Fabric Coffee Cup Holder Project

Have you ever bought a coffee from a coffee shop and the cup was too hot? What did you do? Well, here's a simple solution – make your very own fabric coffee cup holder. Use it instead of using napkins or another coffee cup. You'll reduce waste, help save the environment and keep your fingers cool all at the same time! Machine washable! Project is small enough that you can use left over fabric scraps.

Supplies Needed:

• Thread;
• Sewing machine;
• Fabric;
• Wide single fold bias;
• Batting;
• Pins;
• Scissors;
• Iron; and
• Fabric pencil (optional).
  

Print and cut out the attached pattern. Pin it on the batting and cut the material to size. Next, pin it on the fabric you have selected. You can either trace the pattern on the fabric using a fabric pencil or you can simply cut out the pattern. Once you have cut the first piece of fabric, pin the pattern again to the fabric and cut out a second piece. Finally, you will need to cut two pieces of bias. Cut the first piece of bias the same length as the top and the second piece the same length as the bottom of the pattern.

Before sewing, you should iron the fabric to smooth out any wrinkles. You will also need to prepare the bias. Simply fold the bias in half lengthwise and iron the edges together. This will help you when sewing the three layers together.

Now you are ready to begin sewing. Start by placing the layers together. Put one piece of fabric, wrong side facing up on a table. Over that piece, place the batting. Place the second piece of fabric, right side facing up, over the batting. If you like, you can pin the layers together. Next, line up the longer piece of bias with the top of the layers; the fold in the middle should be at the top. Place the three layers between the bias and pin in place. Do the same with the shorter piece of bias with the bottom of the layers.

Sew the top of the layers together, then sew the bottom and finally sew the sides together. Turn the fabric inside out and you are done! You have now made your very own fabric coffee cup holder. Use it to protect your fingers from hot, or cold, coffee cups.



If you liked this project, you can find more free project ideas on my website. Try them out and leave a comment on my blog - I'd love to hear from you!

Family Seashell Magnet Project

Summer is approaching us very fast! Before you know it, the hot weather will be here and the kids will need something to do. Why not a trip to the beach? It's fun for everyone and will create memories that will last a lifetime.

To help keep those memories alive, here's a project that uses seashells as a great way to remember the family outing to the beach every time you look at the fridge. It's so simple that everyone in the family can take part.

Supplies Needed:

• Hot glue gun,
• Seashells or stones collected from the beach, and
• Small magnet.
  

On your next family outing to the beach, take a few minutes to gather just a few seashells or stones from the beach. Look for seashells or stones that have an interesting shape or colour to them. When you get home, gently wash the seashells or stones in water to remove any dirt or dust. Allow them to dry.

Next, gather your supplies together in one spot. Using your hot glue gun, put a small dab of glue on the magnet. Quickly put one seashell or stone on the magnet, while the glue is still hot. Press the stone into place. Presto! You have now finished your memento of the family outing to the beach. Put it on the fridge so that you can remember and think about your trip every time you look at the seashell or stone.

If you liked this project, you can find more free project ideas on my website. Try them out and leave a comment on my blog - I'd love to hear from you!

Knitting In The News

Knitting is very popular and occasionally it even makes it into the news. Here are some knitting items that happened this week.

After the devastating earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy, there was some good news when a 98-year-old woman was found alive. She had been trapped under her bed when her house collapsed during the earthquake. Rescuers found her 30 hours after the earthquake hit. So, how did she spend her time while waiting to be rescued? By knitting and crocheting!

Or how about this for originality? One teenager in Texas knitted her own prom dress – out of coloured duct tape! And her date also made his own suit out of duct tape. She simply rolled the duct tape into a string and then knitted with it. Watch the video on CNN to see how she made her dress. Now that's being crafty!

Do you have your own crafty story that you think should make the news? Write about it below and who knows? Maybe it will!

Reusing Ordinary Items In Scrapbooks

Today I'm passing on a tip that will help you to save money when scrapbooking and to be environmentally friendly at the same time. The tip is all about how you can reduce waste by reusing items instead of throwing them out. Plus, since you are reusing, that means you have one less thing to buy and that saves you money.

So here are some items that you can reuse:

• Reuse wrapping paper from Christmas and birthday presents as background paper. It's colourful and if there are any spots that are badly damaged, you can always cover them up!
• Use leftover embroidery thread to create braids to form borders or to frame pictures on your scrapbook page.
• Create pockets from old clothes or scraps of fabric. The pockets can then be used to hold anything that you don't want to permanently attach to your scrapbook.
• Use leftover or spare buttons as embellishments. Damaged buttons will work too because you can always glue them to the page.
  

Do you have any items that you like to reuse in your scrapbook? Leave a comment below to let me know.

Want more? Then please visit Beautiful Creations for more recycling ideas and other helpful scrapbooking tips.