Kraftie Katie

Sale Alert! Jack Rogers under $50!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 20:50:00 +0000

This one has no gimmicks! Just a quick post to share an AMAZING deal!

Click the link below to get these gorgeous Coral Jacks for $43! And bonus - they still have plenty of sizes available!

Jack Rogers Women's Nantucket Thong Sandal

Don't forget to follow my blog so you can be the first to hear about great deals!

How I got a pair of Jack Rogers for FREE!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 17:17:00 +0000

Yep! You read the title correctly. I just scored a pair of Jack Rogers and paid nothing! Here's how:

Even if you can not get these babies for free like I did you can still get that at a GREAT price - under $25! For some reason Amazon wants to get rid of this color - so click over here now!

I got mine for free because of two great things!

1) Cash Back rewards! I use Discover and I get cash back on certain purchases. Over time that adds up (very slowly for me) and I finally found a worthy enough cause to use my rewards on - Jack Rogers! I used just under $20 of my rewards.

2) Gift cards! Now this wasn't just some gift card I got for my birthday or Christmas - this one I earned! That's right - free money! Click here to read my earlier post on rewards sites. I use Swagbucks and Bing Rewards to earn points and get gift cards. Click on either link to sign up and start earning. The gift card I used for my Jacks was a $5 one from Bing (but I've used many from Swagbucks in the past, just happened to use Bing points this time!)

Let me know if you have questions about the rewards sites, I am happy to help!

Happy Shopping :)

{How To} Paint Lilly Pulitzer Prints

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 20:12:00 +0000

Okay so this isn't EXACTLY a How To... You can't really teach someone to paint over the computer. Or actually at all. I think it just takes practice, patience, and raw talent (that's the part I'm missing...)

I may not have raw talent but I am still happy with my first attempt at She She Shells!

What do you think? Like I said that pure, raw talent is missing so it isn't perfect but you can still tell its She She Shells and the colors are pretty - so I am happy :)

This is the 14" wooden 'K' from Hobby Lobby. It was only $3.25 and then it was on sale for 30% off! I am going to mod podge it this weekend and attach thick ribbon to it so it can hang on my bedroom door. I'll post that once it happens :)

So I knew I wanted to try and paint a Lilly print on something. After browsing the wood rows at Hobby Lobby I figured a flat letter would be the easiest and most useful. If you want you can try a smaller letter for your first time. But I was like, "Go big or go home!"

So I had the letter but still needed to pick a print. I landed on She She Shells because its new from this summer, its one of my favorites, and it only has 4 colors (<--- that last one is the real real reason, I have about 50 favorite prints...)

So I googled:

And headed to JoAnn Fabrics (closer to me than going back to Hobby Lobby). I got the paints that matched the best, kind of hard to tell when they're in the bottle though. The paints were something like 60 cents each, super cheap! I also picked up a few detail brushes and a 50 cent foam brush for the white background since it was such a large area.

If you are going to try this, go for a darker dark blue. I think mine was a little too light.

All I did was look at the googled picture and free handed it. I didn't use a pencil first or anything but feel free to try that method too!

Good luck and share your results with me on Instagram! Tag @preciousprep_ (that's preciousprep_ with an underscore at the end)

Lilly Pulitzer Binder Covers DIY Free Printable

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 17:18:00 +0000

Find me on my new blog, Sugar Spice and Sparkle!

I've fallen in love! With Lilly Pulitzer! That's right - ever since my first After Party Sale (ok and maybe before) I have been full on ADDICTED! The prints are just so pretty and the clothes are gorgeous and I want them all - yep every single thing!

Since it is back to school time I need to get some (more) Lilly in my backpack! I bought my first Lilly agenda:

Made myself a matching pencil case (slash makeup bag!) Get yours here!:

And got this iPad case for $14!!!!:

My matching iPhone case from the APS is on its way :)

So my notebooks need a little jazzing up if they're going to fit in!

Using Microsoft Powerpoint and images of Lilly prints found on Google, Pinterest, etc. I made these beauties:

And now my backpack is complete :) And it is one happy little Lilly filled backpack at that!

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram to see more Lilly!

You can download the pictures below, then open them in Powerpoint and insert a text box in the white space. You will be able to add your own text in your favorite font and color!

Share your beautiful binders with me on Instagram using #preciousprep and tagging @preciousprep_ in your photos! If you don't have Instagram then at least let me know you downloaded them in the comments below! I love to talk to my readers!

Thank for reading! :)

Simple College Packing List

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 03:43:00 +0000

Its that time of year again! Back to school!

Love it or hate it - it is almost here and for those of you heading to college (first time or otherwise) you gotta get packin'!

Since I need to start packing myself I decided to make a simple list and share it!

This list is more of a starting point than an all-inclusive list. Sometimes those super long lists can be too overwhelming! This one is a great place to get yourself started and I'm sure you'll think of more as you go. If I left out anything major leave me a note in the comments and I'll add it!

Of course I had to make it pretty :) Have to make packing fun in any way you can!

I'm fairly seasoned in this whole packing for college/going to college deal so PLEASE ask me questions in the comments if you're feeling unsure of anything!

Click here for some decor ideas to get you started.

Click here for the BEST binder covers!

Click here for customized keychains, makeup bags, pencil pouches, and totes!

Happy Packing!

Key Chain Wristlet Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 04:27:00 +0000

Update:
Embroidered key chains now available! Click here

Today was a great day! Wanna know why? Because I finally got all of the supplies I needed to make these adorable Key Chain Wristlets! I found my inspiration from Prudent Baby a while ago and loved the idea! About a week ago I got around to ordering some sets of the hardware. 10 sets on Amazon.com for $4.25! They came in the mail on Friday :) Then today I went to Walmart to get some cotton webbing and pretty ribbon. After finding plenty of those items and much more... I got to sewing!

So there are my first two! I have enough supplies to make 10, so expect to see more in the near future!

Here is how you can make one for yourself!

Step 1. Get the materials: 1 set 1" key fob hardware (includes the clamp and the ring), 10 inches of colorful 1" wide cotton webbing, 10 inches of pretty ribbon (less than 1" wide)

Step 2. Sew the ribbon down the middle of the webbing. This isn't too difficult if you use your pins and go relatively slowly, making sure you are staying in the middle the whole time.

Step 3. Fold the now beautified webbing in half (with the ribbon facing outwards) and trim the ends so they are even.

Step 4. Insert the ends into the clamp and use pliers to squeeze it shut. Hint: Make sure your pliers are smooth or you make them smooth with duck tape so as not to damage your clamp.

Step 5. Add the key ring and that is it! Super easy, super cute, and super useful!

Gotta love it! If you love them too, buy them! Here :)

Below are most of the supplies you need, can't get much easier right?

More Updates! These are the some of the many combinations you can make! Find them here on Etsy!

See how many options there are to choose from?!?! Crazy right?

Webbing Options:

Ribbon Options:

Check out my store, Precious Prep, here, on Etsy.com!

Have a Kraftie day!

Don't forget to check out the separate listing for Greek letter keychains too!

Embroidered Pocket Tee Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 23:07:00 +0000

Also known as a 'frocket' the pocket tee is a wardrobe essential on any college campus! Learn how to make your own here!

Onto the fun stuff! If you are a preppy girl or a sorority girl then you probably love a good 'frocket', like me (btw I am preppy, not sorority)! In this tutorial you will see not only how to add a cute pocket but how to embroider it for even more cuteness!

First things first:

Draw out a pocket pattern. Doesn't have to be perfect (you know how perfection goes over on this blog!) just make a general pocket shape that is about 4" by 5". Make sure to leave the little flaps as shown in the picture.

**Update! Click here for a printable version! All you have to do is print and cut!

Copy and paste this link to share the pattern with friends! https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw1R1Y2V5RzkamhwLW51cmJJUW8/edit?usp=sharing

Next cut out a rectangle of fabric that is bigger than your pattern. Place onto your embroider hoop, in between your tear away stabilizer and water soluble stabilizer(if you're using a knit fabric like I did (which for beginners I suggest you do NOT use knit! It is hard to work with)).

Embroider what ever your heart desires on there! In this case I was making one for a friend so I just did her initial, but a monogram would also be adorable! Maybe I'll do one of those real soon!

Cut out the fabric using your pattern. Make sure your embroidery is going to end up in the center of where you cut :)

Fold (or even better iron) in the flaps. Sew a straight stitch across the top of the pocket. Then pin onto the shirt (I used a LOT of pins) in the correct placement. Finally carefully sew around the pocket (***leaving the top open***) as close to the edge as you can.

Thats it!

As always leave me questions and comments below! Follow me on Instagram for daily preppy/crafty/fun pics (@kraftiekatie)

Enjoy your new shirt!

{How To} Accessorize for Less

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 15:04:00 +0000

This post is not about crafts per-se... however through Pinterest, Instagram, and this blog I have learned that a lot of my fellow crafters are like me! And I LOVE a good deal - hey the more money I save, the more I can spend on fabric ;)

So hopefully you will enjoy learning how to find an AMAZE-FEST USA deal on... wait for it .... EBAY!

There are SO many great things to find on eBay that are brand new - not used items. And for cheap! Like really cheap. Let me explain:

So many good deals! Where to begin?!?

Ok I'll start here: So we all love Michael Kors Watches, am I right? However we all do not love the price tag. One of my biggest pet peeves is people not doing their research when making a purchase. You can go to the mall or even Amazon and find a 'boyfriend' watch for around $30. Which compared to over $200 seems like a great deal! But! If you just do a little looking around on the internet you'll find these (and more!) for $5.39 + free shipping. Yes you can thank me later ;) All links will be below the pictures.

Watches

Ok so now that I have your attention, on to the next one! I really want to make one of these:

Marley Lilly

But they want $37 plus shipping for one of those things! So I know not everyone can embroider their own stuff but there are embroidery shops that will embroider for you. Anyways I am going to (try to) embroider this on my own and I got my clutch for [drumroll please] $2.99! This was a bid item but you can search on ebay and easily find more for sale!

Here is how mine looked after embroidery:

Not too bad, eh? Click here to order one from Precious Prep!

I found this amazing shop on Etsy, and I think you all should check it out because it is a really great deal and product!

StyleThisLife

However, being the deal-seaker that I am I had to try and find an even lower price. I haven't gotten these items yet so I can not vouch 100% for their quality but it is a good deal :) I got 10 tassels and the bracelet for $7 total!

Tassels - $6
Bracelet - $0.99

Now if you are like my mom, you think these are hideous... but if you are like me you think they are on trend and the perfect statement necklace. Statement necklaces can be SO expensive! And here these are for just $4.32! So yes I got 2 :) haha

Rose Necklace

Another popular statement necklace is the bubble necklace! Get this one for just $4.25!

Bubble Necklace

How cute is this bag? It is kind of nautical which is why I LOVE it! And for only $8.50 I REALLY love it!

Tassel Bag

Now, I'll admit, these are significantly different than the inspiration: which is the Lilly Pulitzer bow belt:

Lilly Pulitzer

But as much as I love LP, $48 is WAY too much for a skinny little belt! In my opinion of course :) So here is my alternative which is, although different, still extremely cute! And how much cuter is it when you know you only paid $1.58 for it?!?!

Bow Belts

Well holy smokes that was a long post! BUT I hope you enjoyed and that you are headed to eBay to find some deals of your own! PLEASE share what you find!! Tag me in your Instagram pics of deals :)

xoxo Katie

{How To} - Fabric Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:33:00 +0000

I have been wanting to share this post with you for so long now and I finally got the chance to take pictures of what I've got going on in my craft room. Now I will admit that I don't have the best system BY FAR! But it is a system none the less and it works for me. Hope you enjoy!

Today I am going to share with you all how I store my fabric! And I hope you won't judge me by the amount of fabric that I have... you won't right? :)

I love love LOVE fabric remnants. You'll see below that I am not kidding. I should probably be in the Guinness Book of World Records for most fabric remnants. Please let me know if you have a ton too so I don't feel like a crazy woman! (Though this feeling apparently doesn't stop me from buying more fabric remnants...) I think what attracts me to them is that I can get really pretty fabrics for a cheap price since you usually get less than a yard in there. Many of the things I make are small items (check out my Etsy shop!) that don't need much fabric, so remnants allow for a lot of variety for me. Plus you can buy like 10 of them and not feel guilty for spending a ton of money on fabric you ~~don't~~ need.

Ok fine, on to the picture. Here you go:

{So pretty! How could I have resisted any of these?!}

Welcome to FHA (fabric hoarders anonymous) Hi, I'm Katie and I am a fabric hoarder. I seriously need this shirt:

{Pinterest}

Like I said before... please tell me someone else shares the remnant obsession!!

Onto the actual point of this post...

As you can see I use one of those hanging shoe storage things for my remnants! I picked this one out because it has clear pockets for ultimate visibility! It is absolutely perfect because I can easily see what I have when I want to and at all other times it is behind the door so no one else can see! Plus this method of storage easily keeps me in check: no more remnants for me until there is an open spot! And I can justify having all these because they aren't in the way AT ALL!

My next storage area is not as easy to hide... it is a mini bookshelf. I have all my other fabric stacked up over here. Not quite as easy to get to but I can still see what I have relatively easily and since it isn't super organized I can just throw a piece back on top of a pile when I'm done.

On to another tangent - can we just all agree that those uber-organized things you see on Pinterest are not realistic? I mean initially they are great and pretty but once you have to actually use them it is way to much effort to keep them that way! Maybe thats just me... let me know what you think in the comments.

Finally I will admit that I have yet another area I keep fabric. I forgot to take a picture - in fact I forgot about it completely until just now. But under the bed in my craft room is one of those long plastic boxes that are meant for under the bed storage. This box is filled with random fabrics, a kind of project graveyard that I will hopefully get to someday. So I never really use anything out of there day to day, but alas, it is there.

So how do you store your fabric? I am hoping to revamp the bookshelf portion of my storage someday... so give me ideas!!

Check out the buttons over there for more Kraftie Katie ----->
Have a great week!

Fabric Hair Bow Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 22:39:00 +0000

I opened up a shop on Storenvy! I still have my Etsy shop of course but the Storenvy shop is all about hair bows!! Bows range from $3-$5 and you can add-on to any bow with a monogram, greek letters, school letters, and/or an anchor charm!

Onto the important stuff - the tutorial!

Step 1:
Cut a piece of fabric 5" by 8". I like to pick small p

rint fabrics for bows but larger prints can work too. A plain bow never fails either!
Also cut a small piece of fabric for the center of your bow. I don't have exact measurements for this... you know me and how I love to keep things simple! I would guess about an inch by 2 inches, cut more to be safe!

Step 2:
Fold the large piece of fabric in half, right sides together. So you should have a piece 5" by 4" now. Sew along the 3 edges, leaving a turning hole in the center of the bottom.

Step 3:
Clip corners and turn

Step 4:
Fold the fabric accordion style and sew right in the middle to help it keep its shape.

Step 5:
Take the small piece of fabric and fold in each long edge then fold it in half and sew along the open side.

Step 6:
Measure around the sewn center of the bow and cut, leaving a small seam allowance.

Step 7:
Sew the center strip's ends together, turn and slide onto bow

Step 8:
Attach a hair clip and make a bunch!

Don't forget to stop by my new store!

xoxo,
Katie

Find these on Etsy!

How I Organize Documents for my Etsy Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 03:24:00 +0000

I am SO grateful for the success I have had with my Etsy shop, Precious Prep. While to some it may seem like nothing, to me it is amazing and I love that other people love my products and want to buy them! So with success also comes work, and there is a lot more work than you would think! If you are a fellow Etsy (or any business) owner you know what I am talking about!

So if you are just getting started, here is how I organize my documents! Hope you find it helpful!

I try to keep everything in one place so I don't lose anything. On the right side of this folder I keep the receipts from anything I buy online. So anything from eBay or Amazon pretty much.

On the left side are the receipts from stores when I buy supplies or material in the green paper clip. In the pink paper clip are all my receipts from the post office. I recently started buying my shipping labels online so those will be stored in my Etsy account for my reference.

Finally is just a fun item, I started keeping track of where I get orders from. I just color in every state whenever I get an order. Actually I've colored in a few more since I took this picture! So exciting to see the map getting filled in!

I know it isn't much but I hope you all find it helpful and useful! Please comment below if you want to see more posts about running an Etsy store! And don't forget to check out my shop :)

DIY Monogram Chevron Binder Covers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 15:06:00 +0000

Check out my new blog: Sugar Spice and Sparkle!

There are two things I love in life: monograms and chevron. Okay so maybe I love way more than that but for the purposes of this post lets pretend those are the two main things ;)

So here we have a great DIY that combines those two and brings them into your everyday life!

Binder covers!! I know school can be a bit... drab, but these binder covers will brighten up each and every class!

Just a few easy steps and you'll be ready to print out and use your new beauties by the next school day. Not in school anymore? These are also perfect for family documents and organization binders!

The first step is to go back here and read my "How to Chevron" tutorial. All you need is Microsoft Word (and maybe a little patience, lol)

Next add a circle (or oval, or square, or rectangle... whatever floats your boat) anywhere on the page. I like mine in the center towards the top. Maybe you like yours dead center or in the bottom left corner (why?). You get the point - somewhere on the page. Format the shape to be white with a black line.

Click on this:

To get this:

Third you'll need 3 text boxes inside your shape. The center one will use a larger font size than the other two.

Now click on this:

If you don't like any of the Microsoft Word fonts that are cursive looking, just Google or go on Pinterest and search for a monogram font. Click here to see a great board of free fonts ;)

Now use the font you love and type one letter of your monogram into each of the text boxes. Position them accordingly and you are all done! Print that baby out and put her on a binder or notebook.

Having a hard time making it look right? Don't have the time for all this? Head over to Precious Prep and I'll make one for you! Actually I'll make 8 for you! Check it out here.

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Use the buttons to the right :)

Let me know if you have questions and how yours turn out!
~Katie

DIY Headband Tutorial (Super Easy!)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 03:12:00 +0000

Check out my new blog: Sugar Spice and Sparkle!

Follow me on Instagram

I've seen several cute headbands, like these I am about to show, on Pinterest. But none of them (that I have seen) have tutorials! So here is my (very detailed) tutorial for making these super quick and easy headbands! Don't be discouraged by the length of this tutorial, these come together really quickly! I just wanted to be super detailed in my tutorial.

These headbands are now available for order in my etsy shop, PreciousPrep! (New colors just added!)

Step 1:
Cut two long strips of stretchy knit fabric 6" by 22" each (approx. if you have a really big or small head you may need to adjust the length, I think my head is normal to big... haha)

&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;

Step 2:

Fold each piece along the long side with right sides together and sew all the way up. Again no real need to be precise, and even if I tried to be precise I failed because stretchy fabric is tough to sew with!!

Step 3:

Turn each tube inside out.

Step 4:

Lay the pieces in a '+' shape. Make sure the seams are in the middle, facing up for the bottom piece and facing down for the top piece.

Step 5:

Fold over the bottom piece (you shouldn't be able to see this piece's seam now)

Step 6:

Fold the top piece in half (again now you shouldn't see that piece's seam)

Step 7:

Bring all 4 ends together and sew across. This is kind of tricky to get all these slippery strips together, but as usual - precision isn't super necessary! Love projects where you don't have to be perfect!

Step 8:

Cut off a little of the excess and trim the corners so they don't show as much.

Step 9:

Try it on! Sooooo comfy!

Step 10:

Make a bunch! I plan to buy some more fabric and make even more for different gym outfits!

Well what do you think? Hope you enjoy yours as much as I am already enjoying mine!

Etsy

Deals Actually

Nautical Dorm Decor {Tutorials}

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 15:24:00 +0000

Check out my new blog: Sugar Spice and Sparkle!

I have been meaning to write this post for about 6 months now! But time flies and I have been SO busy. Luckily I am finally getting around to it because my favorite thing is nautical anything! And I know many of you feel the same so I hope you enjoy!

My dorm room did not start out as nautical but eventually it has become that way and I love it!

First are my hand painted nautical cork boards! Get the full tutorial back here. A quick summary on the how to is to go get a 3-pack of cork boards at Ikea and paint nautical shapes onto them. It really is that easy!

Next is my 'Anchors Away' hanging picture. I got is at Kirkland's Home quite a while ago, so I am not sure if they still have it or not. Kirkland's is a really great place for unique home decor though, and they seem to keep the nautical theme in their rotation, so I am sure you would be able to find something great!

Finally is my hand painted nautical flag canvas. Keep reading for a tutorial on that!

I got a pack of 9 or 10 little canvases (8" x 10") at Walmart for $10. When I purchased them I had so many big ideas! Yet this is the only one I've used so far - 4 months later. Oh well, thats a story for another time, onto the tutorial!

(Please excuse my pictures, as you can see I made this on my dorm room floor using a lovely Forever 21 bag to keep paint from getting everywhere :)

I just used the paints from an art set I've had forever that I purchased at Michael's. You can kind of see it in the corner of this pic:

Then I went to trusty Google to see what all the nautical flags looked like. You can do your own search or click here for the one I found. I used a ruler to space out and draw the squares somewhat evenly. Then I just free-handed the flags inside each square.

I used red, white, blue yellow, and black paint. As you can see from this close up it is FAR from perfect, but hanging on my wall it looks nice and really brings the nautical theme of the room together. After I took this picture I also took a black Sharpie and drew around each square to better define them.

And one final thing: nautical bracelet! So this isn't "decor" but I just wanted to share it with you :)

I found these little anchor charms on eBay (I think I got 50 for $5 or something - super cheap!) and then made a simple friendship bracelet attached to it.

Its nothing too special but I really like it. Maybe I'll put the other 49 charms to use soon and create something new ;)

Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow me on Instagram! kraftiekatie

Custom {Greek} Keychains

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 02:42:00 +0000

Adding a new item to my shop is always exciting! Today I added these greek letter custom keychains!

You can select up to 4 greek letters and I will embroider them onto a ribbon of your choice. Plus you pick the coordinating webbing and thread color too!

So support you sorority, fraternity, or other greek organization today and order one!

Precious Prep

Check out my tutorial on how to make these cuties over here :)

Have an awesome day!

Makeup Bag Tutorial {+Monograms}

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 01:05:00 +0000

Go right ahead and make yourself comfortable because you are in for a long ride! You know how I love a good, detailed tutorial so here we go!

Head over to PreciousPrep to check out what I make and sell - including these monogrammed makeup bags! Order one today if you don't feel like making your own with my tutorial!

1. Cut out your material. I start with a 9" x 12" piece of felt that I buy pre cut. Then I lay that on my fabric and cut around it. Finally cut that exactly in half so you have 4 pieces, all 9" x 6". You will also need 2 small pieces to use as the zipper end covers (approx 2" x 3").

2. Add embroidery to one of your fabric pieces! I love monograms! Sometimes I also just use an initial. I also just added Greek letters to my collection. (Remember, all of this is available to you at PreciousPrep!)

3. Fold over one edge of your zipper end cover.

4. Lay the zipper face down, and wrap the fabric around the end, placing the folded over side towards the zipper. Then sew a straight stitch near the edge, make sure you grab the fabric and zipper.

5. Repeat on the other end, you should end up with this:

6. Lay down your fabric, right side up. Lay the zipper on the top, face down (aka facing the fabric).

7. Now lay a piece of felt on top, make sure all the edges line up at the top. You should have fabric, zipper, felt.

8. Sew through all three layers at the top. You could use a zipper foot here but I personally do not like to use one because I can never go in a straight line! Anyone else have that problem? Any ways - just let the edge of the foot be right up against the zip part of the zipper. The end with the zipper pull can be a little tricky, but just push it on through!

9. Next sew a top stitch. I never used to do this because I thought it was a waste of time and thread but one time I tried it and it really makes a difference! So just do it! ;)

10. Now you are going to do all of that again on the other side. Starting back at step 6! When you're done you should have what you see below. Make sure you open the zipper now!

11. Now take the 2 fabric pieces, right sides together, and sew all along the edge - only on the fabric part. Then take the corner and mark about 1" from the point. Draw a line or some sort of marking there:

12. Sew across your line and then cut off the corner. This will give your bag a flat bottom and allow you to fit more stuff in there! Repeat for the other side.

13. Now match up the edges of the felt and sew along there, using a slightly larger seam allowance than you did on the fabric part. Make sure you leave a turning hole on one of the sides or the bottom!

Turning hole:

14. Now do the same thing for these corners as you did for the fabric part:

15. Turn the bag right side out. You should still see the felt on one half and the fabric on the other. Now is when you should sew up that turning hole:

16. Push the felt down into the bag and use your fingers to get the corners all matched up at the bottom. You did it! You survived the world's longest tutorial and have a great, personalized makeup bag as your reward!

Bonus step! Make a bunch for your friends, sorority sisters, or bridesmaids! Or order them from me! I would love to create something special with you! In my shop, PreciousPrep, YOU pick the fabric, thread color, and type of personalization (monogram, initial, greek) you love!

Thanks for reading! As always, leave me comments with any questions!

Link Parties

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 00:52:00 +0000

So in my effort to expand the reach of my blog posts I am trying out these link parties. I guess they happen every week and its a way for bloggers to help each other out. Here are links to the two I've joined today (that's part of it... you link on their site, they link on yours!)

You can find a ton of these parties here. They are sorted by day so these are both Monday parties. I'm still learning so if you have any hints or tips for me I would love to hear them!

Not-So-Extreme Coupon Organizer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 16:29:00 +0000

Today's tutorial is for a simple coupon organizer. I have made several of these for my mom in the past and she loves using hers so much I have to keep making her new ones! I also made one for myself this time since I have been getting into using coupons more and more. You can buy one of those accordion coupon holders pretty much anywhere but... who has the space for that?! Those things are bigger than my purse! So here is my solution!

First gather your supplies:

Card stock (I use plain for the main folder and then had a second sheet for decorating)

Pencil

Scissors

Washi-tape

Paper cutter (optional, you could just use the scissors :)

Draw a tick mark every 3 and 3.5 inches on the plain card stock. The 3 inch mark is for the height of each section, and the extra half inch is to leave room for the tabs.

I got 3 sections out of one sheet and then had a scrap piece I used for the last section. If you want to have more sections, just cut more pieces.

Next you need to cut the tabs, make sure you can see each one! I just took the top measurement (8.5") and divided by 3 sections to determine how long to make each tab. Adjust based on your number of sections. Remember if you have 4 pieces you will have 3 sections, 5 makes 4 sections, and so on.

Now I like to attach each piece one by one with washi tape (or really any tape would work but washi is so pretty!). This way you know that each section is secure and your folder won't fall apart.

That completes the structure of your folder! You could choose to stop here and just write on the tabs OR...

You can decorate! I used scrapbook paper to decorate the front and each of the tabs.

That's it! What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments!

Here is another one I made:

Super cute!

Check out how to put your coupons to use over on my other blog: Deals Actually

Custom Key Chain Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 01:56:00 +0000

To order your very own custom key chain: Click here!

To make your very own custom key chain: keep reading :)

First you need to click on over to Amazon (after you finish this post of course!) and order some 1" key fob hardware sets! The more you order, the better the price! I think I ordered 20 for about $12.

Next head over to Joann Fabrics or Walmart and buy some cotton or nylon webbing. If you are price conscious, definitely check Walmart first, less than $1/yard there! Get a lot of pretty colors :)

Now for my favorite part: ribbon!! Make sure it isn't too wide or too skinny, 1" would be the absolute maximum, and I like to go skinnier than that so I can see the webbing color.

Go Gators! (Sorry couldn't resist!) These make great gifts for your guys too!

Now onto the how to:

It really couldn't be any simpler.

1) Cut 10" of the webbing and ribbon

2) Sew up both of the long sides

3) Fold in half and attach key fob hardware with pliers

4) Done!

Now how easy was that? These make the absolute best gifts because they are super cute AND super useful!!

Order yours here!

If you have an embroidery machine, you can embroider onto the ribbon before attaching it, making your key chain even more custom!

If you DON'T have an embroidery machine but want a custom key chain, I can help! Message me on etsy and we'll create a custom order together!

Happy Krafting! ;)

Simple Pencil Case Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 16:36:00 +0000

Today I bring you a super simple yet super cute tutorial! Check out the original on Sweet Verbena's site. Learn how to make this super quick and adorable pencil case for you, your kids, your friends, really anyone headed back to school for the new semester!

You need 2 cuts of fabric for the exterior and 2 of felt for the interior.

Don't be scared away by the zipper - I didn't even use a zipper foot! It's so easy!

Lay down the fabric right side up then the zipper face down at the top. Lay one piece of felt lined up at the top with those two.

Sew.

Repeat on other side of the zipper.

Next sew all 4 pieces together across the bottom, right sides together.

Now make sure to open up that zipper, at least half way.

Push the sewn bottom down so that it is laying on top of the zipper.

Sew both sides, this is how you make the pencil case flat, with the zipper in the middle.

Cut off extra fabric on the sides and bottom and turn.

Done!

See? Told you that was easy.

Now if you don't have your own sewing machine or time or desire to make you own, you can buy one over here, at my etsy shop Precious Prep!

Now if you want to make things exciting you can add embroidery, use 2 different fabrics, and move the zipper off center. Let me know in the comments how you'd make it your own!

Here's a tip: If you do decide on embroidery, make sure that you do that first, so the back gets covered with the felt and looks much neater :)

Go Gators! :)

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Makeup Brush Roll Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 01:52:00 +0000

Today I actually had time to do some crafting! How exciting!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been working on my new blog Deals Actually! I hope you'll check it out soon!

My tutorial today is for a super cute makeup brush roll! This is super quick to make (30 mins?) and would make a great last minute Christmas gift for all the lovely ladies on your list! How cute would this look in someone's stocking on Christmas morning?

So all you need to make this is some felt, fabric, and ribbon! So easy!

First, cut felt to 8" x 9" and 4" x 9" (super easy if you are using a sheet of felt like me!)

Wow the felt looks GREEN in that pic! I promise it does not glow in the dark! :)

Next, sew the 2 pieces together, creating the slots for your brushes. I left a half inch on either (for the next step) and then I have a 2" slot on each end and four 1" slots in between.

Now cut out your fabric to 9" x 8" (I didn't actually measure, I just used the felt as a template!) You'll also need a length of ribbon. Exactly how long? Whatever your gut tells you ;)

Next place the fabric and the felt right sides together (the side with the slots is the right side of the felt). Make sure you fold the ribbon in half and place the separate ends inside your fabric sandwich, leave about an inch of the loop end sticking out. You'll want to position the ribbon parallel to the top of the slots.

Sew around the edges (make sure you only catch the ribbon on ONE side!) leaving an opening for turning near the middle bottom. Trim away any excess and clip the corners. Turn and top stitch the opening. You should have something like this:

Now how quick and easy was that?! Felt is my new best friend! It eliminates the need for interfacing and batting, its basically the best thing ever. And the edges never fray! Oh so amazing!

Fill her up with your brushes:

Roll and go!

No time to make one? Check out my Etsy store, Precious Prep, and place an order! I am offering free shipping for the rest of the year! Take a look around while you're there, maybe you'll find something else you like too!

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Precious Prep Now only $20!

Precious Prep Now only $15.40!

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Fall Wreath Tutorial - Burlap Wreaths

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 16:42:00 +0000

Have you seen the prices they charge for burlap wreaths in stores?! They must be crazy because I made two wreaths for under $20!

And now I am going to teach you to do the same! So the first thing you need is a bunch of Michael's coupons... no one likes to pay full price, am I right?

I don't have my receipts any more but as I remember the two wreath hoops were about $4 each (before coupon), then the burlap rolls were $4 each(before coupon) (I only needed two!), the felt leaves and ribbon I honestly don't remember the price but I do remember that they were already on sale, so no coupon required!

I searched all over Pinterest to try and find a good way to do the burlap and I didn't really find a great tutorial. Now you are probably expecting me to therefore give you a great tutorial on how to do it but... I can't say that I could. What I can tell you is that all you have to do is weave the burlap ribbon in and out of the wires on the hoop. Thats pretty much the best and only way to describe what I did. It takes FOREVER at first because you have to pull 15 yards through each time, but it gets easier about half way through and in the end I think I did both in less than 2 hours.

After you have your burlap all poof-ed (is that a word?) and looking the way that pleases your preference, you can tie off the extra burlap that is left to make the hanger hook part. Again, I can not think of a fabulous way to describe this process. I just messed around with it until it looked right! One hint though: make sure that you make the second one the same length as the first one! Otherwise your wreaths will not hang evenly. I used a bit of hot glue to secure the ends. Be EXTREMELY careful doing this, hot glue goes straight through the burlap so wait a few seconds before pressing anything down to avoid hot glue-ing your fingers!

Now let your imagination run wild! If you like the way my wreaths turned out, which I really hope you do, keep reading! Otherwise, share what embellishments you're using with me in the comments! :)

I purchased two bouquet things of leaves at Michaels, half of them were regular fake leaves and the other half were kind of a felt material. I loved the way the felt ones looked so I only used those. For the bows, I used about 6 yards of ribbon each! I had never made a bow from ribbon before so yet again I don't have step by step instructions for you, sorry about that! But if I can figure it out, so can you! The ribbon I had had wire in the edges so that helped a lot to keep the shape of the bows. I would suggest getting a similar ribbon if you aren't a bow expert, like me. Just work that ribbon until it works for you!

Then I just used hot glue to get everything on there! It helped me to lay them both out before glueing so that I had an idea of where everything would go before committing to it with the hot glue.

Finally give them to your mom as a surprise when you come home for the weekend! ;)

Thanks for reading!
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Craft-a-holic

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 05:13:00 +0000

Here is where you can buy my crafts: Precious Prep on Etsy
I did a LOT of sewing this weekend! And let me tell you- it was awesome! I'd kind of taken a break from sewing for a bit there but it felt great to get back at it! Here are the majority of items I made:

Quite a bit right?! And that isn't all of it! Please leave a comment or shoot me an email (chicboutique612@gmail.com) if you'd be interested in any of the items pictured! I can do custom items too with my embroidary machine!

So the real point of this post is to share some valuable lessons I learned this weekend!

1) the iron is your friend! I never use the iron because it is a pain to get it out with the ironing board and wait for it to heat up and blah blah blah... But for once I went through with the hassle and OMG! It makes a difference!

2) pin pin pin! I always hated the process of pinning my fabric- takes so long and then you have to pull em out as you sew and... Am I sounding lazy yet? HA! But yeah, pinning makes a huge difference! So just do it!

3) patience! As you might be able to tell from tips 1 and 2... I'm not the most patient girl on Earth ;) But if you are patient the first time, you won't have to rip everything out and try a second (third) time! And you won't have to insult your sewing machine with a dictionary's worth of 4 letter words ;D tell me I'm not the only one who does that... Oops

Happy Crafting! :)

If you are interested in purchasing, the items I have available are:

Makeup bag

Pencil pouch

Hair bow

Glasses sleeve

Key fob/ key chain

Prices will vary based on each order but items are between $5-$10 :)

Chicboutique612@gmail.com

Etsy

DIY Makeup Palette

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 03:49:00 +0000

I am so excited to share this with you! I combined my two (current) favorites - makeup and crafts, to create my own palette. If you haven't heard of "depotting" and makeup palettes, just do a quick Google, You-Tube or Pinterest search and you will be able to learn a bunch about it!

At first my plan was to make a Z-Palette copy and depot all these eyeshadows:

But then I chickened out and didn't want to risk the most expensive makeup I've ever bought with this experiment. Soon I will write another post on depotting some cheaper eye shadows :)

So here are my supplies, in pictures, because who doesn't like a bunch of pictures??

Are you ready for this?! Washi Tape SHEETS! They're awesome (Got mine at Target)

Magnetic Tape Strips (Just $0.97 at Walmart!)

This container from the Container Store (It was $5.99) (Sorry about the bad pics, it was hard to figure out how to take a picture of something clear...)

A 1" circle punch (not 100% required but it sure makes things easier!)

And now for the how-to!

First cut a piece of Washi Tape Sheet to fit into the container, like so:

Don't be fooled by the picture - that thing is no where near perfectly smooth, but it looks pretty good, took some patience to get that in there though, but you can do it! I chose this pattern because it is super cute and since it is darker, if any makeup gets on it then it won't show up as much.

Next take the magnetic strips and make 3 equally spaced rows:

Make sure you space them out enough so that the shadows will fit with each one centered.

Now the bottom of these Lorac containers has a ridge around the edge, so just putting one magnet on the bottom didn't work. I had to put a circle of magnet (although you could just use thick card stock instead) on each to make the bottom even and then put a strip of magnet down, like so:

The circle punch worked perfectly! This magnetic sheet was also from Walmart, by the way.

So this step is optional, but super cute and fun, if you ask me! I decorated each container with more washi tape! I guess you could say I like washi tape, check out THIS POST for another washi tutorial :)

Bad pic, I know, but you get the gist of it, right?

Finally just load it up with your Dazzling Dozen and enjoy! The reason I really wanted to make something like this is because every day I had to open up the box of shadows, unscrew each color I wanted, and then close em all up and blah blah blah! It was a real pain, so now all I have to do is flip open the lip and I'm ready to go! Yay!

A little more about the eyeshadows, in case you're interested. These are a limited edition eyeshadow collection I got at Ulta. I am not sure if they are still available but I thought $35 for twelve nice shadows was not a bad deal, considering just one shadow can cost around $15! The brand is Lorac (if you couldn't tell from the packaging! Ha!). I've never used this brand before but I like em :)

Pleaseeeeeee leave me comments!!!

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I am in no way affiliated with any company, this is just my personal stuff and my own creations!

Littles!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 22:30:00 +0000

No I'm not in a sorority, I'm on a dance team! And we have bigs and littles. This is my first time as a big and it is very fun! I LOVE making things for people and giving it to them! It is so much better than getting a gift to me.

I made several gifts as well as bought a few, but I am just going to cover the ones I made on here.
So I didn't intend to necessarily write a post about this so don't hold my pictures against me :)

This was the first gift they received (the dance group is called Extreme, fyi). I picked the colors based on what my littles said their favorite colors were.

These were the gift bags that I had for them, I got them from Michael's! Super cute colors and patterns.

These are their final gifts! Each one will get a shirt and hanging plaque. I rolled up the shirts so that they would be a surprise and tied 'em up with pretty bows. Note how the colors of the letters match the chevron frames :)

Here is another picture of the plaques. These were really fun, easy, and cheap to make! I got the plaques ($0.97 ea), letters ($1.77 ea), and ribbon ($1) from Walmart. I painted them and Mod Podged a piece of scrapbook paper on, then hot glued ribbon for a hanger. I added the bow as a last minute decision and I'm so happy I did! What do you think?

Here are some really bad pics of the shirts I made! The pics don't do them justice, I tell you! I embroidered the white letters onto the black fabric and then sewed the squares on using a zig-zag stitch.

For the front I embroidered their initials onto the same black fabric and created a pocket! They turned out so cute I think!

What have you made for your littles?