DIY Ribbon Holder Tutorial

I have a lot of trims and I mean a lot! As a designer I like to see everything I have to work with when I am creating new garments and projects.  I usually start out with fabric selection, but it's the trims and ribbons that really bring a garment together.  I wanted to create some easy, inexpensive ribbon holders so that I can have all my trims displayed out in my studio when I'm working.  Also, I love looking at all these pretties, they make me so excited to get creative!

You can create these holders for your sewing trim or even use them for your gift wrapping ribbons.  All of these supplies (aside from the craft paint) were found at our local hardware store.  They only cost a few dollars each, so you can make as many as your heart desires!  My hubby helped me by drilling the holes, so you may need to enlist the help of a drilling aficionado.

Want to make your own?  Ok, let's get started.......

Supplies:

1 piece square corner trim

1 dowel rod cut 13" long

1 wooden knob

Craft paint

Paint Brush

Drill

Wood glue (optional)

Directions:

Drill a hole in the center of your square trim that is the same size as your dowel rod.  If you can make it the slightest bit smaller then you can avoid having to glue it in place.  But if it seems loose at all add some wood glue and allow it to dry.  What size dowel rod should you use?  Well, that's kind of up to you depending on what trims you are trying to store.

I found these wooden knobs and had my husband drill a hole in the bottom of them.  Make sure you don't go through the entire knob, just about 3/4 of the way through.

Make sure your knob fits well on top and that your dowel rod is secured in place.

Grab your craft paint and paint each of the holders.  I'm really into this Martha Stewart Craft Paint lately, so I choice a pretty blue in a high gloss finish, but any craft paint will work just fine.

Allow all of your pieces to dry.  I like to tear open these paper bags from Trader Joe's and place them under my craft projects since they are nice and thick and will protect my cutting mat from the paint. 

Slide your ribbons onto the dowel rod, place your knob on top and now you've got beautiful ribbon storage!

This project is so quick, easy and inexpensive and I'm in love with my three ribbon holders!  It feels so great to be organized.  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I'd love to know if you make any of these easy organizers.  

Have a great day!

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Easy $1.00 Mirror Makeover

There are so many decorating projects I would love to tackle around our house, but there just isn't a lot of time (or extra money) to get those done.  So many of the projects will have to wait, but I figure I can do a little something here and there to make myself feel a little better in our home.

We have had this mirror since before we even moved into this house.  I absolutely love the shape of it, but it really doesn't pop on our beige family room wall.  When my mom was visiting I was telling her how I wanted to do 'this and that' to our family room like bringing in some blue into our palette of beige, sage and cranberry.  I recently changed out the curtains, which have some blue in them and my mom suggested that I paint the mirror to bring out the blue from the curtains.

I head to our local Joann's a picked up a small tube of Martha Stewart Craft Paint in a Satin finish.  I thought about spray painting the mirror, but I really couldn't find anything that was just the right color.  When I saw Martha Stewart had a color called 'Blueberry', I knew that would be just right.  This paint is usually $1.99 at my Joann's, but I had a coupon, so it was only .99 cents!

Instagram Photo ~ thecottagemama

I taped off the interior of the mirror with painters tape.  Got out our art brushes and began painting.  I'm kind of glad I decided to paint the mirror rather than spraying it.  I had forgotten how soothing painting can be and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.  It took me about 1 hour to paint the mirror and I let it dry overnight.  I thought the craft paint covered surprisingly well.  I wasn't quite sure how it would do since I didn't prime the mirror at all.  The next day, after the paint was dry, I removed the painter's tape and hung the mirror on the wall.

The mirror seems to have a new life again.  A once nice, somewhat drab mirror, now pops off the wall in this deep blueberry tone.  The great thing about working with timeless shapes is that you can always incorporate them into your decor.  In our next house, the blue might not work, but then I can just paint it again!  And for .99 cents, that is no problem!

This mirror makes me (and my wallet) really happy because my favorite kind of makeovers are the ones where you take something you already own and make it new again.  

Hmmmm......what can I paint next?  

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Friday Share: Sew Beautiful, Where Women Create and Other Stuff

I've had some things I wanted to share with you guys for awhile, but just haven't had a chance to get them up here on the blog.  So I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you all...........

Have you seen the most recent issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine?

It's the July/August issue that is on newsstands now.  

And guess who has a five page pictorial in this issue?  

The Cottage Mama!

I was so thrilled when Kathy Barnard (Editor, Sew Beautiful) contacted me asking if I would be interested in them doing a pictorial featuring my sewing patterns.  Of course I said yes!   I sewed this collection of clothing almost a year ago for this pictorial using my sewing patterns.

I primarily used the fabric line from Sarah Jane Studios 'Children at Play' for most of the garments.  But did include a little Anna Griffin and Heather Bailey in there as well.

Aren't those boys just darling?  Both the shirt and vest pattern / tutorials (free) will be making an appearance on the blog soon so be on the look out for those.

I did not take any of these pictures.  I sent the entire collection of garments to Sew Beautiful and they used their own photographer to should the pictorial.  I love the shots they got of all the kids wearing these garments.  So perfect!

 
It is truly an honor to be featured in Sew Beautiful Magazine.  So many pattern designers that I admire have been featured in the pages of this publication over the years, so I am really flattered to be included in such good company.

If you have never picked up an issue of Sew Beautiful, it is a magazine dedicated to heirloom sewing.  Most of the articles are geared towards children's clothing, but there are a few adult pieces and accessories  here and there.  While the magazine is still incredibly traditional and classic, they are starting to feature some more modern fabrics and sewing.

Another recent publication feature was in the Summer 2012 issue of 'Where Women Create' magazine. The Cottage Home Blog was named one of the Top 25 Inspirational and Educational Blogs.  Pretty neat.  My mother-in-law introduced me to this magazine several years ago and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my blog mentioned in this beautiful, inspiring publication!

It was my birthday a couple weeks ago and my mom made me this adorable notebook cover.  I always like to have notebooks around so I can jot down my ideas, draw pictures of new designs that pop into my head, make do-to lists, ect.  Right now I've got about three different notebooks scattered around to make sure I have a place to get my thoughts out on paper.

I love this notebook cover because when I fill up the notebook, I can simply slide the cover off and put in a new one.

There's a place for my pencils.  I prefer to draw designs in pencil.

And my mom included one of her sweet labels which makes it all the more special!

Also included in the package from my mom was fabric!  She gave me a jelly roll of Lily Ashbury's 'Gypsy Girl' for Moda which I L.O.V.E.

And she gave me two charm packs of Vanessa Christenson's new line 'Simply Color'.

And finally, she found this really cool old stamp in a fabric store in Taos, New Mexico last month and thought I might like to use it to try hand printing on some fabric.  Mom knows me so well!

Last weekend we went to our local farmer's market and I got this beautiful bouquet of flowers.  They make me so happy!  And the painting behind the flowers was a birthday gift sent from my dad who lives over in Italy.  It's my first real piece of fine art and I absolutely love it.  The colors are stunning in person and the frame is beautiful as well.

And lastly......look what arrived on my doorstep this last week.........

Imagine my delight to open up this huge box of fat quarters from Dear Stella.  Yep, they sent a fat quarter of every single print in their last 11 collections.  Wow!  I couldn't believe it.  They just sent these fabrics for me to play with.  I feel very lucky.  I have been so blessed lately.  I am just thanking my lucky stars.  Now what to make.......so many options!

Here are some pictures of this fabric eye-candy.......

If you would like to check out Dear Stella, please visit their website.  They are a new fabric company that I think you guys will really enjoy.  They have a great mix of modern, traditional and vintage charm.

So that's it!  Just wanted to share some of those fun things with you all.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading The Cottage Home!

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