Category: crafting

March 21, 2012

Do it Cheaper: Burnt Edge Flowers

You’ve already seen them all over the interwebs: burnt edge flowers. But, do you know how to make them even more inexpensively? If there’s anything I know how to do, it’s budget crafting!

First things first, you need some sort of polyester material (satin, chiffon, etc). You could go to Hobby Lobby and pay $8 per yard. Or you could go to your local thrift shop and pay pennies per yard. How, you ask? By buying a satin robe, of course! Or a wedding dress or a polyester shirt or…

Bright Idea: This would be a great way to pass your wedding dress along to your daughters. Cut it up and make it into hairpieces and corsages for the whole wedding party!

This was the lovely polyester specimen that I found at my local thrift store. The shimmery sapphire blue color was gorgeous and the robe cost $0.75 on 1/2-off day.

Another idea: ask for fabric scraps from people you know or from people on Freecycle. I acquired some white and blue satin fabric from someone on Freecycle that was moving. Score! So really, you could make burnt edge flowers for FREE!

Next, cut the fabric into about five concentric circles. Don’t get too fussy, because once you burn ’em, they’ll be uneven anyway. The first circle should be around 4-1/2-ish inches and the last about 1-1/2-ish inches.

Take each circle and burn the outside edges by exposing the edges to a candle flame. DO NOT put the fabric directly in the flame. Start a few inches away and move closer as you feel comfortable until the fabric starts melting and curling up a bit. Melt all the way around each circle. Please be careful with the smaller circles so that you don’t burn yourself. You could even use tweezers or tongs to try to avoid getting burned.

Put the circles inside each other to create your “flower.”

The way you decide to embellishing the flower is up to you. I sewed some pearlescent beads to the center of mine. I also attached peacock feather strands to one of the flowers. Buttons, charms, it’s up to you!

Then, you can either make your flower into a lapel pin, hair pin, headband, shoe clip or other adornment by simply using a glue gun or needle and thread. I sewed a set of three burnt-edge flowers directly onto a stretchy headband. If I were to do the project over, I would have sewed all three to a single strip of felt first and then attached them to the headband. The flowers kind of pull apart and form gaps otherwise.

Another cheap trick: you can buy packages of stretchy headbands at discount or dollar stores. Check there first! I got like 10 black headbands for $2.

Now my mind is working on what to make with all that beautiful lace trim…hmmm. Any ideas?

Participating in the following link parties:

Suzie Sitcom’s Commercial Break Thursdays

Tales from Bloggeritaville Thrifty Thursdays

Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party

March 1, 2012

DIY Key Peg Board Makeover

This hodge podge of keys really bothered me, especially once I started dreaming up ways to streamline the look a little bit.

I bought a handful of these key tags and used my brand new 1-1/4″ hole punch. The circles just happened to be exactly the right size for the key tags.

I removed all the ties that the key tags came with and replaced them with some hemp ties and matching beads. I glued the 1-1/4″ circles (with a standard hole punched out) to one side of the key tag and labeled the key on the other side. Hint: use “code names” for the keys so if any unsavory intruders happen upon the pegboard, they won’t know exactly which key is for the garage and which is for the Mercedes. You know, just in case…

Here’s the finished look. I could’ve made it look a little cuter, but I was going for a cohesive, understated look here. Because I’m sure my husband wouldn’t appreciate his motorcycle keys all decked out in frilly pink ribbons with embroidery.

By the way, hubster is the one who made the pegboard itself. You’ll have to ask him about those details. He got some quality scrap wood from work, drilled holes in it for the key hangers, and stained the board dark walnut. There was probably some sanding and varnishing in there somewhere too.

February 25, 2012

A Crafty Sunday Evening

This past Sunday, I had a surge of motivation that led me on a crafting frenzy. I sewed four spit-up rags for my brand-new baby nephew, whipped up one pair of super-adorable infant pants (that were supposed to be toddler pants, but oops), put together a sewn yo-yo garland, finished up a “happy birthday” banner for a work friend, ironed some wrinkly things that had been laying around, and put the finishing touches on a few other projects. I hooked up the embroidery hoop and am now dreaming of designs for a way-too-cute little onesie. Boats keep coming to mind, because his daddy’s in the Navy. Maybe an anchor. We shall see.

This has got to be the best kind of therapy around. Nothing can beat me when I’m a-workin’. And there’s nothing like that feeling afterwards when you look in awe at all you did and wonder how you did it. I’m going to try and remember this feeling so that next time I’m feeling down, I can replay this little trick. I’m also going to remember a few little projects that I can slip in during those 10 minute increments I keep talking about. I just love spending my time productively.

My Peanut, meanwhile, was completely engrossed in pretend play behind me. When I was done at the sewing table, he climbed his little legs up there and pretended to sew, cut, fold and perfect his little sewing craft. He brought in his two “babies” and taught them too! Those four little spit-up rags we put together are sure wrapped in a lot of love.

December 19, 2011

Christmas Around Our House Part 2

Just give me one men’s plaid XL shirt at the thrift store, and this is what I can do with it:

1. Christmas wreath: starting at the sleeves of the shirt, I cut a bunch of fabric strips. I hot glued each piece down to my thrifted straw wreath (50 cents!!!) as I went, overlapping pieces the whole way. Then, I took three more strips and made three rolled roses. To make the red “foliage,” I cut a bunch (maybe a dozen) of squares out of some spare red fabric I had. Fold them in half once, then in half again, and glue them down. You can round the top edges to make it look softer.

2. Christmas garland: starting at the hem of the shirt, I cut long strips of fabric about 1-2 inches thick. I tied three pieces together and braided them. I connected two braids in the middle to get enough to go around the doorway. Don’t mind the little ornaments. Haha! Though I think it would be neat to hang bulbs from the garland at intervals. Hmmmm. Might try that when I get home.

3. Christmas Forest: The three tall trees I thrifted a couple of years ago. Recently, I found two foam cones at the thrift store. I wrapped each in extra fabric strips from the shirt. I wound the strips around and used sewing pins to hold them down. I made the star ornaments several years back with felt and embroidery thread. I hung the last two stragglers on my trees with matching gold buttons for an extra touch.

4. Framed Christmas Greetings: I thrifted this frame for a fun DIY photo shoot at my wine and cheese party last year. I strung two fabric strips from the back of the frame and hot glued them down. I cut out 9 total 2×2 inch squares from some green scrapbook paper I already had. Then, I stenciled in the letters. Then, I just stapled the letter squares to the fabric strips. Voila!

Call me the crafty thrifter, this was so much fun! I loved the project, because it formed a color theme throughout the house. The color-coordination makes all the decorations flow together. I still have a little fabric left, so I might have to drum up another project. We shall see.

November 8, 2011

Fall Reading List

This is what’s on my book list lately. Yep, I’m reading them all at the same time.
I pick up wherever I left off in the tome that matches my mood that day. It’s a terrible habit that I have of starting too many books at one time. I’ll put books on hold at the library at the same time that an Amazon order arrives at the doorstep and the Bible study starts a new book. Aye!

Thankfully fall is a great time to refresh the bookcases, because there’s plenty of dark time to enjoy a few hours of reading.

1. Handmade Marketplace: I’ve been toying with the idea for awhile of starting an Etsy store. This book is great for goal-setting and branding a craft store.

2. Cannery Row: A friend lent this Steinbeck classic to me. It’s great because the chapters are short and they jump around. So, I can pick up where I left off easily. Steinbeck’s descriptions are expert!!!

3. God Girl: This is actually meant for the younger lady, but I love it anyway. It’s so soft and sweet and makes God feel like your best friend. It’s fresh not to be so serious and in-depth once in awhile.

4. Desiring God: I’ve mentioned this one before. Apparently, it’s a Christian classic that’s regaining ground again. I love love love the idea of finding or re-living pure joy in God.

5. Power Thoughts: This is the Christian response to the Law of Attraction movement that’s shaking the ground right now. It puts thoughts into a Christian perspective. Yes, you can use your thoughts for great things, but you can’t “think into being” your favorite house or a million dollars. So helpful for not getting caught up in all those materialistic concepts.

I almost added more to this stack, but I had to stop somewhere. Inevitably, a few will go half-read once the library demands their books back. A book like Desiring God cannot be inhaled in one night. It’s meant to be savored and re-visited for a quite some time. Thankfully, some are short enough to be completely read within a few more days. Happy Reading!

November 5, 2011

DIY Baby Milestone Book

Two of my dearest friends recently brought brand new additions into their homes. For their baby showers, I designed two little books for each of them. One was a baby milestone book and the other was a letter-a-year book. I think it’s much too difficult to keep up with baby milestones in a big scrapbook or other complicated way, especially with the culture shock that a new baby adds to daily life. To make it easy for them, I made one page for each month, printed with journal lines for a quick jot. Even the most harried mommies amongst us can handle that, right? That is, if we remember…

The back of the book had a few pages to reminisce about other things, such as “Our Favorite Lullabies” and “Our Family Tree.” I also included a little envelope for the first lock of hair.

The second book was designed with one pocket for each of the child’s birthdays through age 18. And each pocket was furnished with one sheet of writing paper. The idea is to write a quick note to your child on each birthday about what the past year meant to you and to let your heart out. Then, when they’re old enough to appreciate it, you can share the stack of letters with them. I do this every year for my son, and I thought I would share this wonderful tradition with my good friends and blog readers.

For each, I bought a stack of baby-themed cardstock from Hobby Lobby. I punched a hole in the corner of each sheet and strung them through a binder clip. The stamped words throughout were made from a small set of letter stampers. I embellished the pages with a few baby-themed stickers and other ephemera, but I wanted to keep it fairly simple. I just can’t wait to see what the ladies do with them!

October 26, 2011

Magnet Board Makeover

I saw these at the thrift store and just had to buy them. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with them, but I was determined to do something. After all, it was 1/2-off day. And my oh my do I have a hankering for magnet boards.

So, I whipped out the Mod Podge, the scrapbook paper, a few buttons and a little ribbon and ta-da!

Before and after. Aren’t these super adorable? As much as I’d like to keep them, I believe I will sell them with the rest of the crafty goodies I’ve been cookin’ up.

October 23, 2011

Easiest Fall Wreath Ever!

This rag wreath is one of the easiest decorations you could ever put together, and it will bring festive fall flavor to your front door or living room wall faster than you can say “buy it at a craft fair.”

Materials:
*about 1/4-yard fabric (or shirt material, leftover ribbons, etc) in warm fall colors
*a twig wreath
*fabric scissors

Directions:

1. Cut your fabric into strips about 1/2 to 1-inch thick and long enough to tie around the wreath.

2. Double-knot the strips at regular intervals around the wreath.
3. Um, wait. That’s it!!! Well, you might want to trim the bottom ties so they don’t hang too far down.

You can vary this in so many ways. You can vary the colors and textures by alternating two, three or four different fabric patterns. You could glue an arrangement of leaves and acorns at the bottom corner. I found my twig wreath at the thrift store for $1. I already had the fabric. Keep your eyes peeled, because you can often find gaudy already-decorated wreaths at the thrift store that are super-easy to take apart. Red, orange and brown fabric can come from anything from rags to shirts to faded corduroy pants. Then, for Christmas, you can start over with red and green strips!

September 29, 2011

DIY Wedding Unity Candle

Remind me to give you the story one day of how my husband and I put together our super-budget wedding. And when I say budget, I actually mean it. Not like when Jessica Simpson says it. Anyhow, I refused to spend money on a few things that I knew for certain I could do myself. A $35 unity candle? No way!!!

A $5-or-less, 5-minute unity candle that looks less cheesy? Yes, please.

This is all you have to do. Find a little modern-day version of the dime store. The Family Dollar would probably suffice. We found this little local party wholesale store. Now, find a large white pillar candle and two tapered candles. You might even look for a nice candle stand while you’re at it. Even the dollar stores have some candle holders that would work.

Then, head to your local craft store and find some pretty lace. I picked a beautiful strand for just pennies.

Wrap the lace around the candle and hot glue in place. I wrapped two strips of lace around mine because it was so delicate. Do the same with the tapered candles.

Ta-da. Insta-unity candle without the outrageous price tag. Because I knew that the candles would only be lit for a few minutes, I wasn’t worried about burning up the lace. However, if you do plan on using the candle later, you might want to take that hazard into account.

There’s a lot more where this came from my friends:)

March 29, 2011

The Mother of Invention

My mind has recently taken to thinking up inventions and website development ideas. Of course, I don’t have the wherewithal to carry most of them out (or maybe I do and don’t know it). I just like to think them up. I keep reading about 16-year-olds who started up their own websites and became overnight millionaires. I’m not necessarily looking at this with dollar signs in my eyes, but the concept of coming up with these ideas just fascinates and intrigues me beyond belief.

Some of the websites that I’ve been thinking about are already out there in cyberspace. And they help me tremendously once I find them, such as this online recipe organizer. I start with the basic concept that the mother of all invention is necessity (I really need a place to store all my favorite recipes online!). Such a simple adage with such profound effects in the world.

I’m working on developing a personalized notebook where you can reload or remove sheets as needed. It would also include and organize a bunch of needs in one place. Mine would have about a million tabs in it for writing ideas, sketches, gratitude lists, books to read lists, things to buy lists and about 999,995 more. Different types of papers and designs would also be required. My notebook would probably be more like something you would find on Etsy. I’ve been doing a lot of research on quality sketch and watercolor papers and bookbinding techniques to make it just right. If I get good momentum going, I could probably make some others for upcoming gifts and sell them in my own yet-unestablished Etsy store. Here is a peek at some of the designs that are inspiring me right now:

I absolutely love the three-ring laminated designs by Crown Bindery

Monika Wright’s mini notebooks and albums are just darling and absolutely perfect.

I am a big fan of repurposing old tattered old books into something new and cherished. I’ve had my eye on storybook notebooks like this one from BigLittle’s shop for awhile now.

My husband has promised to try an experiment with a drill to see if we can bring some of my ideas to fruition. I am at least hopeful that we can “invent” some kind of paper organization system that works for me. I am so tired of seeing my little piles of tattered notes and musings scattered about everywhere. I need a place to keep them all safe and sound.

Plus, I’ve been on an artsy creation streak for awhile now. I recently made some no-sew applique scarves, fridge menu boards, fabric flowers and other ephemera. I just.can’t.sit.still!!!!