{DIY} No-Sew "Ribbons and Bows" Holiday Shirt

So there's no better time to make holiday shirts for your kids, than the day of the party right?  Perhaps I'm the ultimate procrastinator, or perhaps I like to live life one day at a time, but I woke up this morning realizing the girls didn't have any cute party shirts to wear to Daddy's Work Christmas party....at 2:30...hmmmmm.... I always love the idea of embellishing t-shirts, but a really hate sewing anything onto jersey knit.  Even with stabilizer, I feel like it bunches up and starts to looks really funky.  BUT I didn't want to use glue either...so I fished around in my supplies and came up with some magical Stitch Witchery.  If you have any aversion to sewing, this product can be a lifesaver!  So here's my no-sew tutorial for the

Ribbons and Bows Holiday Shirt

Here's what you'll need:

Stitch Witchery
Iron

Various Ribbons

Scissorrs

A plain T-shirt or onesie (or both!)

Step 1:  Begin by tying your bows.  I used 3 on the shirt, and 2 on the onesie.  

Here's the best way to tie perfect little bows:

-Make two loops with about 2" of ribbon between them

-Cross one loop over the other

-Pull it through and tight

-Adjust the length and size of your bow

Step 2: Lay out the ribbon on your shirt.  Cut some pieces of Stitch Witchery to the length of your long ribbons. 

I then cut my S.W. (Stitch Witchery) in half, lengthwise because it was thicker than my ribbon.  You can of course buy S. W. that is the right size for your ribbon, but that would've made things way too easy ;)
Step 3:  Simply follow the directions on the S. W. box - fusing the ribbon to the shirt using the heat of the iron.  Tuck under the ends 1/4" before you press it down, so you won't have any raw edges showing. 

Then add a small piece of S.W. to at the bottom of the ribbon and cover it with a bow. 

Press again to fuse the bow to the shirt.  Continue this process until all of your ribbon is on the shirt.  Put a dab of Fraycheck or clear nail polish on the ends of your bows so they won't unravel.
(turn the shirt inside out when you wash it)
Enjoy your holiday season sporting these sweet little T's!!

Happy Crafting!!
xoxo
jessica

{DIY} Ribbon Storage

Yes I am unpacking and trying to set up a cute crafting/sewing corner for myself.  

 I have some ribbon...none of it on spools.  

The idea to wrap it around cardboard is not mine, 

but I wanted to display it in a cute way so that it could sit out. 

I'm certainly NO expert on organization, but I think the best way to make things like this look organized, is to make them uniform.  I had lots of varying lengths of ribbon, but by putting them all on the same size cardboard, with the same kind of ribbon to hang by, it makes them look neat.  

Does that make sense?

 

Supplies:

Scrap cardboard

Crafting Scissors

Marker/Pen

Straight Pins

Large Safety Pins

Ribbon for hanging

Small nails

Hammer

Large wooden board - I used some old barn board

(of course you could also do this using pushpins onto a cork bulletin board)

In a nutshell, here's how to make the cardboard spools:

I traced around a mason jar mouth and drew the circles onto a piece of cardboard.

Cut them out.

Then draw lines where you want to cut into the side of the circle.

Cut them out.

Wrap the ribbon around it and secure with a straight pin.

*Once you've organized the ribbon, poke holes in the top of each cardboard spool - I used a large nail to do this.  

*Thread a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie into a knot.  

*Vary the lengths of your hanging ribbon so they will hang nicely.  

*Slide ones of the same color onto a large safety pin.  

*Nail two small nails into the board for every safety pin you want to hang.  

*Slide the safety pin over the nails.  

There you go!  

Pretty and organized - and it can be easily accessed and added to as you acquire more ribbon.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

jessica

Ribbon Storage Solution

Again with the moving organization....

I had a bad ribbon problem.

I remembered something Shannon had told me about using jars for ribbon organization.

I'm sure this has been done before, but this is my take on it.

You'll need - various clean jars, fabric scraps, rubber bands, scissors, and an unruly mess of ribbons.

Organize your ribbon by color - and put each color in a different jar.

Leave little tails of ribbon hanging out.

Snip a little cross into the center of a scrap of fabric - feed the ribbon through - then secure it to the jar with a rubber band.  Trim off any excess fabric about 1/4" from the rubber band.

No more ribbon mess.

YAY!

Happy organizing.

xoxo

jessica

DIY *Star* Bow

Need a last minute bow for the fourth?

You can whip these up in no time!

Supplies for 2 bows:

1 yard of ribbon

2 strips of red/white/blue fabric 2"x10"

2 ponytail holders

sewing machine/thread or hot glue gun

Step 1:  Cut the ribbon to 18".  Starting at one edge, fold it like a remembrance ribbon.

I use the clip to hold it in place as I fold it
- but if you are using hot glue, you could glue it in the center as you go.

Then fold it again, 

and 3 more times after that - creating a star shape.

Step 2:  Make a small fabric rosette out of the 2"x10" strip.

Step 3:  Slide the star, with the rosette in the center, under the foot of your sewing machine (or hot glue it in place).  Carefully sew it in place - don't go too fast or you will break a needle.

Step 4:  Turn the star over and put the ponytail holder in the center back of the star.  Set your machine's zig zag stitch to a short length and width, so that it will tack it in place (or hot glue it in place).

There you go!

The most adorable patriot I've ever seen.

xoxo

jessica

{DIY} Door hanging: Entra Qualche Gelato

...translated from Italian it means "Come in, have some gelato!"

This is what I did with my flea market frame! 
When I showed it to Ryan he said, "what, are we having people over for ice cream?"  ummm thanks.  There goes my ego...but I still hung it up, and I like it a lot (he's usually pretty cool with these things...I think he'll come around).

It's really simple - if you would like to make one, or make something with the same sentiment, you can print out the words here.

You're on your own with the ice cream - it's just triangles and circles.  You can do it :)  I didn't use paint chips, but this would be a great way to use some up if you have them lying around.

Happy decorating - I'm feeling summery!
jessica

Tiny Treats

 

Do you have an abundance of plastic Easter Eggs?  

How about turn them into tiny bowls for tiny ice cream!  

I was inspired by these pom pom milkshakes - they are super cute.

Here's what you'll need:

plastic eggs

pom poms in different colors

ribbon/yarn

hot glue gun

Simply glue the pom poms into the bottom half of a plastic egg.  

Then decorate them with "chocolate syrup -yarn" and "cherries" and sprinkles.  

Lastly glue a small piece of ribbon around the top of the egg to make your bowl pretty.  

So cute right?

Perfect for ice cream socials with small friends.

Happy monday!

xo

jessica

Thrifty Transformation

Looking through several DIY magazines this holiday, I was inspired to organize my crafting area a bit.  I found this little thing at a thrift store for $4, and decided it would be perfect for organizing ribbon, trims, buttons, etc.

Obviously it needed a little love.  

SO I  removed the little birdhouses, and bought a can of spray paint.  

I thought a happy blue would be nice. 

I painted it - not worrying about being perfect because

I wanted it to look old.  

Once the paint dried, I got out the sandpaper.  The trick to making something look vintage is to distress it in the areas it would normally be worn down.  

Such as around the knobs and corners, along the edges, or where light may have faded it.  

That was it!  Then I just filled it with lots of little notions -several of which I got for Christmas - thanks Jo!  

One step closer to a more organized chaos.  

Have a great Monday!

jessica

Dashing Dryer Sheet Ghosts

Maybe this is taking "green" to a little extreme, but I have been "dying" (sorry) to make ghosts from dryer sheets.  Finally today I think I found a not-too-tacky way to do it. 

This would be a great craft to do with your little ones. (Plus it's extra motivation to do some laundry)  Here's what you will need:  dryer sheets, ribbon, hot glue gun/hot glue, sparkly black pom poms (available at any craft store). 

Find a corner of the dryer sheet and make it the "top" of the head.  About an inch down, pinch the dryer sheet to make the head.

Tie a ribbon around it in a little bow or knot.  Now, hot glue the pom poms onto the head to make eyes. 

Once you have finished all your ghosts (I made 6), lay out your background ribbon.  Hot glue the back of the bows to the ribbon. 

Hang in a happy place - we picked our window because we liked the way the sun shone through the ghosts - spooky!

Have a great weekend!
jessica