Upcycling Fun

How many times have you seen a project, decided to make the project, bought the materials for the project and then everything just s-i-t-s for a while? a long while? Maybe because you have other crafty things to do, maybe because you enjoy just staring at it everyday? Or maybe because you slowly start talking yourself out of beginning another project that you are not sure about. That's what happened with this project.

I saw a tutorial (somewhere out there in blog land) for an upcycled t-shirt scarf and fell in love with the design, not to mention the easiness of it (at least that was my first impression). But after I made the trip to the Salvation Army store to get the t-shirts, I talked myself out of sitting down at my sewing machine for fear that they wouldn't turn out because this technique was something I had never tried before.

Well, for some reason, yesterday afternoon I was feeling ambitious and decided to just go for it!! I am so glad I did because they were so easy, so quick and really fun to make. Let me show you just what I'm talking about.

Take a trip to your t-shirt drawer, or in my case, the nearest Salvation Army store (on half-price day) and get a large or extra-large sized t-shirt, plain with no design. Next, lay out your shirt and cut two large strips off of the bottom (get rid of the original hem first). I made mine 6 inches wide.

Once this is done, cut your strips open (this red shirt had inside seams, but the other one I used did not). If your shirt has an inside seam or serged line, be sure to cut those off.

Here are my strips once I cut them open:

The next step is to match up your strips (on the short ends), pin and sew them together to make one continuous long piece of t-shirt material. Remember we are making a scarf so this will actually be your scarf. Use the regular straight stitch setting on your sewing machine. (I don't have a picture of this.)

Now this is where it gets really fun!! And you will be able to see how excited I got because I didn't take a picture mid-way through, but on the finishing end....sorry.

Once you have your t-shirt strips all sewn together (check that all your front sides match and that you didn't get one strip facing backwards) -- I wouldn't know anything about that of course -- you are going to change the settings on your sewing machine. You may need to get your machine's manual for this or not, I needed to.  (1)Set your straight stitch setting to its highest (or longest)  number, mine was set at "5.0" and (2)Set your tension level to its highest number, mine was set at "9". And now you are ready to finish your scarf.

Measure the width of your t-shirt strip and decide where you want your gathers to be. I just eyeballed mine and spaced the stitch lines one inch apart.

Begin sewing and sew a straight line all the way down the length of your scarf. Your machine should automatically gather your material to create the prettiest ruffled look.

After you get to the bottom of your scarf you are going to begin again at the top, move your scarf over (I had about an inch of space between my stitch lines) and repeat using the same settings on your sewing machine.

To finish, I returned my machine back to its original straight stitch settings and sewed a small hem on the two short ends of my scarf.

I had so much fun with the first scarf I grabbed another shirt and made a second one.

I literally had these two made in less than 30 minutes. They were, by far, the easiest sewing project I've ever tried.  So glad I finally jumped in and gave it a go!!

Making Merry Gifts

This year my goal is to make lots and lots of homemade goodies for my friends and family.  Many of those gifts involve my sewing machine and my serger. The first project checked off my list was my countdown chain and #2 on that same list was a set of these:

I am s-l-o-w-l-y steering my family toward the trend of going paperless, and by that I mean less buying of paper napkins, paper towels and paper plates. I know they are convenient to use, but they are so costly, and take up so much room in my trash can, not to mention the landfills where they ultimately end up.

Here's a set of Christmas-themed flannel fabric towels that I am gifting this year:

It's a set of 6 all bundled up with a twill tape and decorative tag. The towels measure 10x10 and are made with soft flannel on one side and terry cloth on the other. I use a similar set in my kitchen for cleaning up spills around the sink. They are super absorbent and have saved me from wasting countless paper towels. I didn't have a tutorial when I made these, but I first serged the edges and then top-stitched around the perimeter so they would hold their shape after being washed.

And last up, a quickie card I made for a friend:

This was a quick card using a sticker from my Christmas stash, a fiskars edge punch, some twine and a cute tree die from Quickutz.

See you next time!

Cute Countdown Chain

Hey there! I've been dabbling in a few things here and there, but finally managed to complete a sewing project I began a few days ago.

After getting this fantastic book a while back I decided to put roots down and get started on one of my favorite projects.  If you don't have this book I would highly recommend it! There are some extremely cute projects in it!

One of the projects that immediately caught my eye was a fabric countdown chain. Remember those construction paper chains we all made in elementary school?  Sometimes they were stapled together and sometimes they were glued together...well, I decided to make a Christmas countdown chain, complete with 25 links.

Here's a picture of my links all stacked up and pretty:

I used a stash of Christmas fabric I bought a while back at a community sale. I was able to snag an entire grocery bag full for $5.00.  Those pieces definitely came in handy for this project.

Here's what they look like all spread out on my kitchen table:

I was going for a traditional look with a "side" of cutesy charm...

Next up I took them outside and linked them together for a group photo:

And then back inside for a photo in front of my kitchen cabinets:

It's really an easy project, but a little time consuming. Lots of cutting, ironing and sewing (but isn't that what most sewing projects involve?). I made 25 links so it seemed a little never-ending, but I probably didn't spend as much time as it sounds.

This set is going to a dear friend of mine and her three children. I hope it will brighten her mailbox as she is going through a difficult time right now.

I would love to make one for myself, but mine will probably be more rustic which = not turning inside out and ironing, more like frayed ends and a distressed/shabby look. 

Let me know if you need specifics, I decided to forego a tutorial but instead gave credit to the book author because I know she worked extremely hard producing this fabulous book.

Well....

what can I say? I honestly have never taken such a l-o-n-g blog break, but I did it and I don't regret it. I won't go into all the [somewhat non-exciting] details about why...but it involved a little stress [on my part] and spending a bit more time with my girls. Blogging and uploading pictures [as we all know] takes a lot of time on some days, and a little bit of time on other days.  I just decided that I wanted to eliminate that part of my responsibility list and concentrate on other things.

On a lighter note, I have been doing some fun things this summer and have really enjoyed the "free" time. Here's a peek into what I've been up to...

First up is a cover I made for my iPad [which I LOVE dearly]:

 I used two pieces of Amy Butler fabric that I had leftover from my backsack project. The interior is lined with a coordinating fabric, even though you can't see it.

Unfortunately, I don't remember where I got the instructions, but I do have the measurements if you need them. I love this cover because, not only is it stylish....but the sides are made from a recycled notebook, so they are firm and will keep my baby safe and protected.

Next is another sewing project that I had on my to-do list for a long, long time.

We always use mats at Jazzercise and sometimes they can be a bit dusty, so I bought my own and, well, it needed a stylish bag....this project came from the "One Yard Wonders" book.  Unfortunately, even with my husband's help (because he is the math mastermind) this pattern needed a bit of altering.  Overall, I am very happy with it and my model was excited to pose for the picture.  :)

And now for a bit of randomness:

Hubby's [famous] BBQ Chicken

Lights from the Hilton Hotel lobby

And lastly, a big celebration we enjoyed last week:

My youngest daughter turned 8! We've had a good summer!! How about you?

My 50's Girl

One of the many things keeping me busy these days was working on this poodle skirt for a 50's "best dressed" contest at our school last Thursday night.  Here's what my Mom and I came up with: 
    
Working without a pattern proved a little tricky, but with my hubby's help (and engineer brain) he told us what we were doing wrong after we cut into the first half-yard of fabric (and ended up wasting it).  Part of the improved design included cutting out the waist measurement FIRST and then cutting the circumfrence length. 

We made it using pink felt for the skirt, white felt for the poodle, and black rope piping for the leash.

With a borrowed white cardigan, our own black shirt, pearls and pink skarf, the only thing we needed to complete the outfit were the saddle shoes.  No problem there....we simply used white sneakers from Wal-Mart and a little black felt. 

Abby looked so cute and won $10 free dollars to spend at the school's Book Fair.

Using Coupons at a Young Age

My girls know how much of a coupon-fan I am, in fact, on several holidays, I've been presented with homemade coupon books for such things like, "Free foot rubs" or "Free cleaning my room without complaining" or my favorite, "Free time in the craft room without interruptions." So, a few days ago while at my local scrapbook store I knew I had to do something with a pre-made 12x12 sheet of Valentine's coupons I found from Pinecone Press. They are called, "Honey Bunny Coupons." They are so cute and include things like, "Breakfast in bed" and "Read me a story" along with "One big kiss."

I cut apart the coupons yesterday (w/o taking a picture...sorry) and then said out loud, "Now what am I going to do with them?" I thought about punching a hole in the corner and using a notebook ring and ribbon, and then I thought...."What about making a coupon wallet?" I had some leftover holiday fabric, interfacing and velcro....and this is what I came up with.... ...here's a shot of the inside pocket where the coupons are stashed. I also topped each coupon with a small ribbon loop just for decoration. I absolutely love Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher for things like that. It works like a dream.

And here's a shot of the cover. I jazzed them up a bit with some felt and embroidery floss. I also had some chipboard pieces and heart buttons to personalize each one.

I thought I would steer clear of the plastic toys and junk candy this year and I'm happy with what I came up with. I hope you have a good day!

Thanks Ashley!

Every once in a while I stumble upon an idea and just fall in love with it....well, in this case, I found two ideas from Ashley's fantastic blog, "Make It and Love It." I don't exactly remember how I found her blog, but she featured two scarves she made and I immediately ran out to the fabric store (or in this case, my local Wal-Mart was closer) and found two remnants that were perfect for the job.

Here's my version of Ashley's knit scarf - she made hers using a pretty green and I found this charming floral:
Next up, I used Ashley's awesome tutorial to make my own flannel scarf [which I promise I ironed before taking the picture]:

What an economical way to jazz up your winter wardrobe....these remnant pieces were less than $3.00 for both scarves. I will admit that the knit version takes longer to make than the flannel one only because you spend more time cutting all of those little fabric "texture" strips. I might have an idea for next year's homemade Christmas gift.

Decorate Your Dog

If you want to see a really easy way to "dress up" your dog....check these out! I made several of these in minutes....I call them "Dog Collar Sleeves" and I found the pattern here.

I went through some of my holiday fabric and made several to keep handy for the future.

Here's my dog, "Baby" dressed up for the Christmas holiday:
I made a few more, one for Valentine's, Halloween and one which can be for everyday, pretty in pink:

I prefer these over the traditional "scarf" which we get when we go to the vet's office, because they always become frayed, and look a little messy after a few days. These sleeves have an opening, which slips over your dog's collar.

Here's a shot showing you the opening: (and aren't my hands starting to look W-A-Y old??)

If you don't sew, let me know and maybe I can make one for you, my treat....Happy New Year's!

Feltie Fun

I love working with felt. There is never any problem with exposed seams, frayed edges or anything....felt is fun!!! Here are a few projects I have done in the past working with the felt in my craft stash.

A fabric art journal covered with a cute felt cupcake

and the birthday girl's name:

A felt gift tag dresses up a simple package covered with kraft paper:
Treat bags to celebrate the Easter holiday:

An adorable tooth fairy pillow that includes a heart pouch (on the back)

to hold your child's tooth and the tooth fairy's treats:

And today, I made a Poloroid feltie for my sister's favorite person,

her grandson, Dalton:

I found the tutorial for the feltie on this post and made two of these using one 9x12 piece of white felt. This is an easy project that comes together in less than 10 minutes. Of course, make sure your recipient knows what a Poloroid is....I had to explain the concept to my two girls.

I also decorated my feltie using an evergreen tree from Hero Arts and a Christmas stick pin from the Making Memories Mistletoe line.

A Holiday Order

I filled a holiday order today for three of my wristlet purses. I was hesitant to approach my sewing machine, but all is well [we parted ways a month or so ago] and these are packaged and ready.

The "customer" wanted specific colors, but no specific patterns, so I just went with what I had on hand. Next up, I thought I would package them so she wouldn't have to worry about the gift wrapping duty on her end.

I bagged each wristlet purse in a cello bag with some silver shred and holiday ribbon. To finish each one, I used my Tree Trimming Trio stamp set from PTI to make tags. I kept things simple and added some stitching as the last detail. I can't say I've ever stamped a blue Christmas tree before, but I thought they looked cute enough.
Here are the trio of wristlets... first, red + white:

second, blue + black:

and third, black + white:

I hope she likes them. :)

One of Many

One of the many ideas floating around in my head right now is this fabric stationery organzier. So, today while we had some "free" family time, I put together this design based on my own concept, which, as you will see, is a very simple one.

A little while back, I bought a package of blank, pre-folded Christmas cards made by Making Memories, along with some patterned paper and a few embellishments from the same "Mistletoe" line. My idea was to give a set of pre-designed cards (with envelopes) in this stationery organizer so that the recipient could use them for Christmas notes, letters or thank yous.

Here's a close up the tag design for the front cover. It is removable, being hung by a tiny gold safety pin. I tried to use as much from my own stash as possible. The patterned paper is from Making Memories and the felt tree is from Hero Arts. I added the "candy-striped" beads using red thread and a sewing needle. The stamped sentiment was made using Stampin' Up ink and the Signature Greetings stamp set from PTI. Their stamps impress wonderfully on muslin. The images remain crisp and clear.

And here's a picture of the inside which shows two pockets designed to hold 4 cards and 4 envelopes, for a total set of 8. I also added a length of twill tape (which I later decided needed to be sewn on the outside) to be used to tie the organizer shut.

Once it is closed and tied in a pretty bow it measures approximately 5" x 7".

Nothing too complicated going on here, and if I had to do it all over again, I would have loved to add a spritz of Glimmer Mist over a snowflake stencil. Maybe I'll give that one a try next time!