diy dream pillow

When I was little, my mom gave me a small dream pillow that I kept under my big pillow every night. It was filled with lavender to prompt good dreams, and help calm me when I woke up with bad dreams. I don't know what happened to that little dream pillow, but I know how much I loved it- so I wanted to make a new one. And I created a tutorial so you can make your own!


You'll need some fabric, sewing supplies, and dried lavender. I recommend checking out the thrift store for fabric scraps since you won't need a lot. Just make sure you wash it first! I got my lavender from a local health food store that carries bulk dried herbs.


Decide what shape you want your pillow to be. The one I had when I was young was just a little square pillow, but I decided to make this one round. I also made a cloud shape with plain muslin fabric.


Put your fabric pieces front sides facing together and sew them together, leaving an inch or two open.


Trim the extra fabric off and turn your pillow right side out. Fill with lavender- I made a paper funnel to make it easier to pour the lavender in.


Sew the opening shut with an invisible stitch and that's it!


I think this is a really great gift (or stocking stuffer since Christmas is coming up!). You could also include lavender essential oil and an amethyst crystal, both which promote calm and peacefulness. The perfect trio for a good night's sleep.


Here's a little behind the scenes shot of the tutorial, once again the kitties were sound asleep the whole time I was taking photos! I hope you guys enjoyed this little tutorial. If you try it out, let me know what you think of the dream pillow!

xoJordan

fabric envelope {DIY}

I love making envelopes because they're so simple, and they're fun to decorate and embellish. I decided to step away from my usual paper envelopes and try a new material; fabric. It took a bit longer to make, but the result is so pretty! Here's a tutorial if you want to make a fabric envelope too!


Print out an envelope template that is the size you want. A quick google search will come up with dozens for you to choose from. Then pick out fabric for the outside and lining of your envelope.


On the wrong side of the fabric, trace your template. Lay the two fabric pieces on top of each other and cut out the template, with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.


Pin the pieces with the right sides together and sew along the traced template line. Leave an inch or two open on one edge. Trim the excess fabric that was left for seam allowance, except around the opening.


Turn your envelope right side out and press the seams. Fold in the opening and press it as well.


Sew around the entire envelope, including over the opening.


Make a few small stitches at the top of each edge flap to bring it together with the bottom flap.


Iron the envelope so you have crisp edges, and you're finished!


This envelope would be perfect to wrap a small gift for someone, like a pretty necklace.


You could sew on a vintage button if you want to add a little embellishment.


I'm sure you can come up with dozens of ways to use this little fabric envelope. If you decide to make one, let me know! I'd love to see! ♥

shirt to skirt

I came across this tutorial on Pinterest recently, which shows you how to make a button-up shirt into a skirt. A while ago I bought a giant, men's, button-up shirt for $3 at a thrift store with plans to make it into something cool, I just didn't know what. So I'm really glad I found this idea! It was super easy and only took about 20 minutes to make (I spent most of my time searching for a safety pin to use for inserting the elastic waist band). It's really cute too, and looks good with just a t-shirt. I'm going to look  for more thrift store shirts with cool patterns to make more skirts. And I'm thinking maybe a bow-belt made out of the leftover sleeve fabric for the next skirt?

floral skirt

I started watching the new season of Project Runway on Friday (I know, I'm a couple weeks late) and it got me inspired to start sewing again (my last sewing project was making these for Christmas gifts). I had some fabric that I got on sale because it was the end of the bolt, so I got however much was left (I think it was a little over a yard and a half). I decided I needed a new skirt in my wardrobe, so I looked up some ideas online. I kind of followed this tutorial and kind of just made it up as I went along. I didn't have enough fabric to make it as gathered as I wanted, but it still turned out ok just using what I had.

The hardest part was the zipper. I don't have much experience with zippers, so I sat for a while trying to figure out how to place the zipper and sew it correctly. I used a metal zipper because I knew I wanted to have it exposed, and I like the look of metal rather than plastic. 

Another thing that made the skirt a little more difficult to sew was that I added a lining. I want to try making this skirt again, but with a fabric that is thicker and doesn't need a lining.

When I finished sewing, I was holding my breath as I tried  it on... and it fit! I plan on wearing it with a cream colored colored, vintage button-up shirt I found at a thrift store. (Bonus: it even has a lacy, peter pan collar, perfect!)

Can you tell I like floral patterns? ;)

DIY pink-dyed cutoffs

I've seen colored jean shorts all over pinterest and I've been wanting to make some for the longest time, so I finally bought the supplies and did it! This was my inspiration picture.

ps. And a bonus, this whole project cost me less than $10, while ones you find in stores are $30+!!!

You will need:

♥fabric dye

♥an old pair of jeans

♥bleach

♥vinegar

♥water

♥a bucket

I used the Rit liquid dye. I was originally going to do a light aqua, but when I went to the store to buy the dye, they were out of a lot of the colors. So instead I chose "petal pink". 

I bought an inexpensive pair of jeans from the thrift store to use for this project. Check your closet first though and see if you have an old pair of jeans/jean shorts to use. I wanted to make shorts, so I cut the legs off, but this would also work if you left them as jeans.To keep the shorts from unraveling, I sewed around the legs, 1/2 inch above where I cut them. I wanted them to fray, so I didn't hem them.

Next, bleach the jeans. I did all of this outside on the driveway so I wouldn't stain anything. I followed these instructions for bleaching. Mix 2 parts water with 1 part bleach and soak the jeans until they are white. (Make sure you wear rubber gloves the entire time!) The website I followed said to leave them in for about 30 minutes, but mine took about an hour to get them to the white I wanted. Just keep checking on them as they soak. After they are done, wring them out and transfer to a new bucket to soak in a mixture of 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar for 5 minutes to stop them from bleaching.

After that, I rinsed the shorts out really well with the hose because we have a septic system, which means we can't use bleach in the washer or let it go down the drain in the sink. Once I made sure they were rinsed well, I washed and dried them. I don't know if this is necessary, or if you can just go straight to dyeing them, but I didn't want to take any chances.

I almost kept them white, because I really liked how they looked, but I also really wanted to see them pink. I think I'll do this project again with a new pair of jeans and just bleach them white and not dye them.

***Note: As you can see in the picture, the threads did not bleach. I'm not sure if it is because of their material (maybe they're polyester?) or what, but it didn't make a huge difference in the end.

Then it was time to make them pink! I followed the directions on the bottle of dye, and mixed about 3 gallons of hot water with half the bottle of dye in a bucket. The only thing I didn't do was add a cup of salt. I'm not sure what exactly the salt does, but leaving it out didn't affect the dyeing process (that I know of). I wanted light pink jeans, so I put them in the dye for about 30 seconds. The bottle said to leave them for around 30 minutes, (I know! That's a big difference from 30 seconds!) but I wanted my jeans to look faded, not fully saturated with color. After dyeing, I washed and dried them again.

I'm pretty happy with the result. They turned a slightly different color pink then I wanted, (I was going for a soft, ballet pink, and they ended up being a bit brighter), but they are still cute. The only negative is they seemed to be bigger after the bleaching and dyeing process. They already were a bigger size than I wear (they were the smallest I could find at the thrift store), but now I have to wear a belt with them or they'll fall down. Other then that, I really like them!

I thought about adding studs to them (like in the inspiration picture), and I still might, but I kind of like them just plain. I definitely want to try this project again with other colors, so maybe I'll just save the studs for another pair of jeans.

Let me know if you make a pair, I'd like to see! ♥

diy fabric covered buttons

I got the idea for these embroidered buttons from this wonderful book (you should go check it out, it has some pretty cool projects). They're really pretty and so easy to make!

Gather together some old buttons, scraps of fabric, and embroidery supplies.

Trace your button onto the fabric. Embroider a design onto it. (Or if you have a printed fabric, you could just leave it as is).

Cut it out leaving at least 1/4 in. around the edges.

Using thread, sew a running stitch around the outside edge of the circle.

Put the button on the fabric, and then pull the thread tight.

Glue down the edges, then cut another circle of fabric (I cut mine the same size as my button) and glue that on top.

And your fabric covered button is finished!

Make a bunch and use them in your next crafty project!



christmas gifts for my family

Now that Christmas is over, I can finally show everyone some of the gifts I made for my family! I know it's already the new year, I meant to make this post a while ago, but here it is! (Warning: there will be lots of pictures because I couldn't decide which ones I liked the best). So for my aunts, mom, and Nana (that's my grandma), I sewed them these little makeup bags. (Or as the tag says, a bag they can use for anything they want).

I found beautiful fabric (I seriously couldn't stop staring at it for days after I bought it) and I followed a tutorial I found on Design Sponge. (In case you're wondering I cut my fabric rectangles 9"x6", which includes the seam allowance, and I'm really happy with the size.) Originally I was going to make fancy tags in photoshop, but the night before I left to visit my family, I realized my color ink cartridge had run out and I only had black. (Note to self: do not procrastinate and wait until you have one night left to finish gifts). So I found a pretty rose clip art image and made tags in Microsoft Word. I actually really love how they turned out and am glad they are in black and white.

I picked out a few different prints of fabric because I couldn't decide on just one. (And I picked out colors depending on who I was giving it to and what they would like). 

The bags were really simple to make so I would definitely recommend Design Sponge's tutorial.

Then I used some of the same fabric and some lace to make bows for my cousin/BFF, Jade. (She and I both have an obsession with bows).  

 I followed the tutorial from Stars for Streetlights. (Sorry, no measurements. I just kind of free handed these)

 I attached an alligator clip and a pin so she could wear them in her hair or as a brooch.

I also carved a mustache stamp for Jade. I bought an ink pad to go with it. Jade loves mustaches. That sounds really weird. It's not like she has a mustache or anything, she just likes them. Haha, sorry Jade, I'm explaining it a bit too much. :D

I made Harry Potter wands (one for Jade, my brother, and sister) because we all are Harry Potter nerds. They turned out really well and I'm mad at myself for forgetting to take a picture because I also packaged them really pretty. I  made a little card to go with it that was a "wand certification" and said their name, wand core, type of wood, etc... (If you read Harry Potter you'll know what I'm talking about). I followed this tutorial  I found on DeviantArt. But instead of chopsticks I used 12" wooden dowels. (3/16" diameter).

The last thing I made was this necklace for my aunt's birthday (it's the day after Christmas). I love how it turned out. I'm not a jeweler and don't know much about making jewelry, but I kind of figured it out by myself as I went along. (Like I do most crafts). I found a tutorial from my Martha Stewart Craft Encyclopedia for making beaded flowers (it's also online here) and that's what I started out with. I used that as inspiration for making the actual necklace, and the attached it to the necklace. For the necklace I used beading wire which is really thin and flexible, almost like string. I packaged the necklace using a piece of cardboard covered with the pretty fabric, and washi tape. That's it!

I only posted this picture (above) because I thought it was pretty for some reason. It's just the clasp I made for the necklace.

Sorry I couldn't post these pictures before Christmas, but maybe this will give you inspiration for Christmas gifts to make this year! (Or for a birthday!). I hope everyone has a lovely day!

sewing

I went to our local quilt shop and got some fabric so I've been doing lots of sewing! Mostly for Christmas presents, but I can't show you those until after Christmas or my family will know what I made them!

I'm also attempting to make a beaded flower following the directions from Martha Stewart. I only have one and a half petals done, but I'll post a picture of it when I'm finished. (That is, if it turns out well).

I probably won't post much until after New Years because I'll be spending time with family. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!