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DIY/Tutorial: Jute Lampshade

Posted on December 20, 2011

My last blog post was about the jute globe I made to go over my table. I decided to use the leftover jute to cover a lampshade that had been begging for a re-do. I got this lamp at a thrift shop but never liked the shade fabric. LOTS of glue and time later I had a new shade! Remember the bigger the jute quicker you will get done. This shade took me around 3 hours to cover (over the course of 2 days). I didn’t cover the top and bottom of the lamp with a singe strand of jute, I braided two pieces and glued them around the top and bottom…

Before:

Jute/Twine Globe

Posted on December 18, 2011

Ok, so I’m sure you’ve seen these twine globe/lights on Pinterest? Well, when we built our house 8 years ago the light over the table had a shade broken (when we bought it) and though we talked to them about it at Lowes and they took our name and number we never heard from them again. So I took the shade off the light over the sink since it was the same and put it over the table. Now I had this bare light over the sink. When I seen these twine globes on Pinterest I knew I had to try it for that light over the sink. I loved it so much and hated the light over the table so much I decided to try it supersized! Hubby decided to switch all the light bulbs in the house to those ugly corkscrew bulbs so my hate for that light increased. It ruined my pictures! So to save you the time of figuring out where and how much to buy (if you wanted to try it BIG) I decided to share how I did it here.

Over the sink..

Over the table…this thing is HUGE!

Ok, here’s the supply list.

Jute (900 yards) from Hobby Lobby $16.99 (use your 40% coupon for this)
Alieens Tacky glue. I used a big bottle and a small bottle. The big one was around $5.49 and the small one $2.49 (no it doesn’t have to be the clear kind either, the original works fine)
Inflatable ball from ToysrUs for $8.99. Its a 22″ ball
Bowls for the glue and to hold the ball

Ok, first thing you need to do is blow up the ball. It came with a pump but I took it out to the air compressor and had it blown up in minutes. Then you need a small bowl to pour the glue in and a bowl to set the ball on while you prep the jute. Pour the glue in the bowl then you will pull a bunch of jute out in a pile. Dip your fingertips in the glue (yes this is a very nasty job) and start pulling the twine/jute thru your hands making sure to coat it good with glue. It doesn’t have to be totally soaked it just needs to have glue on it. Now for the small globe, the tutorial I read said to draw a circle on the ball and make sure not to wrap twine on the circle. I knew that I wanted to fit this globe over my existing light so I didn’t leave a hole (I had to cut it, I’ll tell you later). After you coat a pile of string with glue, start wrapping the ball (the fun part) making sure to distribute it evenly. After you get your wet pile wrapped set the ball on the large ball and coat some more string with glue. I hate to tell you this but it will take around an hour or more to wrap this big ball. After you get it totally wrapped (how much is up to you but you want enough so it will be stable) you have to let it dry. That is the hardest part! I let mine dry for about a day and a half. When its dry pull the plug on the ball and let it deflate. It will sound funny as it pulls away from the twine. This was the hardest part for me. The only way to get the ball out and to get it over my light was to cut it. Starting at what I designated as the top I started cutting thru the twine. I had to cut it almost from the top to the bottom. Remove the ball. You will also need to remove the shades off of your light. Being very gentle with it I pushed one side in and started working it over each light (sorry I wasn’t able to get a pic of this as I was quite busy . After I got it over my light I had a big ugly cut down the side of my globe. To fix that I took short pieces of twine (and hot glue) and tied it back together. Since you can’t walk all the way around our table I just turned that side to the wall. I’m am SOOO in love with this light!! Oh and guess what? I had enough twine/jute left for another project! I’ll show you that one next!

Have fun!

The light before:

The ball:

The jute/twine:

this is how much jute I had left:

light with shades removed:

applying the glue:



Deflating the ball:

the cut:

pull the ball out:

in place with the cut open:


Tied up: (see the knots)

Finished!

Lilly Anna Kids: {Ruffled Denim Skirt Tutorial}

Posted on December 15, 2011

For this ruffled denim skirt you will need a long denim skirt (you can get these at Cato) and 4 pair of old jeans.

now on each pair of jeans I cut the front and backs of the legs

so now I have 4 sets of ruffles…..I alternated light and dark denim. I also sewed them with the WRONG side of the denim out because my son was kind of hard on the knees.

then after I sewed each set of ruffles together I sewed a seam around the bottom of each ruffle so it would only fray so far

I made the top two ruffles a little bit shorter…tapered them

I also tapered the skirt down because my ruffles weren’t very wide. Then you will arrange your ruffles to where they all fit. Using a ruler make a mark where you want to sew your ruffle. I use a ruffle to measure up from each ruffle so they are all sewed on evenly

pin the side seams of each ruffle to the side seams of the skirt

then I pinned the ruffle down in a “ruffled” fashion with pins then sewed it down. Its nearly impossible to “ruffle” denim the traditional way so we have to improvise

Continue in the same way with each ruffle and you’re done!

Lilly Anna Kids {Fleece Rosette Legwarmer Tutorial}

Posted on December 12, 2011

Ok, here is the tutorial for the fleece legwarmers. Of course you don’t have to put a rosette on it or you can put more than one……go crazy with it! Please note: my tutorials are for personal use only. I’m giving up my product patterns so that you can make beautiful things for the ones you love. Not to fill your shop with goodies. If you own a shop you should have your own products to sell and not have a need to use others ideas.

First you will need to download the pattern. Right click on the picture and save it (only this pattern and this once!) then print it as a 8.5×11….thats what it’s sized as.

cut out your legwarmers using the pattern above. Its just average size. You may need to adjust it. Make sure you cut on the fold. You’ll need to cut 2 legwarmers and a strip of fleece about 1.5″ wide by the width of the fleece (60″)

hem the top and bottom of each legwarmer

now take your long strip of fleece and cut it in half and tie a knot in the end of each one

then you will start twisting and rolling it to make the rosette.

lay it on the legwarmer and sew it on

then sew up the back seam

and you’re done!

Have fun!

Dolman {my style} Shirt Tutorial

Posted on December 4, 2011

I have this sweatshirt that I really liked the way it fit except I wished it were longer so I decided to attempt to use it for a pattern. The fabric I used in this tutorial is cotton which I don’t recommend because it doesn’t stretch or hang/fit well. Also I would make it longer than the one that I cut out. You can always make it shorter later. You can use a regular tshirt that fits you comfortably. You don’t want it too tight, you can take it up easily if you need to. I’m adding a picture of how I cut one out for Bree using a tshirt. I think this would make a darling dress just cut it longer! I embellished some of mine as you can see below.

Lay your shirt on top of your fabric to use for a pattern. I cut one side (half) and then fold it over and cut the other side so they are the same….

cut the neck hole…don’t make it too big..

sew where the yellow lines are….shoulders and sleeves/sides…

clip the curves under the arms…

now hem the neckline, sleeves and bottom of the shirt and you’re done!

TUTORIAL TUESDAY: Suess Christmas Tree’s {DIY & Giveaway}

Posted on November 22, 2011

In case you haven’t noticed, I kind of like grinch green for Christmas. A funkier twist on the tradition red and green. So after reading somewhere were someone made trees out of poster board I had to try it and give it my grinchy spin. Now of course you can make these any color you like. The good part? I’m not only going to show you how to make these, I’m going to give away 2(!) kits to make your own! All you have to do is buy the poster board ($.75 at the DG) So after you check out this tut, scroll down and make a comment to be entered to win. I’ll draw 2 names on friday.

{Finished project}

{2 kits}

Supplies needed:

3 pieces of poster board
tape
glue gun/glue sticks
spray paint (optional)
various lace, trims and fabric

So we start out with 3 sheets of poster board (2 shown here)

then you start rolling it up where its small on the top, like a dunce hat. (it was hard to get a good pic, I couldn’t get back far enough to get it all in so I took two…)

now, holding the shape of the cone use a pencil to draw a line where you need to cut it off…

then cut and tape it. you’ll probably have to cut the bottom off level…

this is what it looks like after you cut it in the right shape…

ok, so you do this 3 times cutting them off shorter each time and you end up with this……now notice the dull matte black? I wanted glossy so enters……..

SPRAY PAINT! ….glossy black spray paint to be exact!

put them suckers in a box and you can spray without worrying about getting it on everything. (since I did it on the deck b/c it was raining)

and now, don’t they look MUCH better?!?!!

now you need some crafting supplies (leave comment below to be entered to win one of 2 kits I’m giving away!)

cut out some triangles…they don’t have to be perfect or the same size, just wing it! Then start gluing them to the yarn/string…

then glue the bunting to the tree. I only put glue on the back of the tree at each new level to make sure I had it placed right before permanently gluing it in place..

I didn’t take photo’s while I glued the lace and bows on but I’m sure you can figure that out.

Close up of the details..

for the curly-q tops I took 3 pipe cleaners bent them in half and glued them in the top then curled them around my finger…

and here are the 2 kits I’m giving away…..enter to win by leaving a comment below.

Love it? Pin it!

Thanks for looking!

Tutorial Thursday: Lace boot cuffs

Posted on November 17, 2011

Ok, so we’ve all seen the boot socks going around Pinterest and there is a pair where the lady sewed lace to the top of a pair of socks and I loved it except that I didn’t want to mess up a good pair of socks in case I didn’t like how they turned out so this is my version. I made a lace boot cuff that just allows the lace to stick out the top of the boots. The options are endless on these and you just wear them over the top of your socks or tights to fancy them up.

Supplies Needed:

Fleece
Lace
Velcro (optional)

Sewing machine or fabric glue

then you will need to measure around your calf and add about an inch or two….I made mine 5″ wide x the circumference of my leg. (Which was way too big and had to be cut down from the size shown in this picture) In the future I will cut them at an angle like I’ve marked in the picture (see yellow lines)…

Now you will need to cut your lace, I cut it a little bit longer than the fleece so it would ruffle a little bit. If your lace is pre-ruffled or if you want it flat cut the lace the same length as the fleece. Cut two 3″ strips of velcro as well.

If don’t want the lace ruffled, skip this step. Sew a basting stitch at the top of the lace (the longest stitch=biggest number)

now, I didn’t even have to pull a thread to ruffle it, it ruffled on its own as I sewed it. If it doesn’t you will need to pull one of the threads to ruffle the lace…

then pin the lace on the fleece like this…or if you’re using fabric glue turn the lace the other way (pointing up) and glue it down…

sew it down…

here I folded the lace up (yes that is chalkboard paint on my hand) and sew it down…

next you’ll sew the velcro on the edges…I sewed mine vertically but it might be best to sew it horizontally so you can adjust the tightness better…..or you can skip the velcro step all together and just sew it shut….

and this is what they will look like on your leg and why it would be best to taper the fleece….

and with boots on! Lovely! Love it? Pin it!

TUTORIAL TUESDAY: (err, make that TUTORIAL FRIDAY) Petal Posie~No sew

Posted on November 11, 2011

Ok, so I fell off the wagon (again). I am so sorry! I promise to make it up to you next week with a FANTABULOUS tutorial!! I’ve had this idea in my mind for a while and I’m anxious to try it and share it with ya! But for now I’ve got another NO SEW hair flower tutorial. Yeah I’m sure there are a ton out there and no I did not make this after seeing it on Pinterest. I came up with this while playing around one day (no I’m not the original designer I’m sure) and this how I make the ones I sold in my shoppe. These are beautiful made out of felt but I like to use non-traditional materials.

Supplies needed:

Glue gun/sticks
Scissors
Felt
Alligator clip
Felt or fabric for flower
Wide mouth canning lid (or something similar)
Paper

I traced around the lid on the paper to make a pattern that I could pin to the fabric.

cut out 8 circles

now you are going to do this for each of the 8 circles. Fold them in half.

and then fold them in half again

then inside each corner put a dab of glue and squeeze the tip together so it holds it’s shape

now you will need a felt circle to glue the petals to. I cut it a little big smaller than my circle pattern

now you will start gluing the wedges to the felt putting it together like a pizza. I like to make sure the petals are facing the same way

now you are going to do the same thing only don’t lay the petals down in exactly the same order, move them over so the top petals cover the where two petals meet on the first layer

now I grab the top petals, pull them up and put a dab of glue in the middle

and pinch it together to make them stick

and you’re done! (after you glue a clip to the back)

TUTORIAL TUESDAY: Tshirt Fringe Scarf

Posted on November 1, 2011

First of all let me say THIS TUTORIAL WAS NOT SOMETHING I SEEN ON PINTEREST! I’m sure this is not the first time this tutorial has been made but I have not looked for one nor seen one.

Today’s tutorial was inspired by a scarf by Down East Basics, (you can see it here). I got their latest sale bill in the mail and it’s been stuck in my purse. Every time I get hot in church I grab it to fan myself with and it always seems to open to the page with this scarf on it. After looking at it so many times I decided I liked it. I didn’t originally because we had those types of scarves when I was a tween…….too 80′s. But alas I succumbed to the lure of the scarf and came up with this version.

I used 2 boys tshirts size 8/10. I would like for it to have been bigger but I used what I had on hand. When I make one for myself I will use a mans tshirt.

Cut the shirt off under the sleeves…

then cut up both sides removing the seam if it has one……also remove the hem…

now you should have two rectangles (from each shirt. I used 2 shirts)

fold each rectangle in half at the corners like so…

then use your straight edge and rotary cutter to cut fringe. My fringes were about 1/2-3/4″ wide. DONT cut too close to the top! You want some fabric uncut at the top. On a side note if you plan on doing much sewing at all you simply MUST invest in a rotary cutter and mat!! Its a must! Ask Santa!

it should look like this…

Viola! You did it! Like it? PIN it! Thanks!

Ruffled T Skirt~Tutorial Tuesday

Posted on October 5, 2011

Ok, here is the long promised ruffled skirt tutorial. So maybe it isn’t new but I do have a trick to make it quicker to make. Instead of sewing each row of ruffle on separately I sew it on as one loooong ruffle that spirals up and around the skirt. No measuring, pinning or math. Just sew!

First I started with a stack of of tshirts from the thrift shop in various fall colors. I’m not particularly fond of these colors but they will work.

I cut each shirt into 3 4″ strips

here are my strips after I cut up my shirts

next I cut the bottom off a tshirt that was too small for my son. This will be the skirt base that I sew the ruffles onto.

Next i cut each strip in two

now here is a handy dandy little tool that will save you much time…….the ruffler foot! If you don’t have one you can sew a basting stitch and pull it or manually ruffle it (shown in one of my previous tutorials)

now you are going to ruffle all of your tshirt strips together in one long ruffle……keep them all attached

so here is my one long ruffle

now get your skirt base out that you’re sewing the ruffles onto….I turned mine inside out because it had writing on it

next I start sewing the ruffle onto the bottom of the skirt

Ok now here is the most important step. When you get back around to where you started sew right up to the beginning then you will want to angle the ruffle up starting a new row. DON’T cut the ruffle!

here’s what it looks like when you start the next row

now sew the ruffles far enough from the row below it but not so far that you see the sewing

when you get to the top taper the ruffle back down to the last ruffle ( I forgot to photograph this step)

trim the excess fabric off leaving only about 1/2″ of fabric if you’re using the wide elastic I used. If you’re making a casing you will need to leave about 2″ of fabric at the top

3″ elastic for the waistband….she prefers this. It’s more comfy and it holds better.

cut the elastic to fit her waist then sew the ends together…..I top stitch the seam down for comfort and security

next I put the elastic over the skirt to get an idea of how much I would need to pull the elastic

while you sew the elastic down PULL it! Not the fabric underneath it. When you pull the elastic it will gather the skirt up

here is what it looks like after the elastic is sewn on

now TWIRL!

this skirt was made using the same technique…

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