Tutorial: Scrap Fabric Carnation

I'll try not to put a bunch of hubbub as a prequel to this tutorial since you probably already read this post about it a few days back.  This scrap fabric flower tutorial is super simple and a fun way to decorate a hair piece or other item.  So let's just jump right in!

Read on after the break for the tutorial.

May Flowers Celebration

I noticed we've had a lot of posts about flowers lately, and I've got a bunch more in mind.  I guess April showers really do bring May flowers.  *crickets*  Okay, I guess that wasn't funny.  But in honor of May, I've decided to host a celebration called MayFlowers.

I'll be posting all about flowers, live and crafted, either until I run out of tutorials or May is over!  Sew So stick around.  I promise to try and refrain from the bad jokes, and there will be lots of floral tutorials you won't want to miss coming up.  If that's not enough, I have a flower related giveaway coming up. :)

See you soon!  In the meantime, feel free to grab a MayFlower button for your own blog.

To all those moms out there

Image hijacked from Google

Scrap Fabric Flowers

Hi everyone!  I've missed you. :)

Now that I'm back from my familial escapades, I have a bunch of stuff I want to share with you, but I'm going to try to keep it one topic per post. :)  So what's first?  Fabric flowers!

After making some fabric flowers a couple weeks back, I decided to make my own scrap fabric flower tutorial.  Here's the flower I came up with (I'll share the tutorial soon!):

I think it looks a little like a peony, but it could be any generic flower, I guess. When I was finished, I attached the fabric flowers to hair pieces.  I did a headband...

...and two hair clips.

I'm in the process of writing a tutorial for this.  Plus, I've got a bunch of other scrap fabric flowers in the works, so stay tuned!  Until then, happy crafting!

Just a Note

...to say that I'll be hitting the pause button for a few days.

 My family is in town from St. Louis for my graduation, so I'll be away from the computer through Sunday.  Don't worry, though.  I've got a couple of craft projects and reviews already finished and ready to share with you when I get back.  I'll try not to be too long.  Until then, happy crafting! :)

Tutorial: Heat Therapy Pillow

Awhile back you might have read this post about heat therapy pillows I made.  If you didn't read before, basically they're small pillows filled with rice or flax seed that you can keep in the freezer and use as ice packs or microwave to use as heating pads.  They make wonderful, inexpensive and thoughtful gifts for a variety of occasions.  I think they're perfect for get well, Christmas, Mother's Day (hint!) and "just because" presents.

I've received lots of positive feedback on mine, so guess what?  Today I'm going to teach you how to make one for yourself!  My heat therapy pillows feature removable pillow shams for easy cleaning.  Join me after the break for the tutorial by clicking "read more."

May Day Flowers

I don't know if any of you celebrate May Day at all.  It's not a very mainstream holiday.  But for me, May 1st was always a special day.

Every year on May Day when I was a little girl my mom surprised me with a little bouquet of flowers hanging on my bedroom door after school.  When I graduated and went to college far away, she started having a florist deliver flowers to me on May 1st.

This year, I decided to share the merriment by leaving some flowers on my friend Alejandra's front door as a surprise.  I got the idea well in advance, so I had time to craft a hanging vase about a week ago.  All I used was a spaghetti sauce jar I'd saved and larger gauge jewelry wire.  I wrapped the wire around the neck of the jar and then made a tall arch above the jar so that it could hang on the door.  Then, I fashioned a tag out of some leftover jute from my St. Patrick's Day project, some corrugated cardboard and scrapbook paper to make a tag.

With my hanging vase ready, on May Day all I had to do was fill it with flowers and leave it on my surprisee's door.  I picked up a couple of small bunches of flowers from Publix and threw together an inexpensive, springy bouquet.

I chose pink and white Gerber Daisies with a leafy green spray, but my boyfriend had the idea to add just one yellow daisy (from the May Day bouquet he bought me!) for personality.  It turned out really cute and cheery! 

Then I sneakily and quietly left the flowers on Alejandra's door for her to find and snapped a few pictures while I was at it.

 

 

 

She told me this evening that she found the flowers and, basically, was thrilled.  It made me feel happy to have put a little joy in someone's day.

I hope all of you had happy May Days, too.  Until next time, happy crafting!