I swear, I didn’t mean to start this DIY bow bracelet tutorial with that kind of intro. Let’s just get on with it, shall we?

To make these cute handmade bow bracelets, you will need: chain, 2 small D rings, 4 jump rings, a charm (not in photo but also optional), a lobster lock (not in photo and definitely NOT optional), and strips of fabric.

Your strips (from the top / NO ALLOWANCE): band (1.25″ x 6″ or 7″), bow (1.75″ x 5″), middle strip of bow (.75″ x 1.5″)

As for tools, you will need a sewing machine, pliers, needle and thread

Allright, let’s make a DIY bow bracelet for your lovely wrist:

1. Take your bow strip and fold the long raw sides towards the middle. The resulting strip should measure about .75″ in width.

2. Now fold the narrow raw ends of this strip, making sure that said ends meet somewhere in the middle.

3. Using your needle and thread, do a running stitch along the center of your bow. Tighten until you have something that looks like this:

5. Now we cover that middle part. Take your middle bow strip and fold the long raw sides towards the center.

6. Position one end of this strip to the back part of your bow. Hand stitch in place.

7. Wrap the strip around the front, take the other end back to the bow’s back, and hand stitch in place once more.

8. Take your band strip and fold the raw long sides together. Top stitch all around using the sewing machine.

9. Attach the D rings to both ends. Sew in place.

10. Hand stitch the pretty bow you just made to this band.

11. Cut two chain sections: one that measures 2″ and another 1.75″ in length.

12. To the shorter chain, attach a jump ring to one end and the lobster lock.

13. To the longer chain, attach another jump ring and a charm or bead of your choice.

14. To the D rings, attach two more jump rings and the chains you prepared in steps 12 and 13.

And that’s it! Ta-da!

If you’re not in a DIY mood, you can purchase some of the handmade bow bracelets I have for sale on my store: HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s get bored, crafty, and social: Bloglovin’ | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter |

Yesterday was the 20-day mark.

I did the first on my birthday. The M, in all its non-flipped glory, is also proof that I didn’t learn a thing from the very first eraser stamp I carved only a couple of weeks before. Also, as you can see, my first 6 stamps spelled out my name. Apparently, when you are given 365 possible designs to do, you might feel just a tad overwhelmed. So you start with the familiar, such as the letters of your name.

Click on any of the photos below to enlarge: 

________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s get bored, crafty, and social: Bloglovin’ | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter |

But look, progress!

The purses above are mobile phone cases.

ipad mini case

My biggest challenge here wasn’t the size or the opening, really. It was the foam. Over a period of 2 days and after about 10 hours (combined) of adjusting, snipping, pattern-tweaking, I finally figured out how to keep the foam flat and nice. I gave myself a nice high five after overcoming this hurdle. Once I figured out the foam issue, sewing the small openings of these cases no longer mattered.

It also helped that I was cheered by the printed cotton ribbons I used to embellish these cases.

These are my Wholeport loot for the month. Aren’t they the cutest? You can find them HERE. They are great in a way that they make a normal-looking purse look like a million bucks. Take the purses (first photo set) above. Without the ribbons, they look like your average purses. Embellished with the printed ribbons, they went from drab to adorbs. Also, they give me loads of inspiration for my stamp-a-day project. More on that later.

________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s get bored, crafty, and social: Bloglovin’ | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter |

First up, these Flying V guitar plushies for the birthday boy.

These were so fun to make that I had to write a tutorial.

To make these DIY Flying V guitar plushies, you will need to download the pattern first. Pattern 1 HERE & pattern 2 HERE. You will also need half a meter of plain fabric for the body, and scraps (dark-colored fabric, specifically) for the scratch plate, fret board, and bridge. Stuffed toy filling is also essential.

How-to:

1. Once you’ve assembled your pattern, we move on to cutting our fabric. Cut two of the guitar body. This is comprised of the actual body, neck, and headstock of the guitar. Do not forget allowances. 

2. Cut one piece of the scratch plate. I traced mine using carbon paper onto navy blue fabric. Add 1/2″ allowance all around.

3. Cut your fret board piece as well. Add 1/2″ allowance all around.

4. Now we attach the fret board to your guitar’s neck. Mark the position with pins, pin the fret board piece into place, and sew.

5. Prepare  your scratch plate piece by folding under the allowance.

6. Pin onto one of the guitar body pieces and sew. This should be placed on the upper section of the guitar, with the top (short) side matching the position of you fret board nicely.

7. Now we attach the bridge. As you can see, I used webbing for mine. You can also use fabric (black would be great).

8. Using zig-zag stitch, sew some detailing onto your bridge.

9. Following the printed stitches I have included in the pattern, sew the strings of your guitar plushie.

10. This step is optional. I decided to add folded ribbons to the headstock. These ribbons act as parts of the machine head.

11. Pin the front of  your guitar plushie to the back piece, right sides together. Using short stitches, sew all the way around. Leave a 3-inch allowance along one side. Trim the allowance using pinking shears so that your curves will curve out nicely.

12. Turn your flying v guitar plushie inside out. Slowly fill with stuffing.

13. Close the allowance by hand-stitching.

And you’re done!

Now rock out with your tongue out. Or something.

PS – Check out my pouches over at PHINDIES.

PPS – My popsicle stick chandelier  is part of the DIY challenge over at Lamps.com. Gosh, look at the other entries! Go ahead and cast your vote. The winning designer will win a $100 Lamps.com giftcard for themselves, and one to give away to one of their readers!  

PPPS – Remember, you can download the pattern for these DIY flying V guitar plushies HERE & HERE.

________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s get bored, crafty, and social: Bloglovin’ | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter |

One of these is PHINDIES. Theirs is a unique platform, giving buyers a chance to buy handmade items at a discounted price but only for a period of seven days.

This week, I am one of the featured sellers over at PHINDIES. I am selling my rectangular corner tab pouches at a discounted price of P120 each.

Choosing “lokal” is always a good idea. Choosing 100% handmade? Even better.

Check out the pouches HERE. And while you’re there, get to know the other amazing handmade sellers that have been featured on PHINDIES as well.

Thanks for your support!

________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s get bored, crafty, and social: Bloglovin’ | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter |