TUTORIAL: Multi-Colored Fabric Flowers

Well Hello there!  I've been super busy with homework lately, and as I was listening to an online lecture, I realized I could whip up a fabric flower and show you how to make your own!  So here we go!

This is what we'll make today:

 

(And you can totally put a button or bead in the middle...I just didn't have time to do it, and I wanted to get this thing POSTED!)

First off, you'll need:

2 different coordinating fabrics (I used solid colors, but designs would probably be super cute)

Needle and Thread

Scissors

Measuring Tape (or just eyeball it too!)

Button/Beads (something for the middle)

Figure out which fabric you want on the top, and which fabric you want on the bottom.  I chose yellow for the top and pink for the bottom.

Lay out the fabric you want on top.  Measure 2 inches, and cut a slit in the fabric. 

Then start ripping the fabric to make your strip about 18 inches long.

Don't worry, the fabric will stay the right width as you rip! (Love this method!)

Then you'll get the material for the bottom of the flower, and rip a 3 inch wide strip by about 18 inches long.

  

The you'll have 2 strips of fabric:

Fold them hot dog style to make skinny and long strips, and then pin them.

*If you want your flowers to have frayed edged, pin against the folded edges.  If you want your flowers to have finished edges, pin against the frayed edges.

I pinned against the frayed edges to have the finished look.

(sorry for the blurry pictures!  Don't know what the deal is today!)

That's a faraway look of it pinned together.

Then you'll start sewing a long stitch (basting stitch) down the length of your strips.  As you go, gather or "crinkle," it up.  Be careful not to pull too hard, or you'll break your thread and get to start over! :)

You'll end up with a shape like this.  Pull really tight to keep the center really small and tight.

On the back side, you'll sew a few stitches to close the flower up.

Here's a funny picture to help you get an idea.  Sew all the way to the edge and keep it tight.

Then grab your hot glue gun and stick a button, bead, or other embellishment on and you're done!  

*I taught some teenage girls to make these several weeks ago, and most of them had a hard time keeping the middles tight.  Some of them made really small stitches, so I think that was part of the problem.  I just grabbed my hot glue gun and secured the flowers more in the middle.

Have fun with this, and leave me a comment if you have any questions!

Discovery: New Blog!

I found a blog that I'm falling in LOVE with!  It's called Queen of the Castle where you'll find all sorts of good stuff!  One of the things she's doing this year is a series of 52 weeks with a toddler.  Here you'll find a list of ideas for each day of the week to do with your little ones.  What a great resource for a mom, or even a kid-lover (who would love to Nanny for the summer) like me.  This week she has a series called "One Week to a Cleaner Home," where she shares a schedule (which I'm in need of ) and several tips of how to get things super clean!  I didn't find the tips until yesterday, and since they started on Monday, I decided to save the work until Spring Break when I'll have a full week that I can get in there and REALLY clean! :) 
So go check out this awesome place full of lovely ideas!

TUTORIAL: Something Crafty for your Mouse!

And I mean this kind of mouse

Not the one that lives at Disneyland!

With mounds of online homework, I practically live on my computer.  Sometimes I use my mouse, and sometimes I just use the touchpad on my laptop.  I prefer the mouse, but until today my mousepad looked like this...

I think it originally was white, but now its yellow and gross.

So I turned it into this!

 

Here's how!

You'll need:

Mouse Pad

Modge Podge

Brush

Scrap of fabric to cover mouse pad

Scissors

Piece of Cardstock (optional--I'll tell why later)

First, check to see if you can see the design through your fabric when placing it on top of the mouse pad.  My fabric was pretty light, so I had to glue paper down first.  

Like This:

I just traced the mouse pad, cut out the shape, slapped some modge podge down, and called it fabulous!

Then I cut my fabric out and left about an inch of "glue allowance."

(I should have taken a picture of the other side, but I think you can see that there's extra all around!)

Next, You'll throw some modge podge on top of that mouse pad!

Smash it down good, and make sure to smooth out any creases!

The flip that baby over, cut some notches in the corners for easy folding and gluing.

Then fold the edges over and glue them really well.  

This is the hardest part, and then you're all done!

There you are, a very cute home for your mouse to live on!