Mel Designs

Jewelry Holder with Buttons

Pendants and beaded necklaces are the one jewelry item that I cannot go without. I needed a place to store some of the

Handmade Pillow from Fabric Scraps and Buttons

In an effort to scale down my fabric scrap stash so I will not feel guilty about buying more, I have been creating lots of fabric scrap projects. I got the idea for this pillow after seeing a similar one being sold for $100 from a pricey boutique.

I immediately knew I had all the materials I needed to make a similar one, including a cloudy and rainy but open Sunday afternoon that would allow me the time I needed to make the pillow from start to finish. 

I started by deciding how large my circles needed to be, then making some card stock patterns that I could use over and over again to trace the circles from the fabric and felt. This part is easy, either grab some food cans, use the bottom of cups and glasses from your kitchen, etc. and trace them on card stock with a pencil. If you are more technical by nature, use your computer to draw circles to your exact needed size and then print them out on card stock. Trim them out with a pair of scissors.

Next, use an iron and pressing surface to fuse Lite Steam a Seam by The Warm Company to your fabric scraps.

Trace the circles on your felt and fabric scraps with a pencil and a fabric marking pen. I opted for felt for my larger circles and fabric for the center of each felt circle since felt has finished edges.

I like to use wool felt by National Nonwovens. For this project I used whatever bright cheerful felt scraps I had leftover from previous projects. Peel off the paper backing from the fused fabric scraps, and use the iron to fuse the fabric to the felt circle.

As you can see, I opted for a cheerful colorful palette, but you can change up the scraps you use and match your own individual taste and decor. I had a blast using my sewing machine to free form stitch the felt and fabric scrap circles. There are several stitch options I have not tried before on my machine. Experimenting with the different types of stitches was fun.

If your machine is more basic, as my last one previously was, a straight stitch and zigzag used alternately will still produce a fun look.

Next, use a rotary cutter and self healing cutting pad to cut two pieces of felt for the pillow front and back. To do this, add a 1/2" seam allowance to the dimensions of your pillow. So, I used Fairfield Processing Corporation's Home Elegance pillow form in a 12" x 16" size. I cut my two 13"x 17" felt rectangles, using National Nonwovens "Haybale" colored felt.

Next, grab some colorful buttons and sew them to the center of each of the circles. I used Laura Kelly's Hand dyed Buttons from Buttons Galore and More in Candy Apple, Sunshine Yellow and Outrageous Orange.

I considered using a fabric glue to attach the sewn buttoned circles to the pillow front but decided to take the extra time and sew them on using a hand sewing needle and black sewing thread. Arrange your felt and fabric scrap circles to the pillow cover first, noting how many rows will cover the pillow from left to right, then top to bottom. (remember your 1/2" seam allowance). I needed about eight circles across and five circles down for mine.

This pillow was so much fun to make, I am going to make one for Mother's Day and another for my neices birthday to match her room.

Happy Scraping!

Live Life Creatively,

 

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Bird Nest Shadowbox Jewelry Boxes and Brooches

It's hard not to be inspired by birds in Spring. The cheerful singing and constant presence of birds this time of year cannot be ignored. I create almost daily next to a large window. Almost every five minutes or so I am startled by a cardinal who thumps the window almost violently. This occurrence has been going on for a few weeks now. After searching the web, I found out that cardinals are notorious for fighting their own reflections in an effort for territorial rights. With the constant thumping and sweet site of my cardinal, I once again became inspired to create a bird themed project.

It was by pure chance that I ran into these really cute wood boxes at my local craft store recently. I thought they were really different. I also snagged these super cute laser cut wood bird shapes. Super tiny and perfect for jewelry projects.

The boxes are different. They have a glass top and a wood slat that is removable so that you can display components of your choice, shadowbox style.

Here is a look at most of the supplies I used for this project, give or take a few.

Instead of painting the boxes, I decided to use Rit Dyes to stain them. I love this process because its fun, fast and easy. I simply used a teaspoon of dye to about 1/4 cup hot water to mix a dye bath. (Remember to wear rubber or latex gloves when using dyes)

I used a paintbrush to "paint" the dye to the top of the box.

For a two toned stained effect, I added some water to the dye and painted the bottom of the box a lighter shade of Rit Dye's Aquamarine. I also dropped the shapes into the cup that I used for the dye bath and let them sit for five minutes or so.

For the second box, I used Cocoa Brown. Here is a shot of all the pieces dyed drying on paper towels.

So, with my bird theme, what to display under the top glass but a sweet little wired bird nest? I used Artistic Wire to create a simple spiraled nest.

These are super easy to create, just keep wrapping the wire in a circular motion until you have a nice full "nest." Use wire nippers to cut off a few small piece of wire and use them to wire the spirals together. Twist them tight with round nose jewelry pliers.

Don't worry too much about what your nest look like at this point. After you feel them with eggs in the center, any little "imperfections" will be invisible. 

I used Premo by Sculpey to shape little tiny eggs. A pea sized piece will make perfectly sized eggs for these nests.

I bake the eggs, right in the nest, in the oven at about 225 degrees for about 25 minutes on a clay dedicated baking sheet. Then I brushed the eggs with Silver PearlEx by Jacquard Products.

To embellish the box, I added a stamped oval, some fabric washi tape from Stampington and some self adhesive gem stone rows.

 To make the pendant, I glued the bird to the center of the dyed circle and added some rhinestone chain to the the edges with Beacon's Glass Metal and More. I also attached a super sparkly brooch to the piece. To create a brooch, I added a pin back.

This little brooch turned out to be the perfect addition for the boxes.

And my cardinal is stil outside my window, thumping away and reminding me that birds are so artfully inspirational.

Live Life Creatively,

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Elmers Neon Pink Foam Board- Girl's Room Chalkboard Sign

 

 

Do you have a sign or project that needs to get noticed? Elmer's recently introduced this vibrant version of their Foam Board In a vibrant Neon Pink color.  It is available in a 20" x 30" sheet that is 3/16" thick. Elmer's Foam Boards are lightweight but strong and rigid enough to resist denting and crushing. The resilient polystyrene core bounces back after cutting to keep the board uniform edge to edge. The smooth surface satisfies a wide range of mediums including markers and paint. Perfect for crafts, school projects, framing and mounting!

 

 

When I decided to create this girl's chalkboard room sign, I immediately knew I wanted to try my hand at die cutting some foam board using my Sizzix BigShot Pro and layered flower dies. I used Elmer's White Foam Board in 3/16" thickness and die cut several flowers to embellish my sign. But before running pieces through the die cut machine, I cut them down to rectangles measuring approximately 6" x 8" so that they would fit through the die cutting machine. I used an X-Acto ® knife to cut the rectangles from the 20" x 30" sheet, using several passes with the knife.

 

Die cutting flowers from all the pieces cut from the foam board sheet  yielded several flowers.

To add just a bit of interest to the flowers, I used Elmer's Painter's ® Paint Markers in black to color details onto the foam board flowers, varying the patterns used

I stacked my flowers together, and used Elmer's CraftBond® Fabric & Paper Glue to hold the stacks together.

 

While the glue was setting up on my flower stacks, I painted the center portion of the Neon Foam Board with Chalkboard paint.

 

 

Chalkboard paint is widely available in both craft, home improvement stores and the DIY department of your local discount department store. I applied a couple of coats, let them dry and then lined the edges with the stacked flowers.

 

I also used the Black Painter's ® Paint Marker to dry brush the edges of the board. To do this, gently push the nib of the pen onto the surface of the board, allowing it to create a very small pool of paint. Then, with your index finger, swipe the paint across the surface for a dry brush effect

 

This Neon Pink Foam Board makes an adorable addition to Girl's Room Decor. Here are a few other ideas to inspire you;

• Make a vibrant cupcake stand. Using an X-acto knife, cut the board into several circles of different sizes and stack them. Place pretty cupcakes on your tiered stand to serve as a colorful centerpiece for baby showers, birthday parties, weddings or other Spring and Summer celebrations.
• Its a Girl! Wondering how to creatively welcome home the baby girl and the rest of the family? Imagine their delight when they arrive to see this explosion of pink embellished with appropriate motifs such as storks, baby rattles or the babies initials (all cut from Elmers's Foam Board). If the new addition is not a girl, consider making a cute sign for the big sister that proudly exclaims "Im being promoted to Big Sister, August 31st, 2013." She will adore and cherish for years to come!
• Create a wedding party or shower sign that gets noticed. Stencil on letters instructing guests which directions to go to arrive at the festivities. Decorate with flowers, birds, or other appropriate motifs in the couples wedding theme. Another hot wedding trend is the addition of the candy bar at receptions. Use the Neon Pink Foam Board to create a colorful and delicious sign for your candy bar.

 

Live Life Creatively,

 

 

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