Let me take your hat

The latest project at Chez Quivas: redoing the entry-way!  This little project has been in the works for about a month, mainly because: 1. I'm a chicken and 2. I have friends in north Denver now, which apparently takes up a lot more free time than I remember. :-)

This is our "Before" entryway.  I still need to find a place for our lovely dragon hanging, as Dorothy sewed it for Mike in college.  Here's how that conversation went:

Mike: "Hey, so I think I'm getting a tattoo with Chinese symbols."

Dorothy: "If I make you a wall hanging with a dragon and those symbols, will you promise me you won't get a tattoo?"

Aaaaaaand the wall-hanging was born.

But I digress.  I found the gossip bench at ARC last summer (Heidi's birthday no less) for $20. The books I had, and the camera was also an ARC jewel for $2. 

So.  $30 in 3M hooks later (and a preemptive strike with the ancient antique mirror from Goodwill that, for $10, I couldn't pass up), we have this:

With my epic new sewing machine, I sewed the ends of leftover (from this project and this project) ties together to recover the seat on my sweet little bench.  Also the biggest reason why this project took forever.  Why I would take the time on such a fairly insignificant detail, you ask?  I have absolutely no idea.

Well, I do.  If I'm honest, my life is all about the details.  So much so that I miss the big picture a lot of the time.  Even my work evaluation said as much (didn't stop me from getting the Top Achiever, though, just sayin').  So what if my parents, and maybe one friend, are the only ones that notice.  I notice.  To quote my regional manager, "It's your world, we're just living in it."

I believe we've established our love for Goorin Bros Hats.  Combine my love of decorating with things that make me happy and our love of hats?  You've got the best entryway ever.

Tie Purse

This bag was a labor of love, as the only reason I stuck through to the end was I'd already cut up most of the ties I loved!

In the end, though, it was totally worth it.  I followed these instructions, but improvised to make it the size I wanted.

I used some leftover tie tops from the skirt to finish off the strap.

I made the linig out of a pillow sham I bought at a thrift store.  Reduce, re-use, recycle at its prettiest!

The other side (which if I'm really honest is about an inch shorter than the front).  It happens.  You can't tell based on how I wear it!

Sigh...I adore neckties.

Hat Trick

I found this hat at Goodwill (it was actually new from Target who donates what they don't sell to the organization) for $6.  I absolutely loved everything about it except for the cheesy plastic cheetah print belt sewn around the small brim.

So, I took one of the leftover ends of the myriad ties from my tie skirt, and made a new decorative addition!  I actually sewed it in 4 places (including the vintage button), but I'm now wishing I'd sewn the two ends together and added velcro so I could swap out different colors (since the collection of ties is so incredibly massive).  I might be re-doing it eventually.

If Ford ever goes under, I think I have a fine future in millinery waiting for me.  Just sayin'.

Also, apologies for the crappy photos - my camera is dead and I keep forgetting to charge it.  The Blackberry takes sub par photogs...

Tie Skirt

Epic.

Vest - GAP Outlet
Sweater - Merona for Target
Boots - DSW
Necklace - Walmart