the thrifty crafter

The weekends have been nice around the beach lately so we’ve been taking our dog down there to play. There always seem to be an abundance of nice, big, unbroken shells at Dog Beach (probably because you don’t see many little kiddos running around with their pails full) so I’ve been picking up the pretty ones and saving them for a craft.  As most seashell decorations tend to not be my favorite, I wanted to create something that brought in my love of nature-inspired, textural elements.

I’m a collector of all notions crafty  – when I head to a thrift store, discount store or garage sale (or even when someone does their spring cleaning and discards perfectly good items that could be repurposed!), I’ll take home things that I might not have an immediate need for and save them until inspiration strikes.  Such is the case with this twig wreath, which I found discarded on top of someone’s trash.  It originally had ugly, fake flowers not-so-delicately hot-glued on it which were easily removed to reveal a clean and natural base.  The lotus seed pods were found at a thrift store mixed in a bag with preserved leaves for $2 (but you can find them at any Michael’s) and my reindeer moss is leftover from some Christmas projects.  I wanted another textural component, so used my trusty 40% Michael’s coupon to purchase these interesting dyed and dried mushrooms.

While I think the addition of succulents would be gorgeous, I wanted something dried so that I could hang it, then store it away with the seasons.  So grab a hot glue gun,  get inspired by your findings and leftovers, and get creative!

Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to dress up your coffee table for the holidays.  Varying sizes and sheens of paper doilies are layered together in a seemingly haphazard fashion to create a simple, festive table runner.  The Dollar Tree carries paper doilies in white, silver and a bronze-y gold in 8, 10 and 12-inch diameters that work well for this project.

What you need:

• paper doilies in varying diameters and colors
• photo mounting squares

What you do:

1. Lay out your doilies in a pattern that is pleasing to your eye.  I wanted mine looking asymmetric and almost thrown together.
2. Use photo mounting squares to delicately adhere your doilies together in their final position.

   

Running out of room on your fireplace mantel, or just looking for a new way to display the holiday well-wishes from your nearest and dearest? Try this frame made of only twine and push pins to create a focal point for all of your lovely greeting cards.  Shaped like a tree itself, this spirited display lends even more festivity to your holiday decor.

All you need:

• jute twine
• push pins
• scissors
• hole punch
• twine or yarn or twisty ties to fasten your cards

Here’s what you do:

1. Start with the trunk of the tree and create a loop at the free end of your twine.  Use push pin to secure in place.
2. Place another push pin to mark the apex of your tree, loop and knot twine twine, cut and secure.
3. Place third and fourth pushpins to mark the base of your tree.  Starting with a new loop at the apex, wrap around one corner, pull taut and wrap second corner, finishing at the apex.
4. Loop and knot free end of twine and secure.
5. Use a hole punch at the top of your cards and use twine, yarn or twisty ties to secure to twine tree.

   

Around St. Patty’s Day, I found a lovely tutorial for a rosette wreath made from a zillion felt circles.  Little did I know when starting the project that my delicate dentist hands would hurt for a few days afterward from cutting all those circles!  BUT, I still love the tightly clustered look of the wreath and decided to change it up a bit to make it 1.) easier on the hands, 2.) less time consuming and 3.) festive for the 4th of July! Instead of circles, I cut 3 inch squares out of leftover fabric from my flag bunting, leaving the edges a bit raw to create the illusion of bursting fireworks.  Hands are fine, I was done in a few hours (instead of a few days) and the colors really pop!

Here’s what you need:

• 10-inch white styrofoam wreath form
• box of straight pins
• approx 2 yards of scrap fabric, the thicker the better
• rotary cutter, rotary mat and Omnigrip (so fast and easy if you are a quilter and have these already, otherwise use a ruler and scissors)
• scissors
• ribbon for hanging

Here’s what you do:

1. Snip edge of your fabric every three inches and rip out strips.

   

   

2. Layer strips of fabric together and cut out three inch squares.

   

3. Fold each square as shown, such that the folded over corner bisects the edge it is being folded over upon.

   

4. Fold over again as shown, so that you have four points sticking up.  Insert pin at folded edge.

   

5. Pin each folded square onto wreath form, clustering tightly to create bursting firework effect.

   

6. Fluff fabric after adding a few squares and continue adding until all visible surfaces of wreath are covered (everything but the backside).
7. Flip wreath over and use straight pins to affix your ribbon hanger.

Cost: $5, after using leftover fabric from another project!  I picked up the wreath and straight pins at Joann’s and used a 50% off coupon toward the wreath.  A super thrifty holiday craft!

I’ve posted a fabric bunting before and, truth be told, this is one of my favorite ways to decorate a space for a get together.  For the upcoming 4th of July holiday, I thought pennant-shaped pieces of fabric in the colors of our national flag were a perfect way to decorate the front of our house.  I chose red and blue textural fabrics from Joann’s clearance and remnant sections, then added some heavy, white linen (formerly Ikea curtains) from my scrap bin at home.  If you’re familiar with my posts, you know how much I love my jute twine, and I used that to string the flags.  White cording would also be fabulous here, but as a thrifty crafter, I try to use what I’ve got at home before buying new materials!

Here’s what you need:

• 1/3 yd each of four different fabrics (yardage needed will depend on space you are decorating – mine was 20 feet across)
• rotary cutter, rotary mat and Omnigrip (so fast and easy if you are a quilter and have these already, otherwise use a ruler and scissors)
• jute twine
• Stitch Witchery by Dritz
• iron & ironing board

Here’s what you do:

1. Use your rotary cutter, mat and quilting ruler (or scissors and ruler) to cut triangular pennants that are 9 inches tall and 6 inches at the base. This is done extremely fast and precise with a rotary cutter and mat, so I’d invest in these tools  if you work with fabrics a lot!

   

2. Choose a sequence for hanging your flags.  I gave mine a bit of variety by shifting the position of  the red brocade print throughout the sequence.

   

3. Attach pennants to jute twine by folding base edge over and securing with 5″ pieces of strip adhesive.     Following the instructions on the back of the Stitch Witchery package,  place your iron on “Wool” setting and iron over folded edge for at least 10 seconds.  Check to be sure it is secure and repeat as necessary (various fabrics will differ in how much time is needed).  Be sure to place the corners of the triangles closely together as you go.

   

When I saw a fantastic stenciling tutorial using fabric paint and freezer paper on MADE, I had to come up with a project using this method.  After finding some kraft colored flour sack towels at Tuesday Morning,  I decided to make holiday-inspired kitchen towels.  Great thing about these towels is that they are oversized, so I cut them in half to create eight different towels (or enough for 4 different holidays if you do 2 per holiday). While I focused on the 4th of July since that holiday is soon upon us, I plan to make some for the other holidays throughout the year, just to add a touch of festivity to the room where the entertaining magic happens – the kitchen.

Here’s what you need:

• Tulip brand matte fabric paint
• paint brush
• plain cotton kitchen towels
• Freezer Paper (not wax or parchment)
• Exacto knife
• cutting mat
• clip art printout or design for tracing
• iron and ironing board
• hair dryer (optional)

Here’s what you do (for a wonderful step-by-step tutorial with pictures, please visit MADE):

1. If starting with oversized flour sack kitchen towels, cut in half, iron and sew cut edge.

   

2. Enlarge and print a clip art image or draw one out on a piece of regular paper.  I used a star from Microsoft Word (free!).
3. Trace your image onto the freezer paper, matte side up, shiny side down.

   

4. Tape your freezer paper tracing to your cutting mat and very deliberately use your exactoknife to cut out your tracing.  Be very careful not to make any extra cuts, as these will allow paint to seep through later.
5. Iron your “stencil” onto your fabric where you want it, being careful to make sure the edges of your drawing are sealed.
6. Paint onto the fabric with your chosen color, extending onto the freezer paper stencil.  Take care to not get any paint on the fabric surrounding the stencil.
7. Let the paint dry for an hour, using a hair dryer (optional) to speed up the process if you are impatient, like me.  Do multiple coats as necessary to get the color/brightness you want.
8. Carefully peel back the freezer paper and admire your craftiness!
9. Lastly, be sure to seal your finished artwork by covering it with a piece of cloth and ironing over it.

For this project, I decided to make my life difficult and use two different colors.  If you choose to do this, start by painting the outer portion of the star first (in this case, white area).  After that portion has dried and you have removed the freezer paper stencil, re-cut a second stencil to block out that layer (and yes, you can iron the freezer paper onto a painted portion, just make sure the paint is dry!) and paint the middle.  I did mine the opposite way and some of the white paint ended up on my colored centers, which made for an unhappy crafter!

Cost-Saving Tips: I found the Tulip Matte fabric paint at Tuesday Morning for $2.99 for the 6 tube starter kit – these go for about $1.69 each at Michael’s, so I was stoked on this find!

I found a pretty, though maybe slightly garish, vintage print fabric while perusing my local Salvation Army one day.  While I always thought the material would create nice decorative throw pillows for either indoor or outdoor use,  using the underside of the print, à la classic Reyn Spooner Hawaiian shirts, gives it a whole different feel. Here’s a super easy and inexpensive way to add some vintage style to your home decor.

Here’s what you need:

• two 14-inch square pillow inserts
• about a yard of vintage print fabric
• ruler & scissors
• pen
• sewing machine & thread

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut two 15 x 15 inch squares from your fabric
2. Cut two 15 x 18 inch rectangles from your fabric
3. Cut each 15 x 18 inch rectangle in half to create two pieces measuring 15 x 9.
4. Fold over one long edge of the 15 x 9 piece twice and pin to create 1/4 inch seam.  Sew.

   

5. With underside facing in, pin pieces together, starting at the edges.  The two 15 x 9 pieces should overlap and the sewn edges should be pointed in to create the envelope opening.
6. Sew the two squares together, starting with the edges that parallel the opening.

   

7. Finish edges (optional) and turn out.  Insert pillow form and fluff. Picture below shows finished backside where pillow is inserted (right).

Tips: I purchased my pillow forms from Joann’s on a buy-one-get-one-free sale for $4.49 each.  The fabric was a whopping $1 from the Salvation Army.

Cost: $10 for two unique pillows!

Need a simple way to freshen up your wall decor?  Before you get rid of what you have and go out and buy all new stuff,  try this simple craft to give new life to the existing artwork.  Using textural fabric, re-cover an existing mat to add dimension and interest.  Not only do you save money by not purchasing a new mat, but you get to re-use what you already have and cut down on consumer waste!

Here’s what you need:

• textured fabric
• old picture mat
• hot glue gun
• scissors

Here’s what you do:

1.  Iron your fabric.

2.  Place existing mat on top of fabric, leaving a 1-2 inch border of fabric around mat.  Cut.

3.  Cut a window in the fabric to match that of the mat, again leaving a 1-2 inch border.

4.  Miter the corners of the fabric.  Trim any excess away.

5.  Starting on one side, fold fabric over outside edge of mat and secure with hot glue.  Pull fabric taut, and glue down inside edge.  Repeat this for all sides.

6. Place newly covered mat in picture frame with picture, hang and enjoy!

Tips: I purchased my nubby cotton fabric in the remnants section at Joann’s for 50% off.  The black mat I had in storage and almost threw away, until I figured I could re-use it somehow, instead of buying a new mat.  Finally, the frame was purchased at Aaron Brothers with a 40% off coupon – always check their website before heading to the store – there is usually a coupon there!