Ruffle Curtains

I have always made my own curtains. But rarely anything ever complicated.

My sister asked me to make a set of curtains for her kitchen windows. 

She gave me the fabric, and said to make "Whatever."

I wanted to do something different, but cute. 

I own a Singer Simple sewing machine. (Which I LOVE)

And I looked everywhere for a ruffle foot attachment, 

only to find that for my model machine, they make no 

such attachment. 

So I decided to make my own ruffles,

 and shockingly enough,

it was very easy, although time consuming, to do.

 

 

I decided for larger ruffles.

I cut a back liner piece the size of the window.

And then cut 6 1/2" strips of material wide and almost double the lenght of the liner.

(I did cut off the excess on some pieces. Wasteful I know! LOL)

Here's where I do things the weird and wrong way.

I used my liner as my template. I attached my ruffle material to the liner on one end.

And then about every 1-2 inches I just folded the fabric on my ruffle material ONLY and pinned it to itself.

(DO NOT pin to the liner yet. I didn't want the liner would NOT bunch up)

I did this for every single strip of ruffle material.

I sewed each ruffle piece with a simple straight stitch on my sewing machine.

After I had sewn all of my ruffle pieces. I attached each piece to the liner.

And sewed it on, using a straight stitch. 

After I sewed each ruffle piece to the liner, I added a new row and overlapped it by about one inch or so to hide the previous ruffle thread.

I followed no template. Just a lot of guess work. And they turned out wonderfully, with no mistakes. 

Which is rare for me. :)

I know this is not very detailed. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will answer the best I can. 

 Here are the finished curtains. 

 

Head Board from Old Window

While in Sugar Creek, (BEST place to shop for primitives)

I found a large, old window. And got it for a steal at $10.00!

Super happy that my sister let me cram it in to her brand new car. LOL 

It was perfect. So I just wiped it off a bit. 

I then decided that it needed a shelf attached to it. 

 I went and bought a thin, long board from Home Depot for under $5.00.

 

I was so happy with how I matched up the brand new board to the old window. I simply used a couple different colors of gray paint, along with black and white. And kept layering it. Also, want to know my other secret I found worked wonders? 

(I LOVE pinterest) 

I used Elmer's wood glue between each layer. And once it dried, it gave the paint an old cracked look.

I was also proud of the fact that I did this project 100% by myself. 

After I attached the shelf board, It was time to hang. 

Another wonderful tip I discovered thanks to pinterest, 

I placed a piece of  painters tape the length of the window.

(Doesn't that top shelf look all old and weathered?!)

I then took the piece of tape, and attached it on the wall where I wanted the head board.

I found where the studs where, and marked an X on the tape.

Also, take note of the pieces of blue tape on the top of the wall.

Those are where the studs are. I left those pieces of tape there so I knew exactly where to drill 

my headboard once it was ready to hang.

I took the tape and placed it back on my head board. 

And pre drilled my screws where I had marked the X's. 

All ready to be hung...

And here it is. It was so easy to hang because of the pre drilling! 

And I did it with NO help at all. 

And because of the blue tape I had left on the wall, I knew exactly where to start my screws. 

I'm sure it seems like an extra step, but it is what worked for me. LOL

And here it is, mostly finished. 

I have since added stuff to the shelf on top, and moved the love banner to the bottom of it.

I made the banner from burlap and tea stained material. 

And I used pictures of my husband and I and strung them on a piece of Jute.

Solar Log Stand

I found THIS photo on pinterest awhile back.

(It only links to the photo, no website could be found)

But I just loved them. 

The original photo below...

I just HAD to have a set of my own. 

So I showed my hubby, and he got right on it for me. 

We went and found a tree that was already down. 

And my wonderful Craig, cut me a bunch of pieces.

He also cut me bases for the bottom of them.

And drilled holes for the solar lights to sit in. 

I actually helped him drill the base to the log. And then nailed on the stars and the pip berries.

*The next set I make, will NOT have the pip berries. After one rain, the pip berries turned white! So disappointing. 

But here are my finished ones. 

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.