InspireMe Crafts

Day 13 of 92 Crafty Days of Summer: No-Sew Curtains

"Sewing mends the soul"

For many, sewing may mend the soul, but every time I pull out the sewing machine I usually get myself all worked up and I would probably end up cussing if my little men weren't around. What should take a few minutes takes me hours. I've come to the simple conclusion that me and sewing…we're like oil and water, we just aren't meant to be (boo-hoo). I was desperate for kitchen curtains since that house peeking through the window went up in what seemed like a week. We needed a little privacy…not that we are walking around naked in the kitchen, but to hide me being nosy and constantly looking out the window to see what they are up to ;). Yet, I couldn't find what I wanted in the stores…you see my dilemma!

Luckily, I found some tan and black damask fabric I liked, some tension rods, and some curtain clips. Add them all together and you have some no-sew curtains as long as you cut carefully. I know many who sew (including my mom) are probably saying, "Are you kidding me?! You put up just fabric without hemming the sides or putting backing on?" But for the rest of us DIYers who aren't blessed with sewing skills….the no-sew curtains work out just great.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It…with the Kids: Fabric Heart Valentines

"A friend is someone who knows all about you, and loves you just the same."

You might be wondering why I'm posting a Valentine's craft idea today, February 15^th. Right now your thoughts are trailing off to something like this… "Who is this woman? Duh! Valentine's was yesterday. She is a total mess, at least I know when Valentine's Day is." Well…yes, it is not uncommon for me to be a total mess with my thoughts and projects scattered everywhere, but for once I did have my day's correct. I was just a little behind and figured it is better late than never, right?!

For Lil Man's preschool class we made these fabric heart Valentine's. I'm definitely a novice sewer so no "real" sewing skills needed. A bonus right there! In fact my 3 year old did help with a lot of this. It was not a project that mom just put together and sent to school with her son. However, after about the 5^th one he was losing interest and mom did pick up some slack.

 

 

I started by cutting out a template from a piece of cardboard. Then I traced the template with a marker onto the fabric. I used two different fabrics…one for the front and one for the back. This is where your Lil One can start helping! Let them pick out the fabric. We found the heart fabric together and then we actually had a blue design for the back until Lil Man discovered a new fabric while wondering around in the fabric store singing some crazy song and putting on a show for the shoppers. He came across the red polka dot and said, "Mom! Mom! How about this one?" The best part is this lil kid is a bargain shopper! It was half the price of the original one we had picked out. He's a keeper J.

Once the hearts were cut out from the templates, we took one heart from each design and placed them together with the design sides facing each other and the backs facing out. I used the sewing machine to sew around the heart and leaving an opening at the bottom.

I turned the hearts the right side out through the opening and then lil man started stuffing the hearts like crazy. Prepare for a mess if your lil one is helping J.

Then we cut out some small rectangles from an off-white fabric. Lil Man used some small single letter stamps to stamp "Friend" on some and then his classmate's names on others. This was perfect because he was able to refer to the class list from his teacher to stamp the name. He can write his own name (at least we, his parents, can decipher it), but we are not at the whole alphabet yet. Stamping was a perfect solution to have him really included. We tucked the "Friends" pieces of fabric into the opening and then using a needle and thread we sewed the heart shut and the "Friends" tag on. This was lil man's intro to sewing. With Mom's help, of course, he helped sew a couple of the hearts shut.

Next we cut ribbon and placed the ribbon with the child's name under a button. Sew the button on with the name and ribbon under it and you are set to go! Oh, and then have your child write his/her name on the back or stamp it! Hand out to everyone and enjoy. Of course this could be done any time of year, but Valentine's was perfect. I was surprised at how much Lil Man really likes it. He hung it up right away and is very proud.

Just don't wait until the last minute to do it like me J. Have fun!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Button Christmas Tree Tote

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other".  ~Burton Hillis

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had plenty of yummy food and time with family and friends! Now that my lazy turkey days are coming to an end, it is time for me to break out the Christmas decorations and let the holiday season truly begin. My first Christmas craft project this season is fun, inexpensive, and festive...you can't ask for much more than that! Use this Button Christmas Tree Tote as a gift bag or bring it with you to do all your holiday shopping… or even give it to a child to use as a school bag in December. Head to the store and pick up the following for the project…

MATERIALS:

tote bag
buttons ( I used 9 small, 12 large, 1 star – silver and gold)
thread
ribbon

HOW-TO:

1. Lay out buttons to resemble Christmas tree shape next to tote bag. I used small and large as well as gold and silver buttons.
2. One by one start to sew each button on to the tote in the shape that you laid out next to the tote.
3. Continue until you are done J.
4. Tie a ribbon in a bow and sew to where the handle attaches to the tote.
5. Use your bag as a gift bag or tote it around town.

I'd love to see your finished button tote bags and variations that you come up with! Just email to inspiremecrafts@yahoo.com and we'll share your creativity.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: T-shirt Pillow

"I'm more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal"

 

I'm definitely a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal, but there are only so many t-shirts you can hold on to.  I recently decided to go through my t-shirts to dwindle the mile-high pile of t-shirts accumulating in my closet.  You'd think it would be pretty easy if you just ask yourself these questions about each shirt:

1. When did I wear it last?
2.  Are there holes or stains?
3.  Does it fit?

I didn't find it that easy because even if I haven't worn that t-shirt for 2 years it still provided a memory of a camp, team, or event I took part in. So when Brassy Apple informed me of her summer craft series and saw the first challenge I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do something with at least one t-shirt! I've always loved the idea of the t-shirt quilts, but the amount of time I had and my novice sewing skills just didn't seem like the right match.  So instead, I took a University of Virginia Athletics T-shirt to make my son a pillow. The key was that his favorite basketball player signed the shirt on the back top, so I couldn't leave that part out :).  So instead of making  a normal square or rectangle pillow, I went with a 'real' t-shirt pillow...arms and everything!

Here's what you need to gather up:

1.  T-Shirt
2.  Sewing machine, thread, scissors, pins
3.  Pillow Stuffing

To get started:

1.  Turn your t-shirt inside out.  Place the pins as needed to get you started on the bottom of the shirt.  I folded the bottom of my t-shirt up so that it wouldn't be too long.

 

2.  Start sewing.  :)  Straight stitch along the bottom. 

 

3.  Turn the shirt right-side out.  You'll now have the bottom of the shirt sewn together with no stitches showing. 

 

4.  Sew each arm sleeve shut with a straight stitch along the seams of the shirt.

  

5.  Stuff that shirt full of pillow stuffing.  Then place pins along the neck line.  Sew a straight stitch along with current seams of the neckline.

6.  Voila!  All done. 

 

7.  Give to your Lil Man and let him enjoy! 

 

I'm always excited when Lil Man is truly ecstatic about one of my projects for him.  He loves this pillow and immediately put it to use.  And I must say, that this pillow might get used by me when the hubby is out of town.  I gave it a nice hug and it was almost like I was getting a hug back.  Not quite as good as the real thing, but definitely better than an empty bed. 

You can go to Brassy Apple on Wednesday, June 3rd  to check out all the other ideas from the T-Shirt Challenge.  I can't wait to see what people come up with! 

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!