Friday Favorites–Gifts for Teachers

Teacher Appreciation Day is on May 8th this year. We’ve been fortunate enough to be part of a great school system and my kids have had excellent teachers over the years. Having volunteered in their schools for the past 15 years (whew!) I can tell you that those teachers bring a lot of themselves to their classrooms, both mentally and physically. Their rooms are filled with things they’ve brought from home or purchased with their own money. It’s always nice to show them a little appreciation and support as the year comes to a close.

Have you ever been in a classroom that doesn’t have a box of tissues floating around somewhere? Nothing says they can’t be fancied up a little with this Tissue Box Cover from Sew-4-Home.

These Mod Podge Glass Clings from Mod Podge Rocks are shown on vases and glasses, but they would make great window decorations for a classroom.

This Something Special Card and Envelope from Sew, Mama, Sew takes a simple message of appreciation up a notch.

A common site on a teacher’s desk these days is a mouse. The computer kind. This Fabric Scrap Mousepad from How Joyful would give it something pretty to sit on.

This Post-it Note Holder from Smile Monsters is cute, functional and inexpensive to make.

I’ve noticed most teachers keep some sort of drink on their desk (water, coffee, Kool-Aid, etc.), making these DIY Fabric Covered Tile Coasters from Marie, Oh Marie a handy gift.

This Chalkboard Planter from Accidentally Wonderful is just cute. I want one, and I’m not even a teacher.

I could see this Emergency Zippered Pouch from A Spoonful of Sugar might be handy to clip to their ID lanyard when they’re out of the classroom with the kids.

Gift cards are always nice for teachers, and a Gift Card Cozy like these from Make It and Love It make them a little more special.

Let’s face it – sometimes the best thing you can give your favorite teacher is cold, hard cash. To soften that “cold, hard” part, try folding it into a bracelet with this tutorial from Under the Table and Dreaming.

There are a few ideas for gifts for teachers right here too! Check out the Pencil and Paper Drink Sleeve and Mat (also in my Etsy shop right now), Reversible Coffee Cup Sleeves, Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bags or Oval Mug Mat.

BIG THANKS to all the teachers out there!

2 Comments

by CraftyStaci on April 27, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in crafts, Friday Favorites

Tagged crafts, diy, fabric, Friday Favorites, gifts, school, sewing

Posted by CraftyStaci on April 27, 2012

http://craftystaci.com/2012/04/27/friday-favoritesgifts-for-teachers-2/

Paint Chips from Photos

As I mentioned last week, we’re in the middle of remodeling another room in our house. When we moved out of our last house, years ago, we had just finished adding onto and updating it too. Needless to say, we’ve spent a lot of time mulling over paint chips.

I love color, but that task always stresses me out a little. It’s a bit like choosing a baby’s name – whatever you pick, you’re stuck with, even if you decide later that Apple is both an odd choice for a child and a bad color for your bathroom.

I happened upon a tool yesterday, which I have absolutely no affiliation with, that’s kind of brilliant. It’s called Chip It! by Sherwin Williams and it’s almost criminal how fun it is to play with.

It’s very simple. You give it the address of a photo, like the one above from my homemade Salsa post, and it chooses a palette of colors based on what it sees in the picture. At first, it gives you a smaller group of five chips, like this pic of Lavender Mint Tea.

But when you hit that little “More Colors” link at the bottom, it expands to up to ten.

It probably goes without saying, but it’s going to pick up the background in your photo, so the more the colors you’re aiming for fill the frame, the better.

You can use photos from pretty much anywhere online – Pinterest, Flickr, blogs. You can also share your chips, once you’ve saved them to your ChipBook, via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

I apologize in advance for causing you to lose part of your day, but maybe this will inspire you to go paint something. Somewhere out there, my husband is hoping not.

12 Comments

by CraftyStaci on April 25, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in crafts, diy

Tagged color, crafts, diy, inspiration, paint

Posted by CraftyStaci on April 25, 2012

http://craftystaci.com/2012/04/25/paint-chips-from-photos/

Friday Favorites–Recycling and Repurposing

I’m never quite sure what to say about Earth Day. It feels similar to what we all tell our children when they ask why there’s no Kids’ Day. Say it with me – every day is Kids’ Day. Isn’t every day Earth Day? Do you only recycle on April 22nd? Probably not, and I found a bunch of creative people who do it year-round too.

I just bought some shrinkable plastic sheets to play with. I wish I would have found these DIY Shrinky Dinks from Curbly first.

If someone comes up with some creative way this thing will water itself (I’m sure it’s out there) I’ll be all over this Vertical Vegetable Garden from Instructables user pippa5, because I’m pretty sure I have this shoe organizer somewhere.

I’m sure if you’ve even dipped your foot into Pinterest, you’ve experienced the frustration of trying to track down the original source of a pin. I saw this photo and loved it, but finding where it came from took a LONG time. Turns out, it’s an entry in a photo contest on Dave’s Garden. The photo, taken by Elfishone, is lovely and the idea is a brilliant way to reuse an old purse.

Who hasn’t found themselves with old, empty DVD cases and wondered how they could be repurposed? This DVD Coloring Case from Handmade by Stacy Vaughn is the perfect answer.

I’m not sure how difficult it would be to find the hardware for this Book Page Bracelet from Happy Hour Projects, but I think it’s definitely worth looking.

Start collecting those pop tops, because you’ll need a lot of them to make this Pop Top Lamp Shade from Make.

This Buckle Up Key Holder from Uncommon Goods is a ready-made item, but with a little ingenuity and access to an old seatbelt, I’m sure you crafters out there could make one.

Something about this Corner Door Shelf from Craftaholics Anonymous feels like Alice in Wonderland.

This braided belt from Instructables user hammer9876 uses ties from yoga pants, but the possibilities for reusing other string-shaped items are endless.

I’m going to start stashing away colorful magazine pages so I can make these gift bows from How About Orange. As if I need another excuse.

Stretching Designer Fabric

That title might be a little misleading. I’m not talking about literally stretching the fabric. What I want to talk about is how you can buy less expensive fabric but make it go farther in a room. Before I get into that, you’re going to need a bit of back story.

Our house was built in 1972. We bought it in 2002, and very little had been done as far as updating. There was still orange shag carpet in a closet and these lovely things hung by the front door.

One bathroom had a dusty blue toilet and bathtub and the other was avocado green. There were several pieces of gold glass throughout the house. That dark wood you can see in the photo was EVERYWHERE.

We’ve been working on some part of the house constantly since we moved in. My daughter jokes that she’ll always have to have one unfinished room in her house just to feel at home.

This is my fireplace. At least, it was.

I had all I could take of that wood paneling, so I asked my husband what he thought about painting it. One thing lead to another, and pretty soon we were re-doing the living room. I’m dying to show you what we’ve done, but it isn’t finished, so I’m holding off for a big reveal. I will tell you – the paneling did not get painted.

What I can show you are the new pillows for the couch. It’s just a tiny part of the room, but I want to share a couple of tips on making your expensive fabric make an big impact on your room, but a smaller one on your wallet.

I set out to find fabric that would match my new living room colors and fell in love with the print above with the squares. The black with the keys is a companion print. Because we decided to do this room on a whim, the budget is very tight. I wanted to use it for pillows and curtains, but at $18 per yard, that wasn’t going to work. I didn’t want to give it up completely, so instead I found a tan microfiber on clearance and used that for the back of all eight pillows.

That allowed me to buy enough of the squares and keys for the fronts of two pillows each, and mix in the other coppery orange that I also found on clearance. I recovered our existing pillows instead of buying new pillow forms, so I saved there too. Another trick I used was piecing together some of the cheaper fabric with the expensive to get the look without using much at all.

I’m very happy with the pillows and can’t wait to show you what I did with the curtains. Home improvement…better than spring cleaning.

6 Comments

by CraftyStaci on April 18, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in crafts, sewing

Tagged crafts, diy, fabric, home improvement, pillows, sewing

Posted by CraftyStaci on April 18, 2012

http://craftystaci.com/2012/04/18/stretching-designer-fabric/

Friday Favorites–Dresses and Skirts

We’ve finally had a couple of really nice days around here. We made it all the way to 70 degrees! I painted my toenails and dug a pair of sandals out of the back of my closet. Two days later I was stuffing them back in and slipping into my wool socks again, but it was nice while it lasted. That little bit of sunshine, combined with my daughter’s senior prom coming up soon, has me in the mood for dresses and skirts.

I’m fascinated by the idea of these Infinity Dresses, like this one from Sew Like My Mom…

…and this one from Rostitchery. I’m just afraid I’d end up somewhere lost in a knot.

Instructables user nataliehua made an entire Ruffled On-Shoulder Dress from one extra-large t-shirt. It’s a teeny dress, but impressive.

I don’t own one, but these yoga skirts like this one from Sew, Mama, Sew look very comfy.

The sash on this Simple A-Line Skirt from The Mother Huddle is removable, but it’s so cute, why would you want to?

I love the color of this Sweet August Dress from Kojo Designs. So summery.

My favorite things about this Taking Notes Skirt from Sewing in No-Man’s Land are that extra-wide waistband and wide tie. And the bright yellow. And the dots.

I like the extra details on this Flowered Wrap Skirt from Creative Kismet, like the curved corner and the lining that would show if it flipped a little.

All the ruffles on this Ruffle Equation Skirt from iCandy Handmade are adorable, but I’m trying to figure out how I would get those boots to go with it.

I’m not sure I’m brave enough for this Party Dress from DIY Style, but it just wouldn’t be as fun any other way.

I can’t even tell you how much I love this Vintage Inspired Summer Dress from Etsy seller Darmiani Fashions. This, with a pair of red heels, would make me blissfully happy.

In fact, let’s just go all the way with this. These.

Here’s hoping you’ve got dress and skirt weather where you are!

2 Comments

by CraftyStaci on April 13, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Friday Favorites

Tagged crafts, diy, dresses, Etsy, fabric, Friday Favorites, sewing, skirts

Posted by CraftyStaci on April 13, 2012

http://craftystaci.com/2012/04/13/friday-favoritesdresses-and-skirts/

Ruffled Oven Mitts

You might have caught my tutorial last week for the Spring Apron I made for my sister. If you made one, or even read through the instructions, you probably noticed there’s a good-sized piece of scrap left over. I’m not one to let fabric go to waste, so I HAD to come up with a project to use it. What better accessory to a cute, ruffley apron than cute, ruffley oven mitts?

To make one of these (you’ll probably want two, so just do everything twice) you’ll need this pattern. Everything is sewn together using 1/4” seams.

Cut:

one (on the fold) from the outer fabric

one (on the fold) from the lining fabric

one (on the fold) from Insul-Brite

one (on the fold) from cotton batting

one 2 1/2” x 18” piece of contrasting fabric (for the ruffle)

one 1 1/2” x 16” (cut on the bias) from the lining fabric for binding the bottom edge

Fold the ruffle in half lengthwise with wrong sides together. Press. Baste the raw edge. On a side note, yes, I have scorched the heck out of my ironing board cover. I have the world’s hottest iron, which is both a blessing and a curse.

Layer the pieces opened up with the lining right side down, the cotton batting, the Insul-Brite (with the shinier side up) and then the outer piece right side up. Pin together using lots of pins.

You can quilt these together by stitching through all the layers in a few lines if you’d like. It’s not required, but it will make everything a little easier to handle, and you can remove the pins.

Leave the piece laid out flat. Find the center of the ruffle and pin it to the center of the mitt with the raw edges even. Pin the ends of the ruffle to the outer edges of the mitt. Pull the threads from each end to gather. Pin the ruffle in place. Baste in place if desired.

Fold the bias piece in half, wrong sides together and press. Press edge under 1/4”. Cut to fit the edge of the mitt, setting the remaining piece of bias aside. Pin over the ruffle with the raw edge of the mitt even with the unfolded edge of the bias. Stitch 1/4” from edge.

Pull the bias down toward the seam and wrap the folded edge to the back, just covering the stitch line.

Pin in place. Stitch from the front near the edge of the bias closest to the ruffle.

Cut 3” from the remaining bias. Fold both raw edges under 1/4”, the fold in half. Stitch near the edge. This will be your hanging loop.

Fold the mitt right sides together. Fold the hanging loop in half and put between the two layers near the wrist with the loop to the inside. Stitch around the edge of the mitt, tapering your stitching to meet the fold and keep a smooth curve. Clip the seam where the thumb meets the hand. Zigzag over the seam all the way around.

Turn right side out and go make some cookies.

12 Comments

by CraftyStaci on April 11, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in crafts, sewing

Tagged crafts, diy, fabric, kitchen, patterns, sewing, tutorial

Posted by CraftyStaci on April 11, 2012

http://craftystaci.com/2012/04/11/ruffled-oven-mitts/

Friday Favorites–Easter

One Easter, when my kids were little, I had a stroke of genius. While they were sleeping I closed a bit of white cotton in the front door and when they got up I told them the Easter bunny caught his tail in the door on his way out. Cute, huh? Turns out, finding an amputated piece of bunny tail stuck in their house scared the jelly beans out of them. Go figure.

Maybe I should have went with something more like these Carrots in Dirt from Our Dish. Nobody cries when they get a cookie. Unless it’s covered in dirt. Well, once you’ve convinced them it’s tasty, edible dirt everything will be okay.

I could just have just skipped the whole bunny idea completely and went with chickens and lambs instead. Especially when they’re as cute as these two from Toastie Studio.

Who am I kidding? There still has to be bunnies too. How about a Sock Bunny from My Paper Crane?

Where there’s a bunny, there’s an egg. How does that happen? Anyway, check out this adorable Egg Tee from iCandy Handmade.

Speaking of eggs, it looks like if I want any dyed this year I have to do it myself, since my kids have decided they’re too old. We’ll see who’s too old when I pull out the Kool-Aid to make these Kool Eggs from Hey Jen Renee.

Or maybe I’ll just color them after they’re out of the shell, like these Easter Eggs from Foodjimoto.

I actually tried making fabric eggs one year, similar to these from Retro Mama, but mine did not turn out in a nice egg shape like these. I need to try again because I want these.

These bunny accessories from Etsy seller jennmcmillan are so sweet and completely still attached to the bunny.

I love Sun Scholars Edible Easter Spring Globes and I know that bunny is still sporting a tail back there.

Who am I kidding? Bunny-less Bunny Ear Teething Ring from Etsy seller alskarbaby. Love. Enough said.

Happy Easter!

Spring Apron

Of all the tutorials I’ve done, this apron took the most time and work on my part to develop, so I’m kinda proud of it. Now to find time to make one for myself!

To make this apron with a main fabric and contrast, as shown above, you’ll need

1 2/3 yards of the main fabric (skirt, top and waist ties)
1 1/2 yards of the contrast (ruffle, waistband, neck tie and pockets)

Wash and dry both fabrics before cutting so your apron can be washed later with little to no shrinkage.

You’ll also need this pattern. It’s a big one – 25 pages – but for this project we’re dealing with large pieces. You’ll have to piece them together by printing out the pages and matching the X’s. The pieces overlap, so just look for matching letters next to the X. It’s also printed on a grid, which should make it easier.

Fold the main fabric with the selvages together. If you’re not familiar with the term, the selvage is the long finished edge on both sides of the fabric perpendicular to the cut edge. Cut top and skirt as shown. Mark dots on bottom edge of skirt and for pocket placement.

Unfold remaining fabric and fold with selvages apart, just enough to fit waist ties. If the waist tie piece is too long to fit the width of your fabric, simply shorten it. It won’t be noticeable on the finished apron because the ties are very long.

Fold the contrast fabric with the selvages on the same side, but only wide enough to accommodate the waistband, since it’s the tallest piece. After cutting the other pieces, fold smaller for the pocket, as shown. This will keep all your scrap fabric in a larger piece. Fold the necktie and ruffle pattern pieces and cut on the fold. Add the point to one end of the necktie. Mark the dot on the waistband.

Use a 1/2” seam allowance for all stitching on the apron.

Fold the pocket, right sides together. Stitch around edge, leaving a 1 1/2” opening on one side for turning. Trim seam. I leave the seam a bit wider at the opening to make it easier to turn in. Turn right side out. Press, turning in opening. Repeat with remaining pocket.

Match top corners of pockets to dots on skirt. Pin in place and stitch near edge, leaving top open.

Turn sides of top under 1/2”, then turn edge in to fold to create a 1/4” rolled seam. Press. Trim off ends of seam even with lower edge of top. Stitch.

Fold upper edge of top under 1 1/2”. Press. Fold edge under 1/4”. Stitch near inner fold to create casing at neck.

Pin waistband to lower edge of top, right sides together, matching tip of lower edge of top to dot on waistband. Stitch, slightly stretching waistband if necessary to match edge of top.

Lay waistband, with top attached, right side up. Pin upper edge of skirt to raw edge with right sides together. Stitch. Press seam toward waistband.

Fold waist tie right sides together. Stitch, leaving straight end open. Clip corners. Turn. Press. Topstitch. Repeat with remaining waist tie. No, the end is not symmetrical. Yes, it was an accident. I decided I like it, but if it bugs you, feel free to fix it on your pattern before cutting.

Match raw end of waist tie to edge of waistband, with the edge next to the skirt seam, right sides together. Stitch.

Fold short ends of remaining waistband piece under 1/2”. Press. Fold top down over skirt.

With right side facing top, pin second waistband to first, sandwiching top between, and matching folded edge to stitching line where waist ties were attached.

Sew along previous stitching line. Press waistbands down toward skirt.

Sew short ends of ruffle pieces right sides together to create one long strip. Zigzag stitch over edges of seams to finish. Press seams to one side.

Turn one long edge under 1/2” and then turn the edge into the fold for a 1/4” rolled hem. Stitch. Do the same on both short ends.

Stitch a long basting stitch 5/8” from raw edge, then 1/4” from that. Stop and restart stitching at each seam, leaving long threads. Mark center on edge of skirt.

Pin ruffle to bottom edge of skirt, right sides together, matching center and dots on skirt to seams on ruffle. Ends of ruffle should be next to waistband seams.

Gather each section of ruffle by tying long threads together at one end and pulling threads from the other. Even out gathers and pin.

Stitch. Remove basting threads. Zigzag stitch over edge of seam. Press seam up toward skirt. Top stitch near the edge of skirt through seam and again 1/4” away.

Turn remaining raw edge of waistband under 1/2”. Press.

Pin over first waistband, covering raw seams on upper edge of skirt and at sides where waist ties were sewn on. Topstitch.

Stitch short ends of neck tie pieces right sides together to create one long piece. Press seam open. Fold right sides together. Stitch, leaving an opening near the middle. Trim seam. Turn. Press, turning in opening. Top stitch.

Feed neck tie though casing at upper edge of top. Make sure neck tie is flat and centered. Stitch through casing at center to hold neck tie in place. Push sides of casing toward center while holding neck ties to gather.

Ready for the kitchen! Hang onto those leftover fabric scraps – I’ve got another cute kitchen project coming next week.

If you happen to make one of these yourself, I’d love to see a photo. Just send one (or two!) to me at craftystaci (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll feature them here!

12 Comments

by CraftyStaci on April 4, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in crafts, sewing

Tagged apron, crafts, diy, kitchen, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Posted by CraftyStaci on April 4, 2012

http://craftystaci.com/2012/04/04/spring-apron/

Anniversary and Spring Apron Giveaway Winners

First of all, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who entered both of these giveaways. I asked you to tell me something that would make me smile and you definitely did. In fact, some of them made me laugh out loud, which was even funnier since I was out in the world reading them on my phone. There are a couple of establishments I may not be allowed back into.

Anyway, with no further ado, the winner of the book and fat quarters is…Mindy Bohn! I’ve sent an email to Mindy and have her prize ready to ship. According to her comment, she’s expecting a baby, so I can only imagine the adorable things she can do with her book and fabric.

And, the winner of the Spring Apron goes by the initials B.M.! I’ve sent an email, and it appears from the address that this winner is from Germany. My very German husband will be happy.

Congratulations to both winners and thank you all so much for reading and entering. Be sure to check out the apron tutorial on Wednesday!

Spring Apron Giveaway

My sister Jennifer recently had an important birthday. I won’t out her on which one, even though she’s my younger sister, but it was one of those that deserves a little something extra. That, combined with her new kitchen gave me the perfect excuse to re-visit an apron pattern I had attempted to create over a year ago that needed more work. I spent a couple of months on it and made a mock-up, which my daughter promptly claimed. Here she is, cooking out in the yard. You know, like everyone does.

I had some perfect sarcastic 50’s housewife fabric, which I knew my sister would appreciate, so I made this one and sent it off to her.

I owe a big thanks to my niece, Alorea, for cornering her mom (and little brother) in the kitchen and snagging this photo for me!

I had originally planned to share how to make the apron today. But I also wanted to give away the one I recently made. A giveaway and big tutorial in one day was too much, so of course, giveaway first!

You can enter to win this springy little number:

I especially love the back.

To enter to win this apron, leave a comment here. That’s it. Super simple, whatever you’d like to say. One entry per visitor.

You have until next Sunday night, April 1, 2012 at 11:59 pm to enter. I’ll choose a random winner after that and announce who it is on Monday, April 2nd. Please make sure there is an email address attached to your profile or included in your comment so I’m able to contact you. If I’m unable to reach the winner within one week, I’ll have to choose a new one.

This contest is open to anyone, and international entries are welcome, provided your country has no limitations on whether you can receive items from the United States.

In case you missed it, my other giveaway ends at the same time – be sure to enter that one too.

I’ll be posting the tutorial for this apron next Wednesday, after the contests are over. Get your printer ready and your sewing machine fired up!

39 Comments

by CraftyStaci on March 28, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in giveaways

Tagged anniversary, apron, crafts, diy, fabric, giveaway, sewing

Posted by CraftyStaci on March 28, 2012

http://craftystaci.com/2012/03/28/spring-apron-giveaway/

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Crafty Staci

Friday Favorites–Gifts for Teachers

BIG THANKS to all the teachers out there!

Paint Chips from Photos

Friday Favorites–Recycling and Repurposing

Stretching Designer Fabric

Friday Favorites–Dresses and Skirts

Ruffled Oven Mitts

Friday Favorites–Easter

Spring Apron

Anniversary and Spring Apron Giveaway Winners

Spring Apron Giveaway

My Shop on Etsy

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