from shit...

If you run your own small crafty business like I do, then you likely want to have your business information on the product that you make and sell (how else will people know that you made it?).  Ordering tags can get pricey and if you're just getting started you may not know how many to order or what size.  In this tutorial I will show you how to easily make your own professional looking tags.

What you will need:

1.  Avery fabric tranfers 

2.  A printable version of your logo/info you want on the tag.

3.  An iron

4.  Wide Single Fold Bias Tape in your preferred size.  Here I use the kind that is .875 in wide.

5.  Scissors 

6.  Needle and thread or sewing machine

STEPS:

1.  Use a program like photoshop to design what you want on your tag.  See pic 1 below.  Decide if you want the tag to have one side or two.  I have two sides on mine.  The front has my logo on it and the back has the washing instructions.  

2.  Print your tags on avery fabric transfers.  If your Bias tape is a dark color make sure you use the avery fabric for darks and if your bias tape is a light color, like my white tape here, make sure you use the one for light colors, as shown.  WARNING:  remember to print your tags BACKWARDS!!!!  If using photoshop, after you hit print there is an option to flip the image horizontally which will make it turn out backwards. TIP:  So that I don't waste the avery transfer paper, I also do a practice test and print on regular paper first to make sure the labels are the right size.

3.  Next I cut the labels into strips the same width as the bias tape and iron them on 2 at a time.  Make sure you don't have water in your iron and that your irons steam option is off.  The fabric transfer paper comes with directions but here are some of my tips to add:  you do not use the ironing board when using fabric transfer paper--you need a hard surface.  I take a pillow and cover a table before ironing.  The package will tell you how much time to iron based on the size of the image.  In my experience I always need to do longer than the recommended amount.  There is a little bit of trial and error here.  I usually start with the recommended time, try to gently peal the edge after letting it sit and cool for a minute.  If the edge seems stuck, iron some more before trying to peal it again.

4.  Cut up the tags and sew them into your project sew sister!

1.  Print out your poster from blockposters.com and tape it together to form 1 large image.  Make sure it is the right size for your piece of burlap fabric.

2.  Place the burlap on top of the paper poster and pin it in place

3.  Take your sharpie and start to trace the logo.  You should be able to see the paper logo through the sheerness of the burlap.  This is SO much faster than measuring out each letter to get things perfectly sized and straight.

4.  Once you've completed outlining fill in the outline and it will look like this.

5.  Finally add grommets to the corners.  This is important because you need a way to hang your shnazy new banner.  Grommets also add a bit of a professional looking touch and they are super easy.  You can get a kit with all the parts you need at most hardware and craft stores.  I got mine at Mendall's on haight street.  For step by step guide with pictures click on the gallery below.  The kits come with directions but basically you decide where you will want the hole.  Make sure to leave enough room for the grommet ring around the hole.  Draw a circle where you want the grommet placed and cut a small circle there.  You will place the bottom piece of the grommet in the stand that they give you and poke it through the hole in the fabric.  Then you will take the top piece that they give you  to sandwich the piece of fabric.  Take the metal crayon shaped thing and put it in the center hole of the grommet and hammer

6.  Take your string and put it through the holes and your new banner is ready for action.

7.  Go spend that money you saved on making your own sign and buy yourself a celebratory drink.  You deserve it you crafty thang.

Love the look of painted yoga mats but not the price tag?  Why not make your own for a fraction of the price?

What you'll need:

1.  A new/clean plain yoga mat

2.  Acrylic paint in your desired colors

3.  Paintbrush

4.  Pencil

5.  Sticky notes or painters tape (to mark off where your image will go)

1.  Get a yoga mat.  I got mine at Ross for $8.99!

2.  Use sticky notes or blue painters tape to mark where you will place your image.  For my "Downward Dog" mat I got into that position and placed the sticky notes where my hands and feet actually go in that pose.

3.  Draw out your image with pencil.  As you can see here, I originally used a skinny sharpie to draw my image but found that it smeared with water so on the next try I used pencil and then when I was done (and the paint was dry) I washed off the pencil marks.

4.  Using acrylic paint paint your image on the mat

5.  Let the paint dry and try her out!

6.  Take a little shnooze--you worked hard.  You deserve it!

Fabric can be SOOOO expensive!  Shower curtains come in all kinds of colors and patterns and is excellent material to use to make fun pillows all year round!  I bought this material at home goods for around $13 and was able to make 4 pillows from it!  Two big ones for my bed and 2 decorative ones for the couch.

(The couch is pictured in the gallery above)

A few weeks ago I really hit the jackpot at the treasure store (that's what my mom and I call goodwill because we find so many treasures there :).  They had a bolt of new white fabric!  I didn't have a project in mind at the time, but with fabric being so expensive, I bought it for $12 knowing that it would come in handy at some point.  That point came when I decided to celebrate my best friend, my dog molly, in making these puppy love pillows.

Like I need an excuse to decorate and rearrange the furniture...

Unsurprisingly Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and is hands down my favorite holiday to decorate for!  

Although there are great finds at places like Homegoods if you're looking for decorations for great prices, I like to supplement these with DIY projects to really get my apartment in the holiday spirit!

This DIY is SO easy--What you need:

- Gold paper (I got mine at Homegoods for $3.99)

- tape

- Scissors

- circular object (I used a ducktape roll)

urban outfitters has these gold decals, $19 for a set of only 8 circles:

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=33987199&parentid=A_FURN_WALL#/

I made more like 40 gold circles for $3.99 (the cost of the gold wrapping paper).  All you have to do is cut a sheet of the gold paper and fold it over a couple times but leave it big enough to trace both the inner ring of the duck tape and the outer ring of the duck tape (see the pic in the top left corner).  After I traced the circles I cut them out, roll some tape balls on the back and stick them on the wall.  An easy way to add some chic (and cheap!!!) glamour to your home for the holidays.

Check out the gallery below to see more of my Ho Ho HOliday home decor!

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Getting your home to look like a million bucks doesn't have to cost you a million bucks!

Take this table I found on the street while taking my malte-shit (maltese/shih tzu) rescue on a walk.  Some people see garbage--I see gold.  

Just a little powersanding with my handy dandy Black and Decker mouse sander (available on Amazon here:  http://amzn.to/1wzXHo3) and some spray paint (rust-oleum white satin http://thd.co/1pObO2V for the wood and rust-oleum metallic in gold http://amzn.to/ZRp0wXA for the hardware) and voila--a new chic vanity!  

If Rachel Ashwell and Martyn Lawrence-Bullard had a child, it would be me darling.

Okay this couch wasn't really that bad to begin with--a leather Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams love seat--But it didn't really go with our decor (not to mention that leather is not the most dog friendly material) so it was in need of a mini-makeover.  

For this project you will need:

- scissors, 

- pins, 

- thread, 

- sewing machine

- material*

*side note:  material is so expensive these days--sometimes for bigger projects like this I opt for using these curtains from Ikea:  http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40111987/

at $30 for 2 panels these can be less expensive than buying fabric at around $14 a yard.

I used the white ikea curtains for the body of the love seat.

Did you know Ikea also sells fabric?  Here's a link to the lovely "sophia" striped fabric I used for the cushions: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90160027/

Steps:

1.  cover couch/chair with the fabric INSIDEOUT.  

2.  Pin the fabric around the couch (I like to also just loosely stitch along the pins before removing the cover so that it doesn't fall apart)

3.  Remove cover 

4.  Sew along the pins.

5.  Snip extra fabric and threads

6.  Turn inside out

7.  Recover the couch

8.  Voila--your new and improved couch!  Sit down and have a cocktail.

Although my favorite price is always free, sometimes I "splurge" a little.  For example this coffee table was $15 at goodwill.  What a steal!  It needed some TLC but had the potential to be very chic.  

I brought it home, washed it off, removed the glass, and taped up the brass hardware on the corners to prep for spray painting.  I decided to use rust-oleum black satin spray paint (available here: http://amzn.to/1ruToUs).

After spray painting two coats (letting it dry in between), I used Brasso to clean up the brass hardware. (http://amzn.to/1wAhrWv)  It's super easy to use--just put some on an old cloth and rub away years of built up grime.  I didn't clean it too aggressively because I wanted to keep the vintage look.  

Cleaned the glass and placed it back.  Added some knickknacks and books and tada!   Check out the gallery below to see the steps along the way.