Craft: Bandana Apron

A friend and I have always joke about making things out of bandanas. In high school we saw an idea to make bandana skirts. The photo looked cute so we decided to try. Let's just say it didn't work out and we've joked about "the bandana skirt" since.

I saw a picture of a bandana apron and decided I had to make one for her. It was easy and cheap and I thought she'd get a kick out of it.

Supplies: Bandana, ribbon (enough to go around your waist and tie), thread

Cost: under $5

I folded the ends of the ribbon and pinned them.

Then I sewed across the fold so that they ends of the ribbon wouldn't be exposed and fray. I did this to both ends of the ribbon.

Next I folded the ribbon in half and the bandana in half. I matched up the folds (so that the excess ribbon for tying would be even on both sides). I pinned the ribbon to the top edge of the bandana. Make sure to pin the ribbon to the right-side/front of the bandana.

I sewed along the top edge.

Next I sewed along the bottom edge of the ribbon.

The finished apron.

Modeling the apron - not the best picture but it's the best I could do by myself. :-)

PDF Tutorial

Craft: Cheap Cake Stand

I've seen other bloggers make their own cake stand with a parfait glass and a plate so I decided I'd have a go at it.

Supplies: plate, parfait glass (or candle stick, etc.), glass glue (I bought Elmer's glass and china cement)

Cost: $3.98 for the parfait glass/plate, $3.99 for the glue

 

I purchased two plates and two parfait glasses but have only made one cake stand so far. I wanted to make sure that I had the right glue and it worked out.

First I chose which plate and glass to use together. I placed the bottom of the glass on the center of the plate (upside down) and centered the glass.

I used masking tape to mark the center of the plate so I was sure to put the glass in the exact same place after putting glue around the rim.

I removed the glass...

and put the glue around the rim.

Then I placed the glass in the center of the plate using the masking tape as a guide. I removed the tape and cleaned up the edges of glue with a damp paper towel  

(I want to add that we rarely use paper towels - we use cloth napkins and rags for most everything but we do have a roll of paper towels for some craft projects - cleaning up glue, paint spills, etc. :-)

I found something heavy and placed it on top fo the glass. I don't think this step is absolutely necessary but it can't hurt - I did it because I wanted to make sure the glass was pressed as close as it could get to the plate.

I let it dry per the drying guidelines on the glue that I purchased. Once it had dried enough I flipped it over and it looks great!

I can use this to display food when we have company and for holidays. I've also seen cake stands used to display decorative things so I might try that.

Here is a close-up of the top. You can kind of see the glue so next time I think I'll be more careful with cleaning up the edges. It doesn't really matter though - once I put food or decorative things on it no one will even see that part. :-) It might just be one of the things I notice because I made it but no one else does.

PDF Tutorial

Update: PDF tutorials posted

I love when bloggers post a DIY project and include a printable tutorial. I am going to work on making PDF tutorials for all of the projects that I have done unless it is a project where I link to the original tutorial (ex. the felt heart wreath).

I just created PDFs of a few tutorials and will be posting a link to download the PDF at the end of the blog post. I have created and posted PDF tutorials for these projects:

Wedding Date Pillow

Valentine's Day Garland

Valentine's Day Candle Wraps

I'll work on making PDF tutorials for my other projects and will post updates as I put them up. I'm hoping o have a PDF tutorial to post right away with any projects in the future.

Craft: Valentine's Day Wreath

Following this tutorial I made a red felt heart wreath. It was really easy to do but took a while. It didn't take too much concentration so I caught up on tv shows while I made it.

Supplies: 3/4 yard+ of felt, pins, foam heart, scissors, circle template, pen/pencil

I printed a 3'' circle onto card stock and used that as my template. I traced the circle onto the felt and cut out the circles. I used the entire 3/4 yard of felt and wish I had more so I recommend buying a full yard. After using up all of the felt I even cut out a handful of smaller circles from the scraps to help fill in the wreath.

I folded each circle in half and then in half again.

Then I put a pin through the bottom of the felt...

...and pinned it to the foam heart.

I didn't pin in any real order but I made sure to evenly pin pieces around the entire heart.

I had a scrap piece of red ribbon that I used to hang it. I just took the ribbon and pinned it to the back of the wreath.

Then I continued pinning on the felt. I pinned felt around the entire heart - making sure that the front looked the best. There are areas in the back that should have more felt but I'm not too worried about it.

All finished!

I hung it up in our living room.

I've also seen this style of wreath done as a round one for other holidays or general decor. I might make another one to hang up for Christmas or just to have up in general after Valentine's Day is over.

PDF Tutorial

Craft: Wedding Date Pillow

I saw this pillow and fell in love. I wanted it and thought it looked like something I could make myself. This photo has been saved in my always growing "to make" list and I finally got around to making it.

Supplies: Fabric markers (red and black), material (I bought .66 yards and had extra), calendar template, sewing machine, thread, zipper, pillow (12'' by 16'') or stuffing

Cost: $16.12

I already had the zipper. Fabric pens = $1.99 each. Fabric = $6.65. Pillow = $5.49

First I cut the fabric into four pieces.

16 1/2 x 12 1/2

16 1/2 x 6 3/4

16 1/2 x 6 3/4

6 x 6

I had never sucessfully sewn on a zipper before so I did not want the zipper to be at the seam on a side of the pillow. Instead, I decided to sew the zipper in the center of the back so it wouldn't be visible from the front.

I took the two 16 1/2 x 6 3/4 pieces of fabric and put them side by side. I put the zipper in the center and pinned it to one piece of fabric. After sewing the zipper onto that side I put the fabric side by side again and pinned the other side of the zipper to the other piece of fabric and sewed it on.

The zipper turned out okay but could have been better.

The back

The front

Next I sewed the sides next to the zipper together. The back of the pillow is done.

I used microsoft publisher to design a 5'' x 5'' calendar. I did the month and year of our wedding date and put a heart around the day we were married. I printed it off and got ready to trace it onto my 6'' x 6'' piece of fabric.

I taped the fabric over the calendar making sure that the calendar was centered. Then I put the paper/material over the screen of my laptop and started tracing. I opened up a blank document so the entire screen was white - this worked great and it was easy to see what I was tracing with the light from the laptop screen.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to trace the calendar and have it look nice but I was pleasently surprised. I think it turned out great! It isn't exact but it still looks nice.

I folded the edges of the calendar material over 1/2 inch and ironed the edges down. Then I pinned the calendar to the center of the 16 1/2 x 12 1/2 piece of fabric.

I sewed around the edges of the calendar - as close as I could get.

Done with that part!

Now for the final part! I pinned the back (with the zipper) and the front (with the calendar) together - right sides together. I made sure to leave the zipper unzipped so I could turn it right-side out.

I sewed it together.

Flipped it inside out.

Put in the pillow and - ta-da! It's done!

I could not be happier with how it turned out (well maybe the zipper could have been better...)!

I set it on a bench in our living room and I think this is where it will stay.

PDF Tutorial