Fun DIY Delights...

Gosh, I am a sucker for cool DIY projects! Can't get enough of them! I have many reasons why I love them but I'll list two main reasons... 1) I can make something cool All. By. Myself and 2) I can save money All. By. Myself. Saving money alone should peak anyone's curiosity, right? RIGHT! I am sharing not one but TWO DIY projects that caught my eye while checking out some cool craft blogs. I hope these projects catch your eye, too. Maybe you'll be inspired to make something fun yourself and improve your surroundings like I plan on improving mine. Which reminds me... did I mention how fun and how much satisfaction I get by doing things All. By. Myself? xo

Lately I have a thing for pillows. Don't ask me why because I can't explain it other than to say they are squishy, soft and eye candy for the soul. Pillows = Love. This DIY tutorial comes from Classy Clutter which shares how to make a cool Felt Flower Pillow. Enjoy :)

First I recovered a very eh... just okay looking pillow that once sat on my couch.

If you don't know how to do a basic pillow re-cover its about the simplest thing ever and there a zillion tutorials out there. Google it! If you can sew a straight line, you can make this pillow. PROMISE!

Next I cut out about 1,000,000 petals. Not really, more like 100 but it was A LOT! I did about 30 large, 30 medium, 30 small probably. I honestly did count them....

But like I said... A LOT!

Then all I did was arrange them how I wanted them on the pillow to make sure I made enough. I was so glad I did and I had 4 left over - haha!

Then I did my center a little different than Z-Gallerie's... I kinda like the way I did it better. Just sayin... haha

I cut out 3 circles using a cup and a sharpie as a pattern.

Folded it in half....

and in half again...

Finally, I HOT GLUED everything on! I could've sewn it but the hot glue worked magically and it was super quick and easy and lets face it, I was getting anxious to get it done. For the center, I glued 3 of these (above) "petals" in the middle in a cluster to make the inside of the flower.

I. AM. OBSESSED. I will be making a zillion of these for Christmas gifts this year. (and your birthday Kylie, as promised! LOVE U!)

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And the second DIY project comes from Hope Studios which shows how to make a fantastic scrunchy scarf for those cool nights just around the corner! Darling, isn't it? Just think of the handmade scrunchy possibilities ... gifts for others, scarfs for munchkins of your own or maybe even a tree garland for Christmas (I'm totally joking) or how about for You? What a novel idea :) I plan on making me one. Now go and make yourself one, too!

Supplies:

2 or 3 yards Jersey knit - To make several, like we did, for your girlfriends or for gifts, use two yards. To make one scarf, you can get one yard and sew the strips together to meet the length requirement.
Thread
Elastic Thread (found in the elastic aisle)
Scissors
Sewing Machine
And about 10 minutes of time

Cut your 2 yards of fabric into 10 inch wide by (at least) 72 inch long strips (your fabric will end up being half as long when you finish, so the longer the better). I like to wear it two ways, as a long drapy scarf and as a tighter neck scarf.

At this point, you can decide to taper your ends or to cut the ends apart, like this, at least 12 inches up from the bottom. I might even make longer tails if I did this again.

Hand wind the elastic thread onto your bobbin, loosely or it will pull too tight and break (use ordinary thread on top), turn off automatic tension control, and sew with a basting stitch from the center of one tail alllll the way to the end. Then again from the center of the other tail allll the way to the other end. So, you have two long seams about 3 inches apart, down the center. (Make sure you back stitch at the beginning and the end, basting stitches will pull out easily if they aren't anchored like this.) See how it is bunching up as it passes through the machine? (click the photo to enlarge) It's like magic!

Here is how it looks all sewn - just two straight seams from end to end:

Now, prance around all giddy-like with your cute new scarf. Make sure to pose for pictures and make plans to give them to everyone on your Christmas list with a neck.