Design on a Dime: "Quilted" Name Boards

I love the HGTV show "Design on a Dime", even though they spend much more than what I consider to be a dime. But I guess by the time you own a house and want to redo something, $1,000 is cheap. I mean, I'm actually guessing, because I have zero experience with that (and don't even know how many more years it will be before I know what that is like).

So here we are, almost four years into our marriage, still living on a student budget, renting apartments that we aren't allowed to paint or do anything to really (although I long ago decided that it was worth it to me to lose a few dollars from our deposit to put some nails in the walls and make it feel like a home while we live there). I really wanted to do something cute for the girls, but was stuck with the white-ish walls and a pretty small budget. So here's what I came up with (it ended up costing me about $1 to make each of these, not including the cost of tools like the paper cutter and ink pad):

I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. I do want to to add some more decoration eventually, but for now I think it makes their spaces look cute and personalized, and it was easy on the wallet too! So you want to know what I did? This is my tutorial for a 32"x16" name board (because that is how big my cardboard was).

I started with a cardboard box. We've moved somewhere around 6 times since we've been married, so we had plenty of these. But even if you don't, I hear a lot of stores give them away once they're done unloading shipments. Or you can keep an eye on the free section of craigslist -- there's always someone giving away boxes. Absolute worst case scenario, you splurge and buy a new one. Anyway, I used one side of the box, plus the top and bottom flaps. I cut another flap in half and used it to reinforce the folds where the flaps meet the side. (In the future, I would probably avoid using a piece with creases, because it gave me a little trouble at the mod podge stage. But if you want something bigger than just the side of a box, it's manageable.)

Next, I picked four sheets of scrapbooking paper that I wanted to use. I love buying big stacks of paper, because you know all the stuff inside is going to coordinate well. It makes selections much easier. Stacks of 180 sheets usually go for $20, so if you go when there is a sale or you have a coupon, you can get one for $10 or so. So four sheets cost me about 25 cents.

I cut each sheet into four 6"x6" squares, then cut one square of each pattern into one 4"x4" square and five 2"x2" squares. Then comes the fun part: positioning the pieces! As you go through, you may need to cut some more of the 6" squares into the smaller 4" and 2" ones, so keep your paper cutter handy.

I basically just started on one end and worked across, leaving the small squares for last, since those are the easiest to fit. I made it so that each pattern was never adjacent to itself, and tried to avoid having them even touch corners when possible (there were a couple places where they did end up touching corners). When I got done, I didn't think the green was spread out well enough, so I just made a few adjustments.

Again, I moved the bigger pieces first, and then made the smaller pieces fit. At this point, you need to TAKE A PICTURE. You will need to refer to it, since you have to take all the pieces off. Set aside all the pieces that you did not use. You may need them, but it will be easier if they aren't mixed in just yet.

Using an inkpad, carefully distress the edges of all the squares that you will be using. Because I'm a little bit OCD, I rotated through all the patterns to see how many of each I used. I found that I had the same number of 6" and 4" squares for each pattern, but had fewer 2" squares for one of the patterns.

If I switched one of each of the first two patterns for the third pattern, I would end up with equal amounts for each. I really hoped I could do this, and set these pieces aside in pairs, just in case I could make it work.

Once all my squares were inked, I referred to my picture and stuck them all back on. With the first one, I just stuck some double sided tape in the center of each square, thinking the mod podge would get all the corners nicely. This was not my best idea. For the second one, I actually stuck tape in the middle and on each of the four corners. It took much longer, but the mod podge worked a lot better. (In the future, I think I might actually skip the tape, and just use the mod podge as the base adhesive when applying the squares to the cardboard. I think this would have helped out with some of the wrinkling I got.)

Anyway, after sticking the papers down, I cut out letters for the names. I divided the width of the board (32") by the number of letters, to figure out how wide to make the letters. So for five letters, I cut some paper so it was 6" wide. For Bekka's name, this meant only two more sheets of paper (so another 12 cents). For six letters, I cut the paper into 5" strips (but still made the small letters 6" tall). Anyway, I just free-handed the letters on the back side of the paper (drawing them backwards so they looked right when I cut them out). I inked the edges on all the letters too. On the first one (where I only taped the middle of the squares), I stuck the letters down with double sided tape before applying the mod podge. This was not a good idea. So on the second one, I put the mod podge over the paper squares, then applied the letters and put mod podge over them. This method worked much better.

 

  Since I wanted to make this project as budget-friendly as possible, I decided to make my own mod podge. It was actually super easy, and the only downside was that homemade mod podge only comes in matte finish, so if you want the glossy stuff, you've got to splurge. Anyway, you add equal parts white glue and water (I just used the whole bottle of glue, then filled it with water and added that) in a glass jar. Put the lid back on and shake it until it's completely blended. Then it's ready to brush on like the expensive stuff!

So, like I said, the first one did not work out as well as I had hoped. Since I didn't tape the corners down, they all started curling up. And since I adhered the letters before any mod podge touched the project, they started getting too wrinkly. The second one worked much better, and I only had a couple corners come up. There was more wrinkling than I had hoped for, but like I said, I think in the future that would be helped if I actually used the mod podge to stick the paper to the cardboard.

After letting them dry, I went back and touched up all the curled corners with some more mod podge, and they did end up looking pretty nice, despite the wrinkling. I got out a hammer and some nails and stuck those babies right about my girls' beds.

So now that I've made two, these are the changes I would make:
1) Avoid using cardboard that has creases or bends (when you apply the mod podge, they show up a lot more)
2) Trim the paper around the edges so that they do not extend past the cardboard base
3) Use mod podge to adhere the squares to the cardboard
4) Apply mod podge over the squares and let dry before sticking the letters on.
5) Use the mod podge to apply the letters

And for anyone who wants to make a 32"x16" board (or a 16"x8" board with 1", 2", and 3" squares), and doesn't want to figure out the positioning, here are the positions I ended up using:

Taking the Etsy Leap

Even though I've been crafting like crazy lately, I haven't been updating very much because I've been trying to get my Etsy shop up and running. I only have a few items right now, but I hope to be adding some more soon!

I'll also try to catch up on here with all the stuff I've been making. I've only got about a week and a half before Baby comes, so I'll try to do it quickly!

Toddler Couch/Hidden Storage

Living in an apartment has taught me how important it is to maximize storage space. And what better place to hide storage than in plain sight? So I set out to not only disguise some storage, but to make it doubly functional as well!

How did I come up with the idea of a toddler couch? Well, our current living room felt too cramped with two couches, so we stuck one in Bekka's room. She liked having "Bekka's couch" where she could cuddle with her stuffed animals and read books. When we finally got around to selling the other couch, we put "her" couch back in the living room. She was a little distressed by all the changes, so I had this brilliant idea and promised her that I would make her a Bekka-sized couch.

I started with a bin full of baby clothes that I want accessible, but don't need right now (3-12 month clothes). I knew this was the perfect height for her, because she kept sitting on it when it was just laying around on the floor. Then I added a box of all my really cute pre-Riley clothes that I've been carting around for 3+ years hoping to fit in them again. I have until we move out of this apartment to lose enough weight to fit in them, otherwise we're getting rid of them. Anyway, for the time being, they're not very useful, so I figure it's okay if they stay boxed up for a while. I originally put it on top of the bin, but didn't like how wobbly it was, so I decided to place it behind the bin.

We have A LOT of blankets. I'm always really grateful during the winter months, but it's hard to store all of them when summer rolls around. So I used one of them to give some padding to the "seat" of the couch. Then I rolled up another one to add some height to the back, and give it a more traditional sofa look. That one was purely aesthetic, but also freed up some space for other things.

Next I threw another blanket (we seriously have A LOT) over the top to make it soft, comfy, and more couch-like (the fabric is perfect for this, right?)

I decided to add on some "arm rests," so I rolled up a couple of Bekka's blankets (she also has way more than she can even use during winter, and they've just been sitting in a pile since the weather has been nicer).

I adjusted the top blanket so that the rolled-up arm rests were covered too.

And the final touch was a couple throw pillows, which look rather cartoonishly big , but Bekka loved the idea and even asked me to go find more for her. And voila! Not only did I find a place for these storage items, but I managed to make it all cute and serve another purpose. Oh, and I made my kid super happy because she now has her own special couch that she doesn't have to share with anyone (well, for now)!

Baby Gladiator Sandals

Boy have I been busy! (Also, my house has been sadly neglected for the past week...) But I had to post these shoes I made for Bekka! I came up with this pattern because I wanted some fun summery shoes for her. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try to universalize the pattern and sell it. These were made specifically to fit Bekka's feet, so I'll have to figure out what adjustments are needed to get different sizes. If you're dying to have this pattern, just shoot me an email and I'll send you what I've got so far. I think anyone who follows my blog deserves special treatment :)

Dainty Flower Headband

One day, my daughter found a scrap of yarn and kept trying to tie it around her head so she could be "byooful." So I took it and crocheted it into this dainty little headband. It was super simple, and a great way to use up small amounts of leftover colors.

Make a chain that snugly fits around the child's head. I think I did about 45 for my daughter. Slip stitch to form the body of the headband. Chain 4 and slip stitch together to form a small ring. Chain 3 and sc in ring 5 times. Work sc, 2dc, sc, slst in each of the five loops. Slip stitch to first sc and fasten off. Hurray!

Ruffle Purse

MATERIALS
worsted weight yarn, any color
I/9 (5.5mm) crochet hook

SPECIAL STITCHES
pair Xdc = pair of crossed dcs [skip 1 stitch, dc in next stitch, then dc in skipped stitch]

Xdcdec = crossed dc decrease [skip 2 stitches, yarn over, insert in next stitch, yarn over and pull a loop through, yarn over and pull through two loops; yarn over, insert in next stitch, yarn over and pull a loop through, yarn over and pull through two loops, yarn over and pull through all three loops. yarn over, insert in first skipped stitch, yarn over and pull a loop through, yarn over and pull through two loops; yarn over and insert in second skipped stitch, yarn over and pull a loop through, yarn over and pull through two loops, yarn over and pull through all three loops]


PURSE
Rnd 1: Ch 28, sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1sc in each of next 25, 3sc in last ch. Working along bottom of starting chain (do not turn), 1sc in each of next 25, 2sc in last chain, sl st to join. (56sc)

Rnd 2: Ch1, 2sc in same stitch as joining, 1sc in each of next 25, 2sc in each of next 3, 1sc in each of next 25, 2sc in each of next 2, sl st to join. (62sc)

Rnd 3: Ch1, sc in same stitch as joining, 2sc in next stitch, 1sc in each of next 26, [2sc in next, 1sc in next] twice, 2sc in next, 1sc in each of next 26, 2sc in next, 1sc in next, 2sc in next, sl st to join. (68sc)

Rnd 4: Ch1, sc in same stitch as joining, 2sc in next stitch, 1sc in each of next 27, [2sc in next, 1sc in each of next 2] twice, 2sc in next, 1sc in each of next 27, 2sc in next, 1sc in each of next 2, 2sc in next, 1sc in next, sl st to join (76sc)

Rnd 5: Ch1, sc in same stitch as joining, 1sc in next stitch, 2sc in next stitch, 1sc in each of next 28, [2sc in next, 1sc in each of next 3] twice, 2sc in next, 1sc in each of next 28, 2sc in next, 1sc in each of next 3, 2sc in next, 1sc in next, sl st to join. (80)

Rnds 6-10: Ch3 (counts as first dc in Xdc), dc in previous stitch. Work 39 more pairs Xdc. Sl st to top of beginning ch3 to join. (80dc)

Rnd 11: Ch 3 (counts as first dc in Xdc), dc in previous stitch. Work Xdcdec over next 4 stitches, work 18 pairs of Xdc, work Xdcdec over next 4 stitches, work 17 pairs of Xdc. Sl st to top of beginning ch3 to join. (76dc)

Rnds 12-15: Ch3 (counts as first dc in Xdc), dc in previous stitch. Work 37 more pairs Xdc. Sl st to top of beginning ch3 to join. (76dc)

Rnd 16: Ch3 (counts as first dc in Xdc), dc in previous stitch. Work 2 more pairs Xdc, work Xdcdec over next 4 stitches, work 17 pairs of Xdc, work Xdcdec over next 4 stitches, work 14 pairs of Xdc. Sl st to top of beginning ch3 to join. (72dc)

Rnds 17-18: Ch3 (counts as first dc in Xdc), dc in previous stitch. Work 35 more pairs Xdc. Sl st to top of beginning ch3 to join. (72dc)

Row 19: Sl st in each of next 12 stitches. Ch 1, sc in same stitch, 1sc in each of next 33 stitches. (34sc)

Row 20-30: Ch1, turn, 1sc in same stitch and in each stitch across. (34sc)


Row 31: Ch1, turn, beginning with same stitch sc2tog, 1sc in each stitch across to last 2, sc2tog (32sc)

Row 32: Ch1, turn, 1sc in same stitch and in each stitch across (32sc)

Rows 33-34: Repeat rows 31 and 32. (30sc)

Rows 35-37: Ch1, turn, beginning with same stitch sc2tog, 1sc in each stitch across to last 2, sc2tog (28sc, 26sc, 24sc)

Row 38: Ch1, turn, beginning with same stitch sc2tog, sc2tog, 1sc in each stitch across to last 4, sc2tog twice. Fasten off. (20sc)


RUFFLE
Row 1: Attach to side of first sc in Row 19 with sl st. Ch3 (counts as first dc), dc in same stitch, 2dc in each stitch (or side of stitch) around flap. (116dc)

Row 2: Ch3 (counts as first dc), dc in each stitch across. Fasten off. (116dc)

STRAP
Row 1: Ch 6, 1sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of remaining 4 chains. (5sc)

Row 2: Ch 1, turn, 1sc in same stitch and in each of next 4. (5sc)

Repeat Row 2 until strap measures 24 inches. Fasten off. Attach strap to sides of purse next to sc's on either side of Row 19.

FINISHING
I recommend lining this purse if you are going to put any small items in it. I used my KAM pliers to attach plastic snaps. I put the top snap in the center of the flap (near the ruffle), and I put the bottom snap through the lining and yarn where I wanted the flap to attach.

Giraffe!

 I'm participating in the 2012 Handmade Pay it Forward, and decided to make a giraffe for my friend because that is what she chose for her little girl's animal. I didn't find any patterns that I liked, so I made this one up! This is one of my first completely original patterns, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out. I'm thinking I might try to sell the pattern on Etsy, but if I decide not to, I'll definitely post it here.

 A special thanks goes out to my hubby for letting me know that my original design wasn't giraffe-like enough. Thanks to him, I elongated the neck and added the spots (because apparently my first try looked like a goat). I LOVE how the spots turned out, and I'm so glad Jeffrey convinced me to do them!