jane's apron

crocheted christmas

 

Um, yeah...it's my mantel again.  Dressed up for Christmas this time.  But it's the wreath I wanted to talk about...  

I wanted to try one of those cool yarn-wrapped wreaths. For me, the yarn had to be way thicker to bring the effort to a sane level.  I had an almost full skein of thick yarn and a ginormous crochet hook.  I chain stitched the whole thing and wrapped it around a foam wreath.  I LOVE this wreath...it's so simple and so cozy.  If you have the supplies around the house (and don't we all?), give it a try...right now...you'll be done before you know it.  

 

There are still a few weeks to go but I'm going to go out on a limb and proclaim my newly-thrifted crocheted blanket the score of the year.  It's the same pattern as the scarf I made and is in perfect condition...and the prettiest color.  And it fits so well in my granny chic living room with my thrifted pillows.   

 

 

patchwork clipboard - a tutorial

 

Patchwork clipboards are really easy to make.  Of course, they can be made in many different ways but this is my method...they are pretty, simple, totally usable....and very gift-able.  I hope seeing a few steps sparks some ideas that you'd like to try.  

First, gather the supplies:

• standard (letter-sized) clipboard
• 6x6 paper stack or paper scraps
• decoupage glue
• strong craft glue
• sanding sponge
• old magazine or catalog
• foam brush
• buttons and twine

Cut the paper stack or scraps into several 3x6 and 3x3 pieces.  I used a paper stack this time...it's an easy way to work with coordinating papers without much thought.  

 

Arrange the cut papers.  Keep the layout as shown but put them together the way you like.  Include two small squares for the top of the clipboard.  

 

This is the only hard part of the project.  Cut a small strip from one of the squares and place it on top of the clip hardware (the part connected to the clipboard).  Use your fingers to press the paper around the clip, lift it up, and cut around the indentations you made (it helps to look at the back of the paper to see the indentations a little better).  You should have a piece of paper that fits perfectly.  Do the same thing on the other side of the clip.  

Now we're ready to glue the pieces to the clipboard.  Use an old catalog or magazine...lay a paper piece on the catalog and use the foam brush to apply the decoupage glue to the back of the paper.  Place the piece on the clipboard and smooth it with your fingers.  With the arrangement I've shown, the pieces will overlap slightly in some places.  Flip the page of the catalog and repeat with the rest of the patchwork pieces.  Let dry.

The next step is important.  Sand the edges of the paper over the entire clipboard.  This gives a finished look to the edges and a little life to patchwork pieces.  I use a sanding sponge that you can find at any hardware store in the paint supply aisle.  I put the clipboard in my lap to do the sanding...paper dust gets all over my clothes and on the kitchen floor.   Here's a before and after sanding comparison:

 

 

See how much better the sanding makes it?  

The next step is to seal the papers so they are durable and ready for everyday use (one of my clipboards fell into a crockpot of chicken soup once and I just had to wipe it clean).   I hold the clip open, apply the glue under the right side, and slide a pen under the left side to keep the clip open while the glue dries.  Do the same thing for the left side.  Put a good coat of glue over the rest of the surface being careful to hit the edges too.  Let dry and give the entire clipboard and edges a light sanding.  

 

We're almost done.  Adding the buttons is not necessary but it's a nice way to hide the brand name on the clip hardware.  I used three vintage buttons and threaded the middle one with a piece of baker's twine.  Glue the buttons to the clip with a strong craft glue (I use a version of wackytac).   

 

lacey scarf

 

I wasn't kidding about the goofing off...came home Friday with a stack of fabric, thread, yarn, and an almost free weekend.  Colleen at not-quite-vintage recently shared a lacey scarf that she made.  She said it was simple and it really was.  I read the pattern, looked on youtube to see how to do a double-crochet and a slip stitch...and I was set to go.  I worked on it mostly Saturday while watching football and finished it up Sunday (while watching more football).  My husband asked something like "don't you have some studying to do?".  Nope.

I lost the yarn label but it's a pretty golden-green and it had Vanna White on it.  I used the whole skein and the scarf is well-over 5 feet long.  The pattern is called Queen Anne's Lace.  I'm always full if ideas that never turn into reality but I think this pattern would look really, really pretty with just three motifs, maybe some vintage buttons, or scraps...attached to a sweater or coat.  It would be very Anthropologie...just much less expensive.  

Any recommendations for crochet books?,  soft yarn in pretty colors?, that I can order online?

folded needle case

When I was sewing my daughter's communion dress this spring, I had to run to my mom's house for help with the zipper.  She gave me one of her quilting needles to hem the dress and told me not to lose it.  Not lose it? Apparently there are needles that are more special than others...I had no idea. 

My parents are Great Depression children and learned to keep and to take care of stuff...to the extreme. My mom seriously has a paint brush that she has been using continuously since before I was born.   Borrowing stuff from them makes me nervous.  So I stuck the needle in the hem of the dress and hoped for the best.  

When Barbara at Oodles and Oodles posted a tutorial for a pretty needle case, I knew what I wanted to make my mom for her birthday.  I put this together on the morning of her birthday using an embroidered dresser scarf that I bought for 0.50 and vintage bias tape and snaps.  I didn't have any felt so I ironed interfacing to the back of a scrap of ticking to hold the needles. 

I need to make a needle case for myself now...so I can take care of my needles, know where they are, and keep them around a little longer.   

altered gift box

This is an idea I had for A Year of Color but didn't quite get to in June.  It's a gift box/jewelery box that works as a shadowbox frame...a total "use what you have" project.  

I created the main collage on a 4x6 postcard and added a couple of embellishments to it.  I love the "SUGGESTED FABRICS: Gingham" text. 

 

For the box, I cut scrapbook papers to fit the sides and back and glued them to the outside and inside edges of the box.  I used a page from a vintage sewing book for the inside of the box.  I sanded the edges and then washed with an eggshell paint.

Almost done... I punched two holes at the top of the box and threaded a pretty seem binding ribbon as a hanger.  I added the collage inside the box with pieces of thick foam to give it a little dimension.  

I love the possibilities of a simple box like this.  Instead of the collage, you could add a favorite photo and/or dimensional mementos...ticket stubs, button cards, invitations, postcards.

play tents

I have said before here that I am a reluctant Brownie Scout leader.  This year is slightly better because I have a dedicated helper at the meetings and I've learned a few things from my teaching classes about classroom management and procedures...along with my Girl Scout Law addendum that states "and there is no crying in Brownie Scouts".  

Combining the need for something fun for the girls with the need for an item for our school auction, I found a perfect project for a play tent.   It takes only a few items...heavy cotton duck cloth, bamboo garden stakes, plastic rings, and grommets.   And some optional paint, ribbon, and beads.

I basically followed this tutorial with a few modifications:

• There is one major flaw in the instructions.  The tutorial calls for 3 yards of 60 in. wide fabric...folded in half to make a 60 in. square.  This is impossible because 3 yards will only make a 54 in. square. So...buy 3.5 yards and trim it by 6 in. to get a 60 in. square.  
• I used 7 stakes instead of 6.  You can never have too much structure.   
• When marking the spots for the plastic rings, it's much easier to lay the cut canvas on the floor, place the stakes on the fabric, and mark where the rings will go.   

I had my art teacher friend help with the painting.  The girls took turns painting the grass and then each took a turn painting a flower.  The girls also each had a ribbon and beads to make a pretty decoration for the top of the tent.  After everything dried, I went back and added some detail to the flowers and butterflies and added some clouds.  

 

The auction is next weekend and I think the tent will look really cute...a bright colorful display to go along with all of the other items.  Of course, my daughter wants me to bring this back home but we'll see...I have a feeling we'll be making another one for our house.  

stitched notebooks

Last summer, Erin at house on hill road asked for vintage sheet scraps to create a quilt she had in mind.  I had a green dot fabric I thought she'd like and sent it to her along with a few others.  She made a beautiful quilt scattered with flowers...and then shared the same pretty flowers stitched on notebooks.  I love my notebook...it's handmade, it's pretty, and it was such an unexpected thank you (the best kind).  

Inspired by the notebooks, I tried my own version using paper. 

 

Want to try it?  I ordered the notebooks from amazon, used a glue stick to create my collage directly on the notebook, and then used a simple straight stitch around the entire border.   Learn from my first mistake and start at the top right corner of the image (otherwise you might end up running the machine in reverse...not recommended).

I also made one with a ribbon bookmark secured with a zig-zag stitch and a vintage button.

I just love pretty and practical things.  

sewing along

Way back in October of last year, I wrote a post asking for sewing machine advice.  I read every response, shopped around, and decided on a Janome Sewist 525S based on the advice from Claudia (a very knowledgeable sewing teacher!).   Claudia helped me through those first few days of all my goofy questions and, before I knew it, I was sewing.  And you know what?  Sewing is not at all as scary as I thought it was.  It's kind of like learning to drive a stick-shift...after you learn how you're like "that's it?...what was I so worried about?".  I am NOT an expert by any stretch but I'm having fun.   I've made tissue cozies, headbands, craft aprons...hemmed some pants. 

I'm slowly working my way to larger projects and made the kids pillowcases using this tutorial from Jona.  I love Jona's instructions because she's funny and she includes lots of pictures.  The picture above is Ellen's pillowcase...a special request for fabric with "dogs only".  

edgar ephemera

If, like me, you are an Edgar Allan Poe fan, you will be happy to know that the U.S. Postal Service has released a stamp to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Edgar's birth. I sometimes use postage stamps as crafting ephemera and it doesn't take much to spark my imagination about all of the things I could do with these stamps (that's a copy of the recent Vintage Halloween issue of Somerset Studio in the background).  You can read all about the stamp here.  I never knew you could get a first-day-of-issue postmark but I think I might try it this time.  I swear I'm not a stamp geek...just an Edgar geek.  

If you have kids that like scary stories, I recommend this book.  The illustrations by Gris Grimly are vivid (to say the least) and the Edgar Allan Poe classics are slightly abridged but still very good.  I distinctly remember reading "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" in grade school and loving every scary detail (in a "let's put the fun back in dysfunctional" kind of way).  

And, one more thing, I'm not a Baltimore Ravens fan but have to admit they have the coolest city-mascot match in the NFL. 

it's on like donkey kong

Can you tell I've been watching a little too much football? And a few too many football commercials.  I know it's bad when my kids are quoting car commercials word-for-word. It's a good thing I'm a Denis Leary fan because how many times have I heard him?  Fifty ...sixty ...thousand times? Anyway, as Peyton says "It's on like Donkey Kong"... on to routines, on to watching football just on the weekends, on to not eating ginger snaps a handful at a time.  

I bought a weekly planner at Barnes & Noble last year and liked it so much, I bought another for this year (50% off of course).  I used my favorite spiral punch to add a pretty cover and include any filler pages I need.  The punched holes are the perfect size to snap right into the planner. The covers are a textured plastic so the pictures appear blurry but you get the idea...cover the blah front with something you like.   I try to keep the spiral punches in my etsy shop and sell them for what I pay...not trying to make money but just sharing something that I like.

I'll be back later this week with a new blog that I want to share and I hope to do a "blog project" next week where I start and complete a small home improvement project.   Look at me...all motivated and stuff.