Tag Archives: tutorial

How to build a (magical) wreath

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It’s Christmastime, which means I can’t talk about any of my sewing projects because they’re all a secret. But even though I have to keep my projects under wraps until the holidays are over, I still have a fun Christmas craft to share!

One of my favorite Christmas decorations to pull out of storage each year is the Mickey wreath I crafted over five years ago. Come December, I swear I have more interaction with my neighbors than I do all year long… all because they are asking about the wreath!

Mickey Mouse Wreath Tutorial on SewLindsaySew.com

Last year, I decided to replace the lights on the wreath with twinkle lights – turned out they were the “cool white” lights and are a little more blinding than I had anticipated. I’m pretty sure planes have thought about landing on my house. But I love the twinkle!

IMG_8168

Here’s a quick little guide for how to make your own Mickey wreath! Continue reading →

Pencil Bunting 101

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If you and I know each other in real life and you’ve worked on a crafty project, chances are I’ve hounded you to write a blurb for my blog. Sometimes I beg to no avail and just write a blog for you (ah-hem, Krafty Katie). But for the FIRST TIME EVER, one of my friends has actually given in to this peer pressure.

I’d like to think this is a form of “positive peer pressure” — you know, the kind you learn about in D.A.R.E. class… kind of like this:

Positive Peer Pressure

Anyway, remember my good friend Joe? I made him a Mickey Mouse “man bag” for his birthday. Joe is a fifth grade teacher and he’s been going crazy on the Pinterest for the past week or so, preparing ideas for his classroom. When he sent me a picture of pencil bunting he made for his classroom (you know how much I love bunting), I begged him to send me a write-up and photos!

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It’s Tea Time!

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Here’s a fun little project I recently whipped up for my coworker Sylvie. We’ve been “cube neighbors” for six months, but she was fulfilling a temporary assignment and her last day was this week. The office will definitely be a lot lonlier without her!

Every afternoon, Sylvie likes to partake in “tea time” – aka, a trip to our friendly neighborhood Keurig machine for a cup of tea. So when I saw a tutorial for a zippered teacup pouch, I immediately knew that I had to make one for Sylvie.

Teacup Zipper Pouch

If you’re wondering what the faux “tea bag” says, here’s another fun fact: Sylvie is French and often takes the opportunity to educate our office suite about French culture (mostly because we interrogate her with silly questions). So the tea bag says, temps de thé – aka, “tea time” in French. At least, that’s what the Google told me the translation was. Maybe it actually translated to something inappropriate and Sylvie just didn’t want to tell me… let’s hope that’s not the case!

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Sweet Success

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My mom loves iced tea. Really, she is a self-proclaimed iced tea addict. I grew up hearing, “Can you pass me a pink/yellow/blue packet?” in restaurants as she requested her sweetener of choice. But of course, for those emergency-sweetener-situations, she always has some packets in her purse. When I made my mom an earbud zipper pouch (she’s as addicted to music as she is to iced tea) she mentioned that it might be a good size for her sugar packets.

I had a Barney Stinson moment: “Challenge Accepted!”

Barney Stinson: Challenge Accepted

Side Note: This Barney Stinson graphic is going to be a recurring image in my blog every time I try something new. Because it’s awesome.

Okay, so making a separate zippy pouch for sugar packets wasn’t really that big of a challenge, but I knew that I could do better than the circular earbuds pouch. Here’s the thing with sewing: you don’t have to “make do.” You don’t have to say, “I guess this MIGHT work for my sugar packets.” No. You get to say, “Let’s make something that WILL work.”

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Ode to Joe (and what I sewed)

Posted in Disney, Sewing, Tutorial / Pattern Reviews by

When I moved to Florida in 2006, one of the first people I met was Joe. We both participated in the Disney College Program together and spent many, many hours living it up in the Disney parks!

Joe

Some photos from our College Program days back in 2006!

After the Disney College Program ended, I stayed in Florida – and Joe returned home to New York. But within a year or so, he was back in Florida and we’ve been able to continue our adventures ever since!

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Ten Easter sewing projects: free tutorial roundup!

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Spring is here! I wish I could say that I’m spending time outside today, but the pollen count is so high in Florida right now that I’m stuck inside taking allergy meds. Yuck.

But this springtime weather has me feeling inspired, so I’ve raided my Pinterest boards and pulled out ten of my favorite Easter-inspired projects for this free tutorial roundup! Scroll down for links to all of the projects shown below.

10 Easter Sewing Projects: Free Tutorial Roundup on the SewLindsaySew blog.

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For my buds…

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A few weeks ago I was in the mood for a quick project, so I decided to try this Circle Zip Earbud Pouch Tutorial over at Dog Under My Desk. I’m so appreciative that the internet is chock full of these great, photo-heavy tutorials. My sewing journey would be completely hampered without all of these incredible resources at my fingertips.

I use earbuds at work from time to time, but they are always floating around between drawers or crammed at the bottom of my laptop bag. Now I have this little guy hanging on my cube wall, ready to provide my buds at a moments notice.

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I love sheep!

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Did you know I love sheep? Well, I do. I can’t really explain why – it’s just one of those things – but I love sheep in all forms: pictures of sheep, plush sheep, edibles that use marshmallows to look like sheep, the real sheep that “baa” and even sheep measuring cups.

Sheep measuring cups

Maybe you thought I was kidding about the measuring cups.

I know, the sheep thing is a little weird, but so am I. My loved ones are kind enough to just embrace it! I have a steadily-growing plush sheep collection above my desk at work, and more than half of those sheep have come from my family and friends.

So imagine how excited I was to stumble across this Little Lamb Pillow tutorial at The Purl Bee – and just in time for Easter!

Little lamb pillows

Photos & tutorial courtesy of http://www.purlbee.com

Magical, right? I love the way the wavy cutting lends itself to the lamb’s “wool.” Can’t wait to try these out!

Do you have a strange favorite animal, too? Or am I the only one?

Do the sewing touchdown dance

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Even though it still feels like summer here in Florida, football season has officially arrived! Although I’m not a die-hard football fan, I grew up hearing my dad’s Chicago Bears games in the background every Sunday and the sound of a football game on TV still makes me feel incredibly nostalgic.

Family Circus Football Comic Strip

When I see Chicago Bears fabric stocked on store shelf here in Central Florida, I can’t help but stop in my tracks. Living across the country from my hometown, it’s a rarity to see my team of choice! But licensed fabric is expensive and I’ve never had any specific NFL-ish projects in mind, so I’ve always passed it up.

That is, until recently, when I saw a treasure trove of Chicago Bears fleece in the remnants bin… two remnants that were each just one inch short of a full yard. I almost did a touchdown dance right there in the fabric store. I couldn’t pass up these Chicago Bears gems for 50 percent off!

Chicago Bears fleece remnants

SCORE.

But what are the most relevant uses for NFL fabric? Other than the typical scarf/gloves/hat combos (this Floridian doesn’t need any of those) …

After some Google searching fun, here are some free tutorials for projects that might shine even brighter with some licensed team fabric – both fleece and non-fleece projects!

Never lose your remote again with this handy couch caddy! Click here for the free couch caddy tutorial at Sew4Home. (Note: this tutorial technically calls for home decor weight fabrics. Since most licensed fabrics aren’t home decor weight, you may have to get creative with heavy interfacing.)

Couch Caddy Sewing Tutorial

Photo and tutorial courtesy of Sew4Home.com

Follow along: Football games on Sunday afternoons >> Sunday afternoons are lazy >> lazy Sunday afternoons call for pajama pants. Enough said. Click here for the free comfy PJ pants tutorial at Sew4Home!

Free pajama pants sewing tutorial from Sew4Home

Photo and tutorial courtesy of Sew4Home.com

If pajama pants just aren’t lazy enough, how about a tutorial for a knock-off Snuggie – a.k.a. “Snuglet?” Yes, please! Click here for a free “Snuglet” tutorial from SissonFamily.com!

Snuggie Slanket Snuglet free sewing pattern

Snuggie, Slanket, Snuglet… whatever! Photo and tutorial courtesy of SissonFamily.com.

I’ve had fabric pendants on my sewing to-do list for awhile, but I only had celebratory birthday pendants in mind. A fabric pendant made with team fabrics (mixed with color coordinating calico prints) would be really fun for Super Bowl parties, etc! Click here for the free fabric pendant tutorial at Your Homebased Mom.

Fabric pennant sewing tutorial

Photo and tutorial courtesy of Your Homebased Mom.

This tutorial is so amazing it’s ridiculous – a stadium blanket that can be toted around in a bag that doubles as a bleacher cushion – and can be made using old t-shirts. BRILLIANT. Click here for the free stadium blanket and cushion bag tutorial from Sew Mama Sew and Fishsticks Designs!

Free stadium blanket and bleacher cushion sewing tutorial

Photo and tutorial courtesy of Sew Mama Sew and Fishsticks Designs.

Well, I’m off to TACKLE some studying… ha ha ha. 🙂

Any other fun ideas for using NFL fabric?

Go Bears!

LindsaySignature

I did not sew this wooden birdhouse but I’m writing about it anyway

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Happy Father’s Day!

Here’s the sewing-related Father’s Day blurb: a free necktie tutorial at The Purl Bee!

Father's Day tie sewing tutorial

Photo and tutorial courtesy of The Purl Bee

My dad rarely wears neckties in his profession – he’s a dentist and can most often be found wearing scrubs. However, I have some guy friends who often wear ties to work, so I have tucked this tutorial away for a future project!

Now, the non-sewing related Father’s Day craft that I’ve been waiting to share. My dad really enjoys birdhouses, bird feeders and pretty much any other device that attracts birds into the yard. He spends summer nights sitting on the back porch with a glass of red wine, looking over his land and watching the birds take advantage of the whimsical sanctuary he’s created in the yard.

In recent years, I’ve taken to painting a new birdhouse each year for Father’s Day. One more thing I should mention is that my dad dreams of driving the monorail at Walt Disney World when he retires from dentistry. So, I present to you… the Father’s Day 2011 birdhouse inspired by the oh-so-magical highway in the sky:

Walt Disney World Monorail Birdhouse

Like the backdrop? It's a Disney Snuggie. 😉

Happy Father’s Day, Dad! You can bet that the next time you hear birds chirping, they are surely saying “Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas!”