Video Wrapping gifts

pompom fabric flowers

 

The Colla-Flower

Here are the 6 easy steps:

Tutorial: Flowers Make Me Melt

This is super simple and fun to make. 

Supplies-

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  A scrap of polyester fabric.  Look at the label on the end of the bolt.  It will tell you the fiber content of the material.  I only bought 100% polyester.  There was cotton/poly, but I didn't want to take the chances of starting a fire.  I like to shop the remnant section.  The fabric is usually marked down to half price because it was the end of the bolt.

Making cards: Majestic Pearl Wedding Invitation

For the traditionally inclined bride, there is nothing more elegant than white on white. Feel like a true princess on your wedding day with this classic, yet sophisticated invitation. With subtle layers of shimmering pearl paper, exquisite flock and sparkling silver accessories, this invitation promises a dreamy, opulent and irresistibly romantic affair.

Holiday crafts: making Christmas tree

 
Holiday crafts: Christmas tree

Tutorial: flower corsage

Being a mom sometimes isn’t the most glamorous job one can have. Being a mom sometimes means walking around with food or boogers on your shirt, and sometimes not getting into the shower till afternoon . we’re busy driving kids to school and activities, busy folding laundry, busy wiping away tears, busy reading bed time stories, busy making it all better, busy cooking meals, busy keeping house, busy cleaning toilets. Yes, not so glamorous indeed, but probably the most important. We are the ones who help mold, uplift, and carry our children when they need us to. We are the ones they turn to when hurt, scared, or proud. We are their mothers and we have been given the opportunity to love them like no one else in this world.
that makes a mother beautiful in my eyes.
so to help mothers feel a little more pretty on the outside, I’ve created this lovely flower corsage, made out of satin ribbon.

Flower embellished t-shirt refashion

two matching square neck t-shirts on clearance.

I cut one of them into about 1" wide strips and ruffled them for the flowers.

I used coordinating 1" wide satin ribbon I already had, and ruffled that for flowers.

How to make Christmas wreath from an old sweater

How to make string of lights advent calendar pattern

Here it is, the string of lights advent calendar tutorial (and pattern!). I made the pdf pattern file all by myself for the first time, so if you have problems with it just email me and I’ll try to fix it. Otherwise, hurry up! because advent is almost over!

materials

green wool felt
multi-color felt scraps
60 feet green yarn
green embroidery thread
lightweight treats (gum balls, dum dums, love notes, tiny ornaments)

Zipper Flower Brooch

Actually, once I found the right method, or at least the right method for me, they WERE quick and easy to make.  The first thing that I found incredibly difficult was the method of assembly.  The blog I was referring to showed these flowers being held together with hand stitching.  Maybe I’m not coordinated enough for this or maybe it’s because I have a permanent injury in my hand that made this method more difficult but it seemed that every time I made the stitches, they weren’t holding things together securely enough.  The flowers looked sloppy and the stitches all showed. 

After trying this many, many times (hey, can’t quit after it fails the first time right?), I decided it was time to see if I could find another tutorial that was perhaps a bit clearer to follow.  The first big change in the second tutorial was that they did NOT use hand stitching; they used hot glue instead.  This worked SO much better for me.  The rosebud like centers were quite easy to do.  I used the second nylon zipper that was in the envelope for the center.  I opened the zipper, cut off the plastic tabs at one end and the zipper pull at the other.  I folded the end over, securing with a dab of the glue, and then took a couple turns, wrapping the zipper around this fold, gluing as I went along.  As I did this, I angled my turns a bit up and down – I didn’t want to make a perfect coil out of this; I wanted to make the heights of each “petal” in the bud to vary to make it look more like a rosebud. 

When I completed the bud portion, I began to work on the outer petals ( the part that I think is kind of daisy like).  This was where I encountered difficulties again.  I used a zipper I had in my own stash – one that has metal teeth in it because I felt that this would add some visual interest to the piece as it would be a variation from the nylon teeth in the center bud.  The instructions I saw had you making a loop that had a bit of a twist in it.  To me, they resemble the types of bows you can buy to put on gifts..

Because the zippers included in my envelope were fairly small when it comes to making these brooches, you’ll note that I made them in two pieces.  One was the bud I described above, made out of the small nylon zipper.  The other was this daisy petal portion, made out of the longer zipper with metal teeth.  Because I couldn’t get the hang of the idea described in the Martha Stewart (and several blogs I consulted), I decided to try something a little simpler.  To make the “loops” for the petals, I simply folded the zipper back and forth, kind of in a zig zag.  Or you can think of it as creating “pinches” along the zipper and then securing with glue at each pinch.  Once I reached the end, I glued both ends together to form all these loops into a circle of loops.  More hot glue secures the bud to the top of the daisy part and a pinback to the back of the flower.

Tutorial make Spring Bouquet

What's Springtime without a beautiful bouquet of flowers?  Nothing blooming in your neck of the woods yet?  Create your own with AC products!
Supplies: Everyday Felt Flowers (77177) - MyHouse, Stem Occasions Four (89090) - Ribbon, Petal Occasions Four (89082) - Ribbon, Petal Occasions Four (89079) - Ribbon, various buttons

I used some things I had on hand to whip up this fun flower bouquet.  Stopping in my kitchen, I picked up some skewer sticks and an empty pop can to pair with some bright AC buttons, ribbon, and MyHouse flowers.  You'll also need a needle and thread and then you're all set to go.

Tutorial and Pattern: Rainbow Sunshine Plushie (and a little fair[l]y [ugly] tale about patents)

I want to begin this tutorial with a little story. One day there was a little organic cotton rainbow be-ribboned plushie that was sketched and then stitched with love in a very messy upstairs room in a home somewhere in Minneapolis. It was a happy little plushie, made all the more so by the creation of its 3 identical siblings who sat on a sunny windowsill with the little plushie, keeping it company

Potato Print Blinds

This project comes from the pages of Print Art, published in 1966. I originally bought this book for my daughter, since the projects are geared for little kids with easy projects, plenty of big, pretty pictures and huge type. In the intro, the author tells us that, "Printing is a fascinating activity for small children because it pleases them to repeat their own designs." Yeah, okay, I'm 36 and I still get jazzed about repeating patterns.

For this project, I thought I'd give potato printing a go, because honestly, unless I'm blocking out some preschool memory, I don't think I've ever experienced the pleasure of potato printing. And hey! Isn't St. Patrick's Day just around the corner? You know what's fun? Saying "potato" with an Irish accent. That's fun.
What you'll need:

The Fashion Art of Cording

Cording – cord wrapped in fabric that’s been cut on the bias – is an ancient embellishment that packs as much punch today as it did in the 1730’s or the 1940’s. Whether you use it to make appliqued motifs, corded pin tucks, frogs, spaghetti straps or piping, cording is one of the most versatile weapons in your sewing arsenal. Still not sure how to use it? Well, as with everything sewing, there is a lil’ trick to it. I’ll show you how!

Cowrie Shell & Bead Hair Clip

"Bling" Old School Style!

Pom pom maker

This is a tutorial for making pom-poms using your
fingers. This one is a small, two-finger pom-pom
(about 1" in diameter) but you can make bigger ones
by using more fingers. As far as yarn choice, thinner
and softer yarn will make a more pleasing pom-pom.