These DIY Halloween Trick or Treat bags are made from thrift store t-shirts and are surprisingly sturdy (meaning- they hold a lot of candy). They require a little reverse appliqué, and by using the bright yellow t-shirt I found, the effect of the eyes is very bright against the other colors.
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It is no secret I love free motion embroidery and do it almost every day! There are just so many possibilities with it. It does take a little practice, but my advice is to keep at it, keep trying it, and you will get the hang of it much faster than you might think.
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I decided to make summery pillows after finding a couple of pretty woven Ikat fabrics recently- Pacific Fabrics at Northgate for those who are local, and a reader pointed out a selection available online at Stone Mountain Fabrics. I’ve not really been into the whole Ikat trend, but this felt like an easy way to try it out and brighten up our neutral living room.READ MORE
My good friend Betz White made upcycling cool when she created her iconic cupcake pincushions ten years ago. I’m helping her celebrate the anniversary of the cupcake pincushion over at her blog today by showing you how to make these simple wool cupcake DIY
cards. Who wouldn’t love to get handmade cards these days? Grab some scrap wool and make some for those you love!
Finding the right Fathers Day gift is not easy, at least not around here. The Dad here seems to have everything he needs, except a boat (and that’s not going to happen). One thing he does like are those classic, LifeTouch-style school portraits that mark every passing grade in such an iconic way. Most photos are digital, but these are everything but. This is a great DIY to help keep all those photos together and brag-worthy. It uses thrift store- bought leather, which I love. In fact, I taught an entire CreativeLive class on how to upcycle leather into your projects. Its usually cheap (if you go for the out of style, unfashionable pieces especially), and often, one piece of clothing can supply leather for many projects. So you can make a brag book for each child!READ MORE
Quick and fun, that’s what this baby quilt is. Sized to be either a wall hanging or a stroller quilt, it can be scrappy or made nice and uniform with three of your favorite colors. If you want to make a scrappy version, just pick a few different shades for each color, instead of using all one color. That’s how I made the warm-colored version, pictured above. The cool version, below, has a more limited color palette and some more elaborate free motion quilting on it.
Keep reading for the how-to, and be sure to tag your versions on social media with #wisecraftsignet so we can all share!READ MORE
A fun, simple Mothers Day idea, great for small kids to create. Using these DIY flower frogs allows a few flowers to go a long way, and keeps little hands busy at the same time. They choose a small, colorful bouquet of supermarket flowers, maybe spend some time outside, gathering some extra greenery from the yard. I’ve been known to take my kids when they were small to the thrift store to pick out small teacups and vases to hold the flowers.
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The quilt above, Summer Sherbet, from my first book, was tied at the center of every 4 patch.
Be sure to subscribe to the Wise Craft YouTube channel. It is where I will be adding several how-to videos, mainly about quilts, but there will also be some other things as well. I get asked basic quilting questions often, and wanted to have a place where I could directly those wanting to learn specific steps in quilt making.READ MORE
I do not like quilt basting- and I am referring to making the “quilt sandwich”. Which is basting the backing, batting, and quilt top layers smoothly together so that they can be quilted together without pleats or puckers on the front or back. Early on when I started quilting, I struggled with this process quite a bit. A pleat(s) would show up on the back of the quilt every single time I machine quilted any of my quilts by machine. This is why I hand quilted several of the early quilts I made. I always have my hand on the back of the work and could catch a pleat as soon as I feel one. I began to think maybe I just didn’t have the patience necessary to baste the layers thoroughly.
