"Julie's #DIY Craft Corner" Come On In Y'all

 Introduction to: "Julie's #DIY Craft Corner" Come On In Y'all 

  Hi :) Julie here, your blog host at Mamawj's Moment Away

And this is my craft corner where I will share with you my love of shabby chic, western, country décor, free hand painting which I love to do, my love of 36 years in sewing & seamstress craft related projects, working with woods of cedar, pine, or pallet boards, vintage windows & more!. Basically, I craft in some way each day & I love it! Always have & I don't let my ripe ole age of 53 yrs. stop me from enjoying what peace, contentment, & rewards it brings me. And when I say rewards, I mean that God is behind me with the idea, the use of my hands to work in creating it, the peace it brings me to enjoy it myself from the frugal cost it saved me, and the joy I see in others when I gift or even sell my #DIY created projects to them to enjoy. So come join me here often, as I post reviews of craft related products which I love to use and get beautiful results from in the things I make to enjoy in my home. Photo's of projects that I have found and gave new life too or created myself with the help of some great craft products out on the market. Or just frugal ways to turn something old or that may other wise have been tossed into the trash, but given new life to enjoy in a whole new way of thinking, that you too, my want to try yourself in a #DIY (do it yourself) fun project. I have a craft building that my sweet hubby of 36 wonderful wed years, just got me last year that I enjoy crafting in almost daily. I also have a page that I'm about to start that will be #DIY ideas that I will share each time I work with food or anything food related that I think you might like to see. So watch for those shared post as well. Found on my right side bar as well, once it is up & active to share. :)
     I don't date these post below, I just add them as time allows.
           So go ahead, read one or two & even more!
       You may be inspired to try one of my #DIY ideas out yourself!
        I love hearing your thoughts or comments so, jump right in & let me hear them :)
                  below within the comment section. And thanks for stopping by today.

                             MY #DIY #Craft Projects are as follows:
 I made a fabric lamp shade cover for my kitchen :) Check it out here > diy-tutorial-fabric-lamp-shade-recover  


              It's Been a while since I posted my craft ideas here
                    Guilty of being a slacker lol
            Or should I say a slacker in posting those ideas
                But not creating them...Because I've been busy!!
           I so enjoy working in my craft building that my loving hubby of 36 wonderful years bought me and set up for me to enjoy :)

                    #DIY #Tutorial  #Fabric  #Desktop Wall organizer, Trimmed Corkboard, mouse pad, table cloth & pen holder "Elvis Theme"
         Ok so...Am I the only one out there who is a big Elvis fan?
      Maybe it's my baby boomer age & being born in the 60's when My mom loved listening to Elvis & so did we as kids & teenagers. I remember well, watching his live concerts on TV with my family. And seeing him wear that White outfit with the Hawaiian lei around his neck. His songs will always be remembered, played and enjoyed. I thought he sang gospel songs just beautifully. Did you know that fabric was sold in many different prints with Elvis on them? Yes, lots of prints, each having the same scene from his movies, concerts, etc. All in different retro colors as well, that can be mixed & matched. When I saw his anniversary prints come out a few years ago, I just loved them. And made things to enjoy like totes, fabric headbands, & more. And as I was going through my cedar chest this week & weeding out a few prints of other items I have decided to sell, I came across my Elvis fabric prints I had left.
         Our extra tiny room that we have in the house, serves as what I call four function corners. Meaning, that in one corner it houses my grandsons toy box, the second corner my cedar chest of fabrics, the 3rd corner my 3 sewing machines I use that sit on a two shelved desk, and the third corner houses a tiny desk that houses my desktop computer, printer, monitor, & key board.
       And it was just boring to look at so, I decided to pep it up a bit with some bold colors to match all the black color in the electronic computer  components.
      So, I took these Elvis prints that were the same pattern yet in two different colors of red & black. And made me some fabric items to be useful there. Like a  Wall organizer, Trimmed Cork board, mouse pad, table cloth & pen holder.
        This is my tiny, room fourth corner, that I mentioned. My printer even sits off the desk, but I'm ok with that fact. I just wanted to add some color & better function to my little nook. My hubby added that beautiful wall cedar wood framed /corked inset window that you see behind my desk. He did that for me a few years ago as a #DIY (he did it :) for my birthday by using old saved cedar wood of his dads that he kept for years after he passed away. He just cut a hole in the wall, build the frame, clear coated that beautiful cedar wood, added the cork squares to it & popped it in the wall for me to use. I dearly love it & love him for such a sweet gift to use & think of him & my dear father in law that has passed on, each time I look up at it..
         Anyways...back to my #DIY project lol :)
                     Here is my before picture of my nook
that I'm about to revamp in "Elvis"


        

                                  See, my other corner? I use my bigger computer desk to house my sewing machines I use. One of them has to be connected to my desktop computer for my embroidery designs.

 Not loving my wallpaper in this room, but that's another future #DIY day's do-over.

For now, here's the fabric I am using in print designs of Elvis body silhouette with his guitar in both red & white prints. And Then I added a matching picture frame design of him from a boarder print design, on top of & centered in the middle of the red allover print fabric.

Let's start with the #DIY project to recover that ugly mouse pad you see there on my desktops front right corner. Which was just a mouse pad that I got @our local fair one year from the booth that has all our local sponsors in it that hand out items with their logo on it.

            A closer look @ my used desk that still has stickers & scratches all over it & not to pretty to look at.

                  For the mouse pad that we are going to recover in this #DIY  project, you will need on hand these items:
          1.Cotton fabric of your choice (a square piece of fabric big enough to cover your mouse pad with 1/2 to 1 inch bigger around)
         2.Iron with using the dry hot setting (no water/no mist spray)
         3.Scissors

         4. Heat & Bond (found @your craft stores) Heat-n-Bond-Ultrahold-No-Sew-Iron-On-Adhesive easily found @#Walmart And Again, cut out a square the same size as you did your piece of fabric...
          5. I am stitching around this project when finished with my sewing machine. But you don't have to if you chose you can just use the heat & bond and be done.

                                  

             Place you square of the Heat-n-Bond-Ultrahold-No-Sew-Iron-On-Adhesive easily found @#Walmart  (sticky glue side down onto your fabric squares backside) and iron them to each other with a HOT! dry iron. Then, let it the 2 that are now joined by heat, sit and cool down for a few minutes 2-5 mins.

                Trim the piece so that it can LAP over your ugly mouse pads top side by about 1/2 to 1 inch bigger. Then peel off the heat bond paper, and lay the glue side down on top of your mouse pad. And repeat the iron on hot procedure again, as you did when you added it to your fabric. Once you feel that it has connected to the mouse pad and has STUCK to it good from the hot dry iron heat that you applied, you can now put your iron away & let the mouse pad cool for a few minutes of 2-5 mins. Then, take your scissors and trim the sides of your finished project in your fabric covered mouse pad.

              And, your mouse pad that is now covered in fabric looks better in the design theme you chose. It can't be washed because mouse pads are made of rubber on the back side. But you could easily cover it again later with another fabric design if you needed too. Or just wipe it with a damp soapy cloth & lay it in the sun to dry. I like to stitch my items I make. I guess it's the seamstress of 36 years within me, I just think it looks neater, but on this particular item of the #DIY you don't have too, that heat & bond is good stuff & will last to hold it on.
      Also, don't use your sewing machine to stitch think unusual items unless you know your machine as well as you might know the back of your hand. As not to damage your machine. I know my machines & what they can handle, so I ran my finished mouse pad around to get a straight stitch on the top in a black thread to match.

                                 Here it is..all finished :))

                                  Ok then, now onto the next desktop item yet for the wall beside of it..in the #Fabric Wall organizer with pockets to use
          I made a 13 by 33 inch in size wall fabric organizer because its the size of fabric scrap pieces with his design that I had to work with. But you can make any size, but using the same directions that I'm about to share with you. And I used the all over red designed fabric with his body silhouette as my back ground piece, stitched a square on top of it's center with a panel piece, and then made pockets for it from the all over matching white designed fabric.
         And basically, what ever size fabric panel you choose to make & add as many or as little in pockets to it, is up to you. Here is a simple way to do just that. First, think of a pillow case & how it is made with 2 sides of fabrics that have 3 closed sides & one open side..OK, now just cut your size panel that you want using two sides of fabric the same size. Then match the wrong sides together, stitch around 3 sides only, turn your pieces inside out, then fold in the ends on the last side that is still open, and stitch it closed. Iron it so it's nice and flat and the seams are pressed down nice. Now, any pockets that you want on the front of the panel you just finished, you follow that same direction as just given with the panel. Again, press those pockets with an iron to look nice & flat on the edges. Now, its time to apply the pockets to your panel. So lay them where you want them on the panel, and then stitch them onto the panel on 3 sides only, leaving the top part open
(as your pocket insert on the panel.)
              Notice my tallest pocket on the finished project, I made a square pocket but when I got to one side to stitch it on I turned the top back at angle & then stitched it down. Just so I can get my long envelopes out easier & I thought the angle of added a design to the fabrics design with his guitar he holds running at an angle to match. But you can leave your pockets top straight across just like I did with my two tiny pockets.

          And here it is all finished. For now I just used push pins to place it on the wall. But later, I will stitch a fabric strap to its top two corners  and lap them over a black wooden dowel rod to hold it. The center is just the fabric panel of his pictures. The sides have my pockets that will house envelopes, stationary, etc.


            Next project. Let's trim a cork board square with the matching fabric. And use it on the wall too!  You can buy cork board squares at any craft store for just pennies practically! And you can glue them to wood, metal, old cookie sheets, etc. Or like I did today, in just covering the sides with fabric & push pin it onto  the walls to use. Later I will add the same idea to it as well with fabric straps & a dowel rod to hang it. Which I think looks really cool.
             Here are my supplies:
                Fabric scraps, the cork board square
                         
        Now I will SEW them to my cork :) Again, know your machine if you sew it on. You can do the heat & bond procedure to this project instead of sewing, if you like.
             First, picture in your mind what ready made fabric bias tape looks like when you buy it by the yard in a pack for 99cent. They come in lots of colors, they are as narrow as 1/4 inch wide and as wide as sometimes 2 inch wide. They are basically fabric that has been folded  with an open side & a closed side. And used to CUP over another fabrics RAW SELVAGED Edge to cover up that raw edge & then you stitch it on so it looks nicer.
              Well, you can take your own fabric scraps & make your own fabric bias tape by doing the same exact thing. You just determine your FINISHED Width of what you want your bias tape to be, and you ADD extra to it on each side of the piece so that when you IRON the ends over And then over again TO HALF its size, that you now have bias tape that you made that you can CUP over anything that you can sew on, glue on, etc.
    Here, I have taken the same idea as just explained, and CUPPED my fabric OVER the edge of my cork board & will stitch it on.
          I have a serger  so I used it to neatly do my sides first. But you wont see your sides once you turn them over, press down & stitch your CUPPED piece over your project item. I'm just a neat freak when it comes to sewing & the raw strings that dangled etc. So I take advantage of my Serger :) no biggie lol
 let's move on.. I made my strip of fabric 3 inches wide, so that I end up with it half that size once it has been CUPPED Over my cork board so I can sew it on.


     Folding it over just a bit & sewing it down on one side. Do the same on the other side, then iron press it together...like you would if you made yourself a half sandwich with a piece of bread.

  I'm doing the same thing with just ONE piece of the red fabric so it matches & I made it much wider, then I will lap over that with my with fabric pieces of bias tape I just made. Stitching it on here.
   See below:

            And now the sides in a narrow piece

 And...I added a wider piece to my bottom part as well. Because. I plan on using it as an OPEN Pocket at the top to use & be functional. Which you will see below..

And I found a #VINTAGE Black button with little white stones in that I will add to the center of my bottom bias tape so it serves as a divider in the fabric to use as pockets but look cool to match the theme.

It has a shank on it, so I can easily just hand sew it through the cork.

And here is my finished #DIY fabric Trimmed Corkboard

I can slide things down into the bottom section because I made my fabric bias tape a bit wider. And the button in the center separates the two pockets to hold things in it from falling out.

        Ok, if your still with me..And I have not lost you lol..

Lets make an easy! easy! pen holder with a fabric sleeve that can sit on our desktops to house your ink pens, markers, candy ;) etc.
Because you use the same directions for ANY Size container that you like with this #DIY idea. The possibilities are endless to #recycle used items like tall chip cans, jars, tin cans, baby food jars. etc.
Here I used an empty glass jelly jar. And you just need some fabric scrapes & a piece of wide elastic. And this project requires sewing by hand or on your machine. I had not tried the heat & bond for this project but it may work to do so because you are only connecting two sides if the fabric square & the ends of the elastic.
  So here we go.. I took a fabric square that was the size of my jars even top & bottom Length ..I turned the fabric square wrong sides together (like making a sandwich half again) I sewed that side together..I turned it back to its right side out, which I now have a sleeve (see it cupped over my hand?) It's a sleeve now, to slide over my glass jar. I had a cute iron my electric guitar that I had bought long ago on sale so I ironed it on the sleeves front center, just for added look to my theme. Then I slid the sleeve over my jar. I then took my wide piece of elastic that was black in color, and seamed the two ends together & then slide it over the top mouth of my glass jar.

                And here is my finished #DIY pen holder with a fabric sleeve

 I also just took a single piece of the matching fabric & made me a table cloth to match & cover my tiny desktop table. Which you can see there underneath the pen holder with a fabric sleeve that you see up above.

    A closer look with everything completed as a set.

 
           I like the bold colors of red & black that match my black computer components & chair. My daughter got me a plastic Elvis tote last year and I use it to store to paper shredder in, that adds to my theme.
          #DIY projects like this, don't take long at all to do. Maybe 2 hrs if you have the free time & want to make a desk top for anyone or any room into a theme with fabrics you have on hand. You don't even have to buy the fabrics. If you ran across a nice bed sheet or table cloth or a dress that you like in a theme then just cut it up into the squares you need and make yourself a one of a kind set to enjoy. Kids beds sheets or even cloth shower curtains have wonderful designs on them to use for such projects.
   It's these tutorials that take a long time to take pictures of, write up the description is easy steps for you to follow to see how it's done, so you can give it a #DIY try too :)
    And I don't mind sharing this long tutorial with you today as long as you don't mind how long it took to read & learn about it :)
    If you try making these easy #DIY project then, be sure to come back & tell me what theme you used & in what room?  I may make me a bigger wall panel with pockets for my laundry room. I like the idea of placing all my tiny laundry samples in the pockets of it that I get in the mail to enjoy. Or a garden themed panel with housing our flower & vegetable seed packets inside it, would be a nifty use & ideas used.
      Take Care y'all & come back for more of my #DIY projects as I add then here when times allows :)

 
                                      
          
               Today you can Read this post here on How To Turn old country ladder back chairs and wired rabbit cage sides into useful wall kitchen displays
               Then I will be back in a few days to share some more great crafting ideas with ya'll :)

                Click >>>> HERE :)          To read about it and see the finished project pictures


                                             

                                          "Hand Painted Shabby Chic Cabbage Roses"
I wanted to share with my readers my love of freehand painting. I will share as time goes along all the things I love to paint, today it's my love of painting shabby chic decor. I love painting cabbage roses on to shabby chic decor that I have found in flea markets, yard sales, etc. Here I took a dressing table with mirror and painted it a chartreuse green and then painted some fun techniques on it like the criss cross lattice across the mirrors edge and the tables top using Plaid Paints in Acrylic paints of both Apple Barrel and Folk Art using soft pastel colors of pinks and greens and using  antique white paint color for the lattice overlay design. Then I hand painted my cabbage roses & rose buds around the mirrors edge and table top corners. I used a fun idea on the table tops drawer in which I took a paper doily cut it in half , place it unto the surface and then stencil my antique white paint onto the doily, which gives you the outside design of the paper. I then hand painted a rose bud onto my drawer pull knob. When finished I always coat my pieces with 2-3 coats of clear spray paint to seal it. This was a fun pieces to do and matched my shabby chic bedroom decor so well.

                                     Hand Painted Bucket WindChimes

Today I thought I'd share you  a great wind chime craft project since it was so pretty outside with the wind blowing a bit. I will share with you the Bucket Wind Chimes I made. My husband had bought me a very large set of wind chimes when we went on vacation to Ohio a couple of years ago and they had a wooden top & twirler to them that had gotten wet and fell apart. So I came up with this idea to enjoy them outside & actually last longer with the use of my metal bucket.  I bought a metal bucket from the hardware store and then painted it with a pretty green color then hand painted on some cabbage roses & green leaves by  using the Plaid Paints I love that carry both Apple Barrel and Folk Art Acrylic Paints, in so many colors to choose from at a low inexpensive cost per bottle of $1 or less. I then re-strung the chimes using a really strong 30-lb. test line of fishing line by adding holes to the bottom underside of my bucket. I did that by using a screw drivers end & hit the top handle of the screw driver with a hammer. And then I tied a round washer to the end of the fishing line so it would not slip through the buckets hole thus holding the line in place and supporting the chime on its other end.  I used a wooden decorative piece (bought at the craft store unfinished) and painted it also with cabbage roses and put a hole though it as well stringing it to hang in the center. I love this wind chime, it looks as pretty as it sounds as it spins & twirls.  I plan on making some more but with the bucket sitting right side up and filling those with real flowers inside to spill over the bucket. NOTE* If you make yours in the same manner turned up right you will still poke your holes in the same manner to hold your chimes and it will help drain water so the bucket does not become heavier than needed and drown out your flowers or plants, you can add a screen mess in the bottom to keep your dirt inside yet keep the roots from coming out the bottom.
   I love making all sorts of wind chimes. They can be made with the most unusual items you would never normally think of such as old boots, metal saw blades, empty picture frames, and more. And you can use old spoons as the chimers & more items, all of which I will share with you next time here on Julie's Craft Corner.  Have a great day!  Julie