Sew Your Own Tankini
How to sew a super-easy tankini for you or your kids.
This tankini was super easy to make.
All I did was buy a bikini on clearance at the end of the season.
Then I took off the clasp in the back and sewed it together.
I measured the circumference and added some swimsuit Lycra-style fabric to cover her belly.
Voila! A new tankini!
Tankinis are great for playing in the sun and water with. Nicer than swimsuit, because potty breaks are much easier....
Her is my sunshine jumping on the trampoline after school, with a sprinkler underneath....
Where do you fold your laundry.....?
I fold mine on the bed. That way I HAVE to get it finished before I go to bed. Works like a champ...
But yesterday..... my daughter disguised herself as some laundry on the bed....
Did it work?
Do you see her....?
She is soooo tricky....!!!
She certainly had me going there for a while....!!!!
before
As per the request of one of my favorite blog followers (thanks Ashley...!!!!!): here is a way to protect your fabric upholstered chairs from getting dirty....
And it is wonderful because you can even wipe it off!
To the left you see a fun vintage solid wood chair I found. I love this chair. It even has lovely woodcarving! Lucky me for finding it!
I painted it red and covered the seat with new fabric...
But this fabric I chose is light in color....
Do you really think it will survive my children (and me....) without getting smudged?
I think not....!!!
So I need to do something to protect the fabric....
plan of attack
Here is my plan of attack!
I bought some vinyl from the fabric store....
I bought a whole yard, which is WAY too much, but I might need it again, so now I have it on hand...
materials needed
Materials needed:
- vinyl, cut to size (larger than the seat....)
- staple gun
That's it!
Easy schmeezy....
Just pull it tight as you cover the front and staple the back.....
after
Here it is....all done!
You can't even tell it has that sterile looking plastic on the chair....
Right....????
now you can wipe this fabric covering clean!
OK, so when the light hits it just right you CAN tell, but that is totally worth it, because I know the light colored upholstery cotton fabric would last two weeks around here (maybe) until it would be brownish.....
Makes me smile to see the happy colors.....and they will stay that color!YAY!!!!!:)CrystelleP.S. You can also use this method to protect potato sack covered chairs, as the loosely woven jute fabric has a tendency to snag....
home-made fabric tag
Making your own personalized fabric tag is not as hard as it sounds...
Really!
What you will need is- a stamp
- StāzOn ink or stamp-pad
- fabric
- iron
My logo had been designed by
I.D. Grafix quite some time ago, and I really like it, so I decide to use it for my fabric tags inside handbags as well.
I had my logo made into a custom stamp.
There are many places to have custom stamps made, and I chose
foryoo from Honolulu, Hawaii. She did a fabulous job. I was very happy with the results
: It looks great.
Using the Staz-on ink, stamp the image onto the selected fabric.
{I have tried other inks, but the image has a tendency to run when it gets wet.}
I often make multiple fabric tags at a time.
Feel free to make just one tag at a time. I like using pinking sheers to cut the tags out.
But you could cut them out straight and fold the edges under if you would like....
Let the ink dry and then heat-set the ink with a hot iron for 10 seconds or so.
And there you have it:
lotsa fabric tags, all made very easily at home
Get creative and use fun colors and prints for your fabric tags.
And who said you had to use a logo anyway?
You can use what ever stamp you have on hand.....
Spread the love with hand-sewn items for your loved ones, with hand-printed fabric tags.....
Enjoy!
Awesome rust-colored sweater pillow
Remember this pillow I made in the spring?
I really like this particular one because it has a good thick sweater look... Cozy winter comfort kinda pillow......
Well, guess what.....it is famous now.....
{Do you think she will remember me....????}
GreenCraft Magazine, Autumn 2011
Yay!!!
Who would have ever thought that our sweater pillow would make it to a magazine!
How lucky we are!
It was so fun to go out to mailbox and find the current GreenCraft Magazine in there, and discovering we had our pillow in the pages...!!!!! :)
{...insert me doing a happy dance....}
Up-Cycled Sweater Number Pillow in GreenCraft Magazine
Here we are: on pages 32,33, and 34.
A wonderful rust colored super soft awesome vintage style sweater pillow....
Don't you just love it...
Can't you just see yourself taking a little nap on the couch, cozy with your head on this snugly pillow....
Makes me sleepy just thinking of it.... :-)
CrystelleBoutique in GreenCraft Magazine Autumn 2011
Getting rid of your favorite sweater is hard to do, so instead of donating it to charity or throwing it in the garbage, do what we do: fashion it into a snugly center-piece for your sofa!
If you want to make your own sweater-number pillow, you just go, girl!
Instructions on how to sew the pillow are in the magazine....
In the mean time, if you would like the FREE PDF file on how to make those fun number-prints.... I have made an easy to follow tutorial called "Printing Numbers Onto Fabric at Home" that has simple step-by step directions with lots of pictures on five pages. If you want one: just download the free PDF file below.....
Enjoy!!!! :)
Crystelle
| printing_numbers_onto_fabric_at_home.docx |
| File Size: | 717 kb |
| File Type: | docx |
Download File
A Girl and a Glue Gun did
a super-cute blog feature on my shop
potatoboutique...Kimbo is such a sweetheart!Not to mention talented!Check out this awesome Idaho-Art she made!
And she mentions the burlap rose I give away to lots of customers......
I hadn't even gotten around to blogging about that...and I've been doing that for months...
The flower is a rose made out of a burlap strip.
Super cute if worn on your jacket, in your hair, or on your purse.....
You can learn how to make your own burlap rose by visiting short my tutorial-video right here.....
The next ump-teen customers will get a burlap rose with their
potato sack order....Well,
KimboThanks so much fro drawing attention to it...You're the best.....!!!!
To make your own burlap rose, just follow
this link for a short how-to video.
=)
CrystelleFor potato sack and burlap sewing and crafting ideas galore, go to my potato sack blog
It took me about a year of extensive sewing and experimenting before I discovered some ways to sew with a potato sack and MAKE IT LAST......!!!
I started out trying to sew true vintage potato sacks into modern-day purses.....
Wow! That was a great disappointment, because the "old" jute fivers were just not strong enough to withstand the attention..... I was sooo sad! I thought I had to give up my idea of making potato sack purse. Then it hit me: I should use "new" or gently used potato sacks...!!!!
That made a big difference! The handbags I made were just CUTE and FUN and so different!:)
Unfortunately, after some use, they started showing wear.... {Well, it isn't like carrying around a LEATHER purse, or something like that.... But still, I wanted to make improvements....} The individual fibers of the the burlap would get snagged easily, and the purse would loose some of its appeal after just a few months of use. Again, I was so very sad....!
After extensive experimenting and much trial and error, I came up with some methods that make these fibers stand up quite well to normal everyday wear and tear. The tips are all included in a PDF e-book that I now give away free. I strongly encourage you to follow these instructions as I wouldn't want you to be disappointed with your final product not holding up after you have put so much time and effort into making it cute and creative....
| potato_sack_preparation_tricks____2009_crystelle_boutique.pdf |
| File Size: | 566 kb |
| File Type: | pdf |
Download File
Downloadable potato sack prep tips file is above....
Just click on it, and download it to your computer.....
AND....
Please keep me posted on what you are making and have made....
Looking forward to hearing from you!
(and seeing pictures....!!!!)
Have a great potato sack sewing day!
=) Crystelle
Haute Handbags, Autumn 2010
I am such a lucky girl....
The editor of Haute Handbags Magazine is a darling.
Her name is Beth Livesay,
and she is a sweet as can be.
Now I must make this disclaimer: I thought she was sweet BEFORE the team decided to put one of my bags on the cover of the autumn 2010 issue of Haute Handbags!
It was quite a treat, though, and I consider myself a very lucky girl....
I guess I said that before....
Haute Handbags Pages 6 - 7
Anyway:
I you would like a FREE copy of the pattern used for this bag, just drop me a note at
this link......See ya! Looking forward to hearing from you!
And thanks for stopping by!
Crystelle
I am ready for spring to start, and I thought that perhaps if I counted down to spring, it would come more quickly....
Kind of like when you count sheep, sleep comes more quickly....
Do you think it will work.....?????
I'm hoping....
Here it goes:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9......
These wonderfully soft sweaters deserved a new lease on life…. So I took them
Washed them
Now they smell soooo good and are super-soft….
These pillows are looking forward to living in your home and spending many hours on the couch together, nibbling on yummy snacks, watching movies, and enjoying little naps…. And when you are too busy to sit down and relax, they will do their very best to sit quiet and look cute...
*size: 14 x 14 inches (37.5 x 37.5 cm) *includes fluffy pillow insert *zippered closure at the bottom *Spot-clean only please, and you and her will enjoy many happy years together…!!! 
To make your own printed number on fabric, just
drop me an email, and I will send you the PDF file via email right away.....
:-)Crystelle
The kids and I threw this very simple wreath together in no time flat.
I have to be totally honest and let you know that I got this sock wreath idea right here. Becca made a lovely sock wreath: it is totally cute! I just kinda took her idea and "valentined" it... Thanks for sharing Becca!
Materials:- 4 socks (two pairs)
- 1 foam wreath
- serrated knife
- scissors
- needle and thread or sewing machine
- two helpful children
Turn your socks inside out and pin the heel together flat.Sew across it to eliminate the heel entirely and turn the sock into a tube sock....
Trim seam to get rid of bulkiness.
Not rocket science: no need to cut exactly straight.
Now cut off toes.
Do all this to all four socks.
All your socks now are straight tubes with openings on both ends.
Let mommy cut the wreath.
I used my trusty ol' serrated bread-knife: Worked like a champ!
If you think the boy-child isn't helping, think again: he is the photographer!
Slide on the tube-socks, one at a time.
Arrange and scrunch the socks how you like them.
They stay put really well, but if you'd like you could glue or pin them into place.
It was fun and easy to make this with my kids. we just did it one afternoon after school. No pressure, just relaxed.... and VERY inexpensive!
I bought the socks at the dollar store and the wreath cost next to nothing at the craft store.
Happy Valentines Day....
<3
Crystelle
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