One Yard Wonders

My husband, Mike, is a real surprise sometimes. For instance, he got me a gift card to Barnes and Noble for my birthday this year, with the charge to "go buy yourself a sewing book!" I sat for a long, long time (or, 10 minutes, which is long when you have a baby with a poopy diaper and a three year old with you) with a few books around me while I weighed the pros and cons to each book.

Nice moving boxes, eh?

I finally decided on One Yard Wonders, which is so exciting! There are some awesome projects to do. 101, to be exact. Not that I have that many yards of fabric, but over time, I am sure I can do it! Some of the ideas won't apply to me (I have no pets, for instance), so I'll save a few bucks by not doing those.

Some I have to try as soon as possible:


Fabric covered bookcase-- those Target and Ikea bookcases will never be the same again!!:

This dress, and I need to figure out how to make it for me too!!!:



Ok, whenever I have another baby, or some obscure relative has a baby, this is going to greet him/her at the hospital:



And since I am on a decorating whim, I need these to match my kitchen towels:

Do you have a favorite sewing book? I can't wait to get out my machine!

Guest Blogger: Amy from Chicy Creations

I am still waist-deep in boxes and disorganization, so Amy has graciously come to pick up my blogging slack today! Check out her really cute, really easy home decor project that can spruce up any space!

Hey crafters! Amy from Chicy Creations here. Over at Chicy Creations I share tips, recipes, tutorials, talk a whole lot about Etsy Lovin', occassional giveaways and will soon be adding home makeover tutorials and ideas. I'm excited to be guest blogging at The Crafty Cupboard today. Good luck with the move Melanie!
You've probably seen the yarn wreaths that have become popular over the last year. Love them... The price tags on some...not so much!

Want to make your own for around $5?

Let's get started!

Here's what you need:
1 Styrofoam wreath- Any size will do...I got mine at Dollar Tree.
Yarn
Fabric scraps, thread/needle, buttons, ribbon, and felt...or pre-made embellishments
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Patience :)
*I have to apologize about the funky lighting in the pictures! One of the joys of apartment living, very little lighting! (AMEN, Amy!)

Start by hot gluing the end of your yarn to whatever side you want to be the "back" of the wreath.
Now start wrapping the yarn around the wreath to your hearts content. I wrapped mine so the yarn was just touching, not overlapping, but you could go crazy and just wrap until it's completely covered (I think I will overlap a bit next time for more depth). At first I was cutting the yarn into long piece making it a bit more manageable to wrap, but I got tired of hot gluing all those end pieces.

I found if you just keep your slack fairly short on the ball of yarn, it makes wrapping easier. Keep yourself sane and do this while watching TV or something.
Keep wrapping until its fully covered and glue your end piece to the back.
If you have pre-made embellishments, the rest is easy, just glue them on and your done! If you want to make your own, here's how I make what I like to call a floppy poppy. Lame name, I know...maybe there's a real name for them, but I'll call it that for now!
Cut 3-5 circles out of scrap fabric in varying sizes. I freehand these, get your smallest circle cut and use it as a guide to cut the rest of the circles larger than the last. Don't obsess over them being perfectly round, trust me, none of mine are!

Thread your needle and knot the end. Stack your circles how you want them, then starting from the bottom (underside) of your circles, weave your needle up and down, bunching the fabric on the needle, and slightly turning the circle as you do this. Did that make any sense? I hope so.

When your needle is covered, pull it through and slightly tug until the fabric gathers.

Continue sewing like this until you've sewn a circle in the center. Make sure you pull the thread tightly, the tighter you tug the more gathered and "floppy" your flower will be. Your final stitch should end on the bottom, and then knot off your thread.

To finish my "poppy" I sewed a button in the center. I wanted my flowers to have a frayed look, so I took the edges and rubbed them fairly hard against the palm of my hand.

Before attaching my flowers, I hot glued some green ribbon to the wreath, to do this I glued the one end to the back, and winded it back and forth on the front, placing dabs of glue where I wanted it to "twist".

Attach your flower, and a ribbon leaf if you want.

Now go crazy making as many little flowers or embellisments as you want to use to decorate it. Some simple faux flowers would be cute as well! The possibilities are endless!

When I finished the wreath, to make hanging easy, I hot glue a strip of ribbon around the top of the wreath, then I looped another strip of ribbon under that piece of ribbon and tied it into a bow at the top. I put a couple of stitches through the center of the bow so it wouldn't come undone when its hanging.

Easy, right? If you did one in pink and brown or blue and brown, how cute would that be for a baby shower gift? Maybe attach a couple of those tiny frames in it so they can add pictures of their newborn and the baby's stats! If you want to make one that you can dress up differently for different holidays or seasons, use straight pins or floral pins to attach your embellishments and you can easily mix things up year around.

Thanks for having me here today Melanie!
Feel free to come visit over at Chicy Creations. I love visitors!

Thanks Amy, those colors are fantastic! Now I know what to do with my huge bag of yarn I inherited from my younger brother. Yes, my brother :)

Guest Blogger: Crystal from Crystal's Craft Spot

While I am in the throes of packing up all our junk, er, belongings, my crafting/sewing/creating will be put on hold. I am really grateful to my bloggy friends for stepping up and helping me out while we make our move! Crystal is awesome and has THE cutest girls EVER (except mine, of course, because I am their mom and have to say that). She has a fun project for you today that helps out every girl- especially the little ones!

I am so excited to be here today! I'm Crystal from Crystal's Craft Spot. I love sharing all of my crafty projects, recipes, and some awesome features. I also host a weekly craft challenge every Wednesday. Hope you'll come say hi!

Today I want to share a fun project I made for my little girl. Lately she has been carrying around buckets, sandwich bags, grocery sacks, etc. full of all sorts of stuff. I decided it was time for her to have her own little purse to drag around (and maybe she will leave mine alone now).

First you can download and print off my pattern from here or you can make your own. (let me know if doesn't work)

Start out by cutting out your outside purse, fusible webbing or fleece, and lining pieces.

Iron your outside fabric to your fusible fleece.

Line up and pin one edge of your outside fabric and one edge of your lining right sides together. Pin together and sew.

Pin together the other short edges. (don't sew)

Fold so your short edges are in the middle and the the lining and outer fabric and folded in half (look at picture for better explanation) Pin together and sew up the two sides.

Pull through the short edges that you didn't sew up

Push your lining inside your purse. It will stick up about an inch.

Pin Raw edge under and top stitch all the way around.

Cut two straps 12"x7" (you can go longer for older kids-I like this length because I don't have to worry about her putting around her neck). Fold in half and pin. Sew along the edges leaving room to flip.

Fold raw edge under and top stitch around all four edges.

Attach to your purse with a square and an x to hold it in place (oops forgot to take a picture of that step)

You're finished! You can embellish or leave it plain. My little one loved it and stole it a couple of times before I even put the straps on. Its been a big hit and has been filled with everything from crayons, bouncy balls, dolls, and cookies. Hope your little one enjoys it too!

Thanks Crystal! I love that bag shape, and I am totally going to use your daughter's idea of toting cookies around... what girl doesn't need sugar within arms reach?? But for now, I'll get back to packing!

Table Runner instructions and Pennant template

We're moving. I am currently surrounded by boxes and... junk. Why do we move this stuff anyway???

Until I get my sewing/crafting supplies unpacked, I'll be MIA for my own projects, but I do have some fun bloggy friends who will guest post, and some random bits for you to enjoy!

Random but exciting thing for today:

Since I know you have all been waiting patiently for my Table Runner instructions, I thought I'd give them to ya. A whole month and a half of waiting... sorry peeps!!



I scanned the instructions in two separate pages... so you get to separate links.


Runner Page ONE
Runner Page TWO



And I thought I'd toss in the Perfect Pennant while I was at it :)


Perfect Pennant


Now go make something! If you use the pattern and/or template, send me a link and I'll feature you here!

How-To: Baby Mirrors

Babies are curious people! And one of the things they like investigating the most is faces. A call went out from a friend for that she was in need of some crib toys, and I thought a mirror would be the perfect thing! And, when you are like me, when someone needs something, you always wonder if you can just make it!

To begin, you need:

A flexible, non-breakable mirror. I got mine by the other mirrors at the craft store.

Fusible Fleece

Fat Quarter

Sew-on velcro

Hot Glue

Sewing Supplies

My mirror came sized 6" x 9". I cut it in half to have a smaller toy using an exacto-knife, so my mirror size for this project is 4.5" x 6".

Cut 2 fabric pieces an inch bigger on all sides than your mirror: 5.5" x 7". Cut two small pieces 2" x 5.5"

On one of your big pieces, mark dots 1" in from each corner, and connect the dots to make a large X.

Cut on the line.

Cut the inside out, leaving 1/4" on the inside. You want to be able to turn that 1/4" under so there aren't any raw edges. Iron those edges down.

Cut your fusible fleece so it is two pieces 5" x 6.5". With one of those pieces, cut out the center the same way you did with the fabric. Make sure the fleece is just on the inside of your inside hem... just look at the picture :)

Iron the fleece pieces to the fabric pieces, making sure the fleece is centered on the fabric.

Your main fabric pieces are ready!

With your small pieces, iron the long edges so they meet in the middle. Then iron 1/4" on one end of each.

Sew the non-ironed edges right sides together (RST).

Fold at the seam, and sew along all the edges to make a small strip.

Sew your velcro pieces to the small strip: the female piece to one end, flip the strip over, and sew the male piece to the other end.

Sew the strip down to the middle of your large fabric piece. I made an X for extra strength!

On the "window" piece, stitch about 1/8" on the inside, catching the little hem so it stays down for SURE! Then, sew your large pieces RST.

Clip your corners.

Turn right side out, and stitch around the perimeter.

Slip your piece of mirror into the open window. Because it is flexible, you can bend it to slide in. It should fit perfectly! Pull up the protective layer just a little bit so you can glue the fabric down.

Just add a little line of glue to the inside, and press it to the mirror.

You are done! I got two out of my mirror, so we had double the fun. The velcro piece on the back lets you secure the mirror to crib rails, baby rings, car seats (if you make the strip long enough) and other things, like drawer pulls! :) Felt embellishments would make these even more visually exciting for baby.

Let that baby play!