Simple to Make Fabric Covered Napkin Rings

On my last post about sewing a table runner, I mentioned that I would be posting matching napkin rings. These napkin rings are super easy to make. No sewing necessary.  All you need is a small bit of fabric and your glue gun, and a toilet paper roll (paper towel roll will work here too).  I'm using the same fabric that I used to create my table runner, so it matches perfectly.  Anyway, let's get to it:

Materials:

- Fabric of your choosing, cut in a rectangle big enough to wrap around the roll, and stick in on the sides. (~ 6.5" x 3.5")
- 1/3 of a toilet paper roll.
- Glue gun.

How to:

1.  Glue down one of the short edges of your fabric onto the rolls shown in the picture. Make this as straight as possible.

2.  Slowly glue down the fabric onto the roll by putting glue on the side edges, an inch or two at a time, and pressing down the fabric onto the glue.  Continue until the roll is covered, and you have an inch or so of fabric left.

3. Fold in the fabric that's left and glue it down.

4.  Add glue to the one half of the inside of the cardboard (all the way around) and fold in the fabric onto the glue.  Repeat on the other side.

That's it.  Short, Sweet and Simple... with just a dab of danger (I tend to burn myself at least once with hot glue).

Super Easy Wooden Clothspin Gift Tags

Here's another option for fancy homemade gift tags.  It takes a bit more time to make than my fabric gift tags but it really brings out the individuality of each gift.  With some precut wooden shapes from Michael's and some wooden clothspins, you have yourself some inexpensive and super easy wooden gift tags.  So, here's how I made them.

Materials:

 - precut wooden shapes from Michael's

 - clothspin

 - tacky glue (or wood glue, whatever you have on hand).

 - various paints for paint wood  and a paint brush.

 - Sharpie pen to write the name.  You can paint it on too, but I'm just not that talented. :-)

Preferably you'll want to pick shapes that will cover the clothspin completely.  I've played around with shortening the cloths pin by just cutting of a small amount of each side, but really, it's just easier to pick different shapes.  You might get away with cutting just one side (the one that's getting glued to the wooden shape) - but I haven't tried it (if you try it, please let me know how it goes).

1.  Put a small amount of glue onto one side of the cloths pin, as shown and glue it onto the back of the wooden shape. You'll know which side the back is by where the sticker was located and let me tell you, those stickers do not like coming off. I'm just saying.  If you're wooden shape isn't completely flat, you might need to clamp it down some way while the glue dries.  I just used a hair tie to hold it in place.  Just let it dry now.

2.  Once it's dry, you can remove the clamp, and clip it onto somewhere.  It sure does make it handy to paint.  Paint to your liking.

 

3.  Write in the name and clip to gift.

Gosh, I have more pictures than I do steps.  See I told you it was easy.

Happy Gifting!

(oh, and yeah, I do realize that Christmas is two months away. :-)  but if someone can request my Christmas wishlist this early, I can start posting Christmas crafts this early. hehe.  Besides, those two months go by fast.)

Cold Brewed Coffee

I think this idea came up from one of the RSS feeds I read often. I did another google search recently and here's the link. Basic idea of cold brewing is to put cold water, and coffee grounds together and the flavor of the coffee work its way into the water... a process that takes overnight to complete. In the end, you get the coffee goodness that coffee shops store in a pitcher in their own fridges when they make you an iced coffee drink. This way is so much cheaper tho.


Materials:
- Ground Coffee (1 cup)
- Cold Water (4 cups)
- A pitcher or container to put it in the fridge. (If you have a french press, it should work great.)
- Another container (or the same one) to store it in the fridge.
- Coffee filter

How to:


1. Add cold water into the pitcher or french press along with the coffee. Place this in the fridge all night (around 12 hours). I covered the top of the french press with saran wrap because it wouldn't fit with the french press lid.


2. After 12 hours is up, I pressed down the french press and poured the coffee into a mason jar with a coffee filter placed and screwed on top. You can actually see the stuff that the french press doesn't filter out.


That's it. Fill a glass with ice, and pour the coffee in. Enjoy your iced coffee however you like. Keep the rest in the jar in the fridge and it should last for a few days.

Easy to Make Mini Card Notepad

I thought of this project a couple of weeks ago when I saw CraftyPod's post about one of her Maker Faire projects. I recently became interested in book binding, and decided to give it a shot with two cards from one of my many deck of cards that I bought from Vegas for cheap. I don't know why, but I like collecting the dealer cards from different casinos. Anyway, I sacrificed one deck for this project.

Here's how I made it:

Materials:
- 2 cards from a deck of cards.
- paper (I used some used printer paper that had a blank side)
- contact cement (or other glue would probably work)
- some paper package tape
- some type of clamp (I used a chip clip and some binder clips)

How to:
1. I cut the paper into rectangles the size of the the cards. Stack up the paper and cut using an exacto knife.

2. Stack the paper together with the blank side all facing the same direction. Place the two cards you're going to use on both sides of the stack of paper. I like the back of the card showing on the outside.

3. Align the side of all of the papers and cards on at least one side. And clamp on opposite side so that the aligned side is exposed (because we're going to glue it)


4. Put a thin layer of contact cement on the exposed edge, and set it all aside for 5-10 minutes (to let the contact cement dry).

5. Once it's dry, put a small piece of paper packaging tape on the edge. You may have to cut the packaging tape so it isn't too big for the small notepad. I cut the tape to about 1 inch width and a length longer than the notebook. Fold down the tape and trim the edges.



And there you have it. I'd let it sit for a little while longer in case the glue isn't fully dry, but it should all hold in place.


These notepads are the perfect size to carry in your pocket. I love them already.

Easy Microwave Strawberry Jam Butter

Looks good, doesn't it. :-) Having strawberries left over from a rather large basket that I bought, I decided to look into how to make jam, particularly strawberry jam. Since I was at work when I thought of this, I thought... "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if I can make jam in the microwave?" A few google searches later and ta da, I found this site. Awesome!

I obviously didn't have all my ingredients at work so, I waited til my day off (the next day) to make the jam. I actually ended up buying more strawberries too. :-) Okay, so if you haven't noticed, I actually named this Strawberry Jam Butter. Well, I actually screwed up on making the jam. I misread the ingredient list and mistook 1/2 tsp for 1/2 cup of butter. LOL! Oops! It sounds like a tremendously bad mistake, but it turns out that this jam recipe was much more fool-proof than I thought. This jam-butter turned out to be excellent. I seriously couldn't have asked for a better turn out. The outcome was creamier in looks and taste than normal jam and looked lighter in color. I would definitely make a similar mistake again, but on purpose. :-)

Ingredients:

3 - 3 1/2 cups strawberries (green tops cut off)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup or 1/2 tsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice


How To:

1. Put strawberries in a blender and pulse to crush them down til there are no chunks.


2. Add lemon juice and pulse once or twice to mix it into the strawberries.


3. Throw everything in a large microwaveable bowl and mix up a bit. If you just took the butter out of the fridge, that will probably not mix very well... No worries, it will melt down in the microwave and you'll be able to mix it then.


4. Microwave for a total of 15 minutes, stopping every 2 minutes to stir. The bowl and jam is hot, so be warned. (Um, yeah, I may have burned the tip of my finger a bit... again.) In fact, when I took the bowl out of the microwave after the first few intervals, I noticed that the jam was actually boiling.

5. After the 15 minutes in the microwave are up, let it cool for a few more minutes, (maybe 10 min) and pour into a clean jam jar.

6. You can start enjoying the jam once cooled or you can refrigerate and enjoy later, like, after the brioche is done. :-)


This was a super easy and fool proof jam that anyone can make. Read and reread the ingredient list, but don't be afraid to experiment either. Sometimes they turn out even better than the original recipe. :-)

Have fun and enjoy!

Easy to Sew Tote Bag

I found/bought this cute fabric at the store with the intention of making a tote bag for groceries. Well, I finally decided to make the bag and share it with you all. It's simple, fast to make, and mighty handy to have.

What you need:

- 1 piece of fabric 1 yard by 22 inches (tho, this depends on the size of bag you want to make)
- 2 pieces of fabric 1 yard by 3 inches (for handles, you can also buy belt like fabric for the same purpose).

How to:

1. Once you've cut all the fabric, we'll make the handles first. Take one of the 3 inch pieces, fold and iron each side down about 1/4 inch, then fold and iron in half width-wise. Sew close lengthwise, and fold down and sew in ends and repeat to the other 3 inch piece of fabric.


2. Fold the 22 inch piece in half lengthwise and inside out. I ironed it folded just to make sure it was straight and it makes it easier to work with.

3. Sew each side down.

4. Make a mark 2.5 inches from the fold and 2.5 inches from the sewing line on the bottom of the bag, both left and right side and both front and back.

5. Fold open the corner, so that the fold lines hit both front/back marks on the left side of the bag (you'll repeat the same technique on the right side. Draw a line using a pencil to connect the marks together. Sew down the line. This makes the bottom of the bag rectangular in shape.


6. Fold the top part of the bag down twice. I ironed it down to make it easier to work with. Sew down both the top part and the bottom part of that folded band. (See picture)

7. Pin down the handles. (I placed them 6 inches away from the side seam). Once pinned, sew them down, and sew on an x for a stronger bond.


That's it. Easy, simple, and quick. Now, time to go to the market. :-)

Reusable Sandwich Wrap

I ran into this idea a long time ago... (maybe mid last year), and have wanted to try it out since. The idea is that you'd save the paper towels that you'd usually wrap your sandwich in by using and reusing this instead. When you've eaten your sandwich, that side can be easily wiped clean and/or washed with a sponge, and it's ready for use again. Oh, and it can also be used as a placemat. Just nifty!

So, here's how I did it. First off, I tried to diagram the shape for you guys. If you're curious, I used Inkscape, an open source vector drawing program that I just recently discovered. Pretty cool, and the price is right. :-)

Diagram is not to scale but should give you a good idea, should you want to give this a shot.



Materials:

Velcro (small strip of maybe 2"-3" long)
Vinyl fabric with flannel backing - like those table cloths.
Cotton fabric of your choosing

How to:

1. Cut vinyl fabric and cotton fabric like the diagram. I put the diagram onto an open paper bag then traced the diagram to the fabrics.

2. On the right side of the cotton fabric, sew on the fuzzy side of the velcro, positioned as shown. (I sewn this on the bottom area of the fabric)

3. On the right side of the vinyl, sew the prickily side of the velcro, as shown. (I sewn this on the top area of the fabric)

4. Pin the two fabrics together with right sides facing each other. The velco should be on opposite sides as well (one on top and on the bottom)

5. Sew around the whole thing, leaving a decent size hole for you to invert the whole fabric. It's very important to make the gap big enough for the next step.



6. Invert the whole thing so right side is out. Be extra careful here because the vinyl can be easily torn. Clean up the edges using a capped pen, or something like it.

7. Fold in the opening so that side is nice and straight, and sew all the way around the whole pattern.



That's it. You're done. Wipe it up, make your sandwich, and wrap it as shown. Mmmm... PB&J, my favorite.


By the way, Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Tea Bag Wallet

FYI: Rad Linc Crafts is currently having a giveaway and the prize is a Tea Bag Wallet and a $10 giftcard to Joann's.  See here!!! Giveaway ends July 31, 2011.  Comment the Giveaway Post to Enter.

I have a friend that takes tea bags with her everywhere. When we go out to eat, she just orders hot water. I thought of her immediately when I saw a different version of this tea bag wallet come up in my RSS reader. After some searching I found this pattern.

Anyway, here's the one I made, and how I did it.

Materials:
5.5" x 6.5" fabric (2)
4.75" x 6.5" fabric (2)
3" - 4" piece of ribbon
1 button

How to:

1. Fold the 2 smaller fabrics lengthwise. Ironing these down make it easier to work with. These will be the pockets.

2. Sew the folded edge of the 2 fabrics.

3. Sew the bottom edge of 1 of the pockets onto one of the bigger fabric rectangles. This will be the top pocket so what I did was sorta position the tea bag to where I wanted it. I eventually decided to line the bottom edge about 1.25" away from the bottom edge of the bigger fabric. Pinning this down would have probably been a good idea, but I didn't find it too necessary... so it's up to you.

4. Sew in the bottom pocket to the same fabric rectangle that you sewn the other pocket in. You'll want to line up the bottom of that rectangle to the bottom of your pocket.



5. Mark a center line of the rectangle (fabric pencils work well here). Sew a line straight down the middle like the picture.

6. Sew in the ribbon with the fold facing the pockets like shown.

7. Put the fabric with the pockets and the last piece of fabric together right sides facing each other. Sew almost all the way around. Leave a small hole in one of the sides so that the fabric can be invereted to the right side out.

8. Oops, I forgot to put the interfacing... well, I went ahead and put it on here... I guess it doesn't really matter much, so iron it on.



9. Cut the corners.

10. Invert the fabric thru the little hole you left.

11. Iron the edges down.

12. Sew around the whole thing. Remember to fold in the open hole.



13. Almost done. You just need to attach a button now. Fold it in half, and see where the button should be. I marked the spot with a pen. Sew in the button.



That's it. Not too hard, right? I'll be ordering hot water the next time I go to a restaurant. :-D