tutorial Archives - Page 26 of 61 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Woodburning 101 (A Tutorial)

March 26, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

I’m having so much fun with this woodburner. My favorite thing I’ve made so far: little driftwood message hearts. I’ve had a lot of luck with this brand…..the Creative Versa-Tool.

The heat control is key because it heats up much hotter than most wood burners…..making it much easier to burn:

I ordered these pre-cut driftwood hearts on Etsy from Tinker’s Attic:

Driftwood is super easy to burn because it’s so soft:

You can add some paint for some color:

A love note:

My favorite point is the universal point…it performs all fundamental designs:

A tapered point can burn more intricate designs:

Just heat the tool up and using light pressure burn your design into the wood.

The longer the point remains on the surface the deeper and darker your burn will be.

Golden Fluid Acrylics are perfect for adding color:

Leave a sweet message for someone you love! Drill a hole for to make a little gift topper or keychain. Place one in your kid’s or spouse’s lunch. Put one on your dresser.

The Dishtowel Skirt (A Tutorial)

March 24, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

This cute little skirt was made from dishtowels!

Inexpensive, easy to sew, already hemmed and festive:

Holidays always bring the cutest little linens. I picked up these two Easter-themed dishtowels from Target and made them into a skirt for Boo:

Here’s how to make your own! Dishtowels are perfectly sized for a girl’s skirt up to about a size 6.

Step 1 & 2: Lay out your dishtowels and cut them in half.
Step 3: Cut off the side seams, but leave the bottom seams.
Step 4: I used the towel with the bunny as a patchwork panel so I trimmed the sides.

Step 5 & 6: Sew together your panels to create 2 large panels.
Step 7 & 8: Once you have two larger completed panels, place them on top of each other and sew the side seams together.

Step 9 & 10: Turn your skirt inside out and fold the top edge over about 1.5″ to form a casing for elastic. Finish the raw edge.
Step 11 & 12: Stitch your casing closed leaving about an inch opening to insert the elastic into. Thread the elastic through, sew the elastic shut and close the casing.

I added some pretty crocheted trim at the bottom of the skirt for some extra detail:

Dainty and pretty!

The finished skirt:

To make a matching tank, I made a little pom-pom from crocheted trim……

…..and sewed it to a plain camisole:

An Easter-themed outfit! A quick sew and great for a beginner project.

My sister Perry is here visiting this week! We had fun today hiding eggs in the yard to practice for some upcoming Easter hunts:

Make a Rustic Crate (A Tutorial)

March 20, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

With an easy technique you can transform any new crate into an old rustic looking one! I made the above one for Boo’s Easter basket this year…..adding her name and a bunny to the side. I bought the below new mini-crate from Michael’s Craft store using my coupon and it was only a few bucks:

I used my Silhouette Machine to cut “Sienna” out of vinyl shelf paper to use as a stencil….I also cut out a bunny shapes for the sides. I placed the stencils on the crate and used black spray paint:

The spray painted images:

I mixed a solution of white distilled vinegar, steel wool, and tea to apply to the wood. You can see the full tutorial on the process here (the wine barrel lazy susan tutorial) but basically the vinegar reacts with the steel wool and creates an aging effect on the wood. I add the tea to add a bit of “tea stain” to the wood.

As it is applied the wood gets a little darker…..but you won’t see the full effect until the wood dries. You can even rub the steel wool on the wood for extra age but I recommend using some gloves.

The finished crate! It will look so cute filled with paper grass and some handmade goodies and treats!