Repurposed: Dress to Ruffled Cushion Cover

Fancy entering a giveaway? Click here for more details! :)

I had another really cute dress that just didn't fit anymore.

:(

I didn't want it to just hang in my wardrobe, so wondered about making a cushion cover from it.

However, I wasn't sure if I was quite ready to cut it up!

Then, I saw the Ruffle Your Stuff contest over at one of my favourite blogs, and knew I had to enter!

I did cut it up, and here's how it turned out:

See the purple gingham cushion behind it? The tutorial is here. The dark purple cushion was made in the same way.

Step One: I cut the bottom part of my dress so that it would be just the right size for my cushion. Thankfully, the dress was already exactly the right width. If yours is too big, just sew the side seams again until it's the correct size. If your dress is not wide enough, turn the cushion round and cut UP the dress. If you're not repurposing a dress and just using material by the metre, simply cut two pieces of fabric to the desired size.

Step Two: If you're going to do a ruffle like I did, sew it on before you do anything else. To make a ruffle, I cut a rectangle of fabric from the dress and roll hemmed the edges. See photos below.

To make the ruffle, I used elastic thread in my bobbin. (Just use normal thread for upper sewing)  A great tutorial for using elastic thread is here.

Don't worry, it's not nearly as scary as it sounds!

I sewed three lines of shirring down the middle of the fabric to ruffle it.

Above: The underside of the fabric.

Above: The right side of the fabric.

Step Three:

Then, pin it to your main piece of fabric and sew in place. If you want to add a fabric flower to your cushion, sew it on now. You could do one like this, or wait for the tutorial for the fabric flower I made, which is coming tomorrow.

Step Four:

Now, sew your cushion cover together. As I didn't have much fabric to play with, I sewed three sides and 

put the cushion pad inside it. I then pinned the bottom edge very closely and hand-sewed it closed.

Step Five:

Enjoy your beautiful new boudoir cushion!

You could always make some bigger cushions to go with it.

Tutorial here!

See you soon and don't forget to enter my giveaway, which is here!

Linking up to Tea Rose Home Wednesday Link Party.

GIVEAWAY!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Hello. Sorry for this blogger's absence, I've been doing stuff like this:

Working out the chemistry of dietary fats and other fun stuff.

It's tired me out so much that I haven't been blogging, sorry!

Anyway, onto this month's GIVEAWAY!

There's lots of choices this month.

:)

The choices are: ONE phone/jewellery holder. Tutorial here!

Please note: The brown one and the green one will fit most phones. The pink one is slightly smaller, so may only be suitable for holding jewellery. Please say which one you would like, the brown one, the pink one, or the green one.

Or: A pretty shawl with lace, buttons, and a cute little rose at one end. It can also be used as a cute table runner.

If the other options didn't take your fancy, how about 75 (yes, 75!) amazingly sweet buttons? There's some really nice ones! It would be very hard to pick a favourite. :)

How to enter:

1. Comment on this post and tell me you'd like to be entered into the giveaway, and also which option you would like to win (brown phone holder, pink phone holder, green phone holder, shawl/table runner, or 75 buttons).

NEW:

2. Desperate to win? Here's another chance! Either blog about this giveaway (and leave the link in a comment) OR tell me a funny joke/story.

Please, only two comments per person!

:)

You have until midnight GMT time on Sunday 4th April to enter.

Random.org will be choosing the winner and it will be announced on Monday 5th April.

I don't mind what part of the world you are entering from and I also don't mind if you won the last giveaway and would like to enter this one as well. 

See you soon!

Recycled Cards

Recycled cards can be really fashionable.

Take a look at these!

These cards are made from ones I've been given. 

It's so easy to make them, and is very budget-friendly!

I really like simple cards like this one.

You can still make fancier ones, too.
Whatever style I make them, I always stick the cards down with double-sided tape. It's a lot better than glue sticks, and you don't get bumpy cards.
Double-sided tape is also quite cheap! :)

This one was made using a 'clip art' picture from Microsoft Word. I just typed in 'backgrounds' and some lovely pictures came up. :)

See what you can do! Cut up those birthday cards from when you were 8 and make more cards out of them.
:)
What you don't use you can recycle! Budget-friendly and earth-friendly.
See you soon!

Repurposed Skirt

I have a very special dress that no longer fits.

Above: My brother and I at our eldest brother's wedding.

I wore this special dress at my eldest brother's wedding. I hated seeing it hanging up in my wardrobe not being used, so I made a skirt out of it!

The best bit? You can pretend that you did all of those fancy pleats yourself!

:D

Here's how I 'made' it. :)

Step One: Cut the dress above the waist band,(cutting the lining fabric too) making sure that it is cut  high enough for there to be enough material to be turned and rolled over to match the waistband.

Step Two: Then, pin your dress to the lining. Make sure that you don't pin all the layers together!

Step Three: Then you need to stitch the dress and lining together. This makes it easier to handle for the next step!

Step Four: Now fold the edge of the fabric over and over again so that you have a rolled hem that matches up with the waistband. Pin in place and the sew, but make sure you leave a bit unsewn so that you can put the elastic in!! (Shown below)

Step Five: Next, put your elastic on a safety pin and thread it through the waistband that you just made. Don't lose the other end of the elastic!!! The best way to ensure you use the right length of elastic is to measure round the waist and take about an inch (2.5cm) off.


(Apologies for the lack of photos)

Step Six: When you have thread the elastic all the way through,  pin the ends together and stitch in place. I like to stitch round in a square a few times, just to check that it's secure.

Step Seven: Finally, stitch up the gap.

Now you can enjoy your beautiful skirt that took about half an hour to complete!

See you soon!

Blog Maintenance

Hello! 

If you use Google Reader or Blogger to be notified of new posts, you may have noticed that I have been playing about with links and posts, etc.

If you look at the bottom of the left sidebar, you will see that there are now four categories to choose from when viewing posts. That way there isn't a lot of text down there and it's easier on the eyes!

:)

I'll be back tomorrow with Mother's Day card ideas. (Note for the Americans: we have our Mother's Day considerably earlier than yours, it's this Sunday!)

See you then!

I won a giveaway!

A few weeks ago, I won a giveaway at Homemade By Jill!

Last Friday, these burp cloths arrived for me, all the way from California.

I love them! I wonder if Jill looked at my blog for a colour scheme. :) Obviously I don't have any children yet (got to marry my Prince Charming first! :D) but I'm looking forward to using these adorable burp cloths when I do have children.

The best bit is that Jill has done a tutorial on how to make the burp cloths, so you can have them yourself and not just drool over mine. :) The link is right here.

I really enjoy reading Homemade by Jill, it's a great crafty blog, so check it out!

See you on Wednesday!

Reader Requests... Easter Cards

I had a 'Reader Request' for some Easter card ideas.

These are for you, Debbie! 

:)

All I did is used double sided tape to attach a cross shape (there's probably a template online if you don't want to draw it yourself, just look it up on Google) to some pretty paper. The paper is from a 'Forever Friends' set, bought from Staples (Photo below). You can get it at Hobbycraft, and WHSmith, too. Sadly for you Americans, I don't know any American stores you could get it from, but they're quite common, so look out for them. :) I then used more sticky tape to attach the papers to the green card, and stuck some pretty flowers on.

I used the same technique to make these cards, too.

I did the same for these cards, too, but added a rose and a brad just like I did on the Valentines card here.

It reminds me of how Christ's love for us nailed Him to the cross, to take away our sins and grant us eternal life if only we trust in Him. 

:D

See you on Monday!!!

P.S. Let me know if there's something else you'd like to see on my blog! Don't be shy. :)

And the winner is....

Are you excited?!

Entrant number 1: Charlotte (who entered by email)

Entrant number 2: Elspeth

Entrant number 3: Jenna

But who has won?

Random.org has picked the winner. Here's picture proof!

Ccongratulations Elspeth! Your prize will be posted very soon. :)

Have you ever wondered why I want to give things away on this here blog?

Wonder no more. :)

I am a Christian, believing that Jesus came into the world to die to take away my sins. He rose again victorious over death, and can give us eternal life if we trust in Him to save us from our sins. This is the greatest gift EVER! I like to show my thankfulness to Him by giving things away to you guys. :D

You might have heard the Bible verse "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20 v 35) I believe that's true because I am blessed and very happy when I give things away! Hopefully the receiver is, too. :) It also helps me to show them God's love to each and everyone of us. :)

Also, when I die, I want to remembered as a very generous person! I love giving away, please don't ever be shy about entering my giveaways. :D

Here's a photo to end with of some of Elspeth's prize.

See you on Wednesday, I've got a big treat coming up!

:)