DIY “Tie” T-shirt Tutorial

Posted on July 15, 2012 by jewelsathome

We’re not formal people… this is how my son showed up to Kindergarten graduation:

Kindergarten graduation. The tie T-shirt is about as dressed up as this kid will get.

I love these tie “Fat Tie” T-shirts that I bought on Zulily. The boys have worn them for a wedding, too, and they seem to strike the right note of respect and whimsy. After getting lots of comments on them, I decided to make some for our boys and to give as gifts.

Another cute “Fat Tie” shirt.

This is not the only tutorial around for this project, but each of us approaches it a little differently, so here’s what I did:

I started with plain long-sleeved T-shirts from Lands’ End. Lands’ End is really hard to beat when you are looking for good quality basics. Their sales are great, and I got these shirts for about $5-$10 each. I prewashed the shirts and the fabric for the ties.

Plain long-sleeved T-shirts from Lands’ End.

I made a template with a piece of scrap paper, using a bit of trial and error to get the shape I wanted.

Paper template for “tie”

To make the tie,

I cut a piece of Heat’n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive a bit larger than the template and traced the tie pattern onto it
I cut a piece of fabric a bit larger than the Heat ‘n Bond.
After folding down a finished edge for the top of the tie, I ironed the Heat ‘n Bond onto the back side of the fabric.
After it cooled, I cut out the tie.

Preparing a fabric “tie” for ironing onto a T-shirt

I ironed the “tie” onto the shirt, lining up the top to the collar of the shirt and using a tape measure to make sure it was centered.

Center the “tie” on the shirt

I’ve seen people describe iron-on projects where they don’t sew down the edges, but it never seems to work for me (the fabric peels off), so I sewed a straight stitch about 1/8″-1/4″ from the edge of the tie.

Sew a straight stitch around the edge of the tie.

And here are the finished shirts! Next time, I think I will try some with a false “knot” at the top, like these shirts by Erin at Lemon Tree Creations. I’d also like to try experimenting with a bow tie!

DIY Iron-on “tie” T-shirts

I’ve also made onesies with these appliqued ties, because even babies need to get dressed up sometimes!

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So many ways to have fun with this idea!

“Jewels”

DIY Custom Gift Bags

Posted on July 7, 2012 by jewelsathome

Here’s another easy idea to make a gift that is unique and meaningful from things you might already around the house. We just celebrated my twin nieces’ first birthday, and I wanted to make them cute gift bags. They were born in the year of the rabbit, so this paper that hubby bought for me in Japan years ago was perfect.

I almost always make my own gift bags by reusing paper shopping bags or party treat bags. I add decoration (and cover up the writing) with wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, or art paper. I finish off the packaging with coordinating tissue paper and ribbon. It’s easy to make matching cards with the same paper, too.

Custom gift bags for my nieces’ first birthday.

Custom gift bags

While I started making these bag to make good use out of paper bags I already had, I’ve also done it by buying a group of plain bags from the craft store. Not only are you conserving resources, the handmade result will be one-of-a-kind and beautiful!

“Jewels”

Taggie Blanket and Animal Loveys

Posted on June 23, 2012 by jewelsathome

“Pei-pei,” our second child’s blankie, has been referred to as our third child. That was in the days before we had a third child, and it was appropriate, as he went everywhere with us and is immortalized in countless family photos from all over the continent and the globe! These days, pei-pei stays at home, but he still occasionally will pose for a picture, like this one:

Blankie is a member of our family!

Baby brother has a blankie, too.

After seeing how much the boys love their blankies, I wanted to make some of my own. I had this minky blanket fabric that matches our baby’s pei-pei, so I thought I would make some extra blankies for him and for gifts… more on how that turned out, later!

In the past, I had made some little stuffed animals with ribbon “taggies,” since it seems like that is usually little kids’ favorite part of any blanket or animal. Here are a couple of the dinosaurs I made with taggie spines, before they got stuffed.

DIY dinosaur lovey with taggies on spine by Jewels at Home

Dinosaur lovey with taggies on spine, before she gets stuffed.

Finished dinosaur taggie lovey

Our baby’s lovey has a white bear head in the center, but I decided to add some taggies around the edge of the new blankets instead (foreshadowing: this was a mistake!). There are two ways to add the taggies:

For a complex shape like the dinosaurs, put the two sides of the fabric with right sides together and pin the taggies in place facing inward. Then sew around the perimeter, leaving a small gap to turn it. Finally, flip the whole thing , stuff it, and close the seam.
For a simple shape like a blanket, you can put the wrong sides together and fold under the raw edges, as shown below. Pin on the taggies, and sew around the edge to close the seams and secure the taggies.

DIY lovey blanket with taggies by Jewels at Home

Turn the raw edges of the fabric under and pin the taggies in place before sewing.

Finished DIY lovey blanket with taggies

I think these taggie blankets will make great gifts. And mnie will have to be gifts, because, as I hinted above, the new blankies did not go over with our toddler. As I mentioned, his blanket is made of the same material, but it does not have the taggies and has a white teddy bear head in the center. When I showed him one of the new taggie blankets, expecting him to grab it excitedly, he instead stared with a look of horror and shook his head, backing away. I can just read his mind: “Oh my goodness! Mommy decapitated my pei-pei and added these horrible garish tags to it! This is an abomination! Help!”

Well, hopefully, some lucky baby will start off with these taggie blankets and learn to love them for what they are.

“Jewels”

Fabric Banding on Bath Towels

Posted on June 19, 2012 by jewelsathome

Do you have some plain towels calling out for a bit of interest? Adding some ribbon or a beautiful fabric – or both – to some towels is an easy way to transform them. The finished products make great accents for your home and would be great housewarming gifts! The sewing is all straight lines, so a forgiving and doable project. These plush towels were lovely already, but I felt like dressing them up a bit. I used a band of fabric and some bias tape.

Before you start this project, prewash the towels and fabric, so they won’t pucker later, if they shrink unevenly.

I started by cutting strips of each fabric to the width I wanted and joined pieces end to end to make a long strip.

Make long strips of the fabrics you want for the towels

Then, I joined the strips of different fabric to each other and ironed down a seam allowance on the top and bottom.

Sew together the different fabric strips

Finally, I cut sections a bit wider than each towel and pinned it onto the towels, folding a seam allowance on the ends before sewing the fabric to the towel.

Adding fabric border to towels by Jewels at Home

Pin the fabric in place, turning under the raw edges.

This was really an easy project, and I think it makes a big impact! I used a little bit of the green and white fabric to decorate a basket in the vanity, to tie the room together.

DIY fabric border towels by Jewels at Home

Finished towels with new fabric border in our master bathroom.

New fabric border on master bath towels.

A funny story along the way: ever wonder what the kids think of all these craft projects? Our six year-old saw the fabric pinned to the towels in my sewing room and asked, “But won’t the pins hurt?” It reminds me that all my great ideas might seem a little crazy to others.

Now that I’ve decorated these towels for our master bathroom, I’d love to try some more. I’ve seen some very pretty versions of this idea on tea towels or burp cloths, all of which would make great and special handmade gifts.

And with these towels, our master bathroom is pretty much done, do that room tour will be coming up soon!

“Jewels”

Inspirations from Daily Life – June 2012

Posted on June 3, 2012 by jewelsathome

I’ll keep updating this post through June and plan to start a new post each month with some of the photos I’ve taken of inspiring projects and scenes I’ve encountered in daily life.

Coffee can napkin holder

This would be great for a picnic buffet. The Cafe du Monde can is especially cool, but you could print vintage labels for a similar feel. Could also cover cans in coordinating labels for utensils, and your casual summer party is complete!

Low water landscape
We only have a small patio at home, but here’s how to add a ton of beauty and charm with little maintenance. It’s a dry creek with grasses and a pergola above.

More ideas to come!

“Jewels”<

Ribbon Border Window Panels ~ Master Bath

Posted on June 2, 2012 by jewelsathome

When I bought the roman shades for our master bedroom, I almost ordered one for our bath, too. I’m very glad that I decided to go with something lighter. I ended up making a sheer panel for the bottom half and a matching valance at the top. This gives privacy while still letting in light and our view.

Since I do a lot of my projects after the kids are in bed, I got to see the nighttime view first, and I am so excited that I wanted to post it right away, so here is how our master bath window looks with the new window panels:

Tutorial for adding ribbon to window shades by Jewels at Home

Finished window panels with ribbon detail in master bath.

Daytime view is pretty foggy outside, but I’ll keep trying!

Ribbon border shade tutorial:

You will need:

plain shade or panel: you could use a ready-made shade or sew a simple panel.
ribbon: I used bias tape/ ribbon, because I had it around the house. Grosgrain ribbon would look beautiful, too.
Heat’n Bond Liteiron-on adhesive. You can buy it in strips, but I cut my own strips from a sheet I already had

Lay out your pattern:

Here’s the pattern I used. My bias tape was 1/2″ wide. There are lots of variations, some of which I’ll show below, so go ahead and get creative!
Once you know what pattern you want to use, measure out a length of ribbon, including a little extra just in case.

Ribbon layout for shade

Apply the ribbon:

Apply the Heat’n Bond Liteto the back of the ribbon according to the instructions on the package.
Peel off the backing in short sections and iron onto your fabric, following your pattern.
Mitre the corners by laying the ribbon up to your corner, then folding it back on an angle.
I cut tiny triangles of Heat ‘n Bond and slipped them under the mitered edges to help the corners lie flat. You can see in the second picture the difference between adding the extra triangle (left) and not (right)

Heat 'n Bond applied to back of ribbon - shade tutorial by Jewels at Home

Mitered corners. On the left, you can see that adding a small triangle of Heat ‘n Bond helped the corners lie neat and flat.

More inspirations!

Here are some other great examples of ribbon borders on window panels and shades. There are so many possible patterns and techniques.

These ribbon border roman shades were sold by Pottery Barn a couple of years ago. I like the use of the wide ribbon and simple pattern. This will be the inspiration for our boys’ shades.

Another simple and elegant ribbon border by Wendy at The Shabby Nest. I would love to do something like this in our kitchen, too!

Go to The Shabby Nest

I fell in love with this beautiful picture on Pinterest, but I cannot find the original source. If you find it, please let me know, so I can give proper credit. I love the detail on the ribbon border. It was too ornate for our bathroom, but I am looking for a place to use it!

roller shade with border by What the Vita

Pretty shade with border by Elisa at What the Vita. I love the orange ribbon and the way the shade looks layered with the drapes. She used glue to attach grosgrain ribbon to a plain roller shade! I’m going to look at her tips when I do my boys’ shades, since I won’t be able to iron directly onto them.

Go to What the Vita

Some other ideas would be to

add a ribbon border along the bottom or
add two rows of ribbon around the border, in different colors or widths.

Let me know what you come up with for your windows!

“Jewels”

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DIY Wall Initials – This time, for the Girls

Posted on May 31, 2012 by jewelsathome

Remember these wall initials I made for my kids? I put one up in the nursery already, using 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips. Besides hanging them on a wall, you could make these letters part of an artful arrangement on a shelf or stick them to the door. I made mine as big as a 12×12 inch sheet of scrapbook paper would allow, but I would love to make a really large one some time with wrapping paper or fabric.

DIY paper-wrapped wall initials by Jewels at Home

These oversize letters were also the May Giveaway, and Jenny won them for her two girls. While I was working on Jenny’s letters, I made two more for my twin nieces, who are turning one next month! It’s often easier to do several of any project at once, while you have the motivation and all the supplies out. You definitely learn a lot as you repeat projects, too. Don’t you wish you could always start with the second one, after all the mistakes have been made?

I already posted the instructions for making these letters, so I’ll jump straight to the final result!

DIY paper-wrapped wall initial decor by Jewels at Home

DIY paper-wrapped wall initials

With this combination of letters, I just couldn’t resist!!

DIY cardboard wall initial decor by Jewels at Home

Close-up of this pretty paper on the “C”

Close-up of some more beautiful paper on the “m.”

As you can see, I used lower case letters this time and a different font: American Typewriter Bold.

And I’ll add one tip if you have to wrap around a small opening. I cut the tabs in a zig-zag pattern, so that they don’t get too short.

Cutting tabs to wrap letters in paper

Beside the fact that I nearly glued all my fingers to each other in the process, it was so fun for me to make something for little girls, since we have a house full of (wonderful!) boys. I’m also really glad to give Jenny’s girls a piece of home that they can take as they move overseas and just as thrilled to have something unique to celebrate the big one year birthday with my nieces!

Looking forward to another fun giveaway starting next month!

“Jewels”

Easy Coastal Transformations for Ikea Dressers

Posted on May 27, 2012 by jewelsathome

My dad has a love of the ocean. He grew up spending summers at the beach, and it’s one of those memories that still stirs him. He’s downsizing his main home to a condo and invested in a getaway house near the ocean. A big part of his vision is to have our boys play on the beach the way he did, so I know we’ll be at the house a lot, too.

I’ve been charged with putting his house together, which at times has been a curse (construction project from &$@%!) but is, of course, also very exciting. I can’t deny I love a good decorating project and am fortunate to have this opportunity from my dad. And of course, since we’re by the ocean, I’d love to incorporate elements of a beach house into the design.

One of the many beautiful things the ocean gives us is the beautiful bleached grey patina of weathered driftwood. This dresser from West Elm caught my eye, because of the organic feel of the wood tiles and the fresh look of white against wood.

West Elm prices are reasonable, but I had a whole house to finish, so I was hoping for a lower-priced option. What do you think when you think of inexpensive furniture? Ikea, of course! Ikea is a real mix of flimsy stuff that is barely worth the low prices and some really fantastic finds. For furniture, I try to stick with their solid wood pieces, which are sturdier and will last a lot longer than paperboard and foil. These Hemnes dressers definitely feel like they’re sturdy and a good value.

One of the current finishes at Ikea is this gray-brown, which I think has the look of driftwood. The super-easy trick I used was to buy two Hemnes dressers in white and two in grey – all for the price of one dresser from West Elm. I then swapped the drawers between the two sets, and tada! Instant coastal charm with a clean look that will endure!

A simple swap was all I needed for the master bedroom dressers, and the white matches the West Elm Window Headboard perfectly.

Ikea Hemnes dresser hack - swap the drawers for a coastal transformation. By Jewels at Home

White dresser with gray-brown drawers in the master bedroom.

For the kids’ bunk room, I wanted to use a surfing theme, so I painted surfboards on the drawers. The designs were taken from some of the bedding in the room. This is a fun coastal look that is great for young kids and still works for teens.

Gray-brown Hemnes dresser transformed with painted white drawers. By Jewels at Home.

Gray-brown Hemnes dresser transformed with painted white drawers in the boys’ bunk room.

How to:
To paint the drawers, I sanded the drawer fronts lightly and sprayed them with white primer. I painted the surfboards with acrylic craft paints then sprayed a clear finish on top.

By the way, I realize not everyone needs multiple dressers, but you could swap with a friend or just paint the drawer fronts for the same effect. It was easy to work with the panels before I assembled the drawers.

Hope you’re getting the calm feeling of the beach from these easy and inexpensive dresser makeovers!

“Jewels”

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Inspirations from Daily Life – May 2012

Posted on May 22, 2012 by jewelsathome

I’ll keep updating this post through May and hopefully start a new post each month with some of the photos I’ve taken of inspiring projects and scenes I’ve encountered in daily life.

With all the great decorating blogs and Pintetest, there is certainly no shortage of ideas for design and projects on the Internet. Still, it’s a treat to walk around and find beautiful inspirations in our regular routine.

Kids’ Furniture

These fabulous chairs are in our kids’ school library. They have pages from old children’s books torn, aged, and decoupaged. You could get very creative with these. My friend and I were talking about making a set for the school auction with drawings from the students and their names decoupaged. You could do the same thing for a special teacher who is having a baby, as a shower gift from the class.

Baby Shower Cake

This was actually the practice run for my friend’s baby shower later this summer. On a marble chocolate and yellow cake, I spread whipped cream and created a duckie picture out of strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple. It tastes fresher and lighter than a traditional cake with sugary frosting, and you can’t beat the cute factor! I’m collecting more cute ideas for the main event!

Brick ceiling with exposed beams
This beautiful ceiling has a homey timeless feel. Seen at Portobella restaurant in Carmel, CA. We have beams at our house that have been painted white like the ceiling. I don’t think stripping them is in the budget, but we’re thinking of painting them a dark color for contrast.

Brick-lined ceiling with exposed beams

Rustic outdoor canopy/strong>

This alluring outdoor seating area is in the Anthropologie store. I love the intimate and idyllic feeling of a canopy over the table.

Rustic outdoor gazebo with canopy at Anthropologie store.

More ideas to come!

“Jewels”

Scrapbook Paper Clothespin Wreaths {Inspired by Kojo Designs}

Posted on May 18, 2012 by jewelsathome

The idea for these brilliant clothespin wreaths came from Kirstin at Kojo Designs, who made it as a tea wreath, and it is one of my favorite projects.

O Tea Wreath, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You are

easy to make
inexpensive
eco-friendly, reusing items that would other get recycled or trashed
a showcase for gorgeous papers
frugal, using up small scraps of paper
the perfect gift – beautiful, unique, and useful!
versatile – start with tea and adapt for many other displays

I think Kirstin’s tutorial pretty much covers it all. I had only a few variations for making mine. I also loved thinking up new ways to use these wreaths!

Here are the simple steps with my tips.

Creating the wreath base:

Cut a cardboard wreath using sturdy corrugated cardboard or two pieces of thinner board glued together. I used a plate for tracing the outside circle and a scrapbooking template for the inner circle, though you could also use a cup. If you are using scrapbooking paper, make sure your wreath is no bigger than 11 inches in diameter, so you can wrap the 12 inch paper around.
Cut your paper in a circle 1/2 to 1 inch bigger all around than your wreath. The more room you have the easier it will be to wrap the paper around. I used a beautiful wrapping paper called Hydrangeas by Kate & Birdie. I’ll have more projects with that paper coming up!
Center your cardboard base on the paper and glue in place. I preferred to use a glue stick for this step, to give a smooth finish.
Cut tabs around the outside and the center. I didn’t cut all the way to the cardboard, so the the tabs would not show on the sides.
Glue down the tabs in the back. I used the glue stick here, also.

Wrapping the wreath base. After glueing the circle in place, cut tabs around the outside.

I used a craft knife to cut the tabs in the center and held the wreath up to the light to see where to cut.

I liked the glue stick for glueing down the tabs. It sticks quickly and doesn’t wrinkle the paper.

Creating the clothespins:

You can find wood clothespins online or at a hardware or craft store. Try the dollar store, too!
Cut strips of paper the width of the clothespins. This is a great way to use up all sorts of small scraps of paper that are too beautiful to waste. To cut the thin strips, I used the trusty quilting ruler and mat I used in making the fabric growth charts.
Glue the strips to the pins. I used white glue to attach the paper to the clothespins, because it soaks into the porous surface of the wood and leaves a smooth finish. I spread the glue on one pin and then pressed it against a second one, to get a thin layer that completely covered the side of the pin.

I used a quilting ruler and mat to cut precise strips of paper for the clothespins.

I used white glue for covering the pins with paper. By pressing two pins together, you get a thin even layer of glue.

Wow! These clothespins are so beautiful!

Finishing the wreath:

Using a glue gun, attach the pins around the wreath, with the clips facing outward.
Loop a ribbon around for hanging. You could also use some adhesive strips on the back, if you don’t want to see the ribbon. I like the 3M picture hangers I used for putting up the oversize wall initials.

Finish the wreath by glueing the pins in place with a hot glue gun and adding a ribbon to hang it.

Endless ideas!

I made several of these wreaths for Christmas and birthdays recently, including teacher gifts, and they were always a big hit. I made them in a variety of colors for many different looks

While I gave the wreaths away with tea bags, my friends and I have found new uses for these beautiful wreaths. Here are some of our ideas. I’d love to hear yours, too!

Appreciation wreath – My friend Monica used hers to write messages of appreciation to her kids. She used index cards cut in half and wrote in a different color for each child.
Inspiration board – I’m using mine to pin ideas for craft and DIY projects.
Photo display – what a pretty way to display your favorite pictures!
Card holder – for holiday cards, birthday cards, business cards.

I’m using my wreath to organize ideas for projects. I might need some more pins!

I think there are lots of great uses for the decorated clothespins themselves, too. You could

Mount the pins on a rectangular backing for a memo board or photos.
Put magnets on the back to use on fridges or magnet boards. If you don’t have a fridge that holds magnets, you can stick the clips directly on the fridge with a removable adhesive, which is what I did with these clips for kids art.
Set up a “clothesline” art gallery and use these pretty clips to easily hang and change the kids’ projects.
Clip together papers or swatches to organize your office or craft room.

Thanks again to Kirstin at Kojo Designs for this wonderful project idea. It has become a standby for me, and I hope you will let me know if you come up with new ideas for these beautiful wreaths and pins!

“Jewels”