Vote for a FREE Apron Pattern & DIY

February 28, 2015February 28, 2015 | Heather

I thought it would be fun to do an Apron DIY and provide a free pattern download to all my loyal followers (yes, all 10 of you) :-)! And, not to give away all my secrets, but I thought it might help generate more interest in my blog at the same time.

Anyway, I can’t decide which apron I should do, so I thought you all could help a girl out. Here are three favorites I’ve made over the years. So, please comment below with your vote! I’ll do a tutorial and free PDF download next week.

Let the voting begin!!

–h

DIY Reclaimed Wood/Barn Door Baby Gate

February 16, 2015February 23, 2015 | Heather

I’m not sure how it happened. One day Kyrie was scoot/rolling, then literally the next day, she started crawling. Oh-no! We probably should have started baby proofing months ago, but now is good too, right?!?

So we have been rearranging furniture, moving things around, but the real problem is the stairs. And yes, she has discovered them and seems to look at them as some sort of challenge. She has a rather determined personality (that doesn’t sound familiar at all), so we need a baby gate, like yesterday.

So funny story, I thought we should run out to Target a buy a baby gate right away. But Ryan suggested we build our own gate instead. Hey, shouldn’t I have been the one to suggest that? 🙂 He did some searching online and found some ideas we liked and came up with the plan…

Part I – Construction

Materials/Tools:
Reclaimed Wood (from a deconstructed pallet)
Wood Screws (1 1/4″)
Orbital Sander
Measuring Tape
Square
Circular Saw or Miter Saw

How to (Ryan):

1. I started by cutting out the pieces:

2 outer frame side pieces: 30″ long, 5 1/2″ wide
2 0uter frame top pieces: 23 1/2″ long, 5 1/2″ wide
9 back pieces: 30″ long (various widths due to the wood available)
1 long “X” piece: 30 1/4″ long, 5 1/2″ wide, cut to a “V” on each end. I put this piece over the outer frame, and used the square tool to help mark and determine where to cut.
2 short “X” pieces: 12: long, 5 1/2″ wide, again cut to a “V” on one end. See above.

2. Sand like crazy. Because this is a baby gate, we went for an extremely smooth finish. Started with 80 grit and finished with 180 grit. I spent a lot of time getting each piece perfectly smooth as the goal of this door is safety. Look at the difference…

3. In order to keep the screws hidden, I assembled it essentially from the back forward. So the outer frame side piece was screwed to a back piece (from the back side). Then I grabbed another back piece, snugged the two back pieces up, and screwed into the outer side piece. Then I lined up the outer frame top and bottom pieces, and screwed them to the back pieces. Then continued with the back pieces all the way across, finishing with the other outer frame front piece.

4. Next I flipped over the door and fitted the “X”. Again, screwed it in from the back.

Note: I pre-drilled all the holes before putting the screws in to prevent the wood from splitting.

Part II – Painting

Materials/Tools:
Jewel Shabby Paint (chalk paint)
Hazelnut reVax Shabby Paint
Black Matte Spray Paint
Paint Brush
Sandpaper (60 grit)
Sponge

How to:
Like every other DIYer out there, I have discovered and love chalk paint. You don’t have to sand or prime your project, and it gives this great matte finish. It looks great!

1. I decided I wanted an extra layer of black paint under the Jewel color to add some dimension when I distressed it. So I started by spray painting the entire piece black. I really didn’t worry about great coverage except on the edges and corners. But I did use an entire can of spray paint.

2. After letting it dry I painted my first coat of Jewel Shabby Paint, let dry and added a second coat. The chalk paint really goes far. I used about 5 ounces of paint total. Flipped the door over and did the same on the back (2 coats). Pretty!

3. Now is the part I love/hate. I took out the sandpaper and started distressing the door. After the beautiful coat of paint, it always makes me a little sad at first, but I love the look after it is all done. I paid special attention to the areas of the door that would normally experience wear and tear — corners, edges, etc. There is no real science to it, you just sand areas until you like the way it looks. You’ll notice some areas the black paint shows through, and others I sanded down to the wood, again, all personal taste.

4. The final touch is the product they call reVax, I applied it as recommended with a damp sponge. It is a great topcoat for durability, and in this case, I used it to deepen the color and add to the distressed look of the piece. Seriously, the Hazelnut reVax was like magic, I was so excited to see it go on, it gave the Jewel a more greenish color which is exactly what I wanted. I la la LOVE this color combo!!

Part III – Installation/Finishing

Materials/Tools:
Hinges
Barrel Bolt
More wood screws
2 Trim pieces (30 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ x 5/8″)
Antique glass doorknob

How to:
1. Almost there! We started by cutting our two trim pieces, which will be mounted to the wall on either side and the door will connect to. On the top, cut a 45 degree angle (this just makes it look a little more finished). Then we painted them to match our wall color.

2. Attach the hinges to the gate and hinges to the first trim piece (prior to installing them on the wall). Remove the pins from the hinges so that the trim piece can be attached to the wall without the weight of the gate. Once the trim piece was secured to the wall (we were sure to find a stud and used 2 1/4″ screws), we lined up the hinges on the gate and reinserted the pins.

Note: The screws pictured here were used to attach the doorknob.

3. Next, we attached the second trim piece to the other side of the wall (again 2 1/4″ screws into a stud).

4. Attach the barrel bolt approximately 1″ from the top of the door (on the back), then extend the barrel and mark the spot to drill into the trim. Drill and done.

5. Attach the glass door knob (I spray painted the plate of the antique doorknob black).

And…done! Phew!

–h & r

Outlander Inspired Knitted Cowl

February 3, 2015April 25, 2015 | Heather

You know that feeling when you find out you have been doing something completely wrong, for like years? Yup, that’s me.

A few of the women I work with started meeting during lunch to knit and crochet together. I was in the midst of a big knitting project and decided to join. Sat down, started confidently knitting, and one of the women told me she wanted to watch what I was doing. After observing me for a few minutes, she told me that, as it turns out, I knit backwards.

Earth shattering realization…I thought I knitted correctly. How could I have gone years and years doing it backwards. So I called my sister who knits a ton and I told her this harsh reality. She started laughing and said, “Yup, I know, when we learned to knit, we learned to knit the mirror image of how Mom knits.”

Ummm, someone could have told ME!!

Turns out, it really isn’t a big deal. I’m working on retraining myself the “proper” way to knit. Anyway, just goes to show, you don’t have to do it the “right” way to get things done!

Fast-forward to my most current knitting project. If you haven’t read through The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, I would recommend it!! I have several friends who have read the books and have really been enjoying the Starz TV show. As you can expect the costumes on the show are AMAZING!!! I would love love LOVE to wear some of the things the main character Claire wears.

Although we can’t all wear giant skirts and corsets in our daily lives, some of the knit wear she sports is totally in the realm of possibility. In particular the large cowl she wears just looks so cozy. Here’s what she looks like on the show…

A little googling, and guess what, people have made patterns. I used the free one here. I’ve gone a little crazy and have now made three…

Supplies:

2 Skeins Wool-Ease Thick and Quick Yarn – the colors I used were Claret, Denim, and Fig.
Size 50 needles (you feel like a cartoon character using these puppies, I found them on Amazon)

How to:
I truly followed the instructions in the pattern, the creator of the pattern did an awesome job.

I used the Long Tail Method to cast on, which I had never done before but found a few YouTube videos to help. Here is one I liked… I tried to make a video, but this is a much better explanation.

Again, she recommended a bind-off method I had never done, so here’s another great video. 🙂

And for the final product…

There are a couple fun ways to wear it (of course).
Around the neck..

Over the shoulders…

Like a hood…

You can see why this would have been perfect for a Scottish winter in the 1700s, right?! Anyway, here’s the perfect winter knitting project, and hey, after you make it, curl up with the books (I just finished Book #3).

–h

Marvel/Captain America Inspired Applique Quilt – Part II

January 14, 2015April 25, 2015 | Heather

Over the years I have really enjoyed making different quilts for people. When Ryan and I were first dating, I made him a quilt out of black and leopard print polar fleece. Wow, lucky Ryan right? Believe it or not, we use that quilt to this day (some 12-13 years later). He actually did like it, seriously, you can ask him. Seriously!

When I make a quilt for someone it is my way of expressing love. To me, nothing says “I love you” like putting that much time and energy into something for someone else. Even further, I like to think about the recipient as I am working and pray for them. It just feels good!

Anyway, back to work… If you missed Part I, you can read it here.

Sewing the Quilt:

I started by lining up the large gray star on the inner circle of the shield, pin. Then I zig-zag stitched it into place.
Take the inner-circle/star piece and line it up on the next circle layer. I measured around the circle to make sure I had it just right. Pin, and stitch the same way. Repeat until you have your Captain America shield sewed together.
Note: I decided to match thread color depending on which ring of the fabric I was sewing.
Now that the shield is complete, I pinned it to the center of the navy blue background fabric. I didn’t sew it on yet, instead I used to help me decide on the placement of the additional stars. I decided to do three stars in each corner (one Marvel print, one red, one gray). I played around until I liked the look of everything and pinned the stars on.
Next I removed the shield from the backing. I left a safety pin to mark the spot (just to keep the shield from getting too beat up). Then I sewed on each star with a zig-zag stitch all around. I used red thread for all the stars, totally up to your taste how to use the colored thread.
Once all the stars were on, I went back and repinned the shield, zig-zig stitch to attach. Now the face of the quilt is ready. At this point, I pressed the entire front.
Next up is creating a quilt “sandwich.” Lay out your back (pay attention to the orientation of the print). Then layer on the quilt batting. Then top with your quilt front. Voila, you have a quilt sandwich. I do this on the floor of my dining room (after I have swept, I promise).
Once you feel good about the line-up of the three layers. I grab a ton of safety pins and pin all three layers every so often. This makes sure you get the all lined up nicely and that it lays flat without wrinkles.
I’m not sure if this is the right order of things, but I don’t actually quilt my quilts…I use ties instead. Babies like playing with the ties, and it seems a little easier to me. Anyway, I do the ties last, so normally you would quilt at this stage, but I didn’t I moved onto binding. (See my disclaimer :-))
Once all the safety pins are in place, and you feel good about everything. Take a rotary cutter and mat and trim up the edges. You can pin around the edges or even baste all the way around…
Binding:
- Next I made my own binding out of red flannel. They were 3” wide and you need enough length for the entire perimeter of the quilt. I over-estimate on the length a little bit to make sure I have plenty of binding so that it isn’t too stressful. I attached the lengths of fabric by sewing pieces together at a 45 degree angle. Now you have one LONG piece of binding. Fold in half lengthwise.
- Next I worked on attaching the binding. This is a little complicated… On the back of the quilt, pin raw edges of the binding to the right side of the fabric starting in the middle of one side, leaving yourself a few inches to play with at the beginning. Pin all the way to ¼” from the corner. Sew that section.
- Once you get to the pin ¼” from the corner, stop sewing. Take the binding and fold it up at a 90 degree angle from the quilt. Then fold back down, pin. These pics should really help…
- Pin all the way across the next edge, stopping ¼” from the next corner. Repeat until you make it all the way around to the end. Leave a few inches to play with when you get back to where you started.
- Flip the quilt over to the front, and fold the binding over and pin. Some people hand sew at this point, I just machine sew all around. Here’s how you do the corners…
- To finish, I fold the raw edge over about ¼” and tuck the other side under. Sew shut.
I finished by putting ties every so often, usually about where I put all my safety pins. I used red embroidery floss and finished with a square knot (right over left, and left over right).

And…

drumroll please…

Here is the finished Marvel/Captain America Inspired Quilt!! And BTW, my nephew loved it!!

–h

Marvel’s Captain America Inspired Applique Quilt – Part I

December 27, 2014February 16, 2015 | Heather

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional quilter, any and all advice given is from me, a novice/self-taught quilter that’s still figuring things out. So if you know a better way, do it!! And, to all the accomplished quilters out there, I’m sorry if I’m doing everything wrong.

So novice or not, I do love quilts and blankets. There is something so comforting and so full of love about them. I slept with the quilt my grandmother made me until I was…well…I don’t think we are close enough for me to admit that yet. 🙂

Anyway I just finished a quilt for my newest nephew. Of course, it needed a theme and my nephew’s dad (my brother-in-law), LOVES comic books and such. They go to ComiCon, dress up, the whole thing, they are R-E-A-L-L-Y into it. Because of my brother-in-law, I’ve even enjoyed all the Marvel movies, and Superman and Batman…and I have to admit I’m a fan too.

So, I was at Joann’s looking for inspiration and I found this great Marvel print. Now, it is way TOO much for the entire quilt, but perfect for the backing. With some thought, I decided to make a Captain America inspired applique quilt for my nephew’s first birthday present. And, SPOILER ALERT: It. Is. Awesome.

Materials: (all purchased at Joann’s)
Flannel Marvel Print Fabric
Flannel Red, Gray, and Navy Blue Fabric
Interfacing
Coordinating Thread
Quilt Batting
Coordinating Embroidery Floss

The Plan:
For big projects like this, I like to map out what I’m trying to do. It really helps me think through how much fabric I’m going to need and what dimensions are going to work best. I wanted my finished quilt to measure 54″x 44″ so every subsequent measurement was based on that. I know the circle measurements seem a little odd, but I wanted to make the largest circle in the shield as big as possible given the fabric width, so I started there. Then I decided how big the smallest circle should be and the other two ended up splitting the difference. Anyway here is my plan…

Cutting Out:

I started by creating patterns for my stars. I decided I needed three sizes of stars. The big star for the center of Captain America’s shield (12″), and then two sizes of stars to applique on the rest of the quilt (7″ and 4.5″). Here’s my pattern if you want to use it, Star Template.
To applique the stars, it is important to use interfacing to strengthen the fabric, it also helps give a really clean edge. So trace out your stars on interfacing – one 12″ star, four 7″ stars, and eight 4.5″ stars. I’ve done another applique quilt where I skipped this step, and it’s still on my to-do fix it.
Once you trace out your stars on the interfacing, cut them out leaving at least a quarter-inch around them.
Arrange the stars on your fabric and iron on. I did the 12″ star on the gray fabric, the 7″ stars on the Marvel fabric (I lined these up carefully), and four each of the 4.5″ stars on the red and gray fabric.
Now you cut out your stars.
Next I cut out the circles for the shield, following the sizing on my plan above. I also used interfacing on each of these pieces, following the same system as the stars. Trace pattern, iron onto fabric, cut out.
Cut out the front and back pieces. Leave an extra inch or two on the front piece, and a couple extra inches for the backing.

Phew, all the pieces are cut out…we are ready to start sewing next time. You can now read Part II here!

–h

DIY Christmas Tree Skirt

December 17, 2014 | Heather

I thought it would be a good idea to wash our tree skirt in preparation for Christmas.

It. Was. Not.

Instead of a clean red and white tree skirt, I ended up with a clean red and pink tree skirt. Now, anyone knows me knows I am a big fan of pink. But I was not happy.

Instead of going out and buying a new one, I thought I could make a customized tree skirt. I know you might be shocked to learn, but I have a black, white, and red themed tree complete with polka dot ornaments. Shocked, right?

Materials:
Coordinating fabric – So I used some fake black velvet fabric and a Christmas print I found at Joann’s.
Matching Piping and Bias Tape or Ribbon
Ribbon to make ties

How-to:

Start by cutting a circle out of your main fabric. Determine the desired radius of your tree skirt (mine was 18”) plus the radius you want to allow for the tree itself (a few inches). Draw out ¼ of a circle on tissue paper or wrapping paper to create your pattern. Lay out your fabric so you have four layers of fabric (fold in half lengthwise, then in half the other way). Pin your pattern and cut out.

The fake velvet I used had some stiffness to it, so I didn’t need to do anything to it, but depending on your fabric you might want to stiffen it with some interfacing or a second layer of fabric.
You will need a second pattern for the accent fabric. The easiest way to do this is to use the first pattern to draw a second pattern using by adding 6.5” to the radius measurement from step one. This illustration should help explain.
Cut an opening in both pieces. Again, this illustration is what you are looking for.
Sew the accent fabric onto the main fabric, right sides together.
Next I attached the bias tape between the two fabrics. You could top stitch this in place, but I cheated and used some stitch-witchery to make it easier.
Next, I sewed the piping along the bottom of the accent fabric. I love finishing things with piping, it just looks awesome and I like the way it looks better than just a hem.
Then, I hemmed the opening edges.
Finally, I added ribbon ties every 5 or so inches in the opening. You could do buttons too, that would be really cool!

And a complete disaster (no, I’m not being overly dramatic) turns into an opportunity for creativity!

–h

DIY Jane Austen Quote Shadow Box

December 10, 2014December 10, 2014 | Heather

Me again, with another Christmas gift idea!! I have a dear friend that loves all things Jane Austen and Regency — the books, the movies, the clothing, the dancing…and I’m right there with her. We joke that we were born in the wrong era. We would have been so good at wearing the beautiful gowns, dancing the night away at balls, dodging unwanted marriage proposals…

In fact, here’s a picture of me and Ryan all dressed up in our costumes for a Regency Ball.

Ok, sorry, back on topic. So here’s a fun gift idea for the Jane Austen/Regency fan in your life. I made my friend a Jane Austen quote shadow box, it was very simple and she LOVED it!!

Materials:
Shadow box – I found mine at Michael’s
Scrapbook paper – I used parchment paper and a handwriting print
Photo corners – Again from Michael’s
Embellishments – I used an antique key, ribbon, a brooch (from Michael’s not a true antique), and antique button

How-to:
1. Choose a favorite Jane Austen quote, here are some good ones:

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.
–Emma

To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.
—Pride and Prejudice

Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.
–Northanger Abbey

It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.
–-Sense & Sensibility

I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.
–Pride & Prejudice

I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control.
–Emma
(I can totally hear Gwenyth Paltrow saying this in Emma)

A girl likes to be crossed a little in love now and then. It is something to think of.
–-Pride & Prejudice

Every moment has its pleasures and its hope.
–Mansfield Park

There could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison.
–Persuasion

Ok, there are a TON of great quotes you could use depending on the person you are giving the gift to. Just google it! 😉

2. Type up your quote using a cool script font. I actually found a font called Jane Austen, can you believe it? You can download it for free here: http://www.dafont.com/search.php?q=jane+austen

3. Depending on the size of your shadow box, cut out the scrapbook paper you used for your background, then cut out the quote to layer on top of it. You want to be able to see a good amount of the background paper, so size your quote accordingly. I used double sided tape to put the two pieces of paper together.

4. Now is the fun part, embellishments! This is where your creativity can really soar. I just put together vintage or antique looking knick-knacks that I thought would look good together. I used a brooch (not actually an antique) from Michael’s, tied some ribbon to an antique key, and found a cool old button I thought would look good too. I played around with the arrangement until I found one I liked, then I carefully hot glued everything together and added the cool photo corners.

WARNING: Be careful wielding that hot glue gun, those things are brutal. We are talking permanent scars, physical and emotional.

5. Stand back and admire your creativity!

And just like that, you checked someone off your Christmas list with something unique and special.

–h

DIY Elsa Inspired Cape

December 4, 2014April 25, 2015 | Heather

Ok, so I promise that not all of my posts are going to involve Elsa and Disney’s Frozen. Seriously, I promise. But right now, it seems like it is unavoidable. Like I mentioned in a previous post, my niece loves to sing, dance to, and act out the entire scene that corresponds to Let it Go. It’s really quite cute and pretty darn impressive. When I was watching her go through the motions, it became clear, she absolutely NEEDS an Elsa cape.

DIY Elsa Inspired Cape

Materials:

Blue snowflake material (I used some from Joann’s)
Matching Thread
Assorted trims

How to:

Create your pattern. I decided to do a “half-circle” shaped cape to give the cape some good swirl and swish. Perfect for dancing in! Create a pattern for yourself out of wrapping paper or tissue paper. Appropriately for this time of year, I used Christmas paper.
You are aiming for ¼ of a circle for your pattern (that will fold out to half of a circle). The radius of that circle should be the length of cape you wanted. For my 4 ½ year old niece, that length was 38″. You will do a much smaller 1/4 circle at the top for the head and shoulders. The following graphic should help illustrate what you are going for…
Lay out your pattern on your fabric on the fold. Pin and cut out.

Here is the shape you are going for.
Next, I decided she needed a stand collar. I measured the opening of the cape and drafted a simple pattern (see below). I’m sure there is a right way to do this, but I just measured the opening at the top of the cape and decided about how tall I wanted the collar, and I drew a slightly curved shape within those dimensions. My dimensions were 13″ x 4″.
Right sides of collar together, sew the top and two sides. Trim seams, clip corners, turn out, and press. Pin the collar to the cape, right sides together. Sew the seam. Trim seams, press and then top stitch. This helps the collar stand up.
Next I hemmed the front edges of the cape.
Now is the fun part, trim!!I promised my niece that we would work on her cape together so I pulled out all the lace, ribbon, trims, buttons, etc. that I could find and I let her pick out how she wanted to embellish her cape. Uh, a bit of a mistake. She ended up choosing red rickrack and black sequins… With some coaxing I talked her into some silver ribbon and white lace, but she insisted on the pink ribbon for the tie. Not exactly Elsa, but you can’t blame a girl for loving pink. You can, of course, use your own judgment on how to embellish.I started with lace along the bottom of the cape and added some silver ribbon about 1/2″ above the lace.
I then attached the pink ribbon around the neck. Along with some sparkly buttons just for fun.

And there you have it, an Elsa inspired cape!

–h

P.S. Can’t get enough of Elsa? Check out this simple Frozen inspired t-shirt!

Tutu Tuesday: Part III

December 2, 2014February 16, 2015 | Heather

Final Tutu Tuesday post I promise.

I just wanted to share the final picture of Kyrie enjoying her no-sew tutu. Quick, easy and you can finish it in under 2 hours (just depending on the size you are making). Again, perfect Christmas gift or costume idea. Enjoy!

–h

P.S. Did you miss Part I or Part II?

Rockin' the Dots

DIY, home, and general craftiness!

how-to

Vote for a FREE Apron Pattern & DIY

DIY Reclaimed Wood/Barn Door Baby Gate

Outlander Inspired Knitted Cowl

Marvel/Captain America Inspired Applique Quilt – Part II

Marvel’s Captain America Inspired Applique Quilt – Part I

DIY Christmas Tree Skirt

DIY Jane Austen Quote Shadow Box

DIY Elsa Inspired Cape

Tutu Tuesday: Part III

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