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.
Printable Cards for Embroidery Thread ~ How About Orange
Stamp House/ paper houses ~ Just Something I Made
Printable Bunting and Cupcake toppers ~ Creature Comforts
Granola jar labels and recipe ~ La Belle Bride
Lemon Recipe cards ~ Isly
Owl Gift Box ~ Nini Makes
We’re All in This Together Printable Poster ~ Sunny Fiona
Vintage Oil and Vinegar Labels ~ eat drink chic
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
- Reverse Applique Thanksgiving Placemats at The Purl Bee
- Embellish A Tote With Reverse Appliqué at Lazy Girl
- Zippered Pencil Case with Reverse Applique at Sublime Stitching
- Reverse Applique Pillow at Martha Stewart
- Reverse Applique Quilted Heart Coasters at Sew, Mama, Sew!
- Reverse Applique Beret at Crafty Stylish
- Reverse Applique Tote Bag at Crafty Stylish
- Mend using Reverse Applique at Craftzine
- Reverse Stars & Skull T-shirt at Alabama Chanin
- Messy Ribbon Reverse Appliqué at Sew a Straight Line
- Loved Reverse Applique T-shirt at Crafty Stylish
- Bow Reverse Applique T-shirt at Mad Mim
Here are some images of molas to get you inspired. The 1st 3 are my own.
by lathem.jenkins
by rodrigo gambassi
by gabriel kalup
by r0maing
by TravelsWithDan
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.
Eco Travel Food Lid from Allyson Hill
Faux porcelain with recycled bottles & puffy paint from design*sponge
Wire Basket Pendant Lamp from Ashely Ann
Recycled Placemats from Craftzine
recycled reusable sandwich bags from noodlehead
chalkboard labels from the inadvertent farmer
DIY notebook lunch bag from design*sponge
Make your own Ketchup from Craftzine
custom mug cozies from Hazelnuts
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.
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!
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.
