Erica and her sewing club make windsocks.

Along with presenting my pretty bohemian windsock tutorial, this is also an excuse to show off my crocheted dress.

It's been so long since I posted anything (although I have been sewing and crocheting like crazy... just not any DIY'ing or crafting) that I don't really remember how to. Let's see... write some boring backstory, write an instructional tutorial, add some pictures. Ok, here goes - 

I am a proud and happy member of American Sewing Guild. I have been for the past three years. It's a great group. Everyone is super friendly, knowledgeable and generous. Earlier this year, our sewing club chapter president, Kim, told us that if we wanted to present/lead a DIY class for one of our meetings, we would receive $10 in "ASG Bucks". These can be used toward our annual retreat (ok, cool 😀), ASG merchandise (nah 😒) and to buy stuff at our fabric swap/garage sales (YEEESSSSS!!! 😍😃😁). We all know how much I love buying fabric and sewing notions... I NEEDED those ASG Bucks. LOL Anyway, the only rules were that the project had to be relatively simple, can be completed in under an hour and fairly cheap (since the sewing club provides all the supplies needed). One of my favorite things is finding and doing fun & easy craft projects. I knew I had to sign up to lead a meeting even though I have never taught anything in my entire life and I have zero patience for humans. The meeting was last week and it went surprisingly well (beginner's luck, maybe). We made windsocks using embroidery hoops, fabric strips and ribbon. Everyone finished their project and had a lovely time. Here are the instructions.

DIY Windsock:

Kim bought the embroidery hoops and fabric with our ASG dues but all the ribbon came from the garage sale!! All.of.it. Now you see how amazing our garage sales are and why I need those ASG Bucks. LOL

Supplies needed: embroidery hoop (any size will do), 3 pieces of equal length string, 2-inch wide fabric strips (the length can be cut to your preference), scissors (Kim suggested using scrapbooking scissors or pinking shears to cut designs into the fabric strips), ribbon, lace, other decorative material, glue (optional)

1. Open the embroidery hoop and set the outside piece (the piece with the screw and fastener) aside. 

2. Tie the three pieces of string to the inside of the embroidery hoop to form a triangle. Gather the pieces of string together and tie them into a knotted loop at the top. This will be for hanging up the finished windsock.

3. Drape the fabric strips around the inside of the embroidery hoop. This is easier to do if the hoop is hanging from somthing (or a friend is holding it for you). If you're worried about the fabric strips moving out of place, put a dab of glue on it to stick it to the embroidery hoop.

4. Add ribbon, lace or any other decorative material over the fabric strips. Go crazy with color, patterns and texture! Kim suggest stringing beads or bells to the end of the pieces.

5. Once everything is draped in place, put the outside of the embroidery hoop back on (again, easier to do if you have a friend holding it for you). This will hold all of the fabric strips, ribbon, lace, etc. in place. Fastener it on tightly.

And we're done!! Hang it outside (or inside) and enjoy!! So pretty, right? 

 

Erica & friends make bowls out of buttons.

**EDIT** - In this weird time of covid-19, we did not meet in person to complete this project. The project was started in February before the quarantine began. We got to the part where we glued buttons all over the balloon and Courtney worked on the project some (since we left everything at her house and she's super generous with her time) and sent me pictures for this blog post. I picked up the semi-finished project from her porch--contactless!--and finished up the rest at home.  

I’m so excited because I haven't posted a DIY tutorial (or any sort of blog, really) in ages and I’m finally getting to now! I'm part of a semi-regular craft night with three other women (Courtney--one of my really good friends and mother & wife extraordinaire, Jessa--who is always so generous in providing our art supplies, and Rachelle--owner of the wildly successful international yarn brand, Moon Drake). Our last project was to make a bowl from glue and buttons. They turned out really nice. 😄 Mine is currently in my sewing room. Just a warning: this project takes forever to complete due to having to wait for layer upon layers of glue to dry, so don’t start it if you’re short on time. LOL

The ladies crafting in Courtney's kitchen.

DIY Button Bowl:
SUPPLIES – buttons, balloon, Sharpee (or another brand) marker, paint brush, glue (we used Elmer’s), mod podge, plastic cup, water resistant coating. 

1.   Inflate balloon; the top of the balloon will be the size of the bowl.

2.   Set the balloon on top of a plastic cup for balance. It will remain here for the duration of this project. So use a cup you won’t be needing for the foreseeable future. LOL

3.   Use a permanent marker to outline the size/shape of the bowl onto the balloon.

4.   Brush Elmer’s glue onto the bowl portion of the balloon. 

      We used three coats of clue and left the balloon alone to dry over night. I think each layer took 1 – 2 hours to dry but I wasn’t really timing it. While we were waiting for the glue to dry, Courtney and I ate dinner 🍲😋🥘and painted our fingernails. 💅

5.   Using Elmer’s glue, adhere buttons over the dried glue. 
     *Glue the buttons above the Sharpee line. 
     *Glue a large button in the top center so the bowl will balance once its taken off the balloon. 
The buttons should be spaced pretty close together but don’t worry if there is empty space in between. The mod podge will fill all of that in. We left our balloons alone and let them dry over night. 
While not necessary, Jessa & I covered our balloons with plastic wrap so the buttons wouldn’t get disturbed.

6.   Brush mod podge over the buttons and let dry over night.

7.   Take the balloon off the cup and pop it (cut the knot from the bottom of the balloon and carefully let the air out). Slowly peel the balloon off the button bowl. This is when I picked up my semi-finished bowl from Courtney's porch. I decided last minute to paint the inside of the bowl red to match the buttons.

8.   Brush water resistant coating onto the inside and outside of the bowl. Let dry.

And we’re finally done!! The project itself is pretty easy. It just took forever to dry. I’m curious to make other bowls from different small objects…like beads or confetti or jewelry/charms. So many things to experiment with!! Another quarantine project!!

OKC American Sewing Guild Camp Canyon Retreat 2019

I made some neat clothes!

Literally a month ago -- talk about a late blog post!!-- I participated in my first full sewing retreat. (I went to the 2018 retreat but only stayed for a day.) The Oklahoma City chapter of America Sewing Guild hosts a three-day long retreat annually at Camp Canyon Methodist Camp. The weekend consisted of make-n-take projects, a fabric "garage sale", door prizes (I didn't win any 😔) and lots & lots of sewing. We were housed in the main conference room but our meals were served 1/3 mile away in the mess hall. The campsite is super scenic so I spent a lot of time meandering around outside.

About forty ladies from sewing club participated in the retreat. I was seated at a long table with Karen, Brenda, Karla, Tammy, Irene and Amy. We all got along, which was great because we spent all weekend together (its pretty hard to move once you get your sewing station all set up).  My initial roommate was Marilyn but she had a last minute family emergency and couldn't make it, so my new roommate was Connie. And that's about all of the names I can remember from a month ago... sorry, my memory is crap. LOL

This is just one tiny sample of the fabric I bought from the garage sale. RagsReborn is going to have SO MUCH new fabric for fall/holiday craft shows!!!

The first thing we did after setting up our sewing stations was rummage through the garage sale. Everyone was encouraged to bring their left over scrap fabric (and pretty much anything else that is sewing related) to sell as a sewing club fundraiser. There was an entire room full of awesome stuff! We were allowed to pack as much as could possibly fit into a plastic shopping bag for $5/bag. I bought a bag of fun patterned fabric for RagsReborn and a bag of fabric and notions for me to use throughout the retreat. Each year, the sewing club holds a garage sale challenge where we make items using only fabric purchased from the garage sale. There are two categories - clothing and non-clothing, and I planned to make one of each to enter. I didn't know what I would do with all my new fabric, but I had all weekend to figure that out! My friend, Brenda, became my personal shopper and brought me all sorts of fabric to add to my stash. Honestly, she brought me more than I could use so I had to put some of it back. LOL I only brought a couple of patterns with me because I wasn't sure how much I could sew in one weekend. Especially because I was strictly sewing garments and I'm new (and not very good) at sewing clothes. 

All of my beautifully traced and cut pattern pieces 😍 Thanks again to Marilyn for letting me borrow her pattern and use her tracing paper. 

My first project of the weekend was to sew an outfit for the sewing club's pattern challenge. For the challenge, we had to choose a Simplicity brand pattern that is approved by American Sewing Guild, sew the garment and model it at our monthly meeting. My friend, Marilyn, and I decided to sew the same outfit. She was going to guide me through the process but since she couldn't make it to the retreat, I was on my own. And what do I do? I started sewing the shirt and decided that it would look so much better as a dress. Like, the cutest little mod shift dress ever! So I went rogue and spent all day sewing the black puppy dress (pictured in the very first picture of this blog post). The fabric I used was from the garage sale so I'll be entering the dress into the sewing club's garage sale challenge, clothing category. I did eventually get around to making the Simplicity pattern (#8021, view A & B). Brenda picked out the black suede fabric with the eyelet cutouts. 

The second day of the sewing retreat turned into a dress making day. I was going to sew a couple of different variations of the Simplicity pattern (to get the hang of making simple shirts and pants) but my friend, Karen, gave me this beautiful flowing yellow floral fabric. There was tons of it! I was pondering what to make with it when Carolyn and Brenda came over to show me this designer fashion catalog. I don't remember which brand/designer it was but there were gorgeous $400 summer dresses in it.  I showed them Karen's fabric and a dress that I liked and we set off to make a replica. Carolyn is a seamstress and used to own Helen Enox Fabrics where she did custom tailoring so I was in good hands. 

Top: the pattern I used for the bodice of the dress, Karen's yellow fabric and the dress from the catalog. Bottom: a cute keychain Brenda gifted me and our second make-n-take project; a tablet stand.

I would say that the dress was a team effort but Brenda and Carolyn mostly make it for me. The only part I sewed was the bodice, which I botched up so Brenda had to take it apart and re-sew it for me. Carolyn has the most incredible Bernina sewing machine (advanced, high tech and expensive could be other adjectives to describe it). It practically sews itself. She taught me how to use the gathering foot and rolled hem foot on it. Then, she taught me how to use her serger, which changed my life. Seriously. I have already started saving up money to buy one of my own. After we finished the first dress, I decided that I needed to make a second one by myself. I grabbed a few pink fabric scraps and sewed the dress pictured in the very first picture of this blog post. I decided on a different design for the bodice so I wouldn't have two identical dresses. Plus, I think the racer-back works better as a summer dress. I was so proud of myself. Not only did I sew a dress all on my own, but it was my fourth garment I made that weekend!

Brenda, me, Carolyn and Karen

Sunday was the third and last day of the retreat. I think most of the women were ready to leave but I still had sewing to do! Brenda picked out some black & brown fabric for me and I had promised her that I'd use it for something before the retreat ended, so I made the shirt pictured in the very first picture of this blog post. I also started the round purse pictured below. I had no idea that round purses were so trendy now; I just felt like designing and sewing one. The chain and charms were from a kit that I picked out at the garage sale so I'll be entering it into the sewing club's garage sale challenge, non-clothing category. Our two make-n-take projects for the weekend was a shopping bag made from recycled feed bags (I used an old dog food bag, pictured below) and a collapsible tablet/book stand. Those are so cool and useful. I'll be making more of those and adding them to my craft show inventory line up.

Final inventory from the retreat - three dresses, two shirts, one pair of pants, one tablet stand, and two bags. I would call that a huge success. I had a blast and am so thankful for all of the new friends that I made. Everyone is so smart and talented! I plan to use what I learned to sew many more outfits. Now, let's all wish me luck in the Simplicity pattern challenge and garage sale challenges! 

Did you know you can frame clothes?

Its spring cleaning time! I've been going through my closet and, oh my goodness, there are a lot of clothes that I don't wear anymore! 😆 Luckily, I can use a lot of it as fabric for RagsReborn pillows and what I can't use, I can donate. On the other hand, I came across a couple of items that I can't use as fabric but I still have a sentimental attachment to so I don't want to get rid of them, either. At the same time as I was trying to come up with ideas of how to re-purpose my clothes, I was also thinking of how to fill some of the empty space on a few of our walls. Then the two collided and I decided to frame a few of my shirts. It is a pretty straightforward process and here's a super simple DIY.

Materials needed: old article of clothing (I used the blouse that I got married in; it still fits but it's become a little too tattered to wear), picture frame, hot glue gun and fabric scissors.

1. Open up the picture frame and locate the piece of paper in between the cardboard backing and glass.

2. Cut out the section of fabric that you want to frame (or, if you don't want to cut into your shirt, fold it to where only the section you want to frame is visible). Make sure that the section is bigger than the piece of paper from step #1.

3. Wrap the fabric around the piece of paper (I wrapped it tightly, like I would a Christmas present) and glue around the edges.

4. Put the frame back together and you're done!

Another thing that I like to frame and decorate with is puzzles. But I guess that's not a novel idea. any suggestions for what I should frame and decorate with next?

Erica re-purposes a scarf.

I was just thinking to myself that I haven't posted any DIY projects in a while. I have tons on my "things to sew" list but I guess sewing for craft shows, gifts and custom orders takes precedence over projects for myself. And, to be honest, I've also become a little lazy on the weekends. A few months ago, I reconnected with an old friend who recently split from her long-time boyfriend. She went through her closet and gave me a bunch of clothes that reminded her of him. She thought I would like the bright colors and could use them as fabric for my pillows & stuffed animals. Around this same time, I was looking though some pictures that I had pinned online. One was a quick three step picture tutorial for a kimono. Time for the stars to align...

As I am writing this, it is currently a causal Sunday afternoon, which is the best time for me to open up the blinds, let the sunshine in and get creative in my sewing room. The tutorial I came across showed three pictures: a photograph of a stylish woman posing in a cute kimono, a large piece of patterned fabric, and some dotted lines with the words "Cut Here". I thought I would try to create the kimono from those pictures and also provide a little more instruction. I am using one of the scarves my friend gave me as the fabric. I chose it because it is trimmed in lace and fringe, which I thought could add some nice detail. If you are purchasing fabric (instead of re-purposing an old scarf), I would get at least two yards; more or less depending on how big you want the finished project to be.

1. Turn the fabric inside out, fold it in half and lay it on a flat surface. Make sure the creased side is facing the top. Measure 1/2 yard from the top and 8 inches from the outside. Draw a line from those measurements on both sides of the fabric.

2. Draw a straight line from the first line down to the bottom of each side of the fabric. You should have two upside-down "L" shaped lines; one on each side of the fabric. If you use your imagination, you can already see the outline of the finished kimono.

3. Pin along the drawn "L" shapes and cut.

4. Sew along the pinned lines. Sew one straight line from the bottom of the kimono to the edge of the sleeve. I actually sewn twice, one straight stitch and one zigzag stitch, to make sure the finished project wouldn't fray or tear.

5. Draw and cut out a neck-hole shape. Only cut through one layer of the folded fabric.

6. Draw and cut a straight line through one layer of fabric only from the bottom of the kimono to the neck-hole. Once cut and turned right-side-out, the fabric should open up and resemble a kimono.

7. Hem both sides of the cut line. I started the hem at the bottom of one side, sewn around the neck-line and all the way back down to the bottom of the other side. One nice, long, frustrating hem. LOL

And there it is... a fun summer kimono to throw over all of your casual outfits. Its not perfect but I think the fact that it is billowy hides all the crooked lines and the uneven hem. God bless loose & flowy fabric to hid all my sewing flaws! I used a Pashmina scarf as my fabric. If I had to do it again, I would chose a light cotton or jersey; only because it would be easier to work with. What do you guys think? Was it worth cutting up a nice scarf?

Erica and Lacey make cosmetics pouches.

Can you believe these are made of plastic sandwich bags and Duct tape? They're so cute! 

Yay, a DIY blog! Monday Craft Night is back. Sorry it has been a while (craft shows have taken priority this month). A couple of weeks ago, I came across one of those "Duct tape hack" videos on Facebook. I normally don't find those videos very inspiring (and most of the time, the "hack" takes more time to perform than the problem its trying to solve... just buy a bathroom rug or fix a leak the old fashioned way!) But, the project in this video was simple and the supplies were cheap. I invited Lacey over and we recreated the project.

I saw this majestic unicorn Duct tape and knew that I needed it in my life! 

The cosmetics pouches turned out to be so friggin' adorable! Duct tape comes in so many printed designs (did you know that it is also now stickier than ever? The packaging proclaimed that the adhesive formula is stronger. Too sticky in my opinion.) and sandwich bags come in so many different sizes. The sky is the limit with this DIY project. The pouches don't have to just be for cosmetics, either. My craft supplies box was a mess so I'm using mine for organizing craft supplies instead.

DIY Cosmetic Pouch Tutorial-

Materials needed: Duct tape, sliding zipper plastic sandwich bags, scissors

1. Decide what you want to put in the finished pouch. Using that as a guide, measure how big you want the pouch to be.

2. If you want the pouch to be smaller than the original size of the sandwich bag, fold it to the new desired size and tape it in place. 

3. Cover the sandwich bag in Duct tape. Make sure to tape both front and back sides of the sandwich bag. Although the Duct tape was super sticky, I still found it fairly easy to tear pieces off of the sandwich bag if I accidentally placed it in the wrong position. To avoid air bubbles, I found it best to place the Duct tape on one end of the sandwich bag and slowly press it down, moving from one end to another, instead of placing the entire piece of tape on the sandwich bag at once. Also, be cautious of the zipper at the top of the sandwich bag. I stopped taping just underneath the red zipper. 

4. Repeat step #3 so there are two layers of Duct tape over the sandwich bag. (You can probably do multiple layers depending on what you plan to store in the finished pouch and how hefty you want it to be but I stuck with two layers.) 

5. For the first layer of Duct tape, I folded the edges of the Duct tape over (as shown in the picture above step #3). For the second layer of Duct tape, I left the edges hanging over. Once you're completely finished taping, cut all the extra tape off the edges of the sandwich bag. 

Athena enjoys crafting with us!

All done! In about 15 minutes, $10 worth of supplies and five easy steps, you've got a nice collection of matching pouches.