My sister and I recently went to Joann’s fabric to find some ideas for Christmas crafting, and boy did we! Joann’s has exploded with small artsy trinkets that will look lovely on bows, necklaces, headbands, hats, the list goes on. At a “buy one get one free” discount the items ranged from $.50 to $2.00, what a great deal.

Along with their lovely small decorative items the store’s supply of flowers for the holidays has increased with the addition of GIGANTIC poinsettias in numerous colors to tiny holiday stands of berries, charms and candy canes all at “buy one get one half off”. Altogether I saved over $40 and got some of the most adorable and useful Christmas crafting decorations that I have seen.

After our lovely outing to the craft store, my sister and I ended up spending quite a few hours together crafting and creating new exciting headbands from the items that we had found at Joann’s. I don’t typically use Joann’s as a source of supplies, most of my creations are made from metal parts not fabric, but I am willing to try something new, and after all the things that we found, I’m happy that I did.

You can check out more of their sale items online

One of my earliest project favorites was decoupage and collage work.  These days, I am loving all the word art coming out so I thought I would make you a Word Art collage to use as you wish. Print it out on cardstock, printable material, etc.  You can sew it into a quilt, on a tote bag, decoupage it onto a studio lamp shade or framed above your sewing machine. Enjoy!

 
Yay for reuse and upcycling! We ran across this lovely indoor / outdoor fabric for free. I had thought to cover the porch seat cushions but decided I liked the fabric more than that. So! We are going to cover some $1.99 pillows I scored at the nearby Thift Town. We have been in need of some throw pillows in the living room, but until now I hadn’t found the right material.

 
So, to start with, we trimmed off the extra fluff (it had been previously battered) and laid out the material. Now, I forewarn you that I am an ‘eyeballer’ in that I tend to eye ball stuff when sewing, cooking and baking. Heaven forbid I ever have to write out a recipe for you!

Anyhow, we laid the pillows atop the material. We ended up with a long strip the width of the pillow and then cut roughly based on about a three inch overlap for the opening. On both of the short ends we folded over the edge twice, hiding the raw edge inside a simple straight line seam.

Next, fold one long side up to about two thirds of the way up, inside out, and pin in place on both sides.  Turn right side out and ensure the pillow fits. Fold over the top to continue the fit. If all is well, turn inside out again and pin the second piece in place.

You should have something that looks like a piece of paper with top and bottom folded up and overlapping just a bit. We are going to then sew with a stretch stitch along both sides, at least half an inch in from the edges.

 
Now, turn it right side out again and put in your pillow~  TAADAA!  This took me a grand total of 15 minutes, maybe 20 stopping to take pictures. It’s about the easiest sewing project and is great for practicing, learning, kids, etc.