SEW SPECIAL

Whenever my mom is in town, I always like to take advantage of her amazing sewing skills.  

Okay, "Take advantage of" sounds a bit selfish. 

What I mean is, I always beg her to teach me more about sewing.  

I had a vision in my head of a special birthday present I wanted to make for a good friend of mine.  

I knew my mom could help me make that vision a reality. 

Here is the reality.....

It seemed like such a simple project to me.  It didn't turn out to be quite as simple as I anticipated, 

but it involved fairly simple sewing skills and it took my mom and I about one hour to complete.  

I must admit, I was basically her assistant on this project.  

I did the designing, cutting and watching, she did the sewing. 

We lined it with this leftover wool fabric I had on hand. 

Look familiar?  It was also used to cover these wingback chairs.  

And I used some to make this ruffle wreath.

My friend is hard to buy for (even though she would disagree).

I knew she would appreciate a handmade gift.

I gave it to her on Monday and she loved it (or at least she said she did). ha ha. 

It took the front of a felted wool sweater to make the wristlet.

I already have the back of the sweater cut out and ready to go.

Now that I know how to make one, I think I'll give it a shot on my own.

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HANDMADE GIFTS

I love receiving handmade gifts, almost as much as I love giving them.  I went on and on here about how anxious I was to try out some sweater projects.  A sweet friend dropped off a bag of old sweaters that she had already felted.  If you aren't familiar with the process of felting sweaters, it's very simple.  You wash a wool sweater on high heat and then dry it on high heat.  It can then be cut up without fraying.  

I decided to make a few Christmas gifts this afternoon.

Surely by now, you've picked up on the fact that I like to drink wine. 

Well, fortunately, so do my girlfriends.

Hopefully they will like these.....

If you want to tackle this extremely easy project, here's what you will need..... 

1.  A sleeve from a felted sweater;
2.  A needle and tread
3.  Scrapbook paper
4.  Circle cutting tool (mine is from Creative Memories)

I started by sewing together the end of my sweater sleeve.  

I made large stitches all the way around the sleeve. 

I then pulled it tight.

I sewed a few more stitches to make sure it was closed snugly. 

This is how it looked with the wine bottle inside.  Not real pretty, but it's just the bottom. 

Now, on to the wine glass skirts.  I think these are so handy. 

When you are entertaining, you simply use a marker to write the name of the person on the skirt. 

Here's a step by step. 

1.  Use your circle cutting tool to cut a circle, approximately 2.5" in diameter
2.  Your first circle should look like this.
3.  Use your smallest circle cutting tool to cut another circle inside the larger circle,
     approximately 1" in diameter
4.  Your circle should now look like this.
5.  Use scissors to cut a straight line trough the circle.
6.  Presto, you now have a darling wine glass skirt.

Attach them to your wine bag if you choose.

Embellish with some twine and a gift tag and you have a lovely handmade gift. 

If you don't have the right kind of circle cutting tools, 

you can print wine glass skirts from here or here and cut them free hand. 

Don't you just love receiving handmade gifts?

Blog land is full of some great ideas for unique handmade gifts. 

Are you trying your hand at any this year? 

I had my sewing machine out for a few projects this past weekend.  I'll be sure to fill you in.

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THE MADNESS CONTINUES

Okay, first things first, why oh why did someone not tell me that my new obsession is called "Mod Podge", not "Modge Podge"?  I thought you guys were my friends. I had to be corrected by my nine year old last night.  I was showing off my latest "Mod Podge" project to my daughter and she quickly set me straight.  I said, what, no it's "Modge Podge".  She points to the bottle with a smirk on her face.  Wow, didn't I feel stupid.  I promptly corrected all the "Modge Podge" mistakes in this post.


I see this kind soul tried to subtly set me straight with her comment.  
Harps and Ollie's Mom said...
How great! I just did my first Mod Podge project today...what a coincidence!

Too bad I didn't catch on.  Oh well, good thing I can laugh at myself, right along with the rest of you! Well, now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's move on to the madness.....I can't seem to stop Mod Podging things.  It's a bit addictive. My kids might wake up with something mod podged to their face if they're not careful.  I exaggerate.  

This is my latest victim...a cute little wooden "e" I scored at the thrift store for $.75                                                     (my daughter's name happens to begin with an "e")

And here it is after I attacked it with a little Mod Podge.   

I had the fabric leftover from making this pillow. 

Right now it's sitting on her desk.  I think it would make a great bookend on her bookshelf. 

Now that I know the proper name of my new obsession, there' no stopping me. 

This "e" will certainly not be my last victim.  

Let's make a deal, if I say something ridiculous or completely incorrect, call me out!  I can take it.  

  

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MOD PODGE MAKEOVER

I read about Mod Podge on blogs all the time.  Not sure why I am just now jumping on the Mod Podge bandwagon, but I am sure glad I am.

A friend of mine was looking for a tray to put on top of an ottoman in her living room.  We looked a bit while we were antiquing one day.  We weren't able to find anything that was the right size and the right price.  I happened upon one in a thrift store soon after and I picked it up for her.

It looks like this now.               

But it looked like this when I found it at Goodwill for $3.00.

Nothing against wine, I happen to love it, but this tray was pretty ugly.

My friend and I went fabric shopping last week and we found the perfect fabric, on clearance, of course, for $4.00/yard.  She bought 5 yards of it and as a thank you for taking on her tray project, she gave it all to me.  I only used a small piece for the tray, so you can expect to see this fabric making an appearance at my house.  Most likely it will be in the form of pillows.  

Before I handed it over to her, I styled it and snapped it few pictures.  

I added a few fall accessories and a favorite picture of my youngest at the beach.  

Being a Mod Podge virgin, I wasn't aware that when the glue dries, the fabric shrinks.  

I was left with a small gap all the way around the inside of the tray. 

So I added two rows of twine to fill it in.   

I like the texture it adds.  

Most likely, I'll become a bit obsessed with the Mod Podge, 

kind of like I did with the Rub N' Buff, here, here and here.  

So tell me, am I the last person is blog land to purchase a jar of Mod Podge?

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SWEATER WEATHER

Mother Nature is quite fickle this time of the year.  She gives us some beautiful crisp fall days and then



throws us for a loop with some hot humid days.  I, for one, am ready to kiss this heat goodbye, and



welcome with open arms, my favorite season of the year, Fall.   Last week I was ready to get out my



boots and sweaters.  I love to wear sweaters in the fall and winter, but lately I've noticed that sweaters



can be used for so many other things besides keeping us warm.  For some inspiration, I turned to



Pinterest.  I fell into the same boat as many others a while back and added a new addiction to my list.



Seriously, it's addicting, isn't it.  You can follow me on Pinterest here.






Here are a few of my favorite alternative uses for sweaters.  Don't you know I'll be scouring the thrift



stores for sweaters to rip to shreds.  Can't wait to dive in and show you what I come up with.






This looks easy enough.....

Source: bystephanielynn.com via Evee on Pinterest

This one will involve a little sewing, but I'm not afraid of a challenge.....

Source: foothillhomecompanion.blogspot.com via Evee on Pinterest

Love this idea and it would make a fabulous gift.....

Source: brassyapple.blogspot.com via Megh on Pinterest

What a great fall decoration.....

Source: smallfryandco.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

My kids would have so much fun helping me make this one.....

Source: blog.betzwhite.com via Kim on Pinterest

Looks like a great gift idea for my girlfriends.... (Shhh, don't tell them.)

Source: ravelry.com via Kim on Pinterest

This is my favorite, but would involve tons of patience.  I'll have to think about this one.....

Source: moredesignplease.com via Lynda on Pinterest

Another great gift idea. Of course, leave it to Martha to come up with this one.....

Source: marthastewart.com via Laurie on Pinterest

This would work for a blanket or a scarf.

Source: thismamamakesstuff.com via Ta'mora on Pinterest

How adorable would this be hanging on your Christmas tree.......

Source: blog.betzwhite.com via Carla on Pinterest

I think I'll start by cleaning out my closet and tearing up sweaters I already own.
Wow, my A.D.D. (Attention Decorating Disorder) has kicked in again.
Anyone tackled a sweater project lately?  If so, please share.

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