Kitchen Linens: A Quick Tutorial

I grew up in a family that had big, wonderful family dinners every Sunday evening. We always used the nice dishes and put a lovely table cloth on the dining room table. If whoever set the table was feeling particulary fancy, we even had candles. We ate a lot of roast (my mom and Nana make the world's best roast), sometimes chicken or pork chops, and all of the usual sides like potatoes, carrots, salads, etc. And, of course, no Sunday dinner was ever complete without some type of delicious bread product. Soft, pillowy dinner rolls; sweet, wholesome muffins; hearty, golden corn bread--all served in a bread basket lined with a clean kitchen towel.

I don't have lots of room for storing kitchen linens, so my collection of table cloths, place mats, and cloth napkins is fairly limited. And, between mopping up spills and drying little hands, my kitchen towels get quite the work-out. So I decided that I needed some new kitchen linens, small enough to fit in a bread basket, but big enough to fold over warm, fresh-from-the-oven bread until dinner is ready. Making them was quick and satisfying; here's how:

• Buy two fat quarters of the same fabric. Or buy half a yard of fabric and cut it in half to make two fat quarters (18x22"). Wash, dry, and iron your fabric.
• With the right sides touching, lay your pieces one on top of the other, line up the edges, and pin. I used 3 or 4 pins per side.
• Using a 1/4" seam, sew your two pieces of fabric together, going almost all the way around the outside. Leave a 4" gap.
• Trim the corners, turn right side-out, and iron flat.
• Top stitch around the whole thing, getting as close to the edge as you feel comfortable (for these kitchen linens, I stayed about 1/8" from the edge). Make sure you close up the opening you left for turning.

In addition to lining a bread basket, these kitchen linens are the perfect size to be sweet placemats, go under a centerpiece, or wrap up cookies for the neighbors.

Craft Camp: Hand-Stitched Lavender Sachets and Mason Jar Sewing Kits

For our last day of craft camp, I decided to give the girls a little sewing lesson. After making sweet little sewing kits in mason jars, we hand-sewed pouches out of linen and filled them with lavender buds and dried chamomile flowers. Sadly, the sachets were the only project of the entire week that not everyone finished. We had lots of embroidery needles coming off of the floss (we're talking two hours solid of re-threading) and a few tangles that were so bad even I couldn't get the knots out. But those sachets that did make it to the finish line were very sweet, both in appearance and in fragrance.

Here's how we did it:

• Cut two 6-inch squares of linen and line them up. If you want to pin them together in a few places, feel free, but I despise pinning!
• Thread an embroidery needle with embroidery floss and start sewing the two squares together about 1/2" from the edge. Smaller stitches mean less likelihood that anything will fall out once the sachet is done. You don't have to tie a knot in your floss at this point, but you do need to pull about 3 feet of floss through the fabric.
• Continue stitching around the edge of the sachet until you have about 3 inches left. Through the opening, carefully add dried lavender buds and chamomile flowers until the sachet is full. You should still be able to pinch the opening shut. If you've added too many flowers, just pour some out.
• Stitch the opening on your sachet shut. Make sure your last stitch ends right next to where your first stitch began and that the two loose ends of your floss are on the same side of the sachet. Trim both loose ends to about 6 inches. Tie in a double knot and trim again.
• If desired, trim the edges with pinking shears.
  

I put my sachet in my t-shirt drawer and have been enjoying beautifully perfumed tees and tanks for a few weeks now.

The mason jar sewing kits were very easy and very fun to make. We followed the directions from this tutorial from Martha Stewart. Inside the jar, the girls put several different sizes and types of needles, some sewing pins, and a measuring tape, in addition to the extra embroidery floss from their sachets.

And that brings us to the end of the first annual Crafty Girl's Summer Camp. Despite the frustrations of the last day, it was a fantastic experience overall, one that I would do again, and one that I would definitely encourage anyone toying with the idea to do. With careful planning and organization, it can run extremely smoothly and be loads of fun for you and the girls who attend.

Craft Camp: Felt Flower Headbands and Vintage Felt Brooches

Sorry for the long absence; our computer has been sick for many, many months and we finally just had to wipe it clean and start afresh. And that takes so much longer than it should!

So, back to craft camp. On our fourth day, we had lots of fun with felt. The first project involved these adorable felt flower headbands.

They couldn't have been easier to make, and regardless of how wonky some of the girls' flowers looked, all of the headbands were just precious. The idea and instructions came from a fantastic, relatively new craft blog, eighteen25. You can find photos and step-by-step instructions HERE.

Our second project--also involving felt--was these cute felt brooches with vintage buttons. I provided the girls with lots of wool-blend felt, hot glue, buttons, bar pins, and a few cardboard templates, and they went to town. Here are some of my favorites:

Sensational Succulents and our Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Sinful Southern Sweets, winner of our $60 CSNStores.com gift ceritificate giveaway!

Maybe it's the fact that I grew up in the dessert: I simply love succulents. Don't get me wrong, I adore lush landscapes, but there's just something about the silvery greenery of these drought-hardy little charmers that makes my heart go pitter-pat. I love their colors. I love their teeny-tiny size. I love how architectural and geometric they are. Just try to resist them!

One of many amazing vertical gardens from floral designer Flora Grubb
{photo from Flora Grubb Gardens}


Make your own vertical garden with this how-to from Sunset Magazine!
{photo from Sunset Magazine online}



The silvery greens of the foliage and the steely greys of the pots and stones make Martha Stewart's very own patio look like a restful bit of summer heaven.
{photos from Martha Stewart Living online}


Tiny potted succulents act as a minimalist centerpiece for a dinner party by Sunday Suppers.
{photo from Sunday Suppers}

Make your own potted succulent favors with this quick tutorial from Martha Stewart.
{photos from Martha Stewart Living online}


Make a living wreath with succulents using this online tutorial from Martha Stewart...
{photo from Martha Stewart Living online}


or using this kit from Succulent Gardens...
{photo from Succulent Gardens}

Or buy a ready-made wreath from VivaTerra, Topiary Art Works on Amazon, Simply Succulents, or Succulent Gardens.

Craft Camp: Make a Customized Cork Board, a Memory Wire Bracelet, Lip Gloss, and Bath Fizzies (but not all at once!)

**We are having major computer issues at our house this week, so we'll have to catch up on posting next week. But keep entering the giveaway!**

**Don't forget to enter our fantastic giveaway from CSNstores.com! They've generously donated a $60 gift certificate that can be used on everything from Adirondack Chairs to Water Slides. Click HERE to enter!**

Day 2 of craft camp was lots of fun. Our two crafts were supposed to go together, but they didn't really in the end. Oh well! We started by making framed jewelry displays (a.k.a. customized cork boards), and finished with some super swell memory wire bracelets.

The girls had tons of fun customizing their cork boards. Here's how we did it:

• We started by painting 4x6" wooden picture frames (so versatile and so cheap--only $1!). Just as they did with the tote bags from Day 1, the girls went crazy with the paints; their personalities really came through in their work! After the frames were painted, we set them aside to dry while we worked on the bracelets (see below for the bracelet How To).

• I bought a 4-pack of 12" square cork mats from the craft store and cut two of them into six 4x6" rectangles each.
• I also bought a bunch of cute fabric fat quarters from the fabric store. No need to wash them, but ironing is a good idea.
• Using a 6x8" piece of cardboard as a template, the girls traced and cut out a rectangle of fabric.

• We placed the fabric face down on the table and centered the cork board over it. We folded the excess fabric up and over the edges of the cork board and stapled them in place.
• When the frames were dry, we put the fabric covered cork boards into the picture frames. We added a few bright, pearly sewing pins and that's it! Here's the part where the bad planning came into play. We used glass beads on our bracelets, so by the time the bracelets were done, they were quite heavy. If you tired to hang them from the cute pins on your cute jewelry board, they would just fall off and take the pins with them. But necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets that are fairly light-weight will work fine.

Memory wire bracelets are a cinch to make. They require only 3 things: memory wire, beads, and a set of needle-nose pliers. I cut 3 turns of wire for each girl and, using the pliers, looped one end over on itself. No clasps, no knots. How easy is that?! After the girls beaded up their wire, I just looped the other end over on itself as well. Truly one of the easiest projects ever, and the bracelets looked amazing!

*****

Day 3 was super crazy, super messy, and probably the most fun yet! Today was bath and body day. We made lip gloss and bath fizzies, both ideas from Miss Martha Stewart. Instead of doing our crafts in the living room, we worked in the kitchen today. The table, counter, and floor were caked with bath stuff when we finished, so it was definitely a good idea to move our operations into a more mess-friendly environment. Click HERE for directions on how to make the lip gloss, and click HERE to find out how to make bath fizzies.

I was afraid these two projects wouldn't span the entire two-hour camp session, so we also used ribbon, scrapbooking paper, markers, etc. to decorate jars to put our bath fizzies in once they are dry.

As I mentioned in yesterday's craft camp post, if you'd like to know where I got any of my materials (like citric acid and essential oils, for example), just drop me a line at maxandellie at gmail dot com.

Giveaway Time (again!)

The giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering!

Do you need a new vanity for that bathroom remodel you've been tackling? How about some patio furniture and a fire pit for these long summer nights? What about a yoga DVD or a treadmill to help you stay in shape for swimsuit season? CSNstores.com has all of these items and more! Baby gear, cookware, telescopes, shoes, luggage, beds, desks, flooring....the list goes on and on! CSN Stores is offering one lucky reader a $60 gift certificate that can be used at any one of their 200+ online shops!

To enter, simply visit CSNstores.com, look around, and then come back here and leave a comment on this post telling us what you'd put your $60 toward if you won. Don't worry; you can change your mind. If you're anything like us, you'll have a hard time narrowing down all of the amazing choices! This contest will be open for one week. We'll choose a winner on Tuesday, June 29th. Best of luck everyone!!

How To: Survive a Craft Camp With Twelve 8-11 Year-Old Girls While Maintaining Your Sanity and Living Room Carpets

The moment I've been waiting for all year (quite literally for one entire year!) finally arrived this morning: craft camp! When I first posted about it a few months ago, a few of you mentioned that you'd like to do something similar in your area. Well now that I've done it, I feel like I can give you some great tips:

• Be prepared for a lot of fun! I had so much fun picking out the crafts and buying the materials. Buying craft supplies is always fun, but it was especially joyous this time because the tuition for each girl included the cost of supplies, so I was basically buying great stuff for free! Hot dog!
• Shop around. After choosing the crafts, I made a list of all materials for each craft. I did this months ago, and then spent a few minutes during shopping trips for other things to price the materials we would need. Then I bought them where ever they were cheapest. And I used coupons. Coupons, coupons, coupons!
• Find enough space. Or make enough space. I used my dining room table plus a folding table that I set up in my living room. I divided the girls in half, sat 6 at one table and 6 at the other. If I didn't have enough space in my living room, I would use my garage.
• Be organized. That is pretty good advice for life in general, but in this case, it is a must! Once I had all of my supplies gathered, I bagged or boxed them up by day and put aside the ones I didn't need for this morning. Then I laid out all of today's supplies on the tables.
• Have back-up plans. As in snacks, a backyard, and a pet rabbit. We are doing two crafts each day, but for some reason, they zipped through the second craft and we finished 30 minutes early. Luckily, I had dozens of juice boxes, Ritz crackers, and cheese on hand just in case. The girls cleaned up their crafts and then ate snacks in the backyard (and scared the bunny half to death) until their moms came to get them.
• Let it go. When I make a monogrammed tote bag, I want it to look chic and polished. But my 8-year-old friends don't. They want to use every color of paint available. They want to paint the entire surface of the bag with zebra stripes and polka dots. And you know what? That's OK.

So what we're today's crafts?? Monogrammed tote bags and personalized stationery. I've posted about the tote bags before. Here's how we did the stationery: small wooden letters from the craft store (about 1-2" tall) + 2" sections of a wooden dowel + blank cards and envelopes + craft paint. Easy peesy. We hot glued the letters to the dowels, brushed on craft paint, and stamped away on our stationery! Some girls stuck to one or two colors. Others put multiple letters on each card and each letter was a different color. They just washed their make-shift stamps off in the sink between colors.

I'll be sure to write up all of the crafts we do this week, and if at any point you'd like to know where I got any materials, just drop me an email at maxandellie at gmail dot com. I'd love to share my secrets with you!