Fabric Flower, now what?

Fabric flowers seem to be all the rage. You'll see them on shirts, clustered on headbands, even hanging onto necklaces. There are numberous how-to's if you want to create your own - I just searched "how to make a fabric flower", read a few things, and whipped one up. I folded a long piece of material in half, tied a knot in the end, and then wrapped around the knot, giving a half-twist and dab of fabric glue occasionally. Anyways, I made it to match the dress featured earlier. But now what? I pinned it in my up-do, but I'm not sold on the look. The fabric was pretty thin, which means the flower turned out kind of small. Maybe I should make a couple more and go with the cluster look to beef it up a little. Do you have scraps of material laying around? Go make some fabric flowers - then you can do something fabulous with them and tell me about it so I know what to do with mine.

Another Take-A-Look, XOXOX

I know I was just doing the "take-a-look" once a week on Tuesdays, but I had to let you in on this fun craft so you could get to it in time for Valentine's Decor. Brittany sent this idea and I just LOVE it - so simple, yet so cute. Just cut up a board, finish the edges, paint, and then add Xs and Os (she used vinyl, but you could use paper and mod podge, or just freehand paint them on - lots of possiblities). Check out the how-to HERE at her blog. Big thanks for sharing Brittany, I'm sure lots of us will be trying this one!

Take-A-Look Tuesday

Today is the first of many "Take-A-Look Tuesdays" where I get to show off all the great stuff from YOU, the readers. Keep sending in those pics - we want to see!

To start us off, look at this great wreath! (I don't think this is the exact one Marge created, just one similiar.) I have to admit, I've never made a wreath. But with this cuteness, I just might have to. Just think how perfect this would be for any holiday, just use the right ribbon. With the ribbon above, I'm thinking Valentine's Day - and you've still got a few weeks, so it's perfect timing for a quick wreath project. Go try it!

Big thanks to Marge for sharing! She's super crafty so I'm sure we'll be gazing on more of her fabulous craftiness in weeks to come.

Pattern Adjustments, Evening Dress

Long ago you made your own clothes because it was much cheaper that way. Today I don't really feel that's the case - clothing is so cheap and with clothing sales, and sometimes even without, it would cost the same if not more to make something. So where's the benefit in sewing? I think it's that you get a custom fit - made just for you.

I wanted a dress for our Evening Dinner on our cruise - I found some fabric that I loved (it had a great hang) and used the pattern: Simplicity 3835. I made the dress on the pattern in solid blue but omitted the pockets. Well, it wasn't quite what I thought - I wish I would have taken a picture - it was a bit frumpy. My husband said, "it'd be good for church". It definitely didn't scream "cruise".

And so, the benefit of sewing, I adjusted it. I hacked off the elbow-length sleeves and took in the side seams a lot so it was a more fitted look. It made a world of difference. I didn't get a great picture of the dress, but at least here's something to look at.

The pattern was easy to put together and pretty fun and simple to sew. There was a zipper, if that intimidates you, but it wasn't hard (if I can do it, you can!). I came away not liking how the pattern turned out (which is why I altered it) but when I recently did a quick google search for "Simplicity 3835" and clicked "Image Search results" I saw a lot of cute dresses and it made me want to try again with this pattern, using different fabric. I guess the pattern gets rave reviews - who knew! I might making the one with tie sleeves, and using a contrasting fabric for the neck yoke thing.

Anyways, moral of the story, don't give up if you don't like it - just try adjusting seams, lengths, gathers, etc until you like your results. That's the benefit of sewing - that, and being able to say nonchalantly "oh yes, I made it" while onlookers gaze in amazement.

Skirt Repurpose

I am preparing for a tropical getaway - ahhh. More later on the evening dress quandry. For now, it's beachwear. I realized I didn't have a swimsuit coverup and needed something to wear for upcoming lazy strolls along the ocean. Swimwear is just now making an appearance in the stores, so no coverups are on sale, or clearance, which is how I shop. So I wandered into a very cheap store (I won't even divulge the name so you won't think less of me) and found this skirt on the clearance rack for $2:It's ill-fitting as a skirt but for $2 it was worthy of a repurpose. The material was gauzy and flowy and said "beachy" to me, so I made the purchase.

To get some material to work with, I cut off the skirt below the last strip of lace stuff - I then serged the raw edge. Then with that material that was cut off, I cut 2 strips for straps and serged their edges. Then sewed them on to the top. This whole repurpose was super easy and took about 10-15 (the longest part was trying it on to see where to place the straps and how long to make them).

And voila! Not a stunning coverup, but for $2, it's a go. Warmth and Sunshine, here I come!

Curtain Grommets Tutorial and more!

Remember a few months ago when I made some curtains for my family room? I loved them and after having some friends over for a discussion on window treatments for my kitchen, they had a great ephinony and I moved them into my kitchen, where I love them even more! I painted the walls "young sprout" and am just loving this space!! First, let's recall the old version:

What I referred to as "magic eye" wallpaper that you can't really see in the picture (lucky you), and vertical blinds in lovely mauve covering all the windows (they form a sort of window bay). Yikes. And now the new version:

I know it's not everyone's style taste, but I LOVE it!

And so why grommets?? I wanted something usable - this is a location where curtains are pulled open and closed almost daily, not somewhere where they hang pretty on the sides indefinitely. So function was a must. Easy - also a must. I almost went with curtain clips - in fact I even bought some. But then a friend suggested grommets and I thought they'd be just the look I wanted. But was unsure of the effort. I took the plunge and tried them - SUPER EASY!! I wished I would have discovered grommets years ago - easy and functional - perfect. And you don't need any extra tools (which is what I always assumed).

I forgot to take pictures when I made the grommets for my curtains, so here's a quick tutorial on some scrap material so you can see how simple they really were:

They come with a template - how easy can that get! Just place it where you want the grommet, and draw your circle:

Then cut out the circle. Put the grommet piece with the raised middle edge underneath like so: And then just snap the other grommet piece on top - really, you'll hear/feel a "snap. And voila, done! The raw material edge is hidden inside the grommet. Here's a view from the top. Makes me look I know what I'm doing - grommets just look so finished. A helpful hint - use an even number of grommets - otherwise when you thread the curtain onto your rod, both ends won't curve in (trust me on this one). For a full panel (the whole width of your material) you'll want 8 grommets. For a half panel, 4. I bought mine with my 40% of coupon at JoAnns back by the home decor fabric. So go grab some and fancy up some material you love into curtains - you can do it!

Oh, you're wondering what I did with my family room from which I took the curtains to outfit the kitchen - made more, of course. Here they are:

Much more clean-lines than my former ones that billoughed and puddled on the floor - hiding was about all they were good for:That, and they made for pretty cute dresses. Remember? If not, scroll on down, it was just a post or two ago.

Curtain Repurpose

I finally got around to replacing the curtains that were in our house when we moved in. They were *lovely* as curtains, but made for great holiday-ish dresses for the girls. I used Easy McCalls M5966, and it was easy, especially since I ommitted the zipper in the back (there's no need - since it's a V-neck, it can slip over their head easily). The pattern is a bit big - I made a 3 for my 5 yr old, and it's still a little big. But I thought the dresses turned out cute - I used the hem of the curtain for the bottom of the dress so I didn't have to hem them - a great trick.