Burlap Mail Bag with Embroidered Accents- Tutorial

I sort of just dreamed this idea up one day when staring at a pile of mail that I had no place for.

I had some left over burlap and thought- hey...why not? I had no plan, no measurements, and no clue how to embroider.

But, in case you want to make this cute bag, I will do my best to fill you in on how it came to be!

Tools-
24x12 piece of burlap
Iron on backing- to make material stiff
1/4 yard fabric
3 complementary colors of embroidery floss
Embroidery needle
Straight pins
Iron

Because my burlap was creased, I ironed it flat. Then I folded over the edges along the length of the burlap and ironed it to stay put. Those folded edges will be the sides of the bag. After all the ironing, I folded the entire piece in half to mark where I wanted my letters.

I cut a 4x8 square of fabric and a 4x8 square of the iron-on webbing and fused them together with the hot iron. Then I freehand cut out letters. I attached the letters with straight pins to the front of the bag.

With the straight pins in place, I did a simple back stitch to start my embroidery. Then, I just stitched around the edges of each letter. I didn't guess at how to stitch...I used this.

It is actually a children's book about embroidery. You can find similar info online!

Once all of the letters were sewn on, I took all of the pins out and re-threaded my needle with another color floss to do the side stitching.

I pinned the folded lengths of burlap together now that the letters were done, and stitched large X's up the side. I stitched in a dark blue first, skipping a space between X's to allow for a contrasting color.
Then I followed that by stitching lighter blue X's in the empty spaces and removed the pins.

I hated the top. It looked so raggedy where it was cut. So, I cut a length of fabric that would span the top. I pinned it so that it folded over the top and stitched it.

I attached ribbon to each corner at the top by poking the ribbon through both sides of burlap and knotting it in the back.

Done! Easy peasy. I actually did most of this watching Lost on the couch!

Please send me photos if you make this! I would love to post them here!!

Happy creating!!

A clean slate. Please!

Yes I have had a sick and fussy baby all week. Yes she has had a double ear infection and throat infection. And YES...she screamed more than she did anything else from Sunday to Wednesday. BUT! She was still her sweet self and played quietly for long enough for me to drink too much coffee....

And I took this crazy mess of a pantry

and made this!!!

Then we rocked together until she slept soundly with a little tylenol in her system and a mom who will happily sing no less than ten songs to her to get her to sleep.

charmed.

There no longer exist any ordinary days.

I am always a little loopy and off these days. I ran into a column that has been in the same place for all 5 years I have owned this house. I lost my keys in the parking lot of Kroger. I washed my car and forgot there were groceries in the trunk. I fell on my head over the baby gate- on my head.

There are no more sleep late Saturdays, no more late night movie binges with Chris, no more do what I want when I want...but PLENTY has replaced them!

Like bumping my head and falling out of the shower. I do not attribute these new events to Maddy or motherhood, however. God knows I need constant entertaining, constant fodder for good introspection and journaling, and constant laughter. I am now my own best comedian, but no gift of my own. By sheer stupidity!

It is always a good time at our house, no doubt.

In other news....

I have started making a power lunch. Here is a photo:

The only items not shown are frozen edamame, a splash of balsamic vinaigrette, and sometimes kalamata olives or banana peppers.

This salad is rocking my world. I chase it with a huge glass of water and a small piece of dark chocolate. Avocados and other fresh veggies are now a staple in my diet, things I scour sales papers for, hoping for the best prices to keep coming until the farmer's markets open. Yum...yum...Yum...


I find that I only really feel halfway normal when I eat well. I fail sometimes...I have terrible self-control. But for the most part, the cleaner I eat, the more jaunty I feel! And the better able I am to keep up with this crazy kid!!!

She has learned to bang on things with this spoon and I find it quite hilarious to watch her play the drums on every hard surface, and even sometimes the cat.

There truly are no more ordinary days. Which is practically perfect to me!!!

Decoupage and Decoupage....and Decoupage- Eggs!!!

So, I went a little crazy with my trust Mod Podge today!

I wanted to make little decoupaged plastic eggs for decor around the house. So, I grabbed a small bag of eggs from the Dollar Store and some scraps of designer paper and went to work. I cut all sizes and shapes of paper strips and dunked them into Mod Podge with a teaspoon of water mixed into it then started to piece them together onto each egg.

Cute, yeah?

And SUPER easy! The fun part was getting the glue all over my hands and getting to peel it off later.

The next project is one I just came up with one night in bed. A simple concept and one I love but want to elaborate upon next year!

Once again, main ingredients are Mod Podge and Scrap paper.

Starting off, I free-handed an egg on white card stock and cut out three of them for the three black frames I also bought at Dollar Store.

Then I cut strips of paper, sometimes with fancy edges, and started to glue them one on top of the other.

Once the egg was covered...I just flipped it over and cut off the edges.

Then, I brushed Mod Podge over the finished product for a decoup look!

Frame, and Voila!

Sort of cute, right? I thought so! And super fun and easy!

A Day Late, A Diecut Short

Okay, so shoot me. I haven't been a consistent blogger this past week.

I have been busy- just not busy crafting. I did get one easy project done.

A simple spring garland, made from scraps.

I used scrapbook paper, felt, multicolored plastic buttons in different sizes and styles, and a little yarn.

I will use a circle diecut next time to make this more consistent, but here is basically what I did.

Measure the length of yarn or twine that you will need.

Pick a color pallette. Mine was mostly pink, brown, and green...but the buttons are all colors.

Cut circles from your paper and felt in varying sizes, making sure there are at least 6 of each pattern/color per size to match up.

Begin at one end of the yarn. Pick two pieces of felt and glue them back to back with the yarn in between. I just put a dot of glue on one piece, stuck the yarn into the glue, then pressed the other piece of felt onto the glue until set.

Follow the same steps for your scrapbooking circles and buttons.

I didn't follow a pattern, but just alternated- felt, paper, buttons, paper, felt, buttons, etc.

Then I just hung it on the mantle!

                      

I had a lot of scraps left over so I made this little confetti garland.

 

Same story here. I just cut the yarn into varying lengths.

This was a dry run. Like I said, I will use a diecut next time to make better circles. I hand cut all of these and it was a mess! I will try another one for Summer with more vivid colors also!

See? I took the time to do one little craft. I am in the middle of another- the yarn wreaths. More to come on that later!

A photo collage of my day!

Finding a blessing in a messy house is not easy. I found one- the ability to watch chaos turn into comfort.

And yes, coffee is in here twice. Trust me, I needed it!

This day is special

You will see that I have been hanging out with a certain little bird today. Chris worked his second night this weekend of 7p-7a at the hospital last night but woke up early from his daytime sleep and joined us to play.

This is the happiness I have been hanging out with today!

Making a mess in the play room/my old dining room.

She is telling me something about something here!

Cheeks I love to smooch!

Little dry skin on the chin...nothing a litte vaseline or aveeno cannot help!

This is what she looked like after lunch, lounging in my lap:

I have also hung my wreath from last night's make and take at April's beautiful home with some crazy crafty ladies!

This is what my end product looked like and you can find the instructions here for this great idea!

I also hung a beautifully edited photo of mine and Chris' wedding kiss in the entryway. Millie Nelson was so kind to brilliantly photoshop the two officiants (both dearly loved but not so romantic) out of the photo and then had it printed for us. My mom had it matted and framed in one of our favorite shades of rust!

All in all a plain but special day. By the way, I am craving Zaxby's chicken! But I had vegetarian chili instead. I am craving skittles, too! Why skittles? I guess it's the yummy rainbow or the fact that they are truly bitesized happiness in a candy shell!

Hope your day is beautiful and special in it's simple ways.

Home Blessings

My attention lately has been focused on what I call "blessing my home." For so long I have looked at this tiny sweet house with a scowl. We still cannot really afford it, but God has provided thus far and if He continues to provide, which I believe He will, I might as well learn to love it. When I was 21, I bought this townhome as an investment....and here, 5 years later, I am finally seeing its potential. Little by little I am going to make this my cozy hole.

I have learned the art of daily tidying. From a quick sweep or vaccuum of the floors, to a deep down scrub- there is much to be said for doing some everyday as opposed to my wait until weekend cleaning spree that never gets finished.

Besides the daily tidy, I have also started performing simple blessings throughout the week. This could be something as simple as praying over different rooms, lighting a scented candle, or spritzing fresh linen with lavender spray (thank you Sam Hays!)

Other blessings-

Refreshing and fluffing lounging blankets

Rearranging decor and leaving little surprises (like the hope garland or burlap flower)

Cleaning off the refrigerator magnets (homemade tutorial to come later) and putting new photos of family or nice quotes up

Opening the windows and blinds and letting the house have some fresh O2

I find that these little nuances are refreshing in their simplicity. These days, simplicity is my motto- the place I strive to reach. I realize a simple life is not the absence of stress or responsibility, but the presence of peace and comfort in the midst of both.

A glimpse of the kitchen.

Here's wishing some simplicity for us all.