DIY Stamped Tea Towels

July 16, 2013 by
diy stamped tea towels with lemon
An easy way to brighten your kitchen is with custom made tea towels. This project is rather inexpensive and super easy to do.
To make your own tea towels, you will need:
  • -tea towels (washed and ironed)
  • -paint for fabric
  • -fabric medium
  • -paint brushes 
  • -iron
I found almost all of my supplies at Joann’s Fabric and Craft Stores. I choose Martha Stewart’s paints because I really like her color selection.
A little important tip: be sure and purchase the fabric medium, it will help keep the paint soft and washable.
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DIY Colorful Bohemian Tassels for Bags

July 12, 2013 by
makethis
I’ve been wanting to make a big, colorful, crazy tassel for ages. In this tutorial, I’ll show how to create one of these bohemian beauties of your very own. It’s such a versatile accessory: right now, mine’s clipped to my favorite clutch, but I can see one or two of these tassel on a straw beach tote, or even on car keys- anywhere that you want to add a little pop of color.
To begin, you will need:
  • leather craft lace in assorted colors (can be found at your local craft store)
  • yarn in different colors
  • scissors
  • a purse, clutch, or key fob

Supplies

1. Cut the leather craft laces into equal pieces. The length of your tassel will be half of the length of the pieces you cut (i.e. a 10” piece of fabric will yield a 5” tassel). I used between 10-15 pieces; experiment with the number of pieces to create the desired thickness for your tassel. I mixed both brown, gold, and purple lace to add variety.
Step1

Magnetic Felt Fishing Game – Pattern & Tutorial

July 11, 2013 by

fish 001

Magnetic Felt Fishing Game Pattern & Tutorial
{This pattern is for personal use only.}

You will need:

  • Felt (4 different colors, about 8×10)
  • 8 Buttons
  • 8 Wiggly Eyes**
  • 8 Washers
  • 2 Extra Strong Magnets
  • A 12” Wooden Dowel
  • 3’ of ¼” Ribbon
  • Felt Scraps
  • Glue Gun

**Make sure the wiggly eyes fit inside the buttons you’ve selected. There are various different sizes, so it should be fairly easy to find some that work.

fish 004
Cut out your pieces (layer two pieces of felt for the body to save time) and assemble.

fish 006
Pin the fin to the fish body (one on each side), carefully making them symmetrical (if you are OCD like me.)

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The Perfect Tree Swing – DIY Tutorial

July 10, 2013 by

swing-3

 The Perfect Swing

Growing up I remember vividly this little picture of a girl propelled into the sky, head thrown back, smile spread over her face, legs stretched out in front of her, hands gripping the rope of a swing, cotton candy clouds sounding her and a grand castle in the distance.  My mother had it hanging it in her room, it was a gift from her beloved grandmother and when she was a child and looked up into the blues and green of the Maxfield Parish print her grandmother would recite this poem;

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside—

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown—

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

– ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

 swing-photo

This little ritual was passed on to my mom along with the print titled Dinky Bird and as I would lie on her bed gazing at the sheer joy and magic of this framed heirloom my mother would recite the poem from memory.

These moments molded me, shaping my belief in the magic of The Swing.

I strongly believe in swings and the memories that are made on them; the first day of spring- a girl in a cotton dress soaring to the clouds, a cool autumn night- bare feet and hot tea, wrapped in a blanket leaning against the rope while you sway; a warm summer night- fireflies sprinkle the grass with stars as you sail through the evening cooling off.  The Swing is joy, it’s freedom, it’s childhood and lets face it, it’s simply adorable.

So it will come as no surprise to you that as soon as I saw the yard of our little vintage home, all I could think about was a bright red swing.  It would hang, entreating to be sat on, hovering above the ground in a yard decorated with flowers lovingly buoyed by a tree over a hundred years old.  I mean this tree practically begged to be swung from with its perfect branches and heaps of shade.  My mind was made up: I must make a swing.

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