Blueberry Lemonade: Upcycled Washcloths

Several years ago when I was just married and had purchased our first house, I saw these beautiful towels and washcloths at a Dillard's in the mall of Abilene.  Essentially, the towels were just decorated with a strip of accenting fabric and lace.  The price tag for each one was well over $20.  It was more than I was willing to spend.

So, I designed my own.  With some scraps I had and a towel in my own linen closet, I made my first prototype.  I have made these now for over 20 years as gifts, to extend my linens or to add some punch to a boring bathroom.  Adding some accent fabric is a quick fix and will allow for multiple re-decoratings.  My daughters are forever changing their minds about the bathroom decor.

Recently, I decided to try to extend the life of some washcloths that were beginning to fray on the edges.  I had plenty of shabby chic fabric pieces, so I set out to make some old-fashioned and functional washcloths.  The result was amazing.  I decided to upcycle linens for my daughters for Christmas.

Gather the linens to upcycle.  Lay them out and examine for frayed edges.  Trim the tag and any frayed edge.

Next, layout the accent fabric on the selected linen.  For a washcloth, I use the washcloth as the pattern and just cut out around it.  For hand and bath towels, decide what pattern of strips to use.

For these hand towels, I used a smaller strip of the blue and a larger strip of the zebra print.

For towels:  fold over the edges of the strips and pin flat.
For washcloths: pin the accent fabric to the washcloth.  A zig-zag stitch will finish the edges.

Stitch.
For towels:  use a straight stitch all the way around.  Notice in the picture that the strips of fabric hang over the edge.  That's ok.  Stitch using the towel as the reference.

For washcloths:  stitch once all the way around with a straight stitch.  Then, go back over it with a zig-zag stitch.

Once the stitching is complete, remove all pins.
Use pinking shears to cut off the excess fabric.  I cut right up to the edge of the stitch.  Now is a good time to check that stitches did not fall off the edges and restitch for any gaps.

Carefully trim an extra hanging threads.

Once the product is laundered, you may need to trim again.

 Notes:  If you truly UPCYCLE, your linens will not be crisp and new looking.  From my pictures, you can see the splatter of paints for when the washcloth had been used as a brush rag for some art project.  I did not catch this when I initially sorted the linens.

Also, if you want more clean edges, you can spend some time folding over before pinning.

For washcloths, you can sew the two pieces together and leave a small gap.  Then, turn inside itself.  You would need to roll, pin, press and then stitch around the edge.  This will make a very neat, clean edge.  If you are planning on gifting, this might be your best option.

 Here is the finished product.  I made 3 bath and 2 hand towels and 4 washcloths for my daughter for Christmas.

To place an order:  https://www.facebook.com/ShabbyRoundTheCorner

Blueberry Lemonade - Shabby Chic cake plate

I have seen a few examples online of handmade cake plates, and for about 3 months, I scoured shops - junk, vintage, consignment - looking for components to make my own.  I finally gave up.  That is when I literally stumbled onto the two pieces I used to make my own Shabby Chic cake plate.

I wish now I had taken pictures before..........I will know better for next time.

I used a wooden candlestick that had one of those pins in it to secure the candle.  With a lil force, I removed the pin and then spray painted.  I sprayed on a thin layer of varnish to seal.  Then, I glued the plate on the top using gorilla glue.  I have used this cake plate for almost everything lately.

My quest is to make several more this summer and upload to my etsy store.

To order:  https://www.facebook.com/ShabbyRoundTheCorner

Ragtag Mini Easter - Olga and Oma

These cute and easy to make mini wreaths are a great gift idea that takes no time to complete.

Materials Needed:

1 wire hanger
1/2 gallon bag of rag strips in hues of orange
1/4 gallon bag of rag strips in hues of green
24 inches of coordinating ribbon

The easiest way to create the bags of strips is to use scraps of fabric from other projects.   Because I like to repurpose, I find clothing at the Goodwill or Good Samaritan clothing outlets that I literally pay pennies for.  Making the strips is simple and uses every square inch of fabric, including seams.  Nothing goes to waste.

Directions:

Cute the hanger portion of the hanger on both sides of the neck.  Then, cut the long bottom portion in the middle to make 2 pieces.

Bend the ends into a hook and join the ends.

Manually shape the mini frame into a circle.

Begin tying the strips of orange hued fabric for 3/4 of the wreath frame.

Use strips of green hued fabric for 1/4 of the wreath frame.

Tie the ribbon onto the frame before you  begin to fill in colors.

You can make the fabric as loose or as tight on the wreath frame as you want.

Shake out the loose threads very very well.

Shab Couture - Ragtag Garland

I moved away from Christmas colors and made the second ragtag garland for everyday use.  My oldest wanted a black/white/pink one for her dorm room, so this is the final product.

The Ragtag Garland I made for Autumn 2012 was an adorable accent.  I used it as a banner on my mantle for a while and then moved it to kitchen window sill with some Autumn accents.

To order and find more examples:  https://www.facebook.com/ShabbyRoundTheCorner

Shab Couture - Ragtag Wreathe

I saw this wreathe idea that I absolutely thought was adorable..........it was soo ironic.  I have made this exact wreathe many times in the last 20 years.  In 1991 during the Gulf War, I had a giant yellow one on my tree in my front yard.  I had used a plastic tablecloth for the rag strips so that the wreathe would be weather resistant.  I also made several smaller versions and gave away to my friends.

My patriotic Christmas tree from 2001 has several mini ragtag wreathes that I used this year on my 10th commemorative tree.

So, I sat down and created a Shabby Chic version to hand in my foyer.  Here is my version:

Shab Couture - Layout Challenge #1

For my 2 dedicated readers, I am pasting a layout challenge. Mainly, I am challenging myself to create a half dozen pages to get some pictures utilized and try to use up some of my many supplies.  I have a layout I half created, half borrowed a few years ago that I use often, but I am tired of it and ready for something new.

I found this digital layout template and decided I liked it enough to try it out a half dozen times.  What I challenge everyone to do is to use this same layout and then send me your finished projects.

When I get my pages completed, I will upload.

Shab Couture - Welcome Sign Project

In my trolling this morning, I stumbled across "Ginger Snaps" and this very adorable idea.  The project follows.........please check out Ginger's blog for some other creative ideas.

Friday, January 6, 2012

tutorial {grandma’s house knob block}

Today I’d love to show you how to make
this super easy & cute gift for Grandma.

Tracy from The Crafty Polkadot (another one of my awesome blogging friends) :)
found this idea on Pinterest* & wanted to make some for Christmas.
I helped her cut the vinyl, & since I thought it was soooo cute I
decided to make one for my mom. (Her birthday is coming up soon!)
The kiddos call my mom “Mema” instead of Grandma! ;)

*The original pin came from Super Saturday Craft Kits blog,
& you can buy the kit to make one of these from them.
Check out all the details {here}.



You’ll need:2x4 (cut into a 7 inch block)
vinyl (I used the Oh {Photo} Shoot font.)
a wooden knob
craft paint
ribbon

         

         

It’s super easy.  You just attach your knob to your block.
Paint your block whatever color you’d like.  Let dry.
Apply your vinyl lettering.  Tie a ribbon around your knob.
There you go all done!  So cute!
Annnnd Grandma (or Mema!) is going to LOVE it!

Have a fabulous weekend,
and I’ll see YOU on Monday!

Shab Couture - 3 Bean Soup

The idea for this essentially is to take any three types of dried beans where you only have a few beans left.  I had in my cabinet some black-eyed, pinto and navy.  If you don't want to start with dried beans, just take 3 different types of canned beans.

If using dry beans, rinse and put in saucepan, cover with water and let stand for about 30 minutes.  Add salt. I then cook on high until boiling, put heat to low, cover and cook until the beans are tender.  Once the beans are tender, remove the cover, put heat to medium and add 1/4 oil (or pieces of ham, bacon or pork sausage).  Continue to cook on medium heat, checking water level and stirring as needed.  This step should take about 20 - 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.

If using canned beans, add all beans w/juice to a saucepan and add about 1 cup water.

**Both recipes continue here**

Add chili powder, garlic, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped celery and 1 can of stewed tomatoes.  You can substitute a can of cream of celery soup for the chopped celery.  Serve soup with your favorite garnish.

Shab Couture ~ Definitions

Most of the moods I like are either colors or flavors...........blueberry lemonade, chocolate peppermint, ect.  But, I have many things lately I am working on that fall into my Shabby Chic look.  So, for this mood, I am thinking Shab Couture..............I really like the shabby look.  It also falls in line with vintage, retro, re-purposing.  It is fun to take a product and refashion it into something completely different.

Stay tuned for more............Oma and Olga is almost ready to launch.