DIY Oilcloth Placemats

Well, it's been awhile but I'm back with a new post and I plan on posting every day more frequently from now on.

When we got married one of the items I registered for was placemats. Exciting, right? While I love my denim colored placemats, spilled drinks and food meant tossing them in the wash, which lead to shrinkage.

I decided to make my own. I gathered my sewing machine, fabric, iron, and fusible batting. This is not a complicated sewing project. If you know how to thread your sewing machine, you will be able to handle this easily. I found my inspiration on this great blog, A Pretty Cool Life. 

I cut two pieces of fabric (15 1/2  x 20 1/2 inches) and one piece of fusible batting (also 15 1/2  x  20 1/2).

I ironed the fusible batting to the "wrong" side (the non patterned side) of the fabric.

Once the batting was ironed to the back of the fabric I took the other piece of fabric, placed it on top of the first piece of fabric (right sides facing) and stitched all pieces together. 

* Leave a 5 inch gap on the bottom of one short side to turn out *

Once all three layers were sewn together, I clipped all four corners. 

 Next I pulled the fabric through that 5 inch gap to get the "right sides" of the fabric on the outside (the batting will stay on the inside). 

I ironed the placemat, making sure to fold the pieces of the gap inward.

I then topstitched around the entire placemat (1/4 inch away from edge). I stitched around a second time, 1/4 inch inside that first stitching.

The sewing part of the project was done.

Now on to the stenciling.

I used my usual acrylic paint but this time, because I was painting fabric, I added a fabric medium. This is to prevent any cracking in the paint from bending the fabric. This comes in handy if you are painting clothing or totes. I didn't see myself throwing my placemat around but you never know how aggressive I may become if there is chocolate cake involved.

 

Don't judge, crafting makes me thirsty.

Applied a little stencil adhesive, slapped the first stencil down, and got to work. 

If these stencils look familiar, you may remember them from my Trendy Tray Table Project.

I let the painted placemats dry for about a day or so before my last step.

To avoid having to continuously wash my placemats I decided to give them an Oilcloth finish. I picked some up at Michaels, grabbed a squeegee (a balance free gift card would also work), and got to work.

Following the directions on the back of the oilcloth finish, I put a heaping amount on one edge of my squeegee and covered the entire placemat. 

Note: The finish will pool, a bit, in the stitching. I simply used the corner of my squeegee (I cannot type that word enough), and removed any excess. I applied two coats to each placemat (I made two), waitied two hours, then applied two more coats.

Here is the finished product:

Such an easy project that can be personalized with any stencil or paint color. 

~ B

DIY (No Sew) Table Runner

Our dining room table is such a random size. It's definitely not a rectangle but not quite a square. I wanted to make a table runner to put across it but didn't feel like sewing on this particular day. I found some inspiration from a placemat project that Michaels had on one of their free project cards in store and added my own flair.

I found some laminated burlap at my local Michaels, grabbed my stencils that I had just used on my mirror makeover project, and a permanent marker.

The laminated burlap was in a rolled up package so I stretched it across my table and held it down with painters tape.* 

*My Mom suggested I roll the burlap up in the opposite direction to counter the direction in kept curling. I rolled my eyes and figured the painters tape would do the trick but, of course, my mother ended up being right (per usual, when does it stop?) After I stenciled all my words I followed her advice.

Secured my first stencil with more painters tape, grabbed my permanent marker and started my first word.

I chose words that pertained to both feelings (love) and eating (savor, etc.), mixing them up and separating each word with a cute symbol I found in my alphabet stencils.

Here is how the table runner looked once I was done with all the stenciling.

My dining room has some dark wood, a small bar, and wine racks adorning the wall so I wanted this table runner to have a bit of a romantic edge. I realized I had a few leftover rolls of the chiffon ruffle ribbon I had used on my crafty curtain tie backs.

I lined the seam of the ribbon to the edge of the burlap and grabbed my glue gun. Hot glue dries quickly so I glued and pressed as I went along.

I glued all the way to the bottom edge of the first side, put a dot of hot glue on the top of the ribbon, folded some ribbon over (onto the glue) and continued gluing and pressing along the bottom of the burlap.

I went through about 3 rolls of the ribbon and when I ran out of one, I just lined up the next roll to the end of the last. By carefully placing each end to the next beginning roll, the result was seamless.

This project was ridiculously simple. I didn't even measure between words, just lined up using my fingers and eyeballing it (I can't believe I just used that term, it grosses me out).

Cute right? And what is easier than burlap, permanent marker, stencils and ribbon?

ETA: I just wiped barbecue sauce and juice off the table runner (not from the same meal, that would be gross). Just a damp paper towel did the trick! One of the benefits of the burlap being laminated.

~ B

DIY Dry Erase Board

I love coming up with my own DIY projects but I also enjoy when I stumble upon a brilliant (yet easy) idea on Pinterest, which is where I found this project.

Needed:

~ Frame (I used this 12 x 12 one from Michaels) ~

~ Fabric or patterned paper ~

~ Dry erase marker ~

Remove glass from frame, insert "backdrop" for your board, replace glass, done.

Ridiculously easy, right? You can use any size frame you desire, I used the 12 x 12 because most of the scrapbook paper I wanted to use was that size. Which leads me to another point. You can switch out your backdrop design whenever you want to change it up.

I can use my DIY dry erase board to organize my blog projects.

A daily to-do list....

As well as a weekly menu guide. 

The possibilities, styles, and placements are endless. 

~ B

DIY Wine Torches

One of my favorite things to do is to spend time on our back patio, sipping wine, listening to music. Basically catching up with my husband and relaxing. Where we live we can enjoy sitting outside from about May through October. Because of the amount of time we spend on our back patio, I'm always looking for ways to spruce up that area (see painted pots post for example). One night, while sipping on some red wine, I was gazing sadly at the empty bottle when I realized I could use it to add some lighting to the area. 

~ Empty, clean wine bottles

~ Stencils

~ Pouncers

~ Paint (acrylic or any that works on glass)

~ Marbles or stones (enough to fill up about half of each bottle)

~ Lamp oil

The stencils I used were already adhesive and designed for glass surfaces, however, stencil adhesive can be found at most craft stores.

I wanted a gold metallic type paint. Because many metallic types of paint can be a bit thin and lack color, I got a gold metallic as well as a mustard yellow and mixed them to achieve the color I was looking for.

 

Painting on a curve can be tricky but as long as the stencil is secured and flat, it can be done.

Each bottle received a bottom trim stencil, a main middle stencil, and a small top stencil design. The stencils had a few different patterns so I was able to mix and match for the different bottles. Glass is the most forgiving surface to stencil because any little mistake can be corrected with a simple scrape of a toothpick.

 Using glass marbles, shells, or any typical candle/vase filler, adds weight to the bottle and takes up room, requiring less lamp oil. Each bottle was filled half way with glass marbles and the rest with lamp oil. 

I use the above wicks which I found at Winelight by Vintage Concepts. They have various types but I chose the rosebuds because they were on clearance and I love me a cheap deal.

Once I inserted the wicks into the bottles, I made sure to let them soak in there for about 30 - 40 minutes before I lit them.

This project was relatively easy. I already had all the wine bottles, which I certainly did not consume over one weekend but rather over an extended period of time*, one set of stencils, some paint, marbles, and lamp oil.

*My mother reads this blog.

Now I'm going to go out back and enjoy them.

Cheers!

~ B

DIY Personalized Mugs!

Sharpie + random plain mug = easy personalization. This project is so easy I almost feel guilty posting it. Almost. There are several references on Pinterest but I have to give credit to this crafty lady at DIYopolis. She went through a lot of trial and error to provide some helpful tips.

I started with this random cobolt blue mug I found in my cupboard.

Who doesn't have a random mug lying around? This mug is nothing fancy, in fact, the less fancy (think Walmart or $1 store), the better. The marker will take best to a ceramic mug without too much glaze to fight with.

Make sure your mug is clean! Not just washed but wiped down with rubbing alcohol and dry.

I've noticed recently that I hardly use cursive anymore, so I'm trying to get better about that. I decided to write one of my favorite quotes on the mug.

Once done writing, I turned my oven to 425, placed my mug on a cookie sheet, and baked for 30 minutes.

Once I realized how easy it was, I kept going with other random mugs.

The orange one is my happy mug that I drink my tea from (when I'm trying to be good about not drinking as much coffee).

The back has our anniversary date and a line that is inscribed in our wedding bands. Clearly I was in a sentimental mood today.

I am so impressed with myself that I stopped at 3.

I tend to hand wash my mugs as it's usually the only thing in/near the sink and it takes 20 seconds (see my Decorative Dish Soap post to see my craziness regarding dishes left in the sink). Although the high temperature and low glaze, helped the mugs pass the initial dishwasher test, after several washes the writing did begin to come off. It really depends on your mug. If the mug you create has sentimental value I would hand wash, it only takes a minute.

You can draw pictures, write inspirational quotes, the possibilities are endless.

This is an easy and fun project you can do to motivate yourself and inspire your kids to be creative as well. 

~ B

Pillow Palooza!

Recently I did a post on how to make a simple throw pillow using a ladder stitch to close. If you are not a fan of hand stitching, this post is for you.

First I picked my fabric. I usually use a different fabric for the back that matches whatever pattern I'm using for the front.

I then cut a 16 x 16 inch square for the front of my pillow (I'm using the same size pillow insert).

Next I made my back pieces. I cut 2 squares, both 16 x 11 inches. A great blog, Sew Mama Sew, has measurements for the most common pillow sizes/forms.

I folded the top (the wider part of the square) of each back square a quarter inch, ironed, then folded another 1/4 inch to make a hem.

I stitched down each hem.

Here are both back pieces with hems finished.

Now I arranged the pieces. The "front" piece right side up. The first "back" piece right side down, hem on bottom, on top of it. 

I then lay the second "back" piece right side down, hem up top, overlapping the first "back" piece.

Pin all pieces and sew, starting about a 1/3 of the way down one side of the pillow. When I got to a corner I stopped 1/4 inch away, left needle down, lifted the foot and pivoted to sew up the other side. Do not sew all the way to corners.

Once done sewing all the way around (overlapping a bit over the part where I started), I inserted the pillow form.

This is how the back of the pillow looks with the envelope closure. 

Envelope enclosures are great for when you have kids or pets and want to be able to take the pillow cover off to wash it. It also eliminates having to hand sew the pillow opening closed after inserting your pillow form.

~ B