What to do with a thrifted picture frame, #1 - Embellish!

Stampington & Company, how I love thee...

So after getting the Winter Issue of Create with Me Magazine, I was inspired to do my own version of the room plaques in the "A Room of My Own" article by Lori Oles.



In the article, Oles does the artwork with her children (I'm assuming by their faces, they're older than my kiddo), but for my version, I did all the artwork and frame mods. I wanted to post pics mainly to show you what a bit of glue, trim, buttons, and fabric flowers could do to a $0.50 picture frame from the thrift store.

Here's what I came up with (sorry, no step-by-step photos...I'm working on that):



Yeah, the picture stinks...I took it with my phone to post on Facebook. But you get the idea, right!?! Here's what I did:

1. Choose the frame - Mine was a silver colored metal one with little tiny rhinestones (some were missing). I got it for $0.50 at the Thrift Store. I took the guts and glass out, cleaned it all, then let it dry.


2. Adding the ruffle - I had some leftover ruffle trim from a shirt I recycled for something else, and it was just the right amount. I used hot glue to affix the base of the trim to the frame, going around the rhinestone border (the trim wasn't wide enough to cover the whole frame).


3. Securing the ruffle - After I hot-glues the ruffle in place, I used Crafter's Choice adhesive (CC from now on) to glue the bias-tape part of the trim shut and to further affix it to the frame.


4. Adding the flowers and buttons - I have a bag of fabric flowers that I keep around...they're easy to make while watching TV in the evening, so I have lots. I pulled three "vintage" looking ones out of the bag and CC'd them to the trim.Then I picked out three matching buttons from my stash and covered the mitered joint in the trim corners.


5. BLING! - The little rhinestones in the frame weren't big enough for my liking (they were pin-head sized), and some were missing, so I got out some flat sparklies and the CC and went to town. I also glued some sparklies to the corner buttons to cover the button holes.


6. Adding the ribbon hanger - Once everything on the front was dry, I turned the frame over and glued some ribbon with the CC to the back to form a hanger. DONE!

The artwork inside was a different project, and I may go into detail a bit more about that in a later project, but I wanted to show you the frame redo first. There are several other things you can do with frames, but this was a cute, easy project that could be done as a gift for a little girl or new mom or as a project with a child age 7 and up (more help needed for the younger kids, but it would still be fun to pick out all the stuff!).

Now go make something!

Tutorial - T-Shirt Hem Flowers

What to do with all the hems that you cut off after making reusable grocery bags??? Make flowers! Here we go...


STEP 1: Gather your supplies - You will need:

• The hem of a t-shirt (bottom or sleeve...I used a bottom here)
• Fabric scissors
• Ball point needle (any needle will work if you don't have a BP one)
• Heavy duty thread
  

STEP 2: Isolate the hem - Turn hem inside out and cut the excess fabric from the hem, using the serged stitching as a guideline.



STEP 3: Cut the hem - Cut the hem into one long strip.


Now cut down the length of the hem to create two layers of fabric.



STEP 4: Gather the strip - Thread your needle with about a yard of thread. Knot the end. Starting from one end, make a running stitch (gathering stitch, basting stitch, whatever) down the length of the hem, using the middle of the serged stitching as a guide.





Now make a little tack/whipstitch at the end to secure the gathers in place. Make sure you have pulled the gathering thread tightly.




STEP 5: Coil the flower - Start wrapping the gathered strip into a coil (should resemble a fabric snail shell). As you coil, stitch through the center of the coil, again, using the serged stitching as a guide.






Once the coil gets too thick to easily push the needle through, you can start whipstitching the outer coil layers to the inner ones.



When you get to the end, secure the free end with a whipstitch around the edge of the end of the strip. Knot the thread after a few whips to finish the stitching.




STEP 6: Finish the flower - Bury the thread by passing the needle through from the outside to about the center of the flower and pull the thread through. Cut the thread near the flower bottom, or leave it there if you plan to sew the flower onto something later.




STEP 7: Fluff out the flower - Turn the flower over...it will be a tight little wad of fabric. Fluff the flower out by spreading the layers apart.





Here are some of the flowers I've made with the leftover hems and necklines of t-shirts. The larger ones are from bottom hems; them smaller ones are from sleeve hems and necklines.


I didn't cut the hem into two layers for this one:


I used the ribbed neckline for this one:


I stitched this gathered strip to another piece of t-shirt for a bigger, flatter flower:


And these I made from different strips of t-shirt, not the hems:


You can use these flowers to make hair clips, embellish magnets or thumbtacks, sew onto clothing...the list really goes on forever. I made a clipboard with one of these, some magnets, recycled cardboard, and a binder clip (another tutorial eventually). I use it to hold my grocery lists.

And since most of you guys don't have a stockpile of hems lying around, I have listed bags of them in my Etsy shop for you. Play with some different colors and such for only a few bucks.

Have fun!

Tutorial - Recycled Paper/Color-Your-Own Building Discs

If you're a blog reader, I'm sure you've already stumbled across this post in one of my favorite blogs, Made By Joel:

Slotted Building Discs


These little guys are SO CUTE. The circle shape is great for making oddly shaped structures, and they're fairly easy for the kiddos to work with (my testers are 3 and 3.5 yrs old). I've got one or two sets lying around the house, and one in my daughter's backpack for playing with at restaurants and other places that have "waiting times."

So why are mine different? They're not really...just a another take on the same idea. The kiddo and I like to do crafts together, so I thought it would be more fun if she could help decorate the discs. And, since I love using recycled materials, we decided to make them out of cardboard boxes. So here's my attempt at being somewhat original...



STEP 1: Click on the picture to download and save or print the template (8.5 x 11 sheet).

Now, you have the option of just using these discs (that's why I put a bunch on the page) if you prefer white paper. If so, then cut these out and proceed to step 5. If you'd like to be green, then follow me...

STEP 2: Cut out one circle to use as a master. It doesn't have to be perfect...none of the others you cut out will be either.

Once you have the disc cut out, make tiny holes where the little grey dots are marked. I used a tiny hole punch, but a pencil jammed thru the paper will work too. It doesn't have to be pretty. These holes are the guides to mark the end of the slits you'll cut later.

STEP 3: Using your master circle, trace circle and mark the dots onto the back of recycled cardboard boxes. We used cereal, cracker, granola bar, etc. boxes. They're nice and sturdy without being too thick (your scissor hands will thank you). Cut lots if you don't want hear, "Do we have any more?" over and over and over...


STEP 4: Cut out some circles. Take a break, massage your hands, and cut some more. Repeat.

STEP 5: Cut the slits. First, cut a line from the edge of the disc to the dot (red line).

Try to make the lines perpendicular to the edge of the circle, or the slits will be wonky. Refer to the original template to see how the first cuts should look (the little grey lines connecting the dots to the outside of the circle).

Now, cut another slit just a *HAIR* away from the first cut (yellow line).

This creates a V-shaped notch that will make it easier for the discs to slide together. Don't make the notch too big or they won't stay together.

STEP 6: Now comes the really fun part...coloring! Have your builders decorate the discs in any way you see fit. Crayons, pencils, stickers, whatever! Just don't cover up the slits or the discs won't work.


STEP 7: Build something. The discs will lock together to form many shapes. If you tower gets too big and falls over, just start building on another part or it. Here are some examples of what our little architects made:




A set of, say, 40 of these little boogers would be a great home-made gift to give a mom of a 3 - 6 year old. IF you want to get fancy, trace the circle template one pictures printed on cardstock...youcould literally build your own family tree. :) Use your imagination. And if you like this tutorial, pass it on.

Enjoy!