Crochet Market Bag

21 Ways to Make and Decorate Tote Bags | Pretty Handy Girl

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:

canvas-tote phg

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.

Quick-Easy-Tote-Bag

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!

Fox book bag

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.

reversible-reusable-tote-tutorial

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.

how-to-make-a-piped-edge-totebag

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!

decorate tote with old shirt

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!

T-Shirt-to-Library-Tote-Bag

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.

tote bag from tee shirt

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.

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No-Sew Totebags: Read more

DIY-Painted-Pool-Sign

Hey everyone!  Katie again from Addicted 2 DIY.  It’s hard to believe, but it’s been two months now since we finished building our dream pool.  If you’ve ever wondered what you can learn (and save) by contracting your pool out yourself, I’ve got all of the handy details on my blog.  Now that we have our own pool to make fun family memories in, I thought a fun sign would be a great addition.  I designed this sign based off of one we had by our pool when I was a kid.  According to my mom, this one looks way nicer.  She wouldn’t lie to me, right?

To help you make your own sign, I’m also including the free SVG file I created for you to download.  Please use it for personal use only.

Here’s what you’ll need for your own sign:

  •  1×2 plywood project board (2’x4′)
  • 3 – 3/4″ x 3′ square poplar dowels
  • 1 1/2″ brad nails
  • brad nailer
  • wood glue
  • 220 grit sandpaper
  • orbital sander
  • 24″ clamps
  • wood filler
  • paint colors of your choice
  • paint roller and/or paintbrush
  • adhesive vinyl
  • transfer paper
  • electronic cutting machine (I have a Silhouette CAMEO)
  • Welcome to Our OOL SVG file

Start by cutting your plywood down to 12″ x 20″.  If you don’t have the ability to do this, you can always ask the helpful employees at the home improvement store.  Cut the square dowels on a 45 degree angle to frame the plywood.  The inside measurements should be 12″ and 20″.

supplies-for-wood-sign

Frame the plywood with the dowels using wood glue.

add-trim-to-sign

Clamp the edges…

build-wood-sign clamp-trim-to-plywood

…and nail them to the plywood with your brad nailer.

nail-trim-to-plywood

Since the plywood is only 1/2″ thick, you’ll have to be careful not to nail the trim too high.  I had one nail go astray, but I was able to get it out with needle-nose pliers.  It’s nothing a little wood filler can’t fix later on.

remove-nail-from-wood-trim

When your entire piece is assembled, sand it with 220 grit sandpaper to get rid of any rough spots.  Paint the entire sign, front and back, with your base color.  I love using sample size jars of paint for projects like this.

painting-wood-sign

Cut your message out on an electronic cutting machine.  Weed out the vinyl design and cover it with transfer tape.

vinyl-for-wood-sign

Peel the backing off of the vinyl and carefully center it over the plywood face.  Smooth it with a scraping tool (or credit card.) Carefully peel off the transfer paper.

put-vinyl-on-wood-signGrab your second paint color and stencil the design with a paint brush or roller.  You can mask off the frame of the sign with painter’s tape or paper to protect it from any paint mishaps.  I opted to go slow and carefully paint inside the frame.

paint-for-wood-sign

Once your design is completely stenciled, carefully peel the vinyl off of the face of the sign.

stencil-swimming-pool-sign

You can leave your sign as it, or distress it a bit.  Whatever you like!  I love distressing things, but I decided that I really liked a cleaner look for this sign.

sign-for-pool

swimming-pool-sign

I’m so happy with how it turned out!  I’m no graphic designer, so I spent several hours coming up with a design that was just right, but it was well worth it.  My kids think it’s hilarious!  Let’s just hope everyone that comes and visits us will follow the rules!  I’m thinking it will look great somewhere near our grotto/water slide.  Once we get that area landscaped, I’ll give it a more permanent location.  Now that this sign is done, I kind of want to make another one for the waterfall that says “Mt. Wannahockaloogie” from Finding Nemo.  We have a “Nemo” mosaic inside the grotto, so it would tie in perfectly.  I may be the only one that gets it, but that’s okay.

Katies-sign

~learn more about Katie~

 

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DIY Pool Sign | Pretty Handy Girl

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Once again I’ve created a DIY gift that I want to keep for myself! It’s true, I’ve fallen in love with these stenciled and dyed scarves that I created this week. In particular, I’m rather fond of the blue/gray and yellow ones. So, my question to you is, which looks better on me? (Because I might have to keep it.) The blue/gray ombré scarf with the peacock feathers.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Or the sunny yellow scarf with paisleys. I always thought I didn’t look good in yellow, but I think the picture is proving my thoughts wrong.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

For this gift idea, you can either purchase colored scarves or buy white scarves and dye them. I prefer to do the latter because frankly I don’t usually like the scarf colors offered (at least the inexpensive ones.) But, that’s up to you and your time availability.  Let’s get on to the tutorial, shall we?

Materials for stenciling scarves:

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Materials for Dyeing Scarves:

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Instructions for Dyeing Scarves:

To keep this tutorial from being crazy long, I’m going to show you the quick and basic steps for dyeing, but I highly recommend that you follow the instructions on your package of dye or on the RitDye.com website.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

1) Boil 4 cups of water.

2) Pour 1 cup salt [recommended for use with viscose (same as rayon)] in the hot water and stir to dissolve.

3) Pour hot salt/water mixture into a bucket with 2 gallons of hot water inside. Stir.

4) Pour appropriate dye amount (look on bottle or color formula chart) into the bucket.

5) Mix well. Dip scarf inside the bucket. Stir and let scarf sit for several minutes (about 10 minutes.)

6) Remove scarf and wring out any excess dye. Place in a separate bucket that has clean water in it. Rinse and wring scarf in water. Change water often and continue until the water remains mostly clear (this takes a while.)

Ombré dyeing technique: 

If you wish to create an ombré scarf, drape the scarf over a ruler or pole. Gently dip the bottom third of the scarf into the dye bath. Do not let the scarf sit, bounce it up and down. After a few minutes, dip the scarf in lower (about 2/3 way) and continue to bounce it in the dye bath. Finally, the last minute, dip the entire scarf into the bath and remove immediately. Dip it about six more times, constantly dipping to create a gradiation or ombré effect.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

After the scarf is thoroughly rinsed, wash it with like colors in the washing machine. Dry. Iron all wrinkles out of the scarf.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Tape one end of the scarf to a board with painter’s tape. Make sure the fabric is taught.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Tape your stencil onto the scarf. If there are areas on the stencil that you wish to block, tape over them.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Roll your roller into the paint. Roll any excess paint off the roller until it is almost dry. Then roll your paint over the stencil. You’ll have to roll over it multiple times to build up enough saturation of the paint.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Lift the stencil and position it next to the printed area.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Line up the registration marks with the last row of your stencil design.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

You might need to remove the areas you masked off and adjust to the opposite side.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Roll your paint onto the stencil until you have good coverage. Remove the stencil.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Allow the paint to dry. Remove the scarf and print the other end of your scarf. For extra color, you could paint some areas of the pattern with a second color.

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Allow to dry and enjoy your beautiful creation!

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

If you would like more of a visual demo, you might enjoy watching the Google Hangout hosted by HomeTalk on stenciling that I did on Wednesday with Melanie from Royal Studio Designs and Jesse from Scout & Nimble. It was a blast and there were some really awesome holiday ideas shared! They could also be Très Frugal DIY Gift Ideas!!!

I am in absolute love with the results of these scarves!

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Which is your favorite? I still can’t decide…blue/gray…

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

or yellow?

Stenciled and Dyed Scarves Tutorial | Pretty Handy Girl

Help me decide!PHGFancySign

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DIY Stenciled and Dyed Scarves | Pretty Handy Girl

All the Très Frugal DIY Gift Ideas can be seen here.

How to Make Vintage Painted Oars | Pretty Handy Girl

Vintage painted oars are nostagic objects for me. They bring back memories of camp and watching crew teams rowing along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. So, when my sister wanted to find some oars to decorate the beach condo with, I jumped at the opportunity to make some. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you know that my sister Caitlin (of Symmetry Designs in San Jose, CA) and I have been renovating Diane Chamberlain’s Topsail Beach condo. The condo is a great size (three bedrooms) and located ocean front. That’s where the pros ended. Sadly the condo was stuck in the 80’s: teal carpeting, orangey wood trim and cabinet doors that were falling off. We converged on the property back in September to start the renovation process.

Before the trip, I whipped out these fun painted oars. They were easy to make, you could sooo do this!

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Materials:

3Mâ„¢ Safety Products:

Instructions:

Clamp your 1″ x 6″ board to a work surface. Trace out the oar shape onto your board. You can use rulers and rounded paint cans or plates to trace the curves.

Put on your safety glasses, ear plugs and grab the jig saw.

How to Make Vintage Painted Oars | Pretty Handy Girl Read more

close_up_ice_planter_bucket_imperfect

Being a Lowe’s Creative Ideas blogger is one of my favorite jobs as a DIY blogger. I love walking the aisles of Lowe’s, with my provided gift card in hand, dreaming of finding mundane objects to transform into amazingly beautiful objects. For example, what do you get when you cross an ice bucket with a stove pipe connector?

materials-ice_bucket_planter

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