Painted Pots for Wedding Shower

A good family friend of ours got married back in December (goes to show just how much I have been lagging on my blogging) and I was asked to decorate some pots for the wedding shower. I did these ones in my garden and everybody loved them!

The pots were first spray painted white, and then I just used a bold permanent marker and drew the designs free-hand. I then went back over with a fine tip pen and drew in a couple more little details.  It was much easier for me to use a pen and draw the designs on than paint them like I did my last ones. Plus it was quicker and didn't need as much time to dry. After I was done, I sprayed a clear coating over the outside to protect the design and on the inside to help keep the pot from absorbing up too much of the water. The plants won't last as long if the terra cotta pot is sucking up all the water.

The wedding invitations had this cute little black scroll design to them, so I used that as the inspiration behind the design.

The plants and pots were all prizes for some of the games we played, but I made a big special one for the bride and groom with their names and the year at the top.

This was what the tables turned out like. The bags were a lucky find from Palace and inside there were little things for each guest to take home: mirror, lip gloss, chapstick, nail polish, and candy.

These pots were a HUGE success and people really loved winning them- especially when they found out that somebody there actually took time out of their day to make them. It made me feel really good and I was happy I could do something like that for the bride and groom.

Re-usable Towel Roll

I have had these rolls on my list for quite some time now. Since I have a couple co-workers who also like to get down and crafty, we decided to get together and have a crafting day. Which, by the way, is super awesome! It is so much better to craft and get creative with a group of people, rather than tucked into a dark closet by yourself (no, seriously, that is where I do my crafting).
 My project for the day was to make a re-usable towel roll that snapped together. I made one for my mom, and one for my boyfriends mom. They were such a huge hit that now I not only have to make one for myself, but I also have orders coming in from other family members.

I got some fat quarters and snaps from my local fabric store, and then got the terry cloth from dish towels at the dollar store. I cut them up into squares, and sewed them both together.

The sewing was actually the easiest part ( I am a beginner when it comes to sewing and my machine) but the dang snaps were a b****. I believe the tool I was using was pretty chinsy and cheap, but it just took too long and I kept ruining snaps- thus wasting a bunch and running out before I was able to finish both sets. Actually, I have decided that I either need a better tool, or next time I am going to just try velcro. I think velcro might work better, because you won't have to pull too hard to get one towel off.

I made them each 5 squares long. I felt like that was a pretty good number to be able to use them up, and not run out too fast. If you are super savy with your laundry (unlike myself) you can even wash them before you use all the squares up.

I have been super stoked on this project, and I will most certainly be doing it again for myself in the very near future. All I need is a trip to the dollar store! In fact, I see a weekend project coming into place!!

Re-usable Snack Bags

These little guys were a part of my Christmas crafting gifts. In my attempt to be green, and more self sustained I decided to tackle these for my mom. I wanted little bags that could easily be re-used day after day, and were easy to clean. After searching around the internet, and pinterest I found this idea of fusing together plastic grocery bags to be able to sew on them. It was pretty easy too, and all I had to do was iron bags together with parchment paper over them until they essentially melted together. I did only one layer at a time, and because I am picky I cut up my bags so there weren't any letters or writing showing. The idea behind this is really a good one, but I'm not sure of the effects of long term use with the plastic grocery bags on your food. Next time I think I am actually going to try just using ziploc bags. That being said, the process was really simple and I just used bags and fabric that I already had on hand.

I cut up the plastic and the fabric into long wide strips and then folded down a tab at one end and sewed away!

 

Now you can have dry foods as well as wet foods (such as fruit or anything like that) and still be able to wash out your cute little bag, and then re-use it tomorrow! Stoked!

This is the bag all closed up. I just folded it up like a sandwich bag. The way that the sides fold up kind of bothers me though. I think next time I am going to just do some velcro, and have a fold down flap. Just cause my OCD really kicks in with things like that...

I really enjoyed doing this project, and loved the outcome of them. This will definitely be on my list of things to do for myself soon. I will let you know about any changes that I made to them too!