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new pins in the shop

Posted on 12. May, 2011 by Princess Lasertron.

These pins were all altered from a bridal order that didn’t end up working out.
They each started as blue/white/silver.
Then we added colors and textures and new buttons and findings.

The inspiration was the disappointment of that order falling through. The unused flowers sitting in a box in my studio for months. As the weather got warmer, I looked at the box with new optimism and became excited to give them another chance.
Now I love them all!
There are also some new headbands and notebooks in the shop.

You can buy them in our Princess Lasertron store–I believe they are $30 each. Let me know if you are local and want your shipping refunded–you can come pick them up at my studio!

xo
meg

p.s. Hello, Big Omaha participants! Thank you for visiting and I hope you become loyal readers…I think you will become hooked.

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diy: felt rope necklace and bracelet

Posted on 26. Apr, 2011 by Princess Lasertron.

This is a cool way to manipulate felt into rope-like strands that you can turn into necklaces and bracelets.

Materials needed:
…lengths of felt–I used about 5” total cut from a bolt. You can buy bolts of felt online from Wool Felt Central.
…Sewing machine

1. Cut a strip of felt about 1cm wide.

2. Twist the end of the felt and lock it in under your presser foot. Sew a few stitches.

3. Tightly twist the entire strip of felt and hold the end of it in one hand.

4. Begin stitching down the length of the twist. The feed dog might have trouble pulling the felt through, so use your other hand if you need to feed it along. You could do a straight stitch or a zig-zag. I tried both of them and they worked well.

5. When you get to the end of the felt, bring the other end back around and stitch the ends together.

6. Repeat to create six ropes.

7. Cut a piece of felt that is about 2 inches square.

8. Gather all of your felt ropes so the ends are together, and hide them by wrapping the piece of felt around them and stitching it closed.

And that’s all there is to it!

Want to make a bracelet too? Use one of the felt ropes and coil it, then sitch it closed using the same technique described above.

Some other ideas include braiding the felt ropes, using different stitches to secure the twist. Even hand-embroidering a backstitch down each rope would be really beautiful and make it a good backseat activity for older kids (colorful friendship bracelets?), or a “waiting room” activity for you. Experimenting with different widths of felt would be great too.

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making handmade felt birthday hats

Posted on 18. Apr, 2011 by Princess Lasertron.

I’m working on a whole bunch of felt party hats for me and Alice’s birthday on May 9th.
Do you want to know how we made them?

Materials needed:
…Felt in your favorite colors (the 9×12 sheets from craft stores are actually perfect for this)
…This printable party hat template printed at 200%
…Your favorite fabric glue (I prefer Fabri-Tac)
…Stiffen Stuff or other fabric stiffener
…Ribbon to tie the hat on
…Your favorite trims and embellishments

Use the template to cut out a piece of felt. Obviously you can resize it to be the size you want. Use your fabric glue or sew the sides together and create a cone.

Stiffen Stuff? More great stuff made by Beacon Adhesives. You can spray it for small projects, but for thicker fabric like felt I like to pour a little bit into a cup and use a brush to saturate the material.

Make some trim. You can fringe strips of felt or other fabric. You can sew long ruffled pieces. Stitch shapes together. Use pre-made trim like pom-pom trim or rick rack. Ain’t no rules, girl!

Here is how I make pom poms for the top of each hat. First, fringe a strip of felt on both sides, leaving a solid space down the middle for a running stitch. Gather the strip into a fringey little clump and fluff it out.

Tack the trim around the bottom.

Attach ribbons to the sides to tie it under your chin. I didn’t photograph this step, but you know what to do.

I’m planning to make a few dozen hats for everybody at the party. Alice is going to love them because she thinks hats are hilarious. It is one of my little presents to her. I can’t imagine her glee seeing a room full of everyone in a bright, pretty hat.

These don’t have to just be for parties though–what about making a few for a dress-up box, or as a little cheer-up gift for a friend? These hats are an awesome blank slate for almost anything you want to add.

xo
meg