Tutorial Time!

Want a super easy project to turn something totally drab into absolutely FAB-U-LOUS? Well here goes!

Everyone has a corkboard bulletin hanging around their house, apartment, office, etc. It may not be up on the wall, but look hard, I bet you'll find one in the back of a closet, in a storage room, under a desk - somewhere! If not, the super plain ones are fairly cheap at the Wally World. In the process of moving all of the stuff from an old storage room into the new house, I came across a small corkboard (about 18"x 22" I believe). I have a larger one but something about the size intimidated me from getting this project out of my head and into reality. So anyways, I saw this & just had to stop the other projects i was working on and get this pretty made & hanging on the wall!

What you need:
A corkboard (obviously)
Fabric - I used a medium weight cotton duck, but I'm pretty sure any light/medium weight will work. The amount depends on the size of your corkboard.
Spray adhesive ( I used Elmer's)
Staple gun & staples
Thumbtacks (I used the cheap silver flat thumbtacks that come 200 per pack from Walmart)
Fabric scissors

Lay out your fabric on a flat surface and smooth it out.

Place your corkboard on top of the fabric. Cut the fabric around the corkboard leaving about 2-3 inches of fabric on all sides. (So, if you have an 18"x22" board cut the piece of fabric out about 24"x28")

If you want any decorative applique or embroidery add it now. I just eyeballed where I wanted the monogram, marked my center, and used my embroidery machine to complete the applique. This one was a super cute alphabet from hangtodryapplique.com that is a super quick stitch out. I chose a pretty shade of blue for the fabric and stitched it with a lime green. It's going to look so wonderful hanging on the wall of my newly painted craft room - as soon as we get it painted! If you don't want any extra decoration or personalization, continue to the next step.

Spray the front of the board with adhesive. Carefully place the fabric on top making sure you line up the design of the fabric and the added embellishments so they are where you want them. Now here comes the fun part!

Wrap the fabric around the board, frame and all, and start stapling. You'll want to make sure the fabric is pulled tight (but not crazy tight) around the frame. I like to staple flat on the back of the board that you don't have to have an extra border or ribbon added around the frame. That's a personal preference though.

Flip over the board and see how pretty it already is? This final step is the one that took me the longest but it's really not hard at all. Take the thumbtacks and push them in up as close to the inside edge of the frame as possible so that they'll lay flat. Continue these in a pattern you like around the edge - I put them almost touching right next to each other, but i'm sure it would look just as cute with about half of the tacks I used.

See, that didn't take too long did it? I think mine took about an hour and I wasn't really sure of my plan of attack when I started so it may take you even less time!

Now look at your super cute corkboard! Add the hanging hardware to the back and hang your pretty up on the wall! Everyone will admire your work as they walk by - I promise!

Of course, if you still don't want to make one yourself & would like me to make one for you, - shoot me an email! I'll be happy to set up a customized listing for you in my Etsy shop.

Have you missed me?

Wow, I never intended on leaving this blog unattended for so long! The last part of the year got a little crazy I guess and it got away from me. Hope to not let that happen again!

So what has everybody been up to? We sold our home in October, lived with the parents for 2 months while our new house was being built and moved in just before Christmas. Let's just say that moving during the Christmas season is nuts! Moving during the Christmas season while trying to start a small business venture is certifiable.

I've pretty much moved away from cakes and have gotten totally engrossed in all things embroidery, sewing & applique. Oh! I even learned how to cut vinyl using my Cricut too. There are just sooooo many things you can do and make and keep around for as long as you want! You know, unlike a cake that is gorgeous for about a day and then it either molds or gets eaten.

I've had so much fun with this, I decided to try to sell a few items. I did a couple of craft shows while living with my parents that were pretty much a waste of my time. The first one had absolutely no advertising and the second was let's just say advertised to the vendors as something completely different than what it really was. I guess, I shouldn't say they wasted my time. I did learn some things for when I do another show, if I ever do one. For now, we're going to just stick to a facebook page and a small Etsy store and see how that goes. I added a link to this blog in case any of my visitors would like to take a gander at what's available.

Thanks so much! I'll try to get some pretty pictures posted soon!

It's Time to Go Back to School!

Well, the summer passed by entirely too quickly and all the little people are returning to school. So, course some of my favorite little people needed some items to take with them back to school!

I used the Big Applique font from 8 Claws and Paw to create a design for Emily's "School Rocks" shirt. I had to decrease the size of the letters a good bit so they'd all fit in one hooping, but it worked wonderfully! Sweet girl wore it to daycare the last day of summer to get everyone excited about going back to school :)

 

 

Next up on the goodie list, Ayden needed his own little backpack for daycare. I got a little camo Cinch Sak from the 31 party I had earlier this summer. I thought it'd be ideal since it's very lightweight and not as bulky as a lot of the bags are these days. It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to put on it - I didn't want to only put his name on it. I mean he is only 2 - he needs something cutesy right? I finally decided on the Squirrel Alphabet from Planet Applique. I used fleece for the squirrl to give it a little texture. After I'd done the applique, I wanted to add his name somewhere but just didn't want to do the traditional above or below the applique. I decided to make it a little more fun and put it in the squirrel's tail using a font from my machine. It was the perfect subtle touch that just "made" the bag!

 

 





The last of my back to school goodies was for a new friend that was in deperate need for a first day of kindergarten outfit. Apparently she'd ordered one over a month prior online, but a week before school started, they contacted her saying they were unable to complete her request. That just makes me sad that someone would do that to someone! Luckily, I was able to fit her in. I was able to find the same design her sweet Grace picked out online & made her this rockin' dress! Kindergarten Rocks design came from Embroidery Boutique. I used the Itch 2 Stitch's Jelly Bean font to add her name. This was so much fun!