1 serger + 1 yard fabric = 2 super hero capes

In case anyone with a serger wants to make super easy, super fast, super hero capes. It’s cheap too.  1 yard of symphony broadcloth on sale for $1.99, felt .25 and a roll of ribbon .99, for a grand total of $1.65 per cape!!

If you don’t have a serger, see option two at the end.

For 2 capes, you’ll need:
1 yard of lightweight cotton fabric
40 inches of ribbon cut into four-10 inch lengths
1 piece of felt (I used that new recycled eco-felt, also found at JoAnns)
A serger
thread (multi-color or coordinating color
regular sewing machine
drafting compass (or string/ruler & pencil )

Diagram is not exactly to proportion

1.  Fold the fabric into quarters (you will be cutting two capes at one time). Use the diagram above and cut out capes. I used a pencil and string to make my own drafting compass for the rounded bottom and this for the neck.  This fancy contraption would work too (I secretly want one of these).

2.  Set your serger on rolled hem setting and hem around all edges – neck, sides and bottom. Repeat on second cape.

3. Cut out 4 felt strips (2 for each cape), 2 x 4 inches each.  Round off one edge on each strip.  Now cut 4 squares, roughly 1 x 1 inch and trim with pinking shears if desires.  Place square over ribbon edge and sew onto strip.  Sew other end of strip onto cape with a simple zig-zag stitch on a regular sewing machine.

Option one:

Add a circle of white fabric to back with double-sided iron-on interfacing.  Stitch around the edge and let the kids decorate with markers or colored pencils.

Option two:

If you don’t have a serger, you can do a rolled hem on a regular sewing machine by doing a double fold along the edge, press and then sew.  Or you can make one cape out of both pieces by sewing them together along the side and bottom edges, leaving the neck open to turn right side out.  Use bias tape  to close up the neck.

Now watch your kiddos S O A R ! ! !

I’ve been carrying an empty mint tin in my bag for months, trying to think of something crafty to do with it.  I already use one for my echinaccea and vitamin c and another for earring bits, beads and buttons (because you never know).  It finally occurred to me that I should keep my business cards in one too.  Great!  I ran to see if they fit – almost, but not quite.  Easy fix.  Used my corner cutters and–voila!–perfect fit.  Now to decorate.

Here’s what I did:

You’ll need-
Newman’s mint tin (which has a flat top surface)
Paper Modge Podge
Paint brush
Paper ( I used an old map)
Decorated piece of canvas or paper
Brads
Double sided adhesive sheet
Sharp, pointy scissors
Ribbon

1. Pop the lid off and sand with a bit with fine sandpaper, clean.

2. Decoupage small pieces of paper around the sides and edges of the lid with modge podge- small, thin pieces are crucial for getting around the curved corner edges. Be very generous with the modge podge.

3. Decorate a piece of canvas or paper for the top center piece.  I painted onto a small piece of cotton canvas, stamping and adding text from an old book, arranging some words to create my own message.

4.  Cut a piece of double sided adhesive to fit the back of your decorated piece. Stick into place onto the tin lid (make sure decoupage is dry first).

5.  Using the sharp point of some scissors, CAREFULLY poke holes through the four corners of your decorated center piece.  The tin is thin and fairly easy to poke through.

6.  Re-attach lid onto tin.

7.  Fit brads through the holes and adjust on the back side of the tin.

8.  Cut a small piece of ribbon for the bottom of the tin.  Cut a small square of double sided adhesive, the width of the ribbon.  Adhere to the end of the ribbon, then place the sticky end of the ribbon to the inside, back side of the tin (see photo above).

I really like how it turned out.  Now my cards are protected from spilled drinks, smeared lip gloss, pencil marks, and all thing messy that end up in my bag.

Now I must go back to reading Twilight.  I had been resisting, for some silly reason, but this book has been going around at work and landed itself in my hands.  I started it this morning and now am on page 300.  I have an hour or so before bedtime.  Gotta go…..

The weekend was so nice.  The boys played outside and the hubby worked on his bike, right outside a very close window.  I was able to get some happy crafting time in while watching and listening to the business of my guys. The laughing, tools and toys clinking, yelling, and singing. It all fueling my creative and content mood. Such a nice change from the crazy non-stop schedule we’ve had lately.

I was tooling around with the idea of making a bracelet with skull beads.  Had none, but did have some polymer clay.  Perfect.   Hopped on the internet for some instruction but only found ones using a mold (great one here).  Didn’t have that either and didn’t want to make one.  Decided on just making them as simply and quickly as possible.  Here is what I did.

You need a bit of white polymer clay, a pencil (with broken tip), a large sewing needle, black paint and a very fine paint brush.   The pencil is the most important tool – make special note of broken tip shape.

1. Take a pinch of clay.  2. Roll into a ball.  3. Pinch end to made pear shape.

4-7.  Take handy-dandy broken pencil and press into clay making a big indention for the each eye and a smaller one for the nose.

8-10.   Use the tip of the pencil to create a teethy smile.

11.  Using  a needle, carefully poke hole into head (note evil laugh – a must for making skulls).

12. When all faces are smiling up at you, bake ‘em at 275 degrees for 5 minutes (I tried 9 minutes first and burned the whole batch. 5 minutes worked much better for me, but baking time may vary).  Allow to cool.

13-15.  Carefully paint eyes, nose and mouth with very fine paint brush.  Let dry.

Now, go make something really cool with them.

I FINALLY finished painting my China cabinet.  A few weeks ago actually.  It’s been so nice to look at considering we had been looking at THIS for the last 10 months.

It was the windowed doors that kept me at arms distance.  When I finally dove in, it wasn’t that bad.  Took me from 7am – 2pm to finish her up.  I was in mission mode.  You should see me in mission mode, I’m crazy! I don’t think I ate anything the whole time.  Maybe some tea.

The original knobs on this cabinet were antiqued bronze.  Not really my style. I was going to go hunt for thrifted/used knob, but that could have taken another ten months.  Then my husband said, “I’m surprised you’re not painting them”.  **light bulb!**

Here’s what I did:

Step 1 : Wash, dry and prime, using matte spray paint. Allow to dry completely.

Step 2 :  Spray base-coat. This color should be a lighter color then the top coat color.  I used Design Master Olive Bright #790 (it’s what I had on hand). Allow to dry.

Step 3 : Mix paint & glazing medium 3:1.  I used 3 tsp clear glazing medium with 1 tsp acrylic craft paint ~ Delta Ceramcoat Laguna Blue.  It should have a thin consistancy. Brush on a good amount, making sure to get all the cracks and crevises.  Allow to set for about 20-30 seconds then wipe gently with a damp washcloth, only removing paint on the flat and raised surfaces.

Step 4 :  Spray a protective finish.  I actually didn’t do this and they have held up well so far, but this might not be a bad thing to do if you are going to be handling them often.

Tomorrow I will show the whole cabinet and a peek at the inside.

Happy Monday

A few people have asked how I care for and store my hand-carved rubber stamps, so I thought I’d share what I do.

Cleaning:

1. After using your stamp, stamp any excess ink off onto a scrap piece of paper.

2. Rinse stamp off under running water (room temp), with or without mild soap. Be careful not to rub while rinsing. Small pieces of detailed carving can be lost this way.

3. Gently blot water off with soft cloth. Many inks will leave your stamp stained, especially dark inks. This is okay and won’t affect future stamping. Test stamp on a blank piece of scrap paper to make sure it is completely clean of ink.

Storage:

1. I store my stamps in a plastic covered, storage bin. This keeps them safe and in one place.

2. Carefully stack larger pieces making sure they remain flat. Any bending or overhang will eventually lead to cracks and breakage. I lost one of my favorite stamps by carelessly tossing it in the bin without giving it a flat surface to rest on. Smaller stamps don’t bend very easily and are less worrisome.

3. Keep stamps away from extreme heat and cold. I keep my stamps in a covered shelving unit, in controlled temps, protected from sun and dust.

Pretty basic stuff, but it makes a difference. These stamps won’t last forever and can eventually harden, crumble or crack. I spend a lot of time carving my stamps and want them to last as long as they can. Many of my stamps are over 2 years old and still work great. Some inks can affect their longevity, but as long as you stick to craft/scrap book quality inks, you should be okay. My favorite inks are VersaCraft and VersaMagic Dew Drops.

Hope this is helpful

First, I want to thank everyone for all the shop love. I truly appreciate all the kind words, support and the orders! Talk about a nice little lift in confidence, which I dare say, was lacking in the past.

Now on to pincushions. A few people have asked how I made these, so why not do yet another tutorial? They’ve been on my mind a lot since I made them. These are fairly easy, take about an hour, and it’s a great way to use up little scrap pieces. I am really loving the mixing of different fabrics.

You’ll need: paper, pencil, 6 pieces of coordinating fabric, 6×6 inch backing fabric, sewing machine, iron, fiberfill, embroidery thread and needle, and buttons.

A. To make the pattern, simply trace a circle (plate, lid) onto a piece of paper. The diameter should measure 4-6 inches, depending on how big you want your pincushion.

B. Cut the circle out and fold into 6 equal wedges. This is an important step, so refold until you have equal pieces. Now, cut out one of the wedges and that will be your pattern piece.

C. Using your pattern piece, cut out 6 pieces of fabric. Iron and arrange.

D. Sew two wedges together, right sides facing together, with a 1/8-1/4 inch seam allowance. I use 1/8 inch seam allowance for this. Whatever you use, be consistent when sewing all the wedges together.

E. Press seams open before (F) sewing on the next wedge. Sew on the third wedge making a half circle. Again, press all seams open.

G. Repeat with remaining 3 wedges. This will give you two half circles. With right side facing together, sew the two halves together down the straight side. Open and you now have a pretty patchwork circle. Don’t worry if the center points don’t meet up. That’s what the button is for (covering that part up).

H. After pressing all seams open/flat, use your finished circle to trace onto your backing fabric. I used felt for this, but any fabric will do.

I. With right side facing together, sew the two circles together by sewing all around the edge using a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Leave a 2 inch gap for stuffing. Trim with pinking shears (optional).

J. Turn right side out ( wouldn’t this make a pretty coaster?).

K. Start stuffing with fiberfill until you reach the desired plumpness. Slip stitch the open gap closed with regular thread and needle.

You can take it a step further and sew an embroidered chain stitch all around the perimeter of the cushion along the seam or move onto the next step, which is making the “petals” so to speak. There is a great tutorial on Whip Up on exactly how to do this HERE. You would do the same thing for this pincushion using the wedge seams as your guide.

And finally for the center, sew on your favorite button(s), bead or add a small object and your are all done!!

Any questions? Leave them in the comments or send me an email (it’s on my sidebar).

Have a lovely weekend!!

Many of you requested a tutorial for my pillowcase grocery bags. They are super easy and quick to make, involving only straight line sewing. The straps actually take a bit more time than the bag itself, but still easy enough. Hopefully these instructions are easy to follow.

Here is what you will need:

–Cutting mat or nice large space to work on
–scissors (rotary cutter optional)
–Thrifted pillow case (any size), washed and ironed
–Sewing machine, thread, pins and sewing needles(optional)
–hot iron
–About one hour of time and some good music.

1. Turn pillowcase inside-out and fold in half long-ways.
2. Cut a 3-4 inch strip off of one side. Save the long strip for the straps.
3. Open and lay flat. Pin together the open sides. You will be sewing this together in the following manner, leaving a 6 inch (15cm) gap in the center.
4. Cut a 2 inch square (a) off of all four corners (b) making sure to measure from the folded edge and and seam, not the rough edge.
5. Following THESE instructions, you are going to square off each corner (c).
6. When all four corners are sewn, flip the bag right side out through the open gap and sew the gap closed (hand or machine– I used my machine for this). Now you will have a completely sewn shut, empty pillowcase with squared off corners.
7. Now the fun (and kinda hard to explain) part… Fold the pillowcase into itself by stuffing the just sewn together gap-end into the bottom of the opposite end. The sewn together gap-end will be the inside bottom of your bag(d) and the squared-off corners will meet together on each side(e). Does this make any sense at all?
8. Once all the corners meet(f), iron and then sew around the top edge. Now you are ready for the straps

There are many ways to make straps, this is just how I do it. I just don’t like sewing all around the edges of a skinny strap and then try to turn it right side out of a little hole on the end.

1. Cut off the big hemmed end off of the remaining strip. Fold the strip in half long-ways and cut again. These will be your two straps. They should be 12-16inches long each.
2. With the right sides facing in, sew together the short ends of each strap, leaving one long side open.
3. Trim the corners(g) and turn right-side out.
4. Following the picture above, fold the ends towards the inside so that the raw edges are tucked inside(h-j). Once it is straight and flat(k), press with an iron and sew together(l-m).
5. Lastly, sew one strap to each side of your bag with big criss-cross squares(n) and you are done!!!

Now, my editor (Mr Creative Kismet, who really isn’t very creative as far as sewing is concerned, but did major in english lit) said “um, this sounds good and seems to make sense?”. What he was really trying to say was that he hasn’t a clue if this sounds right. SO, if any of you sewing buddies of mine out there in blog land think I need to tweek anything on this, please shout out, because I did use some of my own terminology which may, or may not, be helpful in this tutorial. Thanks!

I’ve been wanting to try making pendants using my own handmade images. I’ve had these little wood bits (circles and squares) that I’d been using for making clocks and decided to use them as the base. Here is what I did:

You’ll need paper (I used an old dictionary), wood bits from a craft store, waterproof micropen, pencil, scissors, craft glue, drill, small drill bit and clear glossy varnish.

1. Trace the wood piece on your selected paper.

2. Sketch out an image using a pencil, then trace/fill in with a waterproof micro pen. This will prevent the ink from smearing when the glue is applied.

3. When you are happy with your image, carefully cut out.

4. Decoupage image onto wood surface using thinned-out craft glue or modge podge. (I don’t like modge podge because it stinks). Allow to dry. Add watercolor wash at this time for a touch of color.

5. Very slowly and carefully, drill a hole with your smallest drill bit.

6. Apply a couple of layers of glossy varnish. Allow to dry overnight.

7. Use a jumpring to add to your favorite chain or beaded necklace.

I made these on Thursday and they were smooth. Tonight (Friday) they are bubbled up giving them a bumpy texture. I’m not sure why this happened, but I think I kinda sorta like it.

I get a whole lotta traffic to my Button Bracelet Tutorial post. Tons! It’s totally crazy how quickly and haphazardly I threw it together over a year ago, not thinking it would be of any interest. It makes me cringe a little at how sloppily I put it together. So, I gave it a face lift. Really it was an excuse to get out my buttons and make more bracelets. Especially this one, with my most favorite red and white buttons. Some are thrift finds, and some were hidden in my grammy’s button collection.

While I was making it, I got the insane idea to document the process photo….by….photo. Most of the photos are totally uneccesary, but if you watch the photostream, it’s not so bad. I always think these little projects won’t take very long, which is completely ridiculous, because it ALWAYS takes waaaaay longer than planned.

Check out:

***Button Bracelet Photo Tutorial

***Button Bracelet Tutorial (also on my side bar)

***Button Jewelry and Accessories Flickr Group (add your button creations to the group!)

Well, it’s not anywhere close to feeling like fall here in the Southwest. In fact, we probably have another 1-2 months of warm, summer-like weather ahead. That won’t stop me from dreaming about cooler weather, fall colors, jeans and long sleeves.

So, I made this little wristlet. I love the colors in this tapestry fabric, dug up from this batch of remnant upholstery fabric, given to me a while back. I didn’t have enough to make a matching flap, so I did the best I could to find something that coordinated. Won’t this go great with a rust colored sweater, jeans and boots?

The style is from this wristlet I made a while back. I ripped it apart to make a pattern for this one. Here are a few tips on how to make your own wristlet with pleats:

1. Cut a 8 x 15 inch rectangle.

2. Create pleats, using pins, wherever you desire. I have three top pleats and one on the bottom. The middle pleats make one full, top-to-bottom pleat. Press with an iron if needed.

3. Once you get it how you like, sew a straight seam along the top and bottom to hold the pleats in place.

4. Now lay the pleated piece on top of a piece of paper. Trace the shape and cut out. You may need to fold the paper in half to make sure it is symmetrical. This piece is the pattern for two lining pieces and the back piece of the the bag.

5. Don’t forget the strap (I used a small D-ring to attach this one) and the flap, which is basically a half circle.  Oh, and I did a 1.5 inch gusset on the bottom corners to give it a somewhat sqared bottom.  Hopefully, you can figure out the rest.

Now, with sewing bags, I am totally winging it. I’ve had to figure it all out on my own. So I am sorry that I can’t provide you with a pattern. I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that!  But, I can try to show you my thought process and how I got what I got.  I hope this is helpful.  Please, send me a line if you have any questions.  Cheers and good luck!