Jane of all Trades

Jazzy Heart Clip Tutorial

2012-02-12T16:48:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day is just two days away. Looking for a quick, cute, simple project to surprise your little one? Try the Jazzy Heart Clip. It will add just the right sparkle to your Valentine's Day!

You will need a glue gun (or fabric glue), one bendy clip, two felt heart pieces (mine are around 3" x 3"), and about a half yard of sequins. These are from Joann's and come threaded - they are very pliable, which is perfect for this project.

Step 1: lay the clip on one heart and mark two small lines about a half inch in from the ends of the clip. Snip these lines. Put the clip aside for now.

Step 2: put the two felt hearts together and sew a simple seam around the entire edge - mine is about 1/4".

Step 3: start gluing the sequins down. Use a THIN layer of glue and work in sections. Follow the outside of the heart, curving the line of sequins as you go. Overlap the sequins a bit. When you get to the almost-end, you may need to go over some sequins a bit to even out (see how my bottom left photo just had a little space to fill in? I went up to the right (see bottom right photo) to even out the last two lines.) Cut the thread between sequins and glue down the end - try to tuck the thread under, into a dab of glue.

Step 4: open up the clip and slide through the two slits you cut. That's it!

Now, go make a bunch and surprise your little Valentine! (Little E. likes the white one best - she says it looks like a cookie with frosting. YUM!)

Have a sparkly Valentine's Day!

Ruffle Headband Tutorial - super easy!

2012-02-06T19:21:00.001-05:00

If you are looking for a VERY quick and easy project for you or your little one, look no further! With just two supplies and your sewing machine, you'll have a cute, ruffled headband in about five minutes!

Materials: one elastic headband (you could use a 1/2" width elastic you buy at the fabric store - just add an inch, overlap ends and zigzag to sew together)
one cut of ribbon about 2 1/2 times the length of the headband
*A note on ribbon choice:
some ribbons will ruffle better than others
I had some grosgrain with a printed/painted pattern on top, and some woven.

The woven, non-printed one definitely worked best. A smaller print on the grosgrain seems to be better, too.

Fold one end about 1/2".

Place fold up against headband.

Position this "sandwich" under your needle. Lock stitch in place. You want the elastic facing up so you can get a nice, straight stitch and keep the elastic in the middle of the ribbon.

Pull ribbon straight, and then stretch elastic fairly far (the more you stretch, the more ruffle you'll get). Pinch together in one hand. Sew with a regular stitch. Restretch and position elastic and ribbon as you go. Use your other hand to gently pull ribbon and elastic from the back (behind the presser foot).

As you get close to the beginning, stop and overlap the end. Cut to about 1", fold over 1/2" and abut ends (see photo below). Be sure to tuck raw edge under so it is sandwiched between the elastic and the ribbon.

Sew through end and lock stitch.

You'll get this snakey mess...

...all ruffly...

that can be worn this way...

...or this way!

Rainbow birthday - all the rest!

2012-02-02T15:01:00.000-05:00

You've seen the craft and the decorations. Here's what else we did to help little E celebrate big FIVE!

Coloring pages (from here)...

...rainbow scavenger hunt: balloons of each color were hidden with coordinating stickers. The kids had to find each balloon and sticker their paper. When they found all six colors...

...they received a little bag of gold (and silver) at the end of the rainbow!

Fabric party hats (found here), rainbow-style...

...twirl rainbow pops...

...rainbow relay: the kids lined up in teams of six. They had to put on the rainbow wig, run to the other side of the room and color in one color of the rainbow. When done, they ran back to their team, pass the wig and the next child runs down to color.

The rainbow cake (recipe here), but we didn't make it for the kids' party because a certain five-year-old didn't like it. We made sugar cookies with frosting and rainbow sprinkles instead.

...a rainbow of fruit..

...the dress (handmade by me, am loving the finished look of the double needle!).

I think it was a successful party.

The five year old looks pretty happy!

Rainbow birthday - the craft: rainbow garland from upcycled cardboard tubes

2012-01-28T21:55:00.002-05:00

Is it the crafter in me, the artistic birthday girl, or the 12 children in the house on a winter day that called for a rainbow party craft?
I love that little E was soo proud of our enviro-friendly craft - the first thing she announced to everyone as they sat down at the table was, "It's made out of toilet paper tubes!" Not paper towel tubes or wrapping paper tubes (which are both true!). She's a crafter and an enviromentalist!

Here's what we did:

Materials: washable paint, glue, 8 rings (cut from upcycled cardboard tubes from you-know-where), paintbrush, hole puncher, yarn needle and yarn, cotton balls, large beads

1. Punch two holes on either side of each ring.

2. Paint seven rings (eight if you want to do a white coat under the cotton ball). With the lighter colors, you may want to do more than one coat.

3. Pull apart the cotton balls for a cloudy effect. Glue them on the remaining ring.

4. Thread your needle. If you double up the yarn and push the loop through the eye of the needle, you'll end up with a loop to hang the project when you are done. Handy, eh?

5. Alternate bead and tube (oops - no cotton on that one - I glued it afterwards - with the kids, we skipped the white paint and glued the cotton before stringing everything so the glue could dry a bit).

6. Have fun and be creative with your color choices.

All strung...

...and ready to hang.

Perfect for a rainy day, or any day you need a little extra color!

Super awesome winner!

2012-01-27T23:02:00.000-05:00

First off, THANK YOU for all the blog and bag lovin'! I wish I could send a bag to each and every one of you! As a thank you for such a successful giveaway, I would like to offer 15% off anything in my etsy shop until Feb. 5th. Use coupon code GIVEAWAY1 upon checkout.

Okay, now the moment you have been waiting for.....

the winner of the BabyE Crafts handmade bag is....

plainjanesews who said, "the orange makes the bag pop. great color combo".

Hooray! Congratulations, Jane!

(You may be wondering if there was some favoritism with the names here, but I assure you it was random!)

Jane, please email me and let me know where to send your new bag!!!

Thank you again for all your support and kind comments. I'll have some more rainbow birthday posts in the next week, so stay tuned....

It's a GIVEAWAY! (now closed - thank you!)

2012-01-22T14:11:00.002-05:00

In honor of my chalk board mat tutorial being featured on Sew Can She, I'm hosting my first giveaway!

Would you like to win this bag?

All cotton fabric, with sturdy canvas interfacing...

...button accents...

...pleats...

...and interior zip-pocket.

To enter for a chance to win this BabyE crafts handmade, one-of-a-kind bag:

become an official follower of Jane of All Trades through Google or email (I just added the "follow by email" on the right sidebar)
(if you are already a follower, you'll be entered automatically)
leave a comment on which button color you prefer - orange or brown
cross your fingers for your name to be chosen!

I will choose one lucky winner and post it Friday, January 27th. Check back to see if it's you!

Good luck!

Handmade Fabric Doll for Miss M.

2012-01-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

Our friend turned one at the beginning of January. What better way to recognize this milestone than with her very own dolly.

This one looks just a wee bit like Miss M - blonde hair, blue eyes and super cute all over!

Her eyes are hand-embroidered, courtesy of this tutorial over at Sublime Stitching.

I love these little feet - just like our friend who is about to master cruising all over! And, the dress fabric is a sweet corduroy print my aunt sent from her stash (I should say, she sent along WITH her stash - all 70+ pounds of it!).

I hope Miss M. loves her dolly as much as little A. loves hers (see here).

Trying it out for a while...

2012-01-19T15:17:00.000-05:00

I've struggled for a while with posting ads on my little blog. I blog to share ideas and be a part of a bigger crafting community. Posting ads seems to detract from that mission.
However, if I am doing the blogging anyway and I can receive some compensation for posts I am doing anyway, it doesn't hurt, right?
Besides, I have my eye on a new lens and it would be really great to earn a little money towards that...
I hope the new feature doesn't detract from what I've worked to create.
Let me know what you think.

Yarn wreath tutorial

2012-01-16T20:40:00.006-05:00

As mentioned in my last post, I found this great project in . It's from Stash Happy: Felt by Jennifer Fitzsimmons.

In the book, she calls for a straw wreath for the base of the wreath.

As I didn't have one on hand, and didn't feel like buying one, I figured out the following. I hope you can use it to make one of her beautiful felt blooms wreaths.

To make your own:

Materials: one 10" cardboard cake circle (or a 10" circle cut from a repurposed box)
                scrap battting
                glue gun
                chunky yarn

1. Decide how large an opening you want and trace. Mine is a 4" diameter (leaving 3" around for the yarn wreath). Trace the center circle.

2. Cut out the center circle. I use an exacto knife (be careful!).

3. Roughly cut the batting to the size of the circle. For mine, I cut two layers.

4. Glop on some glue and stick that batting on. You just need enough glue to anchor the batting on.

5. Cut the center circle out of the batting. Repeat with a second layer of batting if desired.

6. On the back, glue one length of your yarn.

7. Start wrapping the yarn. You want the yarn to be snug enough to hold its place, but you don't need to over-pull. The batting will squash down quite a bit as you wrap.

8. If the skein is too big, you might need to cut a long length of yarn to be able to fit through the hole. No worries. You can tuck and glue (as in photo above) ends and then start another.
When you are done wrapping, cut a length, tuck under the back yarn and glue in place.

9. You now have one yarn wreath ready to create something beautiful! Be sure to check out Stash Happy: Felt for Jennifer's gorgeous (and simple) felt blooms.

My favorite part of this project is that, by making the wreath base this way, I had all the materials on hand. In my mind, that makes this a FREE project! (Never mind I had bought them at some point in time, right?)

Wishing you some thrifty crafting thrills!

Rainbow birthday - the decorations, part 2

2012-01-14T20:42:00.003-05:00

Once the holiday decorations come down, it's time to decorate for our January birthday girl. That poses a bit of a question of what to put on the doors.

This year, I found this yarn wreath in Stash Happy: Felt. I tweaked the directions a bit (I'll show you how tomorrow) to make these two wreaths.

I love the pop of color against the natural color of the yarn and our weathered doors. I think these fall right into the birthday decor and will be a favorite for years to come.

Wishing you a pop of color in your day!

Rainbow birthday - the decorations

2012-01-13T13:58:00.005-05:00

Somebody turned five today!

She requested a rainbow birthday.

These are felt carnations from Stash Happy: Felt

They kind of rainbow-fy the room.

I'll share the yarn wreath I made from the book tomorrow.

Until then, wishing you a colorful day!

Couch cushion recover - finally!

2012-01-11T14:00:00.001-05:00

Until this past weekend, this was the view on our couch. Old, grungy pillows...

...complete with holes...

...and poorly-fixed corners where the dog chewed them in his younger days.

Look at them now!

I found this floral fabric in Florida almost one year ago and just finally got to sewing up new covers.

With orange piping for added detail.

I've had this Heather Ross fabric even longer. Every so often, I dare cut into it. I think this time was worth it!

And, I think the dog agrees.

Wishing you something refreshing and new today!

Stay tuned...

2012-01-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

You might notice a new "featured" button on the right. That's because my chalkboard mat tutorial will be featured on Sew Can She! Check out this great blog which features a new tutorial each day.

Thank you, Caroline, for choosing my tutorial for your lovely blog!

A rainbow of fruit

2011-12-31T15:57:00.002-05:00

Our appetizer tray for tonight's New Year's party - a rainbow of fruit.

Wishing you a fruitful and colorful 2012!

Photo safari

2011-12-29T21:06:00.005-05:00

My brother has been home for a week from California. Today, we took our cameras, along with new lenses and bags from Santa, on a little photo safari. Here are a few shots to share - including one of my somewhat elusive brother (thrown in for friends who have yet to meet him after all these years).

Wishing you some fresh air and adventure today!

Just a little something...

2011-12-28T13:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was one of those days I just wanted to sew something simple.

Since putting away the Christmas decorations, the house felt a little bare, and my milk glass dish looked a little lonely on the table.

I raided my stash and made up this simple mat/coaster - lined with cotton batting for a bit of cushion.

My milk glass dish looks cheerier and my sewing craving was met.

Wishing you a satisfying project kind of day!

Felt bird ornaments

2011-12-23T16:06:00.002-05:00

Each year, we like to treat our family friends to a small, meaningful gift for the holidays. We have friends that are known for their granola, hot chocolate and gingerbread men. While I've made peppermint bark in the past, I wanted to do something different this year.

Little E had planted sunflowers in the garden that yielded beautiful yellow heads full of seeds. When they dried up, we got the idea to save them and give them out as our holiday gift - something to either save and plant or share with the birds now.

After a few trial runs, I came up with a felt bird ornament with a fabric applique wing and bell to accompany the sunflower. Unfortunately, when we went to retrieve the flowers, they looked less than gift-worthy. Plan B? A sack of seeds the birds will enjoy in the coming winter months along with a handcrafted ornament I hope our friends will enjoy in the years to come.

The bottom right was my first bird - the wing came out a bit too big. I love the paisely brown one, probably for the sheer luck that the print landed on its eye. In the end, I opted for the simple felt birds - I love the striking contrast between the saturated color of the felt and the fabric print.

Here are two gifts, packaged and ready to deliver (can you tell my color ink was running out?).

Wishing you the joy of creating and giving!

Morning view

2011-12-19T14:23:00.002-05:00

Candy cane heart pops

2011-12-18T15:07:00.003-05:00

While cleaning out my craft area, I came across an old Family Fun magazine. Before recycling it, I flipped through quickly and found these great Valentine pops. A simple recipe with few ingredients and a few steps makes for great holiday treats to wrap up for friends.

With a change of sprinkle color, they are now perfect for the holiday season.

Candy cane, white chocolate and festive sprinkles...

...all packaged and ready to go (into my tummy?).

Hope you find time to try something new today!

Just in time for Santa: felt carrot tutorial

2011-12-16T15:56:00.002-05:00

Cookies for Santa are great, but I think the reindeer deserve a healthy snack after all that pulling, don't you? Here's a quick and fun project to make sure that sleigh makes it wherever it needs to go!

Materials: a small amount of green and orange felt
polyfill or other stuffing

Cut felt according to above measurements.

Put these out for Santa's team on Christmas eve and you'll be sure to avoid any coal in your stocking! Make a few more for your little one's imaginary horse, too!

Wishing you delicious treats this holiday season!

Advent stockings

2011-12-15T11:47:00.002-05:00

The countdown to Christmas is a magical time but often gets overshadowed by Advent calendars that hold treats and candies. My preference is for a simpler kind which helps children and adults prepare for the holiday with actions of friendship, love and kindness.

I have had these sweaters in my repurpose box for years but never wanted to cut into them. Once I saw this decorating idea on Martha Stewart, I finally braved the scissors to my felted beauties. I'm so happy I did because now we have our own Advent calendar tradition.

Borrowing some prompts from Noodlehead's Advent calendar and coming up with our own, we now have 24 days to show acts of kindness, love and fun as we prepare for the Christmas holiday.

Wishing you moments to stop and enjoy the spirit of the season!

Holiday dog treats

2011-12-13T13:55:00.001-05:00

This guy deserves a treat! He puts up with a two year old climbing all over him, an almost-five-year-old practicing her dog training on him, and waiting his turn for attention. While he is our first-born, he often comes third in the line-up.

So, to give him a special treat for his birthday (seven!), we found this dog treat recipe. He LOVES them, and I love that they are all-natural and easy to make. The girls love to help roll and cut, and it's really fun to find cookie cutter shapes to match the season.

You can find the recipe here: a super easy peanut butter dog treat recipe

One batch makes two cookie sheets full, so bake some for your favorite furry friend and share some with others. This is the perfect holiday gift for a dog-loving friend!

I guarantee your dog will come running for these treats!

Wishing you delicious moments baking this holiday season!

Merry and bright

2011-12-11T20:27:00.001-05:00

Hello, my friends.

It has been a long time since I last posted - not for lack of crafting, taking photos or thinking of posts to share. We had a busy, eventful fall and it felt like every week was a call to tend to family, house and friends.

After little A turned 2, we faced a long stretch of illness. Luckily, through it all, we were blessed with good spirit and love, and now health again.

We then experienced the October snow storm that took out our power for close to a week. Again, we were blessed with good spirit, a sense of adventure and good friends to help clear the debris.

November brought two craft fairs that kept these fingers busy sewing for weeks. Both events were successful and fun - a chance to connect to community and friends new and old. We also celebrated two birthdays in our house - one for a furry friend and one for yours truly. While the number hit a bit harder this year, I am thankful for so much and consider myself a very lucky lady.

December is now here and we are in the throes of preparing for Christmas. The decorations are up, the tree is lit (cut from our backyard - it is beautiful!), gifts are purchased and parties are beginning.
It is a magical time of year and I wish all of you the very best for your seasonal celebrations.

P.S. The photo is of a holiday swag I made for a friend using many of the broken tree limbs from the October storm and berries picked on the side of the road.

A monkey applique shirt, some news and a chalkboard mat tutorial...

2011-09-18T21:31:00.001-04:00

First off, look who's two!

I can't believe how grown up she looks in this photo! The shirt is mommy-made, based on the monkey fabric in her party favors - Urban Zoologie Monkeys by Ann Kelle.

Second, some quick news: I have a line of reusable snack sacks currently for sale at a local farm stand. The pairing of the snack sacks and a business promoting local produce feels like such a good fit. If you are a leaf-peeper in Western Mass, be sure to swing by M&M Green Valley Produce to check them out!

Last, but not least, I gave you a sneak peek at some chalkboard fabric a while back. Now, that fabric has magically transformed into chalkboard mats! These roll up for easy travel, and are perfect for entertaining little ones at restuarants, in the car, etc.

Interested in making one? Here's how:

Materials: one 13.5 " x 11" piece of cotton quiliting fabric

one 4" x 4" piece of cotton quilting fabric

one 13.5" x 11" piece of chalkboard fabric

one package extra wide, double fold bias tape, 1/2" width

12" piece rickrack (or ribbon) for tie

1. Round corners of both fabric pieces.

2. Pink top and left edge of 4 inch square. Align with bottom right corner of chalkboard fabric and baste. Trim along rounded corner.

3. Use a spray adhesive to baste the wrong sides of fabric together. My spray adhesive of choice? Sulky KK 2000 - non-toxic, non-flammable and safe for the environment!

4. Beginning in the middle of the bottom, sandwich chalkboard fabric and cotton fabric between bias tape. Note: the photos show me sewing with the chalkboard side up, but it's better to sew with the cotton side up. This way, you can make sure you encase all the cotton fabric.

5. Once you have sewn the bias tape around the entire chalkboard mat, overlap the ends by about an inch and a half. Cut the tape.

6. Open the tape and fold the end, wrong sides togther, about a half inch.

7. Fold the sides of the tape back, enclosing the raw edges. Now, re-sandwich the mat in the fold of the tape, sew and backstitch.

8. Fold your piece of rickrack or ribbon in half and sew to the right edge, half way up, on the cotton side. Note: I used Fray Check on the ends of my rickrack.

9. Write a message to your little one, tuck the chalk in the pocket, roll and tie your mat, and off you go!

Here are the ones I made for the party - perfect for a two year old girl and her friends!

And, for the two babies who came, their very own monkey bibs (because they'd probably just eat the chalk!).

Wishing you lots of reasons to monkey around today!

Fabric Party Hats Tutorial revised...

2011-09-08T15:48:00.002-04:00

Somebody is turning TWO tomorrow!

In honor of her special day, I wanted to make her a fabric party hat to match her birthday bunting.

This was a great time to try an idea for revising the pattern a bit - using buckram to add stability and including a cute lining fabric.

Here's what to do:

follow the basic fabric party hat tutorial but substitute one lining fabric for a layer of duck cloth and one buckram for the other layer of duck cloth

layer the fabrics as shown below

Then, go make another one because the resident 4 3/4 year old would like one, too.

blurry photo of said 4 3/4 year old - still cute though, right?

Wishing you lots of reasons to celebrate...today and everyday!