Link Party No.85/ Denim flower necklace

I am going to share how I made this denim necklace today. It all started when I altered my jeans... I had scraps from the bottom of the jeans. Toss? No way!

I decided to make a necklace.

First, I cut out several circles in two different sizes. Then, fold the circles in half and start sewing...

Then open the circle once, and fold it again in a different direction, so the middle part will look like a "+". You need a large circle and a small circle to make one flower. Layer them together, and then sew pearls in the middle. Make a few dark flowers (right side of the fabric), and a few light flowers (wrong side of the fabric) to give the necklace some shade and an interesting look.

I used sheer ribbon to sew the flowers on.

You could use the ribbon all the way to tie it in the back, but I decided to use chains and such to finish it off.

Ta-da!

I am loving this new necklace, the best part is that it didn't cost me much to create this. A necklace like this will make my outfit "pop", but it's not too fancy so I can wear it in everyday life, I love jewelry like that. :)

Ok, everyone, what have you been working on, or were you too busy with the holidays? No, no, not you guys, I know you have something fabulous up your sleeves. Please share what you been creating, visit each other and have fun!

As usual here are the rules for linking:

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creations.



<center><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a></center>
That's it! Go ahead to link up and show us what you have been working on!

Switching Gear~ Fall to Winter

I have been kicking back and relaxing from my projects to purely spend time with my family the last few days, since the kids are out of school for Thanksgiving weekend. We celebrated one of the kid's birthdays, Thanksgiving and we set our Christmas tree last night.

We decorated the tree as a family, watched one of our favorite Christmas movies: "Elf"(boy, it is not a typical classic Christmas movie, but you gotta love that one) as we drank hot chocolate.

Big or small, there are many Christmas traditions that Mr. TRH and I created for our family over the years, and I am so looking forward to making more fun memories with our children. I hope when they are all grown up and left the nest those memories will stay with them forever to make them smile.

Meanwhile, I will have more tutorials coming up soon. They might be the perfect small gift ideas you are looking for! :)

Tutorial~ Pom-Pom Flower Pillow & Other Projects

Hi everyone. Are you wondering why the end of the sentence is "." instead of "!" like I normally write? Well...I have been sick for the last couple days; I am feeling better today but not completely. So, I hope you are taking good care of yourselves and staying out of the flu's way. :)

I have been working on a bunch of small projects for a while, and this is one of my very favorites, but before I share the tutorial for this pillow, let me share other things as well.

I shared a tutorial for how to make flowers out of pom-pom trims previously;

Today I am going to share what I did with those pom-pom flowers. Just like any other crafted flowers, you can use them for many different projects. These are just a few examples if what I did. I will give you either a quick explanation or tutorial for each project.

* The first picture: Corsage

I happened to have all these pom-pom trims and I just went with it. Though, as you can imagine, it depends on what color combination you decide, the size of the pom-pom flowers you use or the arrangement of the flowers that will totally change the whole look of this corsage. Do you have anyone particular in mind who loves certain color combination and pom-poms? She might like this corsage.

Decide what size of corsage you are going to make, then cut out a piece of felt for slightly smaller than that size. Cut off the corners as well.

Sew the pin on the felt then glue the flowers onto the felt.

* The second picture: Bracelet

I found these amazing things while I was waiting in Joann's checkout line... boy they know how to sell their stuff. :) I stitched some pearls in the middle of the pom-pom flowers, and glued them on the wrist band. For the finishing touch, I simply cut out some felt to glue to the back to make it look prettier and give support to the flowers.

* The third picture: Hair clip

You might have already seen how to make hair clips, so I won't cover the details here. Basically, you glue the ribbon to the metal hair clip, when it's dry, glue the pom-pom flowers to the clip.

* The last picture: Pillow

I actually kept my most favorite pom-pom flower project for last...yes, a pillow. I found a cotton sweater at the thrift shop for very cheap (I think it was about $3), and used it to make the pillow. The rest is easy. Just decorate it with pom-pom flowers however you like!

1. Turn the sweater inside out. Flatten it and make sure the seam or the weave match up. I marked my sweater 11 1/2" x 18 1/2". Leaving a 4" opening on the bottom seam(for turning the pillow later) Sew on the marked line.

2. Zigzag stitch right next to the sewed line, then cut outside of the zigzag line. Doing it this way can prevent the fraying and messy-ness. If you have a Serger, you can sew and cut in no time.

3. Turn the sweater inside out. It looks a little weavy, but don't worry, when you stuff the pillow, it's not too noticeable.

4. Decorate the pillow with pom-pom flowers. I stitched my flowers (so if I ever change my mind, I can always unpick it to use the pom-poms for something else!), but if you want to make it quick and simple, you can glue them on too.

I LOVE this pillow. Don't you think it looks kind of cozy, whimsy and perfect for the season?

The small projects I shared here are very simple and quick to make, they might be perfect for a girls night out gift exchange or as Christmas presents. So, think twice before you throw the leftover pom-pom trims away. :)

Tutorial Pom-Pom Flowers

Do you have any pom-pom trim leftovers from other projects? Usually I buy them by the yard, and use them for a project, and have several inches of leftovers that are not long enough for other projects but save them for... you know just because.

If you are like me, this will be the project for you.

First, there are several different sizes and there are even bigger ones out there. Although, I think my personal favorites to make flowers with are the medium to x-small trims. The length of the thread between the trim and pom-pom makes a difference in the look of the flowers too.

It is very easy and fun to make. Let’s get started. :)

{You will need}

Pom-pom trims
DMC floss
Needles, scissors

{How to} * For the one in the picture, I used 8" of X-small trim.

1. Hold the trim pom-pom side down, and start rolling tightly (but not too tight) and make sure that the edge of the trim is nicely lined up. Put a pin through several layers to secure the roll.

2. Use 3 strands of DMC floss to sew for the x-small to medium trim. Put through the knot in the middle and start sewing radially. Make sure you put the needle through each layer so the flower won't come undone. Tie a knot when you are done, and you have a pom-pom flower.

I will give you some measurements to give you some ideas of what kind of trim and length will make what size of flower;

X-small trim: 8" will make 1" diameter flower / 16" will make 1 1/2" diameter flower

Small trim: 8" will make 1 1/4" D flower / 16" will make 1 1/2" D flower

Medium trim: 8" will make 2" D flower / 16" will make 2 1/2" D flower

Large trim: 8" will make 2" D flower / 16" will make 2 1/2" D flower

Just remember that the size of flowers will change depending on how tight you roll the trim.

I made a few in one morning...

{With medium size pom-pom trims}

{With x-small, small pom-pom trims}

Don't they look adorable? I love how they turned out!

I have started on some projects using those pom-pom flowers. I will share the pictures (possibly some tutorials with some of them) in the near future.

Treasure Hunt

One of my dreams is to head east to go to an antique fair and such to find all sorts of treasures; such as sewing notions, dishes, and other nick-knacks. Since I don't think that will happen anytime soon, I can't help myself from stopping by at the local thrift stores every now and then.

Guess what I found on my last trip...

I found beautiful sets of Pilex. They were at picture frames and baskets section which was totally out of place. When I looked around I found a couple more on the opposite side of the shelf. I stood there to examine their condition and was leaving the section of the room when a man approached to me and said, "I saw a worker take more of the same type of dishes to that direction. You might find them still."

What a nice person! I said thank you and quickly went to the dish section and there they were; I found smaller ones to go with the other ones. Yeah! Don't you love small acts of kindness like that from a stranger?

Small Frames: I was indeed looking for frames like those so I can spray paint to fun colors. They were a dollar each. You can't beat that price.

I got 2 yards of vintage looking Terri cloth at the sewing section. I thought it is a bath towel for a second but I think it was sold at the fabric store. I am thinking about finding really soft fabric for the back (maybe minky?) and make a small blanket. I LOVE the color theme and the flower design on this one.

Small tray. Get this (grin), this tray has fold away legs. Rachel found a wooden tray we’ve owned for years recently, and loved the idea of a "tiny table" and asked us to bring her meals next time when she gets sick. I immediately knew she would flip when she sees this tray.

The last items are copper jello molds. I have been looking for them for quite a while. That day I hit a goldmine, well...copper mine!! They were in such a great shape and almost brand new. They were $1.50 each except the big one. My intention was to spray paint them to use them as decoration, but since they are in such a good condition, I am going to hold off for a bit and see what I really want to do with them.

That's why I can't help but sucked in to thrift stores. Being a curious person the thrill of "What if's" is so hard to resist. :)

Silhouette America ~ Letter to Santa Contest

Hi! I have something great to share with you today!

Silhouette is running a contest called "Letter to Santa Contest" right now through December 5th. Three lucky winners will each recieve Silhouetto products shown the picture below, YES, isn't it amazing?!

You can go to Silhouette to learn more about the contest rules and how to enter.

The contest ends December 5th, so make sure to enter your letter fast!

Tutorial: Tiny Tin Bedroom

I have talked about a little project I worked on. Where were we?

Yeap, I had this really cute tin from the candy store, and I added pom-poms...

The inside, I made it into a tiny bedroom for a cute little girl. Today, I will share a quick tutorial with you. If you have some tiny tin laying around the house this might be a fun project to get your hands on!



Tin
Fabric scraps for making mattress, pillow, and duvet
Felt as batting
Pom-poms, lace, trims to embellish the bedding and tin
Ribbon to make curtains, cabachon to accessorize the window treatment
paper to paste on the lid as a wall paper and window

DMC floss, thread, glue and other basic sewing items



1. I am not really going to talk about measurements here, because the tin you have is probably different size and shape than mine. Basically, you need to use your tin as a guide and pattern for this project, but don't get intimidated; it is a fairly easy and simple project.

To make the mattress, trace the bottom of the tin onto the fabric and add slightly less than 1/4" seam allowance. Because this is such a tiny project, you want the seam to be smaller too, otherwise the finished item might have bulky edges.

2. Cut out fabric to make the duvet in the same way you did step one. I wanted to use specific patterns for the duvet and pillows, so here is what I did;

The area I circled, I used for making the duvet, and the squares for making the pillows. Use the tin as a template for the duvet, trace it and cut. Also, cut out felt circles to use as batting. For the felt, you don't need to add a seam allowance.

3. Leaving some opening to turn the fabric later, sew around the mattress, duvet, and pillow. For the duvet, you need to cut off about an inch or so, so you can see the dolls little head resting. Clip off some fabric around the curve.

4. Turn the fabric inside out, press with iron. Stuff the felt batting flat, and sew the opening shut.

5. For the pillow, I sewed lace on both sides.

6. I had so much fun thinking about what to do with the duvet. I added same pom-poms I used for the lid of the tin and I even did a tiny quilting on it! :)

7. To make the "bedroom" look more real, I pasted wallpaper (scrapbook paper), window, and curtains. I melted the ends of the ribbons so they don't fray, and tied the middle with DMC floss. Again, this is such a fun part to think about what kind of paper and ribbon you want to use. Just like decorating a real room (ok, maybe that is a stretch) they can change the look of the whole room, so be serious (hehehe).

I love how it turned out, and I am looking out for more tiny tins! I handed the tin to Rachel and let her open the lid, when she looked at the inside for the first time she gasped and fell in LOVE with it, which made me so happy.

I think this will be a great stocking stuffer if you are looking for some ideas. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. I have been working on some small projects here and there lately, those tutorials are coming up too, stay tuned! :)