Ottoman Repair (Part 1)

This is my leather chair and ottoman. Not really that comfy, but it gets the job done. Initially I bought the chair thinking it was a recliner; however I quickly realized it was not (I'm pretty quick, I know!). At any rate the matching ottoman joined our family later that year and it's been a nice addition to our family.

How to Make an Earring Display Card

Julianne, from Made By Jewls has stopped by to offer a great and easy tutorial on how to make cardstock diplay cases for earrings (or any jewelry for that matter!). What a great way to make a gift more personlized or begin selling your pieces! Also, be sure to check out Juilianne's Etsy shop here

Level: Beginner

Time: Less than an hour

Topic: Accessories

Hello, I'm Julianne from Made By Jewls! I've had a lot of people ask me how I make my earring cards and so I've decided to do a tutorial. It's really easy. Here's what you need to get started...

a rubber stamp with your logo on it. (I did my design in Illustrator and then had it made into a stamp at http://www.rubberstamps.net/. There are other companies that make stamps like vistaprint and make sure to check out your local companies because you may get a better deal)

an ink pad. I used black, but you can use whatever color you want

scissors, a paper punch (this will make your cards the shape and size you want), and cardstock (I used an oatmeal color but you can use any color you want or even patterned paper!)

Okay, now I'm going to show you how to make your cards.

Place your stamp on the ink pad

 

Then press the stamp on your paper and repeat the process until your paper is full. Make sure you leave about a 1/4 inch space between each one so it'll be easier to cut them out.

  

Now you're going to cut them out with your paper punch. I turned my punch upside down when I was cutting them so I could see what I was doing.

 

Continue using your punch to cut the rest of your cards out of the paper.

 

Use your scissors to cut away some of the left over paper on the outside so you can get to the ones in the middle of the page.

 

Once they're all cut out, you just need to poke holes in them (if you're using them for earrings) and then you're done! Enjoy you're new cards, I bet they look awesome!

 

You don't have to make your cards look like mine, get creative and make them your own! Of course you can use a circle if you want, but you could also use a rectangle, square, heart, etc.

I've seen some really creative cards out there...

like this one from Allora Handmade

 or these by Emily Sparks

Let me know if you have any questions, would like me to whip up a logo/stamp design for you in Illustrator, or even to show me the cards you made! I really would LOVE to see what you come up with! Have fun!

And the Winner Is....

Congrats to Cheryl G. - you are the winner of this awesome book by Jenny Wilding Cardon at The Wild Cards   - I will email the winner for a mailing address. Be sure to check us out daily for our posts and more giveaways coming up!


-Becky

Broken Ghost Couture Q&A

Please welcom, Jana from  Broken Ghost Couture
We're pleased to have her with us to offer some wonderful answers to the creativity inspired within!

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.

A: I live in Calgary, Canada and am a wife and mother of 2 teenage boys. I have been designing clothing for about 4 years and am self taught. I have done quite a bit of sewing in my life, but designing pieces without working with a pattern is something I have learned to do in more recent years.

The Inaguration Cardigan

Wanna see some talent? Get ready to be awed by our guest bloggers today! Shwin & Shwin have had me addicted to their site since I first laid eyes! I would marry their talent if I could and their sweetness is divine! Cross our fingers that they'll come back to visit us more than once because one time is certainly not enough!
Check it out!

Level: Intermediate
Topic: Sewing, Clothing, Children
Tiime to complete project: Expect 1-4 hours


We are so excited to do our first post of Liberate Creativity! In honor of Presidents Day we thought it would be fit to share our Inauguration Cardi with you! The perfect little cardigan for any age, that adds a little sophistication to any outfit.
Want to make on too? Great let's get started! First with the pattern:



Bandana Apron

Steph from Somewhat Simple has been kind enough to offer a super funky and fun tutorial to make an unforgettable apron! I adore the idea of making simple aprons to match my outfit! LOVES! Make sure to check her entire site out at www.somewhatsimple.com (after you read this tutorial of course!). Happy weekend to all!

Level: Beginner

Topic: Clothing, Accessories, Sewing

Time to complete project: Expect 1 hour or less

I saw this idea on Martha Stewart. 

Not only is this the easiest thing you will ever make, it is super cute and will come in handy!

There are a ton of cute aprons out there (it seems like a new trend or something!) and I have made some and love them, but I wanted something a bit different than the full-body ones I have hanging in my pantry- something I could wear while entertaining that wouldn't cover up the outfit I chose very carefully to wear to the party. After all, what's the point in looking cute at a party if you have an apron covering your clothes, right? Enter "half-apron" and better yet, make it coordinating and matching to my party outfit and suddenly it all seems perfect!

Items Needed:

Bandanna- standard size is about 22 inches square

Ribbon- enough to fit around your waist and tie a bow from behind. Make sure you burn the edges of your ribbon to keep them from fraying.

Straight pins- unless you are better than me and can sew a straight line without using them.

Directions:

Step 1: Measure to find the center of your ribbon and place it on the center of your bandanna. If your bandanna has any words on it, like "Made in China", you might choose to cover those up with your ribbon.  Pin your ribbon to secure, then continue pinning along the length of the bandanna in the center of your ribbon.

Step 2: Sew both the top and bottom of your ribbon in a straight line. If you have a cute color thread, you might want to pick a cute stitch and do this along the ribbon for added detail. My thread was clear, so I just kept it straight since you wont be able to see it anyway.

Step 3: Oh wait, youre done! There is no step 3!!! Maybe step 3 will be "Throw a Dinner Party!" and use your new apron!

I love the idea of making these for each holiday too- bandannas come in every color, so you could make a black one with orange ribbon for Halloween, a brown one for Thanksgiving, a red and green for Christmas... seriously, do you need me to name all the holidays and their coordinating colors? Quit reading and start creating!!!

Stephanie Dulgarian

somewhatsimple.com

Giveaway from Jenny at The Wild Cards

I'm completely stoked! Jenny from The Wild Cards has offered a giveaway to our Liberate Creativity readers! Hot Off the Press, her book, ReSew: Turn Thrift-Store Finds into Fabulous Designs  is a trendy funky book that is now available for sale on Amazon.com. Because Jenny loves you all so much, she's giving away a copy! What a great way to get inspired.  Check out the video (below), and check out The Wild Cards  site and then (of course), enter this fun giveaway!

How to enter to win ReSew: Turn Thrift-Store Finds into Fabulous Designs by Jenny Wilding Cardon

1. Visit The Wild Cards site, and "Follow" them
2. "Follow" Liberate Creativity
3. Comment below and share with us something you have at home that you would love to repurpose, even if you don't know what the creation is  to become! (Include your email address so I can contact the winner).

(The rest is optional and just gives you extra entries!)
-Earn an extra entry if you Tweet about this giveaway (Click Tweet link below this post)
-Earn an extra entry if you "Like" us on Facebook here

Giveaway ends at midnight on Monday, February 21st. Winner will be chosen at random. Will ship to U.S. residents and Canada.

Making Girl Slips

• Level: Intermediate (you need to be able to sew a zigzag stitch and backstitch)
• Topic: Children, Clothing
• Time to complete project: Expect 1 hour or less!

i there, creative folks!  My name is Chris, and I write a blog called Pickup Some Creativity.  I have many sewing and crafty tutorials, free templates/patterns, and fun ideas to help spark your own creativity.  I also host a monthly series called Sewing 101 to encourage new sewists to jump in and try something that brings me a lot of joy.  I love the crafty blogging community, and appreciate all the fun things I have learned from so many others.
Today I am sharing a simple project that was important to me as a mom of two girls.  I cannot find slips for my girls anywhere!  I want them to be modest and for their dresses not to stick to their tights.  The other day, I found a ladies' slip at Goodwill, and I had a "lightbulb moment".  The result is this tutorial.

Shower Curtain Becomes Kitchen Curtain

So, my kitchen curtains looked ridiculously drab....

Okay, maybe not that bad....but still!

I came across some amazing pieces at TJ Maxx and FELL IN LOVE!!!!! MAJOR LOVE!

Do you have a TJ Maxx in your area…uh…go there, now. Go ahead, I’ll wait..... 

The thing about this store is that you have to have patience, and NO CHILDREN with you…did you hear me, NO CHILDREN! No joke, with my husband in the car with the kids it took me TEN MINUTES to come upon these gems…..10 MINUTES!!!! If you don’t have kids then just keep reading this tutorial….if you do, bask in the gloriousness with me….I FOUND THESE GEMS IN 10 MINUTES!!!!

Okay, at any rate, so here’s what I found…..a black & white shower curtain and a lime green curtain panel.  I have recently been inspired to change up the look in my kitchen. I’m not a country-esk type of gal, but my kitchen says otherwise…did you see the fake photo above....exactly!.

So I decided buying a shower curtain (72x72”) and a 1 panel curatain would do the trick! 

Kid Art Canvas

I didn't miss a Valentines Day, right?! That can't be right! Well at any rate, we should celebrate love all throughout the year (good cover, right?!)

Because I'm a girl that adores "kid art", thought I would share a recent project we came up with at home. My 4 year old Charley was quite impressed with his "mad skills" as he would say. This is a great project to get your kids involved and document their artisit ability (or lack thereof) as the years progress.

Level: Beginner

Topic: Children, Paint

Time to complete project: Expect 1 hour or less

Make Kids Journal

Happy Weekend! Can you believe that Sara from Craft Snob just can't get enough of us at Liberate Creativity! She's back offering a wonderful kid friendly project. Read on!

Level: Beginner
Topic: Children
Time to complete Project: 1 hour or Less

This is a no sew, kid-friendly option to making a journal. What a cute, fun way to encourage your kids to write and draw. 

Wrapping Paper & Ribbon Wall Rack

A huge shout out to Alissa from 33 Shades of Green who jumped on over here offer a bit of inspiration! I recommend visiting her site often because she offers lovely projects.

Seriously, I want to make a cazillion of these and cover an entire wall! Imagine some ridiculously beautiful coordinating wrapping paper prints on every spool covering your entire wall....ooh, ooh and you could switch it out for the holidays and display all Valentines wrap or St. Patty's day greens!  Wouldn't that be absurdly gorge and inspiring? {sigh} Then I imagine turning the corner and finding my 4 year old unrolling all of it and swooshing and swaying it all throughout the room. Okay, so maybe I won't do a wall to wall wrapping paper rack in my living room, but at least one for Mommy's craft room! Okay, Becky, stop the madness. This isn't a tutorial about wall art (even though it totally could be used in that fashion!) but it's about function. Let's focus.

Level: Beginner

Topic: Housewares

Time to complete project:1-4 hours

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Wrapping Paper & Ribbon Wall Rack

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What you'll need:

- 36" x 24" open back frame (Mine came from Hobby Lobby and was 1/2 off)

- (5) 28"-48" cafe rods ($2.99 each @ Hobby Lobby)

- spray paint

- mounting hardware for frame

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The cafe rods came with brass hardware that I wasn't too crazy about.

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So my first step was to spray paint the ends of the rods and the included hardware.  I used Krylon in Dover White.

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Before:

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And after:

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Much better, don't you think?

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To paint the rods I stuck them in the ground so the spray painting would be easier.  I think my neighbors may have wondered if the rods were a new, permanent fixture!

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Here's the open back frame I used:

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Next, attach the mounting hardware to the back of the frame.

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Attach cafe rod hardware to the front of the frame.

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That's it!

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Here's the frame hanging in my craft room:

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And here it is with wrapping paper and ribbon:

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I think it would be fun to do this with a smaller frame and use it to only for ribbon.

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Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed this project!

Incredible Hulk Cupcake Challenge

Level: Beginner
Topic: Food
Time to complete project: Expect 1 hour or less


I am many things, a baker is not one of them. I have two dear friends specifically that bake everything from scratch. Seriously, everything. One time I received a call from one of them to "confess" to me that she was forced to use a cake mix from a box (gasp)! Granted, I have to admit their food is divine...to the point of almost wanting to make bread from scratch, but only almost.


This post is about a challenge. A baking challenge. From my 4 year old. You see, his friend Zane brought Batman cookies to preschool last week, and since this week is my son Charley's week, he feels he should bring Incredible Hulk cookies. Thank you Zane's mom! The thing Zane's mommy had over Charley's mommy is that Batman has a flippin logo....the Incredible Hulk does not! Perfect. After attempting to coerce Charley into many other superhero ideas (that have easy to duplicate logos) he was dead set on Incredible Hulk and just knew that Daddy would know how to make them! Ummmmm....your Daddy barely knows how to turn on the oven, so I doubt he knows how to recreate the Incredible Hulk on a flippin cookie!!!!! We can check with Daddy.


Needless to say, Mommy the acclaimed "mix-user" non-baker came up with a creative solution! I successfully came up with an Incredible Hulk treat for his preschool class. Ignore the fact that because of an ice storm preschool was cancelled the next day and the completed cupcakes continue to sit steadily in the freezer.


First, I whipped up some cupcakes.

Then I frosted these bad boys!