Ole-Talk

Sisters Paper Scissors | Pinterest Inspired T-Shirt Tote Bags

This month we go back to our Pinterest boards to make t-shirt tote bags as inspired by this pin from the mommypotamus blog. It is a great way to upcycle old t-shirts.

Here's my approach for making these.

I used pinking shears to cut off the sleeves and the neck. The shape for the neck was achieved with a plate and sewing chalk.

Cut the bottom of the t-shirt to the depth that you want your bag to be (not shown). On the inspiration tutorial she went the no sew method and made strips and tied the bottom of the bag together. However, I decided to pull out my sewing machine and stitch the bottom of mine. Remember to change the needle on your sewing machine to one that is suitable for stitching knit fabrics. I did a double stitch to ensure that it would be sturdy.

This was so quick and easy to make that I was able to make two of them in less than half an hour including setting up my machine. Notice how the second one is smaller and I knotted the handles for a different look.

I think the smaller ones is just the perfect size for a bulky knitting project and I plan to make a few more. Thinking also that next time if I use plain t-shirts that I will add an iron-on image to jazz it up a bit.

Now lets go see what Francine did.

Sisters Take on Pinterest - Wrapped Crochet Bracelets

And we are back! Hope you did not miss us too much in October.

This month's project was super easy and took me less than an hour to make a few of these adorable wrapped crochet bracelets from One Dog Woof.

I used prima cotton, silk, and cotton metallic yarn that I had in my stash. I also used size D/3.25mm and size G/4.25mm hooks. The cotton metallic was thicker hence the use of the bigger hook.

 

You may notice that the pink bracelet looks slightly different and that's because I crocheted into the back of the foundation chain. The other two I followed her instructions crocheting into the chain stitches.

I think these would make great last minute Christmas gifts.

Now off you go to see what Francine did.

Sisters Take on Pinterest | Felt Boxes

 We took the month of August off as we were both enjoying the last of the summer weather. But since it is September, just like back to school we are back to our regular routines. This month cute felt boxes.

You can see the original boxes here from the blog How About Orange.

Supplies that I used:

 

Regular felt, rotary cutter, template, glue gun, mod podge, foam brush, ruler

The first thing I decided to do was to make a template to scale using the one posted in the how-to on How About Orange. 

I didn't have stiff felt so decided to try it just using regular felt. My first attempt looked like this. Yeah not going to work.

So then I decided to mod podge the felt and then glue two pieces together to make it stiffer. Sounded really good in theory.

So with my double felt I used the template to cut the box shape. Then followed the original post to glue it into the shape of a box. And this was the result.

What I learnt was that this is definitely one of those projects where having the right materials is key! Although the double felt worked I think it was just a bit too thick. Also I should have cut the felt on the inside a bit smaller than the outer piece so that everything lined up when folded. I had to trim excess pieces off after folding.

I really want to get the Easy Felt that Jessica used to make her boxes and try this again especially now that I have the templates it should be a quick project to make. It really is a great idea for storing odds and ends.

Now off you go to see how Francine got on!

 

Sisters Take On Pinterest | Key Chain Holder

 

The original idea are these leather key chain holders from //Between the Lines// blog. However, I did not have any leather scraps in my stash (probably the one thing I don't have) but I did have burlap and twine so I decided to try it with that.

Supplies that I used

Sheet of colored burlap, foam brush, Mod Podge, rotary cutter, twine, template, Crop-a-Dile, eyelets, and key ring.

Use template to cut burlap. I had to print my template at 80% to get the correct dimensions.

Apply Mod Podge liberally to both pieces. This stops the ends from fraying and also stiffens it to give it more body and durability. Let dry completely. Trim stray threads if needed.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Punch holes and attach eyelets. I dusted off my handy dandy Crop-a-Dile that hasn't seen the light of day in many months.

Sew pieces together and thread twine through eyelets from the inside to the outside (much easier said than done) so that the twine forms a loop at the bottom of the burlap sack . Attach key ring and key. Knot twine at top.

And now you have a neat key holder that you can hide the key when it is not needed.

Now off you go to see what Francine did. A little birdie told me that she used some pretty yellow leather.

Sisters Take on Pinterest | Mini Clay Bowls

When Francine picked this for our next project I was a bit skeptical but I have to say these were really easy to make. Here is the inspiration for the bowls. 

I basically used the same materials as the original - quick drying clay, cookie cutter, rolling pin - but since I could only find one round cookie cutter I also used a plastic cup and x-acto knife.

I rolled the clay out on my non-stick mat and cut circles with the cookie cutter and the x-acto knife.

I used my fingers to shape the rounds into bowl shapes.

The big one was a bit floppy and not holding the shape so I placed it in a bowl to dry. I also decided that I preferred the smaller ones and made more of those.

Leave bowls to dry for time indicated on clay you buy, in my case 24 hours. I do have to admit that I assisted mine in drying faster with the help of my ceiling fans. I forgot to factor in the 24 hour drying time and made these last night and had to finish them in time for this post today. 

I was still a bit skeptical at this point and thought to myself these are going into a closet never to see the light of day again.

However, once completely dried (or in my case dry enough) and I decorated the edges with a silver sharpie and Ranger Ink silver Liquid Pearls I was amazed at how much I really liked them. It's all in the finishing. Note that I didn't sand my bowls as I love the little imperfections in the clay but I did paint the insides with white paint as my clay did not dry as white as I would have liked it to.

I used half of the package of clay and made one large and eight mini bowls. These are the perfect little bowls for little odds and ends around the house.

Now go check out how Francine made her bowls. Rumor has it that she made her own clay!

Sisters Take on Pinterest | Fabric Wall Hanging

Well it seems like we skipped right over spring and headed to summer her in the North East. Not that I am complaining after the winter that we had.  Bring on the warm days!

This month Francine picked this pull down style wall hanging from the blog Francios et Moi for our Pinterest project. I was super excited to do this as I have been meaning to replace a framed photo of me that I have hanging over my bed. (nothing more says narcissist Huh?).  Now the wall behind my bed looks like this!

Original Source

Pin it here

I have to say that when I first looked at the inspiration piece I thought oh easy peasy!  Then I read the blog post in detail and had that "oh crap" moment.  Wait a minute I don't own any power tools!! Or come to think about it really nice wrapping paper either! After a couple days of racking my brain this is what I did.

Supplies I used - two dowels 36inch long that I bought at Michael's,  1 yard of deco fabric from Joann Fabric, glue that works on both fabric and wood, leather cord/twine, Fray Blocker.

I squared of the top and bottom of my fabric and then cut it to 34 inches wide. Try to cut as straight as possible especially if using fabric that does not have an abstract pattern like what I used. I marked 1 inch on each end of both dowels.

I then applied glue to the 34 inches between the marks and attached the top of my fabric to one dowel and let it dry then I attached the bottom to the other dowel following the same procedure.

Tie the twine to the ends of the top dowel, apply Fray Blocker to any raw fabric edges (I only had one as I did not cut the salvage end of one side of my fabric).

Hang finished piece.  

The nice thing about this method is that if your wall hanging is to long you can shorten it by just rolling the fabric around the top dowel. The added bonus is that I have eliminated the heavy object that could potentially fall on me in my sleep! 

Before (heavy with glass)

After (light and fabric)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not exactly what Erin did but I think you get the same effect. Now off you go to see how Francine tackled this one.

Sisters Take on Pinterest | String Wrapped Glass Jars

Spring is finally here in New England and what better way to celebrate than to bring some colour inside. This month our project is String-Wrapped Vases found on the Warm Hot Chocolate blog and here is my version.

Original Source

Pin It Here

This was a very easy project and one that I was able to complete in a couple of hours in one evening.

These are the supplies that I used.

I have been saving my peanut butter glass jars and just knew they would come in handy one of these days. The vase has been hiding in a cabinet for the longest time and this was just the inspiration I needed to pull it out and start using it.

I adhered the string using a glue stick and left it to dry for a few minutes before I started wrapping it around the jar/vase. I did all three of mine simultaneously so that while the glue was drying on one I was wrapping another. I also found it easier to hold the string in one hand and turn the jar rather than keeping the jar stationary and wrapping the string around it ...if that makes any sense whatsoever (smile). And here is the finished product.

Notice on the blue bud vase that I used a mixture of embroidery floss and bakers twine.

Add some pretty yellow tulips and a tea light and you have an easy way to add some colour to your rooms.  Here are some other images.

 

I plan to use up my other jars to make more tea light holders with different colours of thread

I love the splash of colour that these add to my window and my dining table. Also this would make a wonderful hostess gift for summer BBQs and get togethers that we know are already filling up our calendars. Now I just need to remember to keep refreshing my flowers. 

Now off you go to see what Francine did with her jars and string. I hope that you will come back next month to see what fun thing we tackle next from our Pinterest boards.

Sisters Take on Pinterest | Embroidered Animal Doorstop

Francine chose our project this month and I have to say I was very excited.  I have been meaning to make a door stopper for a while now so this was just the push that I needed. The original idea for the Embroidered Animal Doorstop is from the blog Super + Super

This is what I did! Isn't he or she cute!

Orignal Source

Pin it here

My Supplies:

8 in diameter plate

Tailor’s chalk

Sturdy Fabric

Rotary Cutter

Pinking shears

Embroidery floss in pink, light blue and dark blue

Sewing machine (optional)

Needle

Epsom salts (or white rice)

Toy stuffing

Pins

Template

1. Fold fabric in half and use plate and chalk to trace a circle onto fabric.  Remember that you need two circles - front and back of your kitty.  Then trace another circle 5/8 of an inch from the first one. This is I used as my sewing allowance.

2. Cut along outer circle using rotary cutter.  You should now have two circles.  Using template trace kitty face onto one of your circles.  For some reason mine ended up being the mirror image of the original, that is my whiskers are on the opposite sides..oops.

3. Now comes the fun part...embroidery. I used the different colors of thread to embroider my kitty's face on.  You can find details on how to do this and the various stitches used on the original here. I also found this video very useful for the couching stitch. I also just used one ply of my light blue floss for the couching thread. 

4. Now to sew the two circles together. I placed my two circles on top each other ride sides together and pinned to hold in place.  Using my pinking shares and fabric scraps, I cut two pieces in the shape of kitty ears.  Position these where you would like.  

Then (and this is important...trust me) sandwich the ears between the two circles with short straight edge of the ear in line with the edges of the two circles and the tip pointing towards the center of the circles. Let's just say that I stuffed my kitty and then was like..where the hell are the ears...duh!  I had put them on the wrong way!!

Ear between the two circles with the tip pointing inwards.

5. Sew circles together using sewing machine or needle and thread.  I used one ply of embroidery floss and did a back stitch to sew mine together. (On the original you can see how they used a sewing machine.) Normally I would have used my machine but I wanted to watch TV so went the manual route. In hindsight I will be using my sewing machine if I ever make this again. Leave an opening between the two ears (that you attached the right way lol) so that you can stuff it.

 6.Turn inside out and stuff.  I forgot to buy white rice and was not going to use my nice brown rice to fill this but then I remembered that I had a bag of epsom salts and really all you need is some weight for the bottom.  So I used epsom salts and then stuffed it with the toy filling.

Sew up the opening between the ears and there you have it.  Here is another view of my kitty. Note that I did this over a period of three or four days.  So plan accordingly and hopefully you don't have to build in time for silly mistakes like missing ears ...smile! 

Now let's go see how Francine made out with this project.

Sisters Take on Pinterest | Felt Coaster

Last month's String Photo Frames (mine and Francine's) worked out pretty great.  This month we are trying these awesome Felt Coasters from The Gold  Jellybean blog.

Source

Pin it here

Here's what I came up with.

MySupplies:

Felt in different colors

Elmers Glue-All ( you can also use a glue gun or fabric glue)

Scissors (or rotary cutter)

Burlap ribbon (optional)

1.  Cut felt into strips.  I used half inch strips.  Try to cut the strips all the same hight...trust me this is important.  Initially I used my scissors to do this and then changed to a rotary cutter so that I could cut multiple at once.

2. Apply glue to strip.  On my first strip I applied glue along the entire thing but then realized that you only need a spot of glue at both ends of the strip.

3. Roll strip to form the center of the coaster.  Then continue adding strips of felt, alternating colors as you like until coaster reaches desired size.

4. Here is why your strips need to be all the same hight. If they are off just use your scissors to trim the excess off.

5. I was so inspire that I decided to try one with some burlap ribbon that was hidden in my stash. I love how this one came out but to be honest the felt was much easier to do.

6.Finished products:

Now head on over to see what Francine did with her felt.

Sisters Take on Pinterest - My Photo String Frames

Welcome to the latest blogging adventure from Francine and me.  After doing Sister Sketch for three years we decided it was time to try something different for our joint blogging venture. Both of us are addicted to Pinterest and have pinned way more things than we could possibly do in a life few life times so this is a way to at least make a small dent in some projects that we have been meaning to try.

Each month we will pick a crafty project from our Pinterest boards and each attempt to do our version of it.  Then we will report back here on the last Friday of the month to share what we did. Hopefully they will all be successful (smile).

We decided to start easy for January with this photo string frame idea from Talia Christine's Blog.

Now here's what I did:

Version One

Version Two

 

 

Supplies:

Plastic photo frame with glass

Embroidery hoop

Washi Tape

Baker's Twine

Mini Clothes Pegs 

Photos

Glue

 

I am also trying to challenge myself to use stuff from my stash of supplies so I was very happy when I came across this frame and then I found the embroidery hoop and had an ah ha moment.

I covered the frame with this awesome text tape and strung black baker's twine across it securing with glue on the back. Some mini clothes pegs to secure the photos and viola! The embroidery loop was even easier to do as the twine was perfectly secured between the two circles of the hoop.

The photos I used were from my trip to France last year - all scenes from Paris. On the photo frame I ended up putting the glass back behind the photos as I did not like how much they were swinging when I tried moving the frame around.  

This project actually took a bit more time that I had initially thought that it would.  Securing the twine in the frame was a bit frustrating as I could not use nails or tacks but over all I am happy with the outcome.  I do want to try it again using a wood frame but I really like the embroidery hoop and will definitely make more with those.

Now head on over to see how Francine did with this one.