Baby Shower Fabric Gift Bag

I have 2 friends I know about to have a baby, both having little girls. 

So while a friend and I were out shopping, 

I came across these fabric bags, for just $1.00 a piece.

She talked me into buying them, saying I could make them cute somehow to use for our gifts. 

Well, not one to sit around and wait, I had to see what I could come up with.

I was actually lucky enough to have every thing on hand that I needed.

I even had a baby onesie sitting around. 

(I know, weird, I don't have any kids. I don't want kids. Nor does my husband.

But when my sister gave me this to give to my nephew who was having a baby, I just couldn't part with it.

Thought maybe one day, it would make us change our mind about having kids. LOL)

I used the onesie to trace around on my pink material. 

You could always print out an image to use as a template. 

I wasn't loving how long the onesie looked, so I shortened it up a bit. 

And this was my cutout. 

I attached some double sided fusible webbing to the back of my cutout and attached to the bag.
 (It gave it more stability, and it held it firmly in place as I sewed around the edges. I used my zigzag stitch, used a regular sewing machine. So it is far from perfect. 

 

And here it is attached to the bag.

 

(You might want to embellish on the onesie before you add it to the bag. But for me, it was just easier doing it this way)
 

Now came the fun part, embellishing.

Actually, this is always the hardest part for me. I never know how much or how little to add, or where to place everything. So I just played around with everything I had. I tried different ribbons in different placements. Different material for either a heart or star. And this is what I came up with...

 

I then sewed it all on. It's far, far from perfect, barely even good. But I still think it's cute enough to use as a gift bag. And it is reusable, even if it just holds junk hidden far away in the back of a closet.

Finished both of them in less than an hour. 

The one with white ribbon on it is my favorite.

 

Handmade Primitive Banner

I am a banner freak, I just LOVE banners.

I coffee stained my material. 

*I use any kind of coffee to stain my fabric. 

I wrap a couple tbs in a paper towel, twist the end, add it to a cup of water and put in the microwave for a minute. (Making sure my entire piece of paper towel is wet first!) Then I brush it on my wadded up material. And then just pour the rest all over it so the entire piece of fabric is soaked. Let it try overnight, and this is what I get. Some spots darker, which I like!

I cut out my banner using a banner template I found for free online.

Pentant Banner Template

 

 

I used my SCAL2 program and my cricut to cut out some shapes.

And then I attached them to my banner pieces using the Steam A Seam method.

 

 

 You can read all my directions for steam a seam HERE

Now came the time to string them up. 

I happily got out my crop-o-dile, thinking I could just use it to put a hole in each corner of my banner pieces.

Well, NO SUCH LUCK!

My crop-o-dile just refused to poke a hole through my muslin material.

(And neither would a regular hole punch, I tried. LOL)

So does anyone know of a way to put a hole in material? Please share. 

I ended up using a razor/utilty knife to slice an x in each corner. 

I got out my Jute. Twine would have been just as well, if not better. But all I had on hand was Jute.

I measured where I intended to hang my banner, and added about 2 extra feet, and then cut a piece of my Jute to that length.

I then started adding my banner pieces to my jute string. I made it so the jute came across the front of each banner piece. I think it adds to the primitive look this way.

And here it is all hung up. 

(Don't pay attention to the shelf decorations. My wonderful hubby just built me the shelf, and I haven't got around to decorating it the way I want yet!) 

Using the Cricut to Cut Material

I have made pillows before, easiest thing to sew. 

So when I came across a video on how to cut fabric with your cricut, 

I just knew this would be my next project.

I took my well loved, and well used, and well in need of a replacement, couch throw pillows, 

and I used them as a template. (Instead of using stuffing for my pillows, I plan on using my old pillow itself)

*I did make a set of pillows as a present last week, and they turned out perfect! And I used stuffing for those. My luck with MY pillows, was not on my side.

Measured my pillow, and added about 1/2 inch extra for seam allowance.
 

Cut my material and sewed it, leaving a large opening on one end. (To turn inside out and add the stuffing, or pillow in my case)




I then cut a piece of muslin fabric to use as a backdrop for my design. You can use any material for this or skip it entirely.

 

 

I did not want sew lines to show, nor did I want the extra hassle of cutting and measuring, so I just used steam a seam to attach this piece to my pillow case/cover.

(Jeeze, I really must stop being so lazy!)

I made the template using my Sure Cuts A Lot program.

I am lucky enough that my SCAL still works with my old Cricut.

 (This program no longer works with newer Cricut's)

And I cut it out on a piece of paper first to see how I liked the look of it. 

Here is the design done with the paper...

And I loved how it looked. 

So I decided to cut it on my material.

Now, if you plan on doing this, and you are like me and have never cut material with the cricut,

this YouTube video  explains it perfectly!

(This is the video that inspired me to make my own pillow with this technique.)

I cut my material to size, then added the steam a seam to the back side.

As I learned in the above video,

I attached the material with steam a seam side down to my mat.

Once you have that done, BE SURE TO MIRROR YOUR IMAGINE before cutting!

(This is very important if you are cutting letters!)

I learned this by mistake, by forgetting to mirror mine!

This is where I ran into problems. 

I knew my blade in my cricut needed replaced, but I thought I had a couple more cuts with it. 

 

I was WRONG. 

 

I had ONE cut left with it, and I wasted it when I forgot to mirror my image.

It barely cut the crow out the 2nd time.

So none of my letters cut properly. And after an hour of trying to cut them out with a utility knife, I gave up. 

I decided to made a design with the images that did cut. 

Not sure how much I like it, almost wish I had waited until I got new blades, but I have NO patience at times.

So I attached them, and ironed them in place.

After finishing, something was just off to me.

The muslin was just far to white.

So what I should have done first, I had to do last.

Ya, I told ya luck was NOT with me on this project.

I coffee dyed the muslin. And while I was at it, went ahead and coffee stained another piece of it for my next pillow. (Which I will be waiting for a new cricut blade to attempt! LOL)

 

I used embroidery thread and sewed around the edges.

And here it is all, almost all, finished.

I just have to add the pillow and sew it up. 

But I am waiting until I get my 2nd pillow done so I can have a matching set for my couch.

 

 I found the crow graphic for this project at

Primitive Blessing Free Goodies

 

 

Fabric Tree from Hangers

I was cleaning out my closets, and had a stack of  metal hangers I planned to throw out.

While staring at the pile of hangers, I kept thinking "I can make something out of those!" 

(I get hangers by the dozen, thanks to my husband. Every week his work pants come on a new set of hangers. So every week, I end up with 12 metal hangers, which totals almost 50 a month)

So I thought of making a giant tree out of them.

Now, a few people have mentioned that a tomato cage would  work for this, 

but I don't have 50 tomato cages just laying around like I do hangers. LOL

I used a hanger and bent it into a round, circle shape. I attached it to itself. 

(I didn't get very good pictures, I will take better ones on my next attempt)

I then took about 6-8 hangers, and straightened them out completely.

(I used needle nose pliers to help me with this part.)

Now came the hard part for me. My husband was of great assistance.

I took the straightened hangers, and attached them to my circle hanger.

Even with my pliers, I just couldn't get them tight enough, that's where my husband came into play. 

*Yay for muscles and strong, loving husbands.

I attached 6 of the hangers all around my circle. 

*It would have been better using about 10-12 hangers, but I got lazy. 

And be careful, once we attached a few of the hangers, they liked to jump around as we were attaching the rest. Almost took my eye out. :)

After all the hangers were attached, I pulled them all up, and using a piece of fabric cut in a long strip, secured them all into the tree shape. (It doesn't matter how it looks, you will be covering it up with different material anyways)

Horrible Pic, but it gives you a bit of an idea of how I attached the hangers.

I then used a BUNCH, and I mean a BUNCH of scrap fabric I had.

I cut all the fabric into strips 3 inches long by 1 inch wide.

*Just enough to tie each piece into a knot

I then used the cut strips and started tying them onto my hangers. 

I then placed some lights inside of the "tree", and called it done. 

Here is my finished tree.

And I am very happy with it.

This project took me a couple hours to finish. But it was something to do while I watched TV.

 

Mason Jar Storage

 I have far too much stuff in my craft room. (Which is a good thing!)

I saw an idea on pinterest for mason jar storage.

I LOVE mason jars. LOL

So many things you can do with them, so, so many things.

I actually can't take credit for this project, my wonderful husband, Craig, made it for me. 

He picked up some clamp rings from Home Depot. 

Cut my pallet board for me.
Attached the clamps to the wood, screwed in the jars.

And then hung on my wall for me.

I had to buy the jars at Walmart, which cost a little over $10.00 for 12 of them. But I haven't been able to find any good deals on them anywhere. 

 

But I love it, it really freed up space in my drawers and on my desk.

My inspiration came from

Here


*UPDATE
I have had 2 of my jars break.
I heard a loud noise one night and came in my craft room to find all my paintbrushes on the floor.
The entire bottom of my mason jar severed perfectly off!
I assume it was from taking out and replacing my brushes over and over in the jar.
It also happened with my pen jar.
So please be careful.

Wood Blocks

 

My wonderful husband bought me this saw for Christmas.

 No having to go outside to cut, YAY!

I bought these wood slats awhile ago at Home Depot. (Very cheap, I'm thinking like $2 a piece or under)

I used my awesome new saw to cut them into blocks. All by myself! LOL 

I used my cricut with my sure cuts a lot program and cut out some words and pictures on sticky vinyl. 

*You can no longer use Sure Cuts A Lot program with the cricut. The older version SCAL1 & SCAL2 will continue to work with the cricut if you 

1. Already own the SCAL.

2. Do NOT update SCAL to SCAL3 (Which is free if you already own it)

3. Do NOT update your firmware for cricut.

I also used my very favorite Antique Top Coat along with paints and my sanding block.

(Bought this antique top coat with country burgundy paint a LOOONG time ago for $2 from Marcs. Wish I had bought ALL they had. LOVE this stuff.)
But a regular stain of any color works just as nice.

Not finished yet, but almost. Have to sand the heart and apply the antique top coat. But I love making these and how they look. 

 

Pallet Sign

I didn't take my time with this project, and it shows!

I can't wait for a redo on this one. 

My problem was that I didn't have my sure cuts a lot program, and 

I was impatient, so I just used my cricut. So none of my letters turned out to be 

the size they should be. When I do my redo, I plan on making the words

almost the entire width of the boards.

I was trying to decide on paint colors.

I really wanted to use the yellow and tan, but the tan got much lighter on my lighter boards, and it barely showed.  And the yellow with black looked to much like Steelers colors. LOL 

So I went with red and black, and I don't like it much at all.

I cut out the letters with my cricut, and used the background as my stencil. 

I used the red to paint the letters 'Be The Good" to give it double meaning. 

I lightly sanded over the letters,

Attached some pip berries and a star up top and called it done.

 

 All hung up, until I replace it with a better one!

Don't think it's that bad?

Wait til you see the inspiration for this pic...then you will see why I don't care much for mine.
I need to do much fatter lettering. 

Blooming Homestead

Old Crib into Christmas Decoration

Driving down the road the other day, I noticed two old cribs sitting on the curb.

Not sure if they were for sale or what, I just passed them by. 

They were still there when I drove by that night.

And again the next day, with a FREE sign on them. 

Already  having an old crib sitting out back of my shed, (That I have NO idea what to do with)

I wasn't sure if I should grab these up, so I passed em by yet again.

 

Couldn't help myself when late that night, I saw they were still sitting there. So I loaded them up in the van and brought them home, certain I could come up with something to do with them. 

And I am happy with the one project I made with the headboard of the crib.

I painted the entire center of the board with a burgundy paint. No sanding, no priming, which made me happy.  I did two coats.

I cut words with my cricut. I intended to use them as a stencil, and peel them off. But I love the way they looked just at they were, so I left them on as stickers. 

And the best part, since I was originally using them as stencils, I used $2.00 shelf liner instead of vinyl.

I sealed it with 2 coats of Mod Podge, and I intend to do 2 more thin coats.

 

I used black paint on the edges,
I just used a rag to wipe it on, leaving some spots thicker and some spots lighter.

I love how it turned out. :) 

Chalk Board Pumpkin

I know it's not even close to being Halloween yet, 

But I needed a project to do. 

I just happened to have this pumpkin laying around. (Ok, I lie, I had to dig it out of my box of  Halloween stuff, buried deep in the garage, but I knew it was in there!)

Bought this awhile ago. 

Paid $9.99 for it, which I didn't think was a bad price. 

I barely used any of it for this entire pumpkin.

Here's my pumpkin!

I have to wait 3 days to condition it with chalk. And then it is finished and ready for Halloween.

Elmo Camera Buddy

I have been seeing some really cute camera buddies, and I figured I would try my hand at making my own! 

Just a quick one, it took me less than 10 minutes from start to finish.

I started out cutting out two circles. I used 2 inch.

(I used my circle cutter to cut them. LOVE this product!)

I intended to use this glue. But WOW, this glue sucks! It would NOT dry. 

So I ended up using hot glue. Gotta LOVE hot glue. Not sure what I will ever end up using this glue for, but I'm sure I will find something one of these days.

 I used two buttons for the eyes. And a red scrunchie for the body. :)

I cut out a nose and of course, hot glued it on. (After I colored it orange. I haven't used a crayon in years!) A piece of felt would have looked much, much better.

 Here it is...not the cutest, but it will do for now. 

Hoping it does not scare my newest niece. LOL

Ava Rae, my newest niece.

Have not been doing too much crafting lately, been to busy awaiting for the arrival of my newest niece.

Ava Rae, born on July 24.