Oil Cloth Tassel Key Chains!

I'm sure many of you have seen tassels popping up on everything from purses to necklaces to home decor, so I thought I'd share with you how I made some using scraps of oil cloth.  They look really cute hanging from a lanyard, backpack or purse!

The last photo below shows how I customized the keychains for my oldest daughter's dance team motivation gifts for their first competition last weekend.  I made each one in the team's colors, then after covering the rubber band with gold ribbon, I added some Dollar Store rhinestone trim.  The tags I made on my Cricut Explore out of plain white heavy card stock (110 lb.).  I'm kind of wishing I had laminated them because the girls loved them so much.   If you look closely, I used Cricut's Design Space software to create a lock that has the opening and the end of a key in the shape of a Liberty Bell.  Her dance team's name is the Liberty Belles... so, you can imagine I felt pretty clever right about then!  I had the Cricut write the words on the shapes as well, the key says "YOU ARE THE KEY" and the lock says "SUCCESS."  

What you'll need:

• Rotary Cutter
• Cutting Mat
• Oil Cloth
• Key Rings
• Ribbon Scraps
• Rubber Bands
• Hot Glue & Glue Gun
• Clothes Pin (Optional)

Here's how to do it!

1. Using rotary cutter; cut strips of oil cloth 10" or 11" long by 3" wide.
2. Fold strips in half, and cut starting 1" to 1-1/2" from the fold to the raw ends every 1/4" to create fringe.  **Be sure to put lots of pressure on your ruler to prevent slipping!
3. Open strip out flat (center will be uncut, with fringe on either side).
4.  Roll from one side, stoping short to fold under the end, and complete the roll.
5. Clamping with a clothes pin coming in handy at this point...then feed one end of the fringe through the key ring.
6. Fold the strip in half over the side of the ring, be sure to match the ends of the fringe.
7. Using a small, narrow rubber band secure the folded strip just below the key ring.
8. Hot glue ribbon over the rubber band to conceal it.

Step-by-Step Photos:

The Bazaar Finish Line

"We plan, and God laughs."  Too true when looking back on this past weekend's Christmas Bazaar.  I've been working for months to build up my inventory and variety of craft items (which was packed onto my small half table space), and ended up having very low sales.  I will concede that the sale was over a long holiday weekend (so many families may have been out of town) and my table was towards the back of the large community center, but disappointing to say the least. Live and learn.  I'm still glad I did it, because now I have lots of cute projects to share with you all! I'll be detailing the oil cloth tassel key chains, and how I customized them for my daughter's dance team this past weekend in my next post.  In the meantime, here's some close-ups of the items from the bazaar.  Hopefully, you find some inspiration for your own holiday crafting!

 

Christmas Bazaar Countdown

Christmas Rag Wreath...a great way to get rid of fabric scraps!

Well, I lied.  I said I would be sharing Christmas bazaar projects back in July and here it is October!  I've found it hard to stop making things just to write a post.  But with only a month left to go until my first foray into the bazaar world, I'm making good on my promise.  Here you'll see some photos of the types of things I've been working on.  And, truth is, I have no idea how much I should be making for a bazaar that lasts 4 days...but I'm guessing a lot!  Can you sense the panic in my voice, because I definitely feel it.  So I'll keep crafting, and let you all know when it's over how it went and what were my big sellers.  Until then, I'd love to hear what you think of what I've made so far! 

Paper Cone Trees with Vintage Wrapping Paper...I added sparkly stars after this photo was taken!

Jingle Bell Ribbon Wands

Graphic Canvas Art

Gift Card Holders

Flour Sack Gift Sets

Simple Blank Christmas Cards...whose photo mysteriously flipped and won't change!!

Dance Team Camp Tank Tops with Bows (a.k.a. T-Shirt Up-Cycle)

Hi Guys! Just sneaking in a quick dance team post before I start sharing my Christmas bazaar projects for my first bazaar.  My oldest daughter's team got lots of new teammates this year, so in the spirit of team bonding, and the practicality of needing inexpensive matching team shirts for dance camp I headed to my usual go to spot...JoAnn's.  They had their t-shirts on sale for 3/$9.  We picked up 2 shirts in two colors for each of the girls (with the captains getting darker shades of each color), some sparkly spandex fabrics (1 yard of each) and some iron-on vinyl to use with my Cricut. 

Now, there are lots of, and I mean LOTS, of t-shirt to tank top videos online so I won't bore you with another tutorial.  But, to put it really simply: cut off the sleeves curving inward to the neckline from the seam line about 2 1/2" and cut off the neck band curving slightly deeper at the center (about 1 1/2"), then simply cut the back inward on each side to form the racer back.  If you cut one side at a time, you can flip the piece and use it for a pattern on the other side.





For the bow, I cut my yard of fabric in half after matching the selvedge edges. Then cut 5" wide strips, which left me with a little extra piece for tying off the bows (14 strips total).  The bows are made to be removable, so I didn't sew or finish the edges. Just fold the strips in half lengthwise, and fold over as seen in the pictures. 




Scrunch in the center, wrap with an extra strip of fabric and lay a piece of the sleeve hem you cut from the shirt to make the tie that will wrap around the back of the newly cut tank top.

Sorry so blurry...

Lastly, take your finished bow and tie it around the racer back of your tank top, pulling the sides a bit to stretch the fabric. Cute, right?!

Here are the blue tanks (in school colors), with the very catchy phrase my daughter came up with...Ring Belles! I'll be sure to add a photo of all the girls in their cute shirts this week...Super fun team activity, and just a little over $125 (each girl pitched in $10).

It's Christmas in July for a Holiday Bazaar Newbie!

Here it is the middle of an unusually warm July in Oregon, and I've just signed up to take part in my first Christmas Bazaar this November at our church.  And while it feels a little odd, I know the seasoned Christmas Bazaar ladies have probably already been hard at work for months.  Scary part is, I'm not entirely sure what I'll be making to sell!  But, ever optimistic, I look forward to sharing the items I do make with you here on Blogger.  And, just to be safe, I only purchased half of a 8-foot round table for my display space.  I've filled a much larger space for the dance team fundraisers I've done in the past, so that should be a good place to start...right?
So enough talk, it's time for me to get to work!  I figure a good place to start is with some updates to some of my previous posts, giving them a Christmas-spin, but look for some new goodies as well.  I also thought I'd revisit some gifts I've made for family members in the past that might work, like the Christmas stocking artwork (pictured above) that I made for my nephew a few years back.  
     So, as they say, there's no time like the present...or in this case, presents!  If you've got any advice for me, I'd love to hear it! It's a little early...but, Merry Christmas!

Mirror, Mirror....Take Three!

Geez, here I said my last post was my last for the day.... and I almost forgot to share an updated version of my very Pinterest popular Mirror, Mirror posts! These mirrors like the earlier versions were also purchased at my local Dollar Tree, but they are in very cute zebra and leopard prints.  They also have smooth surfaces which made them perfect for using with vinyl lettering (I used my Cricut, but you could use pre-cut vinyl lettering as well.)  I hot-glued some tulle and sparkly ribbons for that extra girly touch.  As with my last several posts, these were geared toward dance recital girls, but I think they would also work great for birthday party favors, big sis - little sis sorority gifts, bachelorette party gifts or bridesmaid gifts.