Today is my daughter's birthday, my step-daughter that is. I don't think I've really broken down our family for you. I'll save that for tomorrow though. Today I have a great little project I whipped up as part of her birthday present. Since she gave us no help at all per wish list we decided to dress up her room a bit. She's a lot like me when it comes to decorating a place ... she doesn't do it. Our two bedrooms are the only rooms in the house that don't have anything on the walls to warm it up. I can actually hear a slight echo in mine every time I cough. Sad. Anyway, we found some quick fixes in the IKEA catalog and finished everything in less than 24 hours. My favorite part was the stretch frame.
They sell these at IKEA for $4.99, but they're very popular and hard to find in stock here. Luckily, they had one returned the same day I hit the store. I grabbed it and made a beeline for their fabric bolts. The one I wanted was black, white and green and out of stock. Grrr. So I took my second choice, black and white only, and had a great idea along the way.
The actual frame assembly was really simple, took less than 10 minutes and is about 20" square. After that I pinpointed the design area I wanted and cut my fabric to size, 26" square. Then I was the uber-nerd and colored in a photograph of the piece to plan where I wanted each color. (there just wasn't time/room for a flub up)
Attaching the fabric was a breeze too. I just grabbed one of hubby's utility staplers and some 1/4" staples. First center the frame face down on the wrong side of the fabric. Now starting in the middle of each side, pull the fabric taught, pull up and around the frame and drive in one staple. Then, work your way down each side stapling every inch or so. Leave 2" at the end of each side so the corners are free as shown.
For the corners, trim away a modest square to get rid of some bulk. Then tuck and fold to get a nice clean corner. This isn't an exact science; just keep it neat and clean and if you need to take out a staple to fix a mistake, by all means do it. It just takes a little patience, just a smidge. ;)
OK. So far we've just followed IKEA directions. Now, for the fun part. I had to make this piece actually blend in with her bedding and wall colors, lots of lime green and different shades of blue, so I decided to treat it like a paint-by-numbers sort of project. I have gads of acrylic paint in my craft supplies, which can admittedly get a bit crispy on fabric unless you know a trick or two.
If you mix it with a Textile Medium, it will "transform the acrylics into a washable fabric paint". You can find this in most craft stores and it's reasonably priced. (I also had this on hand - scary how many supplies I possess, very scary) I chose a nice bright green, a turquoise and a darker shade of blue, all perfect for her bedroom. Just mix a dab of the textile medium into your paint and then choose a nice firm paintbrush of appropriate width for the area you're painting, mine were all very skinny. Then go to town. I tried to be careful about staying in the lines, but ... no one's going to go and study it up close where I hung it. ;)
Here's the finished piece and another picture of it in its new home. More pictures of the bedroom facelift coming soon.
Of course, the photo really doesn't do them justice, these gray days are horrible for lighting.
But this time, I've included the file for you. You can download all the tags here. Just print them on white cardstock so they're nice and sturdy. Merry Christmas!
Then I made another with a word cloud from Wordle.
There are 20 tags in each nifty pad. These are so great to have on hand with your gift wrapping supplies. My next batch will need to wait until I get more ink for our printer, running a bit low these days.
3 - Sew with 5/8" seam allowance and press the trim and cuff down.
5 - Fold in half, right sides together matching side seams.
The second one I made was flannel from last year's PJ scraps. I cut a front and back for the body that measured 20" x 27" and cut a 14" wide piece to make a 7" cuff, then used some coordinating grosgrain ribbon for trim. Both cases worked out great, adjust the size to meet your own needs. These are great for donations to hospitals and homeless shelters, but would also be perfect gifts for almost anyone. Great for kids to take to sleepovers, or just to have a holiday specific/birthday/camp/get better soon pillowcase. You name it. It would be fun to make a stack for Grandma's house too where kidlets may sleepover. Oh ... the possibilities are endless! :D
Attaching the fabric was a breeze too. I just grabbed one of hubby's utility staplers and some 1/4" staples. First center the frame face down on the wrong side of the fabric. Now starting in the middle of each side, pull the fabric taught, pull up and around the frame and drive in one staple. Then, work your way down each side stapling every inch or so. Leave 2" at the end of each side so the corners are free as shown.
For the corners, trim away a modest square to get rid of some bulk. Then tuck and fold to get a nice clean corner. This isn't an exact science; just keep it neat and clean and if you need to take out a staple to fix a mistake, by all means do it. It just takes a little patience, just a smidge. ;)
OK. So far we've just followed IKEA directions. Now, for the fun part. I had to make this piece actually blend in with her bedding and wall colors, lots of lime green and different shades of blue, so I decided to treat it like a paint-by-numbers sort of project. I have gads of acrylic paint in my craft supplies, which can admittedly get a bit crispy on fabric unless you know a trick or two. 
Here's the finished piece and another picture of it in its new home. More pictures of the bedroom facelift coming soon.
2) Decide which decals you want to apply. Cut them to the appropriate size hold in place on the flat side of the glass gem, sticky side down. Use your applicator tool to transfer the decal to the gem. Be sure to go over all areas of the decal before you move on.
3) Use your x-acto knife to carefully cut around the text you'd like to use. I cut a jagged line on all four sides of the word or phrase and then push along the cut with the blade to tear the piece out. Once you've decided where to place it on your gem, spread a smooth, thin layer of Mod Podge to the side of the paper that will be visible. Carefully adhere it to the glass and press down firmly on all parts of the paper.
4) Spread a thin, even layer of Mod Podge over the flat area of the gem. This is to seal the text and decal and will also hold your glitter. Sprinkle glitter where you'd like it and allow the whole piece to dry thoroughly. You can also use clear fingernail polish for this step.
5) Shake your paint bottle to mix it well, then apply a generous layer of paint to the entire flat area of the gem. If you get streaks, your paint is probably too old. Don't worry, just let it dry and then paint on a second coat. Let the paint dry until it is no longer tacky.
6) Using your glue of choice, attach the magnets. Ta-da! These are quick to make and gorgeous to boot! What great little gifts for friends, neighbors, teachers ... just about anyone!
There are more, but you'll have to check my Etsy store in the next couple of days to see them!
They have a long way to go, but these little sprouts are so cute and definitely have a lot of spunk.
I love unexpected pick-me-ups that just happen along my way. Today I received a email newsletter from Mibo Lighting and Homewares. Their fun geometric lampshades look vaguely familiar, but I don't know when or how I would have ever found their website before. Anyway, I'm glad that I did and lucky for us ... the great news today is that they are selling this great little DIY project for just over a dollar to make these adorable little owl friends. I zipped them my payment and within 30 minutes received the PDF file. Sweet fun for the little ones. I'll post the pix of ours in the next few days. Go get yours right from their home page while you can and shop the rest of their great store as long as you're there. Have fun!
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