Pretty Petals Embelishment

I've been into making hairbows this past week...
I saw a cute hairbow like this at a craft boutique and just had to figure out how to make my own. I call it my pretty petals bow. I'm posting the intructions here so you can enjoy making one yourself. You can use this flower for a myriad of things too--not just hairbows!

1. You will need a needle, thread, scissors, a round object the size you want your finished flower to be, pencil, a bit of fabric (big enough to draw five ciricles with your round thing), and fun things to put in the center of your flower (buttons, mini flowers, vintage jewelry, etc)


2. Trace your round object five times (I used a ribbon spool) and cut out all the circles

3. Fold one circle in half with the "good side" out

4. Take each corner and fold them into the centerline to make a rounded-bottom triangle.

5. Sew the bottom of the rounded triangle with big stitches

6. Push the sewn triangle into the middle of the thread, and repeat the process with the rest of the cirlces.

7. Push all your triangles together and then tighten your thread as tight as it will go without breaking. Knot the thread together to hold it in place.

8. Glue your center piece in the middle and fill in the back hole with hot glue (I cover the hole with fabric or a ribbon leaf--totally optional)

9. Sew it onto a shirt, pillow, bag etc, or glue it onto a pin or alligator clip.

Walla, you have your own pretty petals flower. And you made it all by yourself.

Don't forget to check out the "Party Central" tab to see what parties we love linking up to every week!

Old book, New Tricks

The clothespin memo frame above Cory's desk needed some help.

He spends at least four to six hours a day studying there, and all he had to inspire him was a few random cards that I put up there 6 months ago. I assumed he would actually use the board, and eventually it would be filled up with his notes, or to-do lists, but turns out, he's not a big list person.

See? He hates it.

So, I wanted to make something that would make a statement, but not be too cutesy. It is, after all, for a man.

 Enter Rand McNally's Atlas, a mammoth vintage book I scored at Good will for 3 dollars a few months ago:

Oh Rand McNally, I love you so.

I ripped a few pages out of the ol' McNally, and ran them through the cricut to make some little triangles. If you don't have a cricut, this is where you would cozy up to a pair of scissors all friendly like. Each page made about 4 triangles.

Then, and this is the part that kills me,  it was easy peasy to sew them all together with the sewing machine. Did you know sewing machines can sew paper??? They can!!! Like a DREAM.

Well, it was news to me.

In about 5 minutes, I had a cute little pennant banner:

And, while I was in the page ripping mood, I went ahead a snagged the map featuring Belgium and the Netherlands. That's where Cory served his 2 year mission for our church, so I thought he might appreciate it. (Note: He totally got excited about the map, and started showing me every place he's been. It was cute.)

Here's a closer shot of the seam:

So..maybe it's not exactly straight. I think that adds to the charm...

I really can't believe how simple and easy this was! And I feel like a got a whole lot of bang for my buck here, which is always a plus.

And because its February:

So, go forth! and sew paper!

Lindy

I'm linking this Pile o' Craft up to these parties:

Map Party at a Soft place to Land

Novice Quilting

Remember Cory's last minute Christmas Quilt? Obviously I didn't, because I decided to start making another one about two seconds after Christmas. I watch a seriously sweet and crafty 9 year old 3 days a week. We took a special trip to Jo-Ann's one day, so she could pick out her fabric, and get a few supplies. 

Pastel fabric paint, a few fat quarters, and some truly appalling acts of seamstressing later, we present you with our masterpiece:

Any of you ladies who know ANYthing about sewing would be absolutely shocked that this montrosity happened. I know my grandmother is rolling. Let's just say, I now know that safety scissors and fabric do not mix well. But, my own failings as a seamstress aside, watching Bridget learn about sewing was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Bridget picked the fabric out herself, and designed and hand painted each and every square. She sat in my lap and worked the sewing machine too!

The ice cream and tire swing scene were some of our favorite squares:

This project took a whole month of afternoons to finish (well, three days a week for a month), and we both developed patience working on it. It may not be perfect...it may be really, really, far from perfect... but we MADE it, and we're ridiculously proud of it. 

Good luck on your own sewing adventures---let me tell you, if we can do it, anyone can!

Linking our masterpiece up to The Penny Pinching Party! Click it to see other people's awesomeness.

Does the thought still count if it occurs last minute?

I needed to come up with a last minute gift idea for Cory, after accidentally revealing what his real Christmas gift was. It was two days before Christmas, and Cory's only wish was that I wouldn't spend any money on him. My mom, also known as Lord of the Craft, came to the rescue. She helped me whip up a quilt for him, using only scrap fabric she had in her closet.

 We designed each square to portray a part of the story of how we met and fell in love.

1) Cory offered to help us paint our new house. He got a little more than he bargained for that day as he not only helped paint, but also helped clean up a gallon of yellow paint that spilled in my car...
2) He came back for more though, and asked me to play golf with him.
3) Many nights were spent watching movies and...
4) Going out to dinner :)

5) We made Christmas cookies together in December. That was the first time Cory decided to have a serious talk with me about our future together. Aww.
6) We spent our first Christmas on different sides of the country.
7) He took me out on a rainy night and popped an important question!
8) We were married 6 months later.



He was so surprised to open up this gift, and I think I even saw a little teeny tear in his eye (he denies it...). We love hanging out and watching movies and TV together, so it's the perfect thing for us. We use it all the time, and its a sweet reminder of our beginning.

Tips for your own crafty scrap quilt:

• Give yourself more than two days. It takes time to do it right, especially if you're learning.
• Have someone with experience to help. I have very little sewing experience, so having my mom there--a veteran seamstress--was invaluable. 
• Keep it simple.
• Have lots of spare thread! It took us about 4 spools of thread because of all the little details we had to sew around.
• Patience. 

I'm planning on doing something similar with the 9 year old girl I watch after school. We're using fabric markers to draw different pictures on each square instead of fabric cut outs, and using simple yarn ties to keep it together rather than quilting it together

If you've been wanting to try something like this, but haven't mustered up the courage, let me reassure you--you can do this! It can be simplified to any skill level and it's so worth it to feel the rush of pride every time we pull it out!

Lindy

Linking up to Donna's Funky Junk Christmas Story Edition. Coming from 100% junky fabric scraps make me think it fits in well. Check it out to see the other awesome funky junkers.

Also linking up at the Shanty Sister's I Made it Without My Hubby party!

Layered Crib Skirt

After searching for a crib set for a little girl, I found one I wanted but it was ridculously priced. I decided making one would be the way to go. Then I found a bumper on ebay that I loved and decided that would be less labor intensive than making my own. For the crib skirt, I combined the styles from both of my inspiration crib sets and decided to make a layered ruffled crib skirt using vintage fabrics.

For the base of the crib skirt, I just used an old sheet. For the ruffles, you'll need about a yard each of three different fabrics. I only did three sides, so if you would like to do all four sides in ruffles, you'll need 1.5 yards of each fabric.

Measure your crib on the inside and cut a large square out of your sheet adding 1/4 inch extra for hemming for the base of the skirt. Then cut your three (or four) sides from the sheet. I used a 14 inch drop for my crib skirt, but you can customize yours to fit your crib. Hem the sides of your side pieces leaving the top unhemmed. I also hemmed the back of my base layer at this time.

For the fabric ruffles, I cut the fabric almost three times the width of my crib (I had to sew a few pieces together) and six inches long. I think cutting it 2 times the length would be sufficient. Hem the sides of the ruffles, leaving the top edge unhemmed.

To gather the ruffles, I learned an awesome trick from my cousin Alicia. I had tried and tried gathering fabric with my machine with no luck when I made my curtains. I finally ended up doing a basting stich by hand to make the ruffles. It was a nightmare. She told me to use fishing line and do a zigzag stich over it. Then you can just pull it tight. Instant ruffles and no breakage! Awesome! First, I tied the fishing line to a spool of thread so it wouldn't slip out of the zigzags. Then I simply went over the thread and pulled it tight. At first I had to go slow, but as I got used to it soon I was zooming along. I found that holding the thread up and in the center of the presser foot kept it within the zigzags without a lot of hassle.

Then I arranged, pinned and sewed the ruffle to the side pieces.I did this three times. To keep the ruffles straight, I jus measured from the bottom up every couple of inches or so and pinned it in place. Here's what each side should look like.Then pin the top of your ruffled side to their corresponsding base layer side, right sides together. Do this with all three sides.Ta da! Your ruffled crib skirt is now finished!

Don't forget to check out the "Party Central" tab to see what parties we love linking up to every week!