Archive for » September, 2011 «

101 Tees Book Review & Free Project Download!

22
Sep 2011

I am so excited to show off this book to you!!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Lark Books to see if I wanted to review this fun new book – 101 Tees – by Cathe Filian.

Um. Yeah!!! :)

So- I have loved going through the book. There are tons of adorable T-shirt projects in it!! (145 to be exact).
You can find ideas for painting, dyeing, stenciling, cutting, stitching, and embroidery  – and there are projects at all skill levels too!

How cute is this one? With the scissors and measuring twill tape? There are instructions for every idea – along with helpful Q & A tips throughout!

I also really like that she’s included several projects for guys. It’s so hard to come up with fun things to make for men/boys – and this book has several great ideas!
I’m thinking Christmas already!

There also lots of cute ideas for adding ribbons, trims and appliques. I really liked the design of this T-shirt and decided to do something similar.

I combined that idea with another project in the book – there are some great tips on dyeing T’s! I love the Ombre effect on this one.
(I learned something from the tip on this page - Ombre is a French word meaning shadow or shade. I feel smarter now.)

So here’s what I came up with for me!

This T-shirt was originally white – I dyed it a gradual Yellow Ombre -so it’s more of a cream color up top and a pretty yellow down towards the hem.
I added lace to the neck similar to the ribbon on the T-shirt in the book – then added some cute gray polka dot rosettes to finish it off.

Pretty cute huh?

There are so many more ideas in the book. If you love refashions I think you’d really like it. :)

But it’s not all about me here – Lark Books sent me something for you too!
You can download the PDF instructions to make this adorable Tattered Chic Tank Top. There are instructions for a T-shirt version too!

Just click the image below to open up the PDF instructions. Then you can save to your computer!

I hope you’ll check the book out – there are so many more great ideas in it! Think about all the gifts you could make! :)

You can visit the Lark Crafts Blog for lots of other great ideas – and you can buy the book here!

Disclaimer: I was provided this book by Lark Books. All opinions in this post are mine. ;)

Category: Other  Tags: ,  3 Comments

A Little Pot Holder Love

20
Sep 2011

I recently particpated in the Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along over at Skip to My Lou.
For the Sew Along, I wanted to come up with a gift that was fun and easy to make – but that people don’t always remember to buy for themselves.

I thought that some cute Pot Holders would be just the thing! It’s more fun to cook and bake with cute pot holders don’t you think?
I have two versions for you today – here’s the first:

How can you not feel awesome when you’re taking muffins (or creme brulee) out of the oven with this snazzy potholder?
I have been loving all the “lined paper” projects around and I thought that the idea was perfect for a fun, ok . . . silly, pot holder.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:

For Front Piece of Potholder -
White Fabric – 2 pieces 8″ x 8 1/2″
Pellon Insul-fleece – 1 piece 8″ x 8 1/2″
Pellon lightweight batting – 1 piece 8″ x 8 1/2″

For Back Piece of Potholder -
Back Fabric – 2 pieces 10″ x 8 1/2″
Pellon Insul-fleece – 1 piece 10″ x 8 1/2″
Pellon Lightweight Batting – 1 Piece 8″ x 8 1/2″

For Binding -
1 piece cut on bias – 3″ x 42″
1 piece cut on bias – 3″ x 9″

To Make the Pot Holder -

Cut out your fabrics. Lay your pieces so that the small front pieces are together and the back pieces are together.

For the Front of the Pot Holder, make a sandwich with the two white pieces of fabric on the outsides, right sides out, and the Insul-fleece and batting inside.
Sew 1/4″ around all the sides to hold everything together.

Measure down from the top 1 1/2″ and draw a line across the rectangle with a disappearing marking pen. Mark the next line 3/4″ below that.
Continue marking lines down the rectangle until you reach the bottom.

With blue thread, sew across the marked lines. Go over the top line 4 times and the other lines 2 times.

Measure 1 1/2″ from the left side and mark a vertical line down the rectangle. Sew over this line with red thread 4 times.

With your marking pen, write out your clever phrase on the fabric. Embroider the letters with a simple stem stitch.

Fold the 9″ piece of binding in half, wrong sides together and press.
On the back side of the front piece, lay the raw edges along the top edge of the rectangle. Sew down with a 3/8″ seam allowance.

Fold the binding over to the front of the rectangle and sew it down just inside the folded edge.

For the back of the Pot Holder, make a sandwich with the fabric and fleeces just like you did with the front.
Sew 1/4″ around all the sides, then sew vertical lines down the rectangle 1″ apart.

Lay the front of the pot holder over the back with the bottom sides matching up. Trim off any excess and sew the sides and bottom together with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Trim the corners so they are just a little bit rounded.

Bind the potholder around all four sides, just like you did for the top of the front piece.

Cute huh? And so quick! I love having the little pocket to slide my hand in.

I’m a bit of a klutz so the more protected my hands are when I stick them in the oven, the better!

The back is super cute too!

If you prefer something that is a little more “traditional” you can use the same steps as above. You can adjust the size easily too!
This version is a little smaller – 7 1/2″ x 9″ finished – and has rows of little embroidered running stitches over machine stitching on the front in the same colors as the cute retro fabric in the back.
I did the little running stitches over the machine stitching around the edge of the binding in front too.

I pretty much love them both. ;)

What do you think? Wouldn’t they make a fun gift?

 

Category: Embroidery, Kitchen, Sewing  Tags: ,  59 Comments

Bright and Cheery Ruffled Curtains

19
Sep 2011

I finished my curtains for my front room! Woohoo! :)

They’re fun and bright – and definitely colorful!!
In case you missed my progress so far – I made some cute Stitched Furniture Silhouettes for my wall, and a Sunny Yellow Clock.
Now I’ve added curtains to my front window to bring it all together!

Since I’m renting – I can’t take down the mini-blinds, but I love the way the curtains brighten up the space and some color!

Aren’t they fun? I love the Heather Bailey Pop Garden fabric – and the ruffle at the top looks like a little valance!

I will reveal how everything looks all together at the end – but first I’ll show you how to make these. They’re super quick and easy!

These are 84″ x  41″ wide panels. You can adjust the measurements/amounts to fit your windows.
For these you’ll need – 4 1/2 yards of the main fabric, 2 yards of the ruffle fabric.

Cut the main fabric in half and hem the two long sides and the bottom short side.
To make nice pointed corners, hem down one side until you are about 6″ away from the bottom.

Fold the bottom edge up at an angle to make a small triangle about twice the width of the hem.

Fold the bottom edge up once to meet the top of the triangle,

And then fold one more time so that fold cuts across the seam at a 45 degree.

Continue sewing down the side until you just catch the fold, then with your needle in the down position, turn the fabric and sew the bottom hem.
You should have a nice clean point for your corner!

Press the hem down.
Repeat for the other panel.

Cut your top fabric into four 6″ x 45″ pieces and four 8″ x 45″ pieces. These will be the two top ruffles for each panel.

Sew two of the 6″ pieces together on one short side and two of the 8″ pieces together on one short side.
Hem the two short sides and long bottom side of each of the ruffles.

Gather the top edge of each of the ruffles so that the measure the width of the top panel piece. (Should be around 41″ depending on the original width of your fabric.)

Repeat for the other two ruffles for the other panel.

Cut your remaining red fabric into  16  – 3″ x 7″ pieces. Fold the pieces in half and sew a 1/4″ seam down the raw edges.

Turn the tab pieces right side out and press.

Fold the pieces in half and pin 8 tabs along the top of each panel. Pin them to the wrong side of the fabric.
You’ll need to adjust this a bit for the width of your panel, but my tabs were pinned so the center of each tab was 5 7/8″ apart.

I’m sure there’s a nifty math-y kind of way to figure out how to make them even. I’m not so good at that – so I just kept adjusting my tabs/measurements until they were even. :)

Sew a basting stitch along the top to sew the tabs down, 1/4″ from the raw edge.

On top of the tabs, again on the wrong side of the fabric, pin first the small ruffle, right side down, then the large ruffle on top of that, right side down.
The top raw edges of the ruffles should line up with the top edge of the panel.

Press the ruffles down towards the front – and you’re done with the curtains!

I also spraypainted an old metal curtain rod to match my Sunny Yellow Clock – with the Rustoleum Sunny Yellow.

Hang up your new curtains and curtain rod and admire your bright new curtains!!

I love the red of the ruffle against the yellow of the curtain rod.

Here’s how the whole wall looks!

I have never claimed to be a decorator. And I have never claimed to be one of those awesome decorator blogs. :)
So your advice/thoughts are seriously appreciated!!

I have in my rocking chair a fabulous pillow I picked up at the Queen Bee Market from an AMAZING little booth – Smitten.
It’s a super cute red houndstooth with a vintage quilt piece on it. I was so thrilled that it had the red, turquoise and yellow in it!

The Sunny Yellow Clock is on my Vintage Radio – it was my grandparents and it plays AM Stations and records.
I know it’s kind of popular to paint just about everything right now, but I can’t bring myself to paint some of these antique pieces I have. I think the wood looks ok, since it’s brightened up by the color around it.

And the pattern on the curtains ties in well with the yellow and red on the clock!

Ok – so what do you think? Does the wall need anything else? (Keep in mind I can’t paint)
Is it too much? Too little?
I love it – but I’m also totally open to your ideas and suggestions!! :)

I’m linking to Sunday Scoop, Today’s Creative Blog, Met Monday, Skip to my Lou, Tutorials & Tips Tuesday, Quilt Story, and the other fabulous parties on the sidebar – make sure you check them out!

Category: Home Decor  Tags: ,  57 Comments
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