Oh How I Love My New Design Wall!

I loves me a good design wall.  They are so awesome for:

• Looking at your projects from afar to get some perspective
• Letting you change up elements in your project easily and quickly just by moving and 'sticking' to the flannel
• Keeping your projects off of the dirty floor or cluttering up your tables

I did have a large camel colored flannel covered 'inspiration board' in my studio.  Problem?  It was behind a desk (i.e.- hard to get to) and kind of small.

When I heard that Kaffe Fassett and company had released a new grey/white grid design wall fabric, I decided right then and there my design wall needed a makeover!

Aside from the aforementioned pros of a design wall, this flannel is:

• Neutral grey so as not to distract from your project pieces
• Has a grid so you can keep your stuff lined up properly (really genius I think!)

Wanna make your own like this one?

Check it!  Mine is a whopper 78" x 94", but  you can make yours any size you like!

My helper Liam showing how much we love the new design wall!

Materials:

• Foil backed insulation board (@ ½" thick)
• Thin polyester batting or fleece
• Duct tape- lots!
• Design wall flannel (available at www.gloriouscolor.com)  Flannel should be 2"+ larger  than the insulation board on all sides.
• "L" screws or nails

1.  First, cut the insulation board to size.  The standard size of the boards are 4' by 8'.  Cut them using a box cutter and a metal ruler.  If you'd like your design board to be bigger, simply tape 2 or more boards together with duct tape (both sides.)  Tape down the seam, then add a few X's of tape for added stability.

This is the brand I used, available at Home Depot and Lowe's here in the US.

2.  Piece flannel if necessary.  To do ensure the grids line up: trim flannel 1 1/4" from vertical lines closest to your seam line on your cut-to -length panels.  Pin at grid intersection right on the white lines.  Join with a ¼" seam.  Press seams open.  The resulting join will produce grid squares that are just like the printed 2" squares.  As long as I had a grid to work with, I wanted to keep it neat :)

So the white lines almost line up properly… Don't be judge-y :)

3.  Lay your batting out on the floor.  Smooth out wrinkles.  Place insulation board on top.  Trim batting to 2" bigger all around.  To reduce bulk at corners, trim a 2" x 2"square of batting from each corner.

4.  One side at a time, duct tape edges of batting to back of board. (An extra pair of hands really helps here!)  Stretch the batting tightly before taping second and fourth sides.

5.  Turn board batting side up.  Lay flannel right side up on board.  Use straight pins to pin flannel to side of board, lining up flannel grid with board as you go. (If you are using solid flannel, you can skip this step.)  Pin opposite side, stretching flannel.  Repeat for remaining 2 sides.  Trim excess flannel  2" larger all around.

Pinning is essential to keeping grid straight before taping to back of board :)

6.  Carefully flip assembly wrong side up.  Fold each corner in on the diagonal.  Affix with small pieces of tape.  Working one side at a time, duct tape edges down to insulation board.

When taping is complete, remove all pins.

7.  Mount board to wall with L shaped screws or nails. (Use screws and mollies if you are mounting onto drywall, nails for paneling or wood.)  A helper is a must for this step :)

We have drywall in this room, so I used mollies to anchor the "L" screws.  I used a total of 3 to anchor the bottom of this 91" wide board.

At the top of the board, we put one in each corner to anchor board.

Tip, I mounted mine about 12" from the floor.  Experience has taught me that feet and cats tend to knock off any pieces of fabric low to the ground. 

Et voila!  Can't wait to mess up my pristine design wall with lots 'o projects!!

Fabric Heart Tassels - Free Tutorial!

 Fabric Heart Tassels Tutorial

Just in time for Valentines day, a 'lil tutorial for a fabric (of course) heart project!  Fabric Heart Tassels

You can use these tassels to hang from your purse, a keychain, a long necklace, 

your favorite antique piece of furniture,

- you name it!

Happy Valentines Day and Happy Sewing! Mwah!  Mwah!   -Julie

Let's get started!!

Wear your heart on your... anywhere you please!

Fabric Heart Tassels

Clip your tassel to your purse, computer bag, keychain, necklace, camera strap, -you name it!

Finished size: 8" long

 ............ Materials ............

• (1) Fat quarter quilting cotton

       Shown here:  Large heart- Photochrome Petals #Y1098-47 by La Todera for Clothworks

• Polyester sewing thread in shades matching fabric
• Polyester stuffing
• (1) Skein DMC Embroidery floss and embroidery needle with large eye
• (1) Metal keyring or lanyard ring
• Clear template plastic
• Disappearing fabric marker
• Fabric Heart Tassel Templates:  Download here

............ Preparation ............

Trace templates onto clear plastic.  Use template A to cut one circle from fabric.  Use template B to cut two circles from fabric.

              ............ Construction ............

1.  Press all circles in half, right sides together. 

2.  Unfold and trace crease with a disappearing marker and clear ruler. 

3.  Fold circles right sides together, matching marked lines.  Pin.  Machine sew with a small stitch directly on top of drawn line, backstitching at beginning and end of line. 

4.  Flip one side right side out over the other half as shown. 

5.  You’ll end up with a double layered cone, with right sides of fabric visible on outside and interior of cone.

6. Thread hand sewing needle with 24” of matching polyester (strong) thread.  Knot ends together.  Fold both raw edges down 1/4.”  Backstitch and stitch completely around border of cone using a 1/4” stitch (no smaller,) 1/8” from folded edge.  Leave thread on needle. 

7.  Turn cone right side out.  Stuff firmly with polyfil.

Tip:  Using small bits of stuffing will prevent lumps. 

8.  Draw up thread to close opening of cone.  Backstitch, and knot.  Leave thread on needle. 

9.  Insert needle through top of stuffed cone, exiting through seam about halfway down cone.

Wrap thread around top of cone and insert needle about halfway down cone and exiting where you began in previous step.  Pull tight to create lobes of heart.  Insert needle and wrap twice more to accent the indent.  Backstitch, knot, and trim threads. 

10.  Cut (3) full strands of embroidery floss 24” long.  Thread embroidery needle with all 3 strands of floss.  Insert needle into top of heart, under the sewing thread that divides the lobes, and back out of the top of the heart.  Remove needle and even up floss. 

11.  Divide floss into (3) sections of 2 strands each.  Braid tightly from base of heart to ends of strands.  

Tip:  Secure heart to a pillow (or your pants leg!) with a pin.  This will make braiding much easier! 

12.  Tie overhand knot to secure ends of floss.

13. Arrange hearts  as shown.  Insert all ends of braided floss through lanyard or key ring. 

14.  Tie an overhand knot.  Secure knot with a drop of Fray Check.  Trim ends of braids as shown and fluff ends.  

Done! 

Sock Monkey Baby Sling

Do you like to make sock monkeys?  I do!  I never get tire of making them.  There are lots of tutorials on the web like this one, if you'd like to make your own.


I love to give them as baby gifts and embroider the name of the recipient on the hiney.  Today I made one for a friend's new granddaughter.  She has a big brother, 4 yrs old, who has his own monkey.  


So for a little bonus for big brother, I made him a baby monkey (from baby socks) and a little baby sling.


Want to make your own baby doll sling?  It's cinchy.  Just use a piece of t-shirt fabric!


First measure from the shoulder of the bigger doll to the hip, around the back, and back up to the shoulder (like in the photo.)   Add about 2 inches for tying.  That's the length of your sling.
Now measure the width of the baby doll.  Double that measurement.


Cut yourself a rectangle using the measurements you took. Make the long edge of the rectangle go against the grain of the fabric so it's stretchy. Taper the short ends of the rectangle into points.  Stretch your fabric till the edges curl under. (No sewing! Yay!) Now tie the points together.


That's it!  Put the sling on the mommy (or daddy, or big brother or sister) doll, resting the knot on one of her shoulders.  Now put the baby in there! 


That should make the baby doll very happy and secure! Don't be surprised if the baby doll goes right to sleep! ;)

'Grimm Style' Diorama Easter Egg!

As a kid, I used to absolutely love those Easter sugar eggs with the little scenes in them.  I'd image a little story with each one of them- But this one beats all!

See the chicks attacking the bunny!  Notice one chick has had it's head bitten off by the giant bunny.  Try to find the severed head in the moss!  Don't miss the floating mushrooms on the inside walls of the egg!

This scene could have only been conceived by a 13 year old boy- and that it was!

This was one of the projects my friend Shade and I did this afternoon.  Shade is the son of some good friends of ours that had a massive brain stem injury about 8 months ago.  You can read his story here.

I've been doing 'art therapy' with Shade since last September.  Shade keeps me inspired to think up projects that will not only challenge his brain and motor skills, but will  be cool for a 13 year old boy! 

I'll tell you right now that Shade is making an amazing recovery.  He went from a coma and not even being able to breathe on his own to eating, talking, and even getting around by himself!  His dad, Vince, has chronicled everything here on his blog. I credit Shade's recovery to his amazing loving, devoted family, and his sense of humor, which has remained 100% intact!

Anyways, Shade's dad encouraged me to share this project.  I'll be featuring other projects as well in the future.  Vince thought they may be able to help someone else, too.  That would be awesome!  But anyone could make these babies. They are seriously fun!

Grimm Style Diorama Easter Eggs

Materials:

• balloons
• Rigid Wrap plaster infused gauze (Michaels)
• box cutter
• liquid acrylic paints (we used Martha Stewart's)
• foam dot brush
• aerosol clear varnish
• hot glue
• glitter
• moss
• easter wind up toys or figurines (Dollar Tree)
• baby chicks (Michaels)
• fake mushrooms, flowers, etc
• plain jar lid

Instructions:

• Blow up a balloon to desired egg size.  Tie off as tightly as possible.  Trim off balloon end close to knot. (otherwise you'll end up with an egg with a bump!)
• Cut Rigid Wrap into 2" by 2" squares.  Dip into warm water and apply to balloon, smoothing as you go.  Apply at least 3 layers.
• Let dry for a day.  Pop balloon! Yay!
• Mark an oval on front of egg and cut out with a box cutter.
• Hot glue oval cut out to inside bottom of egg to form a base for your scene.
• Spray with varnish to seal.  Don't skip this step- it will keep the egg from getting soggy when you paint it.

Shade painting interior of his egg neon green

Shade with pals Liam (left) and James (right) who wanted in on the fun

• Paint inside and outside of egg with acrylic paints, using a different color for each.
• Use foam circle painter to paint polka dots on outside of egg if desired.
• Hot glue scene on inside of egg as desired.

Shade expertly applying glue

• Brush a thick layer of glue on cut edge of opening.  

The more glitter the better!

• Shake on lots of glitter.  Shake off excess. 
• Let dry.  Set on plain jar lid to hold egg upright for display.
• Make up a story to go along with your egg like Shade did!

Voila! Creepy and festive rolled into one!

Ping Pong Ball Light

So I was a-thinkin' that to preserve my title as 'La Todera' (Spanish for jack-of-all-trades lady)  I'd better share a non-flower related project once in a while.


Ergo- my son Liam's new ping-pong ball light!


Liam had a problem light.  His room has those 70's low ceilings, and by necessity, had one of those very flat appliqué lights in the center of his ceiling.  This was unacceptable for Liam, the style maven.
The rest of his room is very cool looking.  Unfortunately, it is uber-unphoto-worthy at the moment due to the giant mess brewing in there...


Fast forward to this Christmas when Santa brought Liam a ping-pong table.  Ping-pong is the new craze in this house!  One day while tucking Liam in, it occurred to me that ping-pong balls covering the light plate might be just the ticket.  They would look cool and they are semi transparent!   See for yourself:

What you'll need:

• Glass light fixture
• One tube clear pure silicone sealant
• Enough pingpong balls to cover light plate (at this writing they are available at the Dollar Tree in packs of 8)

Instructions:
Detach light plate from fixture and give it a good scrubbing so the glue will stick.  Let dry.
Starting in the center of plate, dab a ping-pong ball with a dime sized dab of silicone.  Stick onto lamp.
Now surround the center ball with a row ping-pong balls.
Continue adding rows till plate is covered.
Let dry 24 hours.
Re attatch plate to fixture.


The most important part of this project is to use pure silicone sealant/glue, found at your local home center.  Other glues will soon peel off (ask me know I know!)  The silicone also has enough body to help the balls stay put while they are drying.  You don't want those little guys sliding around after all of your hard work!  


Next I want to try the ping-pong balls on a round light fixture.  My husband said, "Cool!  That would look like a giant golf ball!  He would say that...

Gazing into 2012

Happy 2012 to all!!!

Don't you wish you had a crystal ball to tell you what the future holds for 2012? 

At least you can make a crystal ball like this one to decorate your favorite room!


This craft brings back memories for me.  It's actually a modern take on the water-filled rose globe my grandma always had sitting on top of her television set when I was little.  I just loved to stare at it, you know, wondering how that (fake) rose stayed so vibrant year after year! 

Looked something like this....

  


You can set your crystal flower ball where you please... ;)


You'll need the following:

• (1) Fishbowl with a 6" opening* (found in the floral supply section at Michaels Arts and Crafts.)
• (1) 6 3/4" Round wooden plaque*  (this one found in the woodworking section at Michaels- it's for making a clock.)
• Primer
• Acrylic paint (this one is Martha Stewart all purpose paint in 'Surf.')
• Fabric flowers (these are all made from my La Todera patterns- see sidebar or click here to order.)
• Green tissue paper

*  Make sure that the wooden plaque that you buy be slightly bigger than the opening of your fishbowl.

Instructions:

1. Paint the wooden base with primer.  Let dry.
2. Paint wooden base with 2 coats acrylic paint.  Let dry.
3. Set fishbowl down, opening side up.  Place 1 flower on bottom, and prop several flowers around sides, front sides of flowers facing out.  Add crumpled tissue paper to hold in place.
4. Continue adding flowers and tissue paper to completely fill bowl.
5. Place base on top of opening, and carefully flip assembly right side up.

Done!  Happy Gazing!

Snow Globe Birthday Cake for Olivia

This past week was my daugher Olivia's 12th birthday.  (That I can't believe she's already 12 is a whole 'nother post...)  Anyhow, we had a Winter Wonderland themed party for Miss Thang,  and here was her Snow Globe cake.  It was such a hit that all of her friends were taking pictures of the cake with their cellphones before we cut it!

If you would like to make (or I should say assemble ) your own,  you will need:

• One 10" round layer cake from your local grocery store bakery, frosted light blue and piped in white on the borders, white polka dots on the sides
• Several plastic snowflakes (these happened to be snowflake rings)
• Winter scene foam stickers (Michaels)
• (1) 8" round glass 'Blanda' bowl from Ikea ($4.99. Perfectly round and clear.)
• Large white round edible non-pareils (from cake section in Michaels) or white sprinkles...

1. Press plastic snowflakes onto side of cake.
2. Assemble snow scene with foam stickers.  To make scene look good from all angles, I stuck identical stickers together, back to back.
3. Accent snow scene with edible round white non-pareils.
4. Carefully invert bowl over snow scene.
5. Enjoy the compliments!

This would also make a great anytime cake for a snow globe collector.  Just change the scene inside! 

How about having one of the little characters holding a sign for the recipient?

Jewelry Mirror

My mom visited this past weekend, and here's the project we did- a 'jewelry mirror.'

We had so much fun picking through the jewelry we collected and trying out different layouts.

If you'd like to make your own,

• collect more jewelry that you think you'll ever need from every garage sale and thrift store in your area
• the more colored rhinestone pieces the better
• get lots of colored pearl strings for the base layer
• also, get several tubes of E6000 glue (Michaels and Joann carry it)
• I like beveled mirrors with gold and silver frames for a base

Here you can see we started covering the base mirror with colored pearl strings.

The inspiration was a mirror that my grandma (my mom's mom)  had hanging in her dining room.  It was the first thing I would run to see (after my grandparents, of course!)  when we arrived to their house in Madison, Wisconsin.  The mirror was made by my grandma's friend, Mrs. Fenski.  Over the years, the jewelry dropped off.  A few years ago, I inherited the mirror and restored it with jewelry from my Aunt Doris, and it proudly hangs in my entryway:

If you do one, please send me pictures!!