Happy Birthday Banner for Cake

Since decorative writing on a cake sometimes is not practical, I made a banner tied to skewers to poke into the top of any type of cake.  I used printed paper goods cut into two-sided triangles that were glued onto a string or yarn.  These particular triangles are a finished size of 1.25" wide by 1.5" long.  A strip of paper 3" wide when folded makes the final 1.5" long measurement.   The backside also has lettering, so I wrote H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y on a scrap of paper, turned it around and wrote the same letters under it, so I was assured to get the correct letter behind each one when writing on the triangles.

Merida outfit

With two unused scarfs, a cast-off blouse, a scrap of faux suede, and Simplicity Pattern 1219, I made an American Girl sized outfit. It is Merida's dress from the Disney movie "Brave".  Just love repurposing materials.  Instead of buying lace for the skirt, I used a decorative stitch on my machine.

Car Travel Organizer

From ideas on pinterest and googling "car organizer", we now have a back of the seat organizer for the backseat traveler.  It hooks around the headrest with straps using velcro, and the bottom is tied around the seat back.

Sheet aluminum

Simplicity 2200 pattern piece

The clothing were 49 cent finds from Salvation Army Thrift Store. The dress made the back and front. The pockets were made from two different blouses and the dress. Notice the zipper in the dress? I made a secret compartment on the back side utilizing it by adding a pocket inside where you could stash emergency cash or credit cards.

Simplicity pattern 2200, organizers for walkers, had a perfect pattern for smaller pockets or cup holders.  Elastic is in casings to make the tops a little snug.  The first attempt at an organizer had drooping corners at the top, so I had some sheet aluminum cut to fit the width and about 2" wide and slid that into a casing sewn to the inside. When stitching back and front together, I left the casing open on one side to insert aluminum into afterwards to ward off any sewing machine problems, then slipstitched closed.

Deconstructed dress

GARAGE SALE TAGS

for clothing and jewelry

Get some card stock. Color with magic marker stripes. Cut into squares with craft scissors. Punch a hole. Insert rubber band through. Hang on clothing hanger with info and price. That ensures your tags aren't switched during the sale. 

The jewelry tags are just smaller, and use crochet thread instead of rubber bands.

Slip-over Coasters for Wine Glasses

What a great idea from Half Yard Home by Debbie Shore. These will keep the condensation off your tabletop as well as provide a fun way for your guests to remember which glass is theirs, if you make them all from different fabrics. Any glass that has a wine bottom type will work.

First measure the diameter of the base. Add 1-2" to get the diameter you need to cut your circles, and find a glass or coaster that is that size to serve as a template. You may need to make one or two samples to make sure it will fit over the glass bottom.  You need two circles for the top, one for the bottom, and one of batting or felt.

Take the two top circles and press in half. If you desire to add a strip of lace or ribbon, lay on top, and sew close to the folded edge. To assemble for sewing, place felt circle down, then add bottom fabric or oilcloth right side up, and the two halves right side down on the very top. Pin together and sew completely around the outside edge of the circle. Trim to 1/8", turn, and press.

Add a button, ribbon flower, or other adornment to one side, if desired. Or before assembly, you could monogram one half circle. Have fun!

Fabric Wall Flower Project

WALL FLOWER

This project was in Adventures in Fabric, La Todera Style.  It is made by creating circles using three different fabrics, which are then sewn together in a pie shape and then the top petals, which that creates, are sewn together. Sounds confusing, I should have pictured the process. It was tricky turning the circles and getting a nice smooth edge after sewing them together. Fusible web is inside the circles to aid in the crispness of the petals. On top I put a yo-yo made with a button in the center.

BAG FROM REPURPOSED SHIRTS

From this snap front Gap shirt I found at Salvation Army, I made a bag utilizing the snap opening as a pocket on the front of the bag. I used another SA shirt for the lining.
The outside shirt fabric has Pellon Thermolan Plus fleece fused to it to strengthen the bag and to protect the contents. I used one of the cuffs to make a snap closure at the top for a little bit of security.

The inside has a long pocket on one of the gusset sides, a zippered pocket on one side, and a small pocket on the other side at the bottom. The outside back has two small pockets at the bottom, and the front, along with the pocket made with the snapped placket, has four small divisions/pockets, with two on top of each other at the ends making six pockets.

I embroidered a floral motif on the back in orange thread. The handles used the button plackets of the floral shirts backed with the other shirt's fabric. The Gap label is sewn onto one of the straps.