4 Squares Pin Cushion Project

Here's a great way to use leftover fabric scraps to create a pin cushion that can hold either your favourite pins and needles or that can hold the pins you will need while you are working on your latest sewing project.

Supplies Needed:

• Fabric – choose 3 different colours;
• Stuffing;
• Thread;
• Scissors;
• Sewing Machine; and
• Button (optional).
  

This project uses three different colours. One colour will be used for the back and two colours will be used for the front of the pin cushion. Start by selecting the two colours that will be used for the front. From these 2 pieces of fabric, cut out 2 squares that measure 2 x 2 inches from each piece of fabric. Cut the 3rd piece of fabric 4 x 4 inches.

Layout the 4 small squares of fabric, so that one colour (we will call it Colour A) is placed in the top left hand corner and in the bottom right hand corner. The other colour (we will call it Colour B) should be placed with one square in the bottom left hand corner and one square in the top right hand corner.

Take one square of Colour A and one square of Colour B and place them with the right side together. Sew one edge together and set aside. Then, take the two remaining squares, place them right side together and sew one edge together. For both pieces that you have just sewn, unfold the pieces and lay them out flat. Place the pieces with the right side together, with Colour A facing Colour B. Finally, sew one of the long edges together. Unfold the fabric. You should now be looking at one square, made up of two different colours.


Please visit Beautiful Creations to read the remaining instructions and to see a picture of the completed project.


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!

Tips For Setting Up Your Craft Room

Here are some ways to help you get the most out of your craft room. These tips will help you save time finding supplies, so that you can spend more time working on your favourite crafts.

1. To maximize your storage space, use all the space available to you and take advantage of unused spaces. For vertical spaces, use tall shelves. Use wall space by hanging up peg boards that can hold smaller supplies, like scissors or rulers. And don't forget about those hidden spaces, such as the space under tables. Rolling bins work great in these spots, where the bins can be tucked under the table and then rolled out when needed.
2. Place the supplies you use the most in a place you can easily reach, without having to move other supplies out of the way. Place infrequently used supplies in harder to reach areas, such as the top of shelves or the back of the closet.
3. Have a place for everything and keep it there. Take it out only when you need it and put it back once you are done with it. If you can't be bothered to put it back, then it needs to find a new spot – one that will make it easy for you to put supplies in. The whole point of keeping everything in its place is to keep your craft room neat and organized. If it becomes messy, it will annoy you and then you won't want to go in your wonderful craft room. Therefore, keep it neat to begin with so that you will enjoy working on your crafts.
   

Please visit Beautiful Creations for more great Crafting Tips. Happy crafting!

Tips for Using Leftover Floss

Have you ever worked on a cross stitch kit and then had leftover floss once you finished the project? Maybe it was a little, but sometimes you can be left with a lot of floss. Did you wonder what you should do with this leftover floss from the kit? Most people just throw it out, thinking they will have no use for the floss. Instead, keep the floss because here are a few ways that you can use it in the future:

• Use the floss to stitch names and dates on wedding or birth announcements.
• Put your initials and the date in the bottom corner to show when you completed the project.
• Use it for small cross stitch patterns, such as bookmarks, or on patterns that only use a small number of colours.
• Make braids and friendship bracelets or give the floss to a community center so the kids there can make friendship bracelets.
• If you run out of a colour on a project you are working on, you could substitute it for a similar colour from your stash of leftover floss.
• Change a colour in a pattern for one from your leftover floss stash to give the cross stitch pattern a fresh and unique look.
  

I hope that you have found these ideas useful. For tips on how to store your leftover floss, please visit Beautiful Creations for Cross Stitch Storage Tips.

Before you go, leave a comment below to let me know what you do with your leftover floss.

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.