It's FUN to craft!: March 2010

A little bit of Sass

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

I just love a little sassiness. So I was definitely intrigued when I saw Sassy Style.

Even their button is adorable! I am fairly new to their blog but have been pretty impressed. They have some really cute ideas on there. One of my recent favorites was when she painted her entryway. Way to change up a drab white entryway.

I think this one "spoke" to me because I used to paint just for fun with a friend I worked with in college. We redid a bunch of rooms together. We both were anxious to decorate and neither of us lived in places that would allow us to paint. So to get our painting fix, we would decorate a coworker's house. We used a bagging technique with just regular wall paint and a grocery bag as our medium. It was fun and the look was fantastic. I also helped my mom do this to one of her bathrooms. Maybe I will have to post some pics of it sometime when I go visit her. It is a great way to give a little bit of something to your room. Sassy Style used a rag which is a technique I have heard of but not yet tried. It is a great way to create a little different look. I love it. It reminds of a Tuscan style or something. Very chic!

They also have these very cute carrots for Easter. Love those!

And probably one of my favorite "new" craft ideas out on the web lately, is these darling covered books. Sassy style's are no exception!! They turned out just FaBulOus. What a fun way to spice up your decor and make it just a bit sassy! Go check out this darling blog!

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OBG Kickoff

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I will admit. I am not really up on all of the texting and IM (instant messaging) terms. I don't have a tween and I do IM but I will confess that it was the "new" thing when I started college. But since I am an avid abbreviator at heart, I do like the "idk" or "hagtd" of the texting worlds. ("I don't know" and "Have a great day" if anyone was really wondering.)

When I started doing this blog, I definitely was not new to crafting. Just like many of you, my personal family blog was being taken over at times by my crafting world. Plus, I thought it would be fun to have a completely different blog where I didn't always focus on poop, napping and entertaining my crazy kiddos. So I have a TON of projects on my personal blog that I really would like to put out "there." I will tell you right up front, these are not necessarily my ideas. Usually they were craft inspired, but not always. If I have a link to help you out with a tutorial or further clarification, I will put that on there. But I did craft these and since this is a public "journal" so to speak of my crafts, I want these on here too. If it inspires someone, to go back to one of these, then that is awesome too! So I think I will refer to these types of posts as "Oldies but Goodies" (hence the OBG in the title).

We headed off to Arizona for Spring Break and while we were there, I spied a few past things I had given my Mother-in-Law. One of these I thought would be perfect for an OBG post. I gave t his to her a few years ago and this was actually my idea...although I am sure others have done it too!I don't know if everyone has heard of this site or not, but most probably have. Wordle is a really cool site! We wrote down a bunch of words that we felt described my mother in law, including a few nicknames my hubby has for her. We typed them into wordle and adjusted the color to match the scrapbook paper and cardstock we had chosen for her. We adjusted the size and printed it out from the computer. Then we matted it onto cardstock and matted that onto the scrapbook paper. Then we used a simple black frame to frame it all. It turned out really nice and my MIL really enjoyed it. This could be a really fun thing for kids for their bedroom decor or even for a baby's room. You could even do words from nursery rhymes or favorite books. If you didn't want it framed, you could also do something similar with vinyl on the wall. You can also use all different colors, we just used different shades of purple to match the paper we had. I tend to try to come up with more thought provoking type gifts if I can be creative enough! I think this one was a great way to express the characteristics we recognize and attribute to my MIL. I would love to know if any of you have created anything fun from Wordle. Put a link to your post in a comment or email me pictures. I would love to feature them. Now, go create something new or something old-inspired.

Linked up at:
Silly Little Sparrow, A Soft Place to Land, Today's Creative Blog

Felt Flowers {Big Petals}

Monday, March 29, 2010

I am a HUGE fan of felt flowers lately. I have made quite a few for my little girl and when I saw this idea on DIY Dish, I knew I was all about making it for me too! If you haven't seen their site, seriously, go check it out. They have some great episodes and they just barely started so you don't have too much great craftiness that you need to catch up on!
Print out their great pattern for the flowers. I have also seen a great one a long time ago that is a little simliar at Yoonie at Home's. Cut out two of the largest size flowers.
This is what it looks like just flat without sewing, which I think actually looks pretty gorgeous! I ended up doing my flower with only 5 of the layers too. I took off the smallest one because I just thought it looked great without it.
Fold the hearts in half. You are going to sew at the bottom of them. I did this one with a machine to see if it was easier. I don't really know if it is or not. You can also just sew it by hand using a needle and thread.
Stitch forward and back a few stitches on each "heart."
Then your flower starts to "pop" and look more realistic.
This is what the back looks like. Continue with the rest of the flowers in the same fashion.
Then just sew through all of the layers after you line them up so their petals are opposite the one below it.
Then I snipped two little parts in the back to put a clip in place. I used some hot glue to keep it there so it didn't fall out. Then I ripped a piece of satin into a little shred and rolled it into a ball with my fingers. I sewed that onto the smallest flower to create a center. It was SO easy. Seriously, anyone can do this. I helped my friend who has hardly sewn at all make one of these and I helped teach a group of 8-11 year old girls make these too. A great craft for anyone! Plus, you can use this in your hair alone, put it on a headband, beautify a bag or purse, clip it onto a belt or on a pillow or blanket or shower curtain...anything goes! You could also make a bunch of these and attach them to a "stem" to create a beautiful bouquet of flowers that won't wilt! So cute and I have one in pink and another in black that are TOO fun! Any color is beautiful! For those, I added 3 little pompoms (7mm in size) to create a flower center but you could also use jewels, beads, pearls or another fun embellishment.

Spring has Sprung #3

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Write a creative post...really anything pretty much goes. I am easy going! Then link up your specific post not your main blog url. Snag a button and get the word out that 'Spring has Sprung' at Fun to Craft by putting it in your post. That way people know where you are partying!

You can share your fabulous ideas with others all over the web and go check out some other fabulous bloggers and get some great ideas yourself! Oh, and be sure to come back here the next week to see if your idea has been featured!

Make sure you visit some of the other great crafters too and give them some comment love. It always makes it worth your blogging efforts when people stop by and tell you how much they love you!!

Friday Fun!

Three fun parties you don't want to miss!!

I am new to these:

Amazing Crafters!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this week's Spring has Sprung. I was SOOOO excited to have so amazing projects linked up. There were so many great tips, ideas and crafts! Here are the projects I am featuring:

I love this Easter Countdown at eighteen25. I am such a sucker for a great tradition for holidays. This one is going to be so fun to implement with my family. Such a great idea!Peppertowne is such a fun blog and has some amazing redos. This dresser is definitely no exception.Cap Creations has these beautiful silk dyed eggs. I haven't tried this technique but she makes it look easy!
Mom of Two Boys has some elegant Spring decor. I love all of it. My favorite though is probably this framed bunny.
Maybe it is the list maker in me, but I just loved this book by Dilly Dally and Flitter. Such a great way to reuse too.
And what would a party be like without food....so I had to add these darling little chicks by Created by Diane. I just love them!

Anyone who was featured, please go ahead and grab one of my featured buttons below and put it on your blog.

Please join in the next Spring has Sprung party Friday here at Fun to Craft!!

Pillow Patterns

When I started the Sewing Tip Series, I mentioned it was because of a chat I had with a friend while we were making some fun pillows for her new bedroom set. I had been wanting to post just how stinkin' cute they turned out but wanted to wait until she posted them on her blog first. Don't want to steal anybody's thunder, you know what I mean? But I love, love how it all turned out together. I begged her to let me post them on here too so you could all see how great they are!

She bought a white duvet cover at a Pottery Barn Outlet (oh, how I wish I lived close to one of those!!). It has these pink embroidered circles all on the edge of it. So cute! And a complete STEAL at $30 for a California King. Yeah, can't usually even get a twin size for that price!!She found this amazing hot pink linen fabric at a store that matched perfectly. That is where the bedroom set started. She decided to make pillow shams with that fabric. She is not really a fan of patterns so that is where I joined in the party. I helped her come up with a pattern for the shams. We used this Flanged Pillow Sham as a basis for our pattern. We added some interfacing to the edges of the shams since the linen tends to be a very floppy type of fabric. They turned out so cute and are the perfect accent to her duvet cover. Then as not to alienate her hubby in an all pink room, she wanted to add some other colors to "man it up" a bit.

She found this fabulous fabric at Hobby Lobby. I think it is fabulous too because I had actually used it to redo my ironing board cover. (Great minds must think alike!!) She had been wanting to have some orange in her room but with that accent fabric, it just didn't look like it was going to turn out the way she hoped. We took that fabric to a store in town and began the search for some other cute fabrics to be excited about. We found the black and white stripe right off the bat and we both loved it! We knew it would be perfect to make Amy Butler's free Hourglass Pillow Pattern. I just love how it turned out. So fun and flirty yet a bit mannish for the man in your life! Plus it matched her bedding which was totally perfect!She needed a few more pillows to add to her bed. She designed this one how she wanted it with the ribbon and buttons across it. I helped out with the actual construction. Here is how to make a pillowcase to fit over your pillow form. The kind we made overlaps in the back so you can easily remove it to be washed. First, check what the package says for your pillow form's width and length. Take the length and divide it in half and add 4 inches to determine how long you need to cut both back pieces. For example, if your pillow was 20 inches long, you should make each back piece 14 inches long to allow for overlapping plus 1/4" for seam allowances. Then cut your front piece the width and length of your pillow form plus 1/4" for seam allowances on all sides. Cut your fabric out. Take your two back pieces and put them right sides together with the front piece. Make sure your outside seams line up and put the "extra" in the center of the pillowcase for the overlap. Then just sew around all of the seams 1/4". Turn it all right sides out and you have a pillowcase that can easily be removed. It is SO easy and fast!
This is a picture my friend took of her bed. She is still working on a few pillowcases for the main pillows to help prop it all up more. We also made the rolled pillow that is on the bed. We basically just took fabric and cut it the length of the pillow form and then wrapped it around until we had enough overlap for a seam. We sewed it right sides together with an opening and flipped it back out so the seam was on the inside. Then we pinned and sewed the circles on each ends. Then we hand stitched the opening shut. Pretty easy and we didn't have a pattern to follow.

She bought the bedskirt but couldn't find one that matched exactly. So she just bought a white one and sewed a pink ribbon on the edge. Turned out fabulous!!

Just goes to show that you can create pillows for any room on a budget. It is so easy to make them and allows you to match any decor that you want!

Linked up at:
Shabby Chic Cottage

New Digi Site

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

For any of those new to digi scrapbooking or just looking for a new fun site, I just came upon Lettering Delights. I added a button to the left side of my blog for it too or you can click below on the picture. It is a GREAT site. You can sign up for a free account and for their newsletter and you will get a TON of free fonts and other digi goodies! I highly recommend it. I just did over the weekend and was really surprised at how good their freebies were!! PLUS, right now it is dollar days there. They have so many cute things that are only $1 (I think there are over 3000 items!!) I spent WAY too long looking through them over the weekend. Plus, they have tons of graphics/fonts that you can use with Make the Cut and cut out on your Cricut or other cutting machine. Anyone thinking vinyl or fabric projects?? Maybe even throw in a cute card or two??! I am SO excited to make some fun stuff. No worries, I will share the cute stuff I make...but if you want to get in on it too, go check them out. Plus, its free!!

Easter Fun

I have seen some darling ideas out there for Easter decor. But I think that two of my faves have to be these:They also happen to be from the same crafter over at Cinnaberry Suite. She has some VERY cute ideas on her blog. I have been loving it ever since I found it. Go over and check her out!!

Singed Flower and a Headband

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Some of you may have seen the "singed flowers" floating around the web. I know the first place I saw it was over at Little Birdie Secrets. They are just gorgeous. I kept thinking I wanted to make some but never had the fabric. Or at least that is what I thought! I was going through my fabric stash the other day, and found the right kind of fabric. Guess I should have done it sooner!! Mine is just a satin fabric that I got in the remnants section awhile back.Cut out some circles or flower shapes. The perfectionist in me comes out and I actually had to make circles from random things I found in my kitchen and use those as a pattern to cut the shapes out. You can just freehand it though. Because honestly, you can't tell the difference once you singe the edges! I had 4 circles that were 3 inches, 2 1/2 inches, 2 inches and 1 1/2 inches. If I did it again, I think I might even do a 3 1/2 or 4 inch one.Then just singe the edges carefully with a match or lighter. Try not to burn yourself. I usually do okay but I must admit, I did get myself a few times with this one. Then layer them inside of each other just to make sure you like the look and that they all fit okay in one another.I wanted to add a little sparkle to mine so I decided to sew some sequins in it. Just knot some thread, and pull it up through all of the layers in the center. String on a sequin and pull your thread all the way through and then back down into the flowers to hold it in place. Repeat for however many sequins you want.Then I added a circle of felt and a clip using the hot glue gun.I bought a 6 pack of headbands from the $1 store with the intent of covering them. I snagged a bright yellow with silver accents that was "oh so not me" to cover. I just folded the ribbon up over the end and started wrapping it tightly around it. I used the hot glue gun again mostly because it was fast and easy! By the way, the ribbon is 5/8" wide. I am sure you could use other widths but that is just what I had on hand.Then you can wear the headband by itself or with the singed flower as an accent. It really does make the perfect hair accessory. I love it!