Fabric Note Cards

Yvette sent me this image of a thank you note that she received. It’s a note card on one side and fabric on the other! Yvette said to do it… so I did…

I pulled out the endless amounts of fabric scraps, note cards, 3M spray mount, colored thread, scissors and my bone folder. The first step is to iron the fabric flat!

Spray one side of note card with 3M Spray mount and press smooth with bone folder or ruler. Trim fabric to size of the note card.

This is the fun part… choose your thread. I chose to use a different thread color for the bobbin so that once side will be one color and the back side would be different. Next, choose your stitch! My machine has several options so I changed it up a bit on some.

This is the front….

This is the back…

These are some other examples with different stitches used. I think they came out cute! I was als thinking that this could be a great way to catalog my fabric so I know what I have and I can write on the back how much I have of it. When you go shopping for projects you can know what you have at home and also match it with other fabric you buy too! For now,  I can get to writing some thank you notes to some very special people!

Go Green for 2012

For Christmas gifts this year I made reversible shopping bags! Many cities in Los Angeles are passing laws that ban the plastic shopping bag, which I am okay with. I actually prefer to use my fabric bags because I get more rewards points at my local grocery store! More rewards = more savings for me!

I purchased the reversible tote pattern from Ali Foster Patterns on Etsy. You may remember this name before, I love her patterns and have made this bag, this bag and even this bag. Her patterns are simple and clear, very easy to follow.

The part I love most about this project, you can choose whatever patterns you heart desires!

New Life for Old Toys

We have a lot of tiny little toys. Since we got a puppy that chews on everything I have become acutely aware of this dangerous fact.

Ryan McElhinney’s pieces spoke right to me!  I found these amazing works of art via Curbly earlier this week.

I immediately sifted through all the tiny army guys, action figures, and happy meal toys that we have collected over the last 5 years and found that I had plenty to work with.  Once piece at a time, with hot glue I put my puzzle together.  Here it is all pieced together…

Initially I was unsure about what color I wanted to paint it.  But when I saw that I already had a can of glossy white paint left over from this project, my decision was easy.  In all this project cost me $0.00.  I had everything on hand and I bet you do too!

I think this project is great way to upcycle some old toys and avoid sending those little guys to a landfill somewhere.   I will admit that my son was a little sad when he realized that he wouldn’t be able to play with these particular toys anymore, but I did my best to pull only the ones that were damaged already.  There a lot of wounded veteran army guys in this lamp.  Save a wounded vet, make a lamp!

Wedding Bells

A good friend of mine recently got engaged and as I was unwinding at the end of the day sipping my glass of champagne, I thought about her upcoming wedding…

Weddings make my mind go a million miles a minute. I LOVE thinking about weddings and planning them out in my head. The champagne cork gave me an idea….

I cut a little sliver out of the top and found an old place-card from another wedding we’d attended to use as an example. Not only is this eco-friendly, its adorable and couldn’t be simpler.  You could even use this for a nice dinner party.

It just so happens that my dear friend has been collecting corks for quite some time…was it meant to be?  What are you collecting?  You never know when you’ll find the perfect project!

Have a great weekend!

Tiny Totes

After staring at a bag of my daughter’s old clothes for about 3 months, I decided to go through it once more for before donating. There were so many cute printed tees that my daughter loved..when they fit. I thought I might be able to give a few of them new life.

I took one of the tees and chose to make it into a drawstring tote bag. This project couldn’t be easier. The only materials I needed were the tee, ribbon and thread. I started by cutting off the sleeves and made a straight cut across the top to get rid of the neck line. Once I finished that, I sewed up the side hem, only partially, to join where the sleeves were cut. I marked a line with fabric chalk to know where to sew. I then folded the top down 1″  (turn shirt inside-out) to create the casing for the ribbon at the top. I sewed a 3/4″ seam allowance all the way around. Once finished, I seam ripped at the side seam to create the opening for threading the ribbon through. I took two long ribbon sections and thread one at a time. The ribbon should be threaded through one side and should finish to the side it started. The next step would be to thread the other ribbon through the opposite side and the end returns to the side you started that section. Once both sides are threaded (tip: use a large safety pin at the end to help you thread the ribbon through the casing) measure and cut the excess ribbon (tip: pull the ribbons so that the tote closes and try the tote on to mark where to cut) to fit. Lastly, while inside out, pin the bottom closed and make sure the ribbon ends are at the side seams and sandwiched between the front and back of the tee. Once you sew the bottom (seam allowance 5/8″- 3/4″),  turn the tote right side out and pull the draw strings… FINISHED! This was such a fast and easy project and the best part… I had all the materials on hand!

Reduce Reuse Up Cycle

With two young boys, we go through apple juice like its water.  So we started buying it 96 oz. at a time.  Yes, 96 oz.

Santa Cruz Organic Apple Juice 96 oz.

Of course, we recycle (and up cycle wherever possible).  So once the kids had gone through an entire bottle, the giant jug would sit on the counter until one of us brought it outside to be sorted for recycling.  Staring at the empty jug, I really began to notice its shape and how it was reminiscent of a vintage Clorox bottle or maybe a classic gallon milk bottle or maybe a carafe intended for moonshine!

So, since I’ve been painting just everything else in the recycling bin, I thought why not this too.

I went to Wal-Mart and purchased a can of Rust-Oleum Hammered Finish Paint in Brown.

The hammered finish helps to give it some more weight and texture so that it is almost unrecognizable as a glass jar.

I’m happy to re-use anything I can and that is especially true  when I can transform it into something beautiful and unexpected.  What do you think?  Is there anything that maybe you could give a second life to by taking a second glance at its potential?

Let Me Eat the Cake

…all of it…

In fact I was prepared to wallow in it. Unhappy with the prospect of turning 30 this year, I specifically requested no parties or fanfare of any kind. Well, like many husbands, mine suffers from an acute hearing disorder.

My husband planned and executed a fabulous 30th birthday party in my honor and as it turns out I am so grateful he did.

Inspired by Marie Antionette’s willingness to indulge in the finest, the “Let Them Eat Cake” party was born.

My husband planned the menu, did all the cooking, downloaded a ton of period specific music, and did much of the heavy lifting around here to get our small-ish condo fit for our guests.  But I pitched in when it came to decor.  Let’s face it, he was not going to pick up puffy paint…

Since flowers were a must, I knew I was going to need several vases.  I used this technique to fancy up some recycled cans and jars (Thanks to Summer for dumpster diving to rescue some).

I made small party favors using a recycled material as well.  I purchased small favor boxes and decorated them with a glittery gold tape and a topper made of telephone book pages.

I brought out my husband’s Grandmother’s china for serving dishes to add to the fancy factor, and since chandeliers are a must, I installed 5 throughout the living room/dining room, bathroom, and patio.  Again, I recycled three cardboard boxes to create the chandeliers using this guide.

To really add emphasis to the theme of the night we actually devoted an entire room to all the cakes and other desserts (everything from the actual cake to macaroons and chocolate covered strawberries) and my favorite champagne and champagne punch.

Preparing your home for a party can be very stressful and as the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details.”  I have to say that I stressed over the details.  But with champagne in hand, surrounded by the people who mean the most to me, it was a magical night!

A Fist Full of Flowers

On the eve of April and its showers, I for one am looking forward to brightening up my home with fresh spring flowers.  I took this weekend to re-vamp some old vases a la Erica Domesek.

I think everyone has some of those vases that come with flowers.  You know, the cheap ones.  You feel bad just throwing them out and so you shove them in a dark corner of a cabinet in a far far away land of your kitchen with the intention to some day donate them to the Salvation Army or other like charity.  Well, this weekend I pulled mine out and gave them life!

A little puffy paint, which I had on hand and a purchased can of white spray paint and it was like magic!

Another One Bites the Dust

In my previous post,  I turned my spring cleaning into some re-fashion.  Well I found another shirt that had seen better days.  With some minor surgery, my blue and white striped tee is now another cute wrap around scarf.

I took this project straight out of P.S. I Made This.  This project is seriously simple and it only took me about 5 minutes total to complete.  I literally started cutting just before walking out the door.

I love giving my old clothes new life…

Eco-Friendly…

c’mon people do good for our earth and re-use, recycle, and reduce our needs for so many things…it’s the little things that make a big difference.

if you are ever in a bind and can’t find what you are looking for or just want to shop make PriscillaWoolworth.com your eco-friendly general store.  this store reminds me of when we would take family trips to big bear. there was a general store down the road from our cabin with the coolest things.

“Did you know that Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags after only one use. We could save more than a million birds and 100, 000 marine mammals and sea turtles that die every year from eating or getting strangled by plastic bags” (PriscillaWoolworth.com, 2010).