starting on the quilt.

One of my goals this year is to make a quilt. I decided it'd be fun to make a quilt for our little one (who will be here in a couple months!). I've been collecting little girl clothes from consignment shops, Goodwill, thrift stores, etc. to put into the quilt. Gently used clothes, fabric pieces, etc. that are too worn in some places, or have a stain here or there, but still perfectly great for using the rest of the fabric.

I've made a  few quilts in the past (including this one for my hubby when we were then dating :)), but am by no means an expert, or expert sewer for that matter. So basically I'm just cutting out rectangular strips -- some 3" wide, some 4" wide, but all are varying lengths. It definitely takes awhile to cut the pieces apart, to work around buttons, seams and such, so I'm doing a little at a time, here and there. We'll see how long it takes :) 

Any tips or ideas from any expert sewers out there? Any recommendations for super sharp scissors? I'm using a Fiskars rotary blade which is working well for the majority of the cutting into pieces. But as for using scissors to take the clothes apart - I'm using Fiskars scissors, and they are definitely not made for lots of fabric cutting. As I'm not sewing a whole lot, I don't want to make a huge investment in cutting tools, but it would be nice to know of some well priced options for where I am at with my sewing :) Any advice is well appreciated! :)

Fabric Covered Buttons

I've heard of people making their own fabric covered buttons and have been looking into figuring out how to make my own. Well, I was at Wal-Mart the other day, looking around in the sewing section and happened upon a little "Fabric Covered Button Making Kit" - Yay! It was less than $2.00 for a kit to make five covered buttons, so I decided to go for it.

I had some fabric scraps on hand and used them to try out the kit. I was amazed at how easy it was. These are SO incredibly easy to make. As in, it took less than one minute to make each! 

All I did was cut out a 1.5"-ish circle of fabric and followed the directions on the back of the package.

 Simple enough. Put the fabric in the little thing-a-ma-jig, then put on the top button part.

Push that down into the white thing-a-ma-jig, then lightly push the fabric towards the middle.

Put the back of the button on, use the blue thing-a-ma-jig and push down to snap into place. 

And voila! A cute little fabric covered button. You could add these to a bag or tote, or maybe to an apron? 

I found these on etsy - they are flatback, so maybe if you used these "flatbacks" they could be used on a scrapbooking page or in a journal?!

If you would rather order a kit online, this shop has kits with 10 buttons to cover for a very reasonable price - or flatback kits here. So fun! :)

DIY :: Vintage Sheet Sketch Journal

I wanted to throw together a super quick journal with blank pages (much like this journal, but with blank pages) that could be used for throwing in a purse, taking along, and using for sketches. I decided to use a vintage sheet (and a vintage button), lined with white fabric for a cover, a button and tie closure, and blank recycled paper pages. This seriously took me about a half hour start to finish (including cutting and pressing the fabric). So it's super quick (read: done during naptime :)). *I am having some camera lens issues right now, some of the images are not the best - my apologies ;)

 Supplies:
+ 9"x12" piece of vintage sheet fabric (or any fabric)
+ 9"x12" piece of white fabric
+ large button
+ 7" piece of decorative ribbon
+ 10 sheets blank recycled computer paper
+ needle and thread
+ sewing machine, scissors (for trimming)
+ butterfly document clips (to hold pages in place while sewing, not pictured)

Begin by sewing the button to the vintage sheet. This way the thread won't show through on the inside cover. Next, pin the sheet to the white fabric, and pin the piece of decorative ribbon opposite and lined up with the button (see picture).

I simply sewed the two pieces together with about a 1/2" seam allowance. I started where the ribbon was pinned to reinforce it.

Sew all around the perimeter and then you have a nice looking little journal shell.

Using the document clips, clip the paper in place, centered on all sides of the fabric shell (sorry for the weird blurry picture!)

I measured in 5.5" and made a couple marks so I would know where to sew down the middle.

Sew down the middle and backstitch on both ends. Trim the extra threads off.

Voila! A quick and easy vintage sheet sketch journal :)

Working On: Valentine Pillow

I shared this pillow cover a looooonnng time ago. So long ago I couldn't even find it in my archives after a quick search ;) Unfortunately, I never finished it and just found it recently at the bottom of my fabric stash. Whoops ;) So I began working on it the other day and am determined to finish it. 

After sewing a red or pink border and white backing fabric, this will be a simple envelope-type enclosure pillow case. No zippers, no buttons (mostly because I still don't know how to sew in a zipper ;)). Just tuck it in and call it done.

Basically, all I did was use a water soluble marker and hand write "love" (which I then stitched with red embroidery floss), and then drew two hearts. One is filled with sewn-on buttons, the other has a patchwork of pink and lovely fabrics sewn on. I will share the finished product in the next couple weeks before Valentine's Day :)

DIY :: Jotter Journal

Today (finally ;)) a tutorial on making these super cute jotter journals. These cuties would make great stocking stuffers for someone who likes to jot notes, or you could fill one up with pictures and words and give as a gift this holiday season. 

Supplies (to make two journals):

+ 1 piece of cardstock, 8.5x11

+ 2 pieces of scrap fabric (I used fabric from some old blouses), slightly larger than 5.5"x8.5"

+ Spray adhesive (permanent)

+ ruler, rotary cutter and cutting mat

+ library card (or other sturdy credit card type card)

+ sewing machine and coordinating thread

+ 8 sheets (for each journal, 16 total) of paper cut to approximately 4.25"x8.5" (I used found papers like graph, ledger, and writing, but you could also use blank computer paper)

+ 2 butterfly binder clips

+ pencil, scissors, newspaper

Begin by cutting the sheet of cardstock in half to 5.5"x8.5".

Outside, or in a well-ventilated area, lay out the newspaper and spray one of the cardstock pieces with the spray adhesive. Be sure to get the edges nice and good so that the fabric doesn't start to peel off. But don't spray too much or the glue will bleed through the fabric, and not dry (I know from experience). I usually wait about 30 seconds for the glue to begin drying before adhering the fabric.

Carefully lay the piece of fabric over the now-sticky piece of cardstock. Smooth out any bubbles with the library card so that it's all nice and flat. Repeat these steps with the other piece of cardstock.

Next, trim off the excess fabric with the ruler and rotary cutter on both journal covers.

 Gather up 8 sheets of the papers and get them all nice and flush.

Fasten them in the middle of the cardstock (see picture below) with the butterfly clips. Then draw a line down the middle (at 4.25" in from each side) using the pencil and ruler. Repeat for the second set of papers and the other journal.

Sew down the middle on the pencil line you just drew. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end. Repeat for the second journal.

 Trim off the excess thread.

Almost done! Now open the journal, fold the cover back, and gather all of the pages together and trim off 1/4" on the edge so they are nice and flush. Repeat for the second journal.

Voila! Two cute jotter journals. Ready for gift-giving or for jotting your own thoughts and ideas.

DIY :: Fabric Scrap Wrapped Frame

I have a bunch of old frames that I've received and found over time. Several of them were just the frame, missing the glass and backing. I knew I could use them for something and am glad to have come up with this idea, thanks to inspiration from this pin. These frames were super easy to make, and took less than 20 minutes start to finish - a perfect "while the babies are napping" project :)

Supplies:

+ old frame - glass and backing removed (I used 4"x6" and 5"x7" frames)

+ fabric scraps in long strips (the longer, the better) - I used 1/2" wide scraps from some fat quarters and a vintage sheet - I tore mine from the fat quarters and sheet - cut a 1/2" slit at one end and then tear - it leaves a great shabby chic edge on your fabric :)

+ 2 pieces of ribbon (1 piece long enough to stretch from one side of the frame to the other- this will be where you clip a picture to, and 1 piece long enough to use for hanging the frame)

+ hot glue gun and gluesticks

+ mini clothespins

Begin by gluing the ribbon to the back of the frame lip, about 1.5" from the top lip. Be sure to pull it and glue it taught. 

Next, put some hot glue in the corner and glue down the wrong side of the fabric (so the right side is showing as you wrap it around the frame).

Begin wrapping the fabric strip around the frame, pulling very taught. Wrap it overlapping each edge so that none of the frame is visible (the corners are kind of tricky, just be patient and keep adjusting as needed - you can also add dabs of hot glue in inconspicuous spots as needed).

If you run out of fabric before you are finished wrapping, hot glue the edge (on the back), cut off any excess and start over with the same fabric.

Continue with the fabric until you would like to switch fabrics (or use one fabric for the whole frame). I used a different fabric for each side of the frame.

Start the new fabric the way you started the first fabric. Be sure to overlap the previous fabric so no part of the frame is visible.

When you come to the part where the ribbon is glued, wrap the fabric right up next to one side and then over and next to the other side to cover up the frame.

Continue until you have wrapped the entire frame.

To hang the frame, hot glue an additional piece of ribbon to the top (on the back of the frame). You could also tie the ribbon to the frame before wrapping the fabric and use the same technique to cover the edges as mentioned above. 

Using the mini clothespins, attach a picture or handwritten thought, quote or Scripture and hang up :) Voila! A super cute scrap fabric covered frame. Great for using up the not-so-nice-looking old frames you have in the basement or attic :) These would also make great gifts :)