Pom Pom Mouse Pad

Because everyone needs their own pom pom mouse pad, right?! 

I'm always on the hunt for more ways to use one of my favorite crafting supplies, and I came up with these colorful mouse pads to make as gifts. I made several for friends over the holidays, and of course had to make one for my desk too!  Supplies for Pom Pom Mouse Pad:

• Cork trivet (mine was 7" square and 1/2" thick)
• Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Craft Paints
• Letter stencil
• Pom poms (3/8" - 1/2" size)
• Foam brush
• Hot glue gun

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  How to Make Pom Pom Mouse Pad

  
  

  1. Cover the top and sides of your trivet with 2-3 coats of paint, letting dry between coats.

  
  

  

  
  

  2. Use a second color of paint and a letter stencil to add your initial or monogram. I positioned mine in the bottom corner of my mouse pad. I taped it down with masking tape and used a small amount of paint on my foam brush with an up and down blotting motion.

  
  

  

  
  

  3. Warm up your glue gun and run a bead of glue along the side of your mouse pad, about an inch or so at a time. Stick in your pom poms while the glue is still hot, and use the glue sparingly so it doesn't ooze out of the sides. You can use your finger nail to scrape off any oozing glue if needed (just don't burn yourself!). Work your way around the mouse pad and you're done!

  
  

  

  
  

  

  I'm pretty excited about the new addition to my desk… and when I'm not using it as a mouse pad, I can use it as a giant coaster. :)

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  This craft is for all you fellow pom pom lovers out there. All you need is a cork trivet (yep, a trivet!) and pom poms in your favorite colors. Let's get started!
  
  

  credit :

  designimprovised

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

DIY: Nerdy Chic Book Clutch

DIY: Nerdy Chic Book Clutch

Alright, you nerds, it's time for another 'book'torial.  The whole reason I created the first two 'book'torials (hereand here) was so that I could create this nerdy chic book clutch.  I'm completely smitten with how it turned out. Carrying a library card never looked so fashionable.  ;)

Wanna make your own? 

HERE'S THE HOW TO:

Stuff You'll Need:

Book

Matte Mod Podge

Fabric

Needle and Thread 

Clasp (This is the one I used.)

Wax paper

Wooden paint stirrer

Wood glue

Epoxy glue (I used J.B. Weld)

Note: Make sure the book you choose is big enough to hold the items you'd like to carry.  For instance, your cell phone, keys, lipstick, etc.

Method:

1. Cover a book with fabric using the DIY: Fabric Covered Book Tutorial.

2. Hollow the book out using the DIY: Book Safe Tutorial.  Note:  Don't glue the pages together just yet. We'll get to that later.

3. Cut a piece of fabric to fit the inside cover of the book and glue it in place using the Mod Podge.  Do this on each side. We want the inside to look pretty too!

4. Now, we'll prep to glue the pages together with Mod Podge. Place wax paper in three different sections to keep these pages from being glued together. Place one piece in the middle of the book. This is where the opening of the book clutch will be.  Place the other two on each end leaving out about 10 pages on each side. The pages on each side need to be free so that we can sew in fabric inserts later. 

5. Brush a thin layer of Mod Podge along the page edges in the two middle sections between the wax paper only. Be sure to do the edges inside the hole in the book too. You'll need several thin coats to thoroughly seal the pages together. Place a stack of heavy books on top as you wait for it to dry. When you are finished, the outer 10 pages on each side should be unglued.  The middle should also be unglued. Your book should now look like this:

5. Using a needle poke through the outer pages.  This is where we will sew in the fabric inserts.

6. To make the pattern for the fabric insert, open the book as wide as you'd like the clutch to open and trace the basic shape.  You'll then need to add an extra inch or so allowance on both sides.  The allowance at the bottom should be a quarter inch longer than the width of the hole inside the book.

7. Once you have that basic shape, you'll need to create a mirror image as shown below. (Note: I practiced my pattern on a paper towel first to be sure it fit the dimensions of my book. I also used this pattern as the template for cutting my fabric.)

8. After you have the fabric cut outs (you'll need two), fold each one in half.

9. You should have the wrong side of the fabric facing out.  Now, sew the bottom edge together like so...

10. Flip the fabric so that the right side is now facing out. Iron a crease down the middle so that they will fold nicely when you insert them into your book.

11. Next, stitch the insert into the pages through the holes you punched out earlier.  The narrowest part of the fabric insert will be closest to the spine of the book.  The crease in the fabric should point into the book.

12. After you've sewn the inserts into both sides of the book, use the Mod Podge to glue together those last few pages that were previously left free to the rest of the pages. Then, do the same to the book cover. Remember to use wax paper to prevent the opening in the middle from becoming glued shut. 

13. Finally, glue the clasp to the front. First, I added small wooden risers to the book with wood glue so that the latch would stick out over the edge of the book. (Hint: I created the wooden risers by cutting a paint stirrer I had lying around the house.) Then, I glued the clasp these wooden risers with the epoxy glue. Be extra careful not to glue the opening shut in this step.  Wax paper can help make sure that this doesn't happen.

And that's all there is to it.  Grab your phone, keys and library card and you are good to go....

credit :

caughtonawhim

Decorate Your Pencils with Washi Tape

Decorate Your Pencils with Washi Tape

Hi guys. I took a long break from blogging because I was reviewing for my licensure exams. And now that the exams are over, all I have to do is to wait for the results and go on with my life.

I have left over #2 pencils from the exams, five of the six pencils that I bought were not used. Of course I will still be able to use these in the future when I return to work. To make these pencils a little livelier, I decorated them with washi tape.

Bought these rolls of washi tape from Hey Kessy. Some of these are from their new collection.

Just cut a strip of washi tape with the same length as your pencil. Stick it on to the pencil and carefully spread it, making sure that there are no air bubbles left. Do this step twice, as the pencil needs two strips of tape to be completely covered.

Then when you're done, trim the edges and sharpen your pencils.

Tadaaa! Your boring yellow pencils are now bright and colorful.

Here's another shot of the finished product. Look how pretty they are now that they're clad in patterns.

credit :

thepinkdoormat

gingham style // knotted zipper pencil pouch tutorial

I have a problem keeping track of pencils in my house probably because a certain toddler loves to pull out the eraser and chew on it while he dumps the lead and breaks them all one by one. So whenever I need one for pattern drafting they are so hard to find! I don’t mind sharing most things, but toddlers shouldn’t be playing with mechanical pencils anyways.

I made these cute pencil cases as an easy solution. First, they are the perfect size for mechanical pencils, I’m sure regular pencils or colored pencils would fit, too.  Now I can stash all my pencils in the same place.

This is a basic zipper pencil pouch tutorial but the pattern is a super weird shape to account for the cute bow knots at the top and/or bottom.

The weird shaped pattern makes it a yardage sucker, but it’s worth it! And you’ll have lots of scraps.

The construction of this pouch is pretty complicated. I would definitely recommend sewing up a basic zipper pouch before proceeding. It gave me a headache figuring out how to do this, so I hope that these instructions are clear enough!

You can make this pouch with a bow at each end, or just one end. Follow the dotted line on the pattern piece if you want just one bow end.

Materials:

free pattern download for the knotted zipper pencil pouch tutorial

3/4 yard main fabric

1/2 yard lining fabric

1/2 yard lightweight interfacing

zipper

Fuse interfacing to wrong sides of all 4 main and lining pieces.

Cut 1 of the main pieces and 1 of the lining pieces in half. I used a rotary cutter to make this easier. Leave the other pieces whole, this is just for the top to insert the zipper.

To insert the zipper, lay it face down on one side of the main (gingham) piece. Pin in place and baste. Then put the lining piece on top, face down and sew at 1/4″. Repeat on the other side of the zipper and press when your zipper is inserted.

To finish the lining of the pouch, pin the whole lining piece to the lining piece that were just attached to the zipper.

The bottom will look like this:

Now sew it up all around. When you get to the zipper part it will be a little tricky. Just pull the main pieces out of the way.

Leave a 2-4″ opening on one of the straight edges to turn later. (I forgot to do this and had to unpick one, so don’t look for the opening in the picture!)

Now turn it over so the lining is on the bottom and the zipper is facing up.

Lay the second main piece on top of the zipper and pin it on. If you have too much fabric, pin a little pleat over the zipper.

Sew it on all the way around. Don’t leave any openings. Sew the lining and main pieces together where indicated below.

Trim and clip the seam allowance and then turn. The corners will be a little tricky to turn, but you can do it! Push the lining into the bag. Now stitch up the opening you left in the lining with a topstitch or a hand slip stitch.

Tie the corners into individual knots or tie two together to make bows. I prefer the bow method.

If you make the version without the bows on the bottom, they will look like this:Fill it with pencils and you’re done!

credit :
seekatesew