Today is a rainy, cloudy, chilly day. But here's a really cute photo! My tiny poodle, Ruby, has become a studio dog this week. Today she's sleeping in a little bed I customized for her with some of my fabric made by Fabric Traditions. Super easy to do, and it makes Ruby feel special.
Hello! Today I would like to hand my post over to my assistant Katrina. She was inspired to create a Sizzix floral wedding dress for her wedding two weeks ago! I work for Sizzix creating dies, and I use my machine all the time. The dress is truly a testament to what can be creative with motivation, time, and a little patience…
Hi all! I'm Katrina and I’ve been so lucky to watch Dena at work, always embellishing items she finds at the flea market. I picked up the idea for this dress one year ago when I saw her using her Big Shot machine with a shimmery pink organza to decorate gift boxes. I immediately thought, “I want a whole dress covered in those!” At the time I didn’t know it would be my white dress, but when else does a girl get the chance to spend a day in a diy-couture gown?
For this project, I used the Big Shot machine with the Flower Layers #3 654982 die – yes, just one die created this whole dress! The base dress is a ‘50s summer dress I’ve had for years; it even has pockets. The flowers were cut from 6 yards of polyester georgette and glued on with just a dot of Fabri-Tac at the top. Cut some flowers, glue down, and repeat. The dress took three weeks to complete, just a little work each day when there was time. I worked in horizontal rows, which kept everything neat and manageable. See below for the in-progress shot, and then the final dress!
The great thing about this dress is the way it moves. As you walk each flower flutters. For an every day version you can adapt this idea to a t-shirt. Use thin knit jersey fabric (which won’t fray when cut), die cut desired shapes, and glue them down with Fabri-Tac, it’s washable!
Since we're on the topic of weddings, Dena has also come out with a new wedding collection, "Amour" for CR Gibson. The products below include a gift bag, guest book, memory book, and photo albums. Just another great reason to be in Dena's studio.
The outdoor photos were taken at Dena’s home (which has got to be the most beautiful place to come to work.)
-Katrina
Hi everyone!
I hope you are all staying warm and enjoying the holiday season. It has been raining here in Northern California, but today was a beautiful sunny day.
I kept busy today by writing a guest entry for the brand new Sizzix.com blog. It's a sweet project if you love fabric flowers like I do, pictured below.
To read the entry at sizzix.com, click here.
Back in April I wrote a blog entry about my favorite sewing technique: reverse appliqué. Well, it’s November and it’s still my favorite! I love the look and the simplicity of this technique.
Last year I bought this simple cream knit cardigan on sale. Unfortunately I've never worn it. I think it was one of those "great deals" that's hard to pass up - a perfect candidate for embellishment! I added reverse appliqué flowers on one side using my newest fabric fromFree Spirit Fabrics / Westminster Fibers. The collection is called Leanika. To see the line in its entirety, go to the Free Spirit website.
Reverse appliqué with knits is especially great because the fabric won’t fray along the cut edges like woven fabric, so you can embellish a plain t-shirt and still wash it. See my how-to April blog entry on the reverse appliqué technique here.
Posted by: Dena in Craft Projects on
Jul 31, 2009
I have no idea where you can find a lovely variety of shelf edging paper. The look was once so popular in the 1950s – and for good reason: it’s absolutely charming. So until this product becomes popular again we can have a great time making our own.
I like using the classified section for this project because the words are close together and there are no photos. For extra detail, add decorative tacks made by gluing a variety of small embellishments to the tops of the tacks. I used a variety of red buttons on my shelf edging.
Gather:
Newspaper
Craft scissors
Double-sided tape
Glossy wood-tone spray finish
Hole punch
Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
Small embellishments
Pushpins or upholstery tacks
Create:
1. Using spray finish, lightly spray classified section for a vintage look. Let dry, then cut the newspaper into approximately 2” wide strips.
2. Cut a zigzag pattern along one edge of the strips.
3. Using a variety of hole punches, punch a pattern along the zigzag edge.
4. Attach the newspaper to the shelf edge with double-sided tape.
5. Hot-glue the small embellishments to the tops of the tacks. Some of my favorites are buttons, fabric or felt flowers, bits of old jewelry, rhinestones, shells and watch faces.
6. Attach decorative tacks every 4”- 6”.
Shelf edging borders are also great inside closets and armoires in baby’s, kid’s, teen’s, and adult’s rooms. Customize yours by using favorite wallpaper or other decorative paper or even fabric. I’ve used it to edge the shelves in my linen closet. It’s an unexpected detail that is delightful.
