crafts

button joy!

June 23, 2011 by laura west kong · Leave a Comment

Seen the new June/July 2011 Quilters Home magazine? I just love that cover quilt, Drunkard’s Flower Path, don’t you? Looks like a perfect summer quilting project.

If quick quilty crafts are more your thing during the lazy days of summer, check out the article, Hot Buttons for the latest on whimsical buttons you can buy and fun button crafts you can make. And the instructions for all three projects can be found in the web-exclusive feature, Button Joy (click here to download or view pdf). Learn to make my embroidered button hair jewelry (below), Virginia Robertson’s one-of-a-kind stacked button pins and a decorative button jar.

What’s your summer sewing project?

Share your comments or summer sewing projects!

More Button Projects:
Cover Button Blossoms!
Bloomin’ Button Brooches
Fabric Ribbon Rosettes
Pocket Full of Posies (scroll down for Kurumi button tutorial)
Find Creativity in Everyday Life

Filed Under: cover button fun, crafts, free patterns, tutorials ·

top 10 holiday survival tips

November 11, 2010 by laura west kong · Leave a Comment

Christmas-time is:
A). Joyful
B). Frantic
C). Stressful
D). All of the above

While Christmas-time can be frantic and stressful, it doesn’t have to be. With a little help from our friends, we can reduce our stress and not only survive the holidays, but thrive! Here are my top ten holiday survival tips:

1. bake some Christmas cheer

There’s something special about the taste of made-from-scratch cookies, but making them doesn’t have to be an all-day affair. Gingerbread and sugar cookie dough can be prepared a few days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Or if you prefer, uncooked dough can also be frozen for up to 9 months. Just thaw your frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator. Then enjoy a magical afternoon of cookie baking with the kids.

2. crafty decorating

If the kitchen’s not your thing, you can still have an afternoon of holiday fun with ready-to-paint Christmas tree decorations. One Christmas my daughter and I painted these mini wooden birdhouses. We still enjoy hanging them on the tree and the memories of making them together. You can also find paintable ceramic ornaments.

3. use your imagination

I have a red felt poodle skirt that I made for myself one Halloween. It doesn’t fit me very well, but the poodle skirt makes a fun Christmas tree skirt. What unusual things do you have around the house that would make unique holiday decorations?

4. personalize photo cards the easy way

If you’ve got a digital camera, chances are you already have all your family photos right there in your computer. I like to order my Christmas photo cards online because you get a wider variety of sizes and styles to choose from and you get to preview onscreen what your pictures will look like in the cards before you buy. Tiny Prints Christmas Cards even has fun die-cut designs.

Tiny Prints provides stylish, modern and unique stationery from photo cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards and business cards. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side the Holidays will be a cinch! They offer adorable Thanksgiving Cards, Christmas Cards, Hanukkah Cards, and even New Years Cards. All fully customizable and personalizable.

5. craft a Christmas tradition

Crayola fabric markers are a fun way for children to create holiday mementos. How about a Christmas art quilt? Prewash 100% cotton solid white or muslin fabric, cut into the desired size squares and iron fabric squares to freezer paper (find it in the plastic wrap/tinfoil aisle), shiny side facing the fabric. This stabilizes the fabric so it’s easy to draw on. Let the kids draw Christmas pictures on the freezer paper-backed fabric, then remove freezer paper and heat set according to marker directions. Make a few new squares each year and save them up for a Christmas-art-through-the-years quilt.

6. treat yourself

In the midst of all the holiday hustle and bustle, don’t forget to take a moment or two to treat yourself. My fave is a coffee treat, but others might prefer a chocolate truffle, a soak in a bubble bath or watching a favorite movie. Afterward you’ll be refreshed and ready to jump back into the middle of all the holiday fun.

7. kid friendly decorating

Have small children in the house? Decorate a mini tree or wreath just for them. Find party favors in their favorite theme: princess, pirate or whatever they’re into most this year. Tie them to the tree or wreath with pretty ribbons. You won’t have to worry about the decorations breaking, and after Christmas is over, pass the party favors out to your children and their friends or save them for birthday parties or small rewards in the coming year. Next year choose a new theme to decorate the mini tree or wreath with.

8. gift from the heart & hand

There are probably at least a few people on your gift list who would love a handmade present. Try a mini purse or piece of jewelry from my book, Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry: Make Gifts & Glamour in an Afternoon (C&T Publishing). They really are fast, fun and easy, and with all that wonderful fabric out there to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect print for that special someone.

9. customize a gift

Tiny Prints’ Customized Day Planners make a perfect holiday gift. There’s nothing more quick and simple to do if you already have a photo ready in your computer, and it’s a stylish and thoughtful gift the recipient will enjoy using all year long.

10. stock up for Christmas crafting

When you’re hitting the after-Christmas sales, don’t forget about holiday fabric. Pick up a few yards and stash them away. You can sew up Christmas trinkets in April, August or whenever the crafting bug bites. Then next year you’ll be ready for Christmas gift-giving, decorating or stocking a booth at your holiday craft bazaar.

What about you? Please share a holiday survival tip or two of your own.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Filed Under: books I like, Christmas, cover button fun, crafts, gingerbread, ornaments, tips ·

crafty discoveries

October 15, 2010 by laura west kong · Leave a Comment

I love Asian fabrics for my cover-button jewelry. Here’s a sample I made recently for Maeda Importing. This one is the Silk Fabric Cord necklace from my Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry book. I substituted Maeda’s beautiful hand-dyed satin cord for the silk fabric cord. Wild Iris is the colorway I used.

If you use craft glues you’ll be interested to know about a new adhesive I tried for the findings on this necklace, Beacon’s Tiger Bond. I don’t like using glues with fumes, and my previous fume-free favorite was discontinued last year. I was excited to give Tiger Bond a try. Here are my results:

Tiger Bond vs. E-6000

	Tiger Bond	E-6000
Clear	X	X
Extremely strong	X	X
Flexible/not brittle	X	X
Thick/easy to use	X	X
Fast grab	X	X
Cure time: 48 hours	X	X
Works well for metal/jewelry findings	X	X
Multi-purpose	X	X
Odor/fume free	X
Eco-friendly	X
Size tube for approx. $5.00	.5 oz	3.7 oz

As you can see, Tiger Bond performed equally as well as E-6000 with the added bonus of not having to worry about health issues and headaches from the fumes. This will be especially useful for my jewelry-making workshops. If you think the fumes are bad with just one person in the room gluing stuff, imagine what it’s like when there’s 20 people gluing stuff, even with the windows open.

I’ve also noticed with jewelry that even after the 48 hour curing process is complete, you can still smell the fumes for days and sometimes even a week or more afterwards if you put the jewelry on. (Depends on the weather how long the fumes stick around.) I always set my finished jewelry in the garage to air out for a week or two before I wear it if I used E-6000 on the findings.

Tiger Bond is more expensive. But here’s the thing, I don’t use my glue every day, or even every week. So usually my tubes of glue, whether large or small, dry up before I use it all. I don’t know how many large tubes of nearly full dried up E-6000 I’ve thrown out over the years. So unless you’re making stuff like crazy to sell on etsy or give as gifts, you’re probably not going to use up that entire super-sized tube of glue anyways. (And if you are using that much glue, you should really consider something that’s easier on your lungs.)

I used a 40% off coupon at the craft store for the Tiger Bond, but now that I’ve tried it, I like it so much that I’d buy Tiger Bond again, even without a coupon. In fact, I can’t imagine why I’d ever go back. E-6000 has been around for over 25 years, and it has served crafters well. But technology is changing at a rapid pace, and it’s great to now have more products to choose from that are just as effective, but safer.

If you like glue (and who doesn’t like glue?), there are some great resources on Beacon’s website, including a glue guide and helpful hints for working with glue.

Filed Under: books I like, cover button fun, crafts, jewelry ·

bloomin’ button brooches

May 5, 2010 by laura west kong · 6 Comments

Just in time for Mother’s Day gift-making, here’s my Bloomin’ Button Brooches tutorial, complete with video, instructions, and free pattern sheet. Create several or even a whole bouquet! Why not make a couple buttons for yourself in your favorite colors as well.

Watch the video and then scroll down for the supplies list and step-by-steps. Don’t forget to download the free pattern sheet. (Pattern sheet is in PDF. You’ll need Adobe Reader to open this document.)

For each brooch you will need:
3 1/2″ square background fabric
2″ square fabric for flower
1″ square fabric for flower center
3 1/4″ square lightweight fusible woven interfacing
2″ x 3″ fusible web
40 wt. rayon thread for appliqué
2 1/2″ square cotton batting or low loft polyester batting
Double-stick tape
Small pair of pliers
Hot fix crystals
Crystal applicator wand, mini iron, or household iron to apply crystals
1 1/2″ half ball cover button (brass)
1″ long pin/pendant finding with double-faced adhesive pad

1. Trace the flower of your choice and circle patterns onto paper side of fusible web.

2. Following manufacturers’ instructions, iron the fusible web to the wrong side of the flower and circle fabrics, and iron the fusible interfacing centered on the wrong side of the background fabric.

3. Cut out the flower and circle appliqués and fuse to the middle of the interfaced background fabric. You can place the circle in the middle of the flower or slightly off-center. When making the Jasmine pin, it is easier to fuse and stitch the flower shape before fusing the circle on the flower.

4. Using a small zig zag or machine stitch of your choice and rayon thread, appliqué around the raw edges of the flower and circle shapes.

You can choose matching or contrasting thread depending on the effect desired. Other machine stitch possibilities include blanket/buttonhole stitch, satin, invisible, or straight. You might even want to experiment with a fun decorative stitch.

Stop needle down in the background fabric to turn the fabric on the curves. It will be every stitch or two on the tight curves such as on the tips of the Jasmine petals. Pull the thread ends to the wrong side with a hand needle and tie off.

5. Put a small piece of double-stick tape on the top of the button form. Stick the button to the center of the piece of batting. Cut the batting even with the edge of the button so you have a circle of batting on top of your button.

6. Use the pattern from the button package to trace around and cut out the appliquéd fabric with the flower centered in the middle.

7. Use the pliers to pull the wire button shank out of the button top.

8. Stretch the appliquéd fabric circle over the button top and assemble the cover button according to the manufacturer’s directions.

9. Embellish with hot fix crystals, following directions of your applicator wand.

If you don’t have an applicator wand you can use a Clover mini iron or a household iron with crystals up to 4mm in size. Use a cotton setting, no steam. Be extra careful not to burn yourself if you are using a regular household iron. Place the crystal, glue side down in the desired spot. Surgical tweezers are sometimes helpful in placing crystals. Press lightly for 10-20 seconds, and check with your fingernail to make sure it is well adhered. If not, press a little longer.

10. Attach the pin/pendant finding to the back of your brooch according to the manufacturer’s directions. Enjoy!

If you’re not into brooches, why not turn your Bloomin’ Button into a pendant, magnet, purse jewelry, or an embellishment for quilts or scrapbooks!

Download Bloomin’ Buttons pattern sheet. (Pattern sheet is in PDF. You’ll need Adobe Reader to open this document.)

For more fabric cover-button fun see my book, Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry: Create Gifts & Glamour in an Afternoon, by C&T Publishing.

Filed Under: applique, cover button fun, crafts, embellishing, jewelry ·

fun reusable fabric coffee cup sleeves

April 21, 2010 by laura west kong · 9 Comments

Just in time for Earth Day you can make your own reusable fabric coffee cup sleeves (See video tutorial below). It’s not always easy to carry your own mug with you everywhere you go, but you can easily slip a fabric coffee cup sleeve into your purse or onto your wrist.

Did you know that a coffee drinker can save up to 10 pounds of paper a year just by using a reusable sleeve? That makes your fabric coffee cup sleeve stylish and green!

I like this project because it’s great for using up leftover fabric scraps and stray jewelry charms. It’s also quick and easy because you use fast2fuse fusible interfacing (available from C&T Publishing).

Warning: Once you make one, you might not want to stop. Look for fun coffee-themed charms. Try a coffee-themed print or other special fabric. The green one second from the right is French Roast, made from one of my favorite Souleiado prints.

I’m thinking of drafting a new bracelet cuff pattern similar to the fabric coffee cup sleeves except just for my wrist . . .

Find more green crafts at the Craft Critique: Earth Day Blog Carnival!

Add a comment

Filed Under: crafts, latte, tutorials ·

living creatively!

February 20, 2010 by laura west kong · 4 Comments

It’s true, I’ve been taking a vacation from blogging, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about my blog. I’ve been busy collecting new inspirations and ideas to share with you!

Here’s a peek at one of the most exciting things I’ve been doing recently: taping some episodes for the Creative Living with Sheryl Borden Show.

I thought it would be a breeze, since I’m used to teaching quilting and crafting techniques, but there are a few significant differences between TV and the live classroom. For one, your time limit is minutes, not hours. And two, if you mess up, you have to start all over from the very beginning. But Sheryl made the taping easy and fun, so I wasn’t stressed at all. I’m so excited to share my fabric cover-button techniques in hi-def!

dressing your coffee cup in style

blooming button jewelry to embellish clothes & quilts

vintage fabric fabric cover-button crafts

fun fabric appliques for card making & scrapbooking

These segments will air on Creative Living in 2011, but I’ll give you a YouTube preview soon!

Filed Under: applique, art quilts, cover button fun, crafts, embellishing, jewelry, paper crafts, quilt embellishment ·

Top Ten: Cool Stuff @ CHA 2010 (#1-5)

January 27, 2010 by laura west kong · 6 Comments

More CHA fun! … Without further ado, here’s #1-5 of my top ten cool stuff at CHA 2010:

#5. Grungepaper Coat: Great patchwork coat made from scrapbooking Grungepaper. Check out the fab flowers on the detail photo!
05coat

05detail

#4. Petaloo Color Me Crazy: Fun paper, cotton, velvet and mulberry flowers to color and decorate for all your creative projects! 04petal

Take a closer look at some of what you can do with these flowers. I’d love to embellish some wearable art with Color Me Crazy flowers. What would you do with them? 04detail

03paint #3. C&T Publishing‘s Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic & Canvas Books: These are the terrific paints I did my CHA demo projects with. (Get the tutorials here: fabric painting | fabric ribbon rosettes.)

Lots of pigment, brilliant colors, and permanent with no heat setting required. Can be used for many different techniques.

03canvas Want a fun surface to paint on? Try these nifty canvas books! They’re ready for your creative touch.

#2. Rabinowitz Design Workshop‘s Waxmelter Electric Batik Pen: How fun is this? Melt crayon bits or batik wax to make fabulous fiber art or scrapbook pages. 02batik

Drum roll, please … The most wonderful thing I found at CHA, the best thing ever for applique-quilters since fusible web …

01me hands and scissor free applique!

#1. Making Memories‘ Slice Craft Cutter: Why should scrapbookers have all the fun? Now the fantastic Slice craft cutter can cut fusible fabric appliques!

Place fusible-backed fabric and the Slice cutter onto the magnetic board, select your design, size, press the button and … 01slice

Voila! Fusible applique piece ready to be ironed to your background fabric. (Note: The Slice cutter does not dye your appliques and change their color for you. Two different fabrics are shown in these two photos.) 01flower And here’s a tea towel to show off the quick and easy Slice applique project. Want to see the Slice in action? (you know you do!) Check out this video from the Making Memories blog.) 01towel

That’s all for CHA 2010! Thanks for joining me! ^_^

Filed Under: applique, CHA, crafts, embellishing, paper crafts, quilt embellishment ·

Top Ten: Cool Stuff @ CHA 2010 (#6-10)

January 26, 2010 by laura west kong · 2 Comments

What’s more fun than Disneyland and crafty too? The CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) Craft SuperShow and Winter Convention & Trade Show at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Quilters know quilt shows, but in case you’ve never been to a CHA show, here’s my Top Ten List of Cool Stuff you’ll find at CHA:

#10. Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Pencils: Fabulous oil-based colored pencils: Strong, smooth, sharp, gorgeous colors, great for blending, plus no fading or waxy buildup. Need I say more?

#9. Soft Flex‘s Trios: Love color? Love to make jewelry? 06trios Soft Flex colored beading wire now comes in fabulous variety packs. Here are two of my favorites from the new 2010 collection: Egg Hunt and Be My Valentine.

#8. Halina Tepper, Button Sculptor: Halina make amazing sculptures from buttons and recycled materials.

08lion 20,000 buttons are sewn onto this lion!

08mouse The cute mouse pincushion has slightly fewer buttons than the lion, but would make a fun addition to any sewing room.

08kangaroos These little kangaroos give you a peek at how the button sculptures are made. The buttons on the finished kangaroo are made from the same used glue bottles that form the base.

10appliquecake #7. Provo Craft’s Cricut Cake: Use scrapbooking Cricut cartridges in the Cricut Cake machine (specially made to be food-safe, don’t try this at home with your Cricut Expression!) to make sugar gum paste cutouts to decorate cakes with. These super cute animals look like “cake appliques” to me. Peel and stick. How cool is that? Now anybody can be a cake decorator! (Available April 2010)

#6. Epiphany Crafts‘ Button Studio & Shape Studio: As easy and fun as paper punches, make paper- or photo-backed epoxy scrapbooking charms and buttons. (Available April 2010)

Come back tomorrow to find out #1-5!

Filed Under: CHA, crafts, jewelry, paper crafts, quilt embellishment, recycle/upcycle ·

fabric ribbon rosettes

January 26, 2010 by laura west kong · 1 Comment

Today I demonstrated fabric painting and fabric ribbon rosettes at the CHA Winter Trade Show. For those of you who couldn’t make it, here’s an online tutorial for fabric ribbon rosettes just for you. (Click here for my CHA fabric painting tutorial)

To make a really special rosette, add a beaded fabric cover-button (button-beading techniques can be found in my book, Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry, by C&T Publishing.)

Choose two contrasting fabrics and a coordinating button.
Cut the fabric 18″ wide by as long as you wish. You can use one painted fabric piece and one paint-free, or two paint-free pieces. I don’t recommend using two painted fabrics back-to-back unless you plan to use glue to secure the rosette. It’s a little tough getting the needle through two layers of painted fabric. (I bent a very hefty needle trying.)
Fuse a sheet of Wonder Under to the reverse side of one of your chosen fabrics. (Wonder Under is 17″ wide so it will fit nicely on a piece of fabric 18″ wide.) Trim off the excess fabric with a rotary cutter and ruler.
Peel off the paper backing and fuse the reverse side of the other fabric to the first piece of fabric. Trim off the excess fabric. You now have a double-sided piece of fabric.
Use a decorative blade rotary cutter to cut fabric ribbon strips 1/2″ – 5/8″ wide x 17″ long.
Sew two lines of contrasting thread down the center of the fabric ribbon if desired. Use a different color in the bobbin for the fabric on the reverse side. (This stitching is more decorative than functional. The Wonder Under and fabric paint do a really good job of discouraging fraying.)
Thread a large needle with strong thread and make a big knot near the end. (Big needles make big holes and you don’t want the knot pulling completely through.)
Find the center of the ribbon’s length and pinch to mark the center.
Make a loop at one end to form the first petal. With a 17″ long fabric ribbon you can make six 1-1/4″ petals.
This is the view from underneath your petal. Fold the ribbon at an angle to start the second petal and show the contrasting fabric.
This is the view from the top again. Fold the ribbon back to the top to make the second petal.
Fold the fabric ribbon on top to start the third petal and bring the ribbon to the back again to complete the third petal. Look for the center crease you made in step #6. If the crease is part of the third petal then your first three petals are too large for the length of your fabric ribbon. You won’t have enough ribbon left for three more petals. If the crease is at or beyond the fold of the third petal, then you will have enough fabric ribbon for three more petals.
Continue folding the fabric ribbon from front to back and back to front until you’ve completed all six petals.
Pick up the needle and thread and make several hand stitches through the center to secure all the petals. Make sure the stitches are close enough to the center to be hidden by the button. If you have a large button you can spread your stitches out further where there are fewer layers of fabric.
Finally stitch the button on the side you want to call front.

Voila! Now all that’s left is to decide what to do with your fabric ribbon rosette. Sew a pin back on, glue to a round magnet, or embellish a quilt or purse.

More CHA fun to come!

Add a comment

Filed Under: CHA, cover button fun, crafts, quilt embellishment, tutorials ·

muse monday: inspired by boring fabric

January 25, 2010 by laura west kong · 3 Comments

Got boring fabric? Try some fabric painting fun to jazz it up a bit and turn it into something you actually WANT to use! Here’s the technique I’m giving a demo on at the Craft & Hobby Association’s 2010 Winter Trade Show today:

Start with some boring fabric. If you’re going to use it to make my fabric-painted rosettes, then cut it to be 18″ long. The piece below is about 9″ or 10″ by 18″. The enamel tray is great for containing the mess. Otherwise, you could cover your surface with freezer paper or plastic. (Tape it down taut for a smooth finish.)

fabricpainting01

Using a 1″ paintbrush and Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paint (the ones in the plastic jars) make random diagonal brushstrokes across the fabric. I used Brilliant Purple here. Dip the paint brush in a little water if you wish, but don’t use too much water at this point because you want to have some opaque areas that block the pattern and some translucent ones that let the pattern peek through. See the lighter sections of purple in the brushstrokes below? That’s where the paint is not watered down. This will dry opaque and cover the pattern. The darker parts of the brushstrokes with the pattern showing through have less paint and more water.
Now add more water to the paint to make a thinner consistency and cover the entire piece of fabric with a thin coat of paint. You can leave a few scattered sections of fabric unpainted if you wish.
Add in some more thicker areas of paint.
Use a stencil to add some bling. I used Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic in Iridescent Rich Gold. I’m stenciling right on the already wet/damp fabric. This will make the pattern slightly less distinct, but more interesting. The water also holds the stencil in place so it makes things easier in that respect: you don’t have to worry about the stencil shifting. Place it straight down, dab the paint into the holes, and lift it straight up again. Repeat as desired.

fabricpainting06

Next comes stamping. Use a paint brush to apply paint to foam stamps. Use less paint for a distressed look or completely cover the stamp for a complete image. If you start out with more paint you can stamp multiple times before reloading with paint and get ghost images. Just don’t put so much paint on the stamp that it oozes over the edges of the stamp. Stamp some images while the paint is still wet and then wait till it dries (or use a hair dryer like I do to speed up the process) and stamp some more to get distinct edges. Notice how the some of the purple checks are fuzzy. They were stamped onto wet fabric. The distinct checks were stamped after the fabric was dry.
Finally use a small paintbrush on dry fabric to add details. Outline bits and pieces of the design showing through as well as some of the images you stamped, or just doodle.

Voila! Now you have a fun piece of fabric to use for quilting, embellishing, and more! It would make a fabulous background for ATCs (artist trading cards) or fabric postcards. It would be great for an art quilt, but not so much for a quilt you’d want to snuggle with. Depending on how thickly you apply the paint, the fabric can come out a bit stiff. On the positive side, the painted fabric has more body and resists raveling. Tune in tomorrow to find out what I made with this piece of painted fabric (and get a tutorial too!)

Want more fabric painting fun? Check out Judi Hurwitt’s Rescuing Ugly Fabric post at the Approachable Art blog.

Filed Under: art quilts, CHA, crafts, embellishing, fabric painting, tutorials ·