Get Organized

I think one of the most popular New Years Resolutions after exercising and losing weight is getting organized.  Today I'm going to share a fun way to give you a head start on your clutter in 2012.

Here's what you need:

I had some fabric left over from my sharp corners project I shared with you ages ago and decided to use it to make a cute little tray/caddy for some of my hair clips that usually just get thrown in a drawer.

Steps:
1) Cut two rectangles or squares from your fabric and another one the same size in fusible interfacing.

2) Iron your interfacing onto the back of one of the fabric squares then pin your fabric pieces, right sides together.

3) Sew a narrow seam around all four sides, making sure to leave a small opening on one side so that you can turn it right sides out.
4) Before you turn it out though, make sure to cut diagonally across all of your corners.  This gets rid of some of the bulk and helps you to get nice sharp edges.

I usually cut a little diagonal into each edge as well when working with heavier fabrics like this one.

5) Turn your fabric right side out, push corners out and press.  Next, hand stitch the opening closed.

6) One by one, fold each corner diagonally so that you get a sort of triangle.  Measure in about and inch and pin, making sure that your pin is at a right angle to the open edge.

7) The line created by your pin is where you'll stitch.  Do the same thing on all four corners.

It should look like this, an instant tray!

Pin It

As I was making this I kept thinking that it would work so much better with a nice crisp fabric, like cotton maybe.  Then I wondered how it would work with paper!
Tah dah!

I did the exact same thing without the interfacing of course and just glued down the sides.  I love it!  Now I can find my stamping pads all in one place~

There you go!  Get a head start on your clutter and make a few matching little bins for your shelves and drawers.  It's fun to get organized when your containers are so cute~

Happy New Year everyone!  I'm working on a special New Year craft for next Friday.  I can't wait to show it to you.  Make sure to come back and check it out~

About Me

Even though Etcetorize has been up and running for over a year I've never included an "About Me" page.  I'm just kind of modest that way.  I figured everyone could get what they needed from my little blurb in the sidebar and couldn't imagine that people would actually want to know more.

But I've noticed that I get slightly annoyed whenever I go to a new blog and can't find an "About Me" page for someone so that I can learn more about the blogger before I hit that all important follow button.

So, in the interest of not annoying myself, I've added a new tab up top so that you can learn everything you've ever wanted to know about me.

Enjoy~

Show and Tell: Kids Christmas Shirts

I had hoped to get these out to my niece and nephew before Christmas but I just didn't get around to it. 

Luckily they're coming for a visit this week and it's not too late for them to wear them.

For the pink one I just zigzagged the trim onto the shirt and then covered the corners with buttons.

For the blue one I measured out the centre and backed it with some interfacing inside to stablize it.  Then I used chalk to draw a triangle, placed my buttons how I wanted, and adhered them with some light stick sewing glue.

Then I painstakingly sewed down each and every button by hand.  Actually, I'm making it sound like much more work than it was.  I enjoyed an episode of Project Runway while doing it so it wasn't all that bad~

I'm sure after their avalanche of toys they got for Christmas they'll be thrilled to open a package with clothing in it.  ha ha, kidding, I'll have to just hand them out so I don't get their hopes up I think...or maybe wrap a little something extra inside them.  I can't help but spoil them just a little bit~

Follow My Friends : vixenMade

The last time I did a "Follow my Friends" feature was at the beginning of November so I wouldn't blame you if you thought I forgot to do one this month...but I haven't!

This month I'd like to introduce you to my new bloggy friend and fellow Saskatchewanian (it's a place in the middle of Canada) vixenMade.


Vixen is a mom and an awesome crafter!  I see her stuff featured all over bloggy land all the time.

She's shared several tutorials on embellishing kids shirts, like this cute one for Christmas:

Cute and easy hairbows:

 

And this awesome slouchy hat:

Vixen almost always shows you how to do her crafts with great step by step tutorials.  Stop by her blog and you'll be sure to find loads more fun ideas, as well as her lovely Etsy shop .

 

Check it out and don't be shy to come back and leave a comment letting us know what you found~

If you want to be featured, head up top and click on the Follow My Friends tab to find out how.

Make it Great Monday Features

Hi everyone!
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family and loved ones.  I took a break from Make it Great Monday this week to decompress from all of the holiday madness but I still wanted to show you a couple of great projects from last week's party.

I've always wanted to make these ice lanterns like Susan over at Entertain Exchange but I've just never gotten around to it.  She's inspired me to put it back on my list for another special occasion.

I also thought this was another great idea for decorating flattened marbles from Saraccino .

So simple but soooooo pretty!

I'll be back in full swing again next week so make sure to come back on Monday to link up your projects!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

                             


Rest in peace Bobby Farrell~

Recap: Last Minute Gift Boxes

Today's recap project is for those of you who love the pressure of last minute projects, surprise guests, and forgotten wrapping.  It's quick, it's easy, and I guarantee that your friends and family will be impressed with your handmade touch~

The Last Minute Gift Box

(originally posted December 17, 2010)

I made some little presents for some friends from work but because I've been sick and it's been cold (deep freezer cold!!) I haven't been able to get out to buy gift boxes to put them in.  Suddenly it hit me....didn't I purchase something off of the Home Shopping Channel not too long ago that made boxes?!?!?  (if you've read the last few posts you may think that the Home Shopping Channel is a new sponsor, but they're not, I just shop there that much~)

Here's what I bought:

It's called the Ultimate Crafter's Companion.  This thing can help you make loads of different kinds of amazing cards and envelopes and boxes, plus you can do all kinds of embossing and scoring.  You can even make bows with it!  It's incredible.  It's also a little overwhelming.  This is the first time I've used it since it arrived at my doorstep about three months ago because I didn't really know where to start with it.

Anyway, onto the boxes.  These are really cute, super easy, and great for small gifts that are awkward to wrap (like maybe some wine gems???).  Here's what you'll need:

You don't actually need the Ultimate Crafter's Companion or a bone folder, I just needed an excuse to use mine.

Steps:
1) Cut your paper into a rectangle.  You can use any size but for reference mine is 6" X 12".  Fold your paper in half across the width.

2) Locate the center of one end of your paper and make a small mark.  Now you can score a line from there to the middle fold. (It's actually better to score it on the wrong side of your paper.)  Score two lines, one to each corner, creating a triangle.

3) Do the exact same thing on the other side of your paper so that you have two triangles.

4) Fold your triangle sides up, wrong sides together, towards the centre of your paper along your scored lines.  It should sort of look like a boat.

5) Fold inwards on centre fold.

6) Make a small hole through both thicknesses of paper on each side and thread some pretty ribbon through.

A hole punch would definitely work better than my "stab the paper with scissors" technique

TAH DAH!!!!  Wasn't that easy peasy?!?

It's already so pretty but you can jazz it up with pretty edges if you have scalloped scissors or punches.  You could even use plainer paper and add some embossing to it to personalize it.  Let your imagination soar. 

This little box is so easy and takes almost no time at all to complete but your friends will be impressed with that extra handmade touch.  I'm putting gifts inside of mine but am thinking about making some more to give to guests as they leave a small party I'm having this weekend.  I might fill them up with candies or other Christmas goodies!

I hope this is helpful for all of you last minute wrappers out there!  Leave a comment and let me know if you have some other ideas for these cute boxes.

Holiday Recap: Wine Gems

Here's another fun and super duper easy project that I shared with you all last year.  In case you missed it the first time around, here it is again:

Wine Gems
(originally posted December 8, 2010)

Right before Halloween I saw something similar in a store for a crazy amount of money and I thought, 'Hey, I can do that!'....so I did.

Naked Wine Glasses



Christmassy Wine Glasses!

  The hardest part about this is making sure that none of them are the same ... oh, and cleaning up all the little seed beads that don't make it onto the wire~

Let me know what you think.  Someone I know will be getting a set that aren't quite so holidayish.  That way they can be used all year round!  How do you think these would go over for the beer drinkers out there?  Maybe they'd like a little pizazz on their beer bottles too~

------------------------------------------------
Only a few more days left!!!  Are you almost ready?!?!

The Make it Great Monday linky party is still open, make sure to add your creative treasures before Christmas~

This time last year

I guess it's that time of year when we take a look back to see what we've accomplished and how far we've come.

In this spirit I took a look at how many of you were hanging out with me this time last year...and it was just a fraction of all of you lovely new Etcetorizers. 

So, I thought this week would be a great time to recap some fun projects from last Christmas in case you missed them the first time around.  (Besides, I'm pretty worn out, and still have loads of things to do before the weekend.  So, it's time to recycle!)

First up ...  "Where's my wine glass?!?!"
(originally posted December 10, 2010)

Here's a fun and easy project to help keep everyones glass in it's place when you have your family over for the holidays.

If your family sits to the table for Christmas dinner this is a fun way to do name plates too to make sure everyone sits where they're supposed to.

I made these many years ago but when they went in the dishwasher a lot of the work that went into them was washed away.  Every year since then I've said I was going to redo them so we could use them again...and now I finally have!! 

Here are the supplies you'll need:

along with access to an oven

Steps:
1) Clean your wine glasses and dry.  Then paint each family members name onto the wine glasses.  I used a very fine and high quality paint brush to avoid frustration.

2) Now just paint a small picture of something christmassy onto the other side of each glass.  I like to do something unique for each one but you could make them all the same if you like that matchy matchy thing.

I also tried to mix it up a little.  Some glasses just have one larger image and others have a whole cluster of small images.  (Also, some look like my 4 year old nephew painted them and some turned out quite nice~)

3) Keeping in mind that I'm using "Paint and Bake" paint, once you have all of your glasses finished you now place them in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes to bake.  Until the paint is baked it's water soluble and all of your artwork will be lost if washed.  Even though after they're baked they're supposed to be dishwasher safe, I recommend hand washing them.

4) After they've cooled down and the paint is set, the only thing left to do is to fill your glasses with some wine (or juice) and have a great night with your family.

I bought these paints off of the Home Shopping Channel in Canada ages and ages ago (I think maybe more than 10 years ago) and I can't find them online anymore.  However, they're a Tina Lewis product and she still regularly appears on the Shopping Channel as well as QVC and HSN.  I think these days she's more into scrapbooking though.  You can find her website here .  If you really like this project and can't find similar paint, email her and maybe she can tell you where to find the paints.  (I did a quick Google search on Paint and Bake and found a site that tells you how to do it with regular acrylic paint but I would be cautious and do some more research first)

**Added: Martha Stewart debuted a new line of paints in 2011 which includes glass paints!

You can always find my past tutorials on the tutorials tab up top.  I've completed a new craft almost every week for the past year and a bit so there are loads of fun and easy ideas and projects to try~

Don't forget to link up your Christmassy crafts to this weeks Make it Great Monday link party!