The Snuggie Experiment: Part I

Yes, I know people love to make fun of Snuggies.  But, let's face it, they are genius!  Your arms can stay under the blanket while you are using your remote AND stuffing your face with Girl Scout cookies that you have had tucked away in the freezer for six weeks?  Lazy people, rejoice!

The best part is that the project to create your very own Snuggie is supper easy, and quick!  In under one hour, I had a completed Snuggie, made with love and a fabric I got to choose myself.

The supplies are basic, too.  Just 2 2/3 - 3 yards of fabric, and scissors.  If you choose to use fleece like I did, you can even get away without using a sewing machine if you don't have one, since fleece doesn't fray, therefore it doesn't need any hemming.

Here is the diagram of how the fabric should be cut, after the selvage has been trimmed off.  If you are about 5'8" or less, I would recommend 2 and 2/3 yard if you don't want too much extra at the end.  It might be cuddly to pool around your feet on the couch, but it is also a hassle to drag around if you stand up to walk to the fridge or something.  I used a full 3 yard piece, and I am considering hacking off the bottom.

The two squares from the bottom fold in half, with one seam along the edge.  These make up the sleeves.  Unless you happen to cut perfect squares, fold the rectangle "hamburger style" not "hot dog style" to sew the edge.

I folded my main blanket piece in half when it was time to cut the arm holes.  I made a paper template of the 6x9 inch oval, and pinned it so that I cut both holes at the same time.

The trickiest part of the process was pinning the sleeves to the arm holes with right-sides together, and that wasn't too bad at all.  A few cuts, 4 seams, and you are done!

But Allison, why is this "The Snuggie Experiment: Part I"?  What about Part II, you ask?  Part II is coming next Friday, and here is a clue: I bought not one, but two fabrics...


xo Allison

Sew Fancy

  Time spent with my Grandma the past couple weeks has been so sew wonderful! I have learned so sew much from her being here and teaching me everything she knows about quilting, plus we got some good quality shopping time in too! I wanted to send her off with a little token of my gratitude, so sew I decided to create this fancy pin cushion. My favorite types of crafts are functional projects and this one takes the cake. This is one pin cushion that you don't have to pack away when you are done with it and it makes a great gift! You will be shocked with how simple this project is!
(and this is another UNDER 10 gift, like this one! Under $10 and 10 minutes!)

What you will need:

• A small fancy frame (3"-5") - I scored these at TJ Maxx, $4 each.
• Fabric (depending on the size of the frame and quantity of frames) - I chose a quarter yard.
• Batting- just a handful for each.

Yep, that's all you need. This is a NO adhesive project!!!!!  

The first and hardest part was peeling the stickers off of the glass. Then I realized the glass won't show.. DUH! Don't spend your time peeling the sticker! 

 

Once you take off the back of the frame and the glass, take your fabric and stretch it over the opening.  If your fabric is like mine you might have a certain part that you want centered, I chose one of the butterflies. After you find your pattern, cut the material  but be sure to leave 2"-3" on the edge to allow for stuffing. With your fabric centered take a handful of your stuffing and push it through the back of the frame into your fabric. Once you have the center filled take the glass and place it back in the frame (see picture below).

 While holding the glass firmly to the back, you can flip it over to see if your fabric is centered, if the fabric needs tightened, or if it needs more stuffing. To tighten it (or to reduce any folds) tug on your edges of the fabric while holding the glass in place. 

Once you are happy with the firmness of your cushion, continue holding the glass in place while tucking the left over edges of the fabric onto the back of the glass. To keep everything in place just replace the backing over the fabric.

TADA!!!

Warning: You may go a little 'Pin Crazy'. I just couldn't stop adding pins.

-Ashley-

Pillowcases to Cuddle

Gifting is the best excuse for crafting!  It legitimizes purchases of supplies that you love, but that aren't necessarily in a style or color that would fit with your own home decor.  Take this flannel fabric, for example.  So cute AND on sale, but not something that would fit my feminine apartment.  So, I turned to my favorite quick-and-easy fabric project, pillow cases!

My mother and I have started making pillow cases as gifts for friends and family who are experiencing life-changing events; things like undergoing surgery, moving to a new city, etc.  It is a gift that takes up very little space, is practical, and provides a bit of comfort and whimsy without it really mattering if it matches the rest of the decor or not.  The pillow case pattern is a common pattern because it is so simple and takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.

For the pillowcase, you will need 3/4 yards of a main body fabric, 1/3 yards of a coordinating pattern for the border, and then 1/8 yards of a coordinating solid color or tiny-print pattern for a strip between the two.  Trim the pieces to straight edges, then trim the selvage so that all three pieces are the same width.  The pieces will be stacked in such a way that one seam attaches all three pieces together.

To stack, lay your border piece right side up with the pattern facing away from you.  Then, take your middle strip, fold it in half with right sides out, and align with the upper edge of the border piece (which happens to be the bottom of the border piece's pattern).  Finally, take your main body piece and lay it out in front of you, right side up with the pattern facing you.  Roll up the fabric from the bottom, leaving a little bit of the top un-rolled.  Then, pick up the roll and align the top edge, right sides together, with the top of the other two pieces.  Finally, fold the bottom of the border edge up and align it with the top, so that you have a taco of fabric.  

You should have a total of 5 layers at the edge if the stack is correct.  Pin, sew one straight seam along the edge, then pull the center through the end to flip the right side out.  You should have one wide rectangle of fabric with 3 horizontal stripes.

Fold the rectangle in half, right side out, so that it looks like a regular pillow case.  Sew one seam down the side and the bottom of the case.

Then, flip the pillow case inside-out and use an iron to flatten the seams.  You will want to sew another seam down the side and bottom.  This will hide the sewn edges and protect them from fraying.

That is all there is to it!  Flip the pillow case back to the right side facing out and you have a completed pillow case.  This particular pillow case was sewn for James.  Tomorrow I head to the UK on business for three weeks, and I wanted to leave him with something to keep me on his mind!

xo Allison

Turn Something Old into something New

One thing my mom taught me very early on is to always accept gift graciously! And say, “Thank you for my present, I love presents!!” :) When I was 16 years old, I went on one of my very first dates. We went to Sea World, and he opened up an oyster for me. He had my pearl set on a chain and everything. When you’re 16 years old this seems like a very extravagant gift, and I felt so bad to take it. Well, it was also my birthday in 2 weeks, so I told him, “give me my necklace for my birthday”!! Seemed like a pretty good idea at the time… right!? Well, it was a hard lesson because sadly my romantic love interest didn’t last till my birthday, and I never got my pearl. So sad. Everyone in my family can still ask, “Where is the Pearl?” and we know exactly what we are talking about. Lesson learned: Always accept gifts willingly and graciously.

So it was just Valentine’s day, and I LOVE getting flowers. But so often I hear women saying they hate flowers because they just die. The answer is, NO People!! Always accept the flowers (in addition to any other little goodies he might have hiding up his sleeve) ;)

Enjoy them for the week and I’ll show you a GREAT way to recycle dead flowers and turn them into something new again. I see people all the time drying out their roses. They turn them upside down on a string and hang them in a garage until they're crusty and dusty. I don’t know about you, but crust and dust is something I like to avoid in my house. Then those crusty and dusty rose petals proceed to drop like flies for the rest of their sad lives.

I have a better solution...all it takes is wilted flowers, a thick hard cover book, and a little shelf time.

When your roses are still soft, pluck the petals off of them; as many as you want to save. I find the large ones work better for future projects.

Then arrange them on the page so they are not touching each other. Flip to another section in the book and fill the book with as many petals as you’d like to save.

Then… Slam the book shut!! And let them cook on a shelf for a week or two… or until you get around to creating your project.

My favorite way to use flat and dried rose petals are to make matting’s. For example, if you have a 4x6 photo, buy a 5x7 frame and you’ll be left with a 1 inch matting to be filled. Glue and arrange your rose petals on a piece of card stock, glue your photo on top of that and put it in a frame. The roses are clean, sentimental, and will NEVER get dusty!!

The possibilities of rose petals are endless. You’re only limited to your imagination. Feel free to share any other ideas that we can do with our rose petals.

And remember... Always accept the Pearl!
Have a great week!!