Easy Fabric Flowers from Old T-shirts

Fabric flowers from old t-shirts

 Do you have any pieces of old clothing that you need to get rid of but they really aren't even fit for Goodwill?  Here's what you do: Cut them up and make some of these gorgeous fabric flowers with them... I did this with a few t-shirts recently and I'm HOOKED!  I wish I had some more old clothes.. I would love to try to make these out of all kinds of different materials.. because I'm sure each flower would look different when you use different types of material. 

Here is a few different things you can use to make these.. old or damaged:

• shirts
•  jeans
• slacks
•  dress shirts
• sheets or pillowcases
• towels
• handkerchiefs
• fabric remnants
• curtains
• shower curtains
• fabric remnants

  The technique to make each one is the same but there are things you can do to vary the look of them. These particular ones were made with just a regular straight edged strip of material that was about 1.5 inches wide by about a yard (my t-shirts are large). I did a running stitch down one edge, gathered the strip and and then rolled them together,  just like if you were making cinnamon rolls.  Once rolled, I glued each one to a felt circle and viola!

rolled fabric flowers from old t-shirts

The width and length of each strip will determine the size. I wouldn't recommend using a strip that is over 2 inches wide because then it just looks kind of floppy..The length of the strip will determine the size. The longer, the larger your flower will be. You can use multiple shorter strips to make one longer strip.

 Here is another photo of some more made the same way.......

These were made the exact same way but I cut a scalloped edge on each one, sewed, gathered and rolled.

If you take the strip and instead of on one edge cutting scallops, cut horizontal strips all the way down, and then stitch and roll....you will come out with something like this:

I like this one because it kind of looks like a  little pom pom.. to make it even more realistic you can do the same thing but cut pointed edges on each strip.  I think it would come out looking sort of like a dahlia or other flowers that look similar to that.

So you can definitely come up with all kinds of different looks depending on how you decide to do one edge of the strip before doing the stitch.  I love playing around and seeing what I can come up with.

Of course, the best thing I love about these is that they were virtually free to make.. so next time you get ready to throw out that old ripped shirt, keep it and make some pretty flowers!!

I hope you enjoyed this post.. if you are interested in a more detailed tutorial along with lots of ideas about what you can do with your finished flowers, see my tutorial here. 

Thank you so much for dropping by!

Shopping Bag Ghost Tutorial - Guest Post

Look at these cute shopping bag ghosts that my friend Sunny made... and she was nice enough to share the tutorial!

Shopping bag ghost tutorial:

I was inspired to make a Halloween wreath using a wire hanger and cut up plastic tablecloths and trash bags (turned out much more fabulous than that sounds)...and I got to thinking...what else could I make with these free/low-cost everyday items?

I played around with twisting the wire hanger and got a ghost shape. At first, I wrapped toilet paper around (you could also use white streamers) and cut out black construction paper for the eyes and mouth and "Boo!". Simple and cute. But would it last long as an outdoor decoration? Maybe not. So I thought about using a white trash bag but...what about a plastic grocery bag! I had tons of those and the sheerness of it might make for an interesting ghost. Plus - it's upcycling (instead of using a new kitchen trash bag, I could use up some of the many grocery bags we accumulate every month - sorry Earth!).

First, I simply cut off the part with the store name, leaving only solid white plastic. Using two bags, I wrapped and strategically taped until I was satisfied with the ghostliness of it. Then I used double-stick tape to put scraps of black trash bag (leftover from the wreath) to form the eyes and mouth. You could probably also just use a black Sharpie and get the same effect. And there you go - from grocery bag to ghost in less than 10 minutes! And the great thing about using a wire hanger is that it comes ready made with a hook for hanging!

Hope you try it and Happy Halloween!!

Sunny

 and look at this one made with wire hanger and toilet paper:

 If you get a chance, please visit my friend Sunny on HubPages :)

also, if you get a chance drop by and see my Halloween wreath tutorial using a wire hanger!

Thank you so much for dropping by! 

Jamie

Cereal Box Crafts

Cereal boxes make wonderful crafts! Like this super cute star...

star made from cereal box @ grey luster girl

And here's a few more:

"inbox" organizer made with cereal boxes @ Family Fun

cereal box notebook @ Bee-inspired

cute turkeys @ Blissfully Domestic

I love these turkeys!   Would make the perfect Thanksgiving craft for kids :)

More Cute and Clever Cereal Box Crafts

Fancy 3D Chandeliers

I  have been busy making these super cute 3D chandeliers for my daughters graduation party and I'm really happy with how they have turned out.  I've made a few different shapes of them and they all look really nice, at least to me anyway.   I know these are used a lot of times for party decorations but I think they would be cute in a little girls room too.   If you are into recycling, you will love these because many of them were made from frozen pizza boxes which is basically the same thing as chipboard.


Here are a few photos:

Here's one style. This one I made several with regular cardboard and a couple out of the sides of frozen pizza boxes (same as chipboard)

Here's another style... These were made from cardboard so they were a bit heavier than the one above. The ones made with cardboard also have rhinestones glued on them... this particular one has silver rhinestones.  Right now I only have these two photos of this one and they were taken before it was finished:

LOVE these silver rhinestones!!

Here's another style.. these were made from frozen pizza boxes (chipboard), like the one on top. This is after I had put one coat of paint on it and it was waiting for another coat of paint:

Here is another pic of the top style with red rhinestones- The party colors are red, white and black. Personally I like the white rhinestones better:

Right now, all of the finished chandeliers are over at the house where the party will be but I am taking my camera and will be sure to update this hub with pictures of all these pretty hanging chandeliers.


If you are interested in a detailed tutorial on how to make these, please see my tutorial:


How to Make a 3D Chandelier

Thanks for stopping by!!

Dry Erase Board Makeover

This dry erase board had been hanging in my son's room for a couple years and it had the word hello on it...I took it down because I was going to move it to the kitchen. When I tried to erase the word hello, which was written with a dry erase marker, it wouldn't erase at all... it was like the hello was baked on!  Then I tried a wet cloth which just seemed to smear the marker, then came the 409 and that did put a dent in it..  but still, I was having to scrub!  Then the light bulb came on and I remembered my friend Sunny and how she took a dry erase board and turned it into a chalkboard using chalkboard contact paper! I did a post about it here.  I didn't have to think twice... The dry erase board was going to be a chalkboard!

Dry Erase Board to Chalkboard Makeover

***What You Need***

• Dry Erase Board

• Roll of Chalkboard Contact Paper

• Phillips Screwdriver

• Spray Paint (Optional)

So here is what the board looked like before I got started...

I used the Phillips head screwdriver to remove all the screws from around the back side of the dry erase board.   I then took the white erase board out of the frame.

Then I cut a piece from the chalkboard contact paper that was big enough and covered the entire surface of the dry erase board.  This is a bit tricky and I flubbed mine up sort of.... It's best to get the contact paper adhered at the top and then as you pull the backing, smooth the contact paper on the surface of the board trying to be sure to not let any air get trapped between the contact paper and the board. After it is adhered, cut off any excess that is hanging over the dry erase board.

I did have some trouble getting it adhered smoothly...It ended up having some air bubbles :(      I tried to use a credit card and flatten them as much as possible but it didn't really help much.. what I ended up doing is taking a pin and making a very tiny hole in some of them and then running the credit card over them.   I couldn't get every single one but poking the tiny hole helped quite a bit and now they are barely noticeable.  Someone would have to be really close up to see them.  The pic above was before I fixed it.

Then I took the frame and painted it glossy black.  You can see in the photo below the back is still white, I normally would have painted the entire frame but I was running out of spray paint and the back side won't be showing anyway.

I put the board back in the frame.....and Viola!!

Here's the finished product! A huge thank you to my friend Sunny, who inspired me and gave me the idea to do this makeover :)

BTW,  I got the chalkboard contact paper at Amazon for like $7:50 and it's a pretty good sized roll.. HERE is the link if you are interested  : 0) 

♥Valentine's Day Crafts♥

Valentine's Day is just around the corner... I am excited to gather a few more cute Valentine's projects.  These are not only great for adults but kids would have fun making them too.
♥♥♥

I ran across this very cute project today at Karla M Curry. These cute heart shapes are simple to make and guess what they are made out of?  Toilet paper tubes!  I ♥ it.

heart shapes out of toilet paper rolls@Karla M Curry

hanging heart strings@Karla M Curry

 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥  

These pretty hearts that I found at martha stewart are made using crayons

 

crayon hearts @ martha stewart

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

This heart garland was made by grace and light  using a punch and some paint sample cards. How easy is that and oh so pretty!  Visit to see a photo illustrated tutorial showing exactly how she made it.

heart garland@ grace and light

I hope you ♥ these projects as much as I do! 

Happy Valentine's Day

Cute, Clever Crafts from Empty Toilet Paper Rolls!

@ Crissy's Crafts

 Look at these party favors made from empty toilet paper tubes.  These are so cute and wouldn't cost hardly a penny to make.  I am so grateful to have stumbled upon these toilet paper roll crafts. You could use empty paper towel rolls and gift wrapping tubes, too. To see the tutorial for the favors above plus LOTS more go to:

 Clever Crafts From Toilet Paper Rolls