Posts tagged as:

#handmadeholiday

embellished frames from little birdie secrets

by @according2kelly on July 23, 2010

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season. dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger, or should i say bloggers is the creative duo jessica & mandy the masterminds behind  the awe-inspiring little birdie secrets. jessica & mandy write…

We’re so happy to be a part of the Handmade Holiday Craft-A-Long, mostly because we’re in such good company! And also because I’m probably the biggest procrastinator in America, so I love the thought of getting a jump start on holiday gifts. This craft is quick and easy (it took me about 5 minutes), and will work for almost anyone on your Christmas gift list! (I’m thinking my husband would be less-than-thrilled with this–pretty sure I’m not alone on that one.) But think sisters, moms, friends, neighbors, and you’ve pretty much got the girly gifts covered!

Ribbon Embellished Picture Frame TutorialWhat You’ll Need:
*Any picture frame–I’m using wood frames I already had covered with paper or wall paper
*Coordinating ribbon–I used wired ribbon, but you can also stiffen non-wired ribbon with fabric stiffener if you want)
*Button
*Needle and thread (I used transparent thread so I didn’t have to match it!)
*Hot glue gun

1. Start by tying a knot in your ribbon, leaving some length on either end. Then tie a nice bow. Cut off tails at an angle.

2. If you’re using a ribbon stiffener, spray your bow now and arrange the tails how you want them. Allow to dry according to stiffener’s instructions.

3. Take your button and hand sew it on top of the center knot of your bow.

4. Apply a little hot glue on the back of the knot. Quickly place it on your frame. I centered mine along the top, but get creative! It might be cute off-centered or at the bottom.

That’s it!It would also be fun to make frames specifically for the holidays to get out with your decorations and show off those Santa pics each year. (I just couldn’t quite get in red-and-green mode to put together a sample!)

Here’s another example using a fabric rosette for the center of the bow (instead of a button). Pretty gorgeous, huh? The most beautiful part is how easy they are. Merry Christmas!

for more great ideas visit jessica & mandy at their blog little birdie secrets. their entire site is full of so many tutorials & creative ideas it will make your head spin! everything from vintage hankie projects, how to crochet flowers & butterflys to up-cycled cake platters.

about jessica & mandy: Little Birdie Secrets was born from the crafting obsession of friends living in the Pacific Northwest. It started with crafting playdates and blossomed into a place where we could share our ideas, knowledge, and finished projects with fellow crafters. Our mission is to share fun and creative crafting projects, tips, and tutorials to make crafting easier and more fun. Our main areas of focus are quilting, small sewing projects, kids crafts, home decor, and paper crafting. We hope our efforts will inspire you to be creative in every aspect of your life!

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-ispired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

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mod podged hand trees from at second street

by @according2kelly on July 22, 2010

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season. dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.


today, our featured blogger is the fabulous kalleen of at second street. she is seriously one amazing gal, so i can’t wait to share her post. kalleen writes…


I am so excited to be part of this Holiday craft along. My family has been making homemade Christmas gifts since I was a kid. It’s my favorite holiday tradition. I can’t tell you how many Christmas mornings were spent in tears as we opened each others gifts. These Mod Podged hand trees are the perfect gift for a parent or grandparent and can be made by adults and kids.

This is a quick and easy gift that is not only sentimental but looks beautiful. I still smile when I walk past mine.
What I used:
-Wood Picture Boards (I got mine at Tai Pan Trading Co., they were damaged and 75% off.) You could also use a canvas.
- burlap
-scrap fabric
-scissors
- Mod Podge- I used matte, but I think anything you have is fine.
-Permanent marker – to sign name at the end
These are the boards I used. I needed more surface area so I used the back side as my front.

Some of the Fabrics I used: I liked using a heavier fabric, but anything would work. Make sure you have lots of variety. You want the fabrics to work together while still having as many different colors as possible. You don’t want all the fabrics to blend together. I used eight different fabrics.

Step 1: I removed the hanger and stickers from the back of my board. I saved the hanger and placed it on the other side when it was time to hang my pictures. Step 2: I covered the entire board with Mod Podge and layed a piece of burlap, bigger than the board, over the top. Then I used my sharp sewing scissors to cut away the excess burlap till it was straight and flush with the board. If you are using a canvas I would try wrapping the canvas and stapling it to the back instead. Step 3: Cutting the leaves and hands out. I did all the cutting. I didn’t trust my kids with my sharp sewing scissors. I was afraid someone would lose a finger. If your kids are older you might want to let them do this part.

I cut three different sizes of leaves for each pattern.

Tracing and cutting the hands before starting with the Mod Podge, make things easier when everything is covered with goo.

Step 4: Glue everything down.
I helped glue the first four leaves down so my kids had an idea of which direction the leaves should go. Then they took over. They painted the Mod Podge onto the backs of the leaves then placed them were they wanted. I reminded them to cover all the empty spots and to use all the different colors.

Step 5: Once all your leaves are on. They plastered the back of the trunk with Mod Podge and placed it on the picture with the hand in the center of the leaves. You might need to trim some of the trunk so that it is flush with the bottom of the board. Now they can finish it off by painting over the entire tree with the Mod Podge. It dries clear so don’t worry if it looks a little messy.

The leaves dry stiff and look cute if they start to come off the board.

We finished ours off by each signing their name to a leaf with a permanent marker and adding it in the bottom corner.

My kids are learning the value and joy that comes with making something for others. I hope they are more excited about giving gifts than receiving.


for more great ideas visit kalleen’s blog at second street. be sure to check out her other tutorials, including her on the go activity book, her fab t-shirt hat, or her beautiful etched window.

My name is Kalleen, and I’m a mother of four who loves making my house a home. I’ve always loved to create and design. Doing it for my family in my home keeps me sane. I’m not trying to be super mom. I’m just doing what I love.





baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-ispired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 12 comments }

book wreath from living with lindsay

by @according2kelly on July 21, 2010

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season. dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is one of my blogging & crafty idols, lindsay from living with lindsay. she is sharing with us one of my all-time  favorite projects ever, the original “book wreath” tutorial. it would definitely make a fabulous gift, it’s easy on the wallet & looks way more complicated than it really is! lindsay writes…

When we came upon my now-favorite booth during our trip to the City-Wide Garage Sale, I think an audible gasp could have been heard from within our little shopping group. It was one of those booths that has something you want to buy in every square inch of space. I found a wonderful chippy side table exactly like I’ve been looking for, but the vendor wanted $50 and I wanted to pay more like $10. Thrifting has certainly spoiled me!

At the same booth, we came across a pair of simple, but stunning wreaths made from book pages. The vendor told me that she made them sitting in front of the television. That’s my kind of crafting.

I honestly don’t remember how much she wanted for these lovelies, but I think it was at least $40 a pop.

Yeah, um, that’s way too rich for my blood. How about I show you how to make my version of the same wreath for just $2? Librarians and book lovers, please avert your eyes.

Book Page Wreath Tutorial

Supplies:

  • 10″ foam wreath ($1 at Dollar Tree)
  • Paperback novel ($1 at Dollar Tree – depending on the length of the book, you may need two)
  • Brown and/or gray craft paint
  • Glue gun & glue sticks
  • Small strip of ribbon
  • A few paper towels
  • A few straight pins (optional)

1. Assemble your cast of characters. I felt slightly guilty about purchasing an author’s work from the Dollar Tree for the sole purpose of ripping up. I read a few pages of Loving Charity just to make sure I wasn’t about to destroy a literary classic; let me assure you that I wasn’t.

You could definitely use vintage books, magazines or sheet music for this project or even select a book off of your own bookshelf that you don’t think you’ll read again.

2. Using the paper towels, I applied the brown paint to the edges of the book. I simply squirted some paint onto the towel and wiped it on the book. I painted the brown first and then applied a bit of gray. This will give your book pages a vintage look. To be honest, two colors aren’t completely necessary, so you can use just gray or just brown if you would like.

Lay the book on a clean paper towel for about 5 or 10 minutes to let the paint dry.

3. Cut or tear a page out of the book and roll it in a method of your choosing. I put together a video tutorial to show you some different ways to roll the page if you are interested in seeing how I did it. The main thing to remember is that you want to roll the paper and not actually fold or crease it.

4. After rolling the page, apply some glue at the end of the roll and glue it to the wreath. Make sure that the painted edges are facing up.

You will do this layer all the way around the wreath. When you have finished the full circle, flip the wreath over. That layer will become the bottom. If it won’t lay flat, put something heavy on top of it to flatten it out for a few minutes.

5. Continue rolling pages for your wreath. You will now fold a little tab on the bottom edge and apply glue only to that tab. Work your way from the bottom of the wreath up to the top, finishing one layer before moving to the next.

6. Once you get to the inside of the wreath, roll the paper and apply glue to the edge much like you did with the bottom layer. When you glue it on, the pages will be shorter than the wreath of the wreath. That’s okay.

7. At this point, your wreath will be mostly done, but there will be some sections you need to fill in. It should look roughly like this.

To fill in your spaces, you’ll simply roll a page, apply glue to the ends, and just stick it in the wreath. The filler pages don’t necessarily need to touch the styrofoam wreath; they can stick to the pages already glued to the wreath if need be. Use the filler pages to fill in holes and add some height and visual interest to your wreath.

8. After I was finished filling in, I flip your wreath over and glue your scrap of ribbon on the back to serve as a hanger. I stuck a few straight pins in it to make sure it held tight to the wreath, but that’s purely optional if you glue it on well.

All that’s left to do now is to find a spot to hang your new creation!

Who says that books can only be used to decorate bookshelves and tabletops? Try one on your wall!

for more great ideas visit lindsay at living with lindsay. be sure to check out her other tutorials, including another favorite… DIY “real-ish” handcut silhouettes.

about lindsay: Lindsay writes Living With Lindsay, where she chronicles the adventures in decorating her home. With her trusty glue gun at her side, Lindsay guides you through the pleasures and pitfalls of turning your home into a space you’ll love without breaking the bank.




baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-ispired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 17 comments }

fabric monogram from somewhat simple

by @according2kelly on July 19, 2010

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season. dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, the fabulously talented & creative blogger, steph from somewhat simple is our guest blogger. she’s sharing with us a surprisingly-simple, personalized gift that is sure to “wow!” anyone. steph writes…

Hi everyone! My name is Stephanie and my little corner of the universe is called somewhat simple. I am so excited to be here today to show you an easy easy tutorial for Framed Fabric Monogram.

It is a pretty fantastic and simple piece of home decor that would be a great Christmas gift for anyone you know! I have seen some of these around the blogging world, but if you’re not clever with your sewing machine (’cause I am not!) then you’ll love my “No Sew” take on it!

First, find 2 coordinating pieces of fabric.
These can be scraps you have laying around.

Print off your last initial in a font you like from your computer.
I chose to go with a lowercase d because I liked the look of it more
than an uppercase D…but now I hear about how grammatically incorrect it
is from my 7 year old, so choose wisely!
Cut your letter out.
For this project, you will also need scissors, Wonder Under and a pencil or pen.

Trace the mirror image of your letter on the Wonder Under and cut it out.

Now place your initial onto the back side of your fabric. I traced the initial onto my fabric, but this was an unnecessary step, so please ignore the traced lines.

So you should have your letter with the bumpy side of the Wonder Under touching the backside of the fabric, like so:

Iron the letter onto the fabric for about 30 seconds or
until the fabric adheres to the WonderUnder

Cut out your fabric so that you have an initial with fabric on one side and the paper of the Wonder Under on the other side, like so:

Now set that initial aside while we work on the backing.
First things first- cut your fabric about 1 inch bigger on each side from the cardboard your frame comes with.

If your frame doesn’t have any cardboard (as mine didn’t) use
a cereal box cut to the size of the back of your frame.

Use a good amount of glue around each side of the cardboard
and fold the fabric over on top of the glue

Now, pickup that cute inital you have cut out and peel the waxy backing off of it.

Place your initial right side up on top of your fabric covered cardboard right side up and iron it for 30 seconds or until the initial adheres to the cardboard.

Frame it and display it and you are D.O.N.E.!!!

Easy and simple, just the way I like it!

for more great ideas visit steph at somewhat simple or crazy domestic. & be sure to check out her felt fortune cookie tutorial, or her dry erase glass calendar & fabric flowers.

about Steph of somewhat simple: I am just your average stay at home mom who loves to create in any spare time I find! I am married to my best friend and together we are raising 3 sweet kids. They keep us busy but make life fun! We are Orange County transplants who have been living in Phoenix for the past 4 years and we love it here!

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-ispired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.


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