The Wonders of Wonder Under

I have been a bad blogger!  I've had some annoying health issues resurface lately, so I've been really lazy.  As if to prove my point, the pictures in this post are indefensibly horrible.  I hope you can look past the awful lighting and out of focusness (there has to be a better phrase/word for that) to get the gist of my projects.

Despite the name, Wonder Under is not manufactured by KY (sorry, I couldn't help myself) but by Pellon.  It is the most common name brand fusible webbing that binds two fabrics together with heat.  I use it in my purses and always have tons of it around.  One day, I decided to play with some cardigans I have.  I have 3 nearly identical cardigans, each in a different color.  I rarely wear them because they are kind of plain.  I prefer bright colors and patterns, so I thought I'd jazz them up.

The first cardi is a mint green.  I cut a large square out of some leftover fabric and cut a square of Wonder Under the same size.  I fused the webbing to the back of the fabric using an iron with NO steam  (that's a must).  Using some clipart I found online, I cut a rabbit shape out of the fused fabric.  Then, I ironed the rabbit to the cardigan.  I was nervous since the fabric was cotton and the cardigan was stretchy.  It actually was super easy!  The rabbit fused to the sweater and I did a zigzag stitch around the shape.  Here are the results: 

I have a pink and a blue cardigan to play with and I can't wait to see how those turn out.  The whole project literally took under an hour to make.  It was so easy that I decided to so something similar for my brother for his birthday.  My brother loves the movie "The Big Lebowski."  Going off of an idea my friend Lindsey had (read: "plagarized"), I made him a robe with the word, "abide" on the back.  I bought a chambray robe off of Amazon.  I wrote the word in a font I liked and followed the same process I did for my sweater.  I was a little nervous about what sort of fabric to use for "The Big Lebowski."  I reached in my scraps and the first one I pulled out was perfect: Alexander Henry's Las Senioritas fabric.  It features Mexican pinups and had the pulpy feel I was looking for.  I love it when things work out randomly!  Since the letters were not big, only parts of the fabric show, like a pair of lips or eyes . . . which I love!

Alexander Henry's Las Senioritas

Since much of the movie has to do with bowling, I had to make the "i" in "abide" a bowling pin.  Here's the finished product:

Scarfapalooza 2011

Sorry my posts have been infrequent as of late . . . remember the "Breaking Dawn" purse from the last post?  Well, it was a hit and I got orders to make two more!  Not to mention, I've had tons of regular orders as well.  This holiday season has been awesome for my shop!

I have a lot of people to "gift" for, as I'm sure all you guys do.  I always like to make presents for the 4 nieces on my side of the family . . . sorry, in-laws.  You have too many dadgum kids!  ; )  Seriously, I love all my nieces.  I always like to imagine I'm the cool aunt that watches "Adventure Time" and makes cool purses.  I'm afraid that I'm actually the creepy aunt that makes my nieces ugly crap and makes them put it on so I can take endless pictures.  Sigh.  Oh well.  You decide . . .

I've had fun playing with t-shirt scarves lately.  Here's my first one:

I made it to go with this dress--it has a crazy pattern in crazy colors so I never have any accessories to wear with it.  I cut up part of an old "Whoppers" t-shirt from high school to make it.  I get tons of compliments whenever I wear it.  Here's a great tutorial showing the basic method to making this kind of scarf.  All you need is a pair of scissors, a 100% cotton t-shirt and five minutes.  Literally.

I like my crafts like I like my women: cheap and easy.  (That's a joke.  I like difficult crafts, too.)  I decided to make scarves for my nieces.  I only had one day to do it since 3 of them were going to Utah for Christmas.  I did 5 scarves total in one afternoon.  Some of them are a little crazy but I was going on what they said their favorite colors were and also their personalities.

This was the first one I made for my friend Shelonna.  I really like the chunky braid . . . if you can braid hair, you can make this scarf.

A different version of the braid one for my oldest niece.

Neon green and purple, with a tiny peace sign charm for the next one . . .

I loved how the scarf matched the outfit she was already wearing!

Next up, for my 6 year old niece who said her favorite color was "ice blue."  Where do they come up with this stuff?  Anyway, I cut up an old shirt of mine that had a ruffled neckline.  I cut the neckline out and used it as one of the strands.  I thought it came out really pretty but . . . 

You can't please everyone.  LOL . . . 

Finally, for my 3 year old niece who is a total diva . . . 

A ruffled scarf.  This is perfect for the Diva since it resembles a feather boa.  These are so adorable and require NO sewing.  They're a little more complicated but it doesn't require any special skills (here's a great tutorial for this one).  The little candy cane rosette is glued to a hair clip that can be worn in her hair (doy) or as an accent on the scarf.

Since she's only 3, I didn't think she'd get what it was since it's basically a pile of fluffiness.  (Tip: When you layer all the different ruffles together, sew a tiny stitch in the middle to keep from losing layers and to keep them together.)

But I tell you, she opened it up and gasped, "I got a pink scarf!"  She wrapped it around her neck right away and didn't take it off the whole night!  She loved it.

So if you're still scratching your head (or digging through an empty wallet) on what to do for Christmas, these scarves are a great option, not to mention fun to make.

Graduation Station

t's graduation season again! Last year, my first posts on this blog were tutorials on graduation-themed crafts, so I thought it was worth reposting . . . along with a cute graduation cupcake tutorial as well. Enjoy!

UPCYCLED DIPLOMA FOLDER GRADUATION SCRAPBOOK

It's been four years since I graduated from college. My college years meant so much to me and I honestly mourned school after I left. Making this little album was a great healing process for me (yes, I'm a total dork). I made it four years ago but I still think it's a pretty cool little idea.

Most diplomas are presented in a fancy folder with the school's seal on top like this one. Once the diploma is out and in a frame, what can you do with these folders?

The inside of my AASU one features a sketch of one of the buildings. When I first saw it I got a little lump in my throat because I recognized it as Gamble Hall, the dusty little English building where I spent most of my hours at AASU. Later I realized, duh, it could be any of the buildings on campus since they all look alike! The sketch endeared me to the folder anyway and I had to find a use for it. I decided to make a photo album out of it.

Since the folder isn't very wide, I was able to only fit six pages (3 page protectors) inside. I chose to make a horizontal album, since the building sketch was horizontal. The album would work just as well vertically if you prefer . . . in fact, you may have an easier time finding 8 x 10 page protectors that are vertical. I used 8 x 10 horizontal page protectors (by SEI--I'm not sure if they still make them, it's been awhile!) and sewed them together on the right side. You can also punch small holes up the sides and tie them together with ribbon also. I hot glued the back of the last page protector to the inside of the folder and voila! A cute, personalized graduation album. You or your graduate will treasure this for years to come . . . I know I do!

Let me know if you make one of your own. Send me links to your blogs . . . I'd love to see how you interpret this project into your own style!

GRADUATION MORTARBOARD CARD

I got the idea from a great book called Creative Card Making for Scrapbookers (by Memory Makers). I've had the book for years and in fact, it was a hand-me-down from a friend. Even though it's old and maybe out of print (Amazon was out), I've gotten endless ideas for cards from this book. This graduation card is just one of many really nice ideas. To make it my own, I added a nice extra element if you're interested. Here's what you'll need:

black cardstock
patterned cardstock
small tassel (I found mine at Hobby Lobby in the decorator fabric section)
black button or large brad
adhesive (Tombo Mono is my fav)
stamp
ink

2.5" x 4.5" strip of white paper (regular or cardstock will work)*
ribbon*
hot glue*
*these are the materials for my "add-on"

Here's the text from the book:

"Begin with two identical square pieces of patterned paper (mine were 4" x 4"); adhere together, patterned sides out. Fold glued square in quarters; crease. Open and fold diagonal so that the square collapses into itself along crease to form square one-quarter the size of the whole. Adhere black cardstock squares to top and bottom of folded form. Adorn with button and tassel to complete mortarboard. Stamp sentiment inside card. (by Jodi Amidei)"

I slipped my tassel on a big brad and pushed it through a black square BEFORE I glued it to the patterned paper. I also wet embossed the "Congratulations" for a little more texture. Here's what it looks like when you open it.


I just love how it pops open, sort of like origami.

Once I made the card, I realized that I had no room to write a note. (No, seriously. I didn't figure that out until it was time to write a message!) So I wrote a small note, rolled it up, tied it with a ribbon and glued it to the top of the card to make a little diploma. Here's how to do it:

Write your note on the slip of paper. Starting at the BOTTOM of the note (that's important!), roll up the slip of paper around a pen.

While the scroll of paper is still wrapped around the pen, tie a ribbon around it.

Squeeze a line of hot glue at the very top of the scroll (just inside the top edge). Push the diploma on a corner of the mortarboard card. Now, when your graduate opens the ribbon, your note should spring open! Cool, eh?

GRADUATION CUPCAKES

A couple of girls at my church just graduated high school, so I wanted to make them a treat. I found these ideas online . . . I LOVE the internet. Check out these cupcakes!

I actually changed a few of the ingredients. I used a Ghiradelli caramel square for the top of the cap rather than a chocolate-covered graham cracker . . . I thought the cracker would be too heavy (not to mention not the right scale!). The cap was made by "gluing" the square and a mini Reese's cup with melting chocolate, then gluing a Fruit Roll-up tassel to a mini blue M & M. (If you want to make these, I suggest using a toothpick as a dowel . . . the cap is pretty heavy, and won't stay put!) The diploma, in the original recipe was made with fondant . . . uh, I've never worked with that stuff, so I found these new Golden Oreo straws that I covered in white chocolate . . . and the ribbon is again, Fruit Roll-ups. Everything went very well, except the frosting. I suspected I made it too thin, not to mention it was a super humid, rainy day. The frosting totally fell, so that's why it looks so pathetic in the picture! Anyway, I thought they came out really cute. (BTW, I have worked with fondant since then and it's not so bad . . . but I think the Golden Oreo sticks--if you can still find them--are much tastier)