arts and craft Archives - Page 30 of 75

DIY Nautical Towel Rack

The kids are back in school, but we still have plenty of hot summer weather here in Arizona. This means a lot of time by the pool. My boys swim every single day, and always leave a pile of towels left in their wake. I was tired of the towels and swim trunks piling up in their bathroom, so I decided it was time to make a designated place for them to hang everything to dry. This DIY Nautical Towel Rack keeps their bathroom picked up and it adds a little fun nautical decor to the pool area, so it’s a win-win!

Materials:

1 – 1x6x8′ cedar board
1 – 5 gallon paint stick
1 roll of 1×2″ sisal rope (about 10 feet)
6 coat hooks
Green Apple spray paint
acrylic paint in the color of your choice (I used Americana Bahama Blue)
Wood Glue
Super Glue
Staple Gun with 3/4″ staples
1 yard of adhesive vinyl and transfer paper for the stencil
Die-cutting machine
1 1/2″ hose clamps
1/2″ self-tapping screws

Instructions:

Spray paint the coat hooks and set them aside to dry.

While the paint dries on the hooks, cut the cedar board into two 3′ sections. (If you have a bigger family, you can always just cut it in half for a bigger towel rack. ) Cut the 5 gallon paint stick into three pieces to attach to the back.

Line up the boards and attach the paint sticks to the back using wood glue and staples. If you don’t have a staple gun, a brad nailer with 3/4″ nails will work as well. Read more

August 26, 2015/3 Comments/by Addicted 2 DIY

arts and craft, Contributor, DIY, drop cloths, fabric, gifts, Sewing, stencil

21 Ways to Make and Decorate Totebags

Have you been enjoying all of the awesome tote bag tutorials this week? Today we’ve rounded up even more sewing tutorials, decorating ideas, and an amazing crocheted tote bag. Let’s talk about 21 ways to Make and Decorate Totebags.

How To Sew Totebags:

Who can resist an adorable lined tote bag with a monogram. Can you believe this beauty is all DIY! Jaime of That’s My Letter whipped up a classic monogrammed canvas tote.

Drop cloths aren’t just for catching paint anymore! Heather of The Sewing Loft shows how to make an Easy Canvas Tote Bag out of painter drop cloths!

What does the fox say? He’d say he’s head over heels in love with this tote bag. Perfect for back to school, Heather shows how to sew or iron on this fox applique with sweet embroidery details.

Sandra from Sawdust Girl is famous for her amazing woodworking so it should be no surprise that she has a fabulous tutorial for Reversible Reusable Ruffled Grocery Bags.

It’s okay to cheat a little. Grab a store bought tote and dress it up that plain tote bag with piping. This tutorial also shows a cheat for the non-sewer!

Old shirt + another store bought tote = Adorable! Customizing a Totebag With an Old Shirt in an hour.
This goes straight on my Christmas to-do list!

I know, it’s hard to discard that favorite t-shirt. Now you don’t have to! Repurpose that favorite tee into a library totebag? Jessica from Mad in Crafts shares how easy it is in her step-by-step tutorial.

What’s better than repurposing one t-shirt? Of course, recycling two shirts! On Creative Green Living, Carissa shares another t-shirt-to-totebag tutorial using two shirts. One makes a stylish liner.

No-Sew Totebags: Read more

August 7, 2015/3 Comments/by Colleen Jorgensen

accessories, arts and craft, gifts, Sewing, tote bag

Customizing a Tote Bag with an Old Shirt

Customize a Tote Bag with an Old Shirt | Pretty Handy Girl

Welcome to another Tote Bag Week Post! Are you getting lots of ideas for how to make and dress up tote bags? If you’re just joining in here’s the line up:

Monday: How to Sew a Canvas Tote Bag
Tuesday: Dress Up a Store Bought Tote with Piping
Wednesday: Reusable Tote Bag Sewing Tutorial
Thursday: Customizing a Tote Bag with an Old Shirt
Friday: 21 Ways to Make and Decorate a Tote Bag

Today I have a fun tutorial for Customizing a Tote Bag with an Old Shirt.

Materials:

Canvas tote bag
Long-sleeve button shirt
Scissors
Pins
Sewing machine (or needle and thread)

Instructions:

Begin by cutting off the sleeves and cuffs on your shirt. Save the sleeves to use on another project, like Adding Piping to a Tote Bag (or piping on a pillow, an upcoming tutorial.)

Cut off the pockets (cut as close to the seams as you can.)

For the customized tote bag, we’re going to use the cuff and two pockets.

Fold the cuff in half and cut it.

Stitch the end of the raw edges on the cuff closed.

Pin the cuff halves to the inside center of your tote bag (buttons facing out.)

Stitch the cuff end to the tote bag until secure.

Pin the pockets to each side of the tote bag (if your tote bag doesn’t have sides, the pockets would look just as cute on the front and back of the tote bag.)

Stitch along the top of the pocket. Then lift the pocket flap up and sew the rest of the pocket to the tote bag.

Feel free to finger print a star on your tote bag (tutorial for finger-printing stars here.)

These shirt embellished tote bags are perfect for a day at the beach. Or as a gift for a friend, teacher or grandparent.

Personally, I think I’ll be making many more of these in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial for customizing a tote bag with an old shirt. Get ready for a grand finale tomorrow!

Pin for later!

August 6, 2015/4 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

arts and craft, Crafts, gifts, Sewing, tote bag, Très Frugal, Tutorial

Cute Reversible Reusable Tote Bag Tutorial by Sawdust Girl

Are you enjoying Tote Week?!

If you’re just joining in here’s the line up:

Monday: How to Sew a Canvas Tote Bag
Tuesday: Dress Up a Store Bought Tote with Piping
Wednesday: Reusable Tote Bag Sewing Tutorial
Thursday: Customizing a Tote Bag with an Old Shirt
Friday: 21 Ways to Make and Decorate a Tote Bag

Today I have one of my closest friends and blogging buddies here. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, she’s the amazing, the incredible and the always vivacious Sandra from SawdustGirl.com. And she’s going to give you a tutorial for sewing those cute reversible and reusable tote bags!

Howdy Handy friends! I’m Sandra of Sawdust Girl – formerly Sawdust and Paper Scraps. I try to reduce, reuse and recycle anyway so this tutorial for reusable, reversible, ruffled totes is fitting. Don’t ya’ think? I like to use my totes as grocery bags and have given a pair of these as gifts along with a few reusable produce bags found at the dollar store.

I used an old sheet and a set of pillowcases to make mine but for a gift item, maybe use new fabric. If you look for sheets on clearance you can get a LOT of fabric for just a few dollars.

This is a really easy pattern that I made from looking at a canvas tote. (It fits perfectly on a standard pillowcase.)

*Seam allowance? I run the fabric along the right side of the foot. I think it’s a waste to take a wide allowance and then trim!

Instructions:

1. Use the same pattern for the bag and the liner. You could use the same fabric for both or mix it up for fun. I like to use 2 different fabrics so I can flip it inside out and have a totally different bag!

2. Sew all 4 pieces (excluding the bottom) together like this: front/side/back/side making one long piece of fabric.

3. If you are going to add any kind of embellishment, now is the time. I’m adding three rows of ruffles! Read more

August 5, 2015/6 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

arts and craft, gifts, painting, Star pillows, tote bag

Dress Up a Plain Tote with Piping

Make Piping Out of Thrift Store Finds | Pretty Handy Girl

Welcome back to Tote Week! If you’re just joining in here’s the line up:

Monday: How to Sew a Canvas Tote Bag
Tuesday: Dress Up a Store Bought Tote with Piping
Wednesday: Reusable Tote Bag Sewing Tutorial
Thursday: Customizing a Tote Bag with an Old Shirt
Friday: 21 Ways to Make and Decorate a Tote Bag

If you’re short on time (or don’t have a sewing machine), there’s nothing wrong with cheating a little.

Today I want to show you a great way to add some character to a store bought tote bag. You can dress up a plain tote bag with piping. I purchased canvas tote bags at Michael’s for a few dollars. You can purchase piping or make your own easily (if you have a sewing machine.) If you don’t own a sewing machine, purchase pre-made piping and buy some double stick hem tape or hot glue to secure the piping instead of sewing it on.

Piped Tote Bag Tutorial

Materials:

Tote bag
Scissors
Piping (tutorial to make your own piping)
Fabric
Rope
Thread
Needle
Sewing machine (use hot glue or double stick hem tape if you don’t have a sewing machine)

Instructions:

Start by making your piping. Be sure to make enough to line the rim of your tote bag and overlap by at least 2 inches.

If your tote bag handles are sewn to the inside of the bag, rip the top seam off to free the handles from the top edge of the tote bag.

Begin pinning your piping around the inside of the top edge of the bag. Fold the raw edge over and between the bag and the piping as shown below:

Overlap the edges of the piping in an inconspicuous spot (near a back handle.) Read more

August 4, 2015/6 Comments/by Brittany Bailey