Guest Blogger - Better Together - Rose Bath Mat

Hi! I’m Angela from
Better Together.
I blog with my two sisters Whitney and Lauren. We created our blog to learn from each other and to help inspire each other to be a little better everyday. You can find a variety of topics over on our blog. We talk about everything from crafting and sewing to cooking and nutrition. We even offer fun exercise tips.

 

I am so excited to be here on Someday Crafts to share my new rose bath mat.

Let me show you how to make your own rose bath mat. All of the skills needed to create this were learned in Kindergarten. Seriously, if you can cut and glue than you can make this rug. That is how easy it is to make. As far as materials go for creating this you will need a rug, an old T-Shirt, some felt or fleece, a hot glue gun, and some scissors.

You are going to start by cutting your T-Shirt into 2-3 inch strips.

Then you are going to cut out circles from the felt or fleece. You will cut them in various sizes depending on how big or small you want your flowers to be. Place your circles in the pattern that you would like on your rug. Originally I was going to have three large flowers and five smaller flowers spread across my rug. My husband wasn’t too sure about having a rug full of flowers, plus he was worried that the rug would loose some of its comfort. So we compromised, and I ended up only putting three large circles and three smaller circles on half of the rug. Now we each have our own side of the rug. I think the flowers are just as comfortable, if not more so than the original rug.

Next you will make your flowers. Take your cut T-Shirt strips and start wrapping them around the circle. Once one T-Shirt strip has come to an end, just add another. Keep wrapping the strips around the circle until you have the desired flower effect. Now all the while you are doing this you want to be gluing the strips to your circle.

Just keep making as many flowers as you want for your rug. Like I mentioned before, I went with three large flowers and three small flowers.

Once all of your flowers have been created, then glue them onto the rug.

I love the end result. It looks perfect in my bathroom!

Thanks for taking a look at my new bath mat! Feel free to stop by our blog Better Together for some other fun creations, like this napkin skirt or my new cork clock.

You can even check out our Facebook page. We are offer free printables every month and this month we are offering some free Halloween cake toppers.

THANKS, Angela.  I'm digging that bath mat.  It is so beautiful and that bathroom of yours is to die for.  Love the exposed brick and clawfoot tub!  The mat is the perfect addition to a gorgeous bathroom.   Visit Better Together today and say HI!!!!

Guest Blogger - Teal and Lime - Quatrefoil Drum Lamp

Hi, I'm Jackie. I am so excited to be guest posting here today and so thankful Michelle took a chance on me! This is my first ever guest blog post, so I did my homework and came up with an amazing tutorial to share.

 

I am a happily married, working mother of two busy little boys. I decorate and blog in my spare time, or lack there of. I just can't help myself. My blog Teal & Lime is about creating a DIY modern home. I like to say, "my style is modern, my home is getting there one room at a time". I hope you will join in and see my home transform from builder basic to modern beauty. I love to DIY and share tutorials so you can DIY too.

Today I want to share a tutorial to turn a plain drum shade into a statement piece for less than $10. I made my own drum shade pendant for less than $75, but I wanted to dress it up a bit. I originally planned to stencil a design on the shade, but the fabric on the shade has a lot of texture and I was nervous about getting a crisp design with a stencil. I brainstormed a fabulous alternative to create a modern design with appliquéd fabric. I love, love, love the way this turned out. The pattern and color are so crisp.

 

Here is how I did it:

Supplies:

• Drum Shade (circumference at the top and bottom of the shade is the same)
• Fabric (I used solid-color quilting cotton)
• Fusible web
• Mini Craft Iron (with a 50% off coupon you can get one for less than $20)
• Sharp scissors
• Clothespins
  

Step by step:

1. Measure your shade height and circumference. If the shade has a binding at the top and bottom, measure the height from the inside edge of the bottom binding to the inside edge of the top binding.
2. Using the measurements from Step 1, cut out a rectangle piece of fusible web.
3. Create your design. Geometric designs work great for this project. I decided on a quatrefoil design, which I designed to fit evenly within the size of my rectangle. Learn more about how I chose my fabric and created my design.
4. Trace your design onto the paper side of the fusible web. Tip: For a complicated design, shade in the areas to be cut away.
5. Iron the fusible web onto the wrong side of your fabric.
6. Trim fabric to same size as fusible web rectangle.
7. Cut out your design to remove all the shaded areas. I also split my design into three sections to make it more manageable.
8. "Dry fit" your design by lining up each section around the drum shade with the fusible web side against the shade. Use clips or clothespins to hold the fabric in place.
9. Starting with one section, peel the paper backing off the fusible webbing and repin the fabric to the shade. Line the fabric up very carefully.
10. Use the mini craft iron on medium heat to fuse the fabric design to the lamp shade. Use light pressure and keep the iron moving to avoid denting or warping the lamp shade.
    

The finished lampshade is beautiful! You would never know it didn't come this way. The thin cotton fabric fused so smoothly, it looks like part of the fabric on the shade.

 

This lampshade is right at home in our breakfast nook where we eat all of our meals. The green coordinates with the bits of green in the chair back covers. I love the boldness of the light now!

 

Want more fun tutorials and inspiration? Follow Teal & Lime on Facebook and check out these Teal & Lime favorites:

 

Turning tablecloths into slipcovers

Milk & Cookies Party

How to create a family gallery wall

 

Thanks so much for having me Michelle!

THANK YOU, Jackie for that awesome tutorial.  I can think of many cool designs (or words) to put on lampshade using your tutorial.   I love the colors in your house!   Head over Teal & Lime and say hi!!!   She is a very talented gal and her blog is so clean and crisp!  It's beautiful!

Guest Blogger - Ginger Snap Crafts - Halloween Smelly Jellies

Hi! I'm Ginger from Ginger Snap Crafts. This is me & my two daughters.
I've also got a fabulous husband & 3 handsome sons. My blog is full of fun, cute & easy ideas.
I Would love for you to drop by sometime! I'm so excited to be over here at Someday Crafts.
Michelle is one of my favorite bloggers, & it's a real treat to be here. Thanks, Michelle.


Speaking of treat! Halloween is almost here! Yeah! It's one of my favorite holidays.

Today I'm going to show you how to makes these Halloween inspired Smelly Jellies.
{Really these could be made for any holiday...Christmas is coming up, too!}

If you have never heard of a Smelly Jelly...you've been missing out!
They are super easy to make, & they smell so good!
You can just set the jars out or you can use the the jelly
in potpourri warmers for a stronger fragrance.

What you'll need: water crystals (You can find these on ebay for super cheap or try a local candle making supply company. When I lived in Ft. Worth, Texas I always got mine from Lone Star Candle Supply. Love them!), containers (I used mason jars.), water, fragrance oil and food coloring




I thought it would be fun to decorate my jars for Halloween. I cut out some spooky Halloween vinyl using my Silhouette & clip art. (If you don't have a have a vinyl cutter don't worry. You could use stickers or paint pens to decorate your jars. I've also just left them plain in the past. Either way will do.)

You'll fill your jar with about 12 oz. of water. Add 2 teaspoons of water crystals,
and then add 1 to 2 teaspoons of fragrance oil to your water.



Add food coloring. Then stir.
I always just use a popsicle stick to stir so I can just toss if out when I'm done.

Now set your jars aside for an hour or two.
The water crystals will absorb the water, fragrance & color & expand...they'll get huge.

Soon your jars will look like this! (In this one, I actually layered some of my water crystals after they expanded. I put stripes of orange & yellow. Thought it made it look like candy corn!)

Then you can just add a fun Halloween fabric cut in a circle on top with just the ring of your jar.

There you go some fun festive Halloween decorations that smell so good.

Hope you enjoy!
If you get a chance I'd love to have you drop by Ginger Snap Crafts.
Here's a few of my most popular post.
Family Wall

chore sticks



jewelry organizer

I also have a popular link party on Wednesdays!
Would love for you to drop by sometime!





Thanks for having me over, Michelle!



Ginger has such great ideas - ALL the time.   Visit her rapidly growing blog, Ginger Snap Crafts to get some awesome ideas!

Guest Blogger - Rae Gun Ramblings - Hooded Scarf

Hi, I'm Marissa from

Rae Gun Ramblings.

I blog about all things crafty, tasty, pretty and just plain life.
I'm an insanely huge Harry Potter fan, fresh pasta addict, and
married to a crazy talented musician.
I also run a handmade baby and toddler clothing shop on etsy called
Rae Gun.

Early this year in an attempt to beautify my home, I made a bunch of
pillow cases. They were so quick and easy if you've been thinking of
updating your pillows or maybe changing things up for the Holidays you
should definitely check out my pillow
case tutorial.

If you're looking for a delicious, easy and impressive dessert to take
to your next get together you might want to try my recipe for Eclair
Cake. It's beautiful and super yummy. You can also cut it into to
bars and put them into mini loaf papers for convenient serving.

Finally, I'd love to introduce you to my hubby and my cute nieces. One
of my favorite things to do is sew fun (and sometimes goofy) outfits
for them and takes pictures. They are such sports to put up with me.
These are the bulls and matador outfits I made for them last year. You
can even see our own "running of the bulls" video here.
Hopefully you'll swing by my
blog and shop and see some
of my latest adventures.

Today though I want to share a quick and easy tutorial for how to make
your own hooded scarf. These are great because before things get too
cold you can wear them with a light jacket or cardigan to boost your
warmth. Or if you're anything like me they are the perfect solution to
those adorable, but hoodless winter coats. You can easily make the
pattern for adults or kiddos. This year I think all the guys in our
family will be getting one of these (they can be so hard to shop for).

What You'll Need

• 
  
  1/2 yard fabric for the outside (you can use anything you like)

• 
  
  1/2 yard fleece
  


• 
  
  either a hood piece from a sewing pattern or a hoodie that you can
  trace to make your own hood pattern.

What To Do:

1. 
   
   First either find a hood piece from a pattern you have or grab
   your favorite hoodie fold it in half and then trace about an inch
   around it to make yourself a hood pattern. It doesn't need to be
   exact, hoods are really flexible.




2. 
   
   Cut two hood pieces and 1 scarf piece (the scarf pieces I cut were
   5 inches by the length of the fabric so in my case 5x44 and 5x 50) out
   of the main fabric and the fleece. Your fleece may be longer than your
   other fabric which is totally fine. If that's the case just lay the
   shorter one on top of the longer one and cut the longer one down so
   they are the same size.
   
   


3. 
   
   Sew, right sides together the two fabric hood pieces together
   around the curve (the part that would go down the middle of your head.
   Do the same with the fleece.




4. 
   
   Try the hood on and see what you think. If you like a more fitted
   hood you can do what I did and sew across the point of the hood on
   each. Do this on a sewing machine so you can unpick if you don't like
   how it looks. Try it on and if you like it with the line sewn across
   cut off the extra nub at the top.This is totally optional but I like
   the shape better.


5. 
   
   Now pin the center of the scarf piece to the center seam of the
   hood (right sides together) sew the hood piece to the scarf piece. Do
   the same with the fleece.
   
   


6. 
   
   You should now have two hooded scarves.


7. 
   
   Next pin the two hooded scarves right sides together.
   


8. 
   
   Sew around all the edges leaving one of the skinny ends open.


9. 
   
   Right side out out everything.

1. 
   
   Close up the hole by tucking the ends under a little and sewing
   close and iron the the hooded scarf (it's best to iron from the main
   fabric side (not the fleece side).

You can wear it wrap style like the top picture, tied, or with the
hood down completely. I sewed a lot of this on my serger but since all
the seams are enclosed you can do it all on a regular sewing machine.
I'd love to know if you try this out and definitely would love to see
pictures. And I hope you'll stop by my blog and say hi.

THANKS, Marissa for this fun tutorial. It is definitely coming upon scarf season and is a great idea to have a hood attached! Love it! Visit Rae Gun Ramblings today and say HI!