DIY: Monogram Coasters

My brother-in-law has been wanting me to make him coasters ever since I got my Silhouette and he saw all the great things I was making with it. I was planning on making them for his birthday and then somehow it didn't get done in time. So I made sure to put them on the list for his Christmas stocking. They turned out to be such a fast and easy project, I don't know why I didn't get them done sooner!

I found these great tiles at Home Depot packaged in a set of 9 for only a few bucks. They are nice unglazed tiles so they should be perfect for absorbing condensation from drinks.

I cut squares of craft felt just a tad smaller than the tiles. I used my rotary cutter and ruler to get nice even squares. (Don't you love my carpet background? I had to work on the floor because every other space in the house was covered in Christmas chaos!) The felt is a great backing so that the tiles don't scratch whatever surface the coasters are going to be used on.

I coated one side of the felt with Fabri-tac and made sure to give it a really good coat. I wanted to make sure that all of the felt was going to stick to the tile.

Then I carefully lined it up with the back of the tile and smoothed it out to make sure that there were no bumps and that the whole thing was secured. I did this to all four of the tiles that I was making.

When they were all glued, I got a big stack of books and set them all under it to dry to make sure they set up really well.

Now for the monograms! On my trusty Silhouette, I settled on the LD Old Glory font and stretched it to a good size to be centered on the tiles. I made one and then copied it so they would all be the same size. Weeding out the little holes in the "Cs" was quite a task but I got them all done. I measured and marked each tiles to be sure the were centered and then applied the vinyl. I have step by step instructions on applying vinyl on this tutorial. If you don't have a Silhouette, you can always use an X-acto knife and cut a design by hand. 

He loved them so much that he wants me to make more. Let's see if I can get them done before next Christmas!

Linked up at:  Fun to Craft 'Look At Me' Party, Sew Can Do Craftastic Monday, Hope Studios Tutorial Tuesday, My Girlish Whims

Last Minute Decorations

Still needing last minute decorations? I have a few quick and easy projects that you can make in 30 minutes or less. Super cheap too! Always my favorite way to make crafts!

Up first stockings. I have two designs for you - one more traditional and one a little bit funky.

The first set, I made with my friend Melissa for her house. She was not happy with her plain stockings, so we decided to dress them up a bit. We traced out some sleeves to fit over the heels and toes of the stocking on a scratch piece of paper, then used that template as a pattern for some fabric she had on hand. I added about a half an inch seam allowance on all sides. Then sewed them up to fit on the ends of the stockings. That's the pretty black and white fabric you see on the stockings in the picture above. We attached them to the stockings with Fabri-tac. To make the sleeves look nice and finished she added decorative ribbons as a border around the tops using the Fabri-tac. On the tops of each stocking, we added more ribbon and some cute buttons, also using the handy-dandy Fabri-tac. I seriously LOVE that stuff! Very thrifty project and made the stockings look so much fancier.

 The second set I made are my fun and funky stockings. I got them at Target for $1.00 each. They came with the rick-rack already on them. But they still looked too plain for my taste. So, out came the craft supplies. Fabri-tac to the rescue again! I put on buttons, ribbon, some left over pom-pom trim and my favorite - a felt flower with some tulle underneath.

The tutorial on the felt flower can be found here at Infarrantly Creative. It is super easy and probably my favorite way to make felt flowers. You can whip out a bunch of them in a short amount of time!

Next is a super fast and easy Nativity. It is not very expensive to make at all.

First you will need a plate. Whatever suits your style. You can usually find cheap ones in the clearance section of Ikea and Pier One or grab one at the Dollar Store.
That's where I typically head when I need them for projects.

Then I got out my trusty Silhouette. I found the design for the Nativity in their online store. It's the "One-piece Nativity." I cut it and weeded out the extra vinyl.

Then applied the transfer tape and placed it on the plate.

Voila! Fast and easy Nativity! This one is a gift for my mother-in-law who collects Nativities. I guarantee this is one she doesn't already have.

*If you don't have a Silhouette, you can still make this project. Look for a great sticker from Joann, Amazon or Etsy. They are all likely to have something you'd like. Apply some adhesive such as Zig 2-way glue to the back of the sticker and apply it to your plate. It should have a permanent bond and look just as beautiful!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

With all the Christmas presents I've been working on lately, I thought I would share some of Santa's little helpers with you. These are some things that I just can't live without this year:

Source: Joann.com

1. Olfa Pinking Blade

For those that are familiar with rotary cutters, this is for use with the Olfa Deluxe 45mm Rotary Cutter. A rotary cutter is used with a self healing cutting mat and a ruler to cut fabric and it makes cutting a dream. The pinking blade makes cutting pinked edges (zig-zag) so much easier. I've used pinking shears on so many projects but I hate how uneven my lines come out! By using the rotary cutter, the cut lines on your fabric turn out so straight and even!

Source: Amazon.com

2. Singer Stylist Sewing Machine
I recently upgraded to this sewing machine from a more basic model and I am so impressed. If I had known there was such a difference, I would have done it much sooner. This machine has more stitch functions than I have figured out what do with. It also has an automatic threader, comes with an assortment of foot attachments and is incredibly easy to use. It would be great for a beginner or even a more experienced user. It is very reasonably priced too!

Source: www.silhouetteamerica.com

3. Silhouette Cameo

The newest model is the Silhouette Cameo, it has been on my wishlist since it was announced that they were going to be putting it out this fall. This amazing little machine can do everything! It cuts vinyl - both heat transfer and indoor/outdoor vinyl - scrapbook paper and cardstock, makes temporary tattoos, cuts fabric, it can sketch designs, all sorts of great things. I've used it to make gifts, cards, home decor, t-shirts and just about everything imaginable! I really don't know what I did before I had it.

Source: www.elmers.com

4. Elmer's CraftBond Glue Spots
These handy little glue spots are great for all my paper crafts. My most common use for them is when
making cards. They are also great for scrapbooking. But using these with my latest projects - a 3D snowflake and paper chain - turned out so much better than if I had used tape like the directions said (I'm not one to follow directions anyway!). They come in a variety of sizes and I've found them all to be useful depending on the project.

Source: http://www.beaconadhesives.com

5. Fabri-tac
This is such a fantastic adhesive. Most recently, I used it to decorate Christmas stockings. I found that it worked wonderfully to apply buttons, ribbon, pom-poms and felt flowers to my stockings. Then when my friend was talking about how plain her stockings were, the first thing that came to mind was using Fabri-tac to help with decorating hers. It's great because instead of having to figure out how to sew through layers upon layers of fabric, you use a bit of this and your materials adhere quickly and effortlessly. I think it's my new favorite way to "sew!"

 Disclaimer:  I was not paid for this post. I paid for all these products with my own money and these reviews are all my personal opinion. 

What are you all loving that we should know about???