Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Week 10: Fabric Applique Onesies

Hello there Pinterest Fanatics!

Lately, I've had baby fever!  My sister says I'm obsessed!  Lol.  

Anyway...this week I will be teaching you how to make Fabric Applique Onesies!

My inspiration comes from...Simply This and That!


And my final product...


Okay!  Here's what you'll need for this project...


Supplies:
Plain White Onesies (I got a five-pack of Gerber Onesies from Target for $9.99)
Fabric, patterns of your choice
Heat N Bond Ultrahold (NO-SEW)
Various Templates
(You can use whatever templates you want, it's all up to you!  I personally used some clipart I found on Etsy!  After the fact, I realized I could have used my Cricut to cut out some cute animals!  Oh, well!)
Iron
Scissors


First, trace your templates onto the paper side of your Heat N Bond...


I used a small piece of double-stick tape (on each template) to hold it in place while I traced it!


Now comes the most time-consuming part of this project...cutting!  It'll take a little while to cut out all of your shapes because of the details...so grab your Heat N Bond and some scissors...and take a seat in front of the TV! :)


Once you have all of your pieces cut-out, it is time for step one of ironing!  First, place your fabric wrong side up!  Then, place your cut-out onto the fabric, paper side up!  That means, the sticky/iron-on side should be touching the fabric.  Now, take your iron (set on medium heat) and press the cut-out for two seconds!  Continue this until the entire cut-out is adhered to the fabric.  (If you decide to use a different brand/type of iron-on bonding, make sure to follow the instructions on the package)


Once my cut-out was sufficiently adhered to the fabric, I just cut a quick little square out of the fabric...in order to detach the adhered piece from the rest of the fabric (this makes things easier later).  Once all of your cut-outs are adhered to their respective fabrics, it's time to do more cutting!

This time, you are cutting the templates out again!  Simply cut around your iron-on in order to cut the shape out of the fabric.  Once this is complete, it is time for step two of ironing!


NOW, it's time to iron the pieces onto the onesies!  First, make sure to iron the onesie to get rid of any wrinkles!  Now, peel off the paper part of your cut-out...and you will reveal another iron-on side!  Center the cut-out on the front of the onesie...and repeat the original process.  Press with iron for two seconds and continue until entire piece is adhered to the onesie.

Once I had all of the pieces adhered to the onesies, I decided I need to add some details in order to better define the animals.  I used a pencil to sketch out various details (eyes, nose, mouth, etc) and then went over the pencil with a fine point sharpie.


And there you have it!  Adorable one-of-a-kind onesies!  
Of course, you could also use regular t-shirts...or really any kind of fabric item!

I'll probably repeat this project at some point...and use my cricut for the templates!
If I do, I'll be sure to post a picture!

Until next time...

XOXO,
Brittney

Friday, March 15, 2013

Week 9: Easter Topiary

Hello my Pinterest Fanatics!  

I don't know about you guys, but I have been very busy this week!  I am participating in a craft show tomorrow (woot!); so, I have been crazy busy getting everything ready!  So excited! :)

Anyway...this week, I am going to show you how to make an Easter Topiary!  Easter is just around the corner, and this is a cute and simple way to add to your Easter decor!

My inspiration for this week comes from Spoonful


And my final product...


Pretty cute, huh? :)

Ok, here's what you'll need for this project...


Supplies:
6" Clay Flower Pot
6" Styrofoam Ball
Floral Foam
12" Wooden Dowel
Easter Grass
Toothpicks
Foil Easter Egg Candy
Easter/Spring-Colored Paint (I used light blue and light yellow)
Easter-y Ribbon 
Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks


First, paint your flower pot, styrofoam ball, and wooden dowel.  I recommend painting the styrofoam and dowel the same color.  It may seem pointless to pain the styrofoam, since it is going to be covered in candy...BUT some of the styrofoam will show through and you want it to blend in with the rest of the project! :)


Next, cut the floral foam in order to fit inside the pot.  And...place inside pot!


Now it's time to build your topiary!  Push dowel into styrofoam ball a few inches.  Then, remove dowel and cover the end in hot glue.  Push dowel back into ball and hold in place until glue is dry.  This, will keep the dowel from shifting inside the styrofoam.  Next, insert other end of dowel into the foam-filled pot.  Make sure NOT to push dowel all the way through the foam!  Otherwise, it will come out the hole in the bottom of the pot!  Now, remove the dowel from the foam and cover the end in hot glue (again).  Push dowel back into hole and hold in place until glue is dry.


Next, spread some hot glue over the top of the foam-filled pot and add the Easter grass!

Now, it's time to add the candy!  For this part, all you need is the foil eggs and toothpicks.  Push  one toothpick about halfway into each foil egg (I used approximately two bags of the eggs).  I found it easier to push the toothpicks into a whole bunch of eggs first...and then put them on the topiary.  

**Attention: Before adding the candy to the topiary, make sure your painted styrofoam ball is dry!  It takes a little while to dry because it is so porous.  I ended up with paint all over my hands because I didn't let it dry long enough!**

Once the paint on your styrofoam ball is sufficiently dry, it's time to add the candy!  Simply take your tooth-picked candy and push (the other end of the toothpick) into the styrofoam ball.  Do this until your ball is completely covered.  You can use the different colors to make a pattern (like me) or you can just randomly place the colors...it's up to you!  But in order to get full coverage, you'll need to put them in rows.


Once you have covered the styrofoam in candy, you're basically done!  Just add a piece of ribbon to the dowel.  I used about 24" of ribbon...and just tied it into a cute little bow!


And there you have it...you're done!  It turned out super cute!  
Give it a try!  And if you do...I'd LOVE to see pictures!

Until next time...

XOXO,
Brittney



Week 8: Fabric Key Chain

Hello there Pinterest Fanatics!

This week I will be teaching you how to make a FABRIC KEY CHAIN!

This is a simple project that brings awesome results! :)

My inspiration comes from The Idea Room!


And here is my final project...


Here is what you'll need for this project...


Supplies:
2 Coordinating Fabrics
1 Strip of Fusible Interfacing
1 Purse Strap Clip
4 Inches Ribbon (7/8" width)
Matching Thread

All of these supplies can be found at Joann's...or another craft/fabric supply store! :)


First, cut your fabric so that you have a strip of each material that measures 2.75 inches by 13 inches.  Also, cut a 12 inch strip of the fusible interfacing.


Now, it's time to hit the ironing board!  First, iron each piece of fabric flat...in order to eliminate any random creases.  Then, iron a 1/4" seam down both sides of each piece of fabric.  Make sure to do this with the right-side of the fabric face down on your ironing board!

Once both fabrics have been ironed, fold the material in half lengthwise and iron again.  Make sure you match the edges up nicely!


Next, take your strip of fusible interfacing and place it evenly between your two fabrics.  Make sure the folds of each ironed fabric are on opposite sides.  Now...iron these together!  This will temporarily fuse the two materials together so they are easier to sew!  It will also make your key chain a little sturdier!


Now it's time to break out the sewing machine!!  Sew along both edges of the key chain with about a 1/8" seam.


Now, take your purse clip and slide onto the key chain.  Be sure that the clip is on top of the material you want to be on the outside of your key chain.  Place the two raw edges so that one is overlapping the other one about 1/4 of an inch...and pin.  Sew the edges together using a zig-zag stitch several times back and forth.  You want to make sure it does not come apart!


Move the purse clip around the key chain until the seam is about 1/4"-1/2" above the clip.  Now, take the 4" strip of ribbon and wrap it around the area where the two ends have been sewn together.  Tuck both ends of the ribbon to the inside of the key chain.  Keeping the ribbon in place, iron.  I did this in order to crease the ribbon where necessary.  This makes it easier when hot gluing! 

Now, just glue the ribbon in place!  Make sure not to use too much glue...you don't want the excess squishing out!  First, I glued the ribbon around the outside.  Then, I put glue on the ends and tucked them inside the key chain...gluing each end to its respective side.  Finally, I put a little more glue inside the key chain, in order to keep the ribbon part from separating. 


Make sure to give the glue plenty of time to dry before using it!

The original tutorial, said to sew the ribbon, but I found it much simpler (and just as effective) to hot glue it instead!  


And there you have it!  You're all done!  Cute, huh?!? :)

Now...it's your turn!

Until next week...

XOXO,
Brittney