Pirate Party Part 1: Muslin Drawstring Party Favor Bags

My daughter turned 5 a couple days ago, and we are having a birthday party in just a couple more days!
Many months ago she chose to have a "Pirate Birthday Party" - and a couple weeks ago I started working on the planning.  Let me tell you - it is hard to have a child with a birthday so close to Christmas!!  One is barely over before you have to be prepared for the other!

Well, in usual Lindsay style, I am going completely overboard for this birthday party.  It is the first one I have ever done - so I am a little overzealous :)
As such, I have done so many things myself that I have decided to break this party up into a series of posts - and these Muslin Take Home Party Favor Bags are Part 1. 

Part of my goal when preparing this party was to make it as inexpensive as possible.  I am making as many things as I can so that I don't have to buy as much.  So - most of these posts will feature ideas using things many crafty people probably have around their houses - and even if you don't, the materials are very inexpensive!

Muslin is a cotton fabric that you can find in a specific section of the fabric store.  There are different qualities - but to give you an idea, you can get a yard of fabric for $2 - easily.  And the width is double the size of a regular bolt of cotton fabric.  So, to make 10 goodie bags, I probably used 50 cents worth of muslin. 

Each bag will need 2 squares of fabric - mine are 8" wide by 9" tall. 
I wanted a design on the front of each bag.  So, on 1 of the square of fabric, I ironed Freezer Paper, which I had cut with my Silhouette, to create a stencil.

About Freezer Paper: (Skip if you already know!)
[Freezer paper is found near the tin foil at the grocery store, it is white like parchment paper, but has a slick side that adheres to fabric when ironed.  If you are using a cutting machine, put your freezer paper on your sticky mat, shiny side down.  Make sure it is stuck to the mat VERY well, so that as it is cut it doesnt slide and get stuck on the blade.  Don't cut too much at a time - smaller sections of freezer paper on the cutting mat are easier for you and the machine to handle.
You can also cut freezer paper stencils by hand if you don't have a cutting machine.
To iron, do not use steam, and iron carefully so the little edges are smooth and flat.]

Once the freezer paper is ironed down, paint inside the stencil (I used fabric paint, but acrylic paint works too). 

 When the paint is dry, peel off the freezer paper (it is very easy to peel away - and no residue is left!)

On each square of fabric, do a zig-zag stitch across the top to keep it from fraying.  One thing to remember about zig-zag stitch: keep your presser foot half on and half off the fabric.  I have a handy red arrown in the middle of my presser foot - and I keep the edge of my fabric in line with this arrow.  This way, the zig-zag stitch will not bunch the edge of your fabric.  Only one side of the zig-zag stitch will catch the fabric's edge, but it tightens up perfectly as you continue to sew. 

OR - you could fold that top edge down toward the wrong side of the fabric, and top stitch to make a nice folded edge.  

This picture shows the zig-zag stitch across the top of each piece...

Cut two pieces of fabric for the sheath to hold the ribbon.  They should be 1" wide, and the length should be 1" or 2" shorter than the width of your square of fabric.  My square of fabric was 8" wide, so I made my sheath pieces about 7" long. 

Sew 1 sheath piece to each front side of the bag, 1/2" to 1" from the top edge and centered between the right and left sides.  The right sides of both pieces of fabric should be facing you.
Only sew the two long edges (as shown by the red dotted lines below).  You want to leave the ends open to thread a ribbon through.  Sew with 1/8" seam allowance, or zig zag stitch along the long edge to keep it from fraying. 
Sew this piece on both squares of fabric on the right sides (which make up the front and back of the bag). 

Place the front and back of the bag right sides together.  Sew around the 3 edges, left, right and bottom, with 1/4" seam allowance. 
Both sheath pieces are inside, facing each other.  You want to make sure that you do NOT sew over the openings on the ends of the sheath pieces as you are sewing the bag together.
Turn right side out when finished.

Cut two pieces of ribbon to use as the drawstring.  I used grosgrain ribbon 3/8" wide. You could use twine, or rope. 
The length is determined by [width of bag] x 2 + [a few inches to tie a knot]
For me, my bag width was 8" x 2 = 16" + 4" extra to tie a knot = 20" long (each)

Using a safety pin, thread 1 piece of ribbon through the front sheath, and then the back sheath - ending on the same side, as shown...

Tie a knot to connect the ends of the ribbon. 

Take the 2nd piece of ribbon.  Thread it through the front sheath and the back sheath - begin on the side that does not have the knotted end. 

Tie a knot to connect the ends of the 2nd piece of ribbon, as shown. 

Your drawstring bag is complete!!

I decided after making them (it was really quick!!  From start to finish, all 10 bags took me a couple hours), that it would be fun to personalize them with the names of each child attending the party. 
Luckily, I had received RSVPs from everyone so I knew who would be there. 
I printed the names onto cardstock, and cut each name out. 
I slipped the name in the bag, positioned it where I wanted it, and traced it with a sharpie.  The muslin is thin enough that I could see the printed words on the cardstock through the fabric. 

I love how they turned out!!  Now, each guest will have a personalized bag to collect their treasure in and take home, and I only spent about $1 making all of these!

And remember - these bags are completely customizable! 

Add any picture, any words - or use any kind of fabric.  Leave them blank even!!  The fabric bag is adorable all by itself! 

And stay tuned for more Pirate Party posts - I warned you this would be a series :)

Pirate Party Part 2: Dress Like a Pirate

Pirate Party Part 3: Decorations

Pirate Party Part 4: Games

Pirate Party 5: Invitations, Thank you's!

Have you thrown a party??  Come enter our Party Ideas Linkup!

Piano Key Wall Shelf - Guest Post!

You are all in for a treat!  My very talented and inspirational sister has agreed to do a guest post today on a project she worked very hard on.  She is much funnier than I am, so don't get too attached to her - though I am hoping that we have many more guest posts from her in the future!
Take it away Ashley!!

___.__.__.___
Hello Lindsay's readers! I recently worked on a very cool project that Lindsay asked me to guest post about, and I'm so excited to be doing this! I have to begin with a few disclaimers though....
*My pictures are nowhere NEAR as nice as Lindsay's (or any other blogger's for that matter)*
*No working, salvageable piano was harmed in the making of this post (this is especially important to me since I am a pianist and would never purposely dismember a working instrument)*
*I can't spell*

So, now that that's out of the way, we can begin!
I began this project on accident... I was actively looking for a used piano to call my own, and we have this fantastic local website with used listings. I found a beautiful old piano for free, and was fully planning on restoring it to working order...

I somehow got the beast home (seriously, it weighed probably upwards of 800 lbs. Funny side note, it took 2 adult men, 7 teenage boys, and 2 women to lift this monster into the back of my dad's truck... no kidding) and upon closer inspection realized the soundboard (what the strings are attached to and where the sound resonates) was cracked in several places, and while the basic mechanics where all in tact, it wasn't worth the time, effort and money it would take to restore it.
Sooo.... I decided to use the keyboard and platform to make a shelf for my house!




I love the antiqued look this piano has, so I decided not to stain it or paint it, but to just leave the natural wearing.
I took it apart piece by piece, and discovered much about the piano along the way... All I left behind the "shell", if you will.

This is an in-the-process picture of taking it apart. I set the keys on top of the piano with some of the misc. pieces, so it's a little jumbled looking, but that is the inside of an upright grand everyone!

(Another funny story... The screws that were holding the piano together had been in there for over 100 years, and were so rusted and fitted into place that I actually bent a screwdriver trying to turn them out.)

Once I had the keyboard off, I took off all of the keys (88 in case you were wondering) and began cleaning. This poor guy had been stored in a barn for upwards of 15 years, and had been sorely abused by its previous owners. It was COVERED in spider webs and dirt, and underneath all of that was a lot of crayon, scratches and carvings.
*I shake my fist in the air at the injustice*
Ultimately, I was able to get it looking reasonable again.

What you see above is the keyboard base after the keys are off... each of the 88 keys uses two of those pins you see. The green felt circles there are originally to keep the keys protected against landing on bare wood and chipping or denting as you played.  

I used those and a strip of green felt from the back to prop up the keys.  When they aren't attached to the hammers anymore (the felt things that smack the strings and make sound), they fall forward and can't be seen from the front, so I re-purposed some material there.

I used my dad's circular saw to cut down the base board right behind that second row of pins, taking off about 7 inches or so. You can see in the picture some lone pieces of silver hardware in the very back... Those are gone too :)

I also have to give a shout out to my good friend Jill... She let me borrow her husband's miter saw. *drool*. This one even has a draw on it!
One day... One day I tell you... I will OWN all of these tools!

I used the miter saw to begin the hair-cutting process of the keys. Each of the keys (after being scrubbed and sanded) was trimmed down to a size that would be manageable on my wall. You can see below how I cut the keys... those five on the right are un-cut and pretty darn long.

So with all the pieces cleaned and cut, I put the keyboard back together.
Below is a view from the back side of the piece, since I'm sure you all wanted to know how the back of a piano's keyboard looked... But be impressed readers! This is something you may never see again!
The keyboard cover is 'up', and the final top piece isn't on yet, but I wanted to show off my nice even cuts using equipment way above my pay grade. And I wanted you all to admire my beautiful plastic counters.

Here is the logo on the key cover... It was luckily still very much intact, and I was so pleased that it could be appreciated.

I was able to use all the original hardware to reassemble it which made me happy, and below is the final product on my wall!

Don't ask how it got up there... I just about killed myself doing it. But it is mounted to the wall on 3 large wrought iron brackets which are screwed into studs. And let me tell you, these studs are super studly... I ended up breaking off my drill bit into the last hole. I couldn't get the leverage I needed, so I had to stand on a chair to put my weight into the drill, and torqued the bit and broke it off.
Ugh. The story of my life.

Anyway, I'm absolutely in love with it. It took ALOT of time, and a lot of dirty work, but I love the way it looks, and the style it brings into my house.

So there you go. Thanks again to Lindsay for letting me post! I really enjoyed doing this project... I don't usually do things quite so involved, but I couldn't let this piano be scrapped, and I love the end result!

Old Window, Big Picture

Yes, I have finished yet another old window project.  I just LOVE them!

This window was another side-of-the-road find...and it is in EXCELLENT condition.  The paint isn't even peeling!  (At least, not like some of the others I have...)

I have seen a bunch of windows like this used as picture frames, but they always have a small picture in each section.  I wasn't too big on that idea - but when I saw this pin on Pinterest - I loved the idea of a large picture covering the whole thing.
And do you want to know something great?!  This project cost me a total of $2.11 (!!!)

Top 10 of 2011

So, I have never done one of these posts before - but I do enjoy seeing these from other people.  It is amazing to see all their best projects in a row.  And I have been blogging long enough now that I actually have a full year to choose from :)

So, here are my top 10 from 2011 (mostly based on google analytics and pinterest pins). 

Pop Can Key Chain

Glass Milk Bottle Subway Art - Pen Holders

Freezer Paper Stencil T-Shirts

Teacher Appreciation School Supplies Clock

I-Spy/Junk Tree

Holidays Thumbprint Art

Distressed Painted Washroom Sign

Toddler Chair Slip Covers

Vintage Style Painted Cafe Sign

Drift Wood Plaque

Thanks for stopping by, and hope you all have a fulfilling and wonderful new year!!

Handmade Christmas Presents 2011

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!! 
I have had such a fun, relaxing time the past few days with my family -- baking, watching movies, web chatting with relatives, opening presents....I am a lucky lady!

Now that Christmas is over, I can post about a few gifts I made for family and friends :)

This was a hot item this year :)  My sister made a few of these for her extended family, and I made a couple for mine.  I had made myself a Roman Numeral Painted Sign a few months ago (you can find the tutorial here), and my sister had the brilliant idea to add the family name over the wedding date. 

She also made hers with spray paint, which I have never done before (I always use acrylic paint).  So, I made this sign with spray paint.  It is faster, but there are two things that make it harder to use (in my opinion) 1) There is no way to touch it up - so if you accidentally peel up some paint when the vinyl is getting pulled off, you are in trouble!  2) Spray paint does not sand down well - so if you want to distress your sign, it is easier to distress acrylic paint.  So, using spray paint is great if you are impatient, but be careful! ;)

I  made myself a set of Clay Rock Magnets a while back (the tutorial can be found here), and I love using them.  They are probably the favorite magnets I have on my fridge right now (and I have quite a few...I love making magnets!)
This year, I made a bunch with holiday themes, and gave little sets of them to friends, co-workers and neighbors.  I coupled them with a bag of chocolate dipped pretzels.  It was great because the  girls helped me make both the magnets and the pretzels, and they were easy to mass produce.

Years ago, I made a "Relatives Book" for my daughter - just pictures of our extended family - often with her in the picture - glued onto pages of a flip book.  She has loved it, but over the years it has taken a serious beating.  Pages have been ripped or torn out, and it has really been strewn all over the house.
When I saw this idea, to put pictures on CDs, I loved it!!  CDs don't rip or tear, they are a great size, and we had a bunch of old CDs around the house that we could use. 

I printed a bunch of pictures onto plain printer paper, traced around them with a CD, cut them out, and used spray adhesive to stick the pictures to the actual CD.  I put a picture on each side of the CD, and then used a power drill to make a small hole for the book ring to go through. 

This idea would be great for a variety of things - Alphabet Book, US Presidents, LDS prophets, Holidays, - and they stand up to babies!! ;)

The big surprise for Christmas this year: we are taking the girls to Disney World in a couple of months!!  I wanted some tangible way to tell them we were going, so I made these Minnie Mouse Ear Headbands to give them, along with an explanation of where they could wear them in a few months.  They are so excited - and now we'll be able to take the headbands with us :)  I found a great tutorial here for making these cute things.  (I didn't have foam around, like the tutorial said, so I used a disposable plastic plate to make the ears stand up.  Worked GREAT!) 

Don't those faces just tell it all?  We are excited! 

I hope you all have a relaxing and wonderful end of year.  I love being able to share all my crafty adventures with you in blogland - thanks for stopping by!!