Kristl Pelz: November 2010 Archives

On the ninth Day of the 12 Crafts of Christmas, we have a great idea for the coffee lover on your Christmas list. It's also for the Eco-minded among us. Create a custom Coffee Cup Cozy from almost any fabric. I'll give you a quick description of the project, and then some variations.

You will need a cardboard sleeve from a coffee shop - the kind that saves your hands from getting burned. You will use this for your pattern. If you use a fabric like wool melton, felted wool or polyester felt, you will not need to add seam allowances because the fabric doesn't ravel. Otherwise, add 1/2'' all around for hemming and a seam.  If you choose to use a cute cotton print to match your

Giftee's personality, you will need a piece of felt or heavy interfacing cut without seam allowance. We also carry an interfacing called Insul-Brite that has insulating properties. You will center this ''insulator/stiffener'' in the center of your cotton fabric and fold the seam allowances over to hem. Sew the two sides together to make a circle. To finish the coffee cozy, if you have used fabric that ravels, serge or zigzag the seam allowance to prevent raveling.

 You can embellish your Coffee Cozy further with an embroidered initial or an applique. Just embellish before you sew your final seam so you can work with it flat. Needle felting is also a great embellishment if you are using wool melton, felted wool or polyester felt. The picture above is a needle felted coffee cozy my sister made.

On the fifth Day of the 12 Crafts of Christmas, I have Die Cut flowers from Faux Suede and made all kinds of accessories! This is a stash buster type of project. You only need a few things, which you may already have, to make fabulous accessories for all the fashionistas on your list! I decorated a hair clip, an existing chain necklace and a set of magnets to create a pin.

I used the Sizzix Die Cut Machine to cut out different shapes and sizes of flowers from faux suede. By the way, the Sizzix Dies cut many types of fabrics including fleece! We have one die with three different flowers that can be layered like we did. The adhesive to layer the flowers together is E-6000. I also used it to glue the flowers to the hair clip and the magnet for the pin. Another tip, if you use magnets instead of pins, you will avoid holes in your garments, and you can wear the pin more places, like a suede coat.

I already owned the necklace I decorated with the suede flowers. I am a huge fan of Anthropologie's style. This necklace has a hard and soft component that I have admired in their jewelry styles. I glued the leaves on the back of the largest flower first. I let it set, and sewed the flower on to my necklace. then I glued the rest of the layers over the stitches.

These faux suede flowers can decorate just about anything. The E-6000 adhesive will adhere fabric, wood, metal and glass. Let your mind wander over the giftable possibilities of this project!

 

On the fourth Day of the 12 Crafts of Christmas, we have decorated notebooks and journals. These little books make great gifts especially for the List Makers in your life. I love to use them for taking notes in the different meetings I go to regularly. I priced these types of jounals in my favorite specialty stores, and the sticker shock made my run for my paper and glue. Here's the result.

I happened to have a beautiful collection of scrapbooking papers and stickers from a past collection of Basic Grey. I don't scrapbook, but I love their designs, so I stashed it not knowing what I would do with it besides look at it. I bought simple composition books from my local WalMart. They had the cheapest price at under $1.00 per notebook in my area. I got out my glue and glitter, and here are some basic steps and some variations to inspire you to make a few of these special journal/notebooks for yourself or for gifts.

Choose your scrapbook weight paper for the outside of the notebook

Line up the edge of the paper with the edge of the black binding tape on the cover of the composition book. Make sure the side you want on the cover is facing up.

Fasten with large Gem Clips to hold in place while you trace around the outside of the cover on to the back of the paper.

Cut out the front of the notebook cover.

Repeat these steps for the back cover of the notebook.

Paint the rubber cement glue on to the front cover of the notebook, and carefully place the new cover you just trimmed to the front cover of the notebook. The rubber cement should allow you to scoot the paper into place, but work quickly.

Turn the notebook over to the back and repeat the process above to attach the back cover sheet.

Place a telephone book or other heavy weight on to the notebook for 15 minutes for the glue to start to set.

Choose a ''binding'' to cover the seam between the black binding on the notebook and the new paper cover you just glued on. It can be ribbon, paper, rickrack, or anything that is relatively flat and wide enough to cover the seam nicely. I used Hug Snug Seam binding.

Glue the binding over the seam and let the glue set about 15 minutes before you proceed.

At this time, you can consider extra embellishments like glitters, flat stickers and paper cutouts to decorate your notebook. Now is also the time to put any titles or words on your book. I used letter stickers and cartouches from my Basic Grey assortment to add titles.

When you have finished decorating, and given any glue at least 15 minutes to set after your embellishment session, it's time to cover your masterpiece with clear contact paper to protect everything. Lay the book flat on the back of the clear contact paper and draw around the book with a one inch ''seam allowance'' so you have plenty of overlap to the inside cover. Cut out the clear contact paper and pull off the backing. Lay it sticky side up and place one side of your book 1'' from the edges of the contact paper. Clip a square from the corners of the clear contact paper to remove some bulk from the corners. Roll the book over to the other side and repeat the steps above. You are about to fold the contact paper over the edges of the book and on to the inside covers. First clip the excess contact paper at the spine of the book to allow the contact paper to fold completely onto the inside cover. You'll see what I mean if you try to fold the contact paper to the inside without clipping at the spine.

You have a completed book! it's ready for gift giving, or keeping for yourself! 

On the second Day of the 12 Crafts of Christmas, we have decorated headbands with Design House Trim. This project is so simple, so wearable and so giftable! You can make very tailored headbands with solid grosgrain ribbons or completely over the top head bands with Design House Trim and appliques. There are just a few things you need:

• A headband - we have many widths to choose from
•  A glue gun and glue sticks
• Ribbon or trim to decorate the headband

We also have a great video from Jenni to give you a little more inspiration! So, get out your glue gun and make some great gifts!

Tomorrow's craft will have you jumping through hoops, or bangles.

On the first day of the 12 Crafts of Christmas, we have decorated T shirts and tote bags with the Simply Screen printing system from Plaid. This project can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. It makes a fantastic gift for kids or adults. The screens include subjects like Rock and Roll, Skulls, Eco subjects, and more. Buy a T shirt. Make a T shirt. Recycle a T shirt. The sky, and your imagination, is the limit for creating a great gift.

You will need something to print on. The instructions say that the Simply Screen paints and foils will adhere to most fabrics. The prints will have to be heat set with an iron, so for best results choose items that can take the heat. We recommend more natural fibers like cotton or cotton rich blends. You will also need the Simply Screen paint and screen of your choice for your project. We have a great video by Shannon that will show you how quickly you can create a great T shirt.

You don't have to use just one color as we did in the video. You can also use a small, but stiff, paint brush and several colors to create a more detailed design. Once you have printed your design and heat set it, you can continue to embellish your design. The Kandi Cane heat set crystals will add some sparkle to your project and will give it a more professional finish.

On the second day of the 12 Crafts of Christmas, you can make a crowning acheivement!