DIY Sharpie Tie Die I love this Sharpie tie die DIY from The Art Girl Jackie blog! She did it with her adorable daughter and I think it’s a fun inspiration for this Spring and upcoming music festival season. Use this technique to spruce up your ratty t-shirts or maybe a pair of of cut off shorts. For another idea, check out how to spruce up your clothes with DIY leopard print here! What You Need: Pre-washed white or light colored t-shirtRubbing AlcoholLiquid dropper or medicine dropperSmall plastic cup(s)Rubber bandsVariety of colored Sharpies Do It! Choose a spot to start and put your cup in right side up and secure a rubber band around the cup rim holding the shirt tightly in place.Pick your colors and create a small design in the center of the stretched circle. Photos and DIY via The Art Girl Jackie
12 Gifts of Christmas Blog Hop: Organizer Basket Tutorial sided pace mat tutorial yesterday and here I am hosting a second stop with a tutorial on how to make these easy-peasy organizer baskets! Not ready to think about Christmas yet? Me neither, but we know it will come before we know it! Jennifer picked this perfect timing to get this rolling so that we have plenty of time to whip up gifts! It's been over a year since I last posted a tutorial, so I was a bit nervous writing this up, although it is probably the easiest project among all sewing tutes I have ever written, hehe. so that the visual will help you through! Ok, here you go! To make one basket, you'll need two 13" x 7" cotton rectangles (one for exterior, one for interior) and one piece of cotton batting that is just a little larger than 13" x 7". Spray the wrong side of the interior piece and add the batting. Quilt as desired. Quilt along the line. This quilter accessory is such a big help! Like that. Here is how this looks after diagonal quilting is done. Yay quilting is done! Top-stitching!
Simple Winter Sewing Project: Hot Rice Bags Warm face, warm ‘ands, warm feet Aow, wouldn’t it be loverly? –Eliza Doolittle Cloth bags of heated grain are great for warming the bed or soothing sore muscles–much cozier than hot water bottles, and a nicer quality of heat. I kept seeing them in boutique shops with shocking price tags, and whenever I asked what the bags were filled with, the shop proprietors would say it was a secret. With a piece of standard copy paper as your pattern, cut two 8 1/2 x 11″ pieces of cotton (muslin or calico works great). Clip corners, turn, and press. Add 5 cups of dry rice. Pin, and stitch 1/4″ from the edge. It’s nice to make the bag a cover–keeps it clean, and fleece feels so good. With right side in, fold the end with the wider, topstitched hem up 5 3/4″ , and the side with the narrow hem down 4 3/4 “. My mother gave me this pin cushion when I was seven. Stitch the sides, clip the corners, and turn right side out. Take the cover off to heat the bag in the microwave.
Saltwater Kids: RETRO DUFFEL bag TUTORIAL Boys, boys, boys. The silly things they say and do keep me laughing all the time. In fact, as I was working on this post my three year-old came blasting by, one arm outstretched, clutching his toothbrush, shouting (in a deep manly voice) "Oh, Mr. Plaque I am coming to get you!" Dental Superheros make my day! My favorite part of making this tutorial, by far, was the photo shoot. I am so excited to share this project with you because it is as fun as my two silly boys. The design of the RETRO DUFFEL is based on the original Duffel Bag - the manliest of all the bags in the luggage family. This is a miniature version of the typical duffel bag, perfect for an overnight stay at Grandma's, hauling gear to the big game, or for storing my all-time favorite gift - the FORT KIT! OK, lets get started! Materials: *if you have trouble finding a 16" zipper, a larger size will work fine. You will find the how-to for the handles HERE: Cut: 26” X 16 ½” - body (2) 8 ½” circle - end (2) 16 ½” X 5” - zipper lining
Circle Zip Earbud Pouch Tutorial | Dog Under My Desk I use a little zippered pouch to carry around my earbuds since they are the fancy microphone ones and I don’t want them to break or get tangled. Some of you have commented that you are looking for some small, simple gift ideas. This is definitely simple to make, and a little more fun than the typical rectangular zippered pouch! I can see these as the perfect gift for teenage cousins or nieces or girlfriends or even teacher gifts. UPDATE: I have completely re-written this tutorial with twice as many bright, clear photos and more detailed instructions and it is available as a pattern in my pattern shop. First, download the pattern template HERE. Cut from main fabric: 1 circle 2 half circles 1 tab Cut from lining fabric: 1 circle 2 half circles Cut from batting (or medium weight interfacing, if you prefer): 1 circle 2 half circles You will also need a 1″ wide nylon 5″ or longer zipper. Place one lining half circle right side up and place the zipper right side up on top. Time to sew!
Mega&8226;Crafty: Woven Flower Pot- Part 2 Today I finished my woven pot project. I haven't done much weaving but it was kind of relaxing once I got into a groove. (It was the perfect TV watching project). To recap, I started with a pot that I painted a creamy yellow. Then I used an all purpose craft glue to attach some of my favorite ribbons onto the bottom of the pot. My first idea was to weave wide ribbon around the pot too- but soon realized I couldn't get the ribbon to lay flat on the tapered shape of the pot. After experimenting with a few different ribbons and strings I settled on using jute. I continued weaving the jute over and under the ribbon, pulling it tight and adding a tiny dot of hot glue every so often. Marking my starting point ribbon by putting a small arrow on the bottom of the pot helped me keep track of each round. I only glued the jute down when I was going under a ribbon, never over, and I tried to keep the glue off the ribbon so I could pull it left and right to straighten it as I wove. 1. And 2. So I wove,
how to transfer a photo to fabric Did you know you can transfer photos to fabric without using iron-on sheets? I love this technique. It's simple to execute and the end results are really pretty. Supplies Needed: Fabric (I used white quilting cotton), Gel Medium (I used this kind from Liquidex), Paint Brush and the image you want to transfer. How to transfer a photo to fabric: 1. Note: Don't be alarmed if your transfer isn't completely perfect. Well there you go! t-shirt latch hook rug tutorial I really love flokati rugs. I have two that are safely tucked away in my parents basement awaiting our reunion. When I learned that I would be having a child and building a nursery for him, I wanted a flokati. A gray one. Being a flokati snob though, I knew that I couldn’t afford the price tag ( ), and I knew that I would be too precious about the rug ( ). So I chose the only sensible alternative: I would make a rug. I’m going to show you how it’s done, but let me warn you- while this rug was super inexpensive to make with the resource of money- it was very costly in the resource of time. And now, this is how to make your very own latch hook rug. Supplies: Latch hook canvas latch hook tool old t-shirts scissors or rotary cutting tool/mat seam binding masking tape dye (optional) All of these things should be available at your local craft store, with the exception of the old t-shirts. On to the making! Once you have all of the strips cut, it’s time to dye them if you’d like. xo elle
Rollie Pollie! Looking for hours of entertainment? Meet, The Rollie Pollie bean bag chair. It’s a chair, it’s a toy, it’s your favorite pillow. Made of durable cotton twill or soft vinyl, each bag is actually a slip cover (with another Rollie Pollie inside) then filled with mounds and mounds of soft cluster stuffing. Now, pick your favorite…. Drag it around, Dive right in! Or take a little nap. Build a Rollie-Pollie-man: kick off your shoes: Or do what I love best….find a yummy treat, and just relax, watching your favorite show. Who said you were a couch potato? V and Co how to: jersey knit bracelet i don't know what it is about this time of year that makes me just want to have my bare feet in the sand, be watching the sun setting into the ocean, and breathing in the warm salty air of the beach...as i get older, more and more i find myself missing that place i used to go to almost every.single.day. as a teen. (my skin doesn't miss it. as a matter of fact, i now wish i listened more and DID put SPF on my face...hindsight is 20/20). my mom calls me from her walk on the beach almost every morning...*sigh*yeah, i get a little homesick around this time of the year. heck on my pinterest my "dreaming of summer" has the most pictures in it. ah yes. i miss my ocean. case in point. this bracelet, brought a flood of memories, not because i used to have one like it but because i can totally see me wearing it by the beach, not caring that it's gotten salty and wet, because i can totally make another one in like less than 5 minutes flat when i get home. *sigh* okay... *cut off excess tails!
Weekend DIY: Yarn Bowl | Kanelstrand Two weeks ago, while discussing DIY ideas about our No New Gifts Christmas I mentioned a lovely yarn bowl that I wanted to make. Most of you know how much I value hand work be it just for the sake of mental health and the feeling of accomplishment. In a mostly virtual and fast-paced world, one of the most precious acts is working with your hands to create practical objects that can be touched. So, of course I didn't waste much time and dived happily at the project together with my daughter in the first moment available. Yes, this is a great project to work on with children and teenagers, and it requires a maximum of 40 minutes. The thing I like most about this project is that it is totally eco-friendly and should I even use the very fashionable word biodegradable? I made some slight changes to the original pattern, which I would like to share. 1/2 cup of flour4 cups of water3 tablespoons of sugarscrap yarn in the color of your choicebowl to use as a moldsaran wrap or plastic bag