Day 41: Laminated Tablet Sleeve

December 12, 2012 | Posted by Chelsey

DAY 41 is brought to you by, the lovely Jill of Baby Rabies: Okay, so maybe you can’t afford to give all your friends and family new tablets for the holidays, but you can give them something to keep those tablets (that hopefully someone else is bringing them) safe and dry.

This is an easy sewing project. Really, all you need to be able to do is sew a straight line. I know because that’s all I can do. Except don’t look too close at my lines because they aren’t all the straight.

What you’ll need:

– 1 yard of laminated cotton (or oilcloth)

– 1 old sweatshirt or towel

– measuring tape

– scissors

– sewing machine and thread

– the dimensions of the tablet you’re making the cover for

For the purposes of this tutorial, I’ll give you the dimensions I used for my iPad2 in a protective case. I measured with the case on, and came up with 11″ x 9″. Then I added a 1/2″ to each measurement. That was the final dimensions of I needed the sleeve to come out to- 11.5″ x 9.5″.

I cut my laminated cotton fabric to 28″ x 10″ and the sweatshirt to 26″ x 10″.

The formula for figuring this out based on your own tablet dimensions is as follows:

Start by adding .5″ to your final width. This will be the same for both fabric pieces.

For the laminated fabric, double your final height measurement, then add 4.5″. The total will be your length of laminated fabric you need to start with.

For the sweatshirt, double your final height measurement and add 2.5″. This will be the length of sweatshirt (or towel) you need to start with.

After you’ve cut out your pieces, lay your laminated fabric right side down. Place your sweatshirt on top of it, with the side of the material that you want exposed to the tablet. I chose the inside of this old sweatshirt.

Pin your two pieces together, leaving 1″ of laminated fabric extending past the sweatshirt fabric on either side.

Stich the 2 pieces of fabric together .25″ from the edge, then fold the 1″ of laminated fabric over each end of the sweatshirt, pin and stitch down. No need to double fold here. The laminated fabric won’t fray if you leave a raw edge, and it won’t be visible when the project is complete.

Lay the piece right side down again. Fold the bottom of the fabric up to a few inches below the top. Fold the top of the fabric down until it overlaps the bottom by 1″. Pin all the way around, then stitch together each long side, 5/8″ from the edge. Don’t do anything to the horizontal opening.

Remember to adjust your machine settings to allow for such thick fabric! You might need to loosen your tension and lengthen your stitch.

Trim the edges of the fabric as close to your first line of stitching as possible (.25″ in), then carefully trim your corners at a diagonal CAREFUL not to clip the stitching.

Finally, turn the project right side out, using a pencil or a crochet hook to really pop out those corners.

When you’re finished, you’ll have a water-resistant tablet cover that’s sure to be the envy of everyone at the coffee shop. I mean, they’re totally not envious of the actual tablet, right? Just the gorgeous, handmade sleeve it lives in.

– Jill, Baby Rabies

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A very big THANK you to Jill for sharing this fantastic DIY. Please, be sure to give her blog home a visit.

To keep up with my 50 DIY Days, click here:

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: Really?

December 12, 2012 | Posted by Chelsey

{Photo from instagram: @chaloopa_batman}

I don’t get it. A shooting at a mall in Oregon today. This killed two people. It makes me so sad. Why?

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{If you have a Wordless{ish} Wednesday, please feel free to link it up below. And, feel free to link up to these blogs too… Parenting by Dummies, Project Alicia, Jenni from the Blog, Bree: his honey and her mommy, and Live and Love Outloud.

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Categories: Uncategorized

Day 40: Christmas Yarn Wreath

December 11, 2012 | Posted by Chelsey

DAY 40 is brought to you by, the lovely Violet of Blythe Ponytail Parades: Hi! I’m Violet from Blythe Ponytail Parades and I’m here to share a fun Christmas wreath DIY!

So let me start by saying that this project IS a bit time consuming. I suggest having a movie marathon while you do it. It’s still fun though.

Here’s what you’ll need:

– A blank wreath ( I used a styrofoam wreath)
– Yarn of any color(s)
– Christmas ornaments
– Scissors
– Hot glue (optional)

Ok, so I began by deciding on a striped pattern, so this required two yarn colors! I layered the yarn three times for each strip so as to make sure that NO styrofoam was shining through.

I left a bigger spot of white on mine to be the place for ornaments! When you wrap your wreath, you can do it in any way possible! Solid colors, stripes or maybe even more stripes.

I attached mine using silver threading and wrapping it around each piece, but you can also do this with hot glue!

And you’re done! Voila! Simple, cheap and elegant. I was pretty excited to hang this and it’s nice having something I can pull out every year. Let me know if you try it too!

-Violet, Blythe Ponytail Parades

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A very big THANK you to Violet for sharing this fantastic DIY. Please, be sure to give her blog home a visit.

To keep up with my 50 DIY Days, click here:

4 Comments

Tags: 50 DIY Days of Christmas, diy, tutorial, wreath, yarn

Categories: 50 DIY Days, diy

Day 39: Paper Terrarium Revisited

December 10, 2012 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 39: Today I wanted to revisit my Paper Deer Terrarium. I made this little cutie last January. I still have it on display and will occasionally add something new to the mix. Maybe a tiny pumpkin for Halloween, or a couple of mini candy canes for Christmas? Yes! Perfect.

I’m 90% sure I wouldn’t keep a live terrarium… alive. Heh. So, say hello to: the Paper Terrarium. It does not require anything alive… AND, the items needed are inexpensive. Yay!!!!

What you need:

A glass container. I found mine CHEAP at a thrift store.
Moss. I got mine at a craft store. The bag filled 2 terrariums.
Floral foam. Just a small amount will do.
Tooth picks.
Hot glue.
Scissors.
String.
A couple of tiny twigs.
My Doe A Deer freebie printout.

What to do:

First place your foam in your glass container.
Then you can start forming your moss around the foam. I made sure to cover any foam spot that may show through the glass.
Next, cut out all the paper pieces you’d like for your terrarium. I’ve included a couple of different sizes of deer and mushrooms for you to choose from. After they’re cut out you can hot glue the tooth picks to the backs of the cutouts. Glue your banner triangles to the string. Tie that string to the twigs!
Arrange your paper pieces exactly how you’d like! And, you’re done!
I made 2 terrariums and the rough total cost of each one is about $5. Woo hoo!

Freebie printout (click on the image below, right-click, and save):

I hope you guys enjoy!

– Chelsey

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To keep up with my 50 DIY Days, click here:

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Categories: 50 DIY Days

I’ll be around…

December 10, 2012 | Posted by Chelsey

Well, first let’s just notice how tired I look in this photo… ha! This was Day 2 of selling at Crafty Wonderland… just 1.5 hours left in the shopping day. Ha! A long, but awesome weekend. My first time selling at a big craft fair! It was a success. I got to sit next to Mal, from Whiskey and Wine, the whole weekend and it was great to have a buddy nearby to chat with.

SO, the show is over and I am finishing up some custom illustration orders. This means I will probably be MIA for a couple of days… besides the 50 DIY Days. They’ll still be going strong! PLUS, I thought I might try and sell a bit of the leftover product on instagram…. since I can probably get it out before Christmas. Anyone interested? If you are, watch my instagram feed tomorrow and Tuesday. It will be a first come first serve deal. You can find me on IG: thepapermama

Have a WONDerful Monday!

– Chelsey

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Tags: announcement, crafty wonderland

Categories: announcement

Day 38: Washi Tape Gift Tags

December 8, 2012 | Posted by Chelsey

DAY 38 is brought to you by, the lovely Heather of the Joy of all Crafts: I love adding handmade elements to gifts. Often I make my own gift tags, here’s a simple project that takes less than 5 minutes!

Materials:

– Washi tape

– card stock any size – I used a 4″ x 5.5″ card stock

– hole punch

– scissors

– bakers twine

– festive pen

How-to:

– Decorate your tag into a christmas tree, present, or anything your heart desires!

– Punch a hole in the card stock and loop the bakers twine through so it’s easy to attach to your present. Get creative and make holiday shapes with washi tape!

– Thanks Chelsey for having me come over! The Paper Mama is so nice and cozy, I may just stay awhile!

… Heather, Joy of all Crafts

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A very big THANK you to Heather for sharing this fantastic DIY. Please, be sure to give her blog home a visit.

To keep up with my 50 DIY Days, click here:

1 Comment

Categories: 50 DIY Days, diy

Day 37: Mini Donut Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar!

December 7, 2012 | Posted by Chelsey

DAY 37 is brought to you by, the lovely Christina of the Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe blog. It’s time to start baking:

Mini Donut Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar

Makes about 2- 3 dozen

Recipe adapted from here

For the donut muffins:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 tablespoons buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

For the cinnamon sugar coating:

1 cup vanilla sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and very slightly cooled

To make the donut muffins:

1. Preheat your oven to 375*F. Grease and lightly flour two mini muffin tins. Get out a bowl and sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (fitted with your paddle attachment), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (also called “creaming”). This will take about 5 minutes. Next, mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition. Mix until just combined.

3. With the mixer on low, mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the milk mixture. Scrape down bowl. Continue to alternate until all of the remaining ingredients are incorporated, finishing with the dry ingredients. Be careful to not overmix. You don’t want dense donut muffins!

4. Fill your greased/floured muffin cups just to the rim with batter. Bake until lightly golden and firm to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove the from the tins.

To coat the muffins with cinnamon sugar:

1. Combine the vanilla sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

2. Roll each muffin into the melted butter making sure to coat all sides. Then sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.