{Tip}: How to Shorten a Metal Zipper

When I was at my local fabric shop last year, I saw a basket of vintage zippers and fell in love with this pink one. At the time, I didn't really think about how long the zipper was but I went ahead and bought it. Every time I went to use it in a project, I could never use it because it was 20" long. Finally, I came up with a project to use it in, but it was still 6 inches too long. So I decided to figure out how to shorten it. Since it is metal, you can't cut it with scissors like a regular zipper. So with trial and a BIG error, I successfully shortened it and it worked perfectly for my project!

So here is how I did it....

Step 1: Lay your zipper face down and mark where your zipper needs to be shortened to.

Step 2: Use needle nosed pliers to pull out the teeth above where the zipper needs to be shortened. You don't have to pull all of them out, just enough so that you will have room to cut the fabric above.

 Ok... this is where I had a big error so learn from my mistakes!! 

My error was that I forgot to take the crimp/stop off of the top of the zipper and put it back on above where I had removed teeth and cut the fabric. So once I started sewing my zipper onto my little bag, the actual zipper pull flew off and it was super tricky getting it back on correctly! {Like- it took me a half an hour to put it back on! ha ha But maybe I am just not talented when it comes to putting a zipper pull back on though! ha ha}

Step 3: Remove the crimp/stop on top of the zipper on each side and then use your pliers to crimp the zipper stopper back onto the fabric so that the zipper pull stops once it reaches the top of the zipper teeth.

Step 4: Cut your excess zipper off where you have removed the metal teeth. {I used pinking shears to do it so that it wouldn't fray but after the incident of the zipper flying off and me working with it so much to get it back on, it ended up fraying anyways, so just use whatever you have}

So there you have it. A super simple way of shortening a metal zipper! Just be sure to learn from my mistakes before shortening your own metal zipper! :)

Patio Make Over

About a month ago while I was at World Market and I was admiring their adirondack furniture and thought how fun it would be to have some on my patio to relax and read a book in. I looked at the price tag and instantly made a bee-line for the door. WAY out of our price range. 

Then a couple weeks later I got an email from World Market saying that their outdoor furniture was 75% off! I jumped on their website and found the pieces I wanted and frantically called the World Markets around my area to locate them. 

My loving husband drove with me to muscle the big boxes into our car and then we were home to start building! They came unassembled in boxes. It was quite the ride home in our little 2 door civic!

If you know me- you know that this is one of the things that I love about buying cheap furniture- You have to put it together. I LOVE IT! Make me feel as if in some way I had a part in creating it- even though I maybe only put a few screws in it to hold it together! But if you are like my friend Tiffanie- this is one of her worst nightmares! ha ha So I guess putting together furniture is not for everyone- but I think it is worth the money I save in buying it unassembled- plus I like a challenge. 

So we got it all together and arranged it on my patio. LOVE IT! 

I love all the bright bold colors. I love that the lanterns are battery powered and have no hanging cords. I love that they were less than 12 dollars for all 4. I love that my little picky eater eats everything off her plate when I let her eat at "her" picnic table. I love that I have a place to sit while she eats. I love that I can sit next to my hubby on the same chair and snuggle. I love everything about it! :) 

So here are my 3 tips for buying Outdoor Furniture...

1. Go with bright colors. Outdoors is one place you can get away with any color, any look. Even if colorful isn't necessarily your style- step outside your comfort zone and go for it! :) When my sister came into town and saw my balcony she said it looked like I was having a birthday party up there since it was so festive! ha ha I love looking out and seeing the lanterns. Totally not something I would put inside my house, but my patio is the perfect place! So step outside your comfort zone... you will be glad you did- or at least I am!

2. Don't buy it the first time you see it. Wait till it goes on sale, or even buy it at the end of a season when it goes on clearance and use it next year. I saved 75% because I was willing to wait a month and a half for it. 

3. This is just an opinion, but don't put too much money into it. It is going to be outside and could possibly get rained on, fade in the sun, your dog could chew on it, a bird could poop on it, etc. If your furniture costs an arm and a leg, then you will be too scared to let your kids eat a popsicle on it, or cringe every time your neighbor plops down too hard on it--- you get my drift.  So make it something that if needs be can be replaced in a year or two and you won't have a heart attack over it. 

So there you have it. Happy Summer!