Mother’s Day Felt Dahlia Corsage, a few notes (Note added Feb. 2014: The website where this DIY originally appeared so I moved the full instructions to a page here on Not Martha and I also added the notes that appear below to that project page. Go see it: Felt Dahlia Corsage.) Remember the Mother’s Day Felt Dahlia Corsage I created for Holidash? I made a bunch more to send out as Mother’s Day gifts and wanted to write down a few notes on what I learned. note on forming the petals Making a whole stack of these, I quickly discovered that clothespins work really well to hold petals as the glue sets, shown above. notes on giving them I used matching thread for the backs. Then I wrapped them up all mysterious like. notes on various weights of felt Here are three flowers I made from different felts. notes on where to find felt For those living in Seattle here is what I learned about buying felt locally, with huge thanks to @dancingsheepnw and @raintea for the source tips on Twitter. if you’ve made one I want to see!
paper lantern project for Make, Grow, Gather I was so happy to be asked to contribute an easy summer project as part of a series over at Make, Grow, Gather. I made some decorated paper lanterns using ones that we had left over from our wedding reception last summer. Remember that childrens craft that involves twisting small squares of tissue paper around the eraser end of a pencil, dipping that in glue and then using them to decorate something, usually a paper plate? I did the same thing, only larger. They turned out looking like flower pomanders, as well as looking a bit more festive. La Sha: Fabric Flowers; Here's How! These aren't your grandma's flimsy fabric flowers. These beautiful blossoms are tough enough to take daily abuse, which means they can be attached to clothes, accessories, even keychains. Here's what you'll need to make some yourself: synthetic fabric (wide ribbon works well, also), a pencil, scissors, a candle, a lighter, a bowl of water, thread, needle and some random beads or buttons Here's how: First- Find some synthetic material. Next cut out some circles to make the petals. When you've cut out as many petals as you'd like your flower to have, get out a bowl of water and light a candle. Hold each petal just close enough to the flame to singe the edge. Go all the way around, until the petal is singed all the way around. Not only will holding it near the flame keep it from unraveling, but it will also cause the fabric to warp, making the circle look more like a real petal. If you hold the fabric too close and it catches on fire, don't freak out- just dunk it in the water.
{every}nothing wonderful: Tutorial: Repurposed Envelopes (From Magazines to... Note: If you like this idea, be sure to check out how to make paper ruffles to add to your envelopes! Super quick and easy tutorial for you today. I have a drawer full of these and use them for everything - bills, letters, you name it...my mom does too, actually! I recently received an oversized catalog for baby strollers (why? I have more than one that I barely use). The pages were huge and mostly images - perfect for envelope making. To start just pull pages out of your catalog or magazine with images you love. Other supplies you'll need: Pencil Glue - glue stick or craft glue - whichever you prefer Old envelope or envelope template. If this is a project you see yourself recreating in the future or with other papers you could invest in an envelope template kit, or you can print templates (you'll need to print at 100% on a larger format printer) from Designer's Toolbox on a heavy stock (mount to board for a longer lasting template). Next, cut out along the lines. Happy re-purposing!
maximum RABBIT designs: i've been crafting! my recent posts have been somewhat lacking in any actual craft projects so here is an update of what i've been making lately! this is made of several layers of tinted recycled dictionary pagesit is fairly thick and substantial i made it as a brooch but i'm not sure how long lasting it will be, i'm thinking of varnishing it but i really like to be able to feel the textures hmm next up is a rather girly brooch made of vintage lace and a truely gorgeous diamonte buttoni made these two about a week ago in a fleeting crafty moment i suddenly felt the "urge" to craft! so my son is now in his new big boy bedroom with a brand new big boy high bed the tardis is no longer on the landing but the computer is which is good as i can keep an eye on my teen daughter during her MSN sessionsthere is still a huge ammount of sorting and tidying to do in my new workroom and we now have no spare room but it is all mine! i'll post photo's when it is finished! a brooch and a bobby pin
How to make gift bags from newspaper When I bought something at a store recently, the clerk handed me my purchase in a bag made from a newspaper. I liked it very much and had to make some more—thus today's DIY recycled newspaper project: gift bags made from the Wall Street Journal. You can vary the dimensions, of course, but here's what I used to create a bag that's 5" tall, 4.5" wide, and 3" deep. Stack two sheets of newspaper on top of each other. This will be a two-ply bag for extra sturdiness. Cut out a rectangle that's 15.5" wide and 8.25" tall. Fold a flap 1.25" down from the top. Cut two pieces of cardstock or chipboard to 4.25" x 1", then glue them on the widest two panels just under the top fold. Put glue on the outside of the 0.5" tab and bring the left-most panel over to form the body of the bag, aligning the cut edge of the panel with the folded edge of the flap. Upend the bag so the 2" flap is now up. Put glue on both flaps and fold them inward to form the bottom of the bag.
Handmade Flowers Phew! This week has been INSANE. Yeah, and that makes ME insane for trying this Tutorial Week thing at the same time as moving. It's just, I thought since I had the stuff MADE, and most of the photos taken, it'd be no problem! I just didn't take into account the PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION I'd be feeling from all the moving stuff, and the emotional weariness from all of it. And I am DOG tired. Still... So... Okay. These have been incredibly fun to make... to look at the finished product and feel like I have a little of the spirit of Anthro in me... a little vintage mojo... and a LOT of femininity. Love them so much, I kinda couldn't stop making them: Yeah. But CRAZY EASY, too. Okay, first, the inspiration. My Google quest led me to so many good, inspiring sites, like:EcoKaren: Fabric Flower TutorialLa-Sha: Fabric Flowers: Here's How! Materials: Synthetic fabrics like organza, taffeta, satin, dress lining, tulle, etc. Step One: Select and cut your fabric I had SO much fun selecting fabric. Okay.
The Shirt Skirt | Sew Like My Mom July 28, 2010 I’m so excited to post about this! When I met Dana, I fell in love with the skirt she was wearing. She made it herself (obviously) and she showed us how simply she’d shirred the waistband. The next day, during the mystery workshop at Whipstitch, we were encouraged to use thrifted tees. I’m devastatingly terrified of knits so I steered clear and made my (award winning) cotton fabric dress. I developed an idea in my head I thought just might be crazy enough to work. The Hubs thought I was a little crazy when I explained my idea to him. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do! The shirt skirt perfect for summertime. I wore the green and white one to Sofie’s birthday party. I had 2 women in Walmart stop me to tell me how comfy my skirt looked and when I told them how I made it, they demanded I call Rachael Ray immediately! The process is so easy. I do my shopping at Goodwill for 1 reason. So, get your super cheap thrifted shirt. Now, I break a rule of shirring. And that’s it!
Every Creative Endeavor: How to make a Ribbon Flower Clip/Headband These little flower clips and headbands are so popular right now. They are all over blogland and everywhere in the stores. I was at Target and I saw a really cute headband with a black flower on it. I picked it up, inspected it and thought to myself -"I can make that!" First: I gathered my supplies. RibbonFeltThreadbradsClips Second: Cut two feet of ribbon.Third: Stitch a baste stitch all the way down one side of the ribbon. Fourth: Scrunch it up! Fifth: Cut a circle -the size you want your flower- out of the felt. Sixth: Pin your ribbon onto the outside of the circle. Seventh: Stitch the first layer on. Eighth: Repeat again with a second layer and a third and a fourth until you are in the middle. Ninth: Cut off any extra ribbon and pull out the basting stitch. Tenth: Hot glue a brad or some sort of "bling" to the middle. Eleventh: Cover your clip with ribbon.You can see how to do that here. Twelfth: Hot glue the clip to the back.See my circle stitching - Then Enjoy!
Wire & Paper DIY Ruffled Ice Cream Cones We are so excited to share this diy with you, if you are planning an ice cream party believe us these are just the sweetest things to let each child take home with them! Our amazing diy correspondent, Katie came up with this project for us and we just fell in love! We ended up hanging pink, peach and mint green ones from a white chandelier and the looked so cute and really added to the decor of the party! Materials: 2 1/2" styrofoam balls 1 1/2 yards of lightweight cotton fabric Sewing machine or needle and thread Hot glue gun/glue Glue Scrapbook paper Cone template Polyester stuffing Ribbon Pins Cut fabric into strips about 44" long x 1.5 " wide using pinking shears. Trace cone template onto your paper and cut out. Cut a circle roughly 8" in diameter out of your fabric. Place hot glue around inside edge of your cone and stick the covered styrofoam inside.