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DIY Lace Jars

by on April 5, 2012 in Craft, Daily Life, Handmade, Reclaim

Last weekend I prettied up some old glass jars with a little lace. This DIY is super quick and easy and you probably already have all of the things required! The finished jars look really lovely holding a bunch of flowers fresh out of the garden…

And they make cute candle holders too!

To make the lace wrapped jar, I simply cut a length of lace as long as the circumference of the jar. I then used Mod Podge and a paint brush to glue the lace to the bottom of the jar. Once it had dried I applied a second coat of Mod Podge.

To make the lace polka dot jar, I used the lid of an old juice bottle and a pencil to trace circles on the lace. I cut the lace circles out and used Mod Podge to glue them to the jar. Just like the lace wrapped jar, I applied a second coat of Mod Podge once the first coat had dried.

What do you think? Pretty cute, no?!

If this project takes your fancy, you might also like some of the other cute, crafty ways to recycle jars here.

I hope you are all having a happy, sunshiney, magical week. The Easter Bunny is nearly here!

Katie x

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Valentines DIY: Love Birds Diorama

by on February 7, 2012 in Craft, How To

It’s almost Valentines Day! That means it’s time for candy hearts, holding hands, secret love letters and lovely dovey craft projects. Yes! To celebrate the snuggliest of all holidays, I made a little love birds diorama. This project would make a cute gift for a beloved, a sweet holiday decoration sitting on a pretty shelf, or a nice centre piece for a Valentines feast.

To make your own love birds diorama you’ll need…

Materials

  • Large Glass Jar (The mouth of the jar needs to be large enough for you to easily fit your hand in.)
  • 2 Feathered Birds (Vintage birds are available from Etsy and new birds are available from craft stores.)
  • Stick
  • Fabric Scraps (I chose red and blue scraps to match the colours of my birds. You’ll need a few tiny pieces for the miniature garland and one bigger piece to cover your jar lid.)
  • Embroidery Thread
  • Iron-on Adhesive
  • Faux Grass (This is used in scale modelling and is available from hobby shops.)
  • Rubber Band
  • Ribbon

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Needle
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Fine Sandpaper
  • Small Plate
  • Pencil

Instructions

1. Find a nice stick and snap it so that it’s the right size to comfortably sit across the width of your jar. Give it a gentle rub with the sand paper to clean it up and smooth any rough edges.
2. Use your glue gun to stick your birds into position on the stick.
3. Follow the directions of your iron-on adhesive to fuse your tiny fabric scraps so that they are back to back. This will prevent your miniature garland from fraying and make the garland double sided, so your diorama will look cute from every angle.
4. Cut small triangles out of the fused fabrics.
5. Use your needle and embroidery thread to thread the triangles together. Just sew one long stitch along the top edge of each triangle.
6. Tie the ends of your miniature garland to the ends of the bird perch and trim away any excess thread.
7. Put a blob of glue on one end of the bird perch and as quickly as you can, stick it to the inside of your jar. You might like to practice the motion of manoeuvring your perch in and out of the jar without glue first, as this can be a little awkward. It also helps to make a mark on the jar where you intend to glue the perch, so you know where you are aiming.
8. Pour some faux grass onto the floor of your jar and screw the lid on.
9. Use your small plate and pencil to trace a circle on your larger piece of fabric and cut the fabric circle out.
10. Secure the fabric circle over the jar lid using the rubber band, then cover the rubber band with ribbon and tie ribbon in a pretty bow.

Wishing you all lots of Valentines treats and a little time with those you love most!

Katie x

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DIY Yarn-Wrapped Love Wreath

by on December 16, 2011 in Craft, Handmade, How To

This year I decided we needed a new wreath. I wanted to make one myself but I needed a project that was quick, simple and inexpensive. I also wanted to make something colourful and cute, rather than traditional. I like glittery things as much as the next girl, but I’m slowly trying to get away from red, green and gold and make our decorations more bright and colourful. I think bright suits us better. I think it suits our hot, summery Australian Christmases better too.

This simple little wreath was inspired by this wreath made by Pip and this wreath made by James (with these yarn wrapped letters). It was so easy peasy to make. I just wrapped a styrofoam wreath in yarn, securing with my trusty glue gun at the back. I then shaped “love” out of pipercleaners, wrapped yarn around it and glued it on. See? Easy peasy!

What does your wreath look like? There are so many lovely DIY wreathes about… If you’ve seen any especially wonderful ones please do share the link. (I am kind of already thinking about what sort of wreath to make next year!)

Katie x

Comments { 24 }

DIY Bow Mary Janes

by on November 2, 2011 in Craft, How To, Reclaim

Look what I made!

Sweet Mary Janes with pretty floral bows! If you’ve got a pair of ballet flats that could use a little something to make them more special, this easy peasy DIY is just the ticket.

To make your own Bow Mary Janes, you’ll need:

  • Some ballet flats (either plain ones or ones with simple embellishments that can be removed)
  • A glue gun and glue sticks
  • 2 large press studs
  • Scissors
  • Iron on adhesive such as Vliesoflex (to bind 2 pieces of fabric together)
  • Dressmakers chalk
  • Ruler
  • Iron

Step 1

If your shoes have any embellishments, carefully remove them. The shoes I used had funny bows sewn on, which I unpicked. Don’t try to remove embellishments that are glued on as it’s likely that in doing so you will damage the shoes.

Step 2

Use your ruler and chalk to draw up 4 rectangles, each 13cm x 7cm. Mark the rectangles on the wrong side of the fabric so that they won’t be visable when you’re finished.

Step 3

Cut out the rectangles and, following the instruction on your adhesive, bond them back to back, so that you have 2 double sided rectangles. The adhesive will also reinforce the fabric and make your bows more structured.

Step 4

Pinch the centres of the two double-sided rectangles to form bow shapes, and secure with glue.

Step 5

Cut out 2 strips of fabric approximately 3cm wide (for the centres of the bows). Fold the raw edges underneath and press.

Step 6

Wrap the fabric strips around the centre of the bows (with the raw edges tucked underneath) and secure with glue. Trim away any excess fabric from the ends of the strips.

Step 7

Cut out 4 strips of fabric for your ankles straps. For each strap fuse two fabric stips together with adhesive (back to back), then trim them to the right size. My straps are a bit over 2cm wide and about 21 cm long (from tip to tip) but I have very wide feet, so make sure you test the length of the straps and adjust them to fit, before you glue. I also trimmed the ends of the straps so that they were round.

Step 8

Glue one half of a press stud to the rounded end of each strap.

Step 9

Put the shoes on and postition the straps where you would like them to sit. Use chalk to mark where the other halves of the press studs need to go and where the strap needs to be attached on the other side (on the inside). Glue the straps on, and…

Ta da! You’ve got yourself an adorable new pair of shoes!

Team your Bow Mary Janes with colourful tights and wear them for picnicing in the park, wandering about the farmers market and going on leisurely Sunday drives! Hurrah!

Katie x

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How to Mend a Hole with a Cute Patch

by on July 23, 2011 in Craft, Daily Life, How To

This week lovely Jessica invited me to guest post as part of her Thrifty Fridays posts. I wrote a super simple DIY for mending holes with cute patches and I thought I’d share it here too! (This tutorial is very basic so probably not terribly informative for crafty peeps, but I thought it might be helpful to our less crafty friends.)

To repair a hole you’ll need a piece of cute material to make the patch out of, some fusible interfacing, scissors, a pen, a piece of paper, a needle and thread.

Draw your desired patch shape onto your piece of paper. I chose a simple heart but the possibilities are endless – stars, flowers, clouds – use whatever design your little heart desires!

Cut out your paper patch template.

Iron the fusible interfacing to the back of your patch fabric. This will help prevent the patch from fraying.

Use your pen (or some dressmaking chalk) to trace around your paper template, onto the patch fabric. It’s best to do this on the interfacing side so that once the patch has been sewn on, the markings will not be visible.

Cut the patch out. You might also like to pin it to the item you are repairing, to make the patch more secure while you stitch it on.

Sew the patch on! I did this by hand, using backstitch. If the hole you are repairing is quite large, it is best to darn the hole before you sew the patch on. There are lots of simple darning tutorials on Youtube.

Tie the thread off and you’re done!

Wear your pretty patch with pride! Here’s a sweet cardigan I patched this way:

Thrifty and cute! What could be better than that?

Do you have any other tips or tricks for giving old, tired garments a second life? If so, please do share! It’s so nice when we can mend or recycle things, instead of just throwing them out.

Katie x

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