Valentine Mantel 2011

So this ended up being the final result of our mantel for this year.  I had a lot more I planned on doing, but the kids got sick for over an entire week straight so decorating had to take a back seat.

Fabric Boxes

 Made these to match the theme in the nursery and broke 4 needles in the process!  They will hold diapers and wipes and what not.  Found this awesome tutorial on how to make them.  Also, if you want to make your own biased tape to sew onto the box(es) here is a tutorial for that as well.

Topiary

This is a super fast, affordable craft.  I used chopsticks from Panda Express and painted them black then used them as the "stem".  I also used conversation hearts as the filler.  Underneath the hearts I had a small block of floral foam.  follow this link for a tutorial:
http://brandyscrafts.blogspot.com/2011/01/simple-valentines-day-topiary.html

Valentines Door Wreath

 Saw the idea on pinterest.  I really like how the burlap looks, so that's the route I went.  I added some embelishments and sewed a couple fabric hearts together, stuffed them, and sewed them to ribbon.  I tied them in the center of the wreath from the top.  I like how it turned out.

Conversation Heart Pillows

Cute, right!?  I love them. Go here to make your own. 

"Every Love Story..." Picture Frame

 First off, let me appologize about the glare from the flash on my camera.  Still trying to figure that one out.  I did take a second picture at an angle to avoid the glare, but I like how it looks better front facing, so I decided to post the one with the glare anyway.  Okay, how to make it!

I went to the dollar store and bought an 11"x14" picture frame.  Removed the glass and cardboard backing from the frame and proceeded to paint the frame with black acrylic paint.  I used my cameo to print off the vinyl lettering in a font I found endearing (LD Petticoat Black) and then made sure to clean the glass really good.  After the glass was completely dry, I carefully placed the vinyl in the desired location and applied it.  Be very careful when placing vinyl on glass, it sticks like crazy!  For the back ground, I used the cardboard backing that came with the picture frame and just taped patterned paper of my choice to it.  I used three different patterned sheets and layered them.  Once the frame is finished drying, you can put the frame back together.  On a side note, once the frame is put back together, the vinyl lettering should be on the OUTSIDE of the picture.  You should be able to touch it with your hand.  I left a gap between the phrases so that I could add some embelishments.  I wrapped pink crochet thread around the entire frame, taped it to the back and then taped a little heart to the thread on the left hand side.  I LOVE how it turned out.  So does the hubby.

Burlap Banner

 If you like what you see and want to make your own, go here for a tutorial.  All this project requires is cardstock (for the hearts), burlap, ribbon, scissors and a hot glue gun.  Honest.  Oh, and some sort of measuring tool so that you cut your burlap to the right size of course.

Candles

Nothing fancy here!  Just some patterned paper, felt hearts and crochet thread.  They don't look that awesome alone, but on the mantel I am working on, they fit perfectly.  Pictures of the finished product coming soon.

Tree of Love

Saw an idea that sparked some creativity and got my brain going.  Follow this link to see what the tree looked like that caught my interest.  Here is what I came up with:

Yes, I know we're missing Arlin in the tree and I want to add a pic of my belly also, but I'm too pregnant at the moment to want to load up all three boys and take them to Walmart just to print up a couple pictures.  Maybe if Alan gets home early one of these days...

I used my Cameo to print off all the cute hearts and what not, sawed a branch off of my tree, spray painted some clothes pins red and white, used red hots as the base and tied red and pink ribbon on various branches.  Alan likes it and so do I.  I'm thinking it will stay and I will just switch things up according to the special holiday that will be taking place that month.

Felt Polka Dot Curtains

Made these to coordinate with the nursery theme.  I have The Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric that has tons of colorful polka dots all over it, so I used that as my inspiration for these curtains.  I had left over curtains from an Ikea trip my family made years ago, so I used those as the base and just sewed circles on them that I cut out of felt.  I made sure the colors I used matched the polka dot fabric.  Also, I used clear thread to sew the circles on as a way of saving time.  That way I didn't have to change the thread for every color.  Yup, that easy.  I LOVE them.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pillows

Super easy.  Just cut a panel into pieces so that I could have the pictures centered, then pinned them (front sides facing) to whatever color I wanted to go on the back and cut the excess fabric off.  Sewed with a 1/2" seam all around the edges, left a small opening along the bottom to turn them right side out, stuffed them with poly fill, then sewed the openings shut.  The backing on the two bigger pillows are strips of coordinating fabric that I sewed together in 3-1/2" strips.  The sewn strips were left over from the teething pads I made for the crib so I figured I would use them.

XOXO Subway Art

Saw this idea floating around the internet, so I made it happen.  I used a 12"x12" piece of wood.  I used acrylic paint and the color is antique white.  The font is consolas and the size is 288.0.  Used my cameo to cut out the vinyl, but I've seen other ways this can be done by using canvas and spray paint.  Here is a tutorial on the canvas option: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/2012/01/xoxo-canvas-tutorial-free-printable.html If you want to do it the same way I did, all you need is a 12"x12" cut of wood, paint color of your choice, sand paper, vinyl and a digital cutting tool.  Sand the wood down, clean the surface, apply a few coats of paint (letting each coat dry before applying the next), cut out your vinyl and apply it to the painted wood.  Super easy and fast Valentines Day craft.  I supplied it on a previous post, but here is a link to a tutorial on applying vinyl using a Cameo.

Subway Art

Here are some pictures of the subway art I made for the nursery.  I used my silhouette cameo to design the subway art and cut out the vinyl.  The blocks are 12x12's.  I went to Lowes and purchased a 36"x12" board and then I had a worker cut it down into thirds for me at the store.  I sanded and painted the squares and then applied the vinyl.  They were surprisingly easy to make and I am very happy with the results.  I can't wait to get them hung in the nursery.  I purchased my vinyl here for a totally affordable price.  I used my little book of instructions that came with some supplies I purchased for my silhouette to aid me in the vinyl process.  Since I'm lazy and don't prefer to do my own tutorials, I looked one up for anyone who is interested in making and applying their own vinyl and here is a decent one I found.  You can also find tutorials on vinyl cutting and applying with the use of other machines such as Cricut or Quick Cutz (spelling?).  I saw some while I was searching for the tutorial I placed on here.  Anywho, I wanted to keep the theme going for the nursery, so in the true fashion of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I made my art as a reference to a caterpillars life.  Enjoy!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar crib teething pads

 For the nursery, I made these last week.  They are teething pads for the crib.  Genius, I know.  Thank you pinterest!  Since we were blessed to be given a brand-new, very expensive crib when we were expecting our first child, we see no reason to buy a new one.  It is amazingly sturdy and has absolutely lived up to it's cost.  Being through three kids, however, has taken some unsightly tolls on it...Yeah, for some reason babies like to chew on the railing as you can see in the picture below.  Yeah, these "teething" marks go around the entire crib.  I decided that since we will be going all out for this nursery, we couldn't have a gigantic eyesore distracting from it all. And in case anyone is wondering why we are going all out for this particular nursery, it has nothing to do with the fact that we are finally having a girl.  No, it has everything to do with the fact that we can actually afford to now.  That, coupled with the fact that this may very likely be our last baby, has been the pushing factor in our decision to go big or go home!

 I decided that since these pads will be used to protect the crib from teething babies, it would be funny to put food fabric as the center.  Now our little girl can suck on imaginary watermelons, cheese, ice-cream...You get the idea.  My husband thought it was pretty cute.  For the borders, I sewed 3-1/2 strips of fabric together and then cut them down to the proper measurements needed to wrap around the crib.

I have seen these done two ways.  One with buttons and one with ties.  I think the buttons look cuter, so that's what I did.  If you're making some and want to use buttons, make sure you sew the fabric scraps that have the button holes in them on with the binding, not after you bind the pads.  Also, make sure you place the button hole scraps in the right places, so that the crib railings don't block them from wraping around to the button.  You'll have to make your own button holes sewn onto the scraps if this is what you choose to do.  The measurements all depend upon the size of your crib and the thickness you want.  Always remember to leave a seam allowance of at least 1/4" when cutting fabric for sewing.  I quilted the pads together to give them a more professional feel.  Alan was super impressed with the results!  I think they turned out dang cute!  If you want to make your own, go here for the tutorial.  You'll notice I did some things differently from the original posting, so feel free to ask any quesitons if you have any!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Quilted this beauty on my sewing machine for the very first time!!! (For details on preparing a blanket for machine quilting, go here) All the other quilts I've made in the past I've used a frame and I have either tied the quilt or hand quilted, so accomplishing this is pretty exciting for me.  I do, however, feel partially guilty calling this a quilt, because it was so easy to make.  No real piecing involved, just nice, long strips sewn together with a big fat panel in the center.  But easy is what I need right now.  Trying to get a nursery all put together on my own, while raising three small children and being over 7 months pregnant gets pretty exhausting.  I loved learning how to quilt on my machine, and I look forward to future projects.  Who needs a Longarm!?  Actually, I would really like to own one someday, but I don't know if that will ever happen (they are dang expensive).  So for now, I will stick with machine quilting.

To quilt this particular quilt, I did both freelance quilting and stitching in the ditch.  I did freelance on the center panel so that I could quilt around all the dots and big pictures, and the rest was done with straight lines (in the ditch).  I think it was a good introduction for my first undertaking on the machine.

This is the back of the quilt.  So cute right!?

For the binding, I had to blind stich the back. For those of you who are not familiar with quilting, blind stitching a quilt binding is done by hand.  Trust me, I tried to cheat.  I figured that if I used clear thread to finish it off while sewing with the machine it would barely be noticeable...Yeah, I had to unpick that mess.  I'm glad I did it the right way.  It looks much nicer, and gives me a greater sense of accomplishment.  I have a book I use to guide me through my quilting questions, but it left out some details that I needed, like how to miter corners and what the heck blind stiching is!  So I got online and looked it up myself and here is an awesome tutorial I found: click here

Preparing a blanket for machine quilting

What you'll need:
Basting pins (giant safety pins)
Tape that is not super sticky (you don't want it to tear your fabric when removing it. (I used painters tape)
Basting Spray (optional)

My grandmother told me that the secret to a good machine quilting is basting spray.  I bought some, but ended up not using it.  My fabric naturally stuck very tightly together.  It was strange, but it worked for me.  Truns out pregnant women shouldn't use the spray anyway! (If you buy it and want to use it just follow the instructions on the can)

 Find a flat, clean surface to lay your backing on.  Preferably anything NON-carpet related.  You could pin the carpet in with the quilt rendering all your efforts to remove it from the floor useless.  Lay the batting on the floor, right side down and tape one side.

 Then tape the opposite side.

 Repeat with the top and bottom.

 Finally, tape the corners.

Next you'll lay the batting over the top of the backing.

 Followed by the quilt top.

Start pinning in the center working your way out to the sides.  I don't know if how I did it was correct, but it worked for me.  I started at the very center and pinned all the way up to the top, then all the way down to the bottom in one straight line.

 Next I started, again at the center, and pinned out to the sides in a T shape.  I proceeded pinning all the remaining rows in T shapes till the pinning was finished.

 Every pin should be place approx. 2-3" apart.  You should be able to lay your hand down on the quilt and feel two pins.  Once you're satisfied with the pinning, remove the tape from the quilt and roll up the sides of the quilt.  Your quilt is now ready for the machine.

 Make sure you change your thread accordingly (bobbin thread matching the quilt bottom, proper foot on machine for quilting choice, etc)  Also, change your stich length to 2.5, start quilting in the center and go crazy!!!  Wait, not that crazy...One last helpful hint: When maching quilting, NEVER turn your fabric.  You ONLY quilt forward, backward and side to side.  For any details I may have left out or questions you have go here:

http://www.generations-quilt-patterns.com/machine-quilting-a-beginner-quilting-project.html