School/kids crafts

Silly Halloween Pumpkins!

18:09 Natalie Karine 1 Comments

Halloween in a kindergarten is the best! I got to see the best costumes today! Some dragons, a knight, Princess Lea, Frankenstein AND a giant cookie. As for me, maybe the witch costume wasn't such a good idea.. I scared the bejeezus out of a couple kids! Hah! Oops!

Check out the bird and the cyclops in the back!

so beautiful and colourful!

Sewing

Paintbrush Roll Case

17:34 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

⓷ Ribbon time!
On the right side of the back piece, mark the spot for the ribbon: 3½" from the left and 6¾" from the bottom. Sew the ribbon with a box stitch.








⓸ Almost done!
Sew the front and back together, right sides together, but don't forget to leave an opening at the top (about 5") to turn it right side out! Press and stitch all around!

Can't forget my new iron-on tags!

Detail of the marker roll case!

Made with love (and a little Photoshop)

09:21 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

I've been making many fabric creations lately and I decided it's time to start branding myself! But how?!

With beautiful iron-on labels that is! I decided to name my "sewing studio" Made with ♥ by Lili and created these wonderful labels with buttons, scrabble letters, flowers! I simply made an arrangement and took a picture with my IPhone! Amazing! Oh and lets' not forget a little Photoshop magic (check out my custom scrabble-heart!) !



Oh! and one last thing! If you're looking for iron-on transfer paper for your printer, I love Avery Dark T-Shirt transfers!

Happy Sunday ♥

DIY crafts

Flowery buttony cuteness!

16:54 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

A lazy saturday evening = new hair decorations !

As most of you know, I'm a BIG fan of fake flowers. Combine them with my love of buttons... you get some pretty sweet flowery and buttony hair pins!


Wanna make some!? here's what you need:

     ✿ Buttons
     ✿ Small fake flowers
     ✿ Small piece of felt
     ✿ Thread + needle
     ✿ Bobby pin
     ✿ Glue (craft or hot)









 ✿ Step 1: Cut an oval out of felt. Sew on a flower and a button on the edge of it. 










✿ Step 2 : Sew the rest of the buttons and the flowers until the felt is completely covered.





✿ Step 3: Cut out a small piece of felt and insert it in the bobby pin.









✿ Step 4: Glue (I used hot glue) the bobby pin onto your floral arrangement!

School/kids crafts

Spooky Halloween mobile!

20:16 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

Halloween is in the air! Today, at school, I spent all recess pretending I was either a witch, a vampire or a ghost and my students couldn't get enough!

So when Friday craft came, what do you think the best theme could possibly be?! HALLOWEEN of course! I decided to create these "spooky" mobile with my students. They each had the outlines of Halloween things photocopied on a piece of cardstock (I drew them with a sharpie!). They decorated it however they wanted! Check out some amazing results!!

For these Spooky mobiles, you will need:

     ✂ White cardstock
     ✂ String
     ✂ Scissors
     ✂ Glue
     ✂ Googly eyes
     ✂ Pastels or crayons
     ✂ Extras! Glitter, feathers, etc.

Check out all these great mobiles!

This one was my fav. AMAZING

It's Fall... New dress!

17:24 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

fall dress!

I love Fall!
I love it so much, that I start dressing in all it's beautiful colours! Browns, oranges, greens and reds!

During a much needed Fabricland trip this weekend, I found some beautiful fall-coloured fabric... all flowered of course!  (check out the sweet fabric swatches on the right!) I can't stop wearing flowered dresses, even in the winter. It just makes me so darn happy! ♡






People always ask me if I use a pattern... YES! and it's super easy to use! Just follow the instructions! I used the 6886 NEWLOOK pattern in size 10 and it looks great! I did, however, change up the skirt a little, and made the neckline a little lower (and the bust smaller, couldn't quite fill it)! The dress was done in aprox 3hrs!

DIY crafts

Button Necklace!

06:12 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

Finished button necklace!

BUTTON MANIA!


I lOVE buttons. I actually have multiple containers filled with a bunch of colourful buttons! I add them to almost all my sewing creations!

So when I came across a button NECKLACE, in a book, I was stoked! The one featured in the book was a whole bunch of colours, but I decided to make a red monochrome one! You basically end up "sewing" the buttons, weaving a wire through them! To finish, add a piece of chain on either side or even a ribbon!

You can also check out this sweet tutorial i found online!

Front

        

    What you will need:
                         ✽ 10 big/medium vintage buttons
                         ✽ 10 small clear buttons
                         ✽ metal wire (thin)
                         ✽ chain and clasp (you can also use ribbons!)
                         ✽ pliers

Back

Done!

School/kids crafts

Gobble gobble

15:21 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

So we celebrate a bunch of things at the school where I work, including thanksgiving! We spoke all week about thankfulness and for what we are thankful.... so naturally come friday we made turkeys! Hah! They are made from toilet paper rolls, cardboard and leaves (very fall-esque! )





For this silly craft, you will need:


      ★ Toilet paper rolls
      ★ Dried leaves
      ★ Brown and red cardboard
      ★ Googly eyes
      ★ Feathers
      ★ Scissors
      ★ Glue
      ★ Pastels

The kids went crazy! Check out the 4-eyed one! Hah!

Sewing

DIY Yoga Mat Bags!

16:27 Natalie Karine 1 Comments

YOGA is expensive on it's own! So don't spend a fortune on "accessories"!


Last spring I decided to create a bag for my yoga mat ... I even used a pair of old wide leg jeans! Hah! However, any heavyweight fabric will do!). I found this tutorial on-line at Craftbits.com and changed it up a little, adding a full zipper, and a bit more fabric to fit a towel inside! I made one for my friend Andrea and she LOVED it!

Sewing

Flag Banners tutorial

16:42 Natalie Karine 0 Comments

After many discussions about these fabulous festive flag banners or garlands (which have shown up in Garlands, Pompoms and Martha Stewart ) I have decided to create a tutorial so you can make your own in no time! It's the perfect project for all those random useless scraps of fabric! Here it is!



You will need:
♥ Scraps of fabric (aprox. 1yard or 1m)
♥ 1 package of double fold bias tape (about 2$ at a fabric store)
♥ 1 spool of thread
♥ Pinking shears ("zigzag" scissors)






1. Draw and cut. Make a triangular pattern for your flags ( about 5" wide and 6" tall in center) and cut them with pinking shears (so they don't run). You'll need 20-25 triangles. Oh and have fun with the fabric! Mix it up!

2. String the flags. Open the double fold bias tape and "sandwich. the top of a triangle. Sew through all the layers in order to secure the flags to the bias tape. Repeat for every flag until you have a long garland!

DIY cards,

Beauty Queens, Birds & Goodbyes

08:53 Natalie Karine 2 Comments

The day has come to leave my cozy nest....at the Gallery! With my teaching job, it's simply become too much work! To thank all the wonderful people in the Education and Public Programs division, I decided to make them cards! And what better theme for a goodbye than...birds! Moving on to new horizons!

old books!

To make cards like these, you will need:

✄ Cardstock (thick white paper)
✄ Various patterned paper (wrapping paper, origami paper, etc...)
✄ Old books with fun images (check out thrift stores! Dirt cheap!)
✄ Inkjet printer (to print the message on your card)
✄ Glue and scissors

I found this awesome Birds book at a thrift store near my work for $2! Although some turned out slightly creepy (check out that ostrich head! Hah!) These cheap and handmade cards turned out great! You can even add sparkles for a final touch!

For more tips on good thrift store shopping, check out my cousin's lesson on efficient  VV Shopping!