Michigan Embroidery on Acid Wash Fabric

Today I have another piece to share that I did on fabric that I acid washed. This time around it is a Michigan embroidery on brown fabric, placed in a thrifted oval frame.

 The thrifted frame works well with this piece, as it gives it an antique feel.

 I did a double layer of the back stitch because one line was just too thin and it just sort of got lost in the frame.

I’m really happy with the way this one turned out. I have a second frame that is exactly the same, and I’m working on a cruiser bike (similar to the one I made in the past) to go into it. I’ll have that to share next week!

xoxo.

DIY: Embroidery Hoop Pin Cushion

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to brainstorm how I could make a pin cushion that I could attach to the wall by my sewing machine. In the past I made one that I could wear on my wrist, but I felt it got in the way. The ones I had made for the table (out of a mason jar) always got knocked off, so I was on a mission to find an alternative. I decided to keep it simple and go with a pin cushion out of an embroidery hoop.

Here is what you need to make your own:

Once you gather your supplies you just need to follow a few simple steps…

Step One:

 First get your embroidery hoop and cut two pieces of fabric with about an inch extra all the way around. One piece is for the front, and one piece is for the back.

Step Two:

 Next you make a sandwich out of your pieces so far. On the bottom is your back piece of the embroidery hoop, then your back piece of fabric, about a handful and a half of stuffing, your front fabric, and lastly the front piece of the embroidery hoop.

Step Three:

 Once your ‘sandwhich’ is put together take your needle and thread and sew in a single stitch all the way around (twice) to tighten the fabric). Knot and cut.

Step Four:

 Take your piece of felt, cut to size of the embroidery hoop, and hot glue to the back to hide the mess.

That’s it! Next just hang and sew!

 

Happy Sewing!

xoxo.

DIY: Fabric Wrapped Frame

Today I have a very simple tutorial to share, a fabric wrapped frame. I’m kind of a photoaholic of sorts, and am always in search of different and interesting ways to showcase them. This weekend I made this:

It was seriously inexpensive, and adds a little personality to an otherwise boring (and outdated) frame. The frame is from Salvation Army, I used scraps of fabric, hemp, and a clothes pin so all together this project was done on under $5.00 (probably more like $3.00).

Here is what you need:

Step One:
Cut your fabric into thin strips (about 1″ wide). I used five strips for this, each about a yard in length.

Step Two:
Thread your string/hemp/yarn (whatever you chose to use) through the clothes pin.

Step Three:
Tie each side of your string to each side of the top of your frame.

Step Four:
Hot glue your fabric to your starting point. I hot glued onto the backside of the frame to hide it.

Step Five:
Wrap your fabric around the frame. When you run out hot glue the fabric to the frame, and repeat with a new piece of fabric until the frame is covered.

All that is left is to put your photo in the clothes pin and hang, or display on your shelf.

Happy making, everyone!

xoxo.

Shel Silverstein Onesies Embroidery

One of my sisters is pregnant right now, and due in just a couple of months now. Everyone in the family is very excited because her and her husband have been trying for awhile now, and they are having twins! A boy and a girl! How much more perfect could it possibly be?

I recently started working on embroidering a few onesies for the two of them. Like myself, my sister loves Shel Silverstein, and my brother-in-law is a big Star Wars nerd (this is not like myself, I’ve honestly never even seen a full Star Wars movie).

I have two Shel Silverstein onesies done to share with you today, and you might recognize these two illustrations from when I did Shel Silverstein week last summer.

The first one is from the poem “Hug O’ War:”

The second one I did is from the poem “The Worst:”

I’m working on a Stormtrooper for the Star Wars one right now, and I’m still undecided on what to do for the other one. Any suggestions?

xoxo.

Project Flashback: DIY Picture Frame

Every now and then I like to scroll through my posts from the same time last year to see what I was up to. This time last year I was doing “30 Days of Questions,” and working on one of my favorite projects…DIY picture frames out of books.
Now really looking at them with a fresh eye, it might look nice to add some sort of a boarder around the edge of the cut out to make it look a little bit cleaner. I still have these up in our new house, in fact, I can see them from where I sit in our bed right now. I love them so much, they’re so cute and add a warm touch to your house. That sounded way to cheesy, but it is true.

If you’d like to learn how to make these, check out this post!

xoxo.

DIY: No Sew T-Shirt Scarf

It is time for another DIY project! Today’s tutorial is for a No Sew T-Shirt Scarf!

This will probably be the easiest thing you ever make, I promise. I mean, you only need two things to make one, and you don’t even have to be crafty…but you’ll look crafty when you wear it!

You’ll need:
An old t-shirt
Scissors

This is the shirt I’ll be using for the tutorial:
This shirt is actually a tunic, so it will be a little fuller than the photo above, which was made with one of Bryan’s old undershirts.

Step One:
Grab your t-shirt, and lay it flat. Cut straight across just under the chest/arm holes.

Step Two:
Cut upward to about the middle of your freshly cut shirt.

Step Three:
Next pull downward on the recently cut pieces.

Step Four:
You’re done, now it is ready for you to wear it!

Now you’re ready for fall!

xoxo.

DIY: Push Pin Bracelet

Today I have a tutorial for you that will be really useful to all of you sewers out there…a push pin bracelet! For a couple of years I’ve been using the same one. It is tiny, and uncomfortable. The band was made of plastic, dug into my skin, and never stayed on. I finally decided it was time to make a new one!

To get started you will just need to gather up a few supplies:
(if you don’t have elastic around you could always use a ribbon!)

Got your supplies? Now here’s what you need to do:

1. Cut out a circle with your felt for your base, and a slightly smaller circle out of another piece of felt, or fabric.

2. Cut a small flap that is slightly wider than your elastic for the back. I messed up on mine, and forgot to do this until the end. So, mine looks like a hot mess, but if you do yours in the correct order it won’t!

3. Attach the fabric to your felt, leaving enough room to put in your stuffing (about an inch).

4. Add your stuffing, you won’t need too much because the bracelet is pretty small. After it is stuffed you finish sewing the fabric to the felt.

5. Measure the elastic to your wrist to cut the appropriate length. I cut mine the same size as my wrist without any extra, because it is elastic after all. Once it is cut, thread it through your opening on the back.

6. Sew the ends of the flap together.

7. Pull the elastic so the sewed part is hidden behind your flap of felt.

And you’re done! Now you’re ready to sew in style, and comfort.

Happy Sewing and Pinning!

Oh and remember! Tomorrow is the last day to enter this months giveaway!

xoxo.

DIY: Felt Heart Bookmarks

A couple of months ago I was browsing Pinterest and I saw some tiny heart bookmarks, however they were made of paper. I decided to make a few out of felt, and they were the easiest to make.

 To make:

• Pin together your two pieces of felt.
• Sew the bottom of the heart together. You can use the a simple stitch too, and all it takes is six stitches or so. Only sew the part the covers the corner (the “L” part of the heart) of the book.

…and just like that you have a bookmark! I was going to embroider on them, but I was having a hard time thinking of what to actually do on them, so alas, they are blank.

    I’m thinking these could make a cute little add on to a gift if you were to get someone a book, sketchbook, planner, or so on, to just make it a little bit more personal.

Happy making!

xoxo.

DIY: Embroidered Owl Coin Purse

Recently I went on a little owl kick, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. A couple of weeks ago I shared a DIY of Owl Pins, and today I’m sharing a DIY Owl Coin Purse.

Let’s start, shall we? 

The very first thing I need to do is download the free PDF of this little owl (personal use only!). Once you have that, you’ll need to gather up the rest of your supplies.

The next thing you need to do is is embroider the owl.
I completed the embroidery using backstitch, seed stitch, and the satin stitch.

Once the embroidery is done it is time to get sewing, ready?
First you cut the embroidery out in whatever shape you’d like the coin purse to be.

Next you pin the fabric to a piece of felt, and trim it down to to the size of the owl cut out.

Next you blanket stitch the top of the two pieces together to give it a “clean” finish.

 Cut out a second piece of felt, and blanket stitch the top of it to give it a similar look to the front of the coin purse. You could also do two pieces of felt for the back to make it more sturdy if you’d like.

 Lastly pin all of the layers together and blanket stitch all the way around (besides the opening!).

  Just like that you’re done!

 xoxo.

Wooden Tree Embroidery

Almost a year ago now I made my first wooden embroidery, and with fall coming up on us I thought it was time to have another go at it. Last year I made an Autumn Leave, this year I decided to make some trees to go along with it.

 For a tutorial on how to make this check out this post.

  

I decided to hang it up in our bedroom along with the Autumn Leave.

If you haven’t tried one of these before, you should! It’s always nice to try your art out on a different medium, and these are so simple. You can’t add a lot of detail to them, but that’s fine with me because I don’t wan to take away from the wood too much.

If you make one be sure to share your results!

xoxo.