7 Layer Studio

PILLOW PACKS for Kids on the Go

Anybody out there traveling with kids for Thanksgiving or Christmas? 

Well, have I got the ideal pattern for you!  Actually, it's for your kids...

It's a soft and comfy pillow on one side,

and a handy storage case on the other side with room for a few books and a separate pocket for markers, pencils, and/or other small treasures.

The pattern includes 2 different closure options for the pockets.

The Pillow Packs are 13" square so they're not too bulky for the airplane or a crowded car, and the pillow form can easily be slipped out whenever you need to wash the case.  The ribbon strap is designed to slip over a child's shoulder or adult's forearm with ease.  It's super easy to sew, and very "fat quarter friendly" (meaning you can make the whole thing with 4 fabrics measuring 18" x 22" = fat quarters). 

So where can you buy this handy new downloadable pattern?

Yes, you guessed it!  Right on over at the H.O.P.E. shop site for the very reasonable price of $5.  And all of your money will go directly to the orphans of Bulgaria through One Heart Bulgaria.  So please click on over to the H.O.P.E. shop and download your pattern today! 

Moms and Grandmas, you know this would be a perfect thing to make for your kids/grandkids!  Thanks in advance for your support of the orphans!

 

My Mega Giveaway + Quilt Raffle for orphans

Remember the Create H.O.P.E. Designs website dedicated to raising money for orphans?  Well, this week I'm very happy to be the featured designer! I'm giving away LOTS of things to promote awareness of the H.O.P.E. site and to raise money for One Heart Bulgaria through the raffle of my quilt you see pictured here.

Here's how it works:  For a chance to win my quilt, click on the H.O.P.E. shop link and you'll get 5 entries for every downloadable pattern of mine you buy.  Right now there are only 2 of my patterns available (my Huggable Slug and Hazel Skirt), but I hope to get at least 1 quilt pattern up before the end of the raffle. 

You'll get 3 entries per pattern for buying any other pattern available in their shop.

AND, if you make a drawstring bag for my Sewing For Orphans project (see sidebar), you'll get 5 entries per bag!   More details are available on the H.O.P.E site, please check it out!

The quilt raffle is a fundraiser, so even if you don't sew but would like a chance to win the quilt, please just buy a downloadable pattern (or more than one!) and you'll be entered.  You can choose to print out the pattern or not...perhaps there's someone else in your life who could use it if you don't want it, or save paper and don't print it out at all.  The important thing is that we raise lots of money for the orphans!  And please remember, nobody earns any money from these patterns - 100% goes to the orphans.

We're hoping to raise enough money to fund the sewing education program for the teenage orphan girls, so they can learn a useful life skill to earn a living after aging out of the orphanage instead of turning to prostitution, drugs, and gangs.  The girls in the sewing program provide bedding, curtains, bags, and fabric toys for other orphanages as well, so it really is an extremely beneficial endeavor all the way around. 

We're also hoping to help fund a Grandmother position for an orphanage with infants and young children, so these beautiful babies can experience the loving hugs and interactions with an "adopted" grandmother instead of being warehoused in jail-like conditions with almost no adult interaction for the first several years of life.

In addition to the quilt raffle, I'm giving away:

The red bag from my Infinity Tote pattern;

THREE different sets of 3 of my hard-copy patterns (your choice which of the 7 patterns you prefer...see my sidebar for all of them);

TWO YARDS of my fabric, mix-n-match or all one fabric, your choice of color and design(s) ... with 1/3 yard minimum cuts so the maximum different prints you would get would be six...does that make sense?  You can click on the Garden Club button in my sidebar to see all of my fabric.

PLUS they're giving away a $50 gift card to The Fat Quarter Shop!

Please click on the H.O.P.E. site to learn all the details about how to enter the giveaways and the raffle - it's all handled over there, I'm just telling you about it.

So, if you haven't already, get clicking and see how you can enter!  We're trying to get the word out to as many people as possible, so Tweet, FB, and whatever else you all do with your smart phones (I wonder if I'll ever get one of those?) as much as you can!

Thousands of orphans are counting on you.  :-)

 

Buttons & Ruffles Pillow Tutorial

You might be thinking, "Too many buttons....I'm not taking the time to sew all those on!"

But wait!  I have an exciting new method to secure all those shank buttons, so you'll never be afraid to button-ify a pillow again....

To make this pillow, start by cutting 3 black rectangles:  2 @ 15" x 8.5" and 1 @ 15" x 5".  These are the sides and center of the pillow.

For the ruffles, cut 2 strips of contrasting fabric (I used cream) @ 3.5" x 35"

For the accent trim on ruffles, cut 2 strips of fabric @ 1.5" x 35"  NOTE:  If you want the accent strip to be wider, cut 2 strips @ 2" x 35".

You'll need a piece of stiff, fusible interfacing (I like Pellon Decorbond #809) cut @ 4.5" x 14.5" to stabilize the center panel prior to attaching buttons.

Also needed:  Lots of fabric-covered buttons with shanks, and 2 strips of ribbon 15" long each....and a hot glue gun.

1)  Use 1/4" for all seams in this project.  Stitch the accent trim, with right sides facing, along one side of each ruffle strip. 

Press seam toward accent fabric.  With wrong side facing up, turn under 1/4" of the raw, unsewn edge of accent strip. 

Then fold strip in half lengthwise to completely hide the original seam, which is pressed away from ruffle.  Stitch close to original seam to secure the folded edges of accent fabric.  Press well.

2)  Create gathers in ruffle strip by using basting stitch on machine.  Pull the bobbin thread to gather fabric sufficiently to fit along the 15" measurement of the black side pieces.

Place gathered ruffle strip, FACE UP (as opposed to right sides facing) on top of the face up side piece.  Arrange gathers to fit, pin, and stitch in place.  Repeat with other side.  Gently flatten the ruffles a bit with your hot iron to create creases in the ruffles.

3)  Fuse the interfacing on the backside of center piece, leaving 1/4" on all sides free of interfacing.

4)  Place the center piece, face down, on top of one side of the ruffle+side piece.  Pin and stitch together, then press the seam toward center.  Repeat with other ruffle+side piece.

5)  Stitch ribbon in place on both sides of center, sewing both long edges of each ribbon.

6)  Place the fabric covered buttons where you want them to go, leaving at least 1.5" on top and bottom without buttons or you'll have a hard time trying to sew the pillow together later on. 

Use a marker or fabric pencil and carefully put a dot beneath each button where the shank touches the fabric.

Moving one button at a time, carefully poke through the fabric+interfacing at each marked dot with a tiny Xacto knife or other very small, poky tool.  If the hole/slit is too big, you'll struggle later on.  Gently push/coax the shank of the button through the fabric+interfacing.  If the hole is small, the button will stay in place for now.

7)  When all buttons are pushed through, carefully turn fabric over to access all the shanks poking through the backside.

8)  Using a hot glue gun, squirt a small but generous blob of hot glue around each shank, making sure that the glue oozes inside the little loop of the shank to hold it in place and keep the fabric from fraying around the hole.  Let harden thoroughly.

9)  Stitch the raw ends of the ruffle in place in all 4 places.

10)  For the backing, cut 2 rectangles that are the same height as the pillow front (15") but the width is determined by adding about 3" to whatever the half point is on the pillow.  In this case, the pillow front is 15" high x 21.5" wide.  I cut 2 rectangles at 15" x 14" (14 = 11 + 3).

Press under 1/4" of one of the 15" edges on each rectangle.  Press under again to hide the raw edges.  Stitch along that "hem".

Place pillow front face up on table.  Place the 2 rectangles face down, aligning outer raw edges so that there is about a 3" overlap over the middle of the pillow.  Pin in place all around outer edge of pillow.

Stitch 1/4" all the way around, clip corners to reduce bulk.  Turn right side out, press edges.  Insert pillow form and you're done!

Tutorial for Buttons-in-the-Trees Pillow

This pillow is easier than it looks, with my method of attaching the buttons without ANY sewing!  If you're like me, you don't relish the thought of sewing on tons of shank buttons...but now you don't have to.

Start with a fabric that has about a 2" to 3" repeat.  The awesome fabric you see above is called "Ghastly Forest" by Alexander Henry.  They have the best Halloween collection this year!   Since I used the small, pale blue pillow form from IKEA (only $1.99!) my square was cut at 13.5".

Cut a piece of heavy, fusible interfacing that is 1/2" smaller in length and width than your square (Pellon Decorbond #809 is my favorite).  Fuse interfacing to backside of fabric, leaving 1/4" border around all edges of fabric without interfacing (to reduce bulk when sewn together).

Place the fabric covered buttons where you want them to go, leaving at least 2.5" with no buttons all the way around or you'll have a terrible time trying to sew the pillow together later on.  I used 2 different sizes of buttons and alternated them in rows.

Use a marker or fabric pencil and carefully put a dot beneath each button where the shank touches the fabric.

Moving one button at a time, carefully poke through the fabric+interfacing at each marked dot with a tiny Xacto knife or other very small, poky tool.  If the hole/slit is too big, you'll struggle later on.  Gently push/coax the shank of the button through the fabric+interfacing.  If the hole is small, the button will stay in place for now.

When all buttons are pushed through, carefully turn fabric over to access all the shanks poking through the backside.

Using a hot glue gun, squirt a small but generous blob of hot glue around each shank, making sure that the glue oozes inside the little loop of the shank to hold it in place and keep the fabric from fraying around the hole.  Let harden thoroughly.

Cut 2 strips of border fabric which are 1.5" wide.  Stitch to sides, press, and trim.

Add 2 more strips to top and bottom of pillow.  Press and trim.

For the backing, cut 2 rectangles that are the same width as the pillow front but the length is determined by adding about 3" to whatever the half point is on the pillow.  In this case, the pillow front is a 15" square.  I cut 2 rectangles at 15" x 11" (11 = 8 + 3).

Press under 1/4" of one of the 15" edges on each rectangle.  Press under again to hide the raw edges.  Stitch along that "hem".

Place pillow front face up on table.  Place the 2 rectangles face down, aligning outer raw edges so that there is about a 3" overlap over the middle of the pillow.  Pin in place all around outer edge of pillow.

Stitch 1/4" all the way around, clip corners to reduce bulk.  Turn right side out, press edges.

To create flange, "stitch in the ditch" all the way around the pillow where the border meets the main fabric.  Insert pillow form and you now have one very cute pillow!

Disclaimer: this is where I need to write about not having this pillow in a baby crib or within reach of a small child, due to the very remote chance that the buttons could come loose and be a choking hazard.  But you already knew that, right?  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Scrap-Busting Strip-Pieced Pillow Tutorial

I'm not sure what I had more fun doing....making the Crazy Triangle Quilt (you can peek at it here, but I'm still working on the pattern) or making use of all the leftover strips of fabric afterwards!

They're beautiful even just sitting in the trash can...but I didn't actually throw very many of my awesome Halloween fabric scraps away.

I used the tiny scraps to cover buttons for different pillows....

 

and I promise I'll post tutorials for these cuties soon.

 

For this one I sewed long strips together and then cut the strips into triangles, which I pieced together into a whats-its-called-agon.  Not a pentagon, not an octagon, but a hexagon...and yes, I had to look that up to make sure.  :-) 

Again, a future tutorial-to-be.

In case you hadn't guessed, I have had a LOT of fun playing with these strip scraps!

But I'm getting way ahead of myself....

 

Time to start the instructions for the pillow in above photo.

Gather your strip scraps and organize them according to width.  I used strips which were 2" and 1.5" wide.  The width can vary quite a bit, this is just what I had on hand. If you have super long strips, cut them into rectangles varying from 2" to 10".

As shown in photo above, start pairing up the strips which are the same width and run them through your machine, one pair after the other, without stopping to cut the threads in between.  Use a 1/4" seam throughout this project.  Try to pair contrasting fabrics for best results.

Clip the paired strips apart and repeat process of pairing the new groupings together, repeating until you have ended up with one big, giant strip.  Press seams to one side.

Repeat process with other strip widths.

Decide how big you need your pillow to be, and cut all the big long strips into shorter sections that are that measurement + 1/2" (for seam allowances).

(I apologize for a lack of step-by-step photos for this, by the way...I really thought I had taken more pictures along the way but apparently not.)

Arrange the strips however you would like, paying attention to the most dominant fabrics and making sure that they are spaced the way you would like.  Stitch the strips together until you have enough to create the dimension you're aiming for, + 1/2" for seam allowances.  In this case, I made a square.

If you would like a flanged border around the pillow as I have done, sew 2 strips on either side, press toward outside and trim even with pieced square.  Then sew 2 more strips on the other two sides, repeating the pressing and edge trimming.

For the back of the pillow, either use a zipper closure (not shown) or do what I have done with the two pieces of backing fabric:

Cut 2 rectangles that are the same width as the pillow front but the length is determined by adding about 3" to whatever the half point is on the pillow.  In this case, the pillow front is a 15" square.  I cut 2 rectangles at 15" x 11" (11 = 8 + 3).

Press under 1/4" of one of the 15" edges on each rectangle.  Press under again to hide the raw edges.  Stitch along that "hem".

Place pillow front face up on table.  Place the 2 rectangles face down, aligning outer raw edges so that there is about a 3" overlap over the middle of the pillow.  Pin in place all around outer edge of pillow.

Stitch 1/4" all the way around, clip corners to reduce bulk.  Turn right side out, press edges.  If no flange is wanted, insert pillow form now. 

 

 

If you're sewing a flanged edge (like mine), "stitch in the ditch" all the way around the dark border fabric.  Insert pillow form.  And now you're done!

Spiky Pompom Namecard Tutorial

As promised, here are the instructions for this quick and easy plate centerpiece/name card holder!

Start with 4 smallish rectangles of tissue paper.  These are about 9" x 12".  Use all the same color, or alternate colors in the stack.

Stack the tissue layers, then fold in half lengthwise.  Using large scissors, cut narrow slits into the unfolded side, leaving about an inch of uncut tissue on the folded side.

Holding the folded tissue so that the fringe can hang down freely, carefully roll up the pompom along the uncut, folded edge.  Tape the end so it doesn't unroll, shake it a bit and then put the base of the pompom inside an egg cup or small vase. 

To make the name card, cut out 2 flower shapes with a die-cut tool and glue or tape them back-to-back with the petals offset.  Write the name on a circle shape and attach to flower.  Insert a toothpick up between the 2 flower shapes and then insert into pompom.  And that's it!  Much easier than pie.

Tutorial for Wooden Disc Christmas Ornaments

 

These little ditties were created in an effort to make small wooden/ribbon ornaments with the same Handel's Messiah theme which I used for the large tree at the DC Temple Visitor's Center.

The phrase boards for the Temple tree were very big (10" across for the jagged-edged ones and 7.25" across for the Hallelujah ones).  This size is too large for the typical 6 or 7 foot tree...the 10" ones especially, but they would also look great as a little wall or door hanging, or part of a wreath arrangement.  Hmmm...I see a new wreath in my Christmas collection this year...

 

If you would like the PDF files for the phrases in the rectangle format, click on the desired phrase link at the very end of this post. The wooden boards with the jagged edges were purchased at Michaels, by the way.  The smaller rectangles were also purchased there, and they came in a pack of 6.

The method for attaching the image to the wood is the same for all sizes and shapes, so even though these little ones look quite a bit different with all the ribbon, it's the same decoupage technique for all of them.

 
 
I even created the same phrases in two different font styles - a loopy, calligraphic formal style and the clean and contemporary look you see above.

 

 

Okay, time to get down to business:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Little wooden discs in circle and/or oval shapes, approx. 3" (I bought mine at Michaels, 29 cents each)

Printed copies of my PDF files (there are 4 circle designs and 6 oval designs in each font):

Download Small circles and 2 ovals (loopy, formal style)

Download Small circles and ovals contemporary (contemporary style) 

Download Small ovals contemporary and traditional (the remaining ovals in both fonts)

NOTE:  Many home printers use ink that will smear when wet (like mine).  If so, I recommend printing these at a commercial printer or, if you use your home printer, allow ink to dry at least 2 days before attempting this project.

Modpodge (mat finish) and an inexpensive chip brush and small bowl to hold the Modpodge

Clear glitter and small tray/box lid to catch the glitter

Ribbon in various widths (the lengths needed depend on how you choose to design your ornament...see instructions for a general idea)

Cardstock paper for back of ornaments

Hot glue gun (craft glue not recommended = takes too long to dry)

 
1)  For each ornament, you will need to trace the circle or oval shape onto the cardstock and cut out the shape slightly smaller than the wood.

Pour the Modpodge into the little dish and lay down a paper towel or piece of cardstock as a work surface.

 
2)  Each image is printed with some "wiggle room" in case the sizes of the wooden discs vary.  To ensure that the wording will be centered on your disc, place image on top of disc and hold up to a light source.  You will be able to center the words using the shadow of the disk shape as a guide.  Hold paper in place firmly with one hand, and use the thumb of your other hand to create a crease all the way around the disc.

 

 3)  Holding disc in your hand, coat top side of wood with a thick coat of Modpodge.  Place paper on top, flipping upside down to more easily see that the wood is lining up with the crease all around the edge of the shape.

Place right side up onto the paper towel, give the paper a careful rub to adhere it to the wood, and quickly brush Modpodge over the top of the paper.  If your ink is the smear-able kind, brush as little as possible so the red ink doesn't bleed all over the place.  If bleeding occurs, you can minimize it by gently blotting with a paper towel.

Set aside to dry completely.

 
4) When paper is completely dry, turn upside down and trim away excess with a sharp Xacto knife.  I discovered that it is easier to cut when disc is on top of folded cardstock than on a paper towel, as is pictured here.

 

 
5)  Coat top and sides of disc with Modpodge, and place face down into tray of glitter.

Set aside and allow to dry completely.  When dry, brush off excess glitter.

 
6)  Cut ribbon in desired lengths and numbers.  You will need a skinny ribbon for the hanger, about 8 inches long.  The circles will need 6 or 8 of each variety of ribbon.  The ovals should have 8 of each ribbon variety.  In this example, the silver ribbon is about an inch long and the red ribbon is about 2.5" long.  Each ornament is unique, there is no set formula for making these.  That's the fun of it - designing each one to be one of a kind!

 

 7)  Glue the first set of ribbons on the backside, doing 1 or 2 at a time because the hot glue hardens so quickly.  Try to get the ribbon pieces to align with the one opposite, as if there were 3 ribbons instead of six.  I always start at the top (12:00 position) and then do the bottom one (6:00 position).  Then I place the 2 on the right hand side and finally the 2 on the left hand side.

Using 8 ribbons is easier because you can do the 12:00 + 6:00, then the 9:00 + 3:00 and fill in with the final 4 pieces centered in the 4 gaps.

 
8)  Glue the second set of ribbons in the gaps.  This ribbon has dots on one side, it's glued face down.

 
9)  If you want to create loops in the ribbon, fold them over and glue them now.  An alternative method is to hot-glue the loops together first before attaching to the disc.

Glue the skinny ribbon to the top of the ornament.

 
10)  Glue the cardstock shape over the back to hide all the uglies...and that's it!

 
Happy Happy Joy.

Here are the PDFs for the large rectangular phrase boards:

Download Hallelujah!

Download A Child is Born

Download A Son is Given

Download Forever and Ever

Download Glory to God 

Download King of Kings

Download Lord of Lords

Download Prince of Peace

Download The Everlasting Father

Download The Mighty God

Download Wonderful 

Download Counselor

 

Tutorial for Christmas Ornament spheres

 

I'm really proud of myself that I'm getting this out to you well before Thanksgiving, even!  I think this is the furthest in advance I've ever posted a tutorial for a holiday.  Doing the tree for the DC temple Visitor's Center has helped me get all my ducks in a row, although it feels pretty weird to be full-tilt into Christmas stuff before even planning our Thanksgiving feast.  I don't even have all my Halloween stuff put away yet!

 
These are the Baby Cousins to the Big Daddy-O ornaments that I made for the other tree, pictured below.  I figured that most of us without 15-foot ceilings and 12-foot trees would appreciate this smaller scale for our 6 or 7 foot trees, but if you want to go big, go for it!

 

To make ornaments 6" wide like these, you'll need to buy 6" styrofoam or, even better, Smoothfoam balls.  These can be quite pricey ($5 to $7 each).  I found some great Smoothfoam balls online at Plasteelcorp.com for $3 each.  Since I made 15, it made a big difference in the price, plus I got free shipping.

You'll also need to use 2 wordstrips instead of 1 per ornament. 

About the text...I used white wording for the large balls, which was not very legible once the glitter was applied.  For the small balls, I printed the wording in black, but I should have made the lettering thinner.  I went back and fixed that after my ornaments were completed, so yours will look better.  Everything's a learning process...

 
 


 Okay, enough chatting:  here's how to make these glittery musical spheres!

 
MATERIALS NEEDED:

3" or 3.5" styrofoam balls

Bamboo skewers

Music note napkins (I bought mine at PianoSupplies.com), cut into small squares.  The squares you see pictured here are too large for this size of ball.  After this picture was taken I cut them in half again once I started working.  Squares that are 1.5" would be ideal.

Modpodge (mat finish) and a chip brush or equivalent, plus a little container for the Modpodge. 

The wordstrips which you can click on and print out here:

"Forever and Ever....Hallelujah..."  wordstrip

"Peace, Good Will Toward Men" wordstrip

"For Unto Us a Child is Born..." wordstrip

 Cut them into the strips, taking care to preserve the black line which outlines the red.  A paper cutter or ruler+rotary cutter are recommended to keep the lines straight. 

NOTE:  many home printers have ink that smears when wet.  For best results, go to a commercial printer or make sure your printer ink doesn't smear.  If it does, just let ink dry at least 2 days before attempting this project.

Clear glitter and a tray/large sheet of paper to catch excess glitter

Ribbon:  skinny 1/8" for the hanger (9" length per ornament) and 1/4" for the bow (about 12" length per ornament). 

Glue gun or craft glue

 
1)  Insert 1 or 2 bamboo skewers into ball.  Brush a generous coat of Modpodge over ball and lay the pieces of napkin down one at a time, brushing a thin layer of Modpodge over top of napkin piece after each one is put down.  A little overlapping is necessary to ensure that none of the styrofoam is peeking through.

When ball is entirely coated, place bamboo skewer+ball into a heavy vase or jar so it can dry without touching anything.

 

2)  When ball has completely dried, brush a thick coat of Modpodge around the midsection of ball.  Wrap word strip all the way around --UPSIDE DOWN--, trimming ends if necessary so that only about 1/4" is overlapping.  Take care to center the strip around the "equator" of sphere in relation to where the skewers are so that the ball won't hang crooked like some of mine did.

 

3)  Carefully brush Modpodge over the strip, using the metal part of the brush to help press down any edges that don't want to conform to the curve of the ball.  If you have used a printer with smudgy ink, wipe away any pink-tinted Modpodge on the music part of the ball before it dries.  Otherwise you will have a pink ball.  Let dry.

 

4)  When ball has dried, coat entire ball again with Modpodge and sprinkle clear glitter over entire sphere.  Don't worry about how cloudy it looks here - it will become clear and legible when it dries.

 

5)  When completely dry, remove bamboo skewer(s) and use the tip of skewer to push the raw ends of skinny ribbon into hole.  Squirt glue into hole to secure skinny ribbon.

Tie a little bow with the 1/4" ribbon.  Using another dap of glue, attach bow to ball right at the base of the skinny ribbon.

ps.  I am NOT moulting, nor is the skin on my fingers peeling off.  It is merely the stubborn remnants of dried Modpodge which had not been scrubbed off yet.  Lovely, I know.

 

And there you have it!  Your very first music sphere ornament (insert Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" here).  Enjoy!

 

Is it too early to post about Christmas?

 

I know it's only the beginning of November, but I've already decorated a Christmas tree.  Oh, happy happy joy!  My favorite time of year, my favorite thing to decorate for.

 
Can you guess the theme?  I've been planning this tree for an entire year, ever since I was asked to redo all the ornaments for one of the trees in the Visitor's Center of the Washington DC temple.  It has been a very time-consuming yet extremely fun project, and I'm honored to have been chosen to do it.

 

Yes, the tree is crooked (I didn't notice until it was all done and I stepped back to look at it) but I'm told that will be fixed.  In the meantime, it adds character, right?  Each Christmas the Visitor's Center hosts a myriad of free concerts and has a gorgeous display of Christmas trees that congregations in the Maryland/Virginia area are in charge of decorating.  They also have a beautiful collection of Nativity Scenes from around the world on display and thousands of colored Christmas lights adorn the trees outside, much like the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  If you live in the DC area, I would really encourage you to look up the schedule of events and make an evening of it - besides, then you could go and see my tree in person!  The Festival of Lights, as it is called, starts in December but you can go to the Visitor's Center anytime.

 
In case you haven't caught the theme yet, I based it on Handel's "Messiah".  Hence the Biblical phrases and the musical references.  It is my personal opinion that Christmas has been largely stripped of its original meaning and purpose, and I wanted to bring the Christ back in Christmas in a very visual way.  I made some of the ornaments from scratch, like these phrase boards, and I added personal touches to many of the store-bought ones.  I bought all the musical instruments and the silvery spangle balls from a delightful Christmas shop in Virginia Beach that I serendipitously found while on vacation this summer.  It's called The Christmas Mouse, and it's wonderful.  There is also a store in Williamsburg, which I didn't know until looking at their website.

 

The large round (not spherical) red ornaments from IKEA were spruced up with a few layers of circles cut from sheet music (from the "Messiah", of course) and ribbon.

I hot-glued the ribbon to the back of the circles, then hot-glued the whole thing to the flat part of the ornament.  I bought a bunch of red and silver ornaments when they were half off last year at IKEA.  I wish I had purchased some of these flat ones for myself - I really like how they turned out.  Hopefully they'll have those ornaments again this year and I can make some for my own house!  They'd be great gifts too - very easy and quick, but lovely.

 
I'm planning on doing a tutorial for the phrase boards, but these particular ones are too large for the typical 6 or 7 foot high tree.  I worked up some smaller phrases on Illustrator in the same style as these were done and will post links to the PDF files so you can recreate the exact look that I have done here.  If you want PDF's for these large word phrases (they're about 10 inches wide) just let me know and I'll email them to you.  But wait for my tutorial so you know how to make them.  :-)

 

I had been planning these musical orbs for a year, but just last month I noticed a tutorial for a similar one on FaveCrafts.  Just wanted to let you know I didn't copy, I promise!  Mine is different due to the paper wordstrip decoupaged around the center and it's very large = 6" across.  I decoupaged paper napkins printed with music to create the musical background, and coated the whole thing in clear glitter.

 

I'm planning a tutorial for this one as well, but for the tut I'll use smaller styrofoam balls to make them more suitable for a standard-sized tree.  As with the phrase boards, I'll have the PDF file linked up so you can print out your own word strips.

 

Now, about the star:  Yes, I made it, and no, it wasn't the easiest thing to do...but well worth it!  I took 2 large metal stars (about 12" across) and glued them together with epoxy glue, inserting a 2-ply roll of cardstock at the base to create the tube.  Then I decoupaged white paper over all of it, let it dry, and freaked out about all the rust that bled through the paper.  I gave it a double coat of white Ceramcoat paint, which hid most of the rust spots, and decoupaged the music napkins over all.  After giving it a couple more coats of Modpodge, I sprinkled clear glitter over the wet Modpodge.  When completely dry, I hot-glued the wired ribbon in place and then the center "Gloria" emblem which I created in Illustrator.  C'est finis! 

Not sure if I'm going to get a tut done for this one or not.  I need to find some smaller metal stars so I can do a smaller one for my own tree...I've looked for years for a tree star that I loved, to no avail.  Guess I'll just have to make my own.  If I do I'll try and get a tut up and running before December.  Lots to do, lots to do...

 

Here's Eliza, my sweet little helper for the tree decorating project.  She was a trooper - from fluffing the tree to decorating to taking photos, it was a 4 hour event, and she didn't complain a bit.  We had some good mommy-daughter bonding time.

 

 

 ...so here's the next question:  am I allowed to switch my music list over to Christmas songs yet?  I don't think I can hold off until after Thanksgiving.....

Sewing For Orphans Project = Large Drawstring Bag Tutorial

 

"All I want is a mommy. I promise I'll do whatever she says, I'll be such a good boy! Why can't I just have a mommy who loves me? That's all I want...that's all I want..."

These words would be heart-wrenching enough coming from a lonely orphan boy, but they become indescribably painful when one watches a grown man in his 40's repeat the general idea of those words over and over again. A man who grew up in a decrepit Bulgarian orphanage and who remains institutionalized today. I do not know the details of his medical or mental condition, but he clearly is painfully aware of his lonely world on the very fringe of society, and it simply breaks my heart that this is happening by the thousands in Bulgaria, which has the highest number of abandoned/orphan children in Europe. There has got to be something we can do halfway across the world to ease the suffering and mind-numbing conditions of these disadvantaged children.

For those of you who read my post a few weeks ago regarding the orphans of Bulgaria, you'll know what this is about. For those of you who haven't read it, please do!

After working closely with Deborah Gardner, Co-founder and President of One-Heart Bulgaria, I've come up with a little plan to help provide comfort to the thousands of abandoned, seriously ill, and/or special needs children currently warehoused in Bulgaria. I'm creating the organization Sewing For Orphans to rally volunteers to help me sew these large drawstring bags to send to the children who are crowded into the overwhelmed and under-funded orphanage facilities.

Words cannot express the pain I feel when I watch their plight on various videos posted on YouTube. Some facilities are better than others, but all suffer from insufficient funding, understaffing, and primitive conditions. Not to mention the incredibly damaging psychological effects of 1) Knowing that they will likely never have loving parents or a "normal life" and 2) Being stuck in a small, sometimes unbelievably worn down building their whole lives with very little attention or care and almost nothing to break up the mind-numbing monotony of every single day. Can you imagine living your whole life in one or two rooms, sleeping with a crowd of lonely, parentless children crammed together, or being left in your crib practically the entire time for the first several years of your life?

That's where OneHeart Bulgaria has stepped in, providing not only for their physical needs and upgrading facilities, but they work hard to provide enriching activities for the souls of these children as well. Things that will help them to see the joy in living, and to help them understand that they are cared for and loved - that they are important. They are also learning life skills so that when they are old enough to leave the orphanage they will be able to be contributing members of society instead of being sucked into gang culture, prostitution, or other negative lifestyles.

So where does my little Sewing For Orphans project fit into all of this? Well, by providing these handmade bags for each child, they will hopefully be able to take comfort that somebody, somewhere knows about them and loves them enough to have made a special bag for them to keep their meager possessions in. It just might make a difference in their lives, and help them hold on to a glimmer of hope that they are going to be okay, that life will turn out alright. At a minimum, the bags will provide a cheery and colorful symbol of love that will give them a bit of their very own space in the midst of crowded institutional conditions.

I have already given an updated PDF version of the tutorial for a small drawstring bag to Deborah, which she will translate and make available for the orphans involved in a sewing program over there to use. The children will make and sell the bags as part of a broader mission to help them learn self-sufficiency and life skills.

The best way we can help is to make these larger bags for boys and girls ages 7 - 18. Each bag takes one yard of fabric (1/2 yard for outside, 1/2 yard for liner) and if you're at all involved in sewing I KNOW you have extra fabric lying around! I have yards and yards of fabric that I will never have time to use for its original intent but I don't want to just get rid of it. I keep holding onto it thinking that it will come in handy someday....Well guess what? NOW IS THE TIME TO CLEAN OUT THAT FABRIC! :-)

The bags are very simple to make and go together really fast. You can either make some on your own or, better yet, get a group together and have a sewing party!

Here's a photo of the Circle Sewing Studios storefront.  The owner, Parker Chiudioni, has kindly agreed to be the drop-off/mail-to destination point for the drawstring bags....thanks Parker!

I'm collecting the bags here in the USA and then shipping them to Bulgaria when I have enough to give to each child in a particular orphanage so nobody feels left out. If you would like some tips on organizing your own sewing party, please contact me as well.

Click on the link here to download a PDF version of this tutorial that can be more easily printed off and used while sewing.

PLEASE NOTE: If you use this tutorial to make a bag/bags for yourself, please also make a bag/bags for the orphans. It doesn't take long and the orphans are the reason I'm posting this tutorial. They need our help, please give a little of your time and talents to make this happen. Thank you!

 

1) Cut out 2 pieces of fabric, each piece measuring 18" x 42". It's okay to make it a little bit smaller than that if necessary, but make sure both pieces are the same size.

Cut 2 pieces of ribbon at 19" lengths. Ribbon can be 3/4" to 1.5" wide.

You will also need some sort of nylon rope cord for the drawstring. This mason line can be purchased for less than $3 in the hardware section of Walmart, or you can buy it at any hardware store.

NOTE: If you don't want to go buy the string, just send the bag(s) to me without it and I will insert it before shipping it to Bulgaria.

2) Fold each fabric in half with right sides together. Stitch 1/4" seam up both sides of the outside fabric.

On one of the sides of the liner, measure down about 11" from top and mark a gap about 2 or 3 inches wide. Stop and start your stitching between those marks.

3) Once side seams are sewn, pull front and back apart so that side seam is facing straight up and the front and back create a triangle at the base of the bag. Mark the lines for the box corners, 2.5" down from peak and about 5" across. Stitch on that line.

Repeat for all corners on both bags. They should now look like the photo below.

4) Turn exterior bag right side out and tuck it inside the liner, which is still inside out. This way the right sides of both bags are facing eachother. Match up the side seams and pin like photo below.

5) Stitch 1/4" seam all around top edge.

6) Through the gap that was left in one of the sides of the liner, gently pull the exterior fabric completely out so that it looks like the photo below:

7) Stitch the gap in the liner closed either by hand or by sewing very close to the edge with machine like photo above.

8) Tuck liner inside bag, and press the top edge so that it lies flat. This is best accomplished by fitting the bag over the tip of the ironing board and pressing one bit of it, rotating bag, press another bit of it, and repeat until you have come full circle.

9) Press one end of each ribbon under about 1/2".

10) Fit the bag over the arm of the sewing machine with one of the side seams facing up. Place one of the ribbons (pressed-under end facing down) along the side seam about 1.5" away from top edge of bag.

11) Stitch, backstitching a little bit at beginning, all along top edge of ribbon. Stop stitching when you get almost to the end of the ribbon. Fold under raw edge of ribbon so that it lines up with the second side seam. Stitch to the end of the ribbon and backstitch.

12) Leaving needle in down position, lift up presser foot and place second ribbon in place. Align it with the first one and make sure you start with the pressed-under end just like you did with the first ribbon.

Stitch all the way down and repeat process of folding under excess ribbon, stitching, and backstitching to secure.

Lift up needle, clip threads, and stitch all around the bottom edges of both ribbons, backstitching for extra reinforcement in side seams areas. You have now created a casing for the drawstring.

13) Cut 2 lengths of string that measure about 42" long each. This nylon string unravels quickly, so I recommend tying a temporary knot at each end.

14) Attach a large safety pin to one end of string. "Scoot" the pin and string all the way around the entire casing so that it comes full circle and meets up with the tail end of the string. Remove the pin, and tie the ends together in a firm knot.

15) Repeat process on other side of the casing, so that you have 2 separate strings going full circle around bag on opposite sides.

You may want to use a match and singe the loose ends of the nylon string to help prevent unraveling.

Congratulations! You have now created a tangible gift of love which will brighten the life of a lonely, disadvantaged young person in Bulgaria. Doesn't that feel great?

If you don't have time or skills to sew the bags, please consider donating money (even a few dollars at a time would really add up) by clicking on the paypal button in the right sidebar so that I can get help shipping the bags over to Bulgaria, which is going to be expensive. I am also going to be using donated funds to purchase and ship Pellon Durabond interfacing to the Bulgarian sewing class to use for cute little purses they will be making to share with other orphan girls. Hmmmm...perhaps I should write to Pellon and see if they would donate some interfacing? I just thought of that. It's worth a try! Of course, 100% of all funds donated to Sewing For Orphans will go to shipping the bags and/or buying and shipping the interfacing.

PS. If making drawstring bags is not your thing, perhaps sewing pajama pants is! Deborah recently became aware of an orphanage hospital which has requested cheery PJ pants for its patients. The facility is struggling to provide basic medical care and cannot afford to buy adequate clothing for the suffering children in its care. Please contact me to know where to send your PJs.

ONE MORE THING...I've created this page of 3 bookmarks for you to download here if you'd like to include bookmarks with your bags, or if you would like to send them without bags. There is lots of blank space in case you want to personalize them with drawings, stickers, a photo of you or your child(ren), etc. Please print them out on cardstock and send them to me, with or without bags, so I can laminate them, punch a hole in the top, tie a ribbon, and tuck a bookmark into each of the bags before sending to Bulgaria. If you would like to do the laminating and ribbon tying yourself, that would be great too! This would be a great idea for a school or church project, and would help involve our children in reaching out to the orphans.

I truly hope that we can all step outside of our busy lives for a few hours and take the time to either donate a bit of money or make a priceless gift of love in the form of this simple bag and/or pajamas. I promise you that you will feel happier about yourselves and about life in general as you give up some of your time and/or resources to benefit these precious children. It will also increase your gratitude for your own blessings, I just know it. Service is magical that way. Please join me in making life a little better for the orphans of Bulgaria. Thank you!

Ribbon Table Runner Tutorial + Benefit Auction

 

Due to a large number of requests for an actual tutorial for the Halloween table runner I made last year, I'm doing just that.  Yes, you're welcome.  :-)  Thanks for all your enthusiasm about this project - it has really appealed to a lot of people!  It's not a difficult project, but I won't say it's a quick one.  Despite its simple appearance, you will need to budget 2 to 4 hours for completion, depending on your experience level.

 

YOU WILL NEED:

2 yards fabric for main background color (relatively solid color is best)

2/3 yard fabric for border

approx. 12 yards ribbon; assorted sizes, colors, and designs

1/4" double-sided fusible interfacing (approx. 12 yards), such as Steam-A-Seam

Step 1)  Cut main fabric into long rectangle measuring 14" x 70".  Hint:  cut the selvedge edge off one side (the entire length of fabric), then measure 14" from that edge.  Make a small 1/2" snip at 14" mark with scissors, then rip fabric all the way down.  It will follow the grain of the the fabric and you will rip a long strip 14" all the way down.

To cut border fabric, fold with selvedges together and use a rotary cutting system.  Cut 5 strips which are 4" wide each. 

Step 2)  Precut your ribbon.  Cut at least 4 of each variety if you're using 6 different ribbons, and more if you're using fewer different kinds.  Cut the ribbon at least 16" long, because the length increases when ribbon is placed at an angle.  If you want steeply angled ribbon, cut it 18". 

 NOTE:  if your ribbon has stitched thread details, "preshrink" it with a hot steam iron.  It will shrink considerably and will pucker your project if you don't preshrink it.

Step 3)  Place main fabric face up on ironing board.  Arrange strips of interfacing in random fashion on fabric.  Don't take off paper backing yet!  Touch a hot iron VERY briefly (as in 1 second) to the paper-backed interfacing to fuse the first side a little, then peel off paper. 

NOTE:  At this point, don't overlap lines.  Do the first layer, lay the ribbon down, then lay down a second series of interfacing + ribbon on top after completing Step 4.

Step 4)  Arrange ribbon on top of interfacing in desired sequence.  Fuse in place according to manufacturer's directions.  The super wide ribbon needs 2 strips of interfacing.  I like to tuck the second strip of interfacing under and fuse it after doing the first one so that the ribbon doesn't shift.  HINT:  Don't scoot your iron along ribbon with painted designs on it - the paint could smear under high heat and a wiggly iron.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 if you want overlapping ribbon, such as the orange ribbon and a few of the black ribbons you see in photo below.

Step 5)  When all the ribbon is fused as desired, snip off excess ribbon along edges.

Step 6)  Prepare the border fabric by stitching 2 strips together at the ends with a 1/4" seam, then pressing strip in half lengthwise with the right sides facing out.  Repeat with 2 other strips.  The 5th strip just needs to be pressed in same manner but not sewn to anything.

NOTE:  There are other ways to sew the border on, such as sewing all the strips together and sewing it all the way around the rectangle with folded "miter" corners, but I didn't use that method in this tutorial.  Those of you who know other methods of bordering are (obviously) more than welcome to attach border with alternate approaches.

Step 7)  Pin the 2 long strips to the 2 long edges of rectangle, with the raw edges of border facing outward to meet up with the raw edges of rectangle.  You don't have to extend the border fabric beyond the edge of the rectangle as much as the photo shows:  I was originally going to do standard miter corners but then changed my mind.  Sorry if that confuses you.  The ends should extend about 1/4" beyond rectangle for this method of sewing the borders on, not the 4" extensions I have pictured.

Step 8)  Using 1/4" seam, stitch long strips to the 2 long edges of rectangle.  Serge if desired.  Press borders out and press the seams toward center of rectangle. 

Step 9)  Clip off extra border fabric on ends of rectangle.  Take the 5th border strip and cut it into 2 equal lengths, as shown above.

Step 10)  With raw edge facing outward to meet up with raw edge of rectangle, pin end borders onto ends of rectangle.  Center so that equal amounts of extra fabric extend beyond each edge. 

Step 11)  Stitch/serge end borders on.  Press seams AWAY from rectangle, so they face border.  Press extra fabric "tab" over the end border on the backside so that all excess is folded under, as shown in photo below.

 

Step 12)  Open tab temporarily and press the corner down as shown in photo above.  Use a bit of interfacing tape and secure flap.

Step 13)  Place 2 more bits of interfacing on open tab as shown.  Remove paper backing.

Step 14)  Fold flap over and fuse well.  Repeat on other 3 corners.  Give your runner one final pressing and go give some striking bling to your table!

So I now have 2 nearly identical runners....hmmm, what to do, what to do? I don't have 2 dining room tables.

I've decided to auction the one I just made (which looks better = less puckers in orange fabric) and donate all the proceeds to the Jonah's Just Begun foundation.  It was created by my high school friend to raise money for research of Sanfilippo Syndrome, which is a rare genetic disease that will ultimately kill her sweet boy Jonah if a cure is not found.

So please leave a comment at the base of this post and tell me how much you would like to pay for this popular table runner.  I'll leave it open for, oh, a week or so, and the highest bidder will be the lucky "winner" of my runner and, simultaneously, the gracious donor to Jonah'sJustBegun so we can help save little Jonah's life.   Plus the winner will have saved a bunch of time because she won't have to make a runner for herself!  Win-win situation all the way around.

Thanks in advance for all your support!

 

Mr. Pumpkinhead thanks you too.  
 

 

Giant Flower Bow Tutorial

One of my favorite things about Halloween is that it's one of those holidays where obnoxiously loud and bodacious decorating is not only accepted, but encouraged.  At least I like to encourage it!

The bolder, the better, right?  I enjoy limited color schemes in general, but the black/orange/white combination is especially appealling to me.  So very striking.  Of course, I'm probably biased because black and orange also happened to be my high school colors, but even beyond that I just LOVE to decorate with black and orange.  Not that anyone who has seen last year's posts here, and here, and here, or here, or here, would have ever guessed.

 

I also love to make large wreaths for my front door to hide its bedraggled appearance.  I'm an expert at the art of visual distraction (which is why my friends never seem to notice the huge dustballs or dirty floors in my house - they're too busy looking at the decorating...at least that's what they tell me.  It always cracks me up when they say I usually have a clean house...it's SOOO not true.  And no, I'm not going to divulge how infrequently I dust.  It's way too embarrassing). 

Back to the door:  my kids pulled off one of the horizontal pieces of wood separating the panes (it was already split and broken before we moved in) and my wreaths conveniently hide the gaping wound in the door's window.  Our sad door is also pitted with bubbly rust spots (inside and out), the trim is pretty much shredded, and the current door handle is a round knob like you would find on an interior door.  The sidelights on either side of the door are single paned, the caulk is cracked and damaged, and during the winter months it lets in so much cold air that I get the chills just standing in the front entryway.  Yes, we need a new front entry system.  Yes, we're still paying off our kitchen and backyard remodels.  So no, we're not getting a new front door (yet).  In the meantime, my giant and loud wreaths will have to camouflage the ugliness as diligently as possible. 

This one is particularly effective, in large part because of these giant fabric/ribbon/button/fake flower doo-dahs.  The following tutorial teaches basic techniques and uses one of these flower bows as an example, but keep in mind that it is only an example.  The possibilities for variation on these puppies is endless.

Note:  This tutorial is for the bows, not the entire wreath.  I don't have step-by-step photos for the wreath, but in a nutshell, here's what I did:  I made the wreath by wrapping the beaded vines around a wire circle armature and hot-glued little clusters of ribbon in the bare spots.  I made the ribbon clusters by looping 3 or 4 loops together and hot-glued one end of each "loop group" together so that they were pinched shut on one side.  The clusters were then hot-glued to the wire frame or the vines.  The flower bows were also hot-glued to the frame.

FOR EACH FLOWER BOW, YOU WILL NEED:

1 fake gerbera daisy flower, with the stem pulled off

1 strip of fabric, 3" x 42"ish, which is cut with pinking shears on one edge

3/4" ribbon cut to 6" lengths (cut 6)

3/8" ribbon cut to 4 1/2" lengths (cut 3)

3/8" ribbon cut to 7" lengths (cut 3)

1 fairly large button (fabric-covered or regular)

needle and thread

hot glue gun

1)  If you have a sewing machine, use a large basting stitch and sew all along the unpinked edge of fabric.  If you don't have a sewing machine, use a needle and thread and sew a gathering stitch along unpinked edge.  In either case, pull thread and scrunch up fabric to create the gathers (for machine basting, pull either the bobbin or the top thread, not both at the same time).

Put the ends of fabric together to create a circle.  Stitch ends together so that the raw edges are to the backside of the fabric.  Distribute gathers evenly around circle.  Set aside.

2)  Turn flower upside down.  Hot-glue one end of each 3/4" ribbon to backside of flower, close to stem.  Try to glue the ribbon in equal sections, making sure the ribbons opposite eachother create a straight line (they should look like 3 long ribbons instead of 6 short ones if they're properly lined up).

3)  To create the V-tipped loops, take a ribbon and, without flipping it over, move the outer end to the left and on top of the end which is already glued to the center of the flower.  It's hard to tell with this ribbon, but if your ribbon is printed on one side only, both ends of the ribbon would be facing printed-side-down at this point (so that the printed side would be viewed properly when the flower is turned over).  It may take some practice, but with a little fiddling you'll be able to consistently get a V-tipped loop when you bring the ends of the ribbon together.

4)  Hot-glue the 3 long ribbon strips in the "gaps" between the V-tipped loops.  Glue the ribbon right over the center stem area. 

5)  Hot-glue the fabric circle over the top of the ribbon, making sure the good side of fabric is face down so it will be viewed properly when the flower is turned over.  Align fabric so that it is centered around center stem area.  Set aside to let glue harden thoroughly.

6)  Meanwhile, create loops with the ribbon which is 4 1/2" in length.  Overlap edges slightly, center the overlap on the underside of loop, and push needle up through bottom of loop.  String all three loops in same manner.

7)  Arrange loops in equally spaced segments and secure with a few stitches of thread as shown.  The stitches do not have to be pretty - they will be hidden by the button.

  
 

8)  Sew button on, pushing needle through all the ribbon layers in the center to secure entire bow.

9)  Flip over flower bow and hot-glue button/ribbons into center of flower.  Trim the raw ends of the ribbon in the back (the white ribbon in this case) as desired and seal with a stop-fray product to maintain a clean cut edge.  And that's it! 

This would be a fabulous accessory to a hat, the front of a Tshirt, on the front of a pillow, attached to a headband, purse, bag, etc.   Would also be a super accent for a wedding; on the backs of chairs, at the upper peak of garlands/bunting, part of table centerpieces...you get the picture.   Or Christmas ornaments, even.  So many options!  In many cases it could just be safety pinned on so that when the item needed to be washed you could remove the flower bow.  Now go make some fantastically bodacious giant bows, and have fun!

 
 
 

Girlie Ghosts Tutorial

Who says ghosts have to be all white?  These little darlings are sporting designer looks with their scrapbook paper gowns.

Of course, they would also look very chic in pure white, but I was curious to see how they would turn out in prints.

These little ghosties remind me of the ones on PacMan (an inintentional likeness).  That, or a limp octopus.  I'm not too crazy about either comparison - let's just call them Girlie Ghosts, shall we?  Not that the octopus is a bad idea - they would make very cute octopi if different colored paper were used, and only eight legs.  Hmmmm.... can you visualize a baby mobile?  An ocean-themed Christmas tree?

Okay, time to get to the task at hand; how to make the little critters.

FOR EACH GHOST, YOU WILL NEED: 

1 styrofoam ball, 2 1/2" in diameter

scrapbook paper (not cardstock), 8 1/2" wide x 9 1/2" long (length can vary)

3/8" ribbon for bow, 10" long

1/8" ribbon for hanging, 12" long

1/2" paper circles in black (2) and orange (2)

1/4" paper circles in white (2)

2" long floral wire or paper clip that has been pulled apart and clipped in half

ModPodge or other clear varnish, mat finish (not shiny)

old brush to apply ModPodge

1)  Prepare paper  by cutting slits in the top and bottom (the paper is shown from the backside to show the cuts better).   Using scissors, cut approx. 1/2" wide slits about 1 1/2" down from the top.  This will create the curved head.  Cut approx. 3/4" wide slits up about 5" from bottom (assuming you started with 9 1/2" tall paper).  This will create the flowy tail.  Leave about 3" or 4" of uncut paper where the ball is going to be.  As you can see, it's not important to cut the slits exactly even, so don't obsess about getting them perfect.  You can also using pinking shears on the bottom edge.

 2)  Using a chip brush or old brush, apply ModPodge on the upper portion of the back of the paper.  Don't brush it on all of the solid (uncut) paper.  Just about in the middle is fine.

 

3)  Place the ball on the paper and gently wrap the paper around the ball, creating a tube.  See photo for where the ball should be inside the tube.  (You are looking at the top of the ghost)

4)  Carefully fold over strips of paper on top of the ball, starting at the seam and laying down one strip after the other in a clockwise direction.  When all strips are down, use brush to coat the top of the paper with more ModPodge.  It is only necessary to coat the parts which you just folded over, not the entire ghost body. 

Let dry in an upright position.  If ghost body is long like this one, you can fit it over a glue bottle or some other skinny, tall object so it doesn't fall over.

5)  Meanwhile, prepare the ghost features.  Tie the 3/8" ribbon in a bow, clip ends off at diagonal.  Cut eyelashes out of black circles by clipping tiny triangles out of one side.  Save time by clipping two black circles at once.  Glue the black eyelashes to the orange circles, offsetting slightly so more orange shows.  Glue white dots onto black.  Bend wire into a U shape, or cut off half of a paper clip to create the same shape.

6)  Using a large pair of scissors, gently curl the paper like you would curl ribbon.  Place the blade on the printed side of the paper and brace softly with the thumb of the hand holding the scissors.  Lightly run the blade down the length of the strip, and it will curve the paper slightly.  For a tighter curve, brace with thumb a little more firmly as you draw the blade down.  Repeat process for all strips.

7)  Insert U shaped wire into top of ghost.  You will likely need to "pre-drill" the holes by twisting a sharp, skinny object (such as a large pin or toothpick) down through the stiffened paper before inserting the blunt-edged U shaped wire.  Especially if you're impatient like I am and try to insert wire before paper is totally dry = much harder to pierce semi-soggy paper.   Insert wire almost entirely into ball, leaving just enough room to slip the skinny ribbon under it.

8)  Thread the skinny ribbon through wire, and push down wire almost all the way into ball so it hardly shows.  Glue ribbon bow and the eyes in place, and you're done!

So Boooootiful, eh?  Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

Mini Wallet Tutorial

 
Hi everyone!  As promised, here is the tutorial for the tiny little wallets that fit just perfectly into the mini clutches from my first official pattern, The Infinity Tote.

It's perfect for the minimalist (like me) who wants just enough wallet to cart around a few credit cards, a bit o'change, and some greenbacks.  After lugging a huge diaper bag around for 8 years with everything but the kitchen sink, it's so nice to be able to grab a tiny tote when I'm running a couple of errands or spending a day playing tourist. 

It's also a great way to make use of extra little scraps you may have lying around, begging to be made into something useful and pretty.

The front pocket is designed for coins, the middle area is for bills, and

the back pocket holds credit cards/drivers license.

I feel like I should issue a bit of a warning about this little wallet, though - despite its benign appearance, it's not exactly a project for beginners.  Not because of a lot of complicated pieces, but because it's so tiny that it's pretty hard to do a really good job constructing it.  Any slight variance in seam allowance or the tiniest error in alignment will result in a glaringly obvious crooked pocket or flap, so be patient and do your very best when stitching it together to avoid problems. 

I went through 5 prototypes (2 were complete rejects because things were crooked and didn't fit well together) to get all the measurements exactly right, so be precise!  Cut the pieces EXACTLY square and to the measurements given.  And be sure to sew EXACTLY 1/4" seams so the parts will fit together well. 

Okay, I hope I didn't scare anybody too badly...I just wanted to give you a heads up so you didn't run into the same problems I did during construction.

The first step is to cut all the pieces.  You can look at the finished product in photos above to see which fabric goes where, but basically you'll need 2 separate fabrics for the cover flap and main body of the bag, plus a long piece that will be doubled over to create your pockets.  In this example, the blue dots fabric is for the pockets.

Main body (cut 2): 5" x 7  3/4"

Cover flap (cut 2): 5" x 2  1/2"

Pockets (cut 1): 5" x 12"

INTERFACING (heavy duty, fusible on one side like Pellon DecorBond):

Main body (cut 1):  4  1/2" x 7  1/4"

flap (cut 1): a scant 4  1/2" (meaning just shy of 4.5") x 2  1/4"

HINT:  To get a nice curve on the interfacing, use a spool of thread as a guide and trace around it on one corner. 

Fold interfacing in half, then trim along that line to create 2 perfect, uniform curves.

Fuse the interfacing to the backside of your chosen fabric.  These will be the pieces that will be facing outward, not the lining pieces (although I must confess that I wasn't concentrating and accidentally sewed the flap for this wallet wrong-side out...I had intended for the little red-dotted "Seed" fabric to be facing out and, as you can see in the finished product, I did it wrong.  Just in case you noticed and were confused about that.)

With right sides together, sew the short ends of the pocket fabric together to create a "tube".  Put the 2 fabrics for the flap right sides together, and stitch VERY carefully all along the edge of the interfacing to create the curve.  Be sure to backstitch at beginning and end. 

Trim the seam around the flap very close (but not too close!) to where you just stitched. 

Turn the pocket "tube" right side out and press flat, with the seam right at the edge of one of the pocket sides.  If desired, stitch ribbon along the edges of pocket as shown.  Make sure ribbon is sewn on straight = a crooked ribbon will be very apparent later on.

NOTE:  press the ribbon with a hot steam iron BEFORE stitching onto pocket fabric.  Ribbon can shrink and could cause fabric to pucker if not pressed beforehand.

Turn flap right side out, press very carefully, and topstitch all along the sewn edge. 

Reduce the stitch length to about a 2 so that you can navigate the corners more precisely, and go very slowly (sometimes I even "walk" the needle through the corner areas instead of using the foot mechanism) so you can do a good job.

Set aside.

Now, take the completed pocket fabric and center it on the Main Body fabric (the one with interfacing fused to it).  Using a long stitch length (4 or 5), baste 1/16" away from edge for a few inches on either side of pocket fabric so that it won't shift when you sew up the sides.  Take great care in making sure the pocket is sewn on straight.  If it isn't, rip out the basting and do it again until it's straight so you won't end up with crooked pockets.

With right sides together, stitch up the sides of both the Liner and the Main Body fabric (the one you just basted the pockets to).  Make sure that whatever version of 1/4" seam allowance (everyone sews 1/4" a little differently based on different machines) you use on one, you do the exact same to the other or they will not fit together properly.  Clip the bottom corners slightly as shown above.

Leave the liner inside out as shown above.

Turn Main Body fabric right side out, press well. 

Take your flap and baste it in place (1/16" seam) along the backside of the wallet. 

Now, take the liner (which is still inside out) and slip it over the top of the wallet and flap so that the raw edges meet up exactly and the side seams match up.

Okay, this is the tricky part.  Starting at where you basted the flap to the Main Body, stitch exactly 1/4" seam all the way around the wallet.  If this seam varies at all, the wallet and flap will be crooked.  Since it is so small, I recommend stitching it from the bottom inside as shown above, which is opposite of how I would normally stitch a bag.

 Using a seam ripper, take out part of the side seam of the liner.  Pull wallet out through this gap.

It will now look like this.  Stitch up the gap either by slipstitching by hand or stitching close to the edge with machine like the photo above.

Tuck lining into wallet and press well.

To make the coin pocket gravity proof, take *Fusible* Velcro (especially designed for fabric, not the gummy stick-to-everything kind) and cut to about 4" long.  If it's 3/4" wide, cut in half lengthwise to make a skinny strip.  Following manufacturers directions, slip both sides of Velcro into pocket near the top and fuse in place.  Let cool then make sure it fused properly.

If using a decorative button for the outside flap, sew in place now.

On the backside of the flap, sew on a little snap closure right over where the button thread is (to hide it) and then sew on the other half of the snap onto the pocket.

 

And there you have it!  A customized, compact little wallet to brighten your spirits (and lighten the load in your purse) every time you pull it out. 

  

Tutorial for Little Clutch Purse

This is a relatively quick little purse to make, and it's the perfect size for a little girl or, with a shorter strap, it would be a great clutch bag for essentials.  Here's how to make it:

You'll need 2 fabrics for the inside and outside of the bag, cut to an identical size.  In this example, the rectangles are 9.5" x 14".  You can make the bag bigger or smaller by adjusting the size of this rectangle.  You'll also need an identically sized rectangle cut from a stiff, one-sided iron-on interfacing like Pellon DecorBond.  You could also use fusible fleece for a stiffer bag.

For the strap, I used fabric cut to 15" x 2  1/4".  I cut a strip of interfacing 15" x 1  5/8". 

NOTE:  If you want the strap to be shorter, cut it (and the interfacing) to 9  1/2" instead of 15".

 In this photo I had already fused the interfacing onto the strap fabric, centering the interfacing along the middle of the fabric.

Once the interfacing is fused to the wrong side of the strap fabric, carefully press the raw edges of the fabric toward the middle of the strap on both sides, as shown.  The interfacing will be your guide - fold the edges over just to the edge of the interfacing. 

Now fold over the interfacing so that the edges line up exactly and press firmly, with steam, all along the length of the strap.  

 

 

Starting with the edge that is open, stitch strap shut carefully along the edge.  Try and keep the stitching about 1/16" from the edge.

Then turn the strap around and stitch along the folded edge the same way. 

Set aside for later.

Place the fabric for the outside of the bag upside down on your ironing board.  Position the interfacing, shiny (fusible) side down on the backside of the fabric so that none of the interfacing is extending beyond your fabric.  If it is, trim it to fit or else you'll have sticky fusible crud on your ironing board = not good.  The purpose of the interfacing is to make your bag stiffer.  If you're using home dec weight fabric, this step is probably not necessary.

Fuse the interfacing to the backside of the fabric, following manufacturer's directions. 

Now, fold one of the short ends (measuring 9 1/2") in half to find the middle of it and put a pin there as shown in photo above.  Make two pencil marks (on wrong side of fabric) on either side of the pin at equal distances to mark where the pleats will go.  In this case, the first mark is 1  1/2" from the center, and then another 1  1/2" away from that.  You can see the measurements above on the green cutter board:  each square is 1 inch.

Repeat marking process on other side of fabric, making sure they're in the same places.

Now take fabric and join the pencil marks together and pin the fold, as shown in the photo.  When viewed from the front, the fold should be facing the outside edge of the bag, as shown below.

Repeat on other side of rectangle.  It should now look like the photo above.

Stay-stitch the pinned edges about 1/8" from raw edge, as shown above.  This eliminates the hassle of messing with the pins and it firmly holds the pleats in place.

Measure the new width of the fabric.  In this example, it should be 6  1/2" wide now.   Whatever the width is, your goal is to make the liner fabric the same measurement.  So take your measurement of 6  1/2" and divide it in half = 3  1/4".

With your liner fabric folded in half lengthwise, make a mark that is 3  1/4" from the raw edges as shown.  This will give you the starting point for the dart you will be making in your liner fabric.

Beginning at the pencil mark, stitch a dart at a fairly sharp angle toward the fold in the fabric, as shown at right.  The dart should be about 4 inches long, and it should stop when the stitching meets the fold.  It may be helpful for you to draw a pencil line with a ruler to help you to know where to stitch.

Make a dart on both sides of the liner fabric.

Now compare the liner fabric with the outside fabric to make sure they're the same width.  If they're not, remove the dart from the liner and do it over again, because they really need to be the same width.

With right sides together, fold  the separate fabric together and stitch down the sides.  You'll now have 2 bags that are inside-out.

To eliminate the pointy corners, fold as shown and stitch across about an inch in from the corner, backstitching at beginning and end.  If this is confusing to you, it might be helpful to look at my tut for the purse pouch - there's a more detailed explanation of it there. 

Turn the outside of the bag right side out.  Pin the strap in place on either side of bag. 

 For the clasp, take a piece of ribbon about 7 inches long and fold it in half and then double it back into a V-shape as shown.  Carefully stitch across the middle of the V to hold it in place.  Decide which side of the bag you want to be the front.  Then, on the OPPOSITE side, pin the clasp upside down in the middle of the bag.

With the large "tray" of your sewing machine bed removed, fit the opening of the bag over the arm of your sewing machine and stay-stitch the strap and clasp in place just like you did for the pleats.  This is to get the pins out of the way while still holding everything in place.

Okay, now with the exterior bag still right side out, fit the liner bag over the top while it's still inside-out.  Now the right sides of both bags are facing eachother.  Line up the side seams and pin liner and exterior bag in place along raw edge.

Stitch 1/4" seam all along raw edge, taking care to make sure that the liner and the exterior bag are lined up along the raw edge as you sew them together.

 Using a seam ripper, rip out about 2 inches of the side seam of liner to pull out the exterior bag from inside the liner.  Carefully coax the stiff bag out from the hole in the liner.

Once it's out, slip-stitch the opening closed by hand, or use a machine and carefully stitch it closed very close to the edge.

Tuck liner inside bag and carefully press the edge of the bag so the liner stays inside.  Fit the bag over the arm of the sewing machine and very carefully topstitch around the edge of the purse, pulling the fabric back to create a clean edge along top of purse.  This is the trickiest part of the whole purse (due to the small opening), and will make a big difference in how the bag turns out so go slowly and work hard to get the edge pressed right and the stitching even. 

You're almost done!  With all the turning inside-out and back again, the bag is going to look a little rumpled.  If you don't have a pressing ham (like me...with as much sewing as I do I really should acquire some of those) you can use a nearly empty roll of paper towel to put inside bag and press the wrinkles out of one side of the bag at a time.

The only thing left to do is sew a button on the front to hold the clasp ribbon closed, and you're now the proud owner of a darling little clutch purse!  Hooray for you!

Here's another version of it, this time with pleats that aren't so big so it doesn't angle in quite as much at the top.  You can do as much or as little pleating as you like, just be sure to remember that whatever you do to the outside fabric you need to repeat on the liner so they match up when sewn together.  Happy sewing!