BubbaChic

DIY Friday

 
 

I managed to pick up a couple of t-shirts at a Labor Day sale for just $1.99 each - They were pretty bog standard tee's but I bought them with repurposing in mind...

 

Without too much of a plan, other than knowing I could loose some off the length and add some kind of details I chopped two 1.5" sections from the bottom hem:

 

and sliced a v in the neck to give a better neckline. I used the hem from the bottom of the t-shirt to bind the neck and make a more finished edge after it had been hacked by me:

 

I then sewed the hem, onto the inside of the neckline with a view to turning it right side out and topstitching it down (much like you do the binding on a quilt)

 

wrong side of binding on inside of neckline...the flip the top the right way out and topstitch down:

 

and you get a more finished v-neckline:

 

I cut the rest of the t-shirt strips in half and started making ruffles. Choose a long stitch on the machine and stitch the entire length of the strip, then, hanging onto one threat, sinch the fabric to ruffle it up (this can also be done by hand stitching just as easily)

 

Then the fun bit - add them wherever you desire...

 

I decided to add a flower detail using some of the fabric also. Just take a strip and wind it around and around, hand stitching it to secure the shape:

 

and the other side...

 

then just put it all together!

 

I sewed a vintage pin in the the middle of the flower to give it a little bling!

 

et voila! an updated version of a tired tee!!

 

 

 

 

 

More party preparations...

We are busy with last minute preparations for the party...

 
Maddy wanted to host a Doll's campout with her friends who are coming. I spied a glass candlestick and candle plate in the dollar store on sunday and thought they would make a wonderful doll-size cake plate!

 

and also great for displaying smaller food items, either way Maddy is very enamoured with them!

 

I am also trying to put the finishing touches to the playroom...

 

 

and finishing up the painting of the pantry!

one. last. push.

Shadow Frame with Photo Writing (Tutorial)

I shared this photo of a little montage I put together on Facebook a few weeks ago and was asked for a breakdown on how to do it. So, I have finally gotten around to it!

I wanted to put together a collage of our holiday so picked up the shadow frame from Michaels when it was 40% off. I already had some items in mind to put in the frame, but I wanted to figure out how to put our photos into writing (without forking out $40 on computer software to do it for me)

 

So I started to play around with Word and I sussed out how to do it...

1. Start off with a blank document and go to the 'Insert' tab - select 'WordArt'

2. Enter your text (Note that if you want a different photo for each letter, you will need to do this whole process with each letter separately)

3. When text is entered you can resize it by dragging it and dropping it within the Word document

4. Highlight text and rightclick, go to 'Format WordArt'

5. Next to the color option is a button called 'Fill Effects' select this and then select 'Picture' tab

6. Select a photo from your computer and click on 'OK'

7. Select the Line section, select the color tab and choose 'no color' and 'ok' (this will remove the black line from around the word)

There you have it! Photo in a word!

Some points to remember would be that if your photo is in the wrong position of the word/letter - you will need to format it before, it cannot be dragged or resized within word.

You could also use the 'shapes' tab to drop pictures into shapes in the same way:

 

any questions, just let me know!

 

For the love of Anthropologie...

 

How pretty are these tea towels? All from Anthropologie, all gorgeous! However, they are also all expensive ($24ish) and in a house where dish towels are an everyday functional item for every member of the family (some more than others!) I can do without the stress of high priced or prized (just for show) dish towels.

So I decided to try and whip up a few of my own, on a budget of around $10. I bought the dish towels at target and bought some Steam-A-Seam Lite from JoAnns (google 50% off coupon) and then played with the fabric and the trims I already had here.

 

 

 

I have build up a little stash of vintage trims, rick rack, doileys, pillowcases and hankies from the thrift store, that seemed to be perfect for this little project. They also provide endless inspiration.

 
 

 

I went with fabric that I thought was pretty and had a vintage feel and just ironed on steam-a-seam onto the back, cut out my desired shape and ironed it onto the tea towel. After it had cooled I stitched around the edges of the fabric with a zig zag stitch to extend its life! (you can use steam-a-seam on its own, but I find after a few washes it tends to start peeling off)

 
 

 

 

Free Art!

Go Check this out, seriously....there are some wonderful (and free) prints available!

A New Tutorial

I have had a few mamas contact me asking me how to do Waldorf Doll hair, when they can't crochet the caps. So I have put together a tutorial (on the left side bar) with step by step instructions on how to do it without being able to crochet the whole cap, but still get the crochet cap effect.

I also wanted to link to this wonderful blog which has an amazing resource of lots of different waldorf doll making techniques.

Finally....A new freebie tutorial!

Where does the time go??! I have finally managed to get everything together to post another gift tutorial for a cute Gift Pocket a perfect gift for all ages and something I have made in the past and filled with sewing notions for a little travel sewing kit and stationery and stamps for a cute gift set.

...a box of goodies will be sent to the cutest addition to the Free Gifts Tutorials Group on Flickr which the rather wonderful Patchwork Pottery is going to choose on December the 1st....so get your photos onto the group...here is a little sneak peak of the goodies being added....(more info tomorrow!)

A Cupcake Pincushion and tape measure.....what sewing mama (or papa) wouldn't want this addition to their sewing box?!

Gift Tutorials...

Some wonderful links from some very talented mama's to aid with handmade gifts:

Cloth Baby Shoes Tutorial

Checkbook Cover Tutorial

Sewing Bag Tutorial

Fabric Flower Tutorial

Baby Cube Tutorial

Summer Slippers Tutorial

Some baby shoes made with the Cloth Baby Shoes Tutorial, the rest of the baby items will be offered as free tutorials imminently!

 

Free Gift Tutorials!

Last Christmas, I was a late bloomer when it came to hand made gifts. Although I managed to make a few, I left it very late and was still finishing up presents for the kiddies on Christmas Eve.

This year I wanted to get a head start and during the summer I crafted and made many gifts for friends and family. Because all of the items I made are my own patterns, I wanted to share them with other mama's (and papa's) who may also want a head start on the holiday season this year, or may just be looking for a free tutorial to whip up a birthday gift.

From now until the begining of December - I will be posting free tutorials here on my blog. I will also be scouring the internet for a round-up of the other free tutorials once a month. The tutorials will range from season specific gifts through to more generic gifts which can be used for any time of year.

The Free Tutorial Kick-off begins today with a simple pot holder tutorial, a perfect project for a beginner or for any seamstress looking to use up those scraps!

You can see examples of the present and future tutorials in the Free Tutorial Flickr Group which I will be updating weekly and which will be permanently on my sidebar.

Please use this flickr pool to post photos of your own work using the tutorials and during the first week of December, the flickr photo with the most unique comments will receive a box of fabrics and handmade goodies, just in time for Christmas!

Let the crafting begin!....

Charm Pack Baby Quilt Tutorial!

I am happy to have my newest Tutorial up and running - An Easy Peasy Charm Pack Baby Quilt. This simple quilt can be done on any regular sewing machine and is easy enough for every skill level.

I have a number of online places that I buy charm packs from:

Fashionable Fabrics

Fat Quarter Shop

The Clever Quilter

Jeannies Fabrics on Etsy has lovely Charm Packs

If you have any questions about the Charm Quilt Tutorial, please drop me a line!