Dog Collar Bandannas

I spent the day yesterday making some basic 

dog collar bandannas for my fur grandpup. 

I have so many fabric scraps, I could make lots more

if they work and the pup parents would like more!

Some are reversible with two different prints,

leftovers from my bowl cozy making days.

This was the first time I've used my sewing machine

since making face masks back at the beginning of the 

pandemic in early 2020. It was fun to sew again

even though my skills leave a lot to be desired ;) 

I also had a new helper this year.

This was the first time the barn cat now house cat

saw me working with fabric and he couldn't 

stay off of it. Every. Single. Piece.

Silly boy. 

Thanks for looking =) 

 

Sign Of The Times

Face Masks

After going back and forth as to if I should make
simple fabric face masks,
I decided to go ahead and do it early this week.
How timely since now they say we should wear them....
I had just enough elastic left over from a long ago
project to make 8 of them. I have plenty of
cotton fabric to make more, just no elastic 
and that is hard to come by right now
(like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, etc)

I have been reading for weeks now that they
didn't really work and only sick people should be wearing them.
It always seemed to me that even the well should wear them,
no matter how simple they were, something has to be
better than nothing. 

The original plan was to donate them to a local

organization that was in need,

but as I was making them I thought 

maybe I should keep them for my 

immediate family instead.

The cases are jumping where we live.

There are even cases in the surrounding 

more rural counties, so scary!

I expect the governor to order everyone 

to wear one at some point.

We've been on a state wide

Stay At Home order since Mid March

and most businesses were

ordered closed at the same time. 

Schools were already closed.

Below is a link to the information I used.

I really like the database they set up

so you can find organizations that are

in actual need of fabric face masks

if you want to make and donate some.

This is helpful in getting them to the 

places that can really use them.

https://www.deaconess.com/How-to-make-a-Face-Mask

The web site below has information about why
we should all be wearing masks and
has a couple of ideas of how to make simple ones,
no sewing required
https://masks4all.co/
#masks4all

THANK YOU
to the healthcare workers,
first responders
and all of the other essential workers
that are working to keep our country going,
all of us safe.

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Buffalo Check Fabric Frame - tutorial

Today I'm sharing this fabric frame I made
as my design team project for

Love To Craft.

We are a month long anything crafty goes challenge

(so long as it family friendly).

Won't you share what you have created with us ? 

If you'd like to know how I made my project, read on !




Supplies:
thick mat board or chipboard
batting
fabric
heavy duty adhesive
scissors
embellishments
heavy duty utility knife

Cut your frame from the mat board/chipboard.
You may need to adhere two layers together
to make it sturdier. You don't want it too lightweight
otherwise it will more than likely flex a bit from the
pulling of the fabric. If you use liquid glues and the
card board is too thin, it could cause it to warp, too.
My project uses an old leftover pre-cut set I bought
oh so long ago, back when padded frames and albums
were a popular craft. Yes, I'm aging myself by admitting that!
Here is a photo of the kit project ideas,
good for a giggle :)

Apply adhesive to the frame front and lay it on top of the batting.
I would normally use a spray adhesive for this step, but my old can
no longer works. Heavy duty double stick tape will work just fine.

Trim the batting out even with the edges.

Lay this on top of your fabric, batting side down.
trim out leaving about an inch of fabric around all edges.
This extra fabric is what will wrap around to the back side
(seen above),
so you need enough to wrap and glue in place.
I use heavy duty double stick tape to adhere the
fabric to the chipboard.


I start by folding the fabric over the four corners
(I did not do that in these photos).
I then go to the middle of one side to glue it in place,
finishing that entire side
before working on the opposite side.
Don't pull it too tight to cause the chipboard to bend!
You may also want to flip it over from time to time
to make sure your fabric isn't puckering and if it has
a design like this plaid, that you like the way it is
lining up along the edges. I'd recommend not using
anything with lines/plaid because it doesn't always work well.
Just takes more time and patience to line it up.

Once all of the sides are done, do the inside opening.

If your frame has a rounded opening, clip curves every 1/2" or so .
Don't get too close to the opening though because you don't
want to see the cuts. The clipping helps in wrapping the fabric
around the curved sections.

After I am happy with how it looks, I will add a piece of card stock
cut to fit then glued in place over all of the fabric edges.
This helps cover any exposed double stick tape as well as making it
easier to slide photos in, not catching on the fabric bits.




Add lace or cording at this point if you wish.
You'll want to "sandwich" it between the front and back.


You can cover the back with fabric, too,
if you wish. It is not necessary to use batting.

Glue along three sides of the frame back piece.
Adhere this over the back of the front piece. 
I use hot melt glue for this step.

Be sure to leave one side open to insert photos in !

Embellish if you'd like and enjoy !


Thanks for looking, have a great day =)







Flood recovery update:
Thank goodness I made all of my design team projects
well in advance this year as I've still not made
anything new since earlier this year due to 
the record setting flood our area saw. 

We are plugging along on getting things back in shape.
Although it was a tough go for us trying to save 
what we could of our home and property,
we know we are lucky. Grateful to everyone that helped
and thankful that the flood wall held so damage 
and losses were far less than they could have been. 
We didn't lose everything like so many people did.

The interior of the house is basically done now, hooray!
The garage, yard and barn still need a lot of work.

Life is back to normal and we are once again healthy 
after becoming so sick during the flood (due to mold). 

I recently got my craft rooms all set back up, 
cleared out of the last of the clutter. 
I had to store things in them, carried up from 
the main floor of the house to protect them from damage.
Now that I can move around,
find my things and have room to work, 
I hope to start creating some new projects.
I certainly have a long to-do list that I keep adding to! 

Anni and Andi Spool Doll Decor

July 1st.

The year is half over already, wow. 

It's also time for our new

 monthly anything goes craft challenge at

Love To Craft.

Won't you share what family friendly craft 

you've made this month with us ? 

This month I am sharing a set of "dolls" I made with

a long ago purchased wooden kit.

I bought several kits and the coordinating patterns,

but never got around to making them. Shame on me. 

The kits are just the wooden pieces to create the dolls body

then the maker adds their own fabrics, etc.

I actually made the dolls in late winter (notice the bare trees),

trying to get all of my design team projects 

done well ahead of time, not knowing what the year would bring.

Good thing I did since we have been dealing with major flooding,

on top of too many other bad things, since March ! 

Also, I have been quite sick since about mid June. 

Living with a basement full of river water (treated with pool chemicals)

and stinky, moldy air/items all around outside is not good for the lungs :(

 I am not crafting anything at all.

No room to work, no time, no energy, just no desire 

right now to make anything.

I just want to get the house (and yard, road, etc) back to normal. 

It's going to take time..............

Currently the water is stagnant, not falling at all.

A very stinky pond out front still, blech,

and waiting for the main road to open again.

I shouldn't complain, we are lucky compared 

to many other people who lost everything. 

Moving on to a few details about my project:

The little wooden parts from the kit,

all wired together to form the bodies. 

The kits call for Rag Mop Ringlets Cotton Hair,

of course none of which is to be found now since the

kits are sooooo old. At first I tore and knotted lots of tiny

bows from red cotton fabric. While I was making those,

I was thinking about maybe sewing strips of red felt

into loops somehow then I remembered I had red fleece 

leftover from snowman crafts. I thought I'd cut thins strips of that,

then loop it and low temp hot glue it in place on the heads. 

A happy accident as I was

cutting the fleece into strips, I noticed it was kind of twisting

in parts of the strips (I'd guess about 1/4" wide, definitely no wider)

Hmmmmm....... a little tug and it indeed twisted on itself, curling ! 

No, I don't know if there is a particular type of fleece this will 

only work with or what direction exactly to cut it.

My fleece was actually a cheap $5 red fleece blanket.

The little strips of fleece I curled then glued on top

of the heads didn't turn out too badly !

Yes, those are teeny pieces of fabric cut and 

fused to the wooden shapes that I painted!

I was following the kit instructions ;)

It was tricky working with such wee pieces

and probably more time consuming than had 

I simply painted the shapes. 

It looks better with the matching fabric pieces.

The faces were preprinted black.

I painted the heart shapes red

and added blush to their cheeks,

but it doesn't show in the photos.

The clothes are made with torn pieces of cotton fabrics.

Thanks for looking =) 

Happy Fourth of July ! 

NOTE:
This will be the final post for a while
since I'm still dealing with the historic flood
and aftermath our area saw. 
My craft rooms are a wreck,
filled with stored items.
I have a long way to go to get 
the house clean and back in order.
Then there is the garage and yard and.....
I honestly don't have any desire 
or energy to make anything now :(

Families Are Quilts Frame

I'm sharing this project with you today

as my design team project for 

Love To Craft.

We are a month long anything goes craft challenge

(so long as it is family friendly)

We'd love to see what craft(s) you made this month!

I came across the plastic collage frame (above)

for $2 at the local thrift store.

The glass pieces were missing,

there were a few tiny scuffs on the

black plastic and the back cover was well worn,

but I thought it was worth it.

It had potential.

I started by base coating the frame with a light gray

chalk paint. Once that was dry, I brushed on white

acrylic craft paint. I wasn't going for total coverage
or keeping it nice and neat.

In even did a bit of sanding on some of the raised areas.

I wanted it to look worn, old.

I made my own digital word art to fit the round frame.

I added a small silver paper punched and crimped heart

in the space below the printed words.

A small piece of quilted fabrics was put in another opening.

The fabric was mounted over chipboard with batting in between

                                      Photographs will be added to the remaining three frames.

Thanks for looking, have a great day!

I'm entering my frame in the May Anything Goes challenge at Crafting By Designs
https://craftingbydesigns.blogspot.com/2019/05/may-anything-goes.html

Babs Bunny Spool Doll

This sweet bunny was created with a 

pattern and a wood kit that I bought years ago.

I added my own fabric scraps to complete her.

'

I had to improvise on a couple of parts since 

the pattern called for Rag Mop Ringlets

to create the ears and the end of the carrot.
That product is no longer available.

I used fabric and cotton batting scraps for the ears

(with a little bit of blush in the centers)

and felt for the ends of the carrot.

Also, I didn't have a any orange print fabric,

so I used a rubber stamp and Stazon ink to make my own !

The wood parts I used to make the body
(not including the bead head):

The kit pattern image is below:

Thanks for looking, have a great day!

I'm entering my bunny in the following challenges:
https://craftingbydesigns.blogspot.com/2019/04/easter-challenge.html

http://ttcrd.blogspot.com/2019/04/ttcrd-challenge-week-of-april-9.html

https://avenue613.blogspot.com/2019/04/challenge-220-april-2019-anything-goes.html

Bunny Treat Bag - fabric

This year is hopping right along, isn't it ?

Today I'm sharing this fun little treat bag

as my design team project for the

April Anything Goes Challenge at

Love To Craft.

We'd love to see what crafty things you 

made this month (so long as it is family friendly).

This sweet little treat bag
was made with a pattern I bought years ago.
I finally got around to sewing one !
More details below.

 Two squares of fabric, casing at the top

for ribbon to run through.

Bunny shape traced then stitched on 

two layers of white fabric. 

Leave the bottom of the arms open for turning out.

That was the most difficult part I believe, 

turning that little rabbit head (ears!) inside out.

Stitch a circle over a piece of clear plastic

then carefully trim away the fabric

to create a window.

After stitching down the sides of the squares

(starting an inch or so below the top edge

to allow room for the rabbits arms)

gather the bottom edges of the squares

to create the base.

I hot glued on a circle of card stock

to make sure the gathers stayed in place.

Pull the ribbon through the casing at the top.

Inside the bag , 

notice the gaps on the sides for the arms.

Rabbit head is lightly stuffed with polyfil

then the bottom is hand stitched closed.

The face made with a permanent marker and blush.

Goodies in the bag.

I'd suggest using wrapped candies

and if not, put unwrapped candies

inside of a clear baggie before 

inserting it into the fabric treat bag.

Arms inserted through the gaps on the side.

Pull the ribbon  and tie.

This isn't a sturdy, toy type of item.

It's really just for the cute factor 

when giving a small gift.

Thanks for looking =) 

I'm entering my project in the 

Anything Goes Challenge at Through The Craft Room Door

Fabric Scrappy Brooch

I had fun wasting time, playing around with some scraps and pieces 

leftover from another project to create a fabric brooch the other day.

You won't be able to see that project until later in the year though ;) 

I also used a fancy stitch on my sewing machine

for the very first time on the felt background piece! 

Will I actually wear it ? 

Probably not, I am not a jewelry wearer.

This is what happens when I don't close a box of fabric right away.....

the cat makes herself a new bed for catnapping. 

I'll probably not be posting as much on the blog for a while.

I've worked months ahead on my design team projects

 for Love To Craft  (always posted on the first of the month)

and have a decent enough stash of greeting cards made (I think!). 

It's time (passed!) to start concentrating on my photo albums

and scrapbooks. I've so much to get completed still!

I will have some digi projects to share

for my creative team work with JMC Designs, though.

In fact, there are will be three kits released this month

that I have digi projects to share for. 

Thanks for looking, have a great day =)