Gathering Dust

Jewelry On Etsy and Favorite How-tos

I've listed a bunch of vintage jewelry in my Etsy shop SugarPinkMoon.

Some is ready to wear, some is bits and pieces to use for crafts or remaking.

And I've added some fun and/or attractive books to Gathering Dust.

I hate to do a post where I just ask you to buy things- but I don't have any new crafts to show you---I mean I've been busy sorting and listing all this stuff!

So I'll leave you with links to what appear to be my two most popular how to posts.

Christmas Gift Tags

Making tags with those little pieces of paper you can't stand to throw away

Sorry for the repeat posts, but if you talked to me in real life, you'd notice I repeat myself, too.

Printing on Fabric the Cheap-o Way

When I'm crafting with needle and thread, I like to add images printed on fabric- but using the pre-packaged sheets of printable fabric is expensive. 

I thought I'd share an inexpensive way to print on fabric that I learned from Diane Knott.

Start with a package of full page size labels.  These are Avery 48165.  I bought a package of 10 at Wal-Mart for $4.44. 

You'll also need some medium weight fabric to print on.  I've had good luck with bedsheets and tablecloths purchased at estate sales.

Take the backing off a label sheet, exposing the sticky back.

Press the sticky side of the label to the fabric.

Turn over the label to the fabric side and smooth out any wrinkles.  I've been able to smooth out most small wrinkles just by running my hand across the fabric. 

You will have less wrinkles if you iron your fabric first and work on a hard surface...of course I was in too much of a hurry to do that, so I have some wrinkles- but that's ok, it all turns out fine in the end.

Trim the fabric around the label, so the fabric won't catch when it goes through the printer.

Put your fabric in your printer, making sure you know if your sheet needs to be fabric or paper side up.

...and start printing.

I've found depending on the fabric I'm using, I can re-use a stickly label up to 4 or 5 times, if I do my printing all at the same time.

I use an ink jet printer, and I've only used this method for "craft" printing- not for anything that is washable. I've heard that if you are going to wash your fabric, you might want to treat your fabric first with a product like Bubble Jet to set the ink.

I just printed these for an upcoming Back to School book page swap hosted by Michelle Geller.  I've admired Michelle's handmade books for ages, so I'm excited to be in the swap.

I've sandwiched the printed fabric, a background fabric and fleece and I'm going to machine stitch them together and then hand embellish them...fourteen of them-and then I have to figure out what to do with the back....I better get busy.

Speaking of busy, I've added lots of new treasures to both my Etsy stores SugarPinkMoon and Gathering Dust.

Metal Stuff

Pretty Stuff

...and "low color" stuff.

New Kitchen Curtains- Sure, Just Hand Me That Scissor

I've seen several pictures on Pinterest of lace curtains made by sewing doilies together.  I love the look, and decided to try it.

It's easy to sew the doilies together, but hard to get them hang straight.  I really didn't like this asymetrical look- especially since the doily on right side look out of kittywumpus.  I even tried sewing another squarish doily to the middle, but it still just wasn't what I was looking for.

Today, I decided to give it another try- using a tablecloth- a VINYL tablecloth- no hemming, no fraying. 

At first I just cut off the lace edges - the long sides went to the biggest windows- middle window and the window over the sink. and the short sides went on the smaller side windows.

I was left with the center of the tablecloth- which had a really nice pattern.  I stitched a quick rod pocket and hung it in the center window.  It's sheer enough that plenty of light comes in, but it hids the cobwebs between the windows.

This might not have been my first choice for curtains, but it was cheap, and will certainly work until I figure out how to sew those doilies together.

Ditty Bag Redux via Sew Somerset

Last January, I had a How To on making these lace bags on my blog. 

Last week, the mail box had an early copy of Stampington's Sew Somerset and I was tickled to see they had published one of my little bags.

I love making the bags, using little bits and pieces of pretties.  I was just using doilies and lace, but I've started adding other goodies-  images on fabric.

...embroidery and charms.

...and even a cross stitch band sampler.

I've added another kind of bag, too.  A zippered bag with a strap- I'm calling them flea market purses because they're so handy for carrying the flea market essentials- money, keys, lip balm, tissue, sun glasses etc etc, but the strap is long enough you can wear it across your body, leaving your hands free for shopping.

They've all been walnut stained, so they are "pre-grunged" for you- you don't have to worry about getting them dirty, they already have an aged look.

You can check them all out in my Etsy Shop.

Have a Heart: Little Hearts to Sew Up Fast

 
Karla's Bird Song art retreat is coming up fast, and I want to have some goodies to add to the tote bags we made last month.

I started making these little "bee-hearts" and as I finished each one, I put it in this white wooden bowl.  Whenever I make more than one thing, I like to line up all my "creations" so I can look at them and get a... a... a sense of accomplishment- yes, that's what it is.

Dear Hubby saw them and asked what they were.  I said "Are you asking me why I'm sewing hearts out of a dirty coffee stained towel?"  He said "No, I think they look nice". 

I'm not quite done with them, but I thought maybe you'd like a quick tutorial on making them- they are pretty simple, you can probably just LOOK at them and figure it out- but I think there are so many possible variations that maybe they'd inspire you to make one...or a bowlful.

 
I used a wooden craft heart and a pencil to trace a heart on my fabric.  I know they make special pencil for drawing on fabric, but I didn't have one, and I've got kind of a dirty look going on anyway so, I wasn't too worried about it.

The fabric I used is a heavy dish towel.  Remember when I was coffee dying all those lace bags?  This is the towel that I used to blot the bags and clean up any spills.  Even after repeated washings, it still had an uneven coffee stain look to it- I thought it was perfect for this project.

 
Layer the fabric with the traced heart on top of another piece of fabric and start stitching.  I suggest starting your stitching in the lower right hand corner because it will make stuffing the heart easier later on.  I used three strands of embroidery floss. and my stitches are about 1/4" long.

 
Keep stitching around your heart until you get to about 1 1/2" - 2" from where you started. 

 You don't have to cut or tie off your thread- just leave it on the needle.

 
Using pinking  shears, cut about 1/2" outside your stitching. 

Note: If you decide to make more than one heart, assembly line style- don't do all your pinking in one step.  Maybe I just have bad pinkers, but I thought it was HARD- and I have  blisters to prove it.  Definitely take a break in between pinking your hearts.

 
 Now, if you want, stamp a little design on your heart.

 

Now your ready to use that little gap in stitching to fill your heart with fiberfill. 

I swear, a bag of this can last me forever-  I take a few handfuls out, put the bag back in the closet, and the bag is full the next time I go to use it.  It must grow while it's in the closet.

Stuff your heart and pick up your already threaded needle and finish your stitching. 

 
Then, go make another one.  And another one....

 
I think these would be nice as sachets with lavender, but just like an invisible sewing pencil, I didn't have any, so I just went with what I had.

 
I did try some variations- plain white cotton with blue thread, tea stained with a button, satin with a mother of pearl button and a bit of lace over a damask napkin.

Other ideas- sew on a ribbon for hanging, embroider a name, use to tie on a package, pastel hearts in an Easter basket... any other ideas?

Quick and Easy Handmade Journal

 
 
I've been a little under the weather, so I don't have any "new" junk to show you.  I've been taking it easy, sitting on the couch with scissors, glue and a stack of papers.

Here's a super easy way to make a journal /diary/ scrapbook.  Take a photographer's photo album- the heavy cardboard folder that a picture is displayed in, and cut it at the fold.

Glue on an interesting image to the front- this is from  Green Paper Packages. 

 
Add some pretty paper or a simple collage to the insides of the folder.

 
Hole punch the covers and some sturdy weight paper, add some ring binders...

 
...and you've got a blank book, ready to use...

 
...as a scrapbook, journal, diary, or photo album.  I'm sure I've shown this project before, but its such a simple fast idea  that can be used for a last minute gift, that here it is again.

 

I'll have more book projects to show you later in the week.  This album is for sale in my Etsy Shop- Gathering Dust.

 
While I've been convalescing, I've finished made some more lace bags for my Etsy shop, too. 

Convalescing makes it sound like I'm recovering from something really serious instead of just a little cough, doesn't it?

 
If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you've heard me talk about how much fun we have at craft day at Karla's Cottage. 

Now's your chance to craft at Karla's, too- she's having a two day workshop at her cottage studio.  Karla is a wonderful hostess, and the biggest bonus of craft days isn't the new projects you work on or the new techniques you learn, its the time spent with sharing ideas with other like minded creative people.  You can read the details  here.

How To: Lacy Ditty Bags with Vintage Doilies

 
I started making these lacy bags after I got a huge box of doilies and lace from Lisa- Tarnished and Tattered and another box from my sister in law on the same day.  Getting both boxes on the same day was a real motivator to make something.

To make the bags you need lace and/or doilies:

 
...a basketful

 
....or a bowlful

 
...or a milk crate full.

You really don't need much lace or doilies, just a few snippets.

 
The base for the bags are these $.59 canvas bags from Michaels.

 
I start at the bottom of the bag, and find a piece of lace or a snippet of a doily...

 
...pin it on and then start stitching.  I'm not especially neat about my stitches, but I do try and make sure that I'm not leaving big gaps between the stitches.

 
 
I sew these by hand, so I slip a piece of cardboard into the bag to keep from accidently stitching the lace all the way through to the back of the bag.

 
Just keep on trying different combinations of lace and doilies.  You can plan the whole bag ahead of time, or pick and stitch and then pick your next layer of lace like I do.

 
Don't be afraid to take your scissors to a worn or damaged doily to make it fit.

 
I don't worry too much about the color of the lace or doily-it all seems to work itself out when you coffee or tea dye the bag.

 
After a little playing I finally ended up adding a narrow piece of lace and then a larger piece cut from a doily.

 
The doily that will go on top is just a little bit too big, so I trimmed it to fit.  Here's the before and after:

 

Once your lace is sewn, it's time to tie everything together with some dying.

I usually only dye one or two pieces at a time, and I just use a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup and the morning's leftover coffee.

 
Put the bag in the cup and pour on the coffee.

 
Let it soak- and if it isn't as dark as you'd like it, you can add some hot water and a couple tea bags to the mix, or some instant coffee granules.

 
When I take my bag out of the coffee/tea mix, I blot it and then roll it up in a towel I keep just for tea staining.    I let it dry on the towel, or if I'm in a hurry, I'll wrap it in the towel and throw it in the dryer to set the coffee/tea.  Adding the towel keeps the bag from staining the inside of my dryer.

 
When the bag is dry, I snip off the bungee looking drawstring cord that came with it and replace it with seam binding.

Another bag option is adding an image you've printed on fabric, or  some crinkled seam binding.

 
Have fun stitching and let me know if you have any questions.

 

Last Minute Gift Tags- Recycled Crafts

 
Last week at craft day, Karla reminded me of some Christmas gift tags I made last year with the Cuttlebug and old ornament boxes.  Karla was going to make some from her boxes, but we didn't get around to it- so I made some for her. 

Some vintage ornament boxes have great graphics, and I hate to throw them away, so I cut the pictures from the boxes...

 
....

 
...get out my Cuttlebug and Sizzix tag template.

 
...cut the boxes so the pictures will line up with the outline of the tags.

 

...crank the Cuttlebug and see what comes out.

Sometimes, it's a good idea to proof read the tags before you tie them to the package.

Case in point:

 
 

I'm pairing up the tags with some bakers twine and slipping them in a white burlap bag for a hostess gift for Karla...she's having a dinner tonight.

 

Want to make some tags, but don't have ornament boxes or a Cuttlebug?

I scanned some tags so you can print them on cardstock and cut them out.

Here's a full page .pdf of the ornament box tags.

I also scanned some favorite vintage wrapping papers with and without an oval templates.  You can print the oval tags on cardstock, and cut out; or print the gift wrap on card stock and cut into any shape you want.

 

 

 

 

Double click on any image to open in a larger size in a new window and right click your mouse to save the image to your computer.

 

 

 

 

Also, thanks for the Etsy love- even though I've been selling things I make for quite a while, I'm still so flattered and happy when you buy something I make.  Thank you.