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Free Printable Roundup

August 24, 2010

Here’s a roundup of free cute and clever DIY printables from the interwebs. They run the gamut from oil & vinegar bottle labels & paper bobbins for embroidery floss to thank you cards & gift tags. Please enjoy and happy making. Do share if you end up using any of these. You can even share your results over on the Indie Fixx Flickr group.

free printable embroidery thread bobbinsPrintable Cards for Embroidery Thread ~ How About Orange

stamp house tutorial

Stamp House/ paper houses ~ Just Something I Made

printable bunting and cupcake topper template

Printable Bunting and Cupcake toppers ~ Creature Comforts

printable DIY granola gift labels

Granola jar labels and recipe ~ La Belle Bride

lemon free diy printable recipe cards

Lemon Recipe cards ~ Isly

owl gift box free printable

Owl Gift Box ~ Nini Makes

we're all in this together printable poster

We’re All in This Together Printable Poster ~ Sunny Fiona

oil and vinegar free printable labels

Vintage Oil and Vinegar Labels ~ eat drink chic

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molas + reverse applique

July 13, 2010

Recently, my grandfather made the difficult decision to move into an assisted living facility. He is 86 and up until last October was out on the golf course every day the weather was permitting. Since then, he’s had a series of health setbacks, and although he is doing much better, he decided it was time he needed a little more help. We are all so glad, because we don’t have to worry as much about him, since he’s not living on his own.

Assisted living meant cleaning out his apartment though, which was full of stuff that he and my grandmother had collected over their 30 years in the Air Force and which was NOT going to fit into his new space. But, we all pitched in to help and in the process we discovered treasures that we wanted to hold onto. Things that held sentimental value for us.

For me, it was the molas they had collected from the San Blas Islands in Panama in the 1950’s. I already had a few that my grandmother gifted me one birthday many years ago, but now I have 2 more to add to my collection. I look at them and I remember the stories I heard about bugs as big as your head, Quonset huts, the monsoons and more.  My grandmother was an especially good story teller….she was also a writer and a librarian.

In addition to memories they evoke for me…

I love the colors, the themes and the technique of the molas. They are made by the Kuna Indians, who utilize a multi-layered reverse applique technique. Usually 2-7 layers are used and the more layers, the more involved and beautiful the mola turns out.

I am fascinated by reverse applique and someday (when my sewing skills progress beyond sewing on buttons and hemming pants) I will tackle my own project. In the meantime I thought you might be interested in trying your own reverse applique project. Don’t worry these are not as complex as the mola!

Reverse Applique Tutorials

  1. Reverse Applique Thanksgiving Placemats at The Purl Bee
  2. Embellish A Tote With Reverse Appliqué at Lazy Girl
  3. Zippered Pencil Case with Reverse Applique at Sublime Stitching
  4. Reverse Applique Pillow at Martha Stewart
  5. Reverse Applique Quilted Heart Coasters at Sew, Mama, Sew!
  6. Reverse Applique Beret at Crafty Stylish
  7. Reverse Applique Tote Bag at Crafty Stylish
  8. Mend using Reverse Applique at Craftzine
  9. Reverse Stars & Skull T-shirt at Alabama Chanin
  10. Messy Ribbon Reverse Appliqué at Sew a Straight Line
  11. Loved Reverse Applique T-shirt at Crafty Stylish
  12. Bow Reverse Applique T-shirt at Mad Mim

Here are some images of molas to get you inspired. The 1st 3 are my own.

mola 1

mola 2

mola 3


by lathem.jenkins

by rodrigo gambassi

by gabriel kalup

by r0maing

by TravelsWithDan

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Kitchen Tutorials

June 29, 2010

Remember last week when Katya the intern shared the 1st post in her series for greening your kitchen? Well, you all seemed to like the tutorials she found so much that we decided to put together another roundup post of eco-tutorials for the kitchen.

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Eco Travel Food Lid from Allyson Hill

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Faux porcelain with recycled bottles & puffy paint from design*sponge

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Wire Basket Pendant Lamp from Ashely Ann

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Recycled Placemats from Craftzine

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recycled reusable sandwich bags from noodlehead

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chalkboard labels from the inadvertent farmer

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DIY notebook lunch bag from design*sponge

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Make your own Ketchup from Craftzine

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custom mug cozies from Hazelnuts

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I’m a sucker for Ikea & applique

June 01, 2010

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Learn to make this tote with some Ikea fabric, basic sewing skills & an appliqué tutorial from TreeFall Design.

I can’t help you with the free time you need to make it though…you are on your own there.

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Valentine’s Day Heart Garland Made from Gift Wrap

February 02, 2010

Before I tore my house apart for our remodeling project, I made some paper heart garlands to decorate the house for Valentine’s Day.  I just love V-Day, I’ve never really lost that excitement of it from being a kid. I used to love making Valentine’s cards to pass out to classmates and the party and the sweets…and I still love all that. So, I decided to use some gift wrap from Smock Paper and Erin Ruth (which they both sent me to play around with) to make a sweet heart garland.

I used the Smock Paper gift wrap in the kitchen, since the colors matched better, and the Erin Ruth wrap in the living room for the same reason.  I freehand drew a heart, traced it and cut it out about a milltion times. Then I used the sewing machine to sew the hearts together in long strands. Very simple and I really like they way it turned out.

How about you? Have you decorated for Valentine’s Day? Share your pics in Indie Fixx Holiday Decor Flickr Group, which is a group to show off your holiday decorating no matter the holiday…even National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

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Tutorial Tuesday: Alternative to the holiday stocking made from plastic bags

November 10, 2009

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Vanessa from A Fanciful Twist shared her tutorial for making this lovely alternative to the holiday stocking and I just had to share it with you, because….well, it’s getting to be that time of year. I just love that it’s made from recycled grocery bags, because as much as we try to use reusable bags, it seems we always end up with some of those plastic ones.

Btw, a teaser! I will be featuring Vanessa’s home later this year for A Peek Inside: indie home tours.

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