Blog — homemade

This article will teach you how to make easy, yet stunning, holiday place cards and gift tags using one special ingredient: DIY tickets. These tickets feel just like real tickets because I use drywall tape from the hardware store (paint department). And I use a tracing wheel from my sewing kit. I know these aren't common things most crafters use, but they make all the difference, I promise! Step 1 - Color Drywall Tape  I don't like the bright white background, so I usually dye the drywall tape to start. The photo above shows inking, painting with watered down acrylic paint,...

As a seamstress, I know a lot of tricks for working with fabric, and a great trick is this simple ways to make ruffles. Here's a video of the whole process, if you'd like to see it done.  Ruffle Video Step 1  Cut a piece of fabric about an inch wide by as long as you want. The finished ruffle will be less than half the length of the original piece, so plan accordingly. Step 2 (Using Machine) If you are using a sewing machine, set the machine so it makes the longest possible stitches. Without locking the stitches by...

I got to the point where I had TONS of paper scraps I was saving for my junk journal, and I figured out a great way to use them up. I glue them onto book pages while watching TV. Then, I have a whole book full of collaged backgrounds ready and waiting (and hidden and protected in a book). Here's how I do it and what I've made with the collaged pages. Step 1 I like to add strips of another book or old music - anything neutral and printed.  Step 2 Then I add some plain texture. I like...

I love to use real junk in my junk journals - you know - that stuff that comes into your house and immediately gets thrown out. And the classic example of junk is the window envelope. They are pretty cool, but they aren't easy to make pretty. The Challenges of the Window Envelope First of all, many of them have writing on them. That's not pretty, so some camouflage is in order. Second, the window itself is hard to decorate around. If you are trying to cover the writing with pretty paper, you have to cut around the window, which...

I like to get a little playful with my junk journals. One way to do that is to make journaling spots that are "secret". Here are some ways I've found to add journaling spots that aren't obvious. The Envelope Flip This envelope opens, so you can put a folded up piece of journaling inside it. But it also is only attached to the page with a layer of sewing on the envelope flap. You can flip it up, revealing the hidden journaling spot on the page beneath. Folded Page and Folded Tag Hidden Spots This photo is hiding two secret...