Wine Cork Corkboard

This is a super easy craft that is cute and looks great in the kitchen!

All you need is...
-a thin piece of wood.. you could use a yard stick or really any thin piece of wood that is the length that you want your board to be
-Corks
-hot glue gun

 I got the corks from Pittsburgh's Center for Creative Reuse, however, you can get them from anywhere... Even from your own wine bottles.

 I just hot glued the corks onto the piece of wood lined up right next to each other. and that is all there is to it! It's super easy!! Since it's long and skinny, it fits on small walls and adds some pizzazz :) It's also handy for hanging notes, cards, or anything!

Felt Flower Pillow

For my 2 of my cousins birthdays, I knew I wanted to make them something.. but I wasn't sure of what I was going to make! Since of them is recently married with a new apartment and the other just moved into a townhouse, I decided something for the home would be a good gift! That's when I decided to make a felt flower pillow for each of them for their living rooms!

 These are easy, quick and cheap! They add some color and fun to any room! :)

What you need:

~1/2 yard (18 inches) of fabric (you can also do 19 inches if you are just using it as a removable pillow case... I'll explain more later)

~1/4 yard felt

~two different circles to trace

~bowl/plate to trace

~card stock (for template)

~scissors

~a pen

~pillow stuffing, or a pre-stuffed pillow (18 in)

The first step is to cute out two circles to use as the template for the petals. I made two circles; one 2 1/2 inches in diameter and the other 3 1/2 inches. 

Pin the template to the felt and cut out all of the circles. You can cut as many circles as you want. Obviously the more circles you have, the fuller the flower will be.

I made 30 large circles and 20 small circles but didn't end up using all of them. So this is really up to you.

 Once you have all of your circles cut out, cut them all in half.

 Put the felt petals aside and get out your fabric!

Now if you are going to be using a bag of pillow stuffing, continue reading this! If you are going to be using a pillow that is already stuffed, click here.

Okay, you are going to cut two squares out of your fabric, 19in x 19in.

Next, find a plate (or something circular) the size that you want your flower to be. Draw the circle onto one of the squares of fabric.

 Now go to your sewing machine because it is time to put the petal on the pillow! Just begin placing the half-circles along the circle that you drew and start sewing along the flat side of the felt. Start with the larger circles and then about halfway through, start sewing on the smaller ones.

 Just keep sewing around... and around...

 ...and around...

  ...and around...

 ...and around... until you have this!

 Next, with the ride sides facing in, sew around the edges about 1/2 in. leaving a space of out 4-5 inches on one side to put in the stuffing.

 Put all of the stuffing into the pillow-you're almost done! Then you just have to sew up the last little opening and you're pillow is ready to be displayed!

 Here are just some more photos from the second pillow I made!

 Ta-da!

Coasters!

I recently discovered this new store that I am in love with. The Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse is pretty much a glorified junk drawer. It's a crafters heaven. I bought an exit sign just because it was only a dollar! So anyways, one of the other things I bought from this fantastic store was tiles. I bought two different sets of tiles to make coasters!

 I decided to go with the octagonal shaped tiles first! I recently painted some furniture in my room light grey, while I was at Home Depot, I took a few extra paint chips with fun colors. I chose this set of colors because they're fun and summery!

 I traced the tiles, and cut out the correct shape from the paint chips.

 Then, I modpodged the coasters and laid the paint chips on top, pressing for about 30 seconds.

 The next step is to cover the tops of the coasters with a few layers of modpodge. I did 3 total. Make sure the previous layer has dried before applying the next. (To create a better look, I made sure to brush in the same direction and in clean, smooth strokes.)

 After doing the layers of Modpodge, I let them dry completely. Don't worry, you're almost done! Just two more easy steps! To finish off the coasters and make sure they are sealed and ready to be used, I used a clear spray paint sealer and sprayed a layer on top. Lastly, I cut small circles of felt and used a hot glue gun to attach them to the bottom so they can slide smoothly.

Then you have a cute set of coasters that were cheap and easy to make! You can make them to match any room!! If you don't want to use the paint chips, scrapbook paper or any other paper product would work as well!!

Enjoy :)

Revamping white keds

So recently Keds have been coming back in style. I have more than one pair and I really like them. For a while I've wanted bright blue keds or ked-like shoes, however, I couldn't find any for a decent price. So as with anything else, I decided to just make my own!
Target has great keds for only $13 (although I'm a little salty because they used to be only $9 when I bought my first navy pair!) so I decided to just buy a pair of those.

 I went to Jo-Anns and found the dye I wanted! Any fabric dye works, I usually use Rit dye, however they didn't have a bright blue at my Jo-Anns so I went with this brand!

 I filled a basin with the dye and followed the instructions on the packet. I think it is easier to put it in a flat bin like this instead of a bucket. The shoes fit better and are able to soak better!

 I just placed them upside down and they just floated!

And this is the final product! To get a darker/brighter blue, I am going to re-dye them once more just to make it more even and bright. This is super easy and is cheaper than buying actual Keds! Enjoy :)

Adorable Apron!

So I've recently been getting into cooking/baking! Next year, I won't have a meal plan so I plan on cooking at least a few days a week... So I decided it would be a good idea to make an apron! Practical and fun! :)

What you'll need:
-Newspaper (to help make the pattern)
-3 different pieces of fabric (different colors/patterns that go together)
      ~Main piece: 46in x 25 in
      ~Ruffle and Waist Tie: 18 in x 44 in
      ~Pocket and Neck Straps: 29 in x 15 in

To make the pattern, tape pieces of newspaper together to make one big piece.
For the pattern, I altered my measurements a little since I'm taller. If you click here, you'll be able to see a picture of the pattern... I didn't get to take one of the pattern I used. Here are the measurements though:
Longest side: 24 in
Top: 5.5 in
From one side to another: 11 in
Short side: 9in

Your pattern will look like half of the picture below.

 Once your pattern is cut out, you will fold the main fabric in half, putting the crease on the longest side of the pattern. Make sure you cut 2 different pieces using this pattern, one for the front and one for the back. They should both look like the picture above (which is upside down, sorry!) when they're done!

Next you can start cutting out all of the other pieces for the apron!
~pocket: 14 in high x 10 in long
~neck strap: 5 in wide x 29 in long
~waist ties: 5 in x 23 in (x2)
~Ruffle for pocket: 5 in x 20 in
~Ruffle for bottom: 44 in x 8 in

Next, you'll make the pocket.
Fold the pocket in half to be 7 inches in height and 10 inches long. Turn it inside out(pictured below) and sew along the sides.

 For the ruffles, fold the fabric in half and sew both short ends closed (below).

 Start bending the fabric back and forth and pin to keep it folded.

 Sew the top of the ruffle where the pins are, which will close the opening.

The next step is to attach the ruffles to the top of the pocket by sliding the sewn part of the ruffles into the pocket piece and sew these 2 pieces together, leaving ruffles poking out of the pocket.
Next, attach the pocket to the front of the apron by placing the pocket on the center of the front main piece. Sew around the sides and bottom, leaving the top open.

 Next, make the ruffles for the bottom the same way you did for the pocket. When finished, attach it to the bottom of the front main piece.

 To make the neck strap and waist ties, you need to flip the fabric inside out and fold it in half. Sew the open sides and only one short side closed. Leave an opening on one of the short sides.

 Turn the fabric right side out using the short side opening. Iron the straps really good, then sew all sides on the strap right side out.

 Attach the straps to the apron, attaching both sides of the neck strap and only one side of the waist straps to each side.
Once they're sewed on, fold everything onto the apron and pin them in place.
Lay the back piece of the apron, right side down, onto the front piece. Sew it around the edges, leaving four inches on one side open to put apron right side out.

 Lastly, turn the apron right side out and sew 1/4 inch around the entire apron and here is your finished product!

You can find the original tutorial here!

Wall Art

So I saw a post on Pinterest where they took an old painting and did a similar craft as this one.. but since I didn't have an old painting... I gave this DIY wall art my own twist!

This past weekend I helped my dad set up a new kitchen table for my grandma. In the boxes were big pieces of styrofoam.... I took one knowing I could do some craft with it! (I should have taken all of them!)

I decided to make my version of this wall art using the big piece of styrofoam!

First, I painted the styrofoam random colors, letting them blend together and just doing random section sizes and colors. Then I didn't have big enough letter stickers in my scrapbooking supplies, so I decided to make my own! So I used name tags and stencils and make my own letter stickers. Once I traced the stencils and cut them out, I suck them in place on the styrofoam.

 Then I took light grey paint and painted over the entire thing, covering the stickers.

 Once the paint dried, I took of the stickers and now I have some new wall art!