How to Make an Applique

I don't know why, but the word applique just sounds so old fashioned to me, but really appliques are a great way to personalize or embellish an item. I used this process to make this shirt, but thought I'd show you a tutorial on how to make one. The possibilities are endless with appliques and they're pretty simple!

Find a design you like, (letter, shape, etc) and decide how big you want it to be. Now, you can either print it on your printer and cut it out. Then, trace it onto your fabric OR use a cutting machine like the Silhouette Portrait.

Cut a square of fabric that your design will fit on.

Cut the same size square of Heat N Bond (sewable). You'll want to lay the Heat N Bond down paper side down, then, lay the fabric wrong side down on top.

Heat your iron to the Wool setting and no steam. Iron for about 10 seconds, making sure to cover the whole piece.

Peel off the paper. Place it on your item where you want it to stay and iron it on. You can use the steam setting for this part, if you wish.

 

Now, you can either reinforce the edges by sewing close the edge or leave it. It really depends on how much wear and washing it will get. If it's an article of clothing or a hand towel, I suggest reinforcing it with sewing.

I added some embroidery to mine to dress it up a little, but you can do anything you wish! That's the beauty of creating things!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!!

The Easy Way to Make a Gingerbread House

Last week my daughter's teacher called to ask me if I could put together all the gingerbread houses for her kindergarten class. The kindergarten classes at our school always do gingerbread houses at Christmas and it's so much fun for them. So, when I picked Annie up on Friday, she was loaded down with supplies!

Yesterday, I sat down to make 26 houses for the class so that today they could just enjoy decorating them. And I thought the process was genius! No one really eats the gingerbread house when it's dried up, do they? So, the teacher's idea was perfect. I thought you might like to try it sometime whether in your own home or in a classroom setting. This way is the perfect way to build your house without it crashing down on you.

Take a pint size milk carton - or on a larger scale, you could use an almond milk carton and cut the bottom piece down to the size you desire and make sure it's empty and rinsed.

Fire up the hot glue gun! Get it nice and hot then glue down the bottom of the carton to a paper plate (or whatever base you want to use).

Next, use graham crackers to cover your house. You can use them whole, break them into squares or rectangles. Glue them onto your house so that all flat sides are covered.

Then, use store bought icing such as Pillsbury Classic White or even better - the frosting in the can that you can squirt onto the house! This worked like a charm with the kindergarten class! The kids used large popsicle sticks to spread their icing all around the sides and roof.

Finally, decorate with all the usual colorful candies - gumdrops (my favorite on a gingerbread house), M&Ms, Red Hots, Candy Canes, Gingerbread Men Cookies, etc. etc.

It was so much fun! And tomorrow, the Kindergarten will have a "Tour of Homes" and go around to each Kindergarten class and look at all the colorful creations they made today. It's a big deal, you know.

Does your family make a gingerbread house each year? We have only done it once. It was an ordeal. But this way is much easier and less stressful. Still messy, but it won't fall down.

Merry Christmas!

15 Minute Dropcloth Table Runner {Tutorial} + Centerpiece

My kitchen table is the most used table in the house. It gets eaten on, drawn on, colored on, crafted on, etc etc. It was the first table I ever bought and I've had it for 11 1/2 years. So, it's starting to look a little worn. I normally leave it plain or just with a vase of flowers on it because it gets used constantly, but after making my dropcloth curtains for the door behind it, I felt like it looked mighty plain. I started thinking about what to do and decided that since I happened to still have the dropcloth left out from these projects, I'd make a table runner out of it! It literally took about 15 minutes start to finish. It's as simple as sewing a straight line. Everyone can do it! So, if you need to brighten up an old table consider using this durable and washable dropcloth.

 If you want to make a quick and cheap centerpiece for Spring or Easter, this is what I made. My girls love it. It's simple and I think they just like having something Eastery on the table.

I spent $20 on two 4'x15' dropcloths at Big Lots and so far I've made these curtains, this kitchen curtain, this pillow cover, a tote bag {soon to come} and the table runner out of them. I still have quite a bit left to make many more projects! I'd say that's pretty thrifty.

What dropcloth projects do you want to make?

I'm sharing with these parties. Happy Spring!!

No-Sew 30 Minute Dropcloth Curtains {Tutorial}

A few months ago while shopping at Big Lots, I came across dropcloths and decided to buy one. I knew I'd use it for something at some point, but didn't have any plans right then. They had different sizes, but I chose the 4ft x 15ft one for no reason except that it only cost $10. My sister is always doing some project with canvas dropcloth {aka. painter's dropcloth} and I knew I'd find a good use for it. You can see all her projects with dropcloth here. Well, last week I decided it was time to get new curtains for my breakfast area and remembered the dropcloth. I went to find it and realized the size was only enough for one panel. So, off to Big Lots I went. I bought another one the same size and began planning out my new curtains. I searched Pinterest, but didn't see a lot that interested me for that space, so I called my sister. She suggested putting a couple of stripes on the top to match my chevron curtains in my living room. I thought about it and decided that ribbon would work better than painting the stripes that I had originally thought to do. It took me all of 30 minutes to make these two panels and I absolutely love them! They turned out even better than I expected! {Although, I may add another stripe to each panel about 2 inches below the first stripe.}
Here's the How-To:

I recommend using these products for this project:
Canvas Drop Cloth
Acrylic Craft Paint
Foam Paint Roller
2 inch Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with some of these parties.