Shabby Chic Jewelry-holder tutorial

 This is such an easy and thrifty solution to hang your jewelry from. If you're like me, you want to be able to see them so you can easily choose which piece you want to wear. And like most people, I had more wall space than I  counter space, so this was a great solution for me!

I found an old picture frame at the thrift store (the one with the velvet in-lay). This isn't the one, but I forgot to take a "before" picture--and this one's pretty close to what it looked like. I paid $1.00 for it.

 

 Next, I bought a subtle off-white paint sample at Home Depot. It was an "oops", so I paid $.50 for it.
I painted the whole thing a few times--taking special care to liberally coat the velvet. As soon as all coats were dry, I lightly sanded the edges and detail to give it an aged look. Then I drilled 5 evenly spaced holes in the velvet part.

 Also at Home Depot, I bought the cheapest wooden knobs I could find and painted them.

 This is what they looked like scuffed and installed. Cute, aren't they?

 Then, I stretched a piece of fabric (cut 1" bigger on all sides) over Dollar Store foam core using hot glue on the back.

 I decided at the last minute to add more hooks on the bottom.

 Here's the finished product. I also made one to hold my hair accessories by gluing vertical pieces of ribbon on it.

That's it! I have been absolutely loving it! Not only is it very functional and cleared up quite a bit of space for me, but it's such a fun way to add pops of color to a drab wall!

Petal Felt Flower Tutorial

This is a fun one, too! The picture doesn't do it justice. It really is a cute flower!

First, cut out a bunch of petal shapes.

Put a line of glue on the bottom of the first petal.

Roll up and add a couple more petals, doing the same thing. This makes your center.

 Continue to add one petal at a time...pinching the base of each petal together before adding it to the flower--to pucker it a little.

 Add as many as you'd like. I made my flower kind of small--only because I ran out of felt. Haha! I'd normally run to the store, but I do most of my crafting in the middle of the night while my kiddos are sleeping.

I added a pearl to the center so it would match my project.

HERE's the finished project, if you'd like to see it all together.

Ruffled, Singed-edge Fabric Flower Tutorial

This is one of my FAVORITE fabric flowers ever!

For this one in the picture, I used taffeta, but you can use any fabric that will singe.

First, you tear a 2" strip. I probably used about 24" in length for this big flower here.

Singe the edges...only be kinda messy about it.

 I love the rustic look of these edges! Especially when made into a flower!

 Next, sew a basting stitch down the center. Don't worry if you're off a little.

I think it looks better with a little irregularity to it-- more natural. Ya know?

Now gather it.

 Fold it in half length-wise, using the stitching as your fold-line. I folded the gray sides together. You can lightly iron it if you have a hard time keeping your fold together.

Now, put a dab of glue on your starting edge, and coil it to form a center.

 Continue to glue and coil until desired size is reached. Glue bottom of flower to a felt circle...to keep it clean and give it a little extra integrity.

Done! Fancy, eh? I especially love two-sided fabrics for these!
Click HERE if you'd like to see what I ended up making with these.

Double-layer Spiral Felt Rosette Tutorial

This is such an inexpensive and easy flower to make!

I bought the felt at the dollar store. But since it was so thin, I decided to stack it...

This is the result. I love the two-toned look!

Okay, so first, I cut the circles. I used a CD as a guide.

 Then, you cut a spiral, leaving about an 1 1/2 circle (or oval in my case).

*The thinner you cut your spiral, the bigger in diameter your flower will be, but it will be shorter.

 Then, taking the tapered end, put a dab of glue on it and roll it. No need for glue between layers. It'll stay together. You'll notice that the top piece will become longer than the underneath piece. No bigs. You can re-trim your center circle.

 When you've gotten to that point, glue each layer together on the center circle.

And VOILA! It's done! You can hot-glue a button, bead, pearl, or whatever in the center of these, too! These flowers are cute for just about any use-- wreaths, hair flowers, brooches, topiaries, embellish pillows & clothing, etc!
Click HERE if you'd like to see the project these flowers ended up on.

EASY Bib/Painting smock with pocket

Tada!

 *If you'd like to applique stars on the front, follow THIS tutorial before continuing on (I didn't really applique stars on this bib. I just added them with this editing program to show you what it could look like if you did. I'm a HUGE applique' fan! I just didn't take the time to do it on this bib).

You can buy packages of plain bibs for a bargain.

Start with one and choose a coordinating fabric for pocket.

TO MAKE POCKET, follow step 5 in THIS tutorial.

Not too bad, right? You can also use these as children's painting smocks.

They can keep brushes or other art supplies in their pockets.

5-minute STAR ONESIE applique'

SO EASY!

I bought this plain onesie at the dollar store.

By adding this quick and easy little applique', it's much cuter for VERY LITTLE COST!

Plus, it matches the rest of my baby gift since I used my other project's scraps.

Here's the tutorial- Click on pictures to enlarge.

 You can use this technique for MANY different uses!
I made these below for my kid's Christmas pajamas.

 I made a whoooole bunch of pajama pants (using my Black Friday flannel purchase).

Then I bought a shirt to match each pair (from the dollar store! A BUCK, people! Awesome!)

 Next, I used the above applique' technique,

 Only, I did a straight stitch around the shapes. If you don't atleast do that, they eventually come off in the wash. Though I believe a tight zig-zag (AKA applique' stitch) LOOKS better, a simple straight stitch holds up just fine. Can you imagine how much time this would've taken me to do a tight zig-zag around ALL SEVENTEEN PAIRS?

 They turned out great!

On this one, I appliqued the bottom flower, then I stacked smaller ones on top and attached in the center. A button would've been a perfect finishing touch, except my little girl has a tendency to bite them and tugs until they pop off. No more buttons for her.



Aren't they fun, though? All it takes it trying applique' once, and you'll be looking for all kinds of things to embellish! I absolutely LOVE it!

Aprons & Chef Hats

Cute Lil' Aprons & Chef Hats

These were actually designed by my boys to make for their sisters last Christmas. They drew what they wanted the aprons to look like, then we figured out the measurements and made them! The hats were 24" circles sewn to a head-sized band. If you'd like more detailed instructions, e-mail me.

Little aprons with two-section pockets, tie-backs with a
fabric-covered button and bow, and a chocolate ruffle.
These easy chef hats make the ensamble complete!