Crafting : Scrapbuster Pinwheel Quilt

Today I'm going to share my next December craft - a square lap quilt for cosy nights, hot chocolate and reading by the fire!

In this quilt:

1. I tried out the traditional pinwheel quilt pattern.
2. I made my own binding (2nd to date!)
3. Attempted mitered corners!
4. I refined my quilting techniques such as minimizing bunching up as I laid out my quilt sandwich.
5. This project is a good scrap buster! I used up a good bit of my scrap fabric lying around.




Assembling the pinwheel squares:

1. I cut out 72 pieces of 3 7/8" squares of plain fabric and 72 pieces of 3 7/8" squares of printed fabric.

2. Take one plain square and one printed square and align them with right sides facing.

3. Draw a diagonal line on one of the wrong sides of this pair of fabric.

4. Sew 1/4" away on both sides of this diagonal, and then cut the fabric down the diagonal.

You should get 144 squares made up of one plain and one printed fabric. This is your basic block. Now arrange them to your taste by putting 4 blocks together to create a pinwheel block, like the ones pictured above. You should end up with 36 pinwheel blocks.




Now to assemble the quilt top (all with 1/4" seam allowance):

1. Stitch 6 pinwheel blocks in a row. You will have 6 rows.

2. Then stitch the rows together. You will end up with a square quilt top, 6 blocks by 6 blocks.


And then assemble the quilt by laying the batting between the quilt top and the quilt backing, like a sandwich. The quilt top and quilt backing should have their right sides facing out.

I've learnt from past experiences to safety pin my quilt sandwich at regular intervals, all over the quilt, to prevent the batting from bunching up on the inside.

When you are sure you got your quilt sandwich laid out as flat as you possibly can, you can proceed with stitching the sandwich together to secure the batting in place.



I have chosen to stitch-in-the-ditch by sewing over the existing stitches of my blocks, so it looks like this on the back.





Align and pin the binding so the raw edges meet the edges of the top of the quilt. Start the binding on one side of the quilt, but in the middle. Leave a tail of about 5" to 8" on both ends, but leave about a 3" gap between the binding tails. Like in the picture above.


Here I'm going to attempt to explain how I miter my corners. Remember this is my first attempt:



When pinning the binding to the quilt top, leave an excess triangle when you come to a corner. This will give you enough binding to work with when you flip the binding over to the back of the quilt. Pretend you are pinching a triangular corner.

Once the pinning is done, sew the binding to the quilt top with a 1/4" seam allowance. When you reach the end, lay the two tails flat on the quilt and mark where the two ends meet. Sew the binding together (not on the quilt) at the mark, and trim off excess. Then sew the binding onto the quilt, like before, with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Trim excess batting bulk before turning the binding to the other side. I find pressing the seams as I flip the binding helps a lot!




Here's how I attack the corners. Attempt one side of the quilt at a time!
Press and fold one side of the binding down first.




Then press and fold the other side down. It should fall in place nicely!




Secure with binding clips ( or in my case, hair clips!) Then carefully hand sew, with slip-stitching, the binding to the back of the quilt!




Ta-daa! I'm ready for the cold winter nights!



Linking up to some crafty fun here!

Crafting : Christmas tree Felt Ornaments

Holy guacamole! It's December already!!

I haven't been wasting any time, and have been busy crafting gifts for this holiday season, although I have a feeling I'm about to run out of steam soon! For today, I'll share my first craft of December - Christmas tree ornaments for the 3 adorable kids I help babysit.

I love felt crafts. Here is an easy one you can attempt, if you're looking for quick and easy gifts to make.



1. Make a template out of cardstock. I got mine off the internet - santa, T-rex, and owl. You can also draw your own!

2. Trace the template onto the different colored felt pieces and cut them out.

(Now I know not all the templates I provided are templates with individual pieces. With the Santa picture, I used it as a guide to draw my own template freehand.)

3. Arrange the felt pieces in a satisfactory manner, and decide how you want to attach them. I used a combination of stitching and hot glue.



Take the T-rex for example. It is only made of 2 main pieces, so I decided to blanket stitch all around. Starting in the middle at the top, I attached a ribbon (for hanging on the tree) to the felt using needle and thread, and started my blanket stitching from there.



For the Santa, I used running stitches for his eyes and mouth, before blanket stitching his beard together. This way you can hide your stitches on the inside! Then I used the glue gun to hot glue his nose to his face, and his face to his beard. Use your own discretion when putting the pieces together.



4. Finally, if you like, you can add a little stuffing to give your ornaments a 3D effect!

These ones are ready to be tossed into their goody bags! I also added fun stuff like bubbles, activity/story books, kiddy snacks and stickers! Can't wait to watch them hang their ornaments on their tree!

I'm going to make some more for our Christmas tree (when I get a break)! Meanwhile, have fun making yours!

Oh and I'm doing a button swap with Melissa Ashley of the 25th Hour. Go check out her page if you're interested in doing a button swap too!


Linking up here too! Come join the crafty fun!

Crafting : Travel map garland

Via

No, that's not the garland I made for my sister's wedding, although it's real pretty!

Mine's even simpler -- it can be done in 1-2-3 easy steps!

You'll need:

Old maps
Ribbon / twine
Pen-knife (Exacto knife)




(1) Create a template of the shape you want your garland to be. I made triangles, but you can just as easily make hearts, or any other shape you fancy.
Trace template onto a map, and cut them out. I couldn't get a hold of older vintage looking maps, so I used an old street directory my dad wasn't using.





(2) About one inch from the base of the triangle, I used a pen-knife and made two tiny slits about an inch apart.
This is for you to thread your ribbon/twine through to string the triangles together.





(3) Thread all your shapes together, and get ready to hang your garland up!


With all the holidays around the corner, this is such a simple but great way of sprucing up your home for the festive season! You could use wrapping paper in place of the maps, and cut out some simple Christmas tree / candy cane shapes and string them up! Q.E.D!

Crafting : Owl Wings and Mask tutorial

Here is a list of Halloween costumes I had in mind:

1) Gypsy fortune-teller
2) Geisha
3) Bird / Owl
4) Fairy


I had my heart set on making my fortune teller outfit, I even bought a caftan pattern from Etsy to make my outfit!! Then i chickened out of the pattern :(

But then i found this easy-to-make Owl wings tutorial on Burda Style, and I figured I could easily make an owl mask. So that was decided!






To make the mask, you'll need:

2 pieces of brown felt
Scrap Yellow felt
1 piece of sturdy interfacing
Coordinating colors of embroidery floss
Embroidery needle
Hot glue gun
Head band



1. I drew a template of an owl mask, alternatively you can google owl mask templates,
or get one from the Martha Stewart website

Via

2. Trace the template on the brown felt and on the interfacing
to cut out three owl mask shapes. Like so.





3. Sandwich the three layers so that the interfacing is in between the two pieces of brown felt. Pin the layers together.
Then thread your embroidery floss and blanket stitch the three layers together, all around the edges. I love using the blanket stitch because it a pretty stitch but it binds layers together very well! Functional and aesthetically pleasing.
I also used a running stitch to add a little outlining detail to the mask. You'll want to use a thicker needle and 6-count embroidery floss. Pushing the needle through 3 layers of felt and interfacing and be quite a challenge!





4. Attach the head band to the mask using a hot glue gun.
Press and hold head band in place until the glue dries.
Now, where you place your head band is a matter of personal preference.
I attached my band in the middle of the mask above the eye holes because after playing around with different placements, this was most comfortable for me.
You should experiment too, before permanently attaching the band to the mask.





5. Cut out a diamond shaped beak from the yellow felt. Leave one of the edges slightly rounded or plateaued. Hot glue this piece onto the bottom of the mask where the beak goes. Ta-daaa!! And you're done!









Now go be a HOOT, and take someone under your wing! *guffaws*
(Insert your own owl joke here for laughs)
And I'll be the gypsy fortune teller next year!

Crafting: DIY Tissue Paper Pomanders

Alright here's the low-down on the tissue paper pomanders : they are super easy to make, but they are very time consuming. Especially if you are making them in large quantities, or making a huge-ass pomander.




Materials:

An 8" or 10" styrofoam ball
White tissue paper
Gauge wire
Acrylic paint
Spray bottle
Scissors
Wire cutter
Hot Glue gun and glue sticks



First, get ready to make a gazillion tissue paper flowers before we even try to make a pomander. So:



(1) You will need tons of tissue paper cut into rectangles measuring 5" by 10". Each flower is made up of 4 layers of 5"x10" rectangles. I stack 4 pieces of tissue paper at once before cutting them into the rectangles.

(2) Then you need to accordion fold each stack of 4 rectangles. Each fold measures about
1/2" - 5/8" depending on how you like your flowers.
Experiment with a few to help you decide!


(3) I use clothes pegs to keep my accordion folded stacks neat and tidy while I continue to fold more rectangles.




(4) Cut a piece of 6" gauge wire, wrap it around the middle of the folded tissue paper, before twisting the two ends together, like in the picture above.

(5) Rounding the edges of both sides of the tissue paper will give your flower a softer look.






(6) Carefully peel the layers away from the wire, towards the middle, one layer at a time.

(7) When all four layers are peeled and fluffed up, trim the gauge wire to about 1.5" - 2" long. You really don't need a very long stem!



I used white tissue paper because I couldn't find pink / coral tissue paper in large quantities. But the good thing about using white tissue is that you can virtually make ANY color pomanders to suit your needs.




(8) I mixed some pink acrylic paints with water in a spray bottle, shake to mix well, then proceeded to spray ALL my flowers individually. I kept my flowers in the bathroom, next to a space heater so they can dry more quickly!


When you have all your flowers ready, you can start to make your pomanders. I bought my 8" and 10" styrofoam balls from Michaels (a craft store). Here, a glue gun will be very useful!

For demo purposes, I have used a spare tiny styrofoam ball for show because I forgot to take pictures while making the real thing.



(9) To make the ribbon loop for hanging the pomander, cut another piece of wire about 6" again. Cut your desired length of ribbon, knot in the middle to the wire. Again, trim the wire to about 1.5"-2".

(10) Push the wire into the styrofoam ball and hot glue around the wire (and knot, if desired)


Now you can start sticking the tissue flowers into the styrofoam ball. An 8" ball will take about 40-45 flowers, and a 10" ball takes 60-65 flowers. For additional security, with every flower i push into the ball, i hot glue around the base to make sure the flower stays.




Here are the results of the blood, sweat and tears! Ta-daaa!!! It took me a week to make four 8" pomanders and two 10" pomanders. Hope this was useful!

Crafting: DIY Christmas wreath tutorial

Here is the simplest wreath you can ever make:

You need:



1 wreath garland ($1)


1 wreath frame ($1)
Cut branches from tree in backyard

Total Cost : $2.00
Time needed: 10mins

Wrap garland around wreath frame.
Tuck ends of garland into wrapped garland to secure.
Arrange branches of leaves and berries around the wreath.



Ready to hang!

Crafting: DIY Christmas tree tutorial

Just because we didn't get a Christmas tree for the house...




doesn't mean I can't have one!

So...I made my own DIY tree!

All you need:

1 styrofoam cone
1 styrofoam ball (or whatever tree top ornament you like)
Yarn (whatever color you desire. I stuck to traditional green)
Pearl studded pins
Styrofoam filler balls for ornaments on tree
Glitter
Sequins
Tree base (i used a recycled cardboard bucket turned upside down)
Cotton wool
Glue gun

To make the tree, I used the glue gun to affix yarn to styrofoam cone. Wind it from the base to the top. Set aside to dry.

Then i started making the tree top ornament, a disco ball sorta vibe. I glued sequins (one by one) all around the styrofoam ball, burning my finger tips countless times, so please be careful! You may use a pair of tweezers to help you in this process.

If you want to cover up the excess spaces in between the sequins, brush elmer's glue all over the ball (after the hot glue has cooled and hardened) and roll ball around in glitter. I didn't have any liquid glue on hand so i omitted this step.

Hot glue the ornament to the top of the tree.

Stick pearl pins and styrofoam balls randomly around tree.

Hot glue tree to base. Then glue cotton wool around base of tree to hide the tail end of yarn.



Ta-daa!!!

Crafting: Halloween goodies and the Wonders of the Dollar Store!

Source: lilsugar.com via chuiying on Pinterest

Source: crafteecrafters.blogspot.com via chuiying on Pinterest

I wanted to give out some Halloween goodies this year for my friends at work. But i am useless in the kitchen and at baking. So the simple candy crafts will have to do to! And I found these simple ideas on Pinterest! Too cute!

So i went to the Dollar Store and got some:

1) Lollipops and mints
2) White and black plastic table coverings
3) Fuzzy pipecleaners
4) Googly eyes
5) Glue gun

A $5 dollar craft? Hell, yeah!


Cut out squares of plastic table covering. For the spiders i cut out 3"x3" squares, and for the ghosts i cut out 6"x6" squares, and cut all my pipecleaners half in length.



Wrap the plastic squares around the lollipops like so.



I don't even tape them up, I just wrap them tight with the pipecleaners. I use white for the ghosts, and 3 black half-lengths for the spider legs. I made a spider with 8 legs, but it looked too cluttered. The spider looked better with 6 legs, so maybe I'm just going to call them ants.



Use a sharpie to draw on features for the ghosts.

Voila, spiders and ghosts all done!

But waitaminute! There's more! I'd seen these mints at the dollar store and thought if i added some googly eyes on them, maybe i can turn them into bloodshot eyeball candies? So i whipped out my glue gun and stuck eyes on the mints. I'm going to add a sign that says "Have a ball!" *sniggers*



You guys have a ball this weekend! Happy Halloween!!!

Crafting: Rounded zipper handy organizer tutorial

Since I lost my last camera pouch, and got myself a nice new free phone for switching to Verizon, i decided to try something that I've wanted to attempt for a long time. Zippers have begun to lose their terrorizing hold on me, so this morning i attempted a quick craft before heading out the doors to nanny my cute little D.



I've been wanting to try a pouch this shape with a zipper enclosure.







Back then i haven't gotten over zipper phobia.
10 or more zippered pouches later, i think i am ready.
So here is a rough rounded zippered pouch tutorial today. Advice and constructive criticisms are always welcome! :)


First here are all the supplies you need:



Spool of thread (your desired color)
A pair of scissors
Pins
Zipper (mine is 8")
Drafted paper pattern (mine measures 7" tall x 5.5" wide)
2 pcs of outer fabric
2 pcs of inner lining


Cut out the last 2 items from your drafted pattern.

1. Pin outer fabric and inner lining together, wrong sides together. Sew running stitch around edges. Repeat with other side. Serge or zigzag the edges to prevent from fraying.




2. Pin zipper around the rounded edge of the pouch carefully. To make sure it's centered, i marked the center of the pouch and the center of the zipper, lined them up and started pinning outwards from the center. Make sure you lay the zipper face down on the right side of the outer fabric. Sew close to zipper teeth. Repeat with other side.




3. You will end up with this when the zipper is open.




4. To prevent the zipper from catching the fabric when you zip and unzip the pouch, press and sew the edges between the fabric and the zipper on the right side. Repeat with other side. I forgot to do it with my pouch, but i thought i'd better add in this step in this tutorial. You can see what i mean in the very LAST picture of this post.

5. Leave the zipper open midway. Line the two sides (right sides together) so that all ends match. Pin. Carefully sew around the 3 sides that is not lined with the zipper. I started from one zippered end and sewed into the pouch and then all around, finishing the same way i started on the other end. Sew along the blue lines and dotted lines above, starting from the horizontal. Press seams all round.



6. Cut away the two corners, so when you turn it out, there's less bulk. Turn it out and voila!







****************************************************************************


I am using this as a pencil case.


This is my new camera case/ phone pouch! Yes, it's roomy enough to fit them both!!! BAM!