Recycled Sweater Dolls - Odette

My latest artistic obsession? Insanely cute stuffed animals made from old clothes!!!

Odette is made from 90% recycled materials, the only thing new is the buttons used to hold her arms on and her nose button (And the stuffing). Her body is made from an old dress, and her dress and flower are made from the sleeve of a blouse. The accent fabric on her face is from an old jacket, which I also got the buttons for her eyes from.

I absolutely adore how she came out! She is for sale in my Etsy Shop!

BEFORE

 AFTER

My First Sock Animal!

Meet Clive. He's a little guy with big dreams and he doesn't care what anyone says. People used to tell him he'd never amount to anything but an old sock, and look at him now! He doesn't let his success change him though, he still likes to hang out with his twin brother Leo.
 

Tutorial - Braided Cord

I got this book from the library yesterday called "Felt, Fabric and Fiber Jewelry". It was an interesting book to flip through and get some creative inspiration. This is one of the tutorials from the book that I decided to try out last night.

Step 1. You're going to start off by cutting out your "loom". Cut a large circle from cardboard, and then cut a smaller circle from the center and cut 8 notches evenly around the outer rim. (I would probably cut the inner circle a bit smaller than what I have shown here.) Then you'll need to cut 7 different fibers to one yard in length. Put all the fibers in a bunch and tie a knot at the end.

Step 2. Put the end knot in the center hole and place one fiber in each notch. There will always be one open notch. To create the braid you're going to take the third string from the empty notch, and move it to the empty one. You keep repeating this process, working around and around and around and around...

You can see here how it looks as the braid forms. Juniper really enjoyed this :)

Step 3. Once you reached the desired length. just tie a knot and cut the extra fibers. It makes a pretty funky necklace! (I attached necklace clasps to the ends) Or you could use it as a purse handle, or anything else you could think up.

Ribbon Necklaces

Happy Earth Day! It is a BEAUTIFUL day outside and I'm definitely bumming that I have to be in the office.... But I had a little fun taking pictures of my latest project outside on my break. I think I'll just move my computer to the parking lot...

I got the tutorial for this over at A Beautiful Mess if you want to make one. I'll probably be making a bunch more, since it's a great way to use up some of my ridiculous amounts of ribbon! I REALLY like the clasp I used, I have another set that reads "Life is... good".

Craft Hope

Sometimes I wonder if donating money to a specific charity really does as much good as you hope. Sometimes I just wish I could be more "hands on" with my charitable efforts. And today I found a fantastic cause that is just what I was looking for, without even knowing that I was looking for anything! (I love blog-hopping)

I found this site today and I really, really like the concept. They start up a project, and then people from all over the world help by donating their handmade goods to the cause. Right now they are collecting bean bags for the Liberia Orphan Education Project (LOEP). So head on over to the website to learn more. If you can sew, maybe you can help out too.

Tutorial - Origami Style Fabric Flower

Here is another kind of fabric flower that I love to make. It's a technique I learned somewhere else on the interweb, but I've made a few alterations to the process. This is kind of a long one, I got really thorough with the photographs. (And please excuse my gross finger nails, I've been doing a lot of gardening lately!)

Ok, let's do this.

Step 1. Cut out 6 squares from the fabric of choice. I think these were about 2.5 inch squares. I tend to like to make them a little smaller than these, but start on the big side and go smaller when you get used to the folding.

Step 2. Folding the Petals

The next few images will take you through the folding process. First you fold the square in half.

Then you bring two of the corners down to the bottom point.

Next, you flip the square over and bring the edges to the center, as shown.

Finally, you fold the petal in half and stick a pin through it so it will hold it's shape. Do this for all 6 fabric squares.

The finished product should look like this.

Step 3. Double thread a needle and string all of the petals at the same point, so they'll all be the same size. Next, clip off the excess fabric at the corners like in the photo.

Step 4. Pull the string tight and tie a nice, tight triple knot. This will give you the general shape of the flower. I like to keep the needles in each petal to help keep the shape through the next few steps. So be careful not to stab yourself! Like I've done many many times... You can take them out, you don't have to be sadistic like me.

Step 5. This is where my technique varies some from other tutorials you'll find on the web. I like to sew the back of each petal because I feel like it gives it a more finished look and helps the flower to keep it's shape a lot better.

You're going to send the needle up through the folded edge of the back of the petal. (The red line in the photo) And then do a few quick, simple stitches all the way down the seam. (The green lines in the photo) After I do the first stitch in this step is when I like to remove the needle from the petal I'm working on.


When you reach the bottom of the petal, send the needle up through the next one and continue until all of the petals have been sewn. You can then tie a knot. (But don't cut the thread yet, you'll still need it)

Step 6. Use the extra thread to sew a button to the front of the flower and you're done! (I sewed two buttons on because I like the way it looked, have fun with it!) I have a bunch of those bobby pins that have a round metal base, they're great for making these flowers into cute hair accessories. (And here is the finished twist rose from my last tutorial.)

Tutorial - Scrap Fabric Twist Rose

I love fabric flowers. They make great embellishments to all sorts of projects. This tutorial will show you how to make a fabric twist rose. It's great for using up scraps of fabric that can't be used for much else.

Step 1. Cut a strip of fabric. The size will depend on the size you want your rose to be. This strip was about 1.5 inches wide and maybe 6 or 7 inches long.


Step 2. Pick one end of the fabric and start twisting it around itself like in the image.


Step 3. Once you get the entire strip twisted up, you can stick a couple of pins through the whole thing to help hold it together through the next couple of steps.


Step 4. Trim off the extra fabric in the middle, if you have any.


Step5. Pick a spot on the back of the rose and tie a knot. You can start from the middle or the outside, whichever works best for you. You're going to do some simple stitching all the way around the spiral (the green line). This will let the rose keep it's shape. Don't worry about it being perfect. I think this flower looks better when it's a little messy.


Step 6. When you're done with the stitching tie off the string and cut the loose threads. Or you can sew on a bead or some felt leaves to give it that finishing touch, like this other one I made earlier. If the back of the rose isn't so pretty, you can give it some backing by cutting out a circle of felt and glueing the rose onto it.