Monday, February 8, 2021

Faux Leather Heart DIY

Don't you just love shopping your very own craft supplies to make something instead of running out to the craft stores every time there's a project due - especially during this pandemic? I think we've all been doing that for quite some time now. While looking through my stuff I came across a piece of faux leather I've had for some time (not sure where I got it) and also found ribbon in the same type of design and colors. Whoopee! Both perfect to use for this month's Craft Destash Project Blog Hop Challenge!

I love using faux leather in craft projects, as seen here and here! It's such a versatile textile and a fun way to create items using unconventional material like faux leather. And to have found some in a popular design trend like buffalo plaid and in my favorite color, too! So, for this challenge, I'm showing you how to make a unique, whimsical looking heart! Using faux leather and matching ribbon, you'll be sure to add a sophisticated, yet quirky statement to your decor or any romantic gesture like Valentine's Day! I love the basic technique and made something similar last month using foam sheets.

The faux leather heart is a super simple DIY! You just need a ruler to cut a square piece of faux leather, scissors and a hot glue gun! It doesn't get much easier than that!

Let's get started:

1. Fold a 5"x5" square in half.

2. Then cut square in half at the fold . . .

creating two triangles.

3. Take one of the triangles and fold in half. Save the other half for making a second one.

4. Begin cutting vertical lines near the edge, at the fold - in graduated lengths, with the first cut the longest.

5. Try to make the cuts straight and even in equal widths along the fold.

You can make seven cuts for this size folded triangle.

6. Next, open cut triangle flat on work surface.

7. Begin adding glue to tip of each cut triangle, starting with the smallest and folding over to seal at edge.

8. Continue adding glue to tip and folding over all of the cut out triangular strips.

9. Then cut out a small triangle at the base following the v-shape center pattern. First one side and . . .

then the other side.

Flip fabric over to see the center diamond shape.

10. Next, make a hanger out of a strip of matching ribbon, gluing ends together.

11. Add glue to center tip and apply ribbon hanger in middle.

12. Then, apply glue to the edge of the faux leather and . . .

bring the center edges together . . .

matching edges and design.

This is beginning to look so adorable!

13. To make a bow - cut a strip of ribbon, fold over ends and bring together to make loops on each side. Glue on a finishing ribbon strip around the center. Make bow tail by dovetailing ribbon ends - do this by folding ribbon tails together and cutting at an angle towards the bottom. Fold over center strip for it to lay flat.

14. Glue tail on first and then bow on top in center of heart for a lovely effect.

You can easily create a few of these hearts in no time. Perfect for a garland or anything you like - for Valentine's Day, birthdays, showers, or home decor!

How cute is this!

Now, on to the Blog Hop:

Each month a group of talented bloggers get together to co-host a themed blog hop challenge spear-headed by Beverly @Across The Blvd. This month it's all about Craft Room Destash Projects!

Be sure to check out all of the creative bloggers' craft projects below:

Across the Blvd

Stone Cottage Adventures

Cookies, Coffee, & Crafts

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Organize Craft Supplies with Recycled Containers

4:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me DIY Challenge, organization ideas 7 comments

Welcome to the first DIY Challenge of 2021, hosted by Terrie @Decorate and More with Tip! On the first Wednesday of the month, Terrie hosts a DIY Challenge with a group of talented bloggers who love to create budget friendly décor for their homes. We took a break in January, but for February's challenge we were tasked with sharing organization ideas. If you're coming over from Jodie @House House, welcome! I know you enjoyed reading about some of her favorite organizing products!

Organizing craft supplies doesn't have to be expensive! As a crafter, I'm always looking at the containers I bring home that hold food and household items to see how I can use them to help organize my craft supplies instead of throwing them out.

I really didn't have to look very hard to find something really good, either! Hubby loves pork rinds and buys them by the plastic barrel (18oz) instead of in bags. He always keeps a container of them in his favorite room, too! Hubby use to buy pretzels in this type of jar too, but eating those made him gain weight so he switched to pork rinds as a snack, instead. An article on the web site Men's Health magazine, points out that pork rinds have zero carbs, nine grams of fat — 43 percent unsaturated — and 17 grams of protein, which make them more acceptable as an occasional snack. And, believe it or not, he's lost a lot of weight by changing his snacks - but I digress.

The large plastic round containers that the pork rinds and pretzels come in make perfect storage solutions with its' wide mouth opening. A word about the labels, though - which are very hard to remove! Removing the labels involves lots of scraping using acetone (nail polish remover), and washing with dish detergent. And it is quite time consuming trying to remove them. Sometimes I don't bother since no one else will see them anyway.

I guess you're wondering why I'm not showing you how to decorate the jars, huh? They are best just keeping them clear and see-thru! I want to just glance at the containers and see exactly what I'm looking for. Keeping them plain helps me find things quickly. Decorating or labeling could possibly hide what I'm looking for.

But I have decorated recycled jars before . . .

for an assortment of smaller craft supplies.

But I have to say that these extra large plastic jars are great to use for just about any type of craft items! You can easily see what you have, and . . .

they are perfect for a variety of craft supplies and tchotchkes! I love that I can have a container full of just twine, and one for beads, another for yarn and one for raffia, and so forth! It's just a matter of hubby buying more pork rinds to snack on and saving the jars for me! Lol! I have about twelve jars collected already!

Speaking of craft area, my craft supplies are located in a walk-in closet just off of my craft room which is very convenient but difficult to take pictures of. I have storage racks on both sides and the area is very narrow at 4.5 feet wide for the most part. But I do like that it's at least 20 ft. long, which makes it quite nice for storage. Unfortunately, it's a mess right now and I don't want to show you how bad it really is - despite the fact that this post is suppose to be on organization! I'm not feeling myself right now so you can just call me a messy crafter - I won't mind!

I have other storage containers in the closet that are quite messy, too - and I think I'm embarrassing myself at this point!

Anyway, the snack containers are recycled and great as a free or inexpensive storage solution . . .

which I love!

Next up is Liberty @B4 and Afters, sharing how she organized her daughter's bedroom! To see more organizing ideas click on the blog titles below to check out their awesome organization solutions!

Decorate and More with Tip | Patina and Paint

Bluesky at Home | Cloches and Lavender

The House House | Purple Hues and Me

B4 & Afters

Monday, February 1, 2021

How to Make a Ribbon Envelope Favor

4:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me Bowdabra bows, Ribbon favors 4 comments

Transform extra wide ribbon (this is burlap but any ribbon 5" or more will work) into an adorable envelop favor to hold delicious treats for your dinner guests. You won't believe how easy it is to make! And the best part, they're quite versatile and can be customized for any celebration or occasion, giving your table that little extra something your guests will rave about!

To Make the Envelope Favor

Materials:

5"+ wide Ribbon
Scissors
Fabri-Tac Fabric Glue
Parchment paper
Braiding Twine
Mini Bowdabra, Wand and Measuring Tool
Bowdabra Bow Wire

Begin by cutting the ribbon fabric into a square. This burlap ribbon is five inches wide, so a five inch length was cut making a square, 5" x 5".

Lay the square fabric on the work surface with the pointed ends at the top, right side, bottom, and left side. Then take the right and left side ends over to the center and glue together using a quick dry fabric glue.

Place a piece of parchment paper on the center of the fabric so the glue won't get on the rest of the fabric.

Run a bead of fabric glue along the lower edges of the fabric and . . .

pull the bottom fabric up to seal into an envelope shape.

Next, apply fabric glue along the edges and lay the braiding on top, following the outline of the envelope edges.

Continue applying glue to the edges and adding the braiding to outline the envelope until . . .

the entire envelope is outlined with braiding.

To Make the Bow

Cut an 18" strip of Bowdabra bow wire, fold together and place down into the Mini Bowdabra, tucking ends under. Next, measure two inches of braiding for the tail and insert the braiding down into the Mini Bowdabra.

Take the braiding on the left side and fold over at the 1 1/2" mark on the ruler creating a loop.

Then take the braiding and fold over at the 1 1/2" mark creating a loop on the opposite side. Continue creating loops - three on each side for a total of six loops. Then scrunch down the loops using the Mini Bowdabra Wand.

Cut the braiding at the two inch mark creating another tail on the opposite side.

Make a slip knot by taking the loose ends of the bow wire through the wire loop, pulling tight while gently pulling the bow out. Then, separate the wires around to the back of the bow, tying in a double knot. Cut off excess bow wire.