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DIY - Bird Cage Lanterns

DIY - Bird Cage Lanterns

Glass jars turned vintage Lately I've been intrigued by those lovely vintage blue glass jars you see on the tables of chic outdoor weddings. I did a little bit of research on these, to see how economical they were in bulk, and found that they can range anywhere from $5-$15 per jar, depending on how rare they are. I was a bit surprised by this, and thought there had to be a better way to achieve the same look, so I went in search of a way to "dye" a regular quart sized jar, to mimic the look of the old Ball Perfect Mason Jars. Here's my photo recap: I used a product called Vitrea 160, which is a transparent color for glass, in a shade called turquoise. I flipped my jar upside down and placed it into another plastic tupperware container, then brushed the outside of the jar with the mixture in thin, even strokes from top to bottom. The best part of this project (besides the fact that it's super easy) is that it's cheap. NOTE: This project is best suited for use with flowers and water, rather than with candles.

Burlap & Doily Luminaries: Rustic meets Romance Doilies are dainty. Candles are romantic. Burlap is rustic. I found my doilies at the thrift store for about $0.35 each. but they aren’t as pretty and they are solid in the center, missing the lovely designs that real doilies possess. Burlap and Doily Luminariesprintable version Glass jarsAdhesive spray (like Elmer’s Craft Bond) DoiliesBurlap Twine , buttons, and/or ribbon Make sure your jars are clean and dry. . Funny thing is I tried this project with paper doilies first and I DID spray the paper doily and then place it on the jar. Place the doily onto the jar and position it, making sure it’s not bunched up anywhere. Spray the rim with adhesive, then wrap the jar rim with burlap. You can also wrap the rim with pretty ribbon then tie a piece of twine around the rim as well. Another option is to use the canning jar lid, then wrap that with twine or loose threads from your burlap.

Key ring notebooks... I am sorry, I can't show you the other ones anymore. I sold them at my first market (and had no time to take pictures before. Finally sleep won the battle! ^^) The sides are covered card boards. From the side... And beetles on both sides... this one is covered with paper... ...and all the books got several layers of laquer! PS: I'll try to take better pictures at daylight.

Satin Flower Pillows I'll admit it - I'm not ashamed - I have a small obsession with making pillows! Eventually I would like to turn my obsession into profit by opening an Etsy shop, but for now I enjoy making pillows for my home, family and friends. So when my friend celebrated her birthday last month, it came as no surprise that I'd make her a couple of pillows(in the colors of her choice). Rather than cut out a bunch of felt I decided to purchase some polyester satin to embellish her pillows. I purchased the polyester satin from Hobby Lobby. It was cheap, and easy to work with and a very forgiving fabric. I added the flowers to the pillows using a method I saw at Jones Design Company. Using my glue gun, I attached each flower to the pillow. So simple and easy to make!

Happy Fall Leaf Bunting! (no-sew) Bunting is so popular right now, and I have wanted to try my hand at it for a while. I have been mulling over exactly how I wanted it to look though, and finally came up with this idea the other day. Since I live in New England, I felt that fall leaves would be fitting - because you see vibrant foliage everywhere, and this is a fun representation to have inside the house! Here is how I did it:This is the leaf shape, and stem shape - to use as a guide. For each leaf, cut a piece of fabric, a piece of heat-n-bond, and piece of felt, each big enough to fit one leaf. Apply the heat-n-bond to the wrong side of the fabric according to package directions. Trace the leaf shape onto the felt and cut it out. I chose scraps of yellow, orange, and green fabrics for my leaves, and used orange, brown, tan and green felt for the backs. Cut stems out of stiff brown felt. Using fabric glue, glue the stems to the back, top of the leaves. I decided to add decorative stitches to the outside of the leaves.

Inserting Spring into My Wreath Have you been following me for a while? Do you remember this base wreath (below) that I bought from Target a while ago? I challenged myself to use this wreath through every season for one year. From Christmas – Valentine’s Day our wreath was red, white and green: For Thanksgiving, I added some feathers to the wreath: For fall, I simply inserted magnolia leaves into the wreath: Here is My Tutorial for a Spring Paper Flower Wreath: Materials: Two coordinating scrapbook paper sheetsButtons for flower centersScissorsWire cuttersFloral Wire Begin by cutting out flower shapes. Lay your flower on top of the coordinating paper and cut a flower shape larger than the first. Lay both flowers on top of one another and cut slits in toward the center of your flowers. Trim the edges of your petals if you need to round them more. Fold the edges of your flowers up to give them dimension. Cut a length of floral wires, long enough to wrap around your wreath. Thread the wire through your button.

it all started with paint: fabric flower ‘how to’ I have a new obsession to add to my growing list of obsessions … Numbers – check Hooks – check Board & Batten – check Drop Cloth as Fabric – check And now fabric flower rosettes … … check. I can’t get enough of them and will sew them onto anything that stands still. And on my present pillows here … I sewed them onto my daughter’s plain white school shirts … … and even made a giant one and put it on a pillow … In preparation for tomorrow’s post, I’ve been busy making these little rosettes. And be sure to check back tomorrow to find out how I’ll put them to use this time around … Linking up: Little Susan Days-Of-The-Week Motifs {1950s Here’s a pattern set from the 1950s for this month’s vintage pattern freebie, it’s reminiscent of “Sunbonnet Sue” featuring a young girl wearing a bonnet doing chores around the house. She also has a little friend tagging alongside her while she runs about, a sweet little Scotty dog. Pattern Cover – Click To View Larger Size There’s a different motif for each day of the week as well as one that is suitable for embellishing an apron and four little square designs to use on potholders. You’ll find the files at the bottom of this page (each in jpg format) but first, here are the original details from the back of the pattern envelope… Little Susan happily dashes through each day’s chores as easily as you embroider. There are four cute motifs to use on pot holders or kitchen mitts and an extra Little Susan to put on an apron or cloth. A delightful quilt can be made for a little girl by using the “day” motifs alternately with a plain color block. Suggested Materials:

Delightful Busy Bees – Days Of The Week Set This month’s vintage pattern freebie is from the 1940s or 1950s and has a sweet embroidery design for every day of the week (7 in total) with each featuring a charming “bee” couple performing a certain task for the day. Each motif has a wise piece of advice or goal such as “Thrifty”, “Tidy”, “Tasty”, etc., and are intended to be used on dish towels. You’ll also find three additional designs that are suitable for pot holders (does not include directions for making the pot holders). The free file downloads are found at the bottom of the page but first, here are the original pattern details… These busy little bees will make any housewife smile–one for each day of the week and amusing pot holders to match. They’ll make a big hit as a shower gift–and in your own kitchen everyone from Junior to Grandma will “Bee glad” to help wipe the dishes! Colors: The modern housewife likes a cheerful kitchen and these busy bees will blend with any chosen color scheme. Click To View Larger Size

Puppy Days of the Week: {Cross Stitch & Embroidery Home / Crafts / Puppy Days of the Week: {Cross Stitch & Embroidery} Vintage Puppy Pattern Series Here’s the latest set of Days of the Week (DOW) free vintage embroidery and cross stitch patterns. Here are the details and instructions: This pattern contains directions and 7 cross-stitch motifs to be used on towels or dinette cloths. Material Requirements Towels: 3/4 yard 36″ fabric or 1-1/2 yards finished toweling for 2. Dinette Cloths: 1-1/2 yards 54″ fabric for a 52″ x 52″ cloth or 2 yards 54″ fabric for a 52″ x 70″ cloth. For All: Six-strand embroidery cotton; sewing thread. Color Suggestions Placing Motifs Center a motif at one end about 1″ above hem. Cut away lettering before placing and stamping motifs. Free Downloads Directions: Click on image to access larger pattern (jpg file format), right click and then save to your desktop. Embroidery Embroidery Stitches - Click Image To View Larger Finishing:

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