Sewing and Crafting for Yourself Series Wrap Up

Our sewing and crafting for yourself series has came to an end.  We had so much fun setting aside some time to make something for ourselves over the past two weeks!  We hope you found inspiration in the series and were reminded it is important to use your talents to make yourself something!  We all get busy and often forget just how much fun it can be to make something pretty for ourselves.  Don't always spend all your crafting time making things for others!

We managed to put together quite a few tutorials with fun projects we finished for ourselves!


Clockwise from upper left: Mod Podge Shoes, Fabric Bangles, Anthro Style Scarf, Tube Tshirt Scarf, Adult Slip Skirt, Easy Lace Shirt

Thanks to all the great guests who shared their projects too! 

Clockwise from upper left: Dixy DIY shirt from Emmyloubeedoo, Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub from Mom Endeavors, Autumn Signs from A Place For Us



Don't forget to read where to go for awesome jewelry tutorials! 

Lastly, Jessica shared a few bloopers she experienced while working on projects for this little series.

Thanks for stopping by and joining in on the fun!

 

Guest Post: Autumn Signs from A Place for Us

I met Destiny from A Place for Us last year at Creative Estates.  She is incredibly talented and I was blown away by all the DIY projects she shares on her blog.  Her home is gorgeous!!  Today she is sharing a fun project she made for living room - autumn signs.    

Hello there!

My name is Destiny and I’m the writer behind A Place for Us Blog!  A place where I decorate my heart out! I’m so excited to be sharing this Autumn Sign with you today! Thank you so much Two Crafting Addicts for having me! If your into crafting at all, your probably very familiar with this easy peasy mod podge technique! But I LOVE signs and I especially like to use them to decorate. I needed a cute little sign to stick into a basket of flowers so I made this with some rustic charm!

Perfect for my living room that I will be revelling soon!!

This fall sign can easily be suited to fit your taste on a smaller or larger scale.

Here is what you’ll need

1. Piece of 1x5 cut to about 12 in length
2. 1 Piece of 1x2 about 15-20 inches in length
3. Stain in any color
4. Words cut from any cutting machine
5. scrapbook paper
6. Mod Podge
7. Small brush
8. Sandpaper
9. Wood Glue

Here’s what to do...



ModgePodge?? Yes, I like things to rhyme:0)



Let it dry for about 30 minute to and hour and then use it!!!

The sky is the limit...PUMPKIN PATCH....HELLO FALL....AUTUMN THIS WAY...you pick!

Thanks again for having me and I hope you enjoyed this simple craft idea brought to you by A Place For US!!

xoxo

Destiny

Thanks to Destiny for stopping by and sharing a great craft you can make for yourself!

Go See Flamingo Toes for AWESOME Jewelry Tutorials!

When I think of making something for myself I usually start thinking about jewelry.  I would love to make more necklaces for myself.  Then I start thinking about the time it might take to make a new necklace.  Then I realize that I've spent time just thinking about time and never get around to actually making the necklace that I have yet to visualize.  If you want to avoid the above mentioned scenario, go visit Flamingo Toes.

You have seriously been missing out if you are not following Bev!  I was lucky and met her at Creative Estates earlier this year.  She is so nice and incredibly talented!  Bev is known for her amazing Anthropology jewelry knockoffs!  She puts together great tutorials that are super easy to follow. 

If you've been wanting to make a pretty piece of jewelry for yourself, don't get started until you visit Bev's awesome jewelry tutorials page!

These are some of my favorites:

Anthro Knockoff - Akela Necklace

Lace & Pearl Necklace

Loft Chiffon Knockoff Necklace

Set aside some time for yourself this weekend and make a pretty new necklace!

 

Easy Lace Addition to a Boring Shirt

I was excited to have a reason for a shirt makeover today because lately I've been bored with the clothes in my closet.   I had a very long list of ideas when I pulled out a plain purple tee.  The shirt fit but I thought it was a little too plain and I didn't like the low neckline. 

I was looking for a quick and easy upgrade.  It didn't take long for me to decide to add a lace panel to the neckline.  I cut some lace and pinned it to the shirt.  I'm surprised I didn't injure myself while doing this!  I don't have a dress form and didn't want to deal with using a seam ripper later.  Probably not the best idea but it worked for me.



Next I carefully stitched the lace to the edge of the shirt with my sewing machine.

A few minutes later I was wearing my new shirt.

Incredibly easy!

I'm linking this post here.

 

Adult Slip Skirt-Wowzer Wednesday

I have certain wardrobe standards that can sometimes limit my shopping choices. I often find myself looking at a dress or skirt that I love and realizing it is too short for my standards. So I came up with a solution for my leggy difficulties.

Now I admit I am not the first to come up with this idea but honestly most ideas are recycled through fellow crafters. I know there is a specific site that offers a solution to the "too short" problem. Vintage Hem. They have wonderful ideas and beautiful designs but lets be honest...who can afford $30 for a slip skirt?

Hence make your own.

For this project I bought a simple slip from Walmart $5. You could make your own slip which is simple but for $5 I will be lazy. I used some black eyelet that I already owned from a dress I made for my daughter. It is called fancy eyelet in Jet Black from fabric.com.

1. Measure the width of the bottom of your slip. I just measured the front side because the back will be the same length.2. Cut your eyelet, lace, etc the length of your slip and the length you need extended mine was 6 inches long. I made sure to cut on the scalloped edge so I don't have to hem the eyelet.3. Pin and sew your eyelet to the bottom of the slip, right sides together.4. Sew down the rest of the sides of the slip and back stitch at the end. My slip had slits so this part was easy I just sewed up the open sides.
5. Turn the slip right side out and press the eyelet. Now you are done.

Super simple, super cheap, and a great way to extend the length of any dress or skirt.

Dress: H&M $20, Slip Skirt: made by me $5, Shoes: Sheikh $20, Earrings: Burlington Coat Factory $3.99

Mod Podge Shoes

I've had the same pair of black flats for the past five years.  I wear them a lot.  They are incredibly comfortable but as you can imagine, after five years, they aren't looking so great.  The toes were scuffed and sadly I started wearing them less frequently.  They eventually made it to the back of my closet and didn't come out until last week when I decided they should be thrown away.  Luckily I decided to keep them in my "find something to do with this later" box.  This series was the perfect opportunity for me to pull out my most comfortable flats and make them pretty.

I've seen so many great shoe makeovers using Mod Podge and fabric lately.  I purposely did not look up anything I've seen previously because I didn't want to simply copy someone else or follow a tutorial.  Speaking of following tutorials, I rarely ever bookmark something I've seen and intend to make for myself.  I have a massive list of things I want to make for others but crafting for myself is always last on my list.  I'm sure most of you can relate.  This series has given me a reason to actually take the time to make something for myself.  It has reminded me that just because I have countless things on my 'to do' list, it's important to stop and do something for myself sometimes.  I consider the time I spend making things and blogging my "me time."  But if I'm always just making something for someone else, it defeats the purpose of time for myself.  Please don't misinterpret my message.  I LOVE making things for other people.  I just think it's important for us to stop and set aside some time to make one of the pretty things you've been putting off because crafting for yourself is not high on your list of priorities.  Trust me, making something that you really like for yourself is like a breath of fresh air.  Remember when you have time to yourself it doesn't always have to be spent catching up on your list of things to do!

Back to my shoes...

Supplies:
-shoes
-fabric to cover each shoe
-Mod Podge
-foam brush

Optional supplies:
-additional fabric or embellishments
-hot glue gun

While pulling my shoes out of the box in my closet I came across an old shirt with perfect fabric for my shoes.

I started the shoe transformation by removing the bows and sole inserts.

I cut four strips of fabric from the shirt.  Each strip was long enough to cover the shoe from toe to heel and wide enough to cover the inner and outer leather.  I worked on one side of each shoe with the fabric and Mod Podge.  A foam brush worked well to apply the Mod Podge directly to the shoe.  I was careful not to stretch the fabric because I didn't want the print to look strange.  I applied the fabric to the outside of the shoe first.  I trimmed and folded the fabric where the ends met.  Then I applied Mod Podge to the inside of the shoe and glued in the fabric.  I didn't worry about where the fabric met the sole because I planned to trim it later.  I also didn't worry about the fabric overlapping on the inside because the sole insert would end up covering any uneven edges.

I let each shoe dry about 20 minutes and then applied another layer of Mod Podge.

Next I used hot glue to put the sole insert back in the shoe.

I could have stopped here but I really wanted to use the ruffles that were on the shirt sleeves to embellish the shoes.

I cut strips of ruffles and attached them to the shoe with hot glue.  I didn't want to worry about the shoes getting dirty and not being able to wipe them clean so I coated the ruffles with two layers of Mod Podge.

It has been so hot in Arizona and I have been wearing flip flops for the past six months.  I'm really excited for cooler temperatures  to arrive so I can start wearing shoes again.  These are a perfect addition to my fall and winter options!

I'm linking this post here.

 

Fabric Bangles

Welcome to the first week of our INSPIRE US series. We will be making several items that are just for you. Sometimes as mothers and crafters it is time for us to make some special for ourselves. We will have a few special guest hosts popping in next week so stay tuned and enjoy all the creations. We hope something will inspire you!


When I found out our series would be based on crafts and projects for us I was flooded with ideas. There are so many great crafts and sewing projects out there. I wanted to make sure that I created a variety of projects that anyone could make. So I browsed through my jewelry looking for inspiration when I came across these.

Old bangles that I never wear. They are still in great condition physically just not aesthetically pleasing. So what to do with them....recover them.

I toyed with paper, fabric, ribbon, yarn, lace. There are so many options. I decided to go with yarn for the large one and ribbon for the smaller ones. Here is what I did.
For the thin bangles:

I have a lot of ribbon in my stash so I tried to decide between this thin green and an orange scallop. I went with the orange. I used about 3ft.
I wanted the bangle to be thicker so I glued the three thin bangles together using my hot glue gun.

Then I began wrapping the ribbon around the bangle. Make sure it is really tight and straight to avoid wrinkles.
Once the whole thing is covered cut the ribbon off and glue the end in place.

Finally I put mod podge all over the bangle to keep the ribbon in place and give it a finished look.

For the thicker bangle:

For this project I used a tarnished bangle, mustard yarn, and gray ribbon. (Word to the wise use yarn that does not fray or ball up. I don't use yarn a lot so mine turned out really fuzzy.)
I began by tapping the mustard yarn to the inside of the bangle. Then I wrapped it around the bangles making sure to pull tight and place each yarn wrapping close to the previous one.
I glued the end in place.
I think the bangle is really cute like this and the yarn is great for fall. I really like mustard and gray so I went 1 step further. I began wrapping the gray ribbon around the bangle in diagonal lines and then criscrossing the other way.
I glued the end on the inside. (It doesn't look as nice as I would like but nobody sees the inside right?)

Here is what the finished product looks like.
Two new pieces of jewelry. Total cost=$0!