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Saturday, July 21, 2012

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!


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

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 :)

Friday, July 13, 2012

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 :)