Posts Tagged ‘Valentine’s Day’
That Old Sweatshirt – A pillow tutorial
I get sentimental about things that other people would probably not even think twice about throwing away or donating. I have old ticket stubs, concert programs, newspaper clippings – those things I can put in a scrapbook. But I’ve been known to hoard be sentimental about clothes too, and only recently have I been purging all our closets. Sometimes there’s just that one article of clothing you want to keep. See this old collegiate sweatshirt…
Julie Tiu in 2002
…Became this pillow. (I know, after 10 years, right?)
An upcycled sweatshirt made into an envelope pillow – meaning, you can slip the cover on and off. Very easy for washing. Could be a cute gift for Valentine’s Day, too.
Recycle Your Favorite Sweatshirt (I didn't even attend this school. Got the sweatshirt because it had my last name!)
And here’s how I did it.
- Take your clean sweatshirt of choice and lay it on a table or on the floor.
- I cut the sleeves off first. Then set aside.
- Next cut along one of the side seams of your shirt and along the shoulder seams. This will open everything up. I did it this way to give the largest piece of continuous fabric.
- Cut off the bottom hem and collar (cuff material) also. At this point you may need to iron the shirt (highly recommended).
- You may need the sleeves for extra fabric. Cut off the cuffs and cut along either side of the seam.
Sweatshirt sleeves cut open
- For a 16 x 16 pillow, you will need three pieces of fabric: (1) 16-1/2″ x 16-1/2″ for the front, (2) 12-1/2″ x 16-1/2″ for the back. (See my fancy sketch below.) I needed to use the extra sleeve material for one of the back panels. Just piece together if you need to.
- Try to center your focal point. I didn’t have too much choice – just went as high as I could.
- Prepare the back pieces first. Fold along the length (16-1/2″) and press 1/2″, then fold 1/2″ again, pin and edgestitch. Do this to the other piece. Press both pieces. Note: I found the zig-zag stitch easier to do with the stretchy sweatshirt material.
- Lay the front piece down, right side up. Next lay one of the back pieces, wrong side up, matching the raw edge with your front piece. The finished edge should be somewhere in the center area. Lay the other back piece with its raw edge along the other side of the front piece. Now the finished edges of your back pieces should be overlapping one another.
- Stitch around the perimeter with a 1/2″ allowance. Backstitch as you start and finish. When complete, remove and clip your corners, and turn rightside out.
- Stuff your pillowcase!
So here’s the thing – you can adjust the size of your fabric for any size pillow by just adding 1/2″ to your finished size. The back pieces take a little math.
16″ x 16″ pillow – cut 16-1/2″ x 16-1/2″ (front) and 16-1/2″ x 11-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)
14″ x 14″ – cut 14-1/2″ x 14-1/2″ (front) and 14-1/2″ x 9-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)
12″ x 16″ pillow – cut 12-1/2″ x 16-1/2(front) and 12-1/2″ x 11-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)
12″ x 12″ pillow – cut 12-1/2″ x 12-1/2(front) and 12-1/2″ x 7-1/4″ (two pieces for the back)
Tags: crafting, gift, pillow, recycled, recycling, sewing, Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day: Cards and Projects
With only four (or five) more days to Valentine’s Day, there’s still a little time to craft a personal card or gift. Sadly, my children picked some cards from the store and while cute, just isn’t the same as making your own like my daughter did a few years ago.
If you have a few minutes to spare, check out all these wonderful projects! So many to choose from!
Picture courtesy of Craft Critique
An entire list of Valentine crafting is at Craft Critique in the 2010 and 2011 Carnival
Easy-to-Make Valentine’s Day cards at Better Homes & Gardens
A Vintage Typewriter Tin Valentine on Design*Sponge
At The Purl Bee, try your hand at these Valentine Heart Barrettes
Tags: cards, projects, Valentine's Day
Post-Valentine’s Day gift inspirations
Why should we limit giving cards and greetings to our loved ones to Valentine’s Day? We shouldn’t, right? Here are some inspired projects that you might enjoy and I plan on sharing with some of my friends this year in my quest to stay in touch better and bring a little happiness to other lives.
picture from Merriment Design
Vintage Silhouette Embellishment from Merriment Design
Antique Style Valentine at Martha Stewart
Rough and Ready Recycled Notebooks from The Lucky Ladybird Craft blog
With Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year behind us…
- We’re looking forward to celebrating Mardi Gras at our church tomorrow night at a fundraiser dinner for the children’s religious education program,
- We’re also getting ready to celebrate my daughter’s birthday this coming weekend. Get ready for birthday crafts and stories.
- Update on my exercising! Spinning 1st week – 4x, last week – 2x (shoveled 3 days out of the week and was exhausted!). Also went to yoga class and added pilates to the mix. Feeling good, a day at a time.
Happy Monday, my friends!
Tags: crafts, gifts, holiday, love, Valentine's Day, wrapping
Valentine’s Basket Card
I made this card several years ago for a friends on their wedding anniversary and then again for Christmas. I thought Valentine’s Day might be a nice time to resurrect it. What better to hold a little teabag, candy or gift card? It’s also a nice way to recycle crinkly paper from gift baskets, and odd pieces of cut paper and ribbon! I suggest using a padded envelope or hand deliver your creation to your friend. Here’s my simple “basket” card that I’ll take you through.
For the card, you will need:
- 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of cardstock (half of 8-1/2″ x 11″ paper and folded)
- 5-1/2″ x 2-3/4″ piece of coordinating printed paper
- 9″ – 10″ ribbon
- Miscellaneous: ruler, pencil, bone folder, gluestick or double-sided tape, hole punch
1. Fold your cardstock in half if you haven’t already. Position the card so it is fully open. You will glue (or tape) your coordinated paper to the inside top half of the card. This might look strange, but hang on.
2. Close the card and on the bottom front face (just the other side of where you glued), mark a point at 2-3/4″ (exact center) from the edge. You may also want to mark 2-3/4″ up the two sides also, but this is not necessary. It’s the height of the printed paper.
3. Take a bone folder or some blunt tool to score the paper from the bottom mid-point to the top edge of the printed paper (along the side of the card). You’ll have two right triangles that will become the “basket”.
4. Fold the triangles up and use a bone folder to crease well. Almost done!
5. Punch holes at the top of the triangles for your ribbon and tie a pretty bow.
6. Use some leftover crinkly paper and place your favorite tea to share.
You’re done, good job! For some more fun, you could rubber stamp some cute designs all over the cardstock. Don’t forget that you’ll have a small amount of writing space inside the card since the front is folded over.
Here’s an extra little tidbit. You know those paint chips you get at the hardware store when you’re thinking you’re going to actually paint that ONE room… Use your paper punch and attach to some long toothpicks with glue or tape!
Hoping to have a few more Valentine’s Day resources for you tomorrow. Enjoy!
Tags: cards, gifts, greetings, love, paper, recycled paper, tea, teacher gift, Valentine's Day
My Funny Valentine
I just want to say, she’s so cute not wanting me to buy Valentine’s Cards at the local store, even if they were only a dollar! She made them all for her classmates and teacher. She also decided not to use her Chinese name stamp which might have been a nice touch. But that’s okay.
Like mother, like daughter…
Tags: crafting, fun, holiday, kids, paper, recycled, recycled paper, Valentine's Day
