Mel Designs

Patchwork Pumpkins

 

 

Happy Fall! Don't you just love this amazing season? Thanks for joining me today. To celebrate Autumn, i am going to show you how I made these simple patchwork pumpkins to help usher in Fall. 

Patchwork Pumpkins

• Fabric of Choice in Fall colors 
• Scrap of wool felt, tulle scraps
• Fairfield Processing Corp. Crafters Choice Poly-fil
• Wood pieces- spools, dowels, tags
• Black, Orange acrylic paint 
• Embellishments of choice
• Alphabet stamps and ink
• Sewing machine and thread
• Paintbrushes 
• Adtech hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Rotary cutter and self healing mat, scissors 

I used a rotary cutter to cut my fabric into jelly roll sized strips (2 1/2"). They are about 14" in length. then I placed two of them right sides together and sewed one long edge using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

 

I continued until I had one piece that measured about 14" x 12." I doubled the fabric over and used a rotary cutter to cut a round shape from the doubled over for the pumpkin front and back. 

 

I cut a pumpkin stem from the black wool felt and pinned it to the inside of the pieces before I started sewing them together. I sewed the pieces together, leaving the edges raw but left a 4" opening at the bottom for stuffing. 

 I sewed the bottom together but left a 1/2" opening for the insertion of the dowel. The wood pieces were painted black and embellished with gem stone rows. I used the glue gun and glue sticks to join the pieces together and to keep the dowel in place inside the stuffed patchwork pumpkins. 

I used alphabet stamps to stamp seaonal sentiments on the wood tags, which were painted orange. I also added some sparkly embellishments and tulle scraps. 

The leaves were made from handmade text fabric. 

What are you making to celebrate Fall? 

Live Life Creatively, 

Melony

 

Raw Edged Dresden Plate Pillow

I have been seeing this popular quilting design known as the "Dresden Plate" popping up all over popular internet sites and blogs. I instantly fell in love with the design and all the unique possibilities for creating variations. Why is it called a Dresden plate? After a little research, I found that the name for this traditional quilting design reflects the romance of the Victorian Era and it's love of elaborate decoration on household items. Dresden, Germany was a center of 19th century romanticism movement in art. So this seemingly elaborate design became known as the "Dresden Plate," and we still call it that today.

Since this is my first attempt at a Dresden Plate, I decided to start simple. I left my edges raw and fused my plate to a burlap pillow.

Here is a brief tutorial of how I completed my Raw Edged Dresden Plate Pillow.

Using Microsoft word and the shapes tool, I chose this shape and printed in out onto cardstock to use as a pattern for tracing shapes onto my fused fabrics (used fusible webbing, an iron and pressing surface).

There are special rulers and other quilting tools you can use for this step as well.

After I had all my shapes traced, I cut them out and arranged them in a repeating pattern, overlapping them slightly. A Dresden plate needs a center so I traced a large circle onto red fused fabric and cut it out.

I used a Home Elegance Pillow Form from Fairfield Processing Corporation in a size 16" x 16" so I cut two pieces measuring 17" x 17" which will give me 1/2" seam allowance. Now its time to begin peeling the paper backing away and arranging the pieces on the burlap.

Once the pattern is laid out, you can sew the edges down using your sewing machine, thread and a straight stitch. Note that most often, quilters finish raw edges with seams but I am leaving mine raw for this particular pillow project.

Once your pieces are sewn in place, the fun part begins... Embellishing!!

I started with buttons from Buttons Galore and More including Hand Dyed Buttons from Laura Kelly and The Haberdashery .

But I didn't stop there. I printed a sentiment onto inkjet cotton fabric to showcase in this tiny resin frame I had in my stash. I know that hard embellishments make the pillow less functional but I was going for interest and detail for decoration rather than functionality.

I did use a little tacky glue on the fabric and frame but used a hand sewing needle and thread to attach it as well. I loved the stitched on look of this. I took it just a little further with an organza ribbon flower and felted details.

Once your details are in place. Place the burlap pieces for the front and back of the pillow together and sew the left, top and right sides together, leaving the bottom open for turning. Turn the pillow right sides out and press the seams down with a steam iron.

Insert the pillow form into the bottom opening and hand sew closed with a whipstitch.

And here is the completed pillow. My first Dresden Plate project! Leaving me wanting to do more!!

Live Life Creatively,

 

Melony

 

 

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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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Handmade Laundry Room Organizer- "Missing Socks"

Sewn Damasked Burlap Office Supplies; Handmade organization

When I visit my local Joann's or Michaels Crafts Stores, I take the time to scour each department. You would be amazed at what materials you might find in the most unlikely departments. As manufacturer's strive to offer unique materials to scrapbook artists, beaders and sewing enthusiasts, you find more and more cross promotion of materials than ever before.

When I ran into this 12 x 12 sheet of "paper," in the scrapbooking materials section. I was amazed to discover that it was not in fact paper at all, but burlap, printed with a damask motif. I was immediately inspired and bought not one but two sheets. Wondering what to do with it, I decided to cover a favorite hard bound journal that looked a little worse for wear.

I determined the size I needed and trimmed the sheet with a rotary cutter and self healing cutting mat. I pressed 1/2" seams with my iron and pinned them in place before sewing them down with my sewing machine. To keep the burlap from unraveling. I sewed a zig zag stitch all along the edges of the sheet.

The fun part? Coming up with a design for the cover. I decided that this damask journal cover would be perfect for applique. I doubled the cover and drew a 4" circle on the front, which I cut out with scissors.

I fused some black canvas to my favorite fusible webbing, lite steam and seam and die cut the motif out using my Sizzix Bigshot die cutting machine and die.

I then sewed a 5" square of natural canvas to the back inside of the journal cover to create a sort of reverse applique.

To embellish the cover, I decided to embroider the flower and details by adding this silver braided thread from Kreniek.

I used sewing thread to couch down the embroidery thread.

I continued until I was satisfied with the design.

Here is the sewn damask journal cover in progress.

I added a vintage brooch from Melissa Francis which I purchased at Scrapbook.com. I also added some stamped sentiments and these buttons by Buttons Galore and More from The Haberdashery Collection.

The perfect companion to my burlap damask journal cover. A pencil case with embellished pencils.

I used a fabric marking pencil to measure a 2" x 8" strip from the natural canvas. I doubled the fabric and cut the strip out.

I then cut 1 1/2" squares from the burlap damask and black canvas and sewed them to one side of the strip.Before sewing together, I added The Haberdashery buttons to the top.

I sewed the strip together with the right sides in on the left, bottom and right, leaving the top open for turning and insertion of the pencils.

I painted the pencils black and added buttons tied with hemp to each of them.

I stamped sentiments to regular typing paper cut them out and decoupaged them to the pencils.

These pencils are the perfect companions to my my sewn damask burlap office journal cover.

While I was drafting this post, I ran into this project from The Dairy of A Natural Girl. She also found the same printed damask burlap and made these super cool candles with the material.

And the morale of the story, the next time you are in your favorite craft store, don't just pass up on the beading section just because your not a beader. Look around, you might find something that inspires you to use in new and different ways!

Live Life Creatively,

 

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Handmade Laundry Room Organizer- "Missing Socks"

Buttoned Embellished Tiny Totes

Handmade Laundry Room Organizer- "Missing Socks"

If you are like me and hoards of other people, you have scores of mismatched socks. Where do missing socks go once they leave the dryer, if they ever really do? I guess the logical conclusion is that they cling to the insides of paints, arm sleeves, etc. On more than one occasion, I put on my yoga pants only to discover a renegade sock stuck to the inside leg. 

Sometimes they take longer to turn up, if at all.  After a couple of months of hanging onto mismatched socks, I usually just give up and find other uses for them. Some of my socks have turned into sock monkeys, draft stoppers (I once fashioned a long white sock into a snowman draft stopper, it was quite cute actually) or sock puppets. My dad uses them to wax the car.

I once designated a basket in my laundry room for the purpose of tucking away mate less socks in hopes that they would eventually be reunited with their partners. And do you know what, I did eventually match them up about 95% of the time, which still left a few for becoming snowman draft stoppers.

The missing sock phenomena inspired me to create this wood board plaque, perfect for storing mate less socks until a successful reunion can be made with its partner sock. Its more decorative then my basket and I can see which socks are missing at a glance.

 I raided my fabric scraps and torn them into strips, each measuring about 2" x 8." (The length and width of your torn strips will vary according to the size of the die cut you will be using, discussed a bit later) To join the strips together, I simply overlapped the pieces slightly (1/4") and sewed a straight stitch down the center. I joined together three strips, mixing and matching prints and solids.

Since I was using the Sizzix BigShot Die Cutting Machine and Bird die, I cut a card stock bird out first to make sure the fabric strips covered the entire die, and I didn't end up with a bird with no tail or beak or something.

Once I was ready, I set about die cutting my birds from the joined fabric strips, three of them.

Here is a quick look at my die cut fabric scrap birds.

Pretty but I thought the needed a bird more detail. I used my sewing machine and black thread to free form sew around the edges of the birds.

These turned out to be cute little scrap fabric embellishments for my laundry room organizer!

I chose DecoArt's Americana Acrylics in Lamp Black and Cadmium Yellow to paint the wood pieces. Bear in mind that Cadmimum Yellow is a transparent paint. It will take several coats to cover the board or you can use a more semi-opaque paint such as Lemon Yellow for a similar shade and color. I painted the sign board, which came from Walnut Hollow, black first, along with the clothespins, which I painted all black.

To create an aged effect on the board, which gives it a little more interest and matches my shabby chic decor, I painted yellow over the black and sanded the surface to let some of the black show through. The opposite applies to these teardrop shaped wings. I painted them yellow first and then black.

If you desire different colors to match your existing decor, DecoArt has a multitude of paint colors to choose from.

Once I had all my pieces painted, It was time to begin assembling the board. I used DecoArt's new medium, "Deco-pauge" with a foam brush to apply the birds to the sign board.

I used a heavy duty adhesive such as Beacon Adhesives Gem-Tac to attach the clothespins. Make sure you use a liberal amount of the adhesive as these clothespins will be handled frequently.

Finally, I used some 1" alphabet stamps and black pigment ink to stamp "missing socks" on the surface of the board. Several small bits and pieces of embellishments later, and a handmade laundry room organizer was born perfect for keeping track of those "missing socks." Maybe this will save me money replacing all those socks I never found and matched up with its mate!

Live Life Creatively,

A Craft for the New Year: Chandelier Journal Cover

Happy 2013!!

Thirteen is my lucky number, so I am hoping that this year brings some "luck" to me.

You might have seen my post on using die cut foam core board to create cool Christmas ornaments? I liked working with foam core board using my die cut machine so much that I decided to create a craft for the new year.

Is your New Year's resolution involve getting organized, writing things down, making lists or journaling daily? How about making a shabby chic journal cover that will inspire you to finally keep that determined spirit?

I used Elmers Foam Core Board, die cuts and the BigShot Pro die cutting machine by Sizzix, along with paints and embellishments to create this elegant, yet shabby journal cover.

The Bigshot Pro by Sizzix is hardy enough to cut cleanly through foam core, so I used it, along with this chadelier die cut,  to create lightweight foam core shapes to decorate by covers with.

If you are using a journal cover without a black cover, you will want to paint the cover black first. I was lucky enough to find these simple, inexpensive, black covered journals.

First, apply wax to the cover in a random fashion using a candle.

Use acrylic paint to paint the cover white, and paint the foam core motif black.

The cover may require several coats depending on what it is made of. Don't worry too much about the paint showing through as you will be sanding it next to reveal a distressed surface.

Use a sanding block or lightweight sanding paper over the surface of the cover, areas where the wax was applied will rub away revealing an aged, chipped surface.

I also dry brushed the surface of the chadelier with white paint to add a little more depth to it. Using Beacon Adhesives Gem-Tac glue, I glued the motif to the upper half of the cover. I used a heavy book to hold it down for a few minutes while the glue set.

Use the gem tac to adhere flat backled acrylic or glass stones, crystas, flower embellishment, etc to the chandelier on the front cover. I also placed a row of self adhesive gems to the area between the binding and cover.

Finally, I used Beacon's Dry Paper Glue to adhere die cuts (from black cardstock) to the cover below the chandelier. I used Sizzix's Serif Essentials in letters and numbers to do this.

Think of short items like the year or a monogram that you would like to use on the cover. These are rather large characters so use a smaller die cut set or stamp a phase as an option if you want to include more letters or numbers.

"Note" that I also dry brushed the book spine to have it match the chandelier.

There are so many things these handy new year journals can be used for. Here are a few ones I can think of off the top of my head;

Grocery lists, Daily Journaling, Inspiration Books, Dream Journals (keep next to bed to jot down dreams before you forget), Health and Fitness log (for those of us who aspire to become more healthy, a place to record calorie intake, excersice ideas, healthy snack recipes).

What can you think of doing with these?

Live Life Creatively,

 

 

Die Cut Foam Board Painted and Stamped Bird Ornament

Can you believe the most merry day of the year is approaching us faster than we can say "ho ho ho?" I still have some bare spots on my nature themed tree that could still use some ornaments. At this late point in the game, I still have the spirit and desire to create but not necessarily the time to spend an entire day searching in stores and online for the perfect materials.

I created these die cut foam board stamped and painted birds for my etsy shop sometime back and the response has been terrific!

 

If you happened to catch my post on these fun, easy, die cut foam bird ornaments covered with veneer sheets you have discovered how easy it is to turn out a quick "wood" ornament using a Sizzix BigShot Pro die cut machine, the "Beautiful Bird" die cut by Brenda Pinnick for Sizzix, foam board from Elmers and finally real wood sheets from creative imaginations. I promised you three ideas for using the same die to create beautiful ornaments and here I deliver. Be sure to catch my post on the Crafts and Things Blog tomorrow for some fun ornaments made from ticking fabric.

Ok. So back to the painted and stamped version. First you will need your bigshot pro to cut out your ornaments from Elmers foam core board. The Sizzix BigShot Pro is perfect for this as it cuts heavy duty materials very easily.

So by using the die cut machine with the foam core, you get nice, even smooth edges. No need to sand. The die cut comes with a wing shape, but I am partial to teardrops. So I elected to trace 3" teardrops onto foam core and cut out with an X-acto knife.

You will need to sand the edges with a nail file (emory board) or a smaller paper sander made especially for paper crafting projects.

For the paints, I chose Lamp Black, Snow White and Antique White by DecoArt.

I painted the wing shape one coat of black since I knew I would be covering with one or two shades of white to create a distressed effect.

  I aso painted the back of each foam core bird shape ornament black.

Once the wing is dry to the touch, use a candle stick to randomly rub the surface.

Paint the wing two coats of white and then sand gently to remove areas where the candle wax was applied.

Paint the front of the foam core bird shape Antique White.

Use an ornate foam stamp and the white acrylic paint to stamp the surface randomly.

For a layered stamp look, I used StazOn ink in black and a script stamps to completely cover the bird.

I painted the beak black and added a small black dot for the eye. I slightly inked the edges of the bird to give it an aged look. Add a floral embellishment, stamp a sentiment on the wing, glue pieces together and your die cut painted and stamped bird ornament is complete! 

I bears mentioned that I hand dyed muslin using Rit Dye in Apple Green and purchased the silk flowers from Scrapbook.com. 

The flowers are from the Tasha collection and the tones are "midnight."

Just think of how many wonderful, lightweight but sturdy birds you can get from one sheet of foam board!

Although I used my Sizzix BigShot pro machine, I tried cutting the foam core with my smaller, standard BigShot and it worked too. Scrapbook.com carries this machine as well as a similar bird die cut that would work well for this project.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how easy it is to create with die cuts and foam board. Dont forget to jump over to the Crafts n Things blog to see my post on the the ticking fabric birds! And also check out these birds featured in my etsy shop.

Live Life Creatively,

 

Die Cut Foam Board Veneer Bird Ornaments

True to my fascination with everything avian, my Christmas tree contains everybird birds and inspired by birds. The idea came when I was out walking my dog and noticed the vast abundance of Georgia pinecones littering the ground. What could I do with these? If I used them inside, how was I to extract the little creatures living inside them?

I absolutely adore this "beautiful bird" applique die cut created for Sizzix by Brenda Pinnick. In my next three (errrr- long overdue) blog posts I am going to show you how to create three different ornaments with this die cut using unconventional materials to create stunning tree, mantel or package decorations.

This version all starts with simple to find, good old foam board. Foam board can intimade many of us because it usually requires using a craft knife to cut and that can take some practice. The best advice I can give you when cutting foam board (I prefer Elmer's because it comes in a variety of thicknesses, is high quality and can be purchased with grids on one side) is to utilize the "three cut rule." That is, trace your shape, use one pass of your X Acto knife to score exactly (or as close as you can) on the traced line, make a deeper second pass and finally score deeper to cut completely through. Don't try and cut all the way through with one cut, this doesn't yield smooth edged results.

As shown in the photo above, cut the foam board down to managable pieces. Cut some to match the size of the bird image on the die and some to use for the wings.

 
The good news is that, if you elect to use the shape of wing I did, you only need to trace a large teardrop shape onto the foam board and cut them out with the X ACTO knife. Have handy a sanding block or nail file to smooth any jagged edges.

  There is a wing shape included in the die cut that you can use if you wish but I have to admit I am partial to teardrop shaped wings.

The easier part of this project involves using the Sizzix BigShot pro to cut the bird shapes from the foam board. The BigShot Pro is a heavy duty die cut machine that cuts thick materials such as foam board.

It makes cutting these foam board bird shapes so easy!

Now its time to cover the shapes with the real wood veneer available from creative imaginations. The Real Wood Veneer product comes in 12" x 24" Real Wood Thin Cherry. It is ideal for cardmaking,mixed media, veneering, paper crafting, custom embellishments, and wood modeling.
It is compatible with most cutting dies.

You will need to use the wing template and an ink pen to trace the shape and an die cut machine to cut the real wood. For this smaller duty project, I went back to my lighter duty Big Shot machine and found that I could cut four sheets at once.

Once the sheets are cut, you can glue them to the foam core shapes to cover.

Use stamped sentiments for the wing and StazOn ink. I used brown chalk ink to smooth the edges of the foam core and to create the brown beak.

And to coordinate with the pine cones I spray painted (which made those little creatures promptly vacate) I added a small pinecone dusted with snow paint and a little bit of holly spray.

These ornaments are the perfect addition to any nature themed tree and can be make fairly quickly and easily in multiples. If you find your self lacking the time and materials to make these, visit my etsy shop for a great deal on these.

I hope I inspired you to try and make your own ornaments from simple foam board. What other dies do you own you could use to create special creations? Don't forget to check back here to see more ununual ideas using this wonderful die.

Live Life Creatively,

 

Dyed Bird Tags

I adore my Caged Bird Die cut by Sizzix. I can't seem to get enough of using it. Dark Brown dye from Rit Dye combined with printed summery blue and citrene fabric makes a striking combination.

I purchased some simple shipping tags from my local office supply store. I created a dye bath using a couple of tablespoons of Dark Brown with 1 cup hot water in a plastic container and soaked the tags in it for about 20 minutes.

I love combining paper and fabric. I used my caged bird die cut from Sizzix and my Sizzix BigShot die cutting machine to get these fun birds out of fabric. I stamped sentiments using some simple rubber stamped onto fused fabric.

When the tags were dry, I positioned the fabrics onto the tags.

And used my sewing machine to secure the pieces in place.

Pretty embellishments and some dyed muslin add a pleasing finishing touch to these Dyed Bird Tags. 

Live Life Creatively,

Art Inspiration Gifts

Check into the Sizzix Blog today to see how Sizzix dies inspired me to create these fab littlot e boxes brimming with goodies such as die cuts in a bird theme. The step by step tutorial shows how I used matboard and the BigShot Pro to create these fun gifts you can give to an artsy friend as inspiration for making cards, scrapbook pages and other fun projects. See you at the Sizzix blog!

Live Life Creatively,