Spring Tulip Wreath

My latest project...To welcome SPRING (so this new found snow from this morning needs to go away!)

 I found this lovely wreath on Pinterest hoping there would be a tutorial on it... unfortunately there was not. But i was determined not to spend $80 by buying this wreath...

Being that i am a blog stalker i have learned that there is always a way to figure out how to make it yourself, for less than buying already made. Wreaths scare me though, when we were making them for work around Christmas my wreaths had ISSUES! Anyways… so i just kind of jumped into this project blindly.

 
 I picked up my stems and trimmed them to the length that i wanted.  (i also hot glued the petal to the stem so i didn't have to worry about them falling off while in storage or anything like that) Then just kept adding, and adding, and adding.... The more flowers that were added the better it started to look.

A coworker today pointed out that my tulips were a lot bigger than the ones in the example i was going from. Which were the only ones my HOBLOB carried, they also didn't have the two pinks colors so i just went with the two. That difference and that my leaves were a lot bigger than the example as well which I’m sure is because of the fact that my tulips were bigger.

So this project took:
8 bundles of tulips @ 6.99 each - 50% off = 3.49 each
1 Foam Wreath @ 7.99 -40% Off Coupon = 4.79
1 Roll Ribbon @ 3.99 -50% off = 1.99
Hot Glue

TOTAL for this project = 34.70
Saved by making it myself = 45.30 + shipping & tax

Ruffle Pillow

Here are the pillows that started this entire project i LOVE LOVE LOVE these pillows BUT i did NOT want to spend 29.00 a piece for them!! + shipping.. So i figured I could make them for cheaper than that!


I found this tutorial online and worked from there. http://www.spendinglesslivingmore.com/2011/04/21/diy-ruffle-pillow-tutorial/

I used a full size sheet for my fabric. I measured the pillow across the top so I could take into account the puffiness. It was 16 inches across so I added another inch and cut 2 17×17 inch squares.

I wanted the strips to have enough length so that when I ruffled them they would fit all the way across. I doubled the width {16} and cut 32 inch strips. I cut about 6 of them, enough to go across the pillow how I wanted.

I sewed down the middle of each strip. Then I pulled on one string to ruffle them. (This part didnt work for me so i used this tutorial instead to ruffle my fabric) Here’s how to make an easy ruffle.

Locate on your machine your tension dial and your setting for the length of the stitch. These are my settings.

First, set your stitch length to the longest stitch. Mine is 6.

Then set your tension to the tightest tension, or the highest number.

Now you should be all set.

When you stitch away it will automatically ruffle.

{aren’t they pretty?!}

I laid them out on one of the 17×17 inch squares to see where to lay them.

( at this point i started doing my own process because my sewing machine and i weren't getting along anymore...i pulled out my trusty hot glue gun and glue my ruffles down since i knew this was just going to be a decorative pillow i knew that wouldn't be a problem )

I marked with a yellow colored pencil where the seam of the ruffle went on the pillow,so I would know where to sew. I did that for each ruffle.

Here’s the back after sewing on all the ruffles. I put it face down with the other square and sewed 3 of the edges together. I just sewed a little bit on the 4th side so I could still shove the pillow in there.

Next I turned it ride side out and pushed the pillow in.

I sewed it closed, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I just went for it!

I got a Single Sheet from Walmart for around $5 and a pillow insert for $6 this pillow cost me around $11 dollars so i saved around $18 by making it myself.

Here is mine i think it turned out pretty dang good! What do you think?!

Rosset Pillow Out of Large Tshirt

http://alisa-thesweetlife.blogspot.com
This is the tutorial i used for reference in making my Large tee shirt pillow




You will start off by making your pillow cover and ruffles just like in this post, but without stitching any ruffles on it. Go ahead and sew the opening shut and you are ready to make some rosettes to place on your pillow.

I made 4 big rosettes and 2 smaller ones. The larger ones take a couple strips of ruffle and the smaller ones only take one. So about 10 should do it. Keep in mind it will depend on the size of your pillow. Mine is only a 14” pillow so if yours is bigger, you might need more to make it look balanced.

For each rosette you will need a circle of felt or fleece cut into about a 3” circle. It doesn’t need to be exact {or perfect} it will be hidden and any extra will be cut off.  I used my high temp glue gun. I like the high temp because it adheres better and faster, but be careful or you might not have any finger prints left when you are done {not that I would know}.

First I took each strip of ruffle and rounded off the corners at each end so it would have a softer look.

Take your first ruffle and fold it in half lengthwise with the stitching on one side, creating a V shape with the ruffle. The stitching side is the part you will be gluing  down.

You will start with a  dot of hot glue in the middle of your felt piece.

Grab the end of your first ruffle and kind of swirl it around the end to make the center of your rosette. I like to put my finger through the middle of the ruffle {the V part} and push the stitching part onto the glue.

Once the center is adhered, make another short line of glue around the center part in the direction of your ruffle. {did that make any sense at all?}
You will just keep going around in a circle with your glue and your ruffle, pushing it into the glue to adhere it.  {this is way easier to do than to explain….promise}.

Here she is after one ruffle has been added. If this were one of the small rosettes I needed, I would take my scissors and cut around the bottom of the felt to remove any extra that wasn’t glued down and I would be finished.

BUT, this is one of my big rosettes, so I am going to add one more ruffle to make it even bigger. I just start adding it where I left off with the other one.


Here she is all finished and ready to apply to my pillow. 
If there is still any bit of felt on the back side that hasn’t been glued, now would be the time to cut any of that extra off so you won’t be able to see it on the pillow.

To adhere the rosettes to your pillow, simply lay them out in  a design to your liking and hot glue each one to the pillow. Make sure you get plenty of glue around the edges so they don’t peel up. Nothin’ worse than peeling rosettes on your pillow.

This one kinda was thrown together i had the wrong size insert when i glued on the flowers so it looked a little different than planned but that's ok! 

Burnt Edge Pillow

Continuing on my pillow kick since i am making all the pillows to finish my bedroom set. I used this tutorial for the flowers i places on the pillow. http://www.simplyvintagegirl.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/29/tutorial-how-to-make-lovely-fabric-flowers/

If you haven’t used those tea lights in a while, now’s the time! I hope you enjoy making these as much as we do . . . below are instructions with pictures on how to make your own.

Supplies:

· Synthetic Silky Fabric
· Scissors
· Candle (preferably a tea light)

Additional supplies:

· Needle and Thread, Glue Dots or Glue Gun
· Buttons and/or Beads

Directions:

1. Cut circle patterns out of card stock. ( i used cookie cutters i already had that were different sizes)

Make the largest one’s diameter about half an inch larger than you want the diameter of the flower, as the petals will end up shrinking a bit. Create a few of these, lessening the diameter bit by bit so that the end result has smaller petals in the center and larger ones around the outside. You can also use a pattern here, which works very nice!

2. Trace around the pattern onto the silk fabric (using a pen).

You can also cut around the pattern and skip the drawing part, it just might not be as uniform . . . but with these, uniform isn’t necessary. And if it’s not uniform, it adds character. And character is good.

3. Take the scissors and cut out the circle and petals.

Cut just inside the drawn lines to make a circle out of the fabric. Carefully cut only about a third of the way into the circles to create the petals. You can do as many or few petals as you would like, or even add some variety to them. I cut five times, making five medium-sized petals. You can also round the corners of the petals, if you so desire.

4. Use the lit candle to melt and crinkle the edges.

Be very careful (please have adult supervision, this is rather dangerous), as it is very easy to get burnt. Hold the cut petals about one to two inches above the flame, making sure to keep the circle rotating so that it does not overheat and catch fire. Continue to gently melt the edges of each petal until you have gone all the way around. Do this with each layer.

5. Sew (or glue) the petal layers together. (glue guns are my favorite!)

Using a needle and thread, create a beginning knot and then sew the layers together. You can come up through the top because the center  of the top layer can be covered by a button or  bead. To finish the flower, sew (or glue) the button or bead on top.

If you would like to add extra stability to the flower, you can sew or glue a piece of felt onto the back (make sure it is large enough to give good stability, but small enough so that it won’t be seen from the top).

After i made about 8 flowers and assembled them together i quickly threw together my pillow case. Using the same few steps from this post 

I love the colors all together and am so glad with how this pillow turned out! 6 dollar pillow insert and about 4 dollars worth of fabric!! AWESOME!