Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

Ruffled Fabric Bag

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Now that Christmas is over, I can show you some things I made as presents and gave away this year.  I’m not a fan of surprises but people I love are, so I have been withholding showing these presents.  I am excited to start with a walk through on this ruffled fabric bag!

Do sewing patterns scare you?  They scare me!  I have used sewing patterns twice with my mother-in-law’s assistance, and I’m still intimidated.  I think there is something with how they have to be precise and accurate that keeps me away.

Instead of buying a simple sewing pattern with canvas material, I preferred to buy a canvas bag for $2.99 (that I got when it was 50% off) to use as my template.  I would rather see what it is supposed to look like finished and take the time to deconstruct the bag by literally picking all the stitches out, just to sew it back together later.  Is this messed up?  Probably.

After taking apart a brand new bag, I picked out the fabrics I wanted to use as my ruffles.  I wanted to make the ruffles fun but also not too bright since this gift was for Matt’s aunt.  I cut my fabric into 3″ strips, and I then lightly folded the fabric slightly over every inch or so.  This created a ruffled look once I sewed a line at the top on the fold.

Once I had several ruffled fabric strips, I started pinning them onto my bag, leaving a little overlap of the two ruffles to cover the seam.  I started at the bottom of the bag and worked up.  Once they were all pinned on both sides of the bag, I was ready to sew the strips on.

After the strips were all sewn on the bag, I trimmed the “extra” ruffles that were hanging off the side of the bag.  Those you can just throw away.  The next step is to turn your bag inside out and sew up the edge of the bag to join the two sides of the bag together again.

inside out bag

To have the feminine flare at the end of the bag like mine, simply push the last two ruffles up so they do not catch in your sewn seam down the side of the bag.  An easy way to measure this is to fold the bottom of the bag back to what is was like and leave your ruffles out of that fold, so when you sew down the edge of the bag they are not caught.

I went back and added a ruffle on the top of my bag.  Since my bag was already closed all the way around, I simply overlapped the ruffle at the top and ended the new ruffle edge folded over so it looked like a ruffle.  I think the edge is pretty hidden this way.

edge in ruffle

I also covered the straps of my bag with a matching fabric.  To do this, cut two 2.5″ wide strips.  I then ironed my fabric strips to create a fold like this…

My bag’s straps were 1″ wide, so I ironed the fabric strip covers with a 1″ margin, so they would wrap around the original strap and could be sewn down the middle.

bag straps1

I literally then sewed down the middle of the strap, so my fabric covers were attached to the original straps.

Where the fabric covers started and ended I added a row of stitches to seal the fabric closed (as shown above).

It was not the prettiest finished look, so I hand sewed some big buttons over the handles’ edge to cover up the transitioning seam of fabrics.

I really liked it with the buttons, But I decided to pin on a big floppy flower I found at Old Navy for $2.99.  The bag can be worn with the flower, or it can easily be taken off for a different look.

I really love how it came out!  Now, that I have completed one bag, I think I could make it a lot faster a second time and might be brave enough to try just buying some canvas rather than a bag to add that destroying step at the beginning.

What do you think?  Do you ever add steps that seem to make your project easier, but they might actually make it harder?

Did you make any Christmas gifts this year to give away?

I hope you have a great weekend with your family and enjoy the last of this year!  If you have not entered my Year in Review Giveaway, please do!  It’s not too late!

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Linked up at:  Miss Information

Handprint Santa

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I love hand print art and capturing the cuteness of my kids’ hands being so little.  You might remember seeing my Thanksgiving turkey or how we stamped ornaments with their hands.  Today, I am showing you our handprint Santa Claus.

In the light of events from last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary, these simple Santa Claus handprints have moved me more than just seeing a cute craft.  I can’t stop looking at these handprints and thinking how blessed I am.  I continue to pray for these families and that this event in our country’s history will mark us and change us past the initial shocks so we are forever changed.

Here is how we made our handprint Santas:

I helped my kids stamp their hands with white paint onto some brown craft paper.  I then let the boys cut out their handprints while I cut all the pieces of the hats and faces.   I then let them assemble their Santa as a puzzle.  I drew Reagan’s Santa’s mouth to show the boys how a mouth looks when it is talking, and they did the same to their Santa’s.

We then glued our Santas to a pretty piece of scrapbook paper and added some merry “Ho, Ho, Ho’s.”  This is a simple and easy craft that has all the kids’ favorites:  Paint, cutting, gluing, and acting out “ho, ho, ho.”

Thank you so much for checking out our handprint Santas!  I hope you are having a good week and not stressing out too much!  I know my to-do list is still a mile long, but I am choosing to sing Joy to the World and not letting the stress carry my emotions and thoughts all day everyday.

How are you doing this Holiday season??

 

 

 

 

Linked up at:  Miss Information

DIY Rope Balls

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Today, I have an easy DIY rope ball craft for you.  I created these pretty rope balls from Dollar Tree supplies  At the end of this post, I will show you a simple change you can do to make the same type of ball have another use.

These balls were inspired from my Savannah girl’s weekend.  Do you remember seeing this picture from my trip?

While we were out shopping, I fell in love with these rustic rope balls.  They were about $8.00 a piece and I knew I could make them cheaper.  I finally attempted to make them, and I love my product.  Here is how you can do it too.

I went to my Dollar Tree and bought yellow boot laces, two packs of clothes line rope, and a package of styrofoam balls.  I ended up also getting a package of styrofoam balls from Hobby Lobby to have a slightly larger size.  Note:  I love the clothes line rope!  It is perfect Christmas colors to help decorate my house for Christmas.  Plus, there was so much of it for only costing $1.00 each!  Score!

I started by hot gluing the edge of my rope onto a styrofoam ball.  My technique was to add a strip of glue and then lay the rope on top about two inches at a time, going down one side of the ball.  I simply wrapped my ball with glue and rope going around and around to create the look of swirls.

Once my “swirls ” of glue and rope were getting smaller as I was getting near to closing the side off, I simply cut the string, added a big glob of glue, and tried to stick the edge of my rope into the glob of glue (in order to cover up any styrofoam from showing).

After you have one side complete, add a little glue at the top and start wrapping down the ball again (until the ball is totally covered up).  I made a lot of these, but I still had a ton of rope left over!

I think they came out so cute, and yet were so easy to make!  They cost so much less than their store look a likes.

My kids are enjoying throwing them all over the house.  It is nice to have a Christmas decor item that is not “breakable” or off-limits.  They can throw these and they wont break or get damaged.  Unless they throw them at something that might break 🙂.  I love red and green and can see myself keeping them out all year-long and not limiting them to just Christmas.

Although they are a rustic/child safe decor item, you can dress them up and display them in a fancier planter for a more elegant look.

My son Caleb told me this planter looked dirty as I put it in my shopping cart this week.  Oh don’t you love a child’s practical thinking!?  It does look dirty, but I love it!  I think these rope balls would even look good in a glass vase like I did with my red ornaments on my Christmas mantle.

Since I had so much left over rope, I decided to get some more styrofoam balls and twist this idea into something that would make great Christmas gifts!  I made some rope ornaments!  My sister Joni, came over and we sat, talked, watched White Christmas, glued rope ornaments, and almost peed in our pants from laughing so hard.  It was a fun night!

The only difference really from just making the rope balls is adding a piece of string, rope, or ribbon first, so there is a way for your ornament to hang on the tree.  We started by cutting a small piece of rope and gluing both of the ends onto the ball.

We then did the gluing technique to add two strips of rope around the ball.  After we had our rope surrounded by the clothes line rope, we simply went down wrapping one side just like we did the ball.  From there, you complete the ornament just like you did the ball.

They look amazing just plain, or adding a simple string bow is cute too!  I think they make such a cute little addition to any gift and look great on the tree!  They are so simple, yet the rows ans rows of string add a fun texture to a rather normal style of a round ball ornament.

Do you add a personal touch to gifts?  Are you making any gifts this year?

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

 

Linked up to:  Shaken Together, Inspired by Charm, Funky Junk Interiors, Shanty 2 Chic, Miss Information, The Frugal Homemaker, DIY Show Off

DIY Leather Bracelet

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**Update:  This giveaway is now closed, but please feel free to read the steps to make your own!!
Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of doing my first guest post on another blog, and it was for the amazing Miss Information.  If you have not checked out her blog, please do!
Today, I am excited to share with you a quick DIY leather bracelet that I shared with her readers.
With the Holidays coming rapidly, I think this leather bracelet would make a great gift and there is so much versatility with how you can finish them off.  Let’s begin the process, and I will show you more of what I mean.
I got a 1/8 of a yard of leather for $1.24 at Hobby Lobby with a package of snaps for my needed materials.
I first began by cutting two 3”x 9” strips of leather.
I then turned the fabric inside out, so the pretty sides of the material were touching and did the following steps.
After I had the basic leather strip, I simply measured how tight I would want the bracelet to be, and I added one of my snaps in the desired area.
I love this chunky, fun bracelet.  I think it looks amazing just plain by itself, but it would also be very cute embellished with a little button or flower that you could pick up at a craft store.
I decided to embroider a simple heart on the center of my bracelet.  I love the simplicity but fun of this accessory.
This amount of material was enough to make five bracelets!  I think that makes each bracelet cost about $0.50 (by the time you add the leather with snaps cost).  I literally did this in about thirty minutes.  It was so quick and easy! You should give it a try! Fabric glue would probably work if you didn’t want to break out a sewing machine. 
Since posting this at Miss Information I have made a few more bracelets.  I liked my embroidered one so much, I stayed with that idea.
One bracelet I personalized for my sister, Olivia Joy.  She is so true to her name.  She brings so much joy to my life.  Another bracelet I personalized for my best friend who is a mom to four young kids.
Here is some good news for YOU!  The third was personalized for one of you!
I love Kris Allen’s song “live like you are dying.”  That was my thinking with making this bracelet, but you can have it mean anything you want!  If you would like a chance to win this bracelet, simply leave me a comment on this post.  I will pick one of you randomly on Friday to win this bracelet!  Add it to your Christmas present for someone, stick it in a stocking, or surprise someone with a “just because” gift.
Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day!  I will be back tomorrow with a quick, kid activity for the month of December to help reinforce and teach JOY to your young ones.