did not even notice that there weren't handles on the doors right away. It didn't occur to me that I needed a handle to pull on to open the doors. 

How did I not notice there weren't handles or knobs on the doors? I wasn't really thinking about it, but I was pulling on the window lattice work to open the doors. That isn't what the lattice work was made for. Let's do this the right way and add some fun new handles.

I chose these long narrow gold tone door handles. These were on Amazon, but you can choose any handle you might want. There are endless options out there. We held them up to the door to check the size and shape on the doors. These handles seemed to fit the door well. The doors are not standard size, they are more narrow. The narrow handles just looked right on the doors to me. 

 

These handles came in a box of 5 pairs. I only needed 1 pair so... if anyone needs some door handles, let me know. I have 4 pairs to spare. 

 

The door handles had 2 spots for screws to attach them to the door. I used a piece of paper to make a template of the holes. This will help mark the spots on the door easily. Guessing where the holes are supposed to go is going to cause me to drill them incorrectly, out of place, or off-center. 
 

We chose the height to match the height of all the door knobs in my house. That seemed the most uniform height and it would be more cohesive and easiest for people to reach and use easily. We made one starter hole to begin attaching our handles. 

 

Once one hole and screw were half in place we could see exactly where the second hole needed to be drilled into the door. This was a big help to me. Thanks Mr. Template!

 

The first door holes can be used to make sure that the second door handle will be attached at the same height. The 2 handles will sit next to each other when the doors are closed, I wanted them to look even in height. Using a level is a big help to double check the placement of the handles. Similar here.

 

All the holes were drilled all the way through the doors with our power drill and a drill bit that was slightly smaller than the screws we were using. 

 

 The screws go in the back of the door and through the door. I used the screws that came with the handles, they were about 2 1/2 inches long, long enough for this project. The screws go through the doors and screw into the handles. This keeps the handles securely attached to the doors. 

  

The doors are finished and can be opened easily with the handles. Like they should be. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make a Picture Frame Wreath

 The change of season and cooler weather might make you want to decorate a bit. Summer is over and the autumn is here. The changing colors are always inspiring to me. Let's make a pretty picture frame wreath for my front door.

It's Fall Y'all! Let's decorate the front door.

I started with this simple picture frame. It is kind of old a beat-up. (Aren't we all at this point?) That's OK, it's going to look great on my front door with some other decor pieces. 

 

I had some white ribbon that I would use as well. The frame is white and the ribbon will look nice with it no matter what else I add on to it.

 

I also grabbed all the fall color items I had on hand at home. I wanted items that were fall colored or themed. I had a place mat, a couple needle point projects and 2 potholders on-hand around the house that I could use. 

 

I thought the blue piece would look good with the flowers I found. They don't need to fit in the frame exactly. They can layer on top of each other. This combo was a good option.I could add that white ribbon and it would all work together.

 

I thought these items would combine well too. The orange and red colors were perfect together. These pieces will layer together with the frame well too. I decided to use these because they had the traditional colors of fall. These can all layer into the picture frame together easily. 

 

To begin, I used a safety pin to attach the place mat to the needle point piece. 

 

You can just barely see the pin through the clasp at the top of the embroidery hoop around the needle point piece. The safety pin will hold them together really well.

 

I added a piece of ribbon around the clasp and tied it in a bow. It will hide the fastenings and look pretty too.

 

You can use duck tape to attach the items to the back of the frame if you prefer. These are all light weight items and the tape seemed very secure. 

 

You can also use a hot glue gun like I did for the twine I attached to the top of the frame to hang it up with. Hot glue holds very well and it is a good choice too.

 

I used a wreath hook over the top of the door to hang this new wreath on my door. I liked the fall colors. You can use almost anything to make a "wreath", you just need to layer a few pieces together.
 

I thought I could tuck a few cream colored flowers in between the frame and the hook. Just for fun. Using items of similar colors usually looks great together so add on anything you like.  I hope you can enjoy the change of seasons where you are. And thanks for reading along.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lengthen a Bracelet

 Hello Readers. I love thrifting and I found this fabulous bracelet at a thrift shop for $1.50 I liked the colors and brought it home. I didn't try it on and when I got home... it didn't fit my wrist very well. That's OK, I can fix this.

Make your bracelet fit.

This bracelet was so pretty. I thought it was gorgeous and the price was right. I bought it right away.

My daughter saw the bracelet and recognized what it was. I did a little research and found out this kind of bracelet was from Italy and made with tiny mosaic pieces. 

 

The bracelet was small and tight when I put it on. I was able to get it on but it was not comfortable at all. I needed a little more space.

 

I can use a few o-rings to add length to the bracelet. These are from Amazon and very affordable. The rings are available in gold or silver tone so you can match your bracelet.

 

You can also get o-rings from the thrift store or from an old pair of earring you have on hand. A lot of dangle earrings have o-rings and you can use the o-rings from them to lengthen your bracelet too. 

 

I used tweezers to twist open the o-rings in these earrings. They open easily and you don't need fancy tools, the tweezers work just great. Where ever you find your o-rings and whatever o-rings you use, the rest of these steps will be the same. 

 

When the o-ring is open, it can fit on the end of the bracelet. You might need to add one or two or maybe more. You can judge the length that works best for you and your wrist to be comfortable. 

 

I added three o-rings to my bracelet. I twisted them open and connected them to each other. They twist closed just as easily. The whole fix only took a few minutes to complete.

 

The bracelet fits so much better now. You can see the o-rings I added to the bracelet. They added just enough room for comfort and it was easier to get the bracelet clasped on my wrist when there was some extra length to work with. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Dress

 Hello Readers. I went to the dentist. (No cavities.) As I parked my car I saw that the dentist's neighbor was giving away clothes. I am a scavenger at heart so I took a look. I found a fabulous red dress. 

Before and after.

I spoke with the woman and she said she likes to clean out her closet and give clothes away like this. It's like a yard sale but it's a give away.  

This dress was cute. I love the color. The dress was too long. It was so long I realized that I could refashion it into a 2 piece set. (I love a 2 piece matching set.) 

  

The bodice was really pretty crochet work. It was completely see through so I will wear it over a shirt I guess. The skirt had a lining but the top didn't. 

 

I cut out some simple pant legs. I positioned the pants at the bottom of the skirt. This left enough at the top to wear it as a shirt. It also means I could use the hem of the skirt as the hem of the pant legs. That will save time.

 

I sewed the pants together. 

 

I was going to use this elastic to the waistband. I like the design and colors with the fabric. 

 

I sewed the elastic together to make a circle and pinned the elastic around the waist of the skirt. 

 

I stretched the elastic as I stitched. Using elastic is an easy way to finish the pants and it's also really comfortable to wear. 

 

I cut the lining out from what was left as the dress. I hate nylon linings. I won't need a lining anyway. I will be wearing this top over another top. That will keep me covered.

 

I had to hem the bottom of the new shirt but that's all I had to do to finish it.

 

My new matching set was done in no time. It's comfy and perfect for days when I want fall weather to come but it's still hot and humid. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Simpilicity 8175 Skirt

 Hello Readers. I love to try new patterns and today I am trying the short skirt from Simplicity 8175. Simplicity is usually pretty simple so hopefully I can do this well. I have some modifications I want to try too. Let's do it! 

 New skirt using 2 fabrics.  

 

I am going to make the shorter skirt on the cover of the pattern. I am using the paisley material but I will add some of the green for the pockets and a waist tie. I am making that part up as I go along. 

 

I cut out all my pattern pieces as directed. I used the paisley for everything except the pieces that make the pocket. For the pocket pieces closest to the body, I am using the green. It will be a small but visible pop of color. 

Here are all the skirt pieces layered as they would be when they are sewn together. It helps me to see them all together.

 

Here is the skirt sewn mostly together. When I sewed the pieces I put the right sides together and then turned them right-side out. This was a great pattern, it went together easily. 

 

Here are the waistband pieces. There is one for the front and one for the back. They are supposed to be sewn together and a zipper added to get in and out. I didn't want a zipper. Zippers look nice but they lock in the size of the waistband and do not stretch of let me have ANY extra room. This was not a stretch fabric so I didn't want a zipper. Let me show you what I did instead. 

 

I attached the waistband but did not sew this side of it together. Here is where I am going to deviate from the plan. I am going to add a couple pieces of fabric to the waistband and make a tie on that side. The pocket is not fully closed at the top so that is how I will get in and out of it. 

 

The outside of the tie is the paisley material but the other side of the ties is the green fabric. This will harmonize with the pockets and add a little more of that fun green color.

 

When the skirt is worn and tied on the side it will stay closed, my stomach will be covered but I can tie the tie a bit tighter or looser depending on how many cookies I had the day before. I really like clothes that are adjustable and allow for a bit of size change. Who doesn't gain or lose a bit around the middle at times?

  

This skirt is perfect because it is pumpkin spice season and it is still 98 degrees where I live this week. We are hot!! Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.