The smell of freshly mowed green grass, the sound of chirping birds, and the sight of beautiful tulips are sure signs that spring has sprung. Many people get the urge to slip on their gardening gloves and get to work in their garden, making way for the peony plant that’s bursting out or the tulips that are rising up to meet the sun.
What if you don’t have space for a garden or your thumb is less than green? No worries – you can still tiptoe through the tulips with this felt flower tutorial that is perfect for some new spring decorations. Instead of playing in the dirt, use this time to change up some home decor with a few new sewing projects or a few DIY craft projects. You won’t even need a sewing machine. Use this DIY felt flower tutorial and full video to make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift or to make a gift for yourself this spring.
If you love to spend time crafting and sewing, you’ve most likely accumulated mountains of supplies. Each of the items you’ve collected could represent a dream of some sort — a future project to do when the time is right. Hobbies are such an important part of our busy lives, and making time for them can be a challenge. Who wants to spend creative energy searching through piles of unorganized crafting and sewing supplies only to be exhausted once the item is found?
We’re here to give you some crafting and sewing room organization ideas so you can get the most out of those crafting and sewing tutorials you’ve wanted to try. Let’s get organized and get rid of the clutter to spark your creativity and help you be more productive.
Click here for all 10 sewing storage and organization ideas.
For more sewing and refashioning inspiration and tutorials, click here.
As a refresher, Refashion Runway is a friendly sewing competition.
Here’s how it works:
Much like Project Runway and The Great British Sewing Bee, we’ll choose eight refashion seamstresses (or seamsters) to compete in weekly challenges. The contestants will send in before and after videos or photos. I will post all of the before and after photos and/or videos so you can vote for your favorite. The refashions will then be scored by judges and open to a popular vote. The scores will be combined to find a weekly winner and one competitor will be out (not without a prize for participating though). At the end of the series, whoever is left will not only receive a nice prize but will be crowned the winner of Refashion Runway.
It’s such a great way to meet new people who love to do the same thing we do.
Are you interested in another season of Refashion Runway?
For a look back through seasons 1-4 you can click here.
Season Five of Refashion Runway was so much fun and also huge success!
It had me hooked from the moment I opened up the email with Beki’s unique sleeves made from candy wrappers and window screen to Deana’s magnificent sleeves made from a man’s suit.
Click here to see all of the entries in the Statement Sleeve Challenge.
Find out the winners of the Statement Sleeve challenge here.
Next the contestants worked their disco magic on the 1970’s challenge. (See all of the 1970’s challenge entries here.)
Fleetwood Mac, tie-dye and bell bottoms made from couches ruled this challenge.
Click here to find out he results of the 1970’s challenge.
The Faux Fur Challenge continued to entertain and amaze with some beautifully cozy, warm refashions.
I wish we would’ve all lived close enough to have our our Kentucky Derby Party to celebrate another successful season of Refashion Runway.
Find out who won the Kentucky Derby Hat challenge here.
To find out the overall winner of Refashion Runway: Season Five, click here.
It was such a fun season, and I’m hoping to host another season soon.
If you’re interested in watching, sponsoring, judging, voting or participating in the next season of Refashion Runway, be sure to fill out the survey at the top of this post.
Mending has been around forever, but with the rise of cheap, fast fashion, it seemed silly to mend when you could just go get something new. However, that frame of mind was filling up our landfills with throwaway textiles faster than we could say, “I want some new clothes!” Luckily, there are some new cowboys in town starting a fashion revolution who want to help you see that mending is not only beautiful but it can also be simple, fun and green by using visible mending techniques, such as Japanese Sashiko (or boro), embroidery, patches and some other simple sewing projects. Even first-time menders and upcycling stitchers will want to show off their mending and post “#visiblemending” on their social media for everyone to see.
The birds are starting to sing again, days are getting warmer and there is a light green wash covering the trees and the ground. It must mean spring is just around the corner! This is a great time to brighten up your front porch with some new home decor. Sure, you can go on Amazon and just buy a welcome mat, but why not get crafty and save some money with this easy, step-by-step doormat tutorial.
You don’t even have to own a Cricut cutting machine to create your own custom doormat. You can customize a blank coir doormat by creating your own template or stencil. Just grab a few supplies and we can show you how to make your own personalized doormat with this easy DIY that even a beginner can do.
Oh no! You reached for your favorite wool sweater and realized with heartache that the moths have gotten to it, and now there are holes. Maybe your treasured alpaca wool sweater has been unraveling, and you’ve been wondering what to do with it. Even worse, maybe you didn’t realize that your wool sweater wasn’t machine washable, and it shrunk. What do you do now? No worries — we’re here to help. Instead of throwing it away or donating it to the thrift store, try using the wool to make mittens, quilts, home decor or even wool dryer balls.
Wool dryer balls are a wonderful way to make use of the natural fibers of wool from old sweaters. Replacing disposable dryer sheets with reusable felted wool dryer balls can help reduce waste and save money. Plus, dryer sheets have been getting a bad rap lately. It’s been said that they are bad for your dryer and contain chemicals that can wreak havoc on sensitive skin or even cause other health issues. Yikes! We’re here to help make your laundry room a healthier place, show you how to make wool dryer balls from an old wool sweater, describe the felting process and explain how dryer balls work.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and if you like to create and give handmade gifts, today is the perfect day to get started. Here are 10 ideas for fun holiday projects to get you in the mood.
To see the entire step-by-step instructions, click on the project title or the link below the picture.
Let the kids help with the seasonal decorating by making cute felt gingerbread ornaments that are simple enough to get the whole family involved. Run, run as fast as you can, you just might like this gingerbread man.
Nowadays, the gnomes’ pointy hats, round noses and long beards are quickly becoming a holiday decorating phenomenon. Made from old sweaters or felt, these little Scandinavian hooligans will make gift wrapping and staying “gnome” for the holidays fun again. (Gnome pun intended. Ha!)
A sit-down dinner during the holidays (or at any time for that matter) is a real treat, and eating family-style can make a shared meal feel even more warm and cozy. However, passing those hot dishes around the table with regular hot pads can make handing over straight-from-the-oven casseroles pretty awkward. This simple hot-dish basket made from a placemat will make exchanging those hot serving dishes easy and safe. Get ready for everyone at your table to be saying, “Please pass the hot dish.”
The sparkly lights are up, the fragrant tree is decorated, and the fancy cookies are baked —now it’s time to adorn your mantel. Why not dazzle Santa this year and hang up a delightful stocking you made yourself? Who knows, he might be so impressed that he drops in a few extra treats. Don’t know how to knit? No worries — just use a thrifted sweater or old sweater that has gotten a bit snug or gone out of style, and give it a cozy new life as a Christmas stocking.
Originally, they were Nordic folklore creatures who were believed to be responsible for protecting the farmstead, but make sure you treat them right or they’ll become very mischievous.
So grab some old sweater remnants, a sock and a little rice and you’ll be hangin’ with your “gnomies” this winter, too. (Gnome pun intended. Ha!)
Ah, the sights, sounds and smells of the holidays: it’s what fond memories are made of. But let’s not leave out the importance of soft textures during this time of year, too — after all, feeling cozy is definitely a part of the celebration!
If you’ve noticed that some of your cold-weather layers aren’t fitting as well as they used to, then turn the most festive ones into “sweater trees” to place on your mantel this season. Whichever sweater you choose, these decorations will help transform your home into a winter wonderland with quirky and unexpected charm.
When it comes to holiday get togethers, there’s nothing quite like showing up at your gathering with a nice bottle of wine. Bring your gift-giving game up a notch when you present your vino in this felt gift bag featuring a cozy blanket stitch. Your hosts are sure to feel extra special when they find out you made it yourself.
Whether you’re a beginning or a seasoned seamstress, you’ll find these bags are quite easy, inexpensive and fun to make. So move over paper gift bag, there’s a new bag in town!
Looking for the perfect DIY gift? You can make a pair of cozy, warm, fleece lined mittens from a couple of outdated sweaters in under an hour. I like to call these “Smittens.” Your friends and family will love receiving a unique pair of earth friendly, handmade Smittens this holiday season.
Now that the holidays are in full swing, cookie exchange season is upon us. But the last thing you should do is show up to the sugar fest with plastic-wrapped sweets resting on boring paper plates. Bah, humbug! Give your delicious cookies the presentation they deserve with a festive handmade carrier.
Using a holiday-ready fabric, you can tote your cookies to the party with care and present them in style. By the end of the night, everyone will want your recipe — and the tricks to making your cookie bag.
And, who knew “dashing through the snow” could be so much fun?
This season, trim your tree with these “make and shake” personalized ornaments with fun winter scenes. Add photos of your favorite people or pets, mini trees, mini sleds and Epsom salt “snow” to a clear plastic globe for decorations that are sure to bring a smile to everyone who visits. These little snow globe ornaments are simple enough to put together that even kids will love making them for grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and friends.
This cranberry pepper jam not only made me smile with it’s beautiful holiday vibes and tastes, but it was so much fun to try some new low key photography, making the jam pop from a darker background. It’s a challenging form of photography, but I had fun experimenting with it for the first time. Be sure to check out the photo of the chopped jalapeños below, definitely one of my favorites from this shoot. I know I have lots more to learn, but hey, you gotta start somewhere right? I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Here we go:
You can make the holidays extra sweet with an unforgettable flavor combination. This homemade jam brings out the cheerfulness of tart, juicy cranberries and the warmth of spicy jalapeños. It’s finished off with a joyful splash of zesty lime. You can even up your charcuterie game by baking some brie cheese topped with some homemade cranberry pepper jam wrapped in a puff pastry. Serve it with some crackers and apples for a memorable appetizer. YUM!
And, if you’re in a jam (Ha!) trying to find the perfect gift, this jar of deliciousness is not only beautiful but you can give something special without breaking the bank. Even though cranberry pepper jam is ideal for the holiday season, it’s so tasty that you’ll want to make it year-round. No matter what you decide to do with this delightful treat packed with holiday flavors, it’s sure to spread some joy.
This next photo of the chopped jalapeños, is actually one of my favorites because of the way the light is hitting the peppers. I know, I know, I’m kind of a geek this way. But it’s so much fun!!
Are you looking for something fun to do this fall? One delicious way to celebrate autumn is to visit a local apple orchard. A day at the orchard can include fresh apple cider, warm doughnuts and hayrides as well as pick-your-own apples. It’s a wonderful way to spend some time with people you love and support local farmers at the same time.
When you get home, you can continue the fun by canning apple pie filling made with some of your freshly picked apples. Don’t worry if you’ve never canned anything before because we’ve got you covered. These beautiful jars full of pie filling will make the deliciousness last all winter long. Just pop one open anytime to fill a pie shell, make an apple crisp, pour over ice cream or even eat straight out of the jar. Yum!
Click here for the entire step-by-step directions.
The Renegade Seamstress 