How to get a great facial and a beautiful sewing machine

Last night, I felt the urge to take care of me. My face, specifically.

But I also REALLY wanted to craft.

So I figured there was no harm in doing them at the same time. Here’s how you can do it too!

What you need:

An ugly boring sewing machine.

Mod Podge (I used gloss) and Mod Podge SPARKLE. (Because it’s less messy than real glitter.)

Gift wrap that you love.

A paint brush you don’t mind tossing and a plastic cup for the Mod Podge.

An exacto knife.

A face mask of your choice.

LOTS OF PATIENCE.

Here’s how it all went down.

I took my ugly sewing machine, lovingly dubbed “Sew Sexy,” cleaned the housing, and tried to take a before picture of it.

Which got my cat (who is named Puppy) interested. She feels the need to be a part of what ever I’m doing.

She refused to move, so the before picture also features Puppy.

As does this one.

And THIS ONE. Stupid cat.

I then applied my face mask.

Because the sewing machine isn’t a box with perfect angles, I decided (based upon extensive previous

experience with disaster) that cutting strips (numbered in order before cutting) would be easier to deal with.

Then I CAREFULLY began applying the strips of gift wrap onto the mod podged areas. The edges “mostly” lined up, but it’s totally ok that it looked a little wonky. Using a black and white motif makes it pretty forgiving, as you will see later.

Then I started working my way around the machine.

I was careful to avoid any spots that would inturrupt the functionality of Sew Sexy.

It took lots of patience and quick work with the exacto knife to trim away the excess. Also, I kept a roll of paper towels handy to catch any stray drips or globs of mod podge. This is not a neat project.

By this point, my face mask had hardened to “diamond” stage, so I did some extreme facial excercises to crack it (mostly because I had to sneeze, but also because it’s easier to wash off when it’s cracked up. Like me.)

I tried to get as close to the edges as possible, but had my fail safe plan in place, because some of the areas were impossible to cover without turning Sew Sexy into “Unusable-unless-you-need-a-massive-paperweight Sexy.” So I left the plug-ins and venting alone for now.

Then I pulled out my SPARKLE MOD PODGE (can you hear the heavens singing for joy? I could!) and gave the whole project a coat, with the exception of the areas previously left alone.

Here’s a view from the back. And Puppy giving her approval.

(Just a side note, if you are sitting on the floor doing a project like this, keep advil handy. It helped.)

And from the front. (Note the husband looking on while playing Angry Birds. lol)

This morning, after all mod podge had cured, I took a black Shaprie (aka- my fail safe) and went to work, blending seams and free-handing uncovered areas to make it look cohesive.

 Not to bad, eh?

I then added my usual “Touch of Whimsey.”

And then it was done!

Sew Sexy has never looked better! And my face looks pretty good too.

So that’s it for now! And remember, email me pictures of your projects- I would love to see what you are doing!

Domestic Deviants unite!