Sewing Treadle Base Turned Table

                 

                My flee market savvy mother happens to own 3 old sewing machine treadle bases AND a lot of vintage suitcases. After seeing these I thought why not turn the treadle base into a table?! I really needed a piece of furniture in my room anyways..... not! (But hey when you make something cool, you MAKE room! haha) I also thought why not use a suitcase as the "table" part?! So an idea was born.

And here's my process...

This is the original treadle base I used as the base of the table.

I added 2 pieces of 2x4's that I stained a color that semi matched the metal. I then cut the pieces of wood to size. 
**If you don't have equipment for cutting pieces of wood, Home Depot or Lowes will cut it for you... How nice of them! :) 

      

                 I found a suitcase that fit. Yay me!

        

 And TA-DA!!..... wait is that really how you spell that? Anyway... Finished project!!! (of course you already saw it at the first, so it really doesn't deserve a "Ta-DA" because that implies a surprise.... dagummit.)

        

                  There's also a shelf.... WHAT!
(By the by, I'm fairly certain that adding a type writer to ANYTHING makes it spectacular! 

I highly recommend the purchase of one as soon as possible.)


....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :)

What is Clever?

I had a thought.....


    "What does 'clever' mean? How is it different from smart or brilliant or crafty?!"
  
   
-Here's what the dictionary has to say about what 'clever' really means.

      Definition of CLEVER

1a : skillful or adroit in using the hands or body : nimble<clever fingers>  

b : mentally quick and resourceful <a clever young lawyer>

2: marked by wit or ingenuity <a clever solution> <a clever idea>

       ***Synonyms: artful, creative, imaginative, ingenious, innovative, inventive

    That still, however, didn't answer the question of why it's different from brilliant or crafty or smart. So I thought on it and here's what I came up with...

    Math, science, language, and logic are the functions of the LEFT side of your brain. Your RIGHT brain is the creative, intuitive side that creates music and art. 
  I would say for the most part we don't normally mix the two sides. For example, you don't need to know how to dissect a frog to be able to play Chopin. And you certainly don't need to know how to paint to understand quadratic equations. And then it hit me. Clever, I realized, is when we combine both the right side and the left sides of our brain. It's ingenuity and beauty all in one.
It now makes perfect sense to me!
  My question was answered....  

     Clever is: when the right and the left side

  of your brain work together.

....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :) 

Clay Rosette Tutorial

    

CLAY is the love!!! I've recently discovered that polymer/clay has so many possibilities! I just had to do something with it, so I made rosettes. (If you've ever made fabric rosettes, it's basically the same concept). Once you've made the rosettes you can add jewels in the middle, or dust it all over with glitter. I for some reason didn't, but seriously glittery rosettes?! I mean how cool would that be?!

Here's my Step-by-Step/Picture-by-Picture process of how I made a clay rosette. :) 

FIRST, before you start, the polymer has to be warm. 

If it's not pliable enough, it will start to get little cracks on the edges. It takes a while to get warm so me being my ridiculous self found that the best way is to put it in one of your pockets. Body heat people!! haha I personally put it in my back pocket and sit on it.... I'm clever, what can I say?! :P 

***Thanks to Susannah Flautt Photography 

for taking all the pictures of my step by step process!! She is a fantastic!***

HERE 'TIS!!

Take a small amount of clay and 
roll it into a ball.

  

       

Roll it out into a "snake". ;)

 Using some sort of smooth, rounded tool,
 roll it out flat. (about 1/16'') 
(make sure your tool is smooth 
or it will obviously make marks 
in the clay.) The thinner you make this 
strip the more delicate your rose will look!

These next parts you'll just have to watch. 
The key is make it the most tight at the bottom 
of the rosette.

A few times while making your rosette 
you're gonna want to pinch one of the layers.
It will give it a more real effect and also help
 the rose look more open.

See how the two pinches makes it 
open up more? 

At this point I sometimes pull
 the "petals" back a bit to make it
 look more open.

Make sure there are no gaps on the bottom

or else the outer petal will wobble and 

not be super secure after you bake it.

 GENTLY squoosh the bottom together....

...and voila! :) They will ALWAYS turn 

out differently every time you make it so it's
 always fun to see the finished product!! <3                             

Put Parchment paper on a cookie sheet
 and cook your rosette at 275 degrees for 15 
MINUTES. 
(unless the package of your clay says something different.)

These are the first ones I did. :) I'm just so proud. *tear*.... 
okay not really. Honestly I didn't let the clay warm enough 
so there are weird little breaks in the "petals" when I rolled it out. You can see if you look closely.
*FYI: When you bake them, the color tends to darken. 


Now that you've made the rosettes, you can turn them into anything! 
My personal favorite....

EARRINGS! 

....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :)

From ME to YOU

Dear Darlings,

    I'm sure it's not normal for ones first blog post to be a letter written to the readers, but let's be honest here people- I'm SO not normal. In fact I've embraced my "non-normal-ness," and so will continue with my letter writing...  

 My name is Eleanna. (hint: it rhymes with Pollyanna!) Jesus, style, fashion alterations, home remodeling, re-purposing furniture, party planning, shoes, the 1940's, tea, Jane Austen, sunsets, the SOUTH, being creative, and CLEVERness are just a FEW things I love. (wowza that was a mouth full!) 

  I believe with my whole heart that we were all created to CREATE and that the desire to be creative is a reflection of the One who created us. So if you'd like to listen to an extra-extrovert's ramblings, then by all means, follow along my journey of attempting cleverness and creativity, while posting my finds and adventures on this blog. Hopefully along the way you will be inspired to create and open up the right side of your brain and let loose all of the lovely, imaginative, creative, and clever things that are in there!! 

YOU. ARE. CREATIVE... I hope you believe it, practice it, and show it to the world in every aspect of your life.

 BE CLEVER!

      Southernly with love, Eleanna~