S is for...Sweet

One of the things that I first came up with for Baby Starfish's party was a letter S covered in buttons... but every place I looked for letters, the letters were too small for what I was looking for. Hmm. What to do. Put on creative cap and use my own imagination of course!

I started with some sheets of corrugated cardboard (the ones I used came in the packaging for the boy's new doona covers - win-win, recycling and I get to make decor with it) and PVA glue. After gluing the sheets together, I free handed a letter 'S' and then started cutting through the layers with a craft knife. That was about when the Hubs came in and offered to cut it out on the bench saw. Now before you say "why didn't you think of that first, Sheree?", I have a confession to make... The bench saw scares me (well, with something that fiddly, anyway!). So like a sensible girl, I said yes. Really. Who wouldn't.
I then covered each surface with card stock in Kaisercraft CD150 island.

1. First I covered the front and back sides, cutting the card stock a bit bigger than the corrugate.

2.Then I put little snips in the edges to let it bend and glue down like so.

3. After that came the sides, since they would be visible at the end and I wanted them to be smooth... I could have done it the other way around in hind-sight (sides first, then front/back). I didn't get any photos of that except just before I attached them - you'll have to use your imagination.

Next up was the buttons. I looked through my stash. Barely enough there to make a dent in the whole "cover the front" concept, so I made a trip to Spotlight (I think Joann's is probably the US equivalent, or there abouts) and sourced a big bag of craft buttons and a few cards of pretty decorative ones.

All that was left was to arrange them. I sat the letter S on a big blank canvas so that if any little wayward button decided to break ranks it was easy to retrieve, and then using my lampshade glue I sat in front of the TV and glue, glue, glued my little heart out for about a hour. Yep. An hour. But I can be pretty slow and pedantic, so I'm sure other's could probably do it in less time. Et Voila!

One letter S perfect for Baby Starfish's first birthday bash, and then to be relegated to bedroom decor. Woo hoo!

Sharin' here:

What's Cooking Love?

Simple Trim Burp Cloth

I thought I'd put together a quick "how-to" for how I did this burp cloth. I'm  sure most of you could figure it out for yourselves, but here is what I did anyway.

1. Choose a hand towel or something absorbent that is similar. Mine was an Egyptian cotton hand towel from Target.

2. Choose your cotton fabric trim. You could probably use a sturdy ribbon here instead if you found one you liked.

3. Wash both. (You don't want them to shrink unevenly).

At this point I had to determine where I wanted my trim to sit. My towel had two woven-non-loopy strips across one end, so I figured they would make a good location to stitch my fabric trim to.

4. Measure the width of that you want your fabric to be. Because I was using the two woven strips to stitch it to, mine was 4.5cm wide. Add 5 - 6mm (1/4" for all those not using metric) seam allowance the whole way around. I DID NOT CUT IT TO LENGTH AT THIS POINT.

5. Pin trim to your cloth. Notice I pinned in both directions. That was so I could remove pins along the side I was working on and not have the other side shift. I do not have a walking foot for my machine - so I pinned like crazy - I did NOT want that strip to move through the machine at a different rate to the towel, which has the ability to stretch a little (I had tried to make a towel before, and had to scrap it. My hindsight is 20/20 on that one!).

6. Stitch across the side of the towel/fabric first (short end of the trim) to hold it in place. To turn the corner, simply make sure the needle is down (through the towel) and lift the presser foot. Rotate the towel 90 degrees, put the presser foot down and off you go!

7. Cut the length of the fabric when you are ALMOST at the end. I would say about an inch would do it. I did it this way so that if the fabric and towel did go through the machine at a different rate I wouldn't be left short of fabric trim. Tuck the ends under and "finger press" (i.e. use the warmth of your finger to iron the end under so that it doesn't pop out as you sew the final inch of the long side of the trim).

8. Repeat direction #6.

9. Don't forget to stitch backward and forward over the end of the first threads to lock them all in place.

10. Ta-dah!

Honestly, the ironing and pinning took the longest on this one, they whip up really quickly - and I'm not at all fast at the machine!

Happy stitching!

S xox

Straw Topper Tutorial

Well I guess it isn't really rocket science as to how you would put one together - but I believe I will share it with you anyway! :) (Even though I didn't get a good photo of the finished products - thought I had taken one... perhaps it got deleted). I wanted to make straw toppers to go with the milk bottles that I will show you later this week, so keeping with the farm theme, and using some of the same print of stickers that I used for the invitations I gathered my materials.

To fit the stickers, I cut rectangles of cardboard 7cm x 4.5cm, and then folded it in half. I stuck the  stickers in the centre of each side, trying to make sure that the top of each sticker matched where the top was on the other side.

I cut some of the excess off from around each sticker to make them more shapely.  Here they are before I stuck them onto the straws. I used two different types to glue to assemble it all. Lampshade glue down either side of the inside of the card stock, and non-toxic glue stick to glue it onto the straw surface. (I didn't want to take any chances with the chemicals transferring to the straw!)

Wrap them around the straw so that the edges match, and press together till the glue holds.
Viola! Straw toppers.

For this set I just used regular stiff card stock - but if I were doing it again I think I would try for something that has a coating on it and so will make it a little bit more drink proof.

Vintage Wallpaper Covered Notepads & Pencils

 Last weekend we celebrated my eldest son's 4th birthday with a Jungle Safari party (More posts coming on that later!). I gave some notepads and pencils a make over to fit with the theme, so I thought I'd share the process with you.

Vintage Wallpaper Covered Notepads & Pencils. 

1. Gather your materials

Cover paper. I used a vintage wall paper that I have been hoarding for years.
Glue. I used lampshade glue because the covers of the notepads were a little shiny, and I didn't want    to risk the paper and the cover separating.
Notepads
Scissors
Pencil
Fine nosed pliers

2. Bend the end of the wire coil so that it opens up into a spiral like the rest of the wire.

3. Wind the wire coil out and set aside. Do this to all of the notepads.

4. Trace the cover onto your paper. I noticed that the bottom of each note pad was cut slightly different, so I just decided to go with a rectangle and tidy up the shape later.

5. Apply glue to the notepad cover and invert it face down onto the back of the wall paper.

6. When the glue is sufficiently dried (I went and did a few other things around the house while I waited about 30 mins), turn it face down and using your hole punch (I've had mine for YEARS, but I found one for you here), make a hole where each of the original covers holes are.

7. Replace the cover, and bend the wire coil end back to it's original position.

8. Admire your handy work! :)

I also covered pencils to go with the whole Safari theme  ~ and I loved the result!!! I enjoyed it so much I may even cover a few more in time. :) All I did was use a strip of paper (the receipt from the pencils actually!), cut it to the length of the timber, and then wrapped it around till I had a tight fit for the pencil. I measured it, and cute the strip to that width. I double checked the fit on the pencil (You don't want to have to alter the fit once it is glued on the pencil!!!), and then marked and cut strips from the wall paper to match. I covered the back of the wall paper in PVA since it was going on to bare timber, lay the pencil on top, and rolled it on. Then I smoothed it with my finger to make sure there were no bubbles. And there you have it ~ matching notepads and pencils!  :)

Happy Creating! :)

S xxx

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Vintage Wallpapered Frame + Tutorial

You might have noticed that I have been a bit scarce around these parts lately. It's partly due to the fact that I've been a bit preoccupied with a friend and her newborn baby, who at around 1 week of age is going in for surgery today. We are praying that there is a successful outcome from today and that she will grow rapidly stronger.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a quick peek at what is going on behind the scenes at Seaweed & Raine headquarters, and share a quick tutorial with you (quick in that there's not a lot of instruction... the process took me a little while to do though).

Jellyfish is turning 4 in a couple of weeks, so there is lots of planning going on.

Vintage Wallpapered Frame.

I suppose there are lots of ways that you could do this, but here is what I did.
Gather your materials.

Yes, this is a Kidney dish. It's stainless steel - so great for clean-up.

Timber frame ( found on a thrifty adventure)
Vintage wallpaper sample in your desired pattern
Screwdriver
Small nosed pliers
Sand paper & block
PVA glue (I did consider both Mod Podge and wall paper paste - both of which I have, but I wanted the strength not so slippery factor of PVA)
Paintbrush
Exacto knife (or similar)

1. Remove screws and wire from the frame, then take out the staples that hold the back in the frame. Save these. (Find a place to stash the glass and backing board of the framed work so that they don't get damaged).
2. Lightly sand the frame to give the glue something to grip on to.

3. Measure your frame, then measure your wall paper sample to give you enough to wrap around the frame. I used the rule of thumb "measure twice cut once". (Mine was 4.9cm wide strips)

6. Mark the wall paper and cut into strips.

I started the next part in the corner. You don't have to, it was just a starting point for me.

6. Mitre the corner of the first strip at a 45 degree angle. Cut off surplus wall paper. Glue the strip on the inside of the frame first. (I did try it the other way, but this gave a neater finish).

When this is dry, add glue to the front plane of the frame and smooth the wall paper over it. Leave it for a few minutes and then glue the outside edge and back.

Continue this the whole way around the frame. It's not rocket science. I did make a few mistakes as I went, but thankfully the busy nature of the wallpaper print is fairly forgiving.

Now sit back and admire your handy work! Ta - dah!!! :)

(N.B. Yes I realise I have put the hanging wire on in an odd way for the photo, it was intentional as the frame is going on a little adventure outside before having the glass cleaned and put back in.)

Hope you are having a fabulous day!
S xxx

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Donut Softie Tutorial

Well a little while (ages and ages) ago I promised you a tutorial for the felt donuts that I made for my boys. I have since had a good think about this, and there is no reason at all why you couldn't use something other than felt. That aside, I have written up what I did. This is not the only way to do it, I'm sure. It's just what worked for me.

Materials:

1 sheet of felt for the cake part of the donut.
1 sheet of felt in your desired "icing" colour
1 CD
A pen, pencil or something to trace with (Avoid texter, as it goes through when you sew).
Hobby fill (or stuffing of your choice)
Embroidery floss in desired colours. I used 7 different colours.
Embroidery needle
Scissors
Sewing machine


1. Place a CD on your chosen icing colour (mine was pink). Trace around the outside and the inside.

2. Add approx. a 6mm snip allowance to the inner circle, followed by a wavy line on both the inside and outside edge to make your icing look dribbly.

3. Cut out icing and set aside.

4. Repeat step 1 on the donut coloured felt (mine was chocolate)

G-rated. Yes these look like eyes.

5. Draw two lines 4cm apart across the outer circle on both circles. This is the area that you will use to stuff the donut. Cut outside the drawn line leaving a 6mm seam allowance. (see above image).

6. Pin donut pieces right sides together, making sure that the two lines on both circles line up.

7. Sew around the line, leaving a 4cm gap between the two lines. Back stitch at the beginning and end.

Yes my machine is vintage - 1935.

8. Snip curve allowances in both the outside (being careful not to cut the stitching) and the centre of donut.

9. Turn donut right side out.

10. Thread your needle and knot the end. Poke a few tabs of the centre into the donut, push the needle through from the wrong side (inside) of donut, and start stitching the opening closed. I used whip stitch. I like to go over the start of it for extra strength.

11. Fasten off and thread back through the inside and back out again to hide the tail of the cotton. Snip thread.

12. Using your hobby fill, stuff donut. I found using golf ball sized amounts made it less lumpy. You may need a pen to get it to the bottom of the circle.

13. Stitch 4cm opening closed.

14. Embroider your icing. I use french knots and straight stitches to make mine look like it was covered with both hundreds-and-thousands, and sprinkles. You could also use beads, but since this is for a baby who has not long turned 1 I stayed with something that seems safer.

15 Place your icing on top and stitch on using same method as before.

Voila!

Fabric Child's Belt Tutorial.

I have a niece that is a tad on the petite side, so for her birthday the other day I decided that I should make her a belt to help keep things in place. Keep in mind that I am kinda new to sewing. This is not the only way to do it, it's just what worked for me. For another easy to follow tutorial, check out Prudent Baby.

Materials:

Chosen fabric. I used Michael Miller Corduroy Flower Crystals in pink.
Light/Medium weight iron on interfacing (or do yourself a favour and get some iron on tape!!!)
2 x 2.5 cm (1") D rings.
Thread to either match or contrast.
Rotary cutter (optional - scissors work too).
Bias tape maker (optional - but it makes it a LOT easier!)
Iron & board
Sewing machine

 

Here's what I did:


1.Cut two strips of fabric 4.5cm (or 5cm if you prefer it a little wider) x your desired length. I made mine 63cm long. I also cut parallel to the selvedge as the fabric was a LOT more stable this way (and it made the lines of the cord go in the desired direction).

2. Cut two strips of interfacing 2.5 cm wide, and 4cm shorter than your fabric strips. (In my case I made them 59cm long).

3.Trim the ends of the fabric into a point (I folded the end in half to make sure I had the point in the middle).

4. Thread fabric into the bias tape maker. (You may find that the tip of your scissors, the end of a pen, or a pin may be helpful here). Iron fabric as you go.

5. Open fabric out and place the interfacing in the middle, and slightly in from the end of the fabric strip (see photo below). Make sure the shiny side is down (you don't want glue on your iron!), and iron it on.

6.Fold ends in an press. (See picture below).

7. Trim corners before folding the fabric closed. This takes out some of the bulk for the following steps.

8. Fold pointy end in and press.

9.Place both strips of fabric wrong sides together and pin.

10. Top-stitch the fabric. You can use a colour that will blend in, or a contrasting colour. I chose something that stood out a little. Stitch as close to the edge as you can. If you like at this point you can sew another line of stitching inside of the first line. I didn't bother.

11. Thread 2 D-rings onto your fabric strip at the end that doesn't have interfacing. Fold the fabric strip over so that the interfacing just covers the D-rings. Stitch down. Reinforce if desired.

12. Wear or gift your new belt! :)

If you have any problems with this tutorial, leave a comment to let me know.

Happy stitching! :)

S xxx