A quick jacket for beginners

This model is perfect for beginners in sewing. You will need following:

• About 2m of strechable fabric that, in the best case, has some percentage of wool and that will not come apart.
• 1 or 2 to bigger buttons.

Process

• Measure your back with. The measurement is taken horizontally between shoulder blades (i.e. from sleeve seam to sleeve seam).
• Each front side should equal to the width of the back. For example, if your back width is 40 cm, you need a total of 1m20of the fabric. 40cm for back side and 2x40cm for both front sides.
• Fold the fabric in half to find the middle.
• Divide the result of your back width into half. For example, if it is 40cm, then it would be 20cm.
•  Measure 20 cm starting from the folded part of the fabric. Mark this place and make there holes for sleeves.
•  The holes need to be more oval in shape, as shown in the image and they should be about 15cm away from the top of the fabric.  

• Make a sleeves (use some model from Burda, or clothes you do not wear).

• Sew the sleeves and the holes together, and you're almost done.
• If you collar is too squashy and not standing firmly, cut another part of the same length as the fabric, and width of about 17cm. In our case, this would be a rectangle with dimensions of 1m20 x 17cm. Sew that piece on the upper part to get reinforced, double collar.

• Fold the top edge of the collar with both sides in half and sew it. 
• Make a hole for the button. If you prefer, you can fold the fabric just above the breasts and add one more hole and button (see first picture).

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6:58 PM  Sewing  No comments

Laptop cardboard holder

For one of my dear friend and colleague, who deserves a special place on this blog, I made a holder for a laptop.

I have to admit that I should have done it much earlier, but having decided to change the company, he finally managed to put me in action. 
Anyway, he helped me a lot regarding my cardboard projects. He wouldn't thrown away even the smallest cardboard box.

A holder for the laptop should have some holes, so that the heat can easily flow away. And since he likes to laugh a lot, just like children do, I immediately thought about smiley. However, when you get to smiley's mouth, I could not help but add the first and then the second tooth. Well, I really couldn't resist it.
First I created an initial draft.

I made three identical cutouts on the cardboard plate and fixed them together using plastic glue.

Then I cutted a lateral lever, which rely on the plate from the back; the lever is about 15cm high.
Then I fixed the front cardboard pieces (about 1.5 cm wide), so the laptop would not fall down.
I covered ends with paper tape.

After this initial fixation of cardboard parts, I took wooden glue mixed with a bit of water and did the first impregnation process. When it was dry I made a mixture of wooden glue, wood putty, wall putty, linseed oil and a little water. I waited till it was dry again and I colored it - using a golden dust for teeth - I couldn't help myself.:)
He says, it serves him well and he takes it even into bed ...

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11:00 AM  Cardboard furniture  1 comment

In the case of hunger, brake the glass

A great aridity happened this summer in Serbia and according to the news, it will be great famine. So I prepared something, just in case.

For this small project you will need following: 

• A wooden frame (or you make it out of cardboard) that has a depth of about 2cm. 

• A piece of pressed cardboard (2mm) that has to be exactly of same size as the frame itself.
• A bit of dried flowers 
• Various grains and seeds you most probably have somewhere in your kitchen. Personally, I have bought some seeds for birds, there you have a pretty nice collection.
• Wooden glue 
• Hammer and nails for frame fixation

Divide the cardboard plate into 9 parts. Use the wooden glue in order to fix flowers and seeds on the cardboard surface.

Make 4 dividers out of cardboard that will serve to separate these 9 parts.

Fix it carefully on the cardboard plate. Use wooden or plastic glue. Let it dry completely.

Turn it and fix it on the frame using hammer and nails.
Do not forget to enclose a frame hook .. and done.

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2:40 PM  Home decoration  No comments

Cardboard painting - a window

Another picture has been created. When I finished it, I found it a bit morbid.
If there were not that window that offers a bit of hope, I'd be sincerely worried.

I fixed newspaper over the cardboard mixing the wood glue with water and arranged it with my fingers on the surface in order to get relief.
 The image consists of four connected parts, each part having size of 11cm x 50cm. I didn't use oil paints, if I did, I would have probably got a better effect. Instead, I used the same acrylic based colors that I normally use for painting furniture: color + acrylic based toners for walls, for shading.
These colors are dull, when they dry; that's why I covered the picture with hair spray, which has smoothly lacquered the surface, without too shiny effect, just as it should. The picture looks like this:

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11:50 PM  Home decoration  No comments

Abstract carboard painting

My fascination with cardboard simply does not stop.
Recently my boiler leaked and I hastily ordered a new one. Boiler just like any other boiler, the only thing that interested me on my way home was - have they packed it in a quality cardboard!
I've recently started a bed of cardboard, actually a box in which I'll put the mattress, but somehow I'm not quite prepared for the chaos that I will not be able to avoid ... (something I think, if I mention it here, then I will be ashamed not to finish it).

And my bed idea turned into a relief image of cardboard.
For background I took two cardboard panels (if anyone wants to try something similar, I suggest to take 3), and merged them with wooden glue; I struggled a lot to get it straight and equally dried.

With tree panels it would be a lot easier, as the cardboard would not be distorted. At the diagonal edges I fixed 2 small cardboard pieces and used a dense mass (wooden glue, wood filler, wall filler, linseed oil and a bit of water). I made reliefs using knife and fork, and spoon, and more or less everything what came on my hand. At the end I wrote random letters, when all was well dried, I colored it. For a first attempt, I'm pretty satisfied, I hope that the following pictures will be better. The result looks like this.

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12:14 AM  Home decoration  No comments

Cardboard kitchen part II

First part of the kitchen is ready for final impregnation and coloring afterwards. Here are some photos.

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4:23 PM  Cardboard furniture  No comments

How to create a cardboard door

I had real problem to find out how to implement cardboard door into the carton furniture. There are several solution on this subject you may find on Internet, but I didn't really like any. And then I read it on the blog of  Marie Krtonne who creates such wonderful cardboard furniture which fascinates me each time when I am there.

I followed Marie's instructions but I also added two new details.

• I fixed a piece of material inside of the door, in order to protect additionally eventual damage on it. I decided to put Vlieseline which is a bit elastic. I have fixed it with wood glue diluted with water, I let it dry and was absolutely satisfied with reached effect. The Vlieseline melted into the carton so I think it is now very good protected.
• I have prolonged the side length which should be fixed inside of the furniture and took the real dimension of the side part - width and height. I am not really sure if this is absolutely necessary, but anyway I have better feeling of fortification.

This big door is still not implemented, but the I have done the small one. Here is the result.

Comment réaliser une porte en carton

J'avais vraiment un problem d'implementer la porte dans un meuble en carton. Il y en a quelques solutions que j'ai pu trouver sur l'Intrenet mais aucune ne me satisfait pas. Et là, je l'ai trouvée sur le blog de Marie Krtonne, qui fait un meuble en carton tellement magnifique, que je reste absolument fascinée par la beaute et la précision de création.
 

Je suivais les instructions de Marie mais aussi j'ajoutais deux choses nouvelles.

•  J'ai fixé un morceau de matériau à l'intérieur de la porte, afin de la protéger des dommages possibles. Je me suis décidée d'user Vlieseline qui est un peu élastique. Je l'ai fixé avec la colle à bois diluée avec un peu d'eau, je laisse sécher et j'étais absolument satisfaite de l'effet obtenu. Le Vlieseline est bien fondu dans le carton, donc je pense qu'il est maintenant très bien protégé.
• J'ai prolongé la longueur du côté qui devrait être fixée à l'intérieur de meuble et j'ai pris la dimension réelle de la partie latérale - largeur et hauteur. Je ne suis pas vraiment sûre si cela est absolument nécessaire, mais de toute façon j'ai le sentiment que la porte sera mieux fortifiée. 

Cette grande porte n'est pas encore implementée, mais j'ai fait la petite. Voilà le résultat.

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4:16 PM  Cardboard furniture  No comments

Cardboard Kitchen

If I had not promised in my last post to start with the creation of the cardboard kitchen, I would not probably have begun this project yet. But I promised, so I had to. And imp has visited me, as AN would say in one of her posts: I have been haunted! First I draw the kitchen parts in the way I would like my kitchen to look like (honestly speaking, I do not need it at all:). It is only a rough draft, most probably the kitchen will not look like this at the end.

Very soon the manic cardboard cutting has been started. At first I wanted to make kitchen in one piece, but I resigned of that idea very quickly, for two reasons. The length of the kitchen should be 2m70 and I do have a problem to find or buy so long carton pieces; on the other hand, I have terrible need to move my furniture once in 3 months.  In this way I give to the general house cleaning a higher goal.

So, what I got so far is a third of whole cardboard kitchen.I must admit, I'm very proud that I managed to make a cardboard door for which I am almost 100% sure it won't get destroyed by time. Here some images and in the next post I'll discover the secret of creating cardboard door.

I apologize in advance because of poor image quality, but I simply cannot catch the daylight on weekdays. 

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4:06 PM  Cardboard furniture  No comments