Felt Photo Album Cover

I cheated on this one a little bit and didn't make it out of felt.  I don't normally work with felt because I don't really like felt.  I can't believe how many of these project sheets want you to make all of this stuff with felt.  So, I am revolting.  I am rising up against the felt lovers of the world and refusing to join them.  I like fabric. So, I made my album cover out of a heavy weight home decor fabric.  I think it is much cuter than felt and will keeps it adorable appearance longer.  Felt tends to show it's age and with a brag book like this one that will be taken in and out of my purse, I don't want it to show it's wear and tear.

Now I will step down from my soap box and move on.  This is such a great project.  So quick and there are so many possibilities to make this unique.  I just bought a small brag book photo album from the dollar store and used up some fabric scraps I had laying around and now it looks like a million bucks.  Ok, maybe not a million bucks, but definitely worth more than a dollar now.

This project was provided by Emily Montgomery at http://www.thepaperseed.com/.

Recycled Bath Mat

A few years ago, I moved into a new house. The guest bathroom was in need of a shower curtain and no matter where I looked...I couldn't find the right one. I really wanted something with red in it, but not solid red. It seemed like everything I saw had either a maroon tint or a salmon tint to it. So, luckily, my wonderful mom stepped up and made me the perfect shower curtain for the room. I was able to find a great bath mat that worked. Red shag bath mat in the perfect matching color. However, my rambuncious not-so-little puppy, Duchess, felt the need to unravel it a few months ago. Needless to say, the guest bath has been incomplete for awhile now. So, when I saw this project sheet, I immediately had my fabric picked out without even having to go into my sewing room. (That never happens!!) I didn't have a black towel, but I was able to find a great deal at K-Mart on a cheap costing yet not cheap feeling towel. I am so thrilled with the way it turned out. Next up, I am going to replace the bath mat in the master bath with one of these. This time around, I won't overestimate my ability to line up both sides of the edging fabric. I did have to restitch a few spots on this bath mat. So, I recommend you stitch down one side first before folding the fabric over to the other side and top stitching it in place.

This project was provided by Kristen Couse of http://www.cakehousedesign.com/ and http://www.thenewnew.blogspot.com/.

Heartfelt Quilt Card

My Valentine from George

I'll be honest...when I first saw this project, I thought it seemed a little ridiculous. Then, on Monday, I was at my brother's house and my adorable 3 year old nephew George handed me a homemade Valentine card. So sweet!! I thought if George can make me a heartfelt card, then I can make George a heartfelt card. So, I did. I kept him in mind while picking my fabrics to quilt. Of course, when I say quilt I really mean patchwork because as we learned in the course of making the first project...a quilter, I am not. This actually turned out to be a fun project. Obviously you could stitch any design, not just a heart...so the possibilities are endless. Plus, it turned out pretty cute...if I do say so myself. I sure hope George likes it as much as I did.

This project was provided by Marie Ann Tenny at http://www.diynamite.com/. (Update: This website is no longer running.)

Tea Towel Apron

This sewing project turned out to be super cute, super easy and a super good idea...so, in a nutshell, SUPER! I love this pattern. Literally, this took 20 minutes from start to finish to make. So easy that I decided to make two of them.

Super cute...just look at the pictures. And the possibilities are endless. I found a couple of really fun tea towels at Tuesday Morning and then accented them with vibrant, printed ribbon. I would use 1 and 1/2 inch ribbon for these just to give you a solid waistband.

Super easy...cut your ribbon, fold your towel, and a few stitches later you have an apron with pockets. You could make your apron faster than you can cook your dinner.

Super good idea...not just fashionable kitchen attire, but practical as well. My aprons are stitched with three pockets, but you could also make them with two. Plenty of room for all the extras you need while baking. Plus, this apron is made from a kitchen towel...so you always have that accessible while preparing your meals.

This project was provided by Sarah Mikkelsen at www.themikkelsens.net/sarah/journal/.

Tin Can Cover

This tin can cover was everything I look for in a project...simple and quick. In fact, the most time consuming part was coming up the 28 oz. tin can to cover. I don't typically buy food in cans that size since I am not feeding a family, so I picked up some canned pears and had them for breakfast this morning. I think I have reached my limit on pears for the year now. Once I finished my breakfast and got started on the actual project, it only took about 30 minutes start to finish. And now I have this unique canister to house all of my cooking utensils. Actually, I already have one in the kitchen that I use...so I intend to use this as a pen/pencil cup in my office. Or perhaps I will use it to hold all the scissors and rotary cutters in my sewing room. I guess if you start thinking about it, the possibilities are endless. Regardless, I highly recommend this project. Quick. Easy. Cheap. And lets not forget adorable!!!

This project was provided by Meg Spaeth at http://www.elsiemarley.com/.

Pet Bed

Last April, I adopted a 12 week old boxer/lab mix. When I first picked her up, she was calm and sweet and laid in my arms for an hour. Turns out she is a bit of a con artist. Skip to nine months later and now she is just over a year old and bouncing off the walls and chewing on everything in the house...including one of the dog beds I made her two months ago. Naturally, when I saw this project I was less than thrilled at the thought of making yet another dog bed turned chew toy...but hopeful that maybe the terry cloth would prove more durable than the previous fabrics I have used. I am really thrilled with how it turned out, except the fact that it turned out just a bit too small for Duchess. Guess I need a bigger towel!!

This was not the easiest project to make...mostly because of how bulky it was and how difficult it was to stuff each section. However, there are a lot of things I really like about this pattern. For instance, I like the design of this bed...with the padded rim around it. Duchess liked the rim also. Her other dog beds are just over-sized square pillows and most of the time she is laying only half on the bed. This bed gave her boundaries and, trust me, she needs all the boundaries she can get!!! The other thing I like about this pattern is the fact that the bed is made from old towels. I love having the chance to recycle something old and used into something completely different and new. I would absolutely use this pattern again to make another dog bed. Which might be sooner than later since Duchess ripped a hole in it this morning...hopefully I can just patch it for now. Next time I will make sure to use a heavier towel, the polka dot towel was pretty thin and worn. At least she got some good use out of it last night!!

This project was provided by Pretty Little Things by Lori Marie at http://www.lorimarie.com/.