Restoration Hardware vintage subway art knock off

Restoration Hardware wall art knock off tutorial

I love the Restoration Hardware catalog.

I have a dog eared catalog from several years ago just sitting on my coffee table.

I love to peek at it for inspiration.

When I spotted this large framed picture at a garage sale,  

 I immediately remembered this framed subway art

source

but at $550 it was out of the budget.

I think my ugly framed canvas for $1 turned into a great replica, don't you?

Let me show you how I made it.

Side Note:  It would just be my luck that this canvas I got for a buck is probably one of those Antique Roadshow fab finds.  I probably should have made sure that some rare artist didn't paint this, but I didn't.  So if you are an art expert, and this painting is worth like a zillion dollars, don't tell me. 'K.

O.k., so first up, I set up saw horses and put this fabulous piece of art on top.  I painted the whole thing cream (that I got for free on the side of the road--score!) frame and all.

Look how nice it looks!

I then taped off around the frame with painters tape and made an outer black frame.

I also painted the inside all black as well.

The hardest part was figuring out how big to make the letters.

I knew I needed some spacing at the top and bottom as well as between each of the letters.

I ran my numbers a few times.

The size will all depend on how big your frame is.

Mine was massive (over four feet tall) so each of my large letters were 8 1/2" each.

I used my Silhouette machine to cut the vinyl out.

I eyeballed the placement and did my best to center the letters

The vinyl transfer paper was super helpful for this project

I kept my tape measurer handy since I wanted to make sure the sign looked professional and was equally spaced.  I had a 2" gap between each of the sections.

 This is my finished project.

I really like it.

This project cost me less than $5!

 Much better than the $550 original price tag don't you think?

I put it up in my entry.

It's one of the first things you see when you walk in the front door.

What do you think?  

Do you love it as much as I do?

Not a bad knock off if I do say so myself! What do you think?

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DIY infinity scarf with snaps--a Lululemon vinyasa scarf knockoff tutorial

Inside: How to make a knockoff vinyasa scarf wrap

It's fall. My least favorite time of the year. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why the rest of you love it. I used to love it too when I lived in the Midwest, but now as a pacific northwest transplant, fall marks the start of our rainy season and nine long months of doom and gloom. But I digress. 

Fall means cooler weather, dressing in layers and scarves. Lots of scarves! One of my favorite scarves of all time is the Lululemon Vinyasa scarf.  I received it last Christmas as a gift and love the tutorial on how to wear it 10 ways, though I really only wear it one or two of those ways most of the time.

I'm too cheap to buy another at the $48 price tag so I used my current scarf as a guide to sew a knockoff that I love.

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Sweaty Bands knock off revisted

So I happened to be looking up some of my stats from the blog (bloggers cool like that yo) and one of the most visited blog posts I have done yet has been my sweaty bands knock off tutorial.

As I prepare to run my second (and third) half marathon in the next few weeks, I thought I would share this tutorial with you again. I have used these headbands every time I work out and they have held up so well and no joke, they stay in place during boot camp or if I am running 13 miles.

a picture after I finished my first half marathon in September

I run, but I don't like to call myself a runner. The way I see it is, I'm not a nudist just because I walk around naked in my house, so just because I log a dozen or so miles a week doesn't make me a runner.

I think there has to be enjoyment in the act to claim the title.

I do work out 5 days a week for about an hour and a half a day. Part of my "gear" is a no slip pony tail holder and a black scrunci hair band. So when a friend of mine from college e-mailed me and told me about Sweaty Bands , I knew I had to try them out.

Only problem...I'm cheap! Those bad boys are pricey and from what I am told, looked easy enough to replicate. So that's what I did.

I thought I would try making two so below you will see the materials for making two sweaty bands. You will need: 3/8" elastic (I used black)

1" thick ribbon

Velvet ribbon (I think this was 5/8" thick)

Cut your elastic to 6 1/2" long and cut both ribbons to 15 1/2"

I singed the ends of the ribbons to keep them from fraying, just be careful when playing with fire!

I didn't pin anything, just tucked the elastic between the two layers of ribbon, backstitched several times over the short end to keep the elastic sturdy, and then continued to sew all the way around the ribbon making sure to catch the velvet ribbon into place, but sewing as close to the edge as possible. Don't forget to tuck the other end of the elastic in when you get to the other short side.

That's it!



Here's my typical hairdo for the gym. I wore it today for my workout and couldn't believe that it really does stay put. I didn't have to readjust it once. Don't believe me? Make one, put it on and go get sweaty!

**I still have this very headband that I made last year and it still holds everything in place. They are awesome and totally work!**

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