Blog - TaylorMade

Stake Your Claim Beach Towel

July 11, 2011 By Taylor 15 Comments

This “Stake Your Claim Beach Towel” just might be a genius idea. I know it is a very simple idea but how many times have you been to the beach and had to struggle to keep your beach towel down because of the wind then it gets all sandy? Here is your solution!

The Stake Your Claim beach towel is one of the most simple/useful crafts I have done all summer. I have already used it a handful of times, even in my backyard. All you need are a few supplies. I found my tent stakes ($1.50) and my beach towel ($6) at Academy.

Do you have a button hole foot on your machine? I don’t know what I would do without mine. You have to use a button in the button hole foot because that tells your machine how long to make the button hole. I chose a button slightly larger than my stakes. Just put your button in the slot and pull down.

Mark a dot on all of the four corners of your beach towel. Line the dot up with the center of the button hole foot, choose the button hole stitch and just start sewing; it does all of the work for you!

Now you have your stitched button hole. Take a seam ripper and carefully open the hole.

You now have your button holes so you can Stake Your Claim. In your backyard or at the Beach.

There you have the super simple/genius Stake Your Claim Beach Towel :) I think it would work perfect as a fun summer Birthday Gift too.

Some people have asked if grommets would work. Of course they would. To be honest, I planned with grommets and went to Hobby Lobby then they were sold out :( But a good crafter always has a back up plan. So, if you don’t have a button hole foot or don’t sew, just put your grommets in the corners and make sure they are slightly larger than your stakes.

Baby Onesie Cutoffs

July 8, 2011 By Taylor 6 Comments

When Clyde was born and I realized I had another boy in the house I thought to myself, perfect! I have a closet full of boy clothes. Well… Finn was born on August 6th and Clyde was born on February 6th. Their dates are exactly six months apart to the day. So, we got home from the hospital with Clyde, I opened the closet and BAM a closet full of sleeveless and short sleeved shirts on the only day that Houston ever had a “hard freeze”. Why didn’t I realize that all of these clothes were for the opposite season? Now once again all of Finn’s old 9 month onesies are for winter and I am about to die of a heat stroke. My poor little poopsie is hot natured just like his Mommy. Solution… Baby Cutoffs!

I did this to some pants a few weeks ago too. I am now on a Baby Cutoff Spree at my house and nothing is safe. Watch out old baby jeans… its over 100 degrees and mama’s hot. These make me hot just looking at them… (I really can’t describe my hatred for the heat enough)

I really wanted Clyde to be able to wear this shirt because it has a special meaning. When I first found out I was pregnant with Finn this was the first thing I bought, so really the first “baby thing” I ever bought in my life :)

Use a short-sleeved onesie as your pattern and mark 1/2″ past the edge of the sleeve. (Yes I use a sharpie, I don’t like tailor’s chalk)

Serge around the edge and then pin and sew two parallel lines for the seam.

Ahhh…. relief!

How cute is this little model of mine? What a Happy Boy! So, what sort of summer refashioning have you done lately? And are you now going to run through your house with scissors looking for clothes to cutoff?

Color Wheel Clock

July 5, 2011 By Taylor 17 Comments

Have you noticed the “embroidery hoop craze” that is going around? Just search “embroidery hoop” on Pinterest and see what I mean… everything from chalkboards, cork boards, picture frames, and wall art. I thought I’d jump on the Embroidery Hoop bandwagon and I need a clock in the living room, perfect! Fun fact: I went through a small phase in 8th grade when I wanted to collect clocks then I realized they are really noisy at night and got rid of them all. Meet The Color Wheel Clock.

You can get really creative with this, I actually went to the store for an embroidery hoop and a Clock Kit then came home and decided on the Color Wheel and fabric idea. You can use anything for the “hours” of the clock. I thought about buttons, rocks and abstract numbers. But being an art dork I really loved the Color Wheel. What You Need:-Clock Kit (I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $5.99)– One fat quarter for the background of the clock-Embroidery Hoop (mine is 10″)-fabric scraps in 12 different colors– fusible interfacing

Directions: Cut your fabric Scraps out and iron the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric

Trace a 1″ circle on the back of the interfacing and cut it out

I painted the outside of my embroidery hoop gold to match the clock hands and the screw on the hoop

Fit your background fabric on the embroidery hoop. Measure 5″ from side to side and top to bottom to find the exact center and mark it.

Also mark the spots for each hour

Remove the fabric from the hoop and start placing the color wheel circles in place. Do this on your ironing board so you don’t have to move it once everything is in place. Don’t forget to remove the paper on the back of the interfacing. Iron them down.

Read the instructions on that came with your clock… (it was boring enough the first time so I don’t remember the exact steps; but I did take a pic) It looks daunting but it was really simple.

Cut a little “X” in the middle where you marked your center spot

Push the clock back through and assemble the clock.

Trim the excess fabric around the hoop

I think I am addicted to embroidery hoops now, I have already bought three more, good thing they are only about $2 each! What have you made with embroidery hoops that I need to know about? Or even better if you have a picture upload them to the Taylor Made flickr group and show me what ur workin with.

Nook Covers Part 2

June 29, 2011 By Taylor 5 Comments

Happy Wednesday! I posted about my Nook Covers a few weeks ago HERE. I received quite a few emails and questions about the pattern and if I had a tutorial. Answer… I don’t because I actually purchased one on Etsy. I was going to make my own but I figured for $6 I would save myself some time :) The Etsy shop is called Birdiful Stitches. I love the pattern; it was really easy to follow, quick to sew and she even says you can resell them.

So, I made my third one last night; this time for my mom. I used my Silhouette with the iron-on interfacing and cut the bird out of fabric. Then I sewed it to the front cover before piecing the whole thing together. I found a picture of a bird on a branch that I liked from google images. Then I used the trace feature. Read my “How to Trace Tutorial” HERE.

I added an extra leaf and of course my Taylor Made Label to the back.

I love a good easy project that only takes a few hours but feels like you really accomplished something!

Felt Sunburst Key Chain

June 22, 2011 By Taylor 9 Comments

Do you have a whole box of felt scraps?… Oh that’s just me? I can’t let go of them for some reason even though an entire sheet is .25 cents. Well, I found a way to use all of those precious scraps.

All you need is a keyring from the Hardware Store or Walmart. Use pinking shears (p.s. love my pinking shears) and cut two pieces for the front and back. I used a piece of cardboard as a template and a scrap piece of ribbon to attach the fab to the ring.

Cut out three layers; each a little smaller than the last. I started by making perfect circles then I tried to go for a more abstract/messy look.

Work backwards… sew the button on the smallest circle, then sew that circle on the middle and so on…

Do you use your button foot as much as I do? I can’t live without it. I mean, call me a lazy sewer but it sews a button on in literally about 4 seconds. Continue sewing the other layers on in reverse order.

Sandwich the ribbon (with the key ring on it) between your two layers of felt.

Do you see how I tried to make it look “messy” but I didn’t follow through… might be a minor craft fail? No, not for me, I slapped this baby on my key ring!

I am going to have to perfect the look, I might even put some extras in the Taylor Made Shop. My keys are happy and that is all that matters :)

Father’s Day Tree Art

June 17, 2011 By Taylor 5 Comments

This year I thought the boys could help me make Bryan’s Fathers Day gift. That thought might have been a little premature considering my boys are 4 months and almost 2 years old. This project didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned in my head, but they boys were actually involved so that’s even better right :) Aren’t the little hand prints so cute?

I saw this cute picture on Pinterest a few weeks ago. Then, I drilled down to where it came from and it was an Etsy Shop called Personalized Prints. She has some really cute stuff (love the wedding fingerprint tree). Her example was for a bare tree and you add your kids hand prints for the leaves. She must not have a two year old boy because this is not what happened to me. I couldn’t even take a picture of it because the picture’s life was on the line and I had to act quickly to save it.

I cut the tree and letters out from my Silhouette. Use tweezers for the thin paper branches and tiny letters.

I placed everything backward on a piece of scrap paper and used spray adhesive to stick the letters and tree to the paper.

Stick the tree and letters to the page. Love those pudgy little hands! He even helped me with the letters.

Six very messy hands (mine included) and a few hours later, here is what we came up with…

My “2001” had a little fight with Clyde and Clyde won, so I added a thumbprint heart and wrote the year in the corner.

I used a 13″x10″ frame and used white paper behind our painting.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the daddy’s out there.

Nook Covers

June 10, 2011 By Taylor 17 Comments

Do you have an E-reader? Because it is my new obsession. I can actually blame my current lack of crafts posts on my Nook. I guess reading is a good “new” hobby, right? Well, like any good nook owner I knew I needed a cover. I shopped around but didn’t find one that I loved. Then I found a DIY pattern on Etsy – yay. The pattern was very easy to follow. I have already made one for my sister too.

You can really add any sort of personal touch to your e-reader cover. My sister has a more classic style so hers is the navy one. And I wanted something more bold. The hardest part is picking out a button.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the “read” in fabric for the front of mine. I used Silhouette’s fabric interfacing and cut the fabric straight from the machine. How did I make the heart at the end of the word? Oh thanks for asking… I drew a heart and merged it into the end of the word in the Silhouette software. Then I just did a tight zig-zag stitch around the letters (not very perfectly).

Does any one have any must reads that I need to know about? I am reading Water for Elephants right now then I am going to read The Help. Since I am in my late twenties and just now taking up reading as a hobby I have some catching up to do…

Mexican Cheesecake

June 6, 2011 By Taylor 24 Comments

Disclaimer: do not blame me for how much you like this dessert because it is not low fat!

I like to take Mexican Cheesecake when I go somewhere and I know that I can’t eat more than one piece. In fact no one should even be allowed to have more than one piece because not only is it buttery and flaky, but the cream cheese makes it super rich. (I might know from personal experience that you will not feel good about yourself after two pieces). Anyway, I like it because it is very easy to make and its a crowd pleaser every time.

Ingredients:

2 (8oz) cans of Crescent Rolls

2 (8oz) Blocks of Cream Cheese – softened

2 cups Sugar (missed the cut for the pic?)

2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Melted Butter

Cinnamon

Directions:

Spray a 9×13 pan with Pam and spread one of the cans of crescent rolls on the bottom of the pan.

Mix the 2 blocks of cream cheese, 1 cup of the sugar, and 1 tsp of vanilla until fluffy.

Spread the mixture on top of the crescent roll bottom. Roll out the other can of crescent rolls and place them on top of the other two layers. Press the edges to form a seal.

Melt the butter and remaining 1 cup of sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 tsp vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture. Pour that Mixture on top of cheesecake. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake at 350 for 30 mins and enjoy

Bow Ties

June 1, 2011 By Taylor 3 Comments

What is cuter than a little boy in a boy tie?… Nothing is… I tell you NOTHING!

Remember when I won Runner-Up in the Knock it Off contest? Well, I did and one of my prizes was my choice of two patterns from Little Lizard King, a cute Etsy shop. I knew I wanted to make the boys some bow ties for a wedding. It was perfect when I saw that she had a Bow Tie Pattern in her Etsy Shop. Less work when I don’t have to think of how to do something.

I followed the “bow” part just like the pattern said. The only thing I changed was the middle loop to make it a little wider. It was a very easy-to-follow pattern.

The boys looked super geek-chic in their little bow ties… ahhh little men going to their first wedding!

Instead of doing elastic around the neck, I just added an alligator clip to the back with felt and some E-6000 (best glue ever). That way I can use them again on a cardigan or in my hair.

I love these bow ties so I think I might be making more in the near future just for funsies.

What else can I do with them?

The Napkin Apron

May 24, 2011 By Taylor 4 Comments

Do you have an obsession a healthy love for aprons like I do (seriously, I have too many)? Well here is the easiest apron you will ever make. I made this for a craft competition and the theme was “Under $5″… I made this for $4.97. Easy and cheap; what’s not to like?

All you need is:

2 cloth Napkins (I found these on sale at World Market)

2-3 yards of cotton twill tape

One napkin will be left alone for the bottom half of the apron. The other napkin will make up the top of the apron and the ruffles.

To make the top, serge and sew (or just sew) two of the sides so that your dimensions are 10″x10″. The best part of this apron is that the napkins are almost totally sewn for you!

Now you need to sew the top square to the bottom square. Center the top square on the bottom square with right sides together and sew.

Sew down the seam that you just made all the way across the bottom square.

Add the twill tape to the top of the square, hold it up to your body to determine the length. Then do the same for the side straps, make sure to tie it in a bow because it will need to be longer than you think. Remember you can always cut more later but you cant add on to it.

Now, you will have over half of the top square left over and that will be used for our ruffle. Sew it into one large rectangle and ruffle it however you like. You will need to piece two long pieces together but you wont see the seam because of the ruffleyness (new word of the day?). I like to use my serger because I don’t have a ruffle foot…whomp whomp whomp. Make sure you make two different ruffles, one for the bottom of the apron and one for the top. With the serger, I have to kind of “pleat” as I sew because it doesn’t do a very tight ruffle. Sew the ruffle to the bottom and the top of the apron.

So simple right? It is my new painting apron because I already have too many cooking ones and I don’t garden.