I made this toy travel blanket for Elise’s first plane flight. We were flying to Maine and I wanted any toys she dropped to stay in our seats rather than fall into the filthy abyss of the airplane floor.

The border perimeter features ribbons and vintage ric rac to keep Elise occupied while confined in her window seat …babies *love* to pick at tags! And I finally got to use this super cute Russian matryoshka dolly fabric that my friend Heather bought me on one of her famous roadtrips.

Check out the Snag Free Velcro loops on the blanket border to attach toys. Instead of using traditional Velcro that comes in two pieces, I used one piece of Velcro Snag Free Sew On Tape.

All you do is close it and it sticks to itself like so…

I recycled one of Elise’s super soft old swaddling blankets for the back…

…and added two pockets for small books and toys using Velcro Fabric Fusion Iron On Tape.

My friend Macki Cayloma West, traveling mom extraordinaire, inspired the kid’s toy travel blanket. Macki created her original toy travel blanket by sewing traditional two-piece Velcro loops on a flannel receiving blanket. Then she Velcro-ed toys onto the blanket like so:

I like the Velcro Snag Free Sew On Tape on the perimeter because the Velcro’s there when you need it and out of the way when you don’t. Snag Free Velcro feels softer and stays clean of threads and other gunk. But you can really use either type of Velcro – placed in the middle or on the border or both – and get a good blanket.

You can also use baby links to attach more toys onto the ribbons themselves. Whether you make a simple travel blanket or more elaborate version, toys you take on trips are more likely to join you on the way back!

WANNA MAKE IT? Free template, supply list and DIY step-by-step instructions for creating a kid’s travel toy blanket with Velcro loops and ribbon tags after the jump –>

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This original Fourth of July craft was created for Daily Candy Kids. Welcome, Daily Candy readers!

I mourn sparklers. The City of Chicago banned sparklers in 2007 joining most other ousted fireworks.  Yes, I understand that sparklers can be dangerous especially for small children yet my nostalgia for dancing sparks runs deep. What’s a Fourth without them?

In the spirit of all things wavy and shiny here’s a craft for making safer spark-free sparklers personalized for your family’s Fourth of July celebration. And it all starts with an unused pair of wooden chopsticks…

This project can be easily adapted to making fairy and wizard wands, birthday party shakers or pom poms in your school’s colors.

Yankee doodle indeed!

WANNA MAKE IT? Free template, supply list and DIY step-by-step instructions for creating my Sparkless Sparklers for kids for the Fourth of July using chopsticks, ribbon and party garland after the jump –>

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This craft was originally created for and published by design*sponge. Welcome, design*sponge readers!

I found a pile of buttermilk, chocolate milk and orange juice vintage bottle caps tucked away in a cardboard box in a lovely antique store in Savannah, Georgia. I thought, why not turn them into retro refrigerator magnets to show them off while making them useful once again?

Milk used to be carried and delivered in glass bottles starting in the late 1800s and capped the tops until around the mid 1950s. Dairies printed their names on the top of the cardboard caps to encourage return and reuse.

You can find your own from dairies all over – Indiana, Nebraska, New York, Quebec, California, and more. There you’ll also find cardboard caps for cottage cheese, whipping cream, orange drink, fruit punch and other treats as well as ads for ice cream and other items.

I just love the graphic design and typography on vintage milk and juice bottle caps. Aren’t they fun and full of personality?

My goal is to make things that are simple and useful, playful and clever. I think refrigerator magnets happily showcase these little vintage circles of art.

WANNA MAKE IT? Supply list and DIY step-by-step instructions for creating my refrigerator magnets from vintage milk and juice bottle caps after the jump –>

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My friend K.C. MacQueen asked me to be an artist for the second annual Pritzker School Community Art Project: “Birdhouses.” Artists create a birdhouse for display in local Wicker Park stores. Home Tweet Home graced the front store window at Stitch boutique in Bucktown for two weeks before being auctioned off.

I’m more of a fabric than a hammer type of girl so decided to make a pillow. And you’re going to flip when you see my tissue paper tracing sewing machine embroidery technique. It opens up so many possibilities!

The birdhouse pillow was inspired by a wrinkly 1969 vintage linen calendar from my extensive collection (I’m a junkie).

I traced the birdhouse onto tissue paper, lengthened the pole and pinned it to the front of 100% wool felt.

Then I sewed through the tissue paper onto the wool using colorful teal, light blue and yellow thread …and tore away the tissue paper to reveal the sewn image.

I added a handwritten “tweet” detail in orange using the same technique.

I’m excited about devising this tissue paper technique on my own – even though others may have already uncovered it. I dislike fabric ink pens especially on nice fabric because it never really full disappears. And you have to freehand draw right the first time.

In contrast my tisssue paper method makes it much easier to keep drawing on paper until you get it right …or trace a reference piece like I did for this project …and sew your embroidery just right.

I closed the pillow with turquoise grosgrain ribbon zipper detailing that became a happy accident that I love.

Here it is close up. The pillow insert contains down feathers, naturally :)

Using tissue paper and your sewing machine is a super fun way to adorn pillows, aprons, totes, dresses …you name it. So get out your Sharpies and sewing machines and get to it!

WANNA MAKE IT? Free template, supply list and DIY step-by-step instructions for creating my embroidered birdhouse pillow using tissue paper and sewing machine after the jump –>

Continue reading “Embroidered birdhouse pillow using tissue paper + sewing machine” »



UPDATE: Congratulations to Thein-Kim! According to Random.org she is our lucky winner of 5 cards of her choice, a large journal and a mini-journal. Thanks everyone for entering!

Continue reading “Giveaway! Free Cards and Journals from Colette Paperie” »