Cloth Napkins: Two Layers of Fabric

I work with a lot of fabric and have a very large inventory of textiles.  In that big stash, there are quite a few fabrics that I won't use for most of my regular projects.  I found a solution for all those fabrics -- make them into cloth napkins.

However, some of the fabrics are printed/screened, so the back of the napkin would not look quite as nice.  I decided to do two layers of fabric to hide the wrong side of the fabric.  See my basid tutorial below.

Cut out two pieces of fabric to desired size of cloth napkin.  With right sides together, sew a seam around edges of napkin, but leave a small opening to turn inside out.  Clip corners.

After the napkin is turned inside out, press seams.  Top stitch around the entire napkin.  Top stitching an additional line or two through the middle of the napkin is recommended since it will make the napkin sturdy and the fabric will be less likely to shift around with use.

Give napkins another press, if you feel like they need it.  Voila!  A set of cloth napkins ready for a dinner party or everyday use.

The Memories in Cork Boards

Cork boards made from old wine corks is not a new craft, but I found something quite noteworthy about them when I was constructing my own. After constructing the cork board using an old wood frame I picked up at a thrift store and corks I have saved throughout my experiences, I realized that my cork board was full of memories of events in my life. The day I graduated college, my first dinner at my new home, great dinners and recipes with people I love, the big summer party, and the list goes on. So, I am mentioning this craft idea to y'all not just because it is great decor to adorn the walls of your home, but also because it can provide you with lots of memories. It does not require more than a frame, cardboard, hot glue, and quite a lot of corks. I even used champagne corks. If you are interested in detailed instructions, let me know via email or the Facebook page.

Save those corks!

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Upcycling/Repurposing Projects!

In between making doll clothes, I've been making paper products or doing other small sewing projects. All items typically involve some form of repurposing or upcycling. Below are some paper products and/or items for the home that came out of my creative endeavors. I've mentioned repurposing paper products for cards before and below are some cards made from an old 365 day calendar on pin-up women. Next, I made a sleeve for memo books out of scrap fabric and old embroidery thread. I thought it would spice up that boring book for notes I carry around in my purse.

The frames with "Love" or "Megann" in them are small frames (often picked up at a second-hand store) with a piece of scrap fabric and your choice of cross stitch word using embroidery thread. It makes a darling little accent on a countertop or shelf.

Lastly, the rose paintings. Made of 100% recycled paper, these little artworks are painted silhouettes of flowers that can be easily framed in a set. If you are interested in making paper, send me an email and I'll let you know the details.

Happy creating!

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Fancy Watering Cans

On a typical day of creativity, I don't usually go for decorating watering cans, but these were a donation to a local art benefit that specifically wanted decorated watering cans. I tried to make them a little more unique than just painting flowers on them. Both projects are fairly cheap to do and I think they make a great artsy piece for your backyard. The gold watering can required fabric/puff paint and gold spray paint. The fabric paint (any color) was used to create an embossed pattern and when finished, I sprayed the gold spray paint over the entire can. The other can was decorated to look like a quilt. It required scrap fabric, acrylic paint, and decoupage. First, I cut out uniform sized squares of the fabric and glued them on the can (checker board style) with the decoupage. After they dried, I painted the remaining areas of the can with paint, let it dry, and put a final coat of decoupage over the entire surface. Voila! Fancy watering cans.

Noticed I haven't posted a whole lot of Momoko doll designs lately? I'm saving them up for debut at IFDC in Las Vegas in a couple weeks. Stay tuned for some great designs.

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