DIY Numbered Monogram

I love monograms. And numbers. This is a combination of both
that I made to represent our last name + how many family members
their are. J to the fourth power = fun with math + art to start my
gallery wall in my dining room. And a new love affair with yellow.

Here's what I used in this project:

• vintage linen napkin
• matte Mod Podge
• large wooden letter 
• small wooden number
• acrylic craft paint
• fabric scissors
• paint brush

I love to repurpose, so to go along with this theme, 

I used a pretty lemon yellow vintage linen napkin I found

 at a thrift store a few months ago.

I cut the cloth into little rectangles using fabric scissors.

I applied the matte Mod Podge onto the monogram with a 

brush, laid one piece of fabric down flat over it.

I then brushed more Mod Podge over the top of the fabric piece,

saturating it and smoothing it flat against the wood. 

I repeated steps 2-3, overlapping fabric pieces onto the top 

and sides of the wooden letter until it was covered completely.

To finish, I painted my number using Deco Art 

acrylic paint in a dark gray.

 After everything was dry, I nailed the my numbered monogram

to my gallery wall!

I love how it adds some fresh modern style to

my previously traditional wall. I plan on surrounding the wall

 with photos of my family, nature and some cheerful crayon and paint

works of art done by my boys. I can't wait to until it's done!

Stay tuned for a post in a few weeks showing the finished gallery wall...

Thanks for tuning in!

Linking up with these parties and this party.

Mini Rosette Christmas Tree

If you've been following along, you'll probably know I've been doing a "mini series" of three types of miniature Christmas trees I've been making. If you are just now tuning in and missed all the fun of the first two, you can click here and here to view them! 

Here is the final of the three trees made with cloth rosettes and beads. This was the most time consuming tree of all to make, but I am really happy with how it turned out. 

In keeping with the recycled theme of most of my projects, I'm proud to say the cloth I used to make the rosettes was repurposed from a dress and cotton tote of mine that were wearing out, but could still be used for craft purposes. 

If you've been browsing through blogland, you'll  know that rosettes are all the rage and that there are tons of tutorials out there for them. But if you don't know how to make them and would like a good tutorial, click here to view a cool blog called Craftaholics Anonymous (she has lots of other great tutorials on there with great pictures-go check it out! )

To make these, I used a floral foam cone and just made a ton of rosettes and glue gunned them to the cone. Because there were little gaps where you could see the foam, I glued in some metallic beads to fill in the spaces. I attached tulle bows to the top for the "star" along with a few silver  jingle bells.

Then I glued three wine corks to the bottom as my "trunk". This finishes my mini tree collection!  I hope you enjoyed the "mini series" of little trees! I will be having fun this week decorating for Christmas and finding places to display them in my house. 

Stay tuned these next couple of weeks for more original, homemade Christmas decorations including garland, ornaments and wreaths by ReMadeSimple. 

Thanks for reading! 

Kristina

Linking up with these parties and this party.

DIY 3 Layered Fabric Pouf Brooch

I have been loving those little fabric pouf brooch/hair clip duo's I've been seeing in stores lately and was determined to figure out how to make one of my own, so I searched the internet high and low and found a few tutorials that helped me create my own version.

I also took a trip to this great non-profit art supply place called Scrap 4 Art, that will let you fill up a big bag of donated items for $6. They have lots of fabric scraps there, so I was happy to fill up a bag bring them to life again.

I'm excited to show you  my version of the pouf using three types of fabric to add color and texture.

Before you get started, you need to know that this project is not hard, but took me about 2 hours to do, so plan ahead!

Here's what you'll need:

1. two fabrics of your choice (I used one cotton vintage patterned and one polyester solid)
2.  tulle
3. thread
4. sewing needle
5. traceable object (like a jar lid)
6. sewing scissors
7. brooch pin back
8. glue gun
9. marker

Trace four circles on the fabric you want the base to be.

    Cut them out!

    Fold each base circle in half, then in half again.

   Pinch each circle at the corner, then sew a stitch through one corner at a time, connecting each corner with the thread. Knot in place.

   Now it's time to trace circles onto your top fabric. The amount will vary, but I used about 15-20 circles.

 Cut the circles out.

Fold them in half and in half again, repeating the same process as above. Pinch one corner at a time for the next step.

 Next, hold each pinched corner of the folded circle and make one stitch through the entire brooch into the corner. Stitch again, all the way through connecting circles in the same way until the pouf looks tight enough. 

    Next, I cut out about 8 strips of tulle about 5 inches long, knotting them in the center.

    Place the knotted center in between the two different colored fabric pieces and sew a stitch all the way through, repeating this process all the way around the circle with tulle strips until tulle evenly covers the pouf.     

If you want to make your tulle curl up a little and look vintage like mine, hold the ends of the tulle carefully about 6 inches above a lit candle. They will start to curl up pretty fast, so start further away from the flame and slowly warm them. And watch those fingers! 

If you want to see a picture of how I did this with some other fabric brooches I made this summer, click here.

And here is the finished 3 layered brooch! 

                 

                 

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Simple Thanksgiving Felt Garland

I love Thanksgiving--it is such a simple season of gratitude--and life may be hard at times for many of us, but I think it's important to remember the ways we are blessed. I always think it's a shame that this holiday often gets overlooked by the rushed Christmas season ahead.

This year, I decided to celebrate a little early and decorate with a simple reminder to "be thankful". I have been loving all the machine sewn together felt garland I've seen around different blogs and on Pinterest.

Since I don't have a sewing machine yet,  I decided to put an old-fashioned spin on designing my own by hand stitching the garland.  I was excited to find some recycled felt made from Eco-Fi-made from 100% post-consumer plastic bottles by the brand Creatology. Plastic bottles never felt so soft!

Follow along with my tutorial if you'd like to make this project! This is so simple I would consider it a kid-friendly craft. Here's what you'll need:

1. Yarn needle
2. Felt in various colors
3. Fabric scissors
4. Yarn-I used two types of textures, but used the smooth kind for the lettering
5. Glue gun or tacky glue
6. Small circular containers in different sizes to trace-try a spice jar or medicine cup.
7. Pen or pencil 

First, I traced my circles around the containers-I alternated between two different sizes.

Then, I cut out each circle until I had enough to spell out my words. I used 11 circles.

Next, I threaded my yarn needle with the wavy yarn and stitched loosely through the center of the first circle.

I repeated the process, leaving about an inch between circles, until I ended up with a long chain of circles, like this:

To make the words, "be thankful" I cut small pieces of straight orange yarn and just looped and connected the pieces to form each letter. I then glued each letter to the center of the circle.

keep in mind that I formed the letters first before trying to glue them!

forming the letters while one of my sons curiously watches

Are you ready to see the finished product? Here it is!

a shot from below, the garland is held in place by the gourds.

a side shot

I love how this garland adds playful charm and an old-fashioned homemade feel to my mantle! And, of course that it reminds me to "be thankful".

Linking up with these parties: The Girl Creative, Life Made Lovely, C.R.A.F.T, and I Heart Nap Time), Skip To My Lou, Todays Creative Blog, http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com// House of Hepworth's, and these.

Recycled Dress Wreath

Hi, my name is Kristina and I am thrilled to be featured here today on Infarrantly Creative! I recently started this little blog called ReMadeSimple as a collection of all my crafting and home decorating ideas.

Many of my ideas have to do with recycled or repurposed items, using nature in decorating and bringing new life to old things. My goal is for my ideas to be low-cost and relatively simple to create-I have lots of tutorials and fun ideas I hope you check out!

Now, onto today's easy and quick wreath tutorial!

I have been having lots of fun lately repurposing fabric from worn out or outdated clothes--I feel good about reusing them rather than just donating them or throwing them away, especially if the fabric is still in good condition.

Here is a wreath I made from a dress I had loved but had become a little worn out and outdated over the years. The white woven cotton cloth was still in good shape and was so easy to work with. I love that the colors of this wreath are versatile enough for Christmas, winter or spring.

Here is another wreath I made with the same concept of using recycled fabric as another option in a different style using scraps of old lace I snagged at a garage sale.

So,  do you have any clothes, lace or ribbon stored away that deserve a second chance? And are you ready to make a really easy, fast wreath?

Here are the materials I used:
1. foam wreath circle
2. low temp glue gun
3. fabric or lace of your choice
4. reindeer moss-(soft, spongy moss I found at Michael's and Hobby Lobby)
5. buttons
6. ribbon

Here's how I made them:

1. I started with a foam wreath circle like the one above. 
2. Then, I cut strips of fabric a few inches wide and about two feet long. (They don't have to be perfect because they will overlap). 
3. I decided which side would be the back of my wreath. Then, I glued the edge of the first strip to the backside.
4. Then, I began wrapping the fabric tightly around the foam circle, hot gluing the edge again when I reached the end of the fabric strip. 

4. I continued the same process, overlapping fabric to cover all of the green foam, glueing the ends of the strips to the back of the wreath.

5. After the wreath was covered evenly in fabric, I decided to add a few rosettes. I made my rosettes by folding the strips in half lengthwise and rolled and twisted them into a tight circle, glue gunning them in place as needed.

6. To finish, I glue gunned the moss and a few buttons to make the rosette stand out more.

Here is the finished recycled dress wreath with the green and white striped hanging ribbon. I was able to give both of these wreaths away as gifts-I'm pretty sure they loved them!

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How to Make Cloth Vintage Inspired Booches

I was in a department store this week and noticed some pretty flower pin/hairclip combos in accessories, and not feeling like paying the price tag for them inspired me to try to make them myself. So, I went to a craft store and picked up some vintage looking flowers, pin backings and a roll of bridal tulle and went to work researching on the internet. What I have made below is a combination of various tutorials I found online, as well as some ideas I thought of my own.

Here is a little trick for making tulle curl up in a bowl and crinkle around the edges:

First cut out a tulle circle, then hold it carefully above a candle flame to melt it a little-make sure you don't hold it too close or the whole thing will burn!

After the circles were crinkled enough for me, I then layered three of the circles cut in different sizes, glue gunned the flower and pin backing to them for the finished product! Would be pretty on a summer dress, plain T-shirt, or tote.

The all-cotton brooch was inspired by embellished shirts I have loved but not loved the price tag on either, along with wanting to brighten up plain shirts with a fun, fresh look. The ones I made below were created entirely from a shirt I no longer wear because of a stain, but I still loved the pretty sequins and lace enough to want to find a different use for them. Are you ready to get out the needle and thread and those sock-stitching skills ? And, you will need a nice pair of fabric scissors too. Ready, set, sew!

First, I cut out little "B" shapes-out of folded in half fabric in different shapes and placed on top of each other at a slight angle.

Add caption

Then, I cut out a piece of the lacey sequin for the center.

 Next, I made a stitch with needle and thread throught the center, tightened to gather the fabric together in the center, and knotted on the back.

Finally, I glue gunned the pin backing to the back to finish. You could combine two together for a larger brooch, or even sew directly onto a shirt if you want, too!