Archive of ‘Tutorial’ category

Beauty and the Beast Rose Centerpiece Tutorial


Learn how to make a “floating” Beauty and the Beast rose centerpiece or decoration in this tutorial! When I was little I loved Beauty and the Beast, and was completely transfixed with the enchanted rose.

beauty and the beast rose centerpiece tutorial

I’m so excited for Disney’s new Beauty and the Beast movie coming out March 2017, I’m ready to see the magic!

The petals are overlaid with the original French text from Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve’s original La Belle et la Bête, published in 1740. I’ve also added texture to the background using photographs of an actual rose.

Nothing can compare to the luminescence of an actual rose. I found a shimmery paper that mimicked the natural glow. When you print out the black and gray-toned petals over the red shimmery paper you get a neat effect.
beauty and the beast enchanted rose centerpiece tutorial

These would be perfect Beauty and the Beast wedding table centerpieces, and would look gorgeous surrounded with scattered rose petals. Affiliate links within this post. If you’re not the crafty type I’m selling the finished centerpiece in my Etsy store.

 

Materials

  • Red paper for the rose petals. I found red shimmery printable paper on Amazon; the iridescence adds depth.

    Find it here
  • A glass cloche or bell jar. Sometimes you can find these at thrift shops with dried flower arrangements.
  • To purchase the glass cloche I use, visit here
  • Scissors, a Cricut, or another cutting machine.
  • Hot glue gun, preferably high-temperature mini size
  • Glue sticks for hot glue gun
  • Wire
  • Transparent thread or fishing line
  • Needle-nose pliers
  • Floral tape, the skinnier kind
  • E6000 glue, only a little bit so a small tube

  • Mini battery-powered fairy lights if you want to go the extra distance!

 

Files

  • If you’re cutting out the petals by hand, download the file HERE <— click
  • If you’re using a Cricut or Silhouette machine, you can download the free SVG flower file from my Crafty Library. The SVG file is a downloadable file that tells your cutting machine what to cut. I also have a plain template (just outlines) in my Crafty Library. To access the free SVG file, sign up for my Crafty Library and infrequent newsletter. The Crafty Library is a free resource center with downloadable files, templates, and images.

    Access the Crafty Library




    You will receive an exclusive password via email.

 

Instructions to Make a Beauty and the Beast Rose Centerpiece

  1. If you want to use the printable sheet with the text, print out the sheet of rose petals. Make sure your printer options are set to “do not scale” or “100%”. If there is a box next to something that says “scale to fit media”, make sure it is not checked. If there are any options asking if you want it centered, choose no. It’s important that your printer doesn’t change the size of the petals.If you’re using the SVG file, don’t use the printable file because it won’t align with your cutting machine.
  2. If you’re using the printed petals, cut out the enchanted Beauty and the Beast rose petals using scissors. I hand cut my printed petals. You can make plain petals with the free SVG file in my Crafty Library.
  3. Measure about a 12 inch section of wire and cut. Make a small loop at one end with your needle nose pliers. The wire might be a little long but it’s better to have a little extra.
  4. Wrap your piece of wire with floral tape. The narrow kind of tape is easier to work with.
  5. Measure around 12 inches of clear thread (or fishing line) and thread it through the small loop of wire you just made in step 3. Tie a knot so the thread won’t fall off.
  6. The next few steps involve curling, folding, and shaping the petals. Smallest petals: curl the sides inward using your thumb and fingers to curl it. 
  7. Next smallest: Curl the petals in the same way, and add some tiny creases to the sides. I placed the creases towards the base of the petal so they be hidden when the rose was put together. The creases help add more shape to the flat paper.
  8. The remaining petals except for the largest ones: Curl around the top edges and sides and add some creases.
  9. For the largest petals, don’t do any creasing. Just curl and gently shape.

  10. Time to add the first petal! Dab a small amount of hot glue on the bottom of one of the tiny petals. Wrap the petal around your piece of wire. Repeat with 2-3 tiny petals.



  11. Add 3-4 petals of the next size up. It helps to experiment with petal placement before permanently gluing them.
  12. Repeat with the next few petal sizes. Make sure you keep a few petals to scatter around the base of your bell jar.


  13. Cut a tiny section from the bottom of your wrapped stem to make a little ring. You’ll be using this to build up the “hip” of the rose.
  14. Cut a few tiny pieces of flower tape to make the “sepals” of the rose, which are the little leafy fringes around the base of the rose. Glue them to the base of the rose.


  15. Slide on the ring and wrap floral tape around it until you’re satisfied with the shape.

  16. Trim off two short pieces from the bottom of your stem to make the leaf sections.
  17. Fold floral tape in half and then cut a leaf shape. Repeat for the other stem.
  18. Use a drop of glue and attach one stem to the other. The glue won’t hold it but it will keep it still long enough to secure it with flower tape.

  19. Optional: adding thorns. I made the basic shape by making a shallow puddle of hot glue (for lack of a better description), waiting for it to cool, and then cutting out the thorn shape. Glue to the flower stem and wrap with a very thin strip of tape.
  20. Bend and adjust the stem to your liking.
  21. Hold up the rose next to your glass bell jar and figure out how long you need the clear thread (to make it look like the floating Beauty and the Beast rose) needs to be. Tie a tiny loop at that length.
  22. Use your glue gun to make a tiny bead around the loop.
  23. The next part is a little tricky. Apply some e6000 glue to the inside top of your bell jar. Holding the jar upside down, slowly lower the rose inside until you see the ball of hot glue (added in step 19) make contact with the e6000 glue.
  24. Keep the jar upside down until the glue is fully dry. Let the glue dry in a safe place. If you have one of those stainless-steel tumblers that shall remain unnamed, they’re a good size to hold the cloche while it’s drying.
  25.  Enjoy your fancy Beauty and the Beast rose!

See More Crafty Posts: 
 

Dried Flower Jewelry Tutorial with Faux Resin Alternative


I’ve seen some absolutely gorgeous dried flower jewelry lately. This dried flower jewelry tutorial will teach you how to create a beautiful pressed flower pendant with the look of resin without the hassle. If you want to learn how to make pressed flower jewelry, read on!

Pendant showing the light filter through

I love the look of dried flower jewelry using resin. Unfortunately, resin can be hard to work with. There are several factors can potentially set you up for a resin disaster: temperature or humidity that will prevent the resin from curing correctly, mis-measured mixture of the resin (some can be mixed by weight, some need to be mixed by volume).

This method of using UV cured gel lets you build up layers and have more control over the depth and placement of the flowers. This post contains affiliate links. As always, feel free to blame any purchases on me.

All the supplies gathered up

Materials

  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Tweezers
  • Cotton Swabs
  • LED lamp and clear gel. This little kit below has an LED lamp, clear gel nail polish, and tiny bottle of rubbing alcohol (a.k.a. gel cleanser). It also has an opaque polish too.
    Sensational Polish Essentials
  • Clear glass locket pendant. They are sold as floating lockets for small metal charms but the space inside gives them a lot of creative potential.
    Silver Heart Locket
  • Dried pressed flowers. I found some small dried flowers on Amazon. They are marketed to be used for nail art but they work really well for jewelry.
  • Acetone or nail polish remover

Directions

  1. Plan your dried flower placement in the pendant. I took a picture of it with my phone so I could look at it later on. Remove the flowers and set them to the side.
  2. Use the rubbing alcohol to clean the glass locket pendant, especially on the inside. It’s important to remove any oil, fingerprints or dust.
  3. Brush the first layer of clear gel into the base of the pendant. Coat enough so you don’t see any brush marks but don’t add too much.first coat of clear gel before adding the dried flowers
  4. Carefully place your first flower (using your tweezers) in the pendant. Put a drop of clear gel over the flower. Make sure there’s enough on the brush so it will drip easily on to the flower. If there isn’t enough the flower might accidentally stick to the brush.
    Carefully arranging the small dried flowers with tweezers
  5. Cure / dry the gel in your LED lamp. Use a Q-tip with alcohol to remove the moisture layer that will form on the top after curing.
  6. Repeat steps 3-5 with the other flowers you wish to add to your pendant.
  7. When you’re finished adding dried flowers, add a few coats of the gel polish until the surface is smooth and there aren’t any bumps or petals that break the surface.
  8. You can also add more pressed flowers to the front of the locket too.
    Front view of the dried flower locket
  9. When you’re finished, use a cotton swab with nail polish remover to carefully clean any smudges or accidental drops of gel.

close up of my finished glass pressed flower pendant

pressed flower jewelry tutorial

And you have your finished pendant! Your finished pressed flower jewelry piece should be fairly durable but I would recommend removing it for showering or swimming. I’ve come across a lot of vintage jewelry pieces using dried flowers, and some really interesting pieces that aren’t actually real flowers.

The piece above is a clear piece of lucite (plastic) that was carved and painted. This neat technique is called reverse carved lucite.

Other Favorite Posts:

 

 

Keepsake Photo Charm With UV Gel Tutorial

two sweetheart necklaces one vintage and one handmade

Last year my fiance gave me a beautiful WWII locket, which I save for reenactments and special occasions. I wanted to create a photo charm I could wear daily and keep close to my heart, so I made a tiny photo charm using a picture of us from a reenactment. I’ve learned a lot about sweetheart jewelry since I’ve started reenacting with my fiance.
During WWI and WWII soldiers would give their loved ones jewelry. These keepsakes would let their loved ones feel connected even if their soldier was thousands and thousands of miles away.

If you DIY everything (like I do) you might have a gel manicure kit. I was able to use the UV lamp from my kit. I was amazed at how durable the gel coating was! This post contains affiliate links. As always, feel free to blame me for any purchases.

Learn how to make a photo charm or pendant using your UV gel manicure kit!

Photo Charm Materials:

Directions:

DIY photo charm

  1. Print out plenty of copies of your photo. It took me a few tries to get it cut out just right. I used a quick coat of Krylon gloss coating to make sure the photo wouldn’t smear when the gel coat was applied. If you don’t apply a clear coat the image can smear or get fuzzy when your gel is applied.
  2. Clean your charm with rubbing alcohol to remove any oil.
  3. Make a small dot of super glue in the middle of your charm. Keep a paper towel nearby in case the drop ends up being too big. If you use too much glue it will seep around the edges of the photo.
  4. Carefully position your photo on the charm and wait for the superglue to dry.
  5. Take a close look and make sure your charm and photo are both free of dust and debris.
  6. Use a fairly thick layer of gel and apply. Cure your photo charm with your UV lamp.
  7. Using your rubbing alcohol and a paper towel, gently remove the moisture layer that has formed on top of your charm.
  8. Do another thick coat of gel and cure, then remove the moisture layer again. Repeat until you feel that your charm is finished.
  9. Enjoy your keepsake photo charm!


how to make a photo charm

 

 

Fun With Opencart

So I’m the owner of http://www.vintagesewingpatterns.com. Originally I used ZenCart shopping cart software with my site but recently I’ve switched over to OpenCart. I have a little computer knowledge (enough to make me dangerous). I’ve come in to a few issues and found out how to fix them. I know everyone likes to give a snide “google it, geez!” and “well if you don’t know how to fix it why didn’t you just buy software or get a subscription”.  I’m an example of what happens when someone gets enough knowledge but not quite enough… I am not a computer doctor, but this is what seemed to work for me.

  • The menu wouldn’t show a third level category. So if you require more than one subcategory…. Here’s how to show a third level category on your Opencart. Thanks to THIS website! Want your fourth level category to show? No idea how to do that.
    • Step 1: Install VQMOD for your version of OpenCart.
    • Step 2: Install this modification to show the third level category: http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route=extension/extension/info&extension_id=21351
    • If you’ve installed a theme to pretty up your OpenCart you’ll need to change some code in the third level category XML file. Edit the file in your notepad editor.
    • how to add third level menu to opencart

      This is the file to edit

      Step 2

      Step 2: Find this in the code. Replace “default” with the name of your template.

       

    • Pinterest button??!! Omg how can I survive without that??!! I found this scouring the forum: https://forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php?f=112&t=127400
      • Add the line of code to your footer.tpl file that labeshops suggests: <script type="text/javascript" async data-pin-hover="true" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>
      • install_pinterest_button_opencart

        Where to find the footer.tlp file

Sewing With Transparent Thread Without Going Insane

I’ve had a lot of quality time working with transparent thread so I thought I’d give a few tips on how to sew with transparent thread and troubleshooting issues you may come across.

What exactly is this strange invisible thread? Transparent thread is made out of clear nylon or polyester and is classified as a “monofilament” thread. That means that it is one thread, a very thin solid skinny piece of plastic. “Regular” thread is made out of a bunch of small twisted threads. Regular thread has a lot more stretch because of this. Clear thread has little to no stretch.

Things I’ve Figured Out:

  • Keep close track of your thread ends when beginning a seam. Rouge threads can cause a big tangled mess.
  • When using transparent thread on apparel the ends of your seam can poke and be uncomfortable. You can avoid this by pulling the bobbin thread up and making a tiny knot on the outside of the garment or hiding the knot in your seam allowance.
  • Winding the bobbin can be frustrating. Before you start winding hand-wind the end a few more times than you usually would to make sure it doesn’t come undone. When your nylon thread comes undone while bobbin winding it can make a big mess. Watch the bobbin carefully and make sure the thread is getting wound on the bobbin and not everywhere else.
  • Experiment with the tension on a scrap piece of fabric. Make sure there isn’t any bunching.
  • Don’t use clear thread on seams that will be stretching a lot (like an elastic waistband).

Where You Can Find Transparent Thread:

  • Walmart. Sometimes. Clear thread at Walmart tends to be the first to go out of stock.
  • Your local fabric or sewing store.
  • I’m a fan of YLI’s invisible thread:

sewing with transparent thread
YLI Corporation Wonder Invisible Thread Size .004 1,500 Yds: Clear

DIY “Washi” Tape for Your Planner

Free diy washi tape style sticker printable, compatible with your Erin Condren planner.

printable galaxy washi tape

I have some pretty bad executive function issues and would lose my head if it wasn’t attached. After being bombarded with Pinterest ads I decided it would be a good idea to get an Erin Condren planner to help me be less scattered. The idea was cemented when I saw my friends planner and saw how awesome it was.

Suddenly I was plunged into the world of planners and planner accessories. I had no idea what washi tape was until two months ago (I was so naive).

I use a lot of shipping labels and realized that they would be awesome to print out designs on and cut up to make my own diy washi tape. The pre-cut line down the center of the label sheet makes it easy to peel off the sticker.

print washi tape with your printerDSC05516webprintable diy washi tape tutorial

The PSD (photoshop) template is sized so the stickers fill the width of the Erin Condren horizontal layout. I added cutting guides for .75 inch (19 mm) wide strips which cover 3 lines.

Download PSD Here (Google Doc)

Template Layout

Template Layout

Download Galaxy Pattern Here (Google Doc), Galaxy Photo via NASA

You could use an entire sheet label but it’s a pain to separate the backing without the pre-scored center line. It involves a lot of thankless picking with your fingernails. The matte paper finish is easy to write on. And cheap! I originally got them for shipping labels but I think it was about 25.00 for 500 sheets (5 cents per sheet).

This is a good option if 1. you don’t have a silhouette cameo (yet), 2. you have a paper cutter and 3. you have too much time on your hands like me and like to DIY things in the most long convoluted way possible.

I thought about ink cost and whether it would be cheaper to just purchase washi tape and found a website that calculated costs per page of printing for my printer model: http://www.redrivercatalog.com/cost-of-inkjet-printing-canon-pro9000-pro9500.html now these figures are using the expensive ink. With the cheapy ink the price is a fraction of that (about 30% of the cost with cheap ink for my printer).

Cost to print per page with expensive ink: 76 cents with OEM ink + cost of page: 5 cents = 81 cents

Expensive printer cartridges from the original manufacturer can be pricey, and for good reason. Some have promises of lasting over a hundred years in the right conditions. However, for my planning purposes I don’t require that longevity. I wince even thinking about someone a hundred years in the future looking at my ambitious exercise plans for this month.

diy washi tape for erin condren planner

 

DIY Dress to Skirt Refashion Tutorial, Shark Edition

Ever find a dress and think “this would look so good as a skirt”? Or purchase a dress and realize the front is too low?

sourpuss shark bait dress

Yikes!

I had my eye on this awesome shark bait skater dress by Sourpuss clothing for some time now and couldn’t help it when I saw it for $25.00 and free shipping on Amazon (the seller was Ruby’s Red Ribbon-Sidecca, they are out of stock now). I glanced over the reviews and didn’t pay much attention. However when I got it I realized that the reviews were not exaggerating… the top was pretty low. For some reason I was reminded of lederhosen when I tried it on. Shark lederhosen. If I wasn’t 5’1″ the skirt would definitely be too short.

357

Time to turn this dress in to a skirt! Because this is a lightweight (stretchy) knit dress I didn’t need elastic. One less step! I’m all about making things easier on myself.

What you will need:

  • Ruler
  • Pins
  • Fabric marking pen
  • Sewing machine
  • Thread

Notes

  • You will be using the fabric from the bodice (top part of dress) to make a waistband for the skirt (bottom part).
  • A serger is awesome for this. Go buy one and blame it on me 🙂

Directions

    1. Separate the top and bottom of the dress.

366 367

    1. Place the bodice (top part) flat and mark a straight line across the bottom, then cut. If you have a fabric rotary cutter this is an awesome time to use it.369370
    2. Put the edge of your ruler flat along the line you just cut (making a 90 degree angle / perpendicular). Use a marking pen and mark on each side. I used a blue sharpie because I live dangerously.

371372

    1. Sew along the lines you just made. You are making a tube for the waistband. You’ll end up with something like this:375
    2. Decide how wide you want the waistband to be. I chose a 1 inch waistband (but could have gone larger). What is your seam allowance? Determine that measurement. Plug the two measurements into the equation below to figure out how wide your waistband should be cut:Waistband Cut Width = 2 x desired waistband width + 2 x seam allowance

      Measure and cut. My desired finished waistband width was 1 inch, seam allowance .25 inch, so I cut a strip 2.5 inches wide. It gets folded in half and the seam allowance disappears when sewed so I was left with a 1 inch waistband.377
    3. Fold your waistband in half (wrong side in). When you pin to the skirt match the side seams of the skirt and waistband together.The waistband is probably going to be smaller than the skirt. That’s good! It helps it stay up. Stretch the waistband piece to match the width of the skirt and pin. It might look strange. When you sew you will stretch the waistband piece to match the skirt.
      Before folding waistband in half.

      Before folding waistband in half.

      Waistband folded in half. About to pin to skirt. Match the side seams!

      Waistband folded in half. About to pin to skirt. Match the side seams!

      Side seams matched

      Side seams matched

      Fully pinned

      Fully pinned

    4. Sew waistband to skirt.
    5. Enjoy!

      shark skater skirt

      Shark skirt!

dress into a skirt tutorial diy

 

Upcycled Sweater Leg Warmers, DIY Style

Last month I did something incredibly irresponsible and bought an amazing pair of boots. I’m not even going to try to justify the purchase. What I will admit is that I didn’t have much left in my fun money after that for all the necessary things to go along with my new boots…

This tutorial doesn’t leave any raw edges or anything that will disintegrate if washed. I’ve seen a few tutorials for sweater leg warmers but nothing that felt quite right for me so that’s why I made this one.

Choosing the right sweater:

  • The knit stretches enough
  • It isn’t too loosely woven
  • It was NOT a gift a family member knitted for you. Do not anger the Grandma!
  • Medium to heavy ribbed cotton turtlenecks and sweaters will work well too if they have enough stretch.

Tips for serging bulky sweater knit material:

  • Increase differential feed. This will help your seam be less “wavy”
  • Decrease presser foot pressure
  • Increase stitch length
  • Don’t force your serger to do anything it doesn’t want to do
  • Test out your stitch on scraps from the sweater before beginning the project

What you will need:

  • A sweater, for this tutorial I’m using a nice cable knit sweater for my legwarmers
  • 3/8 inch elastic or slightly larger is O.K., color is not important unless it will show through the sweater
  • Thread, ideally closely matching the sweater
  • Serger sewing machine, using a stretch stitch. I haven’t tried making these without a serger.
  • Regular sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch

If you can’t find a good sweater to use I’ve tracked down a few places to get sweater knit by the yard:

Directions

  1. Amputate…. er… cut off both sweater arms as shown in the picture.directions tutorial diy sweater leg warmers

    Upcycled sweater legwarmers

    There will be a slight slant to them towards the top, this is good because it will fit well over your calves.

  2. Turn sweater sleeves inside out. Avoid stretching, especially the raw cut edge because sweaters like to unravel quickly.
  3. Measure around your leg where you would like the top of the leg warmer to be. Cut two pieces of elastic that exact length.
  4.  Sew the raw ends of elastic together so you have two separate loops (don’t sew the two elastic pieces together, you’ll need two loops, one for each sweater sleeve!).I use tape to tape the ends together to make it easier to wrangle the elastic through the sewing machine. Tape is probably not good for your sewing machine but it saves my sanity.Use a wide zig-zag.
  5. Use one pin parallel to start out with when pinning the elastic loop to the sweater sleeve. This parallel pin makes it easier to wrangle the sleeve into position for sewing with the serger. Pin the rest of the loop to the wrong side of your sweater sleeve.

    Leaving some fabric at the edge

    Because sweaters like to fray I leave extra at the edge so the seam will be “catching” mostly tightly knitted sweater (not the unraveled edge). The serger knife will cut off the unraveled edge.

  6. Position sweater sleeve edge and elastic under your serger’s presser foot. This is where the parallel pin comes in handy!Continue sewing around, carefully stretching the sweater and elastic as necessary. Make sure you have the extra at the edge the serger knife is trimming off (the extra discussed in step 6).DSC05191 DSC05192

    DSC05193

    Almost back to the beginning

  7. When you get back to the beginning disengage the serger knife and keep sewing about 1/4 of the way around.

    DSC05197

    Serger knife disengaged

  8. Stop sewing, lift your presser foot and lift up the needles. Gently pull enough to the side so when the needles go down again nothing is getting sewn. Chain off.
  9. Turn the sweater sleeve right side out. Admire your elastic edge! Turn the elastic edge to the inside (see picture). Pin. It’s ok if it looks a little stretched out. When you’re wearing them the rest stretches.DSC05200 DSC05203
  10. Using your regular sewing machine, use a zig-zag stitch to sew around the edge.DSC05205

    DSC05212

    When you are done the wrong side will look something like this

  11. Repeat on other sweater arm to make your other leg warmer
  12. Enjoy!

Spoonflower Clothing Label Tutorial

diy clothing label tutorial

When I was little I haaaaated labels. Hated them. Not a single label existed in my little person wardrobe. I became an expert on picking or cutting them out. Now that I’m older I’m able to mostly ignore clothing tags. Now I’ve become the enemy: the sadistic label installer >:)

I designed my fabric labels in Photoshop and had them custom printed on fabric by the awesome fabric printing website Spoonflower.

When I designed the labels I thought a lot about my particular needs, what did I need them to show, where were they going to be put, what would be the best size for where they are being attached, would they serve any other purpose?

One thing I thought about: where are my customers going to store their costume butterfly wings when they aren’t in use? I ended up designing them so they would be able to double as a loop to hang them from. Either the hook from a hanger could be threaded through or they could be carefully hung from a nail.

I cut them horizontally with a rotary cutter and ruler to ensure straight (ish) lines, then sewed the strips together as shown below. Sewing the strips together allows you to make your clothing tags in a large batch, no pausing to sew strip after strip.

image3-1024x1024 image4-1024x1024

If you have a serger you could use a narrow rolled hem for the edge. If you don’t have a serger (or have your serger threaded and balanced perfectly for another stitch and don’t want to disturb it) you can use a zig-zag stitch on your regular machine.

I used the zig zag…

image5-1024x1024 image6-1024x1024

Next I cut apart a few labels and ironed the side edges over. Another thing I wanted to avoid was having to do a lot of precision ironing. This only required me to press the two edges.

image7-1024x1024

If you’re worried about the unsewn ends fraying use a little fray check. Make sure you’re careful though, fray check is flammable when wet!

image10-1024x1024 image9-1024x1024

For storage, since I sewed the label tape together I can roll my super awesome custom printed labels up and dispense as necessary. A small pin at the end helps the label ribbon from coming undone.

spoonflower clothing label

Pin at either end. Sew. Enjoy your label!

diy custom printed clothing label image15-1024x768

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