Lily's Get Better Box - Sneak Peak!

After returning home from a lovely beach weekend with friends and family last night, I was on a sewing roll putting a few things together for Lily's Get Better Box (more info about the box in this post).  Her surgery is tomorrow (it came up so fast!) so I'm trying to quickly get everything together. 

I sewed this little bunny using some cotton and flannel I already had in my stash.  The pattern is from Martha Stewart Living and you can find all the info here.  I don't think I've ever had a sewing project come together so quickly and without a hiccup as this one.  Took me about an hour from start to finish!

I also sewed up a few cotton bandanas trimmed with ribbon (don't worry, Mum, I will give them a final press before they go in the box!) also using fabric and ribbon from my stash.  Not only will these be great for playtime during the summer, but I think they may come in handy to keep her hair out of her eyes after surgery.  These are a great little stashbuster - and look so cute on toddlers!  I'll be sharing a tutorial on these with you next week.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful day!

Guest Post: Hair Bow Holder

I constantly find myself in awe of the wonderfully talented people I encounter daily - especially here in the land of blogging.  I share links to some of the fabulous projects I come across each weekend in my Week in Review posts, and now on (most) Wednesday's... at least for a awhile... I'm going to be going a step further and inviting one of those creative folks to guest blog here at Ready, Set, Craft! 

Today I'm super happy to welcome Carrie of Making Lemonade.  I love popping over to Carrie's to get decorating tips, hear sweet stories about her beautiful family, and so much more!  I had a great time guest-posting my appliqued onesies on her blog during her Stork Report project a couple of months back as well!  Enjoy!

  

Don't you just love Ready, Set, Craft?!  I was giddy at being asked to guest post here, and hope I can live up to the awesomeness that Joanne serves on a daily basis.  Since she's got paper crafts covered (and beautifully so), I decided to share one of my other passions: repurposing unloved items into something new and useful.  This can be tricky to post as a tutorial because you want the item to be easy to find and not just a lucky thrift store score.  I think I found the magic item-- something that is easy to find and versatile to boot: turning an old frame into a hairbow holder, message center, or photo collage-- you choose the outcome depending on your needs.  This tutorial shows how to create a hairbow holder with the other options explained at the end. 

The best part of this project is you can find frames everywhere.  I snagged mine at a thrift shop for $5.  It was marked so low because it was missing the glass and was fairly beat up (unfortunate for a frame, but PERFECT for this project).  Besides thrift stores, you can find similar frames at flea markets, estate sales, yard sales, discount stores, and even regular craft stores if you want a more polished look (use a coupon to score it for cheap)!  I also found several in this style for under $10 on eBay... just search for "old oval frame".  Etsy has some gems, too!  The only rule is to make sure it has a wood back.  Stapling metal would be mighty difficult. Truth be told, I don't have an actual "BEFORE" photo because I initially painted the frame years ago before I started blogging.  Here's a similar frame I found on Etsy to give you a general idea of what my frame started life as (picture mine much shabbier and in a duller gold color):

Here's my frame in the guest room as a collage frame, pre-hairbow holder:

Needless to say, it needed some fixing up.  Plus, my daughter needed a hairbow holder!  Here's how I made it happen... Materials: frame spray paint ribbon scissors glue glue staple gun optional: clips for photos or messages Step One: Clean your frame.  If it has glass, carefully remove it.  Remove old, unneeded hardware and other extraneous parts from the back. Step Two:  Spray paint it!  I chose to make mine a "shabby chic" style by not fixing up the missing gesso pieces and painting it white.  You might choose to paint it a bold color as an accent piece, or a neutral color to match your decor.  If you bought it new, you can keep it unpainted for a more modern look.  Here's a cool example from Etsy of a fun, bold color:

Step Three:  Cut ribbon strips larger than the opening of the frame (you can trim them later).  You can use one color or various colors as I have done below.  Then hot glue them to the back in the correct order to make stapling easier.  Trim the ends of the ribbon make the back look neat (make sure to leave room for the staples).

Step Four:  Now that your ribbon is ready, go ahead and staple them in place using the staple gun.  Be sure to keep them as tight as possible, because you don't want the weight of the hairbows to make the ribbon sag. 

 
Step Five:  Staple a ribbon hanger to the back, and go ahead and hang your beautiful NEW hairbow frame on the wall!

Step Six:  Here are a few additional options:

• Not a fan of the open back?  Staple fabric on the back, pattern-side facing forward for an extra pop of color.   
• Collage Frame or Message Board:  attach the items using various methods such as curly paper clips or jazzed up mini-clothespins.  To jazz up the clothespins, glue cutouts (made from paper, felt, or wood) onto the front or decoupage them.  Here's a few examples:

felt duck clips

(source)

felt heart clips

(source)

decoupaged clips

(source)

Spiral Paper Clips

(source)

Thanks for following along with the tutorial.  If you make this project I hope you'll visit my blog, Making Lemonade, and let me know.  Even if you don't make a hairbow holder, we'd love to have you stop on by for some freshly squeezed projects and a little slice of trying to live the lovely life (on a budget).  Happy Crafting!

Sneaks!

I kind of feel like I'm cheating on you!

You see, I've been incredibly crafty all week - I mean seriously, I've been crafting my little heart out over here!  BUT - I can't share with you the fruits of my labor... just these little sneaks...

I've been contracted to write an "Easter Crafts for Kids" article, and I've designed and crafted 12 original projects for it.  Lots of work and lots of fun!  BUT it's not been published online yet... so I can't yet share with you the Easter goodness.  Once it goes live you'll be the first to know about it I swear!

What I can show you though... is this... ('scuse the poor photo quality... all that late night basement crafting you know!)

I'm working on adorning the walls of the craft studio, and this is part of one wall.  Yes - the craft studio re-do is STILL finishing up!  Are you desperate to see it?  I can't wait to show you!

I saw these little bulletin boards over HERE and was excited to run to my local Dollar Tree and pick them up.  Since they're so tiny, I attached them together in groups of three with some ribbon...

Cute, no?  I'm digging them.  Perfect for notes, reminders, project ideas, supply lists, etc.  Lovely!

I've been so busy this week that I've hardly had time to read blogs.  I'm so out of the loop!  So if I usually visit you and haven't this week... or if you've stopped by here for the first time and I haven't responded to your comment... please forgive me!  I'm setting aside a little time this morning to get caught up, that's for sure!

And lastly... several of you have dropped me notes and e-mails lately with projects inspired by tutorials here at "Ready, Set, Craft!"  If you've tried anything I've done, or used one of my projects for a basis of one of your own, would you do me a little favor and send me some pictures?  I would love to share with everyone what you've come up with!

I'll be back tomorrow and back on form with some REAL projects to share.  Until then - Happy Hump Day!  Hope it's as sunny and lovely where you are as it is here!  Could Spring possibly be on its way?

Christmas Quick Fixes

Just a few tibits today - I hope they might make the next week a little easier on you, or at least inspire you to be creative with supplies you already have in your stash!

I find that when I'm rushing around getting ready for the holidays it's beneficial to have a few tricks up my sleeves (quick fixes!) for holiday wrapping, sending and gifting.  There's never enough time in the day to squeeze in EVERYTHING you originally intended - so sometimes you need to work with what you have in order to get things done!

Quick Fix 1:  Scrappy Gift Tags

I always, ALWAYS forget about gift tags!  I don't make them, I don't buy them, I just completely forget about them!  When I was a little girl my Mum used to save all of last years cards and cut around the pictures to make large gift tags.  With a little inspiration from my friend Meg Herr (Hi, Meg!) I revisited her tradition with a twist this year...

All you need are some old Christmas cards, some fun punches, and ribbon from your stash.  Just punch out shapes from your cards (they don't even have to be centered, or entire images - I think they look best when they are a little off kilter!), punch a hole in top, thread ribbon through and you're done!

Quick Fix 2:  Sprucing up Christmas letters

One thing that I love about the Holidays is receiving Christmas letters from friends and family.  I also really enjoy writing ours - just because it gives me the opportunity to reflect on the past year.

In the past I've bought store bought pretty (EXPENSIVE!) holiday paper from the office supply store to run through my printer.  This year I had aspirations of getting some cream paper and doing some stamping and embossing on the letters.  On fifty five letters?!  Who was I kidding?!

Well my Stampin' Around Jumbo from Stampin' Up! came in INCREDIBLY useful.  I left enough space on the bottom to roll an image.  I used Christmas Chatter stamp and real red ink.  It hardly took any time at all to roll the bottom of each letter.  Maybe because of my helpful stamping buddy Oliver, shown above!

Quick Fix 3:  Origami Boxes

I had a couple of very small things to wrap - and of course the store was all out of small boxes when I purchased the gifts.  I just took some scrapbook paper (I used the Merry Moments Designer Series paper from Stampin' Up!) and put together a couple of origami boxes.  They are super quick and easy to fold - you can see my tutorial on these HERE.  Some ribbon from your stash ties the boxes up and you're good to go!

Thanks for popping by today - despite the rush of the holidays!  What are some of your quick and crafty fixes for the holidays?  Share with us in a comment below!

Happy Friday!

Poinsetta Pens

Good evening, crafty friends!  So sorry to be getting this post to you so late in the day -- I'm a little lot behind schedule!  Today I've got some darling little pens to share with you which would be a great gift for teachers, co-workers, etc. around the holidays - or a stocking stuffer for the ladies in your life.

All I did was follow my original flower pen tutorial HERE.  I nabbed the glittery poinsettas from the dollar store at a buck a punch, and already had the floral tape and pens in my stash.

If you're going to give these a shot, be sure to check out the helpful hints HERE.

Be sure to join me here tomorrow to welcome our second in the series of four holiday guest bloggers... you DON'T want to miss her WONDERFUL project!

Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza!

I just wanted to take a moment to let you know about the HUGE online sale that Stampin' Up! is having right now. The sales features punches, stamp sets, decor elements, card kits, accessories and MORE -- all for 30 - 50% off!

To take advantage of these amazing offers, head directly to my website at http://www.joanneroehm.stampinup.net - click on "Shop Now" and then "Online Extravaganza" to check out the sale. But HURRY! The sale ends MONDAY - November 30 (yes, THIS Monday!) at midnight.

For those of you that are new to stamping, I encourage you to check out the Ultimate Stampers Starter Kit: http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=120289 This kit features Best Wishes & More, Eight Great Greetings, and On a Pedestal stamp sets, plus Earth Elements Stampin’ Spots, Earth Elements assorted card stock (8-1/2” x 11”), Whisper White card stock (8-1/2” x 11”), Old Olive 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon, and Flower Designer brads, you'll be in stamping heaven--all for 40% off the retail value!

There are lots of other great product bundles available as well - for both scrapbooking and card-making. Lots of supplies for a great price!

For those of you looking for Christmas gifts, to stock up on supplies for holiday projects, or just to treat yourself - now is the perfect time to shop! If you have questions about any of the products in the "Online Extravaganza" or otherwise, don't hesitate to drop me a line at joanneroehm@yahoo.com

Happy Stamping, Friends!

Tablecloth & Bulletin Board Tutorials

Now that Fall is creeping up on us and I'm spending a little less time outside, I've been antsy to get going on some projects around the house.

Since I'm working on my masters full-time and will be spending lots of time studying and at the computer, I figured the office needed a bit of a makeover first.

My office is a very small room, and while we have two desk workspaces they are both in use with a large computer monitor, printer, etc. I wanted just a little more space to work.

In addition to adding some shelving, I had this little table that had been sitting in a closet since we moved into our house. I whipped up a little tablecloth to cover it...

Tablecloth Tutorial:

1) Cut a piece of fabric (I used lightweight decorator fabric) the approximate size that you would like your table cloth. My fabric was 37 inches square.

2) Zigzag all the way around to stop fraying.

3) Fold and press a hem using the zig zag as a guide.

4) Fold and press again to completely cover rough edge of fabric. Then stitch all the way around! I used a pretty decorative leaves stitch on my machine. Love!

It's the perfect place for our in/out box trays and page-a-day calendar. Removing those things from my desk gives me some more open workspace.

Once I was done with the tablecloth, I attacked an old bulletin board that was hanging in our kitchen but never got any use. I figured it would be better used in the office.

Fabric Bulletin Board Tutorial:

1) Spray paint bulletin board the color of your choice.

2) Drape fabric over bulletin board and cut to size.

3) Fold and press edges.

4) Place on board to check size.

5) Begin at one corner and staple along each edge as close to the frame as possible.

6) Pull tightly as you go.

7) Continue pulling and stapling all the way around. You may have some excess fabric on some sides, fold it under before stapling.

8) Finished!

It was fun to make over my office a little bit! Now I'm off to finish re-organizing and making my space a clean, relaxing and workable work space! I hope you enjoyed my tutorials!