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The Ruffle Bustle Skirt

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I’m a guest over at Grosgrain today for Free Pattern Month Day 14! Make sure to visit to see all the great patterns…..there’s a new free pattern every single day this month! Look at all these goodies so far (click to image to visit Grosgrain):

 

My contribution is the Ruffle Bustle Skirt (you might remember this design from WAY back….. SYTYC Contest November 2009. This is a fun, flirty knit skirt with a yoga style “fold over”  waistband. The ruffled bustle is perfect for using up those small knit scraps you might have laying around.

 

 

Download the complete PDF pattern and tutorial by clicking the cover below:

Accidental Painting (A Tutorial)

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Each and every time I finish one of these little hardboard nursery paintings I laugh a little at how “accidental” they are. I don’t plan them ahead of time…..and I never quite know how they will turn out until I’m about 80% done with them.

 

I took photos as I painted this recent painting to show my design process. I always start with just a basic light color. It’s easy to paint over and allows me to use the broadest range of colors.

 

 

I usually print out a few different mixed fonts and sizes of each name letter and cut them out so I can visualize the layout.

 

 

I start with the first and last letter and then fill the center letters in.

 

 

I kind of have a theme in my head….like flowers, or animals, or geometric shapes. For this particular painting I was trying to match some floral bedding so I started by sketching what I thought would be the largest objects in the painting: flowers.

 

 

Before I even have the rest of the painting planned I’ll start blocking in large areas of color:

 

 

I even start outlining letters and detail:

 

 

The first thing I noticed about this painting was the large empty space at the top. It needed something large and sweeping…..so I added a bee  spelling out “sweet girl.”

 


 

To unify the painting, and add some cohesion between the flowers and letters, I added some large circles. I grabbed a few random objects in different sizes to trace:

I then blocked in the circles with colors that would balance the painting. If an orange flower is on one side of the painting, I try to pull some orange to the other side of the painting by painting one of the circles. Light blue circles balance the blue “S” and pink and yellow pull the other colors around the painting:

 

 

I then started to add some more detail in the painting using my black paint pen….like the dotted line pattern in the large circles:

 

 

Tiny white dot flowers were a good way to subtly fill in some of the background area:

 

 

More detail:

 

 

The letter “a” looked bare and a little too mustardy so I added some white polka dots. I added a few white polka dots throughout the background as well as some dark pink dot flowers. The last thing I added was a dotted line throughout the painting as if the bee had flown through almost every letter….an easy way to help unify the painting:

 

 

Once the painting portion is finished, I placed little butterfly buttons throughout and marked them once I was happy with their location:

 

 

The last thing I do is drill and sew the buttons and embellishments on:

 

 

This “accidental” painting is for my new niece Sloan!

 


I float frame every painting myself…..see my other tutorials to see how to easily frame your own with a professional look!

 

 

Don’t even know where to start? Take a look at these:

 

Mini Brad Charms (A Tutorial)

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Mother’s Day is coming up and here’s an easy, inexpensive gift idea that can be personalized and special! To make these little charms,  I took ordinary metal brads in different shapes…..

 

 

…..added different embellishment and then sealed them using embossing powder. All of the items I used can be found at your local craft or scrapbooking store.

 

 

Basic materials needed:
Embossing powder
Metal brads
Metal jump ring

Step 1: Carefully break off the brad’s prongs by moving them back and forth until they fall off. You can use a nail file to smooth any sharp edges.

 

Step 2: Using a small nail or awl, punch a hole in the top where you will insert a jump ring.

 

 

Use nail clippers to cut off any sharp edges from where the hole was created.

 

 

Step 4: Decorate the inside of the brad. There are a gazillion possibilities here….

Paint a tiny design:

 

Apply a small sticker, rhinestone  or other embellishment:

 

Or….paste an extra small photo or picture to the back (I used nail nippers to trim the edges):

 

Step 5: Add a jump ring to the charm.

 

 

Step 6: Flatten out a piece of tin foil to use as a tray that can be placed in the oven. You’ll need embossing powder for this step.

 

 

Cut a small strip of paper to use as a little “spoon” and fill the brad with powder:

 

 

Carefully place the tinfoil tray into a toaster oven or oven (350 degrees). Watch as the embossing powder slowly melts into a smooth clear covering. Take out of the oven to cool.

 

 

If the clear melted covering is a little uneven you can hold the charm carefully and reheat it with a heat gun or blowdryer until it levels out. Use a nail file to carefully smooth the edges if needed.

 

 

Finished charms!

 

 

I love how they look when they are all bunched together as eclectic charms! What will you decorate yours with?

 

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