Book Wreath (or hat...)

It's been a long time coming, since the shower was about a month ago, but here's the final decoration. Sorry it took so long to upload! I followed this tutorial to make it, with a few of my own twists.

I'll be honest, when I first saw these wreaths popping up about a year ago, I didn't like them. The only reason I decided to make one is because of the library theme... but I love it!!

The tutorial only calls for one book, but I picked three. Why three?

Because I found three different colored edges and thought it would be super cute to have all of them mixed in one wreath. I had considered painting my edges yellow, but then found the pre-painted books and scooped them up for $0.25 a piece at the thrift store. Much easier than painting my own!

I didn't take any pictures in process, but I found myself squishing them together from the back to front as I glued them on, so there wasn't any need to go back through later to fill in the spaces. There were no spaces to fill! I preferred the basic twist because I liked the points it creates sticking out. The "wave" types I used to keep it full.

I also always used two pages together as I rolled, twisted, and glued. I hoped this would make the colored edges stand out a bit more.

The other little change I made was to finish the inside with an open page. I didn't like the look of all the pages vertical, randomly overlapped edges.  This is a much cleaner look.

I'm so glad I made this wreath and think it is beautiful. I still have enough of the 3 books to make another one, and my SIL hinted that she would like one... maybe for her birthday coming up?

Here is another use suggestion, just in case you still weren't sold on making your own. It doubles as a hat. That just pushed you over into the "definitely-doing-it" category, right?

Have an awesome weekend!!

A Good Book Quote Art Tutorial

Part two of the Mod Podge book pages fun was the "A Good Book" quote art. 

A few years ago, when I made some nursery art for my SIL, the canvases were on sale at 2 for 1! So I bought a few extras, of course! And when I had a lot of ripped book pages left, I decided to make the art piece for the shower. This tutorial is a little light on specific pictures, so if there is any confusion, email me!

What you need is an 8 x 8 canvas, an old book, Mod Podge, a foam brush, black craft paint, small paint brush, a small amount of black lace, a button and hot glue.

I started with covering the canvas in book pages the same way I did the serving tray. It's pretty simple; rip pages, then use Mod Podge to stick them on. I searched online and found this quote, "A good book has no ending." by R.D. Cumming. I like the suggestion that a book you love with live on by becoming a part of you.

Now, some day, I might actually own some sort of cutting machine (my dream is a Silhouette!). But for this, I just used black craft paint and a little brush. 

 I like how bold the letters are, and also how there is a little drag from the brush around the edges.

Once the paint is dry, brush on a layer of Mod Podge over the entire surface of the canvas.

To create the flower in the center, I cut out 4 circles from the same book I was using. They can be any size you want, and they don't need to be perfectly round. I free handed mine and they were roughly 3 1/4 in in diameter.

Crumple them up to add some texture.

Smooth them out enough to fold them in half.

Then weave the four folded circles in to one circle.

Use hot glue to secure them together where one folded circle overlaps another.

To help set off the book pages flower from the book pages background, cut two circles from some black lace. The larger circle should be about 5 1/2 inches in diameter, and the smaller circle about 3 1/4 inches in diameter. I know that makes the smaller circle of lace the same size as the paper flower, but we are going to melt it, and that makes it shrink up a bit.

I didn't take any pictures of this next part because I was using both hands to burn stuff, so fire safety took priority over pictures! It's pretty simple, though. Use a lighter or a candle to melt the edges of both lace circles. I also burned the edges of my paper flower. Be VERY CAREFUL during this part. The pages DO CATCH ON FIRE and you need to blow it out so the whole thing doesn't burn away. Again. please be careful!

Now we are to the final assembly! Use hot glue to secure the flower to the center of the canvas. Remember that lace has holes, so put down the glue, then place both the larger lace and the paper flower down over that glob of glue. (Don't try to push down the lace on it's own, like I did... oops.)

Then lay the smaller lace down, add the glue and push the button in the center. And you are done!

I love how this piece turned out! A constant reminder that reading is important,

and the things we read stay with us.

And that's just awesome.

Cotton Candy Hair Accessory Tutorial

Now that you've made the adorable costume, here's now to make the hair accessory.

Cut a circle with about a 6" diameter.(I traced around one of my cereal bowls).

Use a running stitch around the outer edge of the circle to gather. 

Use the small amount of dyed batting you saved out and put in inside the circle.

Pull the gather until the opening is closed. Secure it closed.

Place a button in the center opposite to the opening and hand stitch it in place going all the way through the back. Attach to a hair clip with hot glue.

Add to your costume and it's a complete set!

Pin Cushions!

Today starts the Kid's Clothing Week Challenge. Meet my sewing area where I will be spending at least 1 hour per day making kid's clothes this entire week.

I like how I have it set up so everything is handy. It might seem confining, but it works well and I'm just happy to have it set up all the time and not in the way of anything. I love how it's next to the computer so when I am following a tutorial, what I need is right there.

Here is a quirk of mine. When I  use a new spool of thread, the label on the top ends up peeling up. So I take it off and stick it to the side of my machine. I think I must have cleaned it off at one point, because there are not a lot there.

You should recognize the background here that is my ironing board.  It's where I take a lot of pictures! And this is my vintage pin cushion given to me, with the old pins included, by my mom. I usually pin while standing by the board, so my pin cushion ends up spending a lot of time here.

After I pin, I turn to sew and forget to bring the pin cushion with me. It may be close, but when I am in a sewing groove, I just stick the pins into the pad under the machine. Sometimes, I repeat this process so much that I end up with the majority of my pins here instead of in the cushion where they belong.

My solution: two new pin cushions!

I found the little metal cups at the thrift store for 25 cents a piece. There were 8 of them and now I wish I had bought more than these 2. I could have made more for gifts. They were easy to put together. Just cut 6" diameter circles, run a gather stitch around the edge, gather, stuff and close the opening. Last step is to glue it into the cup with hot glue. Easy-peasy.

But with 2 adorable pin cushions, I can keep one on the ironing board,

and one by the machine,

and just switch them when the machine one gets full. Bring on the sewing challenge! I think I'm ready!

Flower Clips

A woman at my church saw the flower I had made on Pretty's headband on Sunday and asked if I would make some for her to give as part of a baby shower gift. She definitely wanted one just like the pink one she saw, but also wanted a second different one. I made 3 for her to choose from.

The pretty pink one is made with 3 circles cut from a brocade fabric I bought at Joann's with the middle layer flipped to show the pink wrong side.

My personal favorite is the black satin/white lace. If she picks that, I'll have to make another for Pretty (and possibly one for me!)

inspired by craftaholics anonymous.

No Sew ABC Fabric Art

A few months ago, my sister-in-law had a baby boy. I wanted to make her some nursery art and this is what I came up with. 

They were pretty simple to put together. The hardest was coming up with the design. And I kick myself for not keeping it. So, I'm very sorry that to recreate this, you will need to draft your own, but please feel free to try to copy mine as best you can!

What you need:

• 3 - 8 x8 box canvases
• 1/2 yard of background fabric
• fat quarters or scraps for other fabric colors
• Heat N Bond
• iron / ironing board
• glue gun

To start, I drew out my designs and made sure they would fit right by laying them down on the canvas.

Next, I traced the pieces in groups of what color they needed to be on the Heat N Bond. Make sure to trace it backward and to iron it onto the wrong side of the fabric. I cut out pieces as I needed them, that way I didn't lose the tiny buggers.

I cut the background fabric 10 x 10 to ensure  enough overlap.

Next, I cut out and laid the pieces on the background fabric with the canvas behind to make sure I was inside the edges.

When I was happy with the arrangement, I slid the canvas out and ironed on the pieces in layers. Iron on the bottom most pieces first.

Then add the detail pieces on top.

I used hot glue to secure the design to the back of the canvas. Make sure the design is centered. Glue one side, then pull the fabric tight and glue the opposite side.

To glue the top and bottom, I folded it like I would a present, gluing in layers.

My last step was to trim all the fabric inside the wood frame.

"A is for Airplane"

"B is for Boat"

"C is for Car"

I was trying to give the illusion that the airplane and boat where moving.

Disclaimer:
I made these before I was fully aware the amount of detailed pictures a tutorial required, so feel free to ask any questions you have.