Hey, I just met you and this is crazy...

Normally this is something I would face at the beginning of a new school year, but we actually aren't moving this year and I had to register my youngest for Kindergarten.  Going through all the registration forms was the dreaded Emergency Contact form.  As my military friends know, the fear doesn't stem from the actual emergency itself.  In many cases it is, "I wonder if this person will mind if I put them down on this form" or IF we actually know anyone to put down in the first place.

I realized as I filled out my form I am going to have to update my three other kid's forms again this year, as another friend is moving, same as last year.  Thankfully time at a duty station gives you the ability to build a network to pull from, to add to that list.  First arriving at a new duty station, that is a different story.

I vividly remember moving to a new duty station, across the country far from family and friends.   I had a 3 month old and a 3 year old.  The 3 year old had previously been in school in our last duty station, so I signed her up at our new location.  Then they put the form in front of me.  Who can we contact in case of an emergency...crickets.  I knew no one.  Not a soul.  When we moved to  our previous duty station I knew one person, I didn't realize that one person can make a huge difference. Because here I am, with a blank form and a blank mind.

Then I thought about the woman who came to check out our floor plan (as these were new houses lucky me) and our hubbies we going to work together.  She was a mom with two kids, one my oldest age. My hubby spoke highly of hers.  So, should I ask her?  What is she going to think of me?  I just met her!!  They seem like good people and their kids are alive and thriving, one is the same age.  She's going to think I am a horrible mother trusting my precious children with a stranger. Gulp....

"Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but can I put you down on my emergency contact form."

The response came immediately, no awkward pause, no let me think about it.  An immediate YES and can I put you down on mine was the reply.

Relief!  What I feared what would be met with was judgement was met with a sigh of relief, understanding and acceptance.

This wasn't the last time this has happened.  This happens often in military life.  We make friends quickly. Our kids make friends quickly.  We learn to trust our inner voice on who is safe and who is not.  We have to.  We move too much and too far to not trust our instincts.  One of our duty stations was 10 months long across the country to and across the country from we go ping ponging coasts as we went, never knowing who we are going to meet on the flip side.  Time moves fast.

So for all my non military friends, please don't think us a weird bunch.  Especially if we immediately ask to put you on our list.  It doesn't mean we are really desperate, it means we saw something in you in our brief interaction that made us feel that we could ask and we could really use the help.  So thank you.  Thanks to all those non military friends that let us dive right into your lives, to make you like family and of course put you on our emergency contact list.

I have made it a point, because I remember that initial fear the first time I had to ask, that when I meet a new spouse who has just moved here and doesn't know many (if any) people ...

"Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but please feel free to use me on your emergency contact list".  

jackie

 

I will not get excited....

2235 on some random Friday in November....


I will not get excited
I will not get excited
I will not get excited.

For anyone who has had a loved one be redeployed via an older aviation platform knows, BE FLEXIBLE.  These airplanes are old, we have flown the crap out of them (by we I mean the military which while I don't hold rank, I fully am apart of), and now they have to make the long trek home.... 


I will not get excited.


It was about four hours ago.  I looked at my clock and said to myself, they are getting ready to brief their flight home.  Their flight HOME!!!!


I will not get excited.


I sat their envisioning them.  Getting together, doing their brief (which I have no clue how it really looks other than TV), walking to their aircraft, doing the walk around, climbing in their jets and then.....

I am catapulted to over six months ago.  Under the darkness of night we gathered.  I walked into a ready room, that holds no familiarity for me (my hubby is among those who was moved to this unit weeks before it deployed).  It was strange walking in there, the unfamiliar.  Looking for a face I recognize.  It wont be my hubby, he's busy working.  The wives are all so new to me.  Which is strange.  My husband and I have been together since the beginning and we are in our 19th year with the Marine Corps....and I feel new.  Finally I see him and is time to walk... by walk I mean out to the airplane.

We said our goodbyes at home and he drove himself in.  He wasn't expecting me.  I didn't know how the kids were going to take it and with the late take off, I just wanted to focus on the kids.  We chose this life...they were drafted.

We head out of the ready room.  Take a few photos and then say our final goodbye.  As I write this, it has been over six months...I couldn't tell you what I ate for dinner yesterday, but I remember this as clear as day.  It feels like it was 6 weeks ago not months.



He walks to his jet.  I don't see him climb in.  It's too dark and too far away from where we gathered.  I am also distracted...

How can I be distracted?!?!

Because about a handful of F-18s were starting up.  It is a sound I have heard, and have missed, and have loved and ironically never hated for over a decade.  I hear it, it sounds like a song.  It starts off at a low mid range note and drops to a low tone and then slowly climbs up the scale.  Its the sound of the generator that starts the F-18.  A sound that I have longed to hear.  Due to cuts, other issues, things I wont even touch on....I don't hear this sweet sound enough.  Here I am listening to multiple generators going off one on top of another.  Sweet music.  It is the sound of warriors.  Heroes.  Hours upon hours of hard work to get all those jets up.  It sound like FREEDOM.

I don't remember the second cel start up nearly as much as the first cel.  First cel cut through the quiet and darkness like a hot knife, straight to my heart.  I wasn't sad.  NO.  Not one bit!  I was proud.  I sat there in the noise, letting it over take me.  The rumble.  The amount of power that was coursing out of those jets enveloped me.  It was as if the earth was shaking.  I realized now that I was getting pretty chilled in the dark of night and I was starting to shiver.  It was hard to tell if I was shivering from cold or from shear exhilaration of what I was witnessing, or like a tuning fork was vibrating with the enormous energy surrounding me.


Now all the jets are started.  I could imagine them going through all their check lists getting ready for the flight.  Cel one is the first to depart to the runway.  With the blinking lights and rumbling engines.  They pull further into darkness.  Further away from us.

They sit rumbling at the end of the runway, talking to the tower I imagine.  Talking to each other making sure every one was good to go.  Then it starts.  One by one in quick succession roar into the night.  The bright orange glow from their engines briefly light up the night and then following the orange glow into the darkness and then gone.

Cel 2 does the same thing.  Wait at the end of the runway and then one by one roar into the night.  Then silence.  It was almost deafening.  I was hoping as a group they would all fly overhead so I could once again be in proximity to my warrior one more time.  But they were gone.  They were focused.  They were on a mission and I was on mine.

I am pulled back to the here and now.  Back from the memories that feel like it was a few weeks ago yet a lifetime ago because the amount of living that has occurred.  It is hard to believe that it is coming to an end shortly.  I am trying to manage my kids excitement and remind them to be flexible.  Everything is subject to change.  As I remind them I am reminding myself.


How I long to hear that rumble.  How I long to feel it course through me.  I imagine my hubby and wonder what he's thinking.  I am sure he is going over his check list, checking with tower and what ever thousand things they need to do to be safe.  He is not off on a tactical mission this time.  He is coming home...he is coming HOME.  I can't imagine what is going through their minds.  Six plus months ago they were headed off to a set of missions.  Now they are headed home.  I bet they are doing what a lot of us are doing right now....

I will not get excited,
I will not get excited.

jackie

Rustic Herb Garden

I want to call this a nap time craft...realistically it is two naps, only because we need to wait for paint to dry.  I actually did this project in one day (except for the words....because I have children and they move things).  I started in the morning after taking my son to preschool. It did not take long at all, between coats I would do other things.  So if you are lucky and still have a little one who naps twice a day then you can totally do this!  Honestly, with some prior planning anyone can, because it is just that simple.

SUPPLIES:
Pots and saucers
Black chalk paint
White Chalk paint
Brush (I actually used a foam brush)
Stamps
Stamp pad
Plants

Thankfully I already knew that I wanted to do this project BEFORE heading out to the store (many times it happens as I am walking out....not a good idea).  So I knew I needed pots, saucers and of course the plants.  That's it, I had the rest.  I got these pots.

Not really exciting...right.  These don't go with anything I own as well.   Thankfully I am not afraid of paint, because the simplest thing can be transformed simply with paint.

When I got home I decided to rinse them.  Now since I was shopping during school time I knew I wouldn't be painted them that day.  Did they need to be rinsed...I really don't know.  I had the time, but I was using chalk paint and that seems to stick to everything.  So you decide.  They will absorb the water and will need time to dry before painting.

So it is P day...time to Paint!  I set up everything on my table (don't tell the hubby), put something down to protect the table.  I knew I was going to distress the pots and didn't want the orange showing through.  I wanted gray.  So I poured some white chalk paint into a cup and then added some black.  Used my foam brush to mix it up (I really wasn't going for perfection here, just gray paint...we are going to be covering that up anyway).  How much black paint?  You don't need a ton...maybe the ratio was 1/8th black to 1 part white.  You can always add more if you need to.  I believed I used about 1/2cup of paint for one coat of saucers and pots.

As with everything I think there is an efficient way to do things.  I started with the inside.  At first I was only going to paint about 1/3 down the inside, just in case the soil was below the top.  I didn't want to see ANY orange.  I apologize for no photos, but this is really simple and there is no wrong way.  I am just telling you what worked for me.

So I painted the inside, the top and then down about 1/3 to 1/2 the outside and moved on.  With the saucers I did half one way and half the other...the paint dries pretty fast, to be able to flip and finish painting...I waited a bit between coats though to make sure.  So after I was done with the saucers I went back to the pots and finished what was left, leaving them rim side down.  Then I finished the saucers.  Then I went back to the pots and flipped them back to their bottom just to make sure the top isn't getting ruined.  I smoothed everything out, and then realized I still had gray paint, so I just finished painting the inside of the pot.  Really not needed, but I had the paint and it only took a few minutes.  At this point I wanted plenty of time for the pots to dry.  So I think I went for a run...a jog...well maybe a trot.  I am S L O W L Y getting back into shape...

After doing some laundry I decided there was enough time now and I could put on a coat of white paint.

First coat of white over the gray.

I have the bottles out for you to see I just used Walmart chalk paint.  I live in small town and this is what I got...
I applied a total of two coats of white paint and let them dry for about 2 hours after the final coat.  Then I took 220 grit sand paper and tore of two small chunks.

Used sand paper.  It doesn't take much.

I used this to distress the edges.  I did use some on the flat parts.  This took more effort, the edges did NOT so proceed lightly so that you don't take off the gray too.
I did try to use vinegar at first.  I read about using it as a distressing technique to not take off too much paint.  It didn't do anything.  Maybe it was the type of paint, maybe it was that I was using a paper towel...I don't know.  I will for sure try again at some point to see if it works.  I will keep you posted.

So after distressing I was excited to get my stamps and put the letters on....well sure enough the kiddos have moved them and NO ONE will cop to it.  I also realize they are upper case (I found 3) and I wanted lower case.  So I lied....I needed one more thing from the store.  Thankfully the next day I was going shopping where there is a Michael's (a hour drive....gah!).  So with my handy dandy 40% off coupon I got these.

I didn't use any precision when stamping.  I wanted them to have more of a rustic feel.

I had already put my plants in the day before, because I am impatient and they desperately needed watering.  You can see these are in those biodegradable pots and yes, they are sticking out of the top.  I am for sure not a gardener, and these may be too big for the pot, but I am going to see how they go for now.  We plan to make a garden in the near future and maybe I can take some of this and put in the garden and the rest in the pot.  I will see.  For now, I look at them every time I do dishes.

 I do fear they aren't going to get enough sunlight, so they are currently on a field trip outside but need to come in because the pollen is horrible!

I would love to see what you decide to make today.  What herbs or plants do you like?  I showed you mine, now you show me yours ;)




Jackie

Reversible Burlap Pennant Banner tutorial DIY

I am SUPER excited to be sharing this with you!!  I have seen a few tutorials on making reversible banners, but they involved ribbon covering the fold on the opposite side or just leaving it.  They were cute, but I have a touch of OCD so I wanted a cleaner look.

I researched many tutorials deciding first on how to make the actual triangle for the pennant (I will get to the actual process soon).  Once I determined the size of pennant I wanted to use, I then grabbed a sheet of regular paper and a scrap and started making a scaled down version to see if my plan would work.  Guess what??  It would!  I could now purchase the fabric and get ready to cut out my "diamonds".

Supplies

Burlap

Scissors/rotary cutter (and mat)

Cardboard (not necessary but easier)

Freezer paper or contact paper

X-acto knife

Letters to trace

Iron (if using freezer paper)

Craft paint

Brushes

Twine

Glitter (optional)

Modge podge/glue and water combo (if using glitter)

Glue gun (or whatever you want to use to glue together)

Grab your keys and head to your local fabric store!  As long as the fabric width is 44" (mine was 48") then you will need less than 1 yard.  There are many types of burlap.  Just get the one that calls to you.  Mine was $3.99 a yard but I had a 50% off coupon.  SCORE!
I picked up my craft paint at a big box store, because it is way cheaper than at the fabric store.  I got the rest of my items here as well.  So two trips isn't bad (even lugging four kids with you).

I am thankful I have a large cutting mat, about the size of my art table (saved from high school).  This was a present to myself a couple of years ago.  I believe I got it off amazon.com.  It is worth every penny!  Because of this mat and my rotary cutter I like to make templates of the object I will be cutting out of cardboard.  You don't have to do this but I find it much easier and more precise.
To make the template of my "diamond" I first need to make one triangle....that will be what the pennant will look like hanging.

I took a standard sheet of paper and folded in half the long way.  I have now found middle.  I then used a straight edge to draw a line from one corner to top middle on both sides.  I then cut out my triangle and then I cut about an inch off the bottom of the triangle.  I traced this on a piece of cardboard (try and find as pristine pieces you can).  I cut out two triangles and then tapped them together at the bottom, so that I could just make single ones later on and it was easier to store (I see more pennants in my future). 

One triangle.

Two triangles together making a diamond.

After cutting them out and having one of the triangles shift, it probably would be better to just cut out one piece, instead of two tapped together.  So it is up to you.  It worked fine, but some didn't come out the way I wanted, or I wasted some burlap because it didn't line up the way it should.
Now it is time to cut the fabric.  I laid the fabric out on my mat.  We are going to be working with the width of the fabric.  Lay your diamond so that the tip of one pennant length side.  The seam corner is on the edge where the fabric was cut.  I then used my rotary cutter and cut around my cardboard creating a diamond.  Then take your cardboard and move it so that the tip of it will touch the tip of the piece you just cut out, and the edge of the seam again will be on the cut edge (from the fabric store).  Cut.  Where the two tips met you will be able to fit the diamond template in there, cut again.  You should now have three diamonds.

This is the second batch of three.  You can see the tip to tip and then below where the third triangle is cut.

Repeat these and now you will have six diamonds and some triangles (and more) to boot!  Set them aside.
Next was determining the font I wanted to use.  I can't remember what I chose (sorry) but I do know that I  set the font to 320 to get it to the correct size.  I also found pictures on google images for the heart and shamrock.  I downloaded the picture and then on a word document made a picture box and adjusted the size to match up to the font size I used.  Totally eyeballed it!  I then printed these out.  You are going to be tracing these so it doesn't matter how many are on a page.
Next I cut strips of freezer paper (or contact paper....both worked great) about 4".  It should be wider than you letters with plenty of room for error.  Then I cut the strips large enough to accommodate the letters.  Once I cut out all my squares (I needed 12) now it is time to trace.  Lay the freezer paper (or contact) shiny side DOWN over the letters and trace out your design.  This part doesn't have to be perfect because you will be cutting over the line, so if you goof just fix it and move on.  Once that is complete it is time to cut out your letters.
I just used my big mat for this.  I recommend using a self healing mat, but you could use a magazine if you don't have one. Cut out the letters.  The shiny side should be the back of the letter.  You don't need the actual letters you need the square you cut them out of.  This is your stencil.  For the O you will also need the center portion.  Now it's time to bust out the iron....now where is that thing?  (I don't iron....ever!)
The iron will attach the freezer paper to the burlap.  If using contact paper you don't need to do this, however I decided to iron my burlap anyway.  Some pieces had creases where the fabric had been folded from being on the board, plus I decided to create a crease where you would fold the diamond to make a triangle.  I felt like the burlap handled pretty high heat (no steam...especially for attaching the paper) but I have no idea what the fabric calls for.  I ironed out all the creases I didn't want and then a created a crease at the top where the twine will go.  After I got the burlap nice and neat, it is time to attach the letters.  I started with the heart and shamrock.  This was easy and brainless. Just line up where you want the letter/object to be and lay the iron down "gluing" it to the burlap.  This doesn't take long if the iron is hot.  Then continue with the rest of the letters.   I almost made a huge mistake and put the L for Love and the L for Luck on the same pennant....this will not work when you turn it around.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Maybe the distraction of the four kids....yes I will stick with that argument.  After the shapes, I started with L on one side and E on the other.  U and V,  C and O, K and L (I hope this all makes sense!).

This is where the project starts to move along quickly.  Now that all your stencils are attached it is time to paint.  Grab your brush (I like foam type because it is better for dabbing because you don't want paint getting under your stencil), paint,  make sure your diamond is open and you have something under because the paint will bleed through and start dabbing.  I was impatient and didn't wait for the one side to dry before I painted the other.  It ended up being fine but you decided what works for you.

This is the contact paper.  Worked great.  Maybe a tad bit more difficult because getting the back off...but not really that hard.

Once the paint is all dry, next comes glitter.  This is optional.  I feel like the glitter made it just that much cuter, and I had a lot of different colors of glitter.  I used "matching" colors.  I also made my own Modge Podge.  For this craft I don't think it is necessary to use that nice of a medium.  So I just mixed a 50/50 mixture of glue and water (elmers or roseart...what ever you have on hand).  Your stencil is still on at this point!  You will take a foam brush and brush/dab on the glue mixture covering the painted area.  You don't need a ton.  Then sprinkle on your glitter.  I found holding the glitter higher up rather than close helped my not apply too much.  I tapped off the excess to be reused and moved on to the rest.  Let this dry completely.
I cut about 4 yards of twine.  I wanted options and to make sure I had enough.  Now it is time to break out the glue gun. I opened up the diamond but now the letters are facing down and I laid the twine in the crease.  I didn't want mine to be glued together because I wanted to be able to move and adjust them (and I thought about gluing one I had them placed where I wanted them....but nah).  I put a strip of blue about 1" below the crease, and making sure to hold the twine in the crease and out of the glue, I carefully folded the top half down attaching top and bottom.  Next I put a strip of glue down each side of the triangle, but only half way down.  I married up each edge and pressed it down.  Then I put more glue down the rest of each edge and finished.  I did it in steps for a couple of reasons.  One the glue cooled too fast trying to do a strip all the way down on both sides, plus they aren't perfect and it gave me time to marry up the edges on the top side and then adjust on the bottom if I needed.  So do this with the remaining pennants, making sure to spell it correctly!!  I tied a knot on one end and then hung up to the desired location and tied a knot at the other end.  I can move the pennants back and forth as I like (which is great because I move so much).
Now stand back and look at your handy work!  Cute right?!?!?!   I see a lot more of these in my future, how about you?

Temporary Tattoo - Tris from Divergent

So, it was storybook character day at school.  My eldest is an avid reader.  She really liked Tris from Divergent, so that is who she wanted to go as.  It wasn't just the clothing we HAD to find, but the TATTOO!  She was wanting to wear a tank top with a jacket over...ummm NO! It is snowing here, in fact the original character day was canceled bc they closed school due to snow/ice.  So I was hoping I could get off the hook for the tattoo.  Not so lucky with that one!

So I hunted and hunted and watched a few tutorials.  Many that involved liquid eyeliner.  Which if I had time in the morning, sure I could attempt that.  But I have four kids and two which are participating in character day, and the other two are my busy ones and I have to keep them out of trouble.  So between breakfast, messes, braids (I had a Katniss on my hands) and tattoo...it needed to be easy!

Supplies

Contact paper

X-acto knife

cutting surface

black face paint

I first researched the tattoo online.  I needed an image to copy.  I decided to do this on my iPad so I could just lay it down and copy over it...but there was a problem.  Everytime I touched the screen it made the image go back to thumbnail.  So I did a screen capture.  Still wasn't working...so I just printed the image.

I laid my image over the contact paper.  I couldn't see it through the paper to trace.  If you can, then great!  My first mistake was putting the image on the non sticky side...so the tattoo would have been inverted.  On my contact paper (bought at the dollar store.  Used for lining shelves.  I got clear but I imagine any will do!) the one side has a grid pattern the other, is white...but that is the sticky side.  So lay your image over the sticky side.  I used my x-acto knife and cut through all the layers of paper.  This is pretty small and has some fine corners, so use your time and be patient.  The bottom layer didn't come out all the way so I went around where it was still attached.  I used the knife to pull each layer out holding tight so that things didn't shift. 

This was me doing it on the WRONG side....

Once we were done, it was ready to be applied.

The morning of, I applied the template to her skin.  I didn't do anything to prep it.  She had showered that morning and as usually didn't apply any lotion (sigh).  I took the back off the contact paper and laid down the template where I wanted it.  I made sure all the little corners were down.  Then I wet a make up sponge/wedge and rung out any extra water.  Then I dipped it in the black face paint and started applying the paint from the edges in.  I didn't want any paint going under the edge, so I treated it like a stencil.  I did some dabbing around the edges and if I need to do more of a pulling motion I did from the edge to the center.

After I was done applying the paint, I sprayed it with some hairspray.  Not sure if it was needed but I felt it would help set it.  I let it sit like this for awhile (because I had to braid Katniss' hair).  Then I pulled off the the template.  I sprayed it again with some hairspray to help keep the edges clean.  After it dried, I brushed some Rodan+Fields mineral powder over to make it look a little more like it wasn't just sitting on top of the skin and have a more tattoo look.  This also helped the redness, because my daughter has sensitive skin and I left it on too long, and it gave her a nice peptide treatment!  Lol.

The nice thing about the contact paper was that it isn't too sticky.  It peeled off nicely.  Of course if you have any type of adhesive allergy/sensitivity do not do this.

My daughter was thrilled with the results and I was pretty impressed if I don't say so myself. 

She wasn't too thrilled with me taking a photo....

Katniss and Tris...they are getting too big!

I hope this makes sense.  If you have any questions let me know!

Chamois Fitted Crib Sheet Tutorial

So, I have taken a HUGE break.  So sorry.  Don't worry, I have been uber busy building and crafting and will be sharing with you all soon.  Today, I decided I would start with a sewing project.  The inspiration for this came from this blog.  It is relatively easy, the hardest part was cutting the fabric and threading the elastic....so I think you can do it!

So first, go measure your mattress.  A standard mattress is 51" x 28".  If not, then add 16" to both the width and length to determine how much fabric you will need.  I have a standard mattress and will be using dimensions based off MY mattress.

Supplies

2 yards of fabric

scissors/rotary cutter

straight edge (yard stick for me)

coordinating thread

2.75 yards of elastic (width is your preference)

pins

Now, go head to you local fabric store and pick out your favorite chamois, minky fabric....don't forget your COUPON!  You will need 2 yards (remember I have a standard matress...two yards should cover most though).  If you want to make a matching changing pad cover get 1 more yard.

I always wash my fabrics first.  That way IF there is any shrinkage I get that out of the way BEFORE I sew!
Now to the "hard" part....cutting your fabric.  For the standard mattress you will want to cut a rectangle that is 67" x 44".  Once you have your rectangle you will need to cut 8" squares out of each corner.  You can either do them individually, or fold the rectangle in half, then in half again, getting all the corner matched up.  Did I loose you?

Fold in half the long edge to long edge.

Fold in half short edge to short edge.

All four corners together.

 Now that I have my fabric folded I cut an 8" square with my rotary cutter and a straight edge.  Be patient and make sure you go thru all the layers.

Time to start sewing!!!  We are going to be making a french seam.  I have been told that this fabric sheds...so we are going to contain it.  Grab one corner and put the WRONG sides together and pin.  This will seem like it goes against everything you have ever been taught.  It will be ok, I promise!

Sewing wrong sides together.

I sewed about 1/4" seam allowance.  I am not exact and I just sew sometimes...oh well.  Once you have sewed your seam you are going to fold that corner so that right side of the fabric is facing each other and you are going to sew, making sure that you encase the edge of fabric you just joined.  This will take about a 5/8 " seam allowance.

Sewing right sides together, encase the edge of the fabric with the seam.

Congratulations!  You just made a french seam!!!   Do this for all four corners.

Once all the corners are all done it is time to create the pocket for the elastic.  Start by folding the fabric edge up 1/2".  Then take that folded edge and fold it up 1" and pin.  Do this all the way around the fabric. Or another way to do it is, fold up the edge 1.5" then tucking the top 1/2" of that fold down (it depends on how your brain works which you will get).  The first one is easy for me, the second took me a couple of tries so I took photos). 

Folding the unfinished edge up 1.5"

Folding the unfinished edge down 1/2" leaving 1"encasement.

 Once it is pinned in place you will pin all the way around leaving 2" opening to insert your elastic.  I think about 2.5 yards of elastic will do, but definitely 2.75 will be plenty.  Attach a safety pin to the edge and start threading through.  It gets harder as you start getting closer to the end, just keep swimming...
Once the elastic is thread through, I attached the ends (once I was happy with the length and the amount of tension) of the elastic with a zig zag stitch (sorry I thought I took a photo, but I think you get it!).  I went over it twice.  Tuck the end of the elastic in the encasement and sew it closed.
Now, run upstairs and throw everything off the mattress and slap that bad boy on.  Do a happy dance that you didn't drop a pretty penny at PBK!  My plans are to turn this into a blanket after he is done, but cutting off the edges and attaching a back...but not now.
Now to make one in my size....lol

As always, if you have any questions let me know!!  Happy sewing!

Rustic Bench and Coat Rack Tutorial

Here at my house we have been under going many projects.  We are updating the upstairs, gutted the basement restroom and are in the process of putting it back together, so I thought what's one more thing!  HA!  When I brought my idea to do this project to my husband, I thought for sure he was going to tell me I was crazy because we have so many other things going on.  Thankfully for me, he saw what I saw....an easy project that would ultimately make my life a bit easier and he didn't say 'No', so I immediately ran to my local home improvement store!

I wasn't following any plans, just an idea I had and a space to fill. 

This was what was thrown here.  Not really working for me,

I wanted something chunky for a bench.  So I decided to use a 2x12.  My hallway is less than 5' wide, and I always remember that you should have 3' for walking room.  So I didn't want something too wide.  Plus it would just clutter the space.
For the back piece of the bench and the coat rack I used a 1x8.  I unfortunately got these in two trips, because I was making it up as I go.  I wasn't sure if I needed a back, but after building the bench, I felt like a back would anchor it better.

Here is a list of what I needed...

1- 2x12x8' (you need 8' for this project however my store only sold it in 12' length so I can make another bench now!)
1- 1x8x10' try to find the straightest one you can
8- 2-1/2in double wide corner braces this (these came two to a pack so I only needed to purchase 4 packs)
wood screws
stain of choice (I used Varathane in Dark Walnut)
5 hooks of choice (we used this)
nail gun

Cut list:
2x12: 1- 5' & 2- 16"
1x8: 2- 5' sections

easy peasey!

When I got my wood home I started staining.  I wanted to distress it a bit so I took a hammer to it.

 I used it the "right way" and then turned it to the side and hit that way too.  You can use chains as well, we just didn't have any.  I figure my kids are going to take care of all the distressing!

As a big painter, the staining was quite a fast process.  I just followed the directions on the can. 

Apply liberally wait 2-3 minutes then wipe off the excess.  I used a lot of fabric to wipe up the excess.  I had a ripped fitted sheet that I used.  As for the brush I used...you can use those foam ones or I just grabbed a cheap 1" brush that my kids use for painting.  TIP- you need mineral spirits for cleaning...so needless to say I threw the brush in the trash because I didn't have any.

So after my wood was dry, it was time to assemble.  Determine which side of the 2x12x5' is going to the the top of the bench and lay that side down on the floor.  You will be using the 16" pieces as legs.  I wanted there to be four feet from inside leg to other inside leg.  I don't know how to go about telling you to accomplish this...so I will let you just figure it out...I know you can do it!

So we have this awesome right angle clamp to hold the leg to the bench, but if you don't have one,  it would sure help to have an extra pair of hands.  So once you have figured out placement of the legs you will stand the leg on the bottom side of the bench, place the brackets where you want them.

We used two on each side of the leg, so each leg had 4 total brackets.  My kids are rough on things so I wanted them reinforced.  We placed each bracket about 1.5" from each side. You can either mark the spots with a pen, using the bracket as your template, or just use the bracket and drill your pilot holes.  Once you have done that you can use the hardware that came with the brackets to attach the legs to the bench. (I ended up taking stain after it was built and go over the shiny brackets.  It doesn't look pretty but now I can't see them glaring at me).
 So, because I had someone at the store cut them for me, the legs weren't completely straight, and neither are my floors I am sure! So we attached a shim to the bottom of one of the legs and stained it.

Shim

Hopefully you can skip this step!  If you do need it, you just need to move the shim in and out until it the wobble goes away...gotta just mess with it.
To attach the back, we used our handy dandy tool again, other wise help would be awesome...We lined up the bottom of the bench with the long side of the 1x8.

Bottom of bench meets with bottom of long side

Again drilling pilot holes, we did 8 evenly spaced.

Brady wanted to help.

I also wanted the holes countersunk too.  This will help it lay flatter against the wall (if your walls are straight....mine aren't even close!).  Attach the back using wood screws. 
Voila your bench is done!

We had thought about attaching the bench to the wall for multiple reasons.  One being worried about the back being pushed on a lot and it not holding.  Seeing as our wall curves horribly, attaching it is NOT going to happen! So I leave that choice to you.

This end is pushed as close as it will go...sigh

So now for the coat rack.  First, figure out where you want to place your bench.  We lined up our coat rack right over it and wanted the ends to match.  Second find where all your studs are.  We put the board up first and then attached the hooks.  So you need to determine what height you want it to be.  We placed ours 55.5" from the floor to the bottom of the board.  We attached the board using our nail gun and 2" nails.  We nailed the board into the studs using 4 nails per stud.  We had four studs that the board covered, so we figured it isn't going anywhere!

Now that the board is up you need to attach the hooks (almost done...this is where I get super excited!).  We used 5 hooks so we placed them (the middle of the hook just eyeballing it) at 8", 19', 30",41", 52".  We placed them about 1" from the bottom of the board to the bottom of the hook.  I wanted them low on the board so you can see more of the board.  You can place them where ever you would like.  I am just telling you what I did in case you love it as much as me :).
So, like the brackets you can either mark all the holes that need to be drilled or just hold up the hook and drill the pilot holes while holding up the hook and using as a template.  When all the pilot holes are drilled, attach the hooks using the hardware they came with. 

Line the bench up with the coat rack and get ready to do your happy dance...Guess what...you're done!  Have the closest toddler see what they can reach now...

Before

After

I would love to see all the benches you make...
If you have any questions, ask away.  I am sure I have left something out.  Seeing as I am writing this and my kids are running around, asking me questions, fighting, etc.

Have a good one!  Happy building!!!

Side note:  we we re purposed the bookcase in our kitchen nook where we were going to build a cabinet.  That project just got put on the back burner...for awhile.  Love when things work out!