"Snow" Covered Candle Holder

My Mom loves candles and I saw this candle holder on Pinterest and a lightbulb went off.

To make this candle holder you need:

Mod-Podge (Homemade version here.)
Candle Holder
Large Plate
Epsom Salt
Paint Brush

First pour the Epsom Salt onto the large plate. Grab the candle holder and using the paintbrush, apply a layer of the glue mixture onto the candle holder. Then sprinkle the Epsom Salt onto the glue.

I put a layer of glue on the bottom, added the salt, then painted the middle, added the salt, and finally the top and rim. It is a very straightforward process. Just be sure not to touch the outside edges or you will have to do touch-ups later.  Also don't worry about ruining the paintbrush. It washed right out under warm water. You will be fine as long as you don't let the glue dry on the paintbrush. This only took me 10 minutes to do.

 I thought it turned out very well and definitely will be making more.

Christmas Snowmen

I love this project. Last year I made 2. This year I tripled that and have a little snowman army :)

 Here is what you need to make these little beauties:

1 white sock
1 pair of decorative socks
rice
rubber bands
Hot glue gun
Any other details such as string, buttons,beads, etc
First cut the sock like so. Make sure the white sock is the one with the very long tube, not the ankle socks. Throw away the bottom part.

 Next, turn the tube inside out and tie a rubber band around the top.

Turn the tube back inside out and begin filling it with rice.

 I pick up the sock by the rim and gently shake it and bounce it upside down to let the rice settle and form the snowman naturally. About an inch from the top, rubber band it off.

Next cut up the decorative socks like so:

Put the sock around the snowman body.

Next add the hat.

Using embroidery floss, tie the top of the hat to create a poof and use it around the body to help separate the body into sections. You can push the rice around and mold it to give it the shape you want.

Now add the details. I used black seed beads for the eyes and colored the tip of a toothpick orange for the nose. I also used some buttons. I've seen people use sharpie dots for the eyes, small triangle carrot buttons for the nose and ribbon used to add details. By the way, don't try and use super glue. It just gets absorbed into the sock and it leaves a spot. The hot glue gun works the best. This part is all about creativity and using what you got :)

Here are all my snowmen.

That's all there is to it. Have fun and be creative!

Homemade Mod-Podge

I went to Wal-Mart and Mod-Podge was too expensive to shimmy its way onto my list. So, I came home and looked up how to make it. I found a bottle of Elmer's glue, a plastic cup and a straw and whipped up some Mod-Podge. I only needed about a cup (I didn't want to use the whole bottle of glue). I used half a cup of glue and mixed it with half a cup of water. Then I just plopped in another big glob of glue to make it thicker. Using the straw I just stirred it around and around and around. After that, I poured it into a little jar and voila :)

Beaded Ornament Cover Tutorial

I've made a few of these ornament covers and they are very simple, but can be time consuming. You'll need:

• seed beads
• thread
• scissors
• beading needle or thin sewing needle

I am using a light pink and a brown.

First thread your needle. I don't tie it off. I just put the needle about 3 inches from the end like so.

Then put on 2 beads of your main color and 1 of your accent color until you have 16 accent colors.

Make it a loop by tying the thread.

Then you put on 5 beads of your main color and 1 accent color until you have 13 sets of your main color. Don't put on the last accent color. Next go through the 4th accent bead from the top.

 Add 5 beads of your main color,1 accent, and 5 more mains. Then skip an accent bead and go through the one above it

Continue this pattern until the top of the row and add only 5 main colors,  and go through the accent color in the loop.

Now add 5 main colors,1 accent color and 5 main colors and go through the next accent bead.

Continue down the row and after you go through the last accent bead add 5 mains, 1 accent, 5 mains, 1 accent, and 5 mains and go through the next accent bead. Continue this way all the way up, down, and around the circle. After the first two rows, you should be able to do this very easily without the instructions, but if you need them that's ok too :)

When you get all the way around to the last accent bead on the top circle you'll have a big net like this.

This next part is easier than it sounds and it's hard to explain, so bear with me. When you get to the last accent bead on the last row, add 5 mains, 1 accent, and 5 mains and go through the corresponding accent bead on the other side of the net. This is where we "sew" up the back.

Add 5 main colors and go through the next accent bead on the opposite side. It kind of "zips" up. When you get to the very top, add the 5 main colors and go through the very first accent bead on the top circle and tie off.

I don't have a bulb on hand to show you this finished netting, but here is one I've done before. By the way, this was a smaller bulb, so the netting hung down. A bigger bulb will make the netting hug the bulb tighter.

This is a neat project and I really like the finished look, especially on the tree. It's time consuming, but totally worth it. Have fun :)

Halloween Pirate Costume

Well, I don't celebrate Halloween so I don't have a lot of choices when it comes to dressing up. My aunt threw a little Halloween party and I decided to put something together so I went as a pirate, considering I already had most of the pieces for it. Anyone can make a pirate costume fairly quickly. All you need is a white long sleeve shirt, red bandana, black or brown skirt (or pants) and some kind of belt like I have in the picture. I don't know how to describe it. You can also make the vest and eye-patch by going here. If you're a girl accentuate with hoops, and any loose jewelry such as chains or bangles. Red lipstick is usually in the pirate description as well as dark eyeshadow or eyeliner. By the way, it can be a little smudgy in some places. Pirates weren't the cleanest people. By the time I was ready I had a nice little costume.

Charming Little Ghosts

I know I'm late posting this for Halloween but it's ok. Anywhoo, here are some little lolli-pop ghosts I made for some of my friends.

Definitely not the most spectacular thing, but they're so cute! To make these little ghosts I picked up some lolli-pops. I used Charms (hence the post title)..Yes, I am that clever. Just kidding. Anyways I used plain cotton fabric and cut out pieces 6"x6". Just cut out how many you need and now just wrap the fabric around the lolli-pop. Use ribbon or a cute yarn and tie it around the base of the lolli-pop and use a sharpie to draw on little eyes. That's all there is to it. I didn't have a Halloween-y yard or ribbon, so I just used the plain gray.

Here is my little bag of ghosts :)

Quick Pirate Vest

So it's Class Day at school and this year we're good ole' pirates.. Arrggghhh!! This took me about 45 minutes to complete. I started out with an XL T-shirt, which on me is HUGE. I had to downsize it quite a bit! I had a white shirt and black jeans and when I looked up pirate costumes most had a red or reddish vest. That being said, this was the only shirt that I could find that I was "allowed" to cut up. I felt guilty for it being a US Freedom shirt, but it was this or nothing. So here goes.

This was only meant to be a quick costume to I didn't really measure anything. First I turned it inside out and cut down the middle of the shirt. Only cut the top layer. Not the bottom. Then cut off the sleeves and collar. I honestly have NO idea why it looks so pink...

Then I turned it it right side out and put a pin where I was going to sew a seam and make it smaller. I shortened the length of the shoulders and sides. I also marked where I wanted the curve of the "U" to lie and cut it out.

Then I turned it back inside out and tried it on. Make sure you don't stick yourself with the pins. Make any adjustments if you need to.When you try it on, make a note of how short you want it to be and mark it with a pin.

Now cut a little below your pin. I cut about an inch below it.. Next I sewed the shoulder part.

And the bottom hem of the vest. By the way this picture shows the excess fabric cut off, but oh well..

Cut off all excess fabric. I cut about 1/2 an inch away from my seam.

 Add some "pirate-esque" buttons. I luckily had 3.

My finished vest. I only sewed the bottom hem. I didn't see the need for anything else. I still looks good and hey pirates weren't the fanciest people so it really doesn't matter. You can sew all the seams though if you wish. In the picture you can kind of see the emblem from the front of the shirt but in usual light I didn't see anything.

Not the best pirate costume compared to my friends, but oh well! It was fun!

Oh and I also made a little eye-patch. I just free drew the shape of an eye-patch on some black and white fabric, sewed them together and turned right-side out and added the red top-stitching. Then I just poked two holes in the white material on the back and threaded some yarn through. As I said, I wasn't going for perfect work here. I had only a little time to be crafty and this is what resulted.

  Pirate on folks :)

Cute Sling Bag Tutorial

This isn't the first bag I've made, yet it is the first tutorial I've ever done. This particular bag is for a friend's daughter. I will try and make the instructions as clear as possible. I made this in about 4 hours, so it's a good little afternoon project.You can probably make it faster than me, but I like to go slow, take my time, and have good quality work.You can find the pattern here. If you use this pattern in any repost or tutorial please source me. I'd appreciate it :)

I bought 1 1/2 yards of each fabric and the way I laid out my patterns will allow me to make 2 complete bags.  Here is what you need: 2 lining pieces (purple), 2 outer pieces (flowers), 2 small pockets (purple), 2 large pockets (flowers), 2 square pockets (flowers), 1 piece for fabric flower (purple) and a little velcro.

I like to use every bit of fabric I can. Here is how I laid out my pattern on half of the fabric. I squeezed the pockets and flower piece in between the spaces. Just play with it to get everything to fit. If you don't want to lay it out like so, I'd say 1 1/4 yard will do fine.

As I was getting ready to make my pockets, my cat decided to jump up and say "hello" :)

To make all of your pockets, turn the pieces right sides together and stitch. I used 1/4" seam allowance and left an inch to turn them inside out. Then clip your corners and cut the "v's" along the rounded edge. Once turned, iron to make top stitching easier and crisper. I used a 1/4" seam allowance on everything except top stitching, which was 1/8".

 As you can see, I hate sewing curves. They never look as good as I want them... Just as a tip, top stitch the very top of the large pocket. I forgot to do that and had to top stitch the top after I'd already sewed the pocket to the bag, which was frustrating.

Pin your pocket to your bag and eyeball it until it looks straight.

Also, top stitch the top of the pocket before sewing it on. Sew on some velcro. I forgot to top stitch this as well and had to go back, but oh well. Live and learn right?

Sewing on the opposite piece of velcro can be tricky. I stuck the 2 pieces of velcro together and stuck a piece of double sided tape to the back and layed the pocket how I wanted it to lay. Then I sewed along the top, peeled off the tape and continued around. You can also use fabric glue. I didn't because I'm broke haha..

Put your 2 lining pieces right sides together and sew along the outside edge. I marked where you should sew with yarn.

Do the same with your outer fabric.

Iron and press the straps as shown. Trust me, this makes life SO much easier. I couldn't find the iron when I made my first bag, and the straps were bulky and I just didn't like them.

Here's where the magic happens. Turn your lining fabric right side out and stuff it into your outer fabric, which is wrong side out.

Here's how it should look. Since it is a curved edge it can be tricky to get them lined up perfect. I just put a book or 2 in it and it sort of straightened itself out on its own.

So now just sew,sew,sew. Go along the outer edges of the straps and top edges of the bag. I left about 5 inches for turning. In case you don't know, turning is where you pull your inside fabric to the outside through the hole. The first time I did this I literally thought "Oh my God, What did I just do?" It turned out ok though. Never mind the pun haha. Ok back on task. You can leave more or less open for turning depending on how big your hand is and such. I left the opening on the part of the bag where the straps curve into the bag. I don't know why I didn't take a picture of turning the bag or top stitching. Just be sure to iron the seams before you top stitch. I only top stitched the very top edge of the bag and the straps. Don't try and top stitch the bottom of the bag. I just don't see how it would work.

Here is the making of the flower. Fold your fabric in half right sides together and sew along the zig-zaggy edge. Next turn the flower inside out. I swear to you, this is the hardest part of the whole project! You will understand why. It took me 15 minutes to turn it completely. It is tricky, but not impossible and adds a lot of character to the finished bag. Ok now, put the ends of the flower together and stitch them together. Next using a needle and thread, do a running stitch along the bottom. Make sure you use a strong thread or double the thread up.  The stitches don't have to be perfect.

Start to pull your thread. Here is where it transform to this crown looking thing into a flower! You do have to be forceful to get it tight, but don't pull it to the point where the thread snaps.

Lay your flower where you want it. Grab a button and sew it down on top of the flower. Make sure you don't sew your bag opening together. That would suck..Anyways I add stability to the flower by putting the needle through the bottom of the flower and wrap it around the button. It tightens up the flower and makes it stay put. You might have to experiment around to get it how you want it.

 

Here is the finished flower. Beautiful, isn't it?

Here is the outside pocket.

And here is the finished bag!

I LOVE it. I think it's so cute! Let me know what you think and if there's anything I can make clearer in the tutorial. Also, If you made this bag, send me a picture. I'd love to see it :)