Glitter Wreath Tutorial

As seen on So You Think You're Crafty, Week 2!  Thanks to everyone who voted for this project.  I know autumn is behind us, but it is so easy to customize this wreath in seasonal or holiday colors.  It would be a great last minute (not to mention inexpensive) Christmas project, if you still need some decorations.

Supplies Needed:

• Cardstock
• various shades of fine glitter (do I need to mention that the Martha Stewart glitter is the best?)
  
• spray adhesive
• a wreath form (mine is 10 inches, and I found it at the dollar store)
  
• wire for hanging
  

1.  Cut out a basic leaf shape to use as your template.  Cut out approximately 60 leaves out of cardstock.  I used a 10 inch wreath form.  If you are making a bigger wreath, you will likely need more leaves.

2.  Divide your leaves into groups for glittering.  Spray each group with spray adhesive and coat in glitter.  Shake off the excess.  I used the following colors of Martha Stewart Crafts glitter for this fall wreath:  Smokey Quartz, Yellow Gold, Cinnibar, and Fire Opal.

For a holiday wreath, a selection of green glitters would look nice, especially with a big bow and some red jingle bells. 

For a wreath to last all winter, I'd choose a variety of white and silver glitters for a snowy effect.

 

3.  Add a wire loop to your wreath form for hanging.

4.  Begin hot gluing the leaves to the wreath form, overlapping the bottom tips.  The hot glue gun will melt a styrofoam wreath form a little bit, but it holds well.

 

5.  Continue gluing leaves around the wreath form.  I changed the direction of the leaves at the bottom, but you may want to continue placing them in the same direction all the way around the leaf.

 

6.  Attach a bow.  My secret weapon for attaching bows to wreaths is a paper clip (or maybe everyone does this and it's not such a secret?).  Slide the small end of the paper clip though the back of the knot in your bow.  Then use the large end of the paper clip to attach the bow to your wreath.  This works especially well on a paper wreath like in this project, but I use this trick on all of my wreaths (it also makes it really easy to switch out your ribbons).

Need a bow-tying lesson?  You can find some tips at Martha Stewart.

 

Hang your wreath and enjoy!

cozy car caddy tutorial

Thanks to everyone who voted for this project in the So You Think You're Crafty competition!  It was an exciting week.

Without further ado ...

Cozy Car Caddy Tutorial

Materials used:

two pieces of denim (17 x 10 inches and 17 x 6 inches)

one piece of Duck Cloth or other heavy fabric (17 x 10 inches)

gray and yellow felt (gray felt cut to 17 x 3 inches, yellow felt cut into seven 1 x 1/4 inch pieces

White Piping (two 17 inch pieces)

6" belting

1" Velcro

scrap fabric for applique

freezer paper, sponge brush, and acrylic paint

sewing machine and supplies

1.  Cut your fabric.  I used an old pair of jeans for the denim and duck cloth for the front.  Between the two heavy fabrics, it makes for a sturdy car caddy.

 

2.  Take your 17 x 6 inch piece of denim, fold it in half, and press.  This will be used for the car pockets.  Line up the raw edges of the denim with the bottom on the duck cloth and pin in place.  Sew along the bottom edge to secure.

 

3.  Sew vertical lines through all the fabric (3 layers, since the denim is folded in half), spacing the lines 2.75 inches apart.  Be sure to back stitch at the top and bottom.  If your child is especially rough on pockets, you may consider going over each line a second time.

 

4.  Sew your road piece centered in the top half of the duck cloth.  Pin the road dashes in place and sew around each dash using a coordinating thread.  Set the duck cloth aside.

5.  Add a car applique to the denim backing.  Center the car in the bottom half of the denim (see photo below).  When the caddy is folded together, the top half of the denim will be inside.

I used scrap cotton fabric for the car body and felt for the wheels.  You can use a fusible web like Wonder Under to hold your applique in place.  I was all out, so I just pinned and sewed. 

 

6.  Add decorative piping to the top and bottom of the denim backing.  Actually, add the piping all the way around as well ... I only had enough on hand for the top and bottom.  ;)

Line up the raw edge of the piping with the raw edge of the denim.  Pin in place and sew in place

along the existing stitch line on the piping.

7.  Pin the 6 inch piece of belting to the denim fabric, again lining it up centered on the edge of the bottom half of the denim piece (see photo above).  Leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang, so it will be enclosed between the denim and duck cloth layers when they are sewn together.  Stitch the belting in place using about a 1/4 inch seam (go over it a few times for extra strength)

I forgot to take a few pictures at this point ... bear with me.

8.  I added my velcro pieces last, but now would actually be a better time to do it.  Sew one side of the velcro to the end of your belting strap, and the other piece in the center of your car applique.

9.  Lay the denim piece and the duck cloth piece on top of each other, right sides facing together, and pin.  Sew around the edges using a 1/4 inch seam (try to follow the seam of the piping along the top and bottom).  Leave about a 3 inch gap for turning the caddy right side out.

10.  Turn the caddy right side out and pin the opening closed.  Sew around the entire outside edge again, closing the opening.  Go slowly around the bottom corners - all that denim gets thick.

11.  Fold the caddy in half horizontally and make a crease.  Sew a seam, following the crease, down the middle of the caddy (between the pockets and the road - see the final product photo for seam placement).  This will make the caddy easier to fold up.

 

12.  Using the templates found at the end of this post, cut the numbers out of freezer paper.  If you've never done freezer paper stenciling, you can find easy instructions at Angry Chicken (and everywhere else online - do a google search and I promise you'll find tons of help).

I sponged 3 light layers of white acrylic paint for my numbers (let each layer dry before applying another).

Fill your pockets with matchbox cars, and you are ready to roll.

  

 

Here's how it folds:  Fold the caddy in half so the road meets the pockets.  Then fold in thirds.  Wrap the strap around the front and velcro closed.

 

Enjoy!

p.s.  This project is similar to Sharla's Car Cozie at My Little Gems, who I have just recently gotten acquainted with.  If you plan to make this project, you should check out her tutorial as well, since they are different and you might like her construction better. 

Also, check out this awesome car caddy/crayon roll combo project at Create Studio.  Love it!

bringing home baby - she'll probably need something to wear

Unbelievably, the week has already arrived when we get to welcome our new baby - we'll meet her on Friday!  Some of my friends started asking about her "coming home" outfit, and I realized I didn't have anything planned.  Come to think of it, I have never planned a special coming home from the hospital outfit for my own kids.  I'm not super sentimental about that kind of stuff.  But this baby needed something, poor third child that she is.

First, I made her a really simple knot-top cap.  It is modeled after my favorite store-bought newborn cap that I bought for Oscar years ago.  I sketched out a simple template for you, which you can print out HERE.  You'll need to cut two pieces of stretchy knit fabric from the template, and then another rectangular piece for the border at the bottom.  I cut my border piece to 3 inches tall, and double the width of the bottom of the template piece.  I'm not going to go into detail how to piece it together, but Make It and Love It has a really great baby hat tutorial that should give you a pretty good idea.  Keep in mind that her hat brim folds up, but mine does not.

I also have basic instructions for a really easy baby hat from a t-shirt sleeve from my early sewing days - you can find it HERE.

Besides long sleepers, my favorite newborn clothes are the basic kimono-style snap shirts you can buy in packs.  I even did a tutorial a few years ago about how to dress one up with ric-rac and some pretty buttons (find it HERE). For this shirt, I simply added a lace trim around the shirt's opening - really easy, really fast.  This is actually the exact shirt that Oscar wore home from the hospital, and possibly Ruby, too (I don't actually remember what I put her in).

So there you have it, possibly the easiest coming home from the hospital outfit, ever.  Add a pair of leggings and some cute socks, and you're all set.

Quick Hostess Apron

After work tonight I had the opportunity to go to a sewing class and it was just delightful! All of the supplies were provided and we had a great teacher. The project of the evening was a hostess apron. It was a simple project that only took about an hour and a half and produces totally cute results. I think it would make a really cute Christmas gift paired with a cookbook or supplies.

Here is a group shot of the class:

Aren't we cute?

When I got home I had to model it again for Jared:


It was SO easy!

Supplies:

22 inches of fabric
2 yards of coordinating grosgrain ribbon
a 5x5 inch square of coordinating solid fabric for a pocket (optional)
a sewing machine, thread and scissors

Instructions:

1. Fold the bottom of the fabric ¾ in. and press. Repeat (to hide the raw edge of the fabric

2. Top-stitch the bottom hem

3. Repeat steps one and two for the side hems

4. Using a ruffle foot on your sewing machine, gather the top of the fabric (we had it on the 1-setting). Our teacher said you can also achieve the same effect by basting the top edge and pulling on the back thread to gather the fabric (I am going to have to try this out, since I don’t have a ruffle foot for my machine).

5. Find the center of your 2-yard length of grosgrain ribbon. Fold in half horizontally and press (about ten inches on either side of the center)

6. Pin the folded part of the ribbon to the gathered side of the fabric and topstitch across

7. Add a pocket, if desired

8. Enjoy your sassy new hostess apron



It was also a happy day because I came home to a new box of cookie cutters from Off the Beaten Path. I really love their cookie cutters - they are a real bargain and you can find every shape imaginable. I got a set of snowflake cutters, a gingerbread boy and girl, a winter hat and mitten, a Christmas tree, ornament, candy cane and a snowman. Whew - I can't wait to make some cute holiday sugar cookies!

fabric travel high chair

There are a lot of sewing/craft blogs I really love, and near the top of that list is this mama makes stuff.  Recently Carrie posted a portable fabric high chair - so awesome!  I thought it would be just perfect for an upcoming trip Oscar and I are taking to NYC for a week of friends and NEW MOON!  wooo!  Yes, I am a Twi-mom, so sue me.  NEW MOON!  :)

Back to the fabric high chair.  I wanted one.  I needed one!  So far, Carrie has not posted the dimensions.   But, it looked easy enough.  3 rectangles of fabric and some velcro ... no biggie.  I estimated the dimensions and sewed one up.  Ta-da!

 

Like I said, it is three rectangles.  I cut my waist strap to be 6" x 43", but if I were to do it again, I think I would make it about 6 inches shorter (6" x 37").  It doesn't need to be quite so long.

The connector piece is 6" x 4".  The seat piece is 20" x 10".  There is a thin layer of batting between each piece, and a long strip of velcro on either end of the waist strap.

 

Piece of cake right?  I'm curious to see how my measurements match up to Carrie's.  Hopefully someday she'll post instructions so I can make this perfect!

Lickety-Split Birthday Crown

 

Need a last-minute birthday crown?  The one Oscar is wearing took 5 steps and  less than 30 minutes to make.

Supplies:

• two paper-sized sheets of felt
• approximately 8 inches of elastic (depending on the size of your child's head)
• the usual sewing supplies.

Instructions:

1. Using the template below, cut two crown pieces, one circle, and the number of your choice.
2. Sew the birthday number to the circle piece.  I cut out my circle with pinking shears for a little extra interest.
3. Sew your now-numbered circle to the center wave of the crown.  Add any other embellishments you'd like - ric rac, ribbon, trim, etc.
4. Lay your two crown pieces together, right sides out.  Sandwich one end of the elastic between the crown pieces and sew in place.  Repeat on the other side.  Make sure your elastic is not twisted.
5. Sew around the entire outer edge, and you're done!  Time to party.

 

flower, fruit and vegetable templates

Happy Friday!  To use the following templates from my felt playhouse, right click on the images to save and print as a full 8.5x11 sheet of paper.  enjoy  :)

 

Flower instructions:

• Cut two of each flower.
• Cut one center for each (except tulip).
• Embellish the front of the flower with a felt center, button, etc.  Set aside.
  
• Sew a tube of green felt for the stem.  Insert a pipe cleaner for added stability.  I folded my pipe cleaners in half and twisted the ends together to keep them from ripping through.
• Sandwich 1/2 inch of stem between the two pieces of flower.
• Sew around the outside edge, leaving an opening for stuffing.
• Stuff flower with polyfill.
• Sew the opening closed.

 

Can I get away with not posting full instructions for all of the produce?  In brief - for each item, cut two.  Attach a square of velcro to the back piece if you want it to stick to the playhouse.  With both pieces together, sew around the outer edge, leaving an opening for stuffing.  Stuff with polyfill.  Sew the opening closed.  For apple and carrot, insert stem (use a 3 inch piece of ribbon or trim (folded in half) for the apple) before sewing the opening closed.  Easy, peasy!

For the corn, cut strips of white and yellow felt and weave into a rectangle, slightly larger than the template.  Cut two additional yellow corn pieces using the template.  Sew one solid yellow piece to the woven rectangle, going around the outer edge.  Trim off excess woven pieces.  Layer your woven corn piece with the other yellow corn piece and sew around the outside, leaving an opening for stuffing.  Stuff with polyfill and sew opening closed.

 

simple felt trick-or-treat bags: templates and tutorial

As promised, here are the templates and instructions for making my simple felt trick-or-treat bags.  They really are easy, and unless you have to crank out 25 (like me), you should have plenty of time to make them before Halloween.  Hooray!

First I'll show you how to construct the basic bag. 

Main bag piece: 11 x 20 inches felt
Handle pieces:  (2) 12 x 1 inches felt or ribbon
To make the felt handles extra sturdy, cut two pieces of felt 12 x 1 inches and sew them together.  A simple seam down either side will do.  To clarify, cut four total 12 x 1 felt pieces for each bag, and sew two sets together, creating two 12 inch handles.

1.  With your main bag piece laying flat, pin your handles to the inside of the fabric (on the 11-inch side), approximately 2 inches in from the side, and overlapping the edge approximately 1 inch (as pictured below).

 2.  Sew the handle to the bag.  Repeat with the other handle.

3.  Decorate the front of the bag.  Templates and more details on each bag can be found further down this post.

4.  Fold the main bag piece, right sides together, lining up the side and top edges.  Sew a 3/8 inch side seam (about the width of your presser foot) on each side.

5.  Square off the bottom of the bag:  Match the side seam to the bottom fold of the bag, creating a triangle. With the open seam at the middle to lay flat, mark a line at the 2 1/2 inch wide point.  Sew a seam across the marked line and trim off the triangle, leaving about a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Repeat with other side.

It will look like this:

 6.  Turn the bag right-side out and revel in the cuteness.

Now that we have the bag basics down, let's talk about the different variations:

The pumpkin is pretty straight-forward.  Follow the instructions above, using the jack-o-lantern face template provided.  I added a strip of green ric-rac across the top of the front of the bag (you'll need 11 inches), and then sewed a leaf on top.  The leaf was top-stitched for added detail.

For the frankenstein bag, I used buttons for the eyes, and ric rac for the eyebrow (about 4 inches long).  You could substitute felt for both details.  For the neck bolt, cut out the 3 x 1 inch felt strip and fold it in half before sewing to the bag.   I placed the neck bolts 6 1/2 inches down from the top of the bag.  Make sure you pin them facing inward (the cut edge will line up with the bag's edge), so when you turn the bag right side out, the bolts will stick out.

The bat bag has a slightly different shape because I tapered the main bag piece 1 inch on either side (starting from midway up the side of the folded main piece) to give it a rounder appearance.  Otherwise, construction is the same.  Ric rac was added to the handles for a little extra color, and the mouth was stitched on with contrast colored thread.  Buttons for the eyes.  The wings are a single layer of felt, but you could make it a double layer for added stability (they are a little floppy).  Use the template piece from the jack-o-lantern nose for the bat's ears.

Click on the images below to download the pdf templates:

Happy trick-or-treating.  :)