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Made With Harts: Ikatee Pattern—Stockholm

I was so excited to be able to create this precious Ikatee Stockholm dress with Embrace Solid Double Gauze Cobalt. Read on to hear more about my experience working with this fabric and the PDF Ikatee patterns for the first time.

Lately I’ve been diving back into sewing garments for myself and I’ve found a ton of joy and purpose in being able to create quality, custom items for myself and my daughter. I’ve sewn for most of my life, but lately I’ve been trying to make conscious and deliberate choices with the items I create. I’m making meaningful swaps in my household in an attempt to waste less and keep more. A large part of that is reducing my families clothing waste. From avoiding fast fashion, to cutting up my husband’s old button up shirts for quilting, to thrifting, and to creatively cutting fabrics to get more use out the each textile, I’m doing it.

I’d been eyeing the Ikatee patterns for a while but was still going through a lot of free patterns I had stockpiled on Pinterest and my iBooks for years. Finally, the opportunity arrived to try the patterns through Harts and I jumped at it.

My experience with sewing was mostly alterations (I’m 5’11”), pegging clothes and sewing patches cuz punk’s not dead, and creating weird one of a kind items to wear to various parties and functions in my teens and twenties. I’d never had an organic style personally and so I’d never ever worked with a fabric as light and delicate as this double gauze. I love the deeply saturated cobalt color and chose it for my daughter because I thought it would just really compliment her coloring as well as the Ikatee pattern.

As expected, I struggled at first. The fabric stretched and frayed in ways I didn’t expect; found myself having to work more slowly than my regular pace. The Ikatee patterns are originally en Français so there were parts of the instructions that I had to go over a few times to make sure I understood. I wouldn’t say things got lost in translation so much as I probably should have read the instructions completely before I started to save myself some time.

In the end the project turned out sooooo cute I could just die. I tried some embroidery for the first time as well and I think the end result is just precious. The running stitch and monogram really add the handmade touch that compliments the whimsy of classic children’s garments such as the Stockholm Ikatee pattern!

This post is my honest opinion using fabric and a pattern I received free of charge from Harts Fabric.

Tips for Planning A Wedding On a Budget

wedding on a budget, planning a wedding,

When it comes to planning a wedding, details are king. This fact is even more pronounced when you’re planning a wedding on a budget. Each couple is as unique as the message they want to convey on their wedding day. Regardless of your budget, there are a few things you can do to help take the pressure off the process and streamline your finances. After throwing a wedding for my best friend and beginning to plan my own wedding a short six months later, I learned a lot about what it takes to execute such an important event. I’ll use my friend’s wedding as an example since it was planned in less than a week after her venue had to cancel last minute! Through this process, I learned some of the key tips for planning a wedding on a budget (and a time crunch!)

The first thing you should do when planning a wedding on a budget is sit down with your partner and really think, “what kind of wedding do we want to have?”

This is huuuuge. What kind of people are you? You might like the aesthetic of a NY Museum wedding but if you’re backyard barbecue people then there’s a conflict of interests there. On the contrary, maybe you are a Museum person but most of your guests have small children they’re bringing and the family is on the older side—then lots of stairs or breakable things are out of the question. Will you want the ceremony and reception at the same location? Really narrow down what kind of venue will be appropriate for the size, duration, and vibe of your wedding day.

Next, you should consider your priorities for the wedding.

Here, we really mean for the decor and the party. The ceremony requires very little overall other than the officiant. Maybe for you, a priority is that there’s an open bar and your partner really wants to save money of flowers. To start you should each choose three things that you couldn’t see getting married without i.e. photobooth, arch at the altar, style of chairs, style of centerpieces, passed hors d’oeuvres, etc… Having these “asks” down on paper can really help you prioritize and organize your time, money, and overall efforts towards the things that will have a big impact.

Finally, before you get down to actual planning and selection of vendors, etc, Decide On A Budget.

How much will you each be able to put towards the wedding between now and the big day? How much of that is available now/ upfront (keep in mind most vendors will have to secure down payments for their services prior to confirming your dates). Set a realistic goal. Add 10% to that for contingencies, or if you’re capped, take 10% off and plan for that so the contingency fund is already handled. Also look at some sample budgets and wedding calculators online that are up to date for the year you’re planning. Even better if it’s regionally inclusive.

Now it’s time to go back to those lists of priorities.

Rank big ticket items from most to least important and then itemize those sections. For example, if the decor is #1 for you then you might choose to rent more expensive items in lieu of entertainment like music or an open bar. When you’re planning a wedding on a budget, some sacrifices will be made, but you wont feel that it’s lacking.

In each section list the things that are most non-negotiable (NN).

So for decor, it might look like this:

Arch (NN)
Tables with white linens (NN)
Aisle (runner or Shepard hooks or…)
Chairs (impartial if linens and centerpieces are solid)
Stage area (not important to me)

For food it might look like this:

Amazing Dessert table (NN)
Passed hors d’oeuvres (NN)
Buffet style? (Yes)
Pizza, tacos, or BBQ? Potluck maybe?

The NN (non-negotiable) items are what you’ll be spending your hard earned dollars on. As a general rule, cast a favor net far and wide months before your big day. Maybe everyone you know owns a 6 ft banquet table! That could save you a TON of money—and you never know until you ask. Perhaps a guest has an antique piece of furniture or a dessert stand you’ve admired? You’d be surprised the lengths your loved ones will go to make your big day successful, even if that means disrupting some of their personal home decor for a weekend.

Planning a wedding on a budget for my friend meant calling in favors left and right! Luckily one of our friends is an Art Director and was able to loot her set dressing and props department for some gorgeous greenery and arches:

Food On A Budget

This would be the time to call in favors from your restaurant and bar friends. Can they get you a catering deal? I was managing a restaurant at the time of my friends’ wedding so it was a great way to supplement the catered things with some dishes that I made myself.

If you are going with an actual venue that’s “inclusive” you might experience some pushback when it comes to using your own caterer. If they give you shit about only being able to use theirs, pull the religion or culture card! I.e. “Oh, actually in our faith/ culture we have to serve certain food…is that going to be a problem?” They’ll be quick to not want to insult you and usually make an exception.

We convinced a local ice cream truck to come by our house around 8pm after we knew the speeches would be done. It was a super unique, cute, and affordable way to serve dessert! We just handled the tab when everyone was done. The bride and groom even got to board the truck for a photo-op inside!

If you do decide to do a brunch the next day, do a picnic! Grab a bunch of pastries from Costco or your local bakery, ingredients from mimosas, and a few flats of eggs. You can use the grill at a park to cook eggs and have a super fun and low-key brunch. This could also be a potluck where part of your bridal party or family is asked to contribute by picking up muffins, croissants, etc… teamwork truly makes the dream work!

Booze On A Budget

For alcohol, you have a big choice to make. Are your guests paying or are you? If they’re paying you might still have to supply everything and essentially “front” the liquor. This is where parents might be able to help by fronting the big bucks for the night. You can always return bottles you don’t use.

Remember that even though everyone loves an open bar, no one will hold it against you if you forgo it. People are soooo accommodating during weddings—you’re basically a celebrity—so milk the good vibes and set it to BYOB or wine only, etc. You call the shots here, no one else! For my friend’s backyard wedding at our house, we set up a super cute DIY drinks table. There were chalkboards with instructions on how to make a “brides drinks” or a “grooms drink” along with plenty of non-alcoholic mixers and some wine.

Another idea to save money on booze/ open bar is to cut your wedding short.

It’s trendy and fun to do wedding weekends, but if you have a wedding on a budget it’s a stupid choice. Much better to have an elegant ceremony and 2-3 hour reception than a super long and drawn out thing, especially when some vendor charge by the hour! This way the people that stay for the duration of the weekend are only close friends and family.

Photography On A Budget

EVERYONE knows a professional photographer, right? When planning a wedding on a budget it’s super pragmatic to request that friend to shoot the ceremony! Offer them what you can in terms of money (you could even negotiate to pay them a week or two after the wedding so you have time to financially recoup). More than likely though, they’ll extend their services as a wedding gift, especially if it’s just the ceremony you want to be handled professionally.

In addition, for the reception request that;

1.) Everyone bring one disposable if it’s not in the budget to supply a bunch yourselves or hire an official photographer.

2.) Use a wedding hashtag and group Dropbox for party pics! Using your RSVP software you can schedule an email to everyone the day after the wedding with a Dropbox link for all wedding pics, done and done! Plus candid shots are better anyway.

Officiant On A Budget

It’s getting more and more popular to have a friend officiate, especially for a wedding on a budget. If customs, religion, or culture doesn’t require anything specific of you, it’s a great way to go! Otherwise—if you don’t go the “ordained friend” route—you can spend anywhere from $150-$1000+ on an officiant so it really depends on your expectation. I’ve seen beautiful and simple ceremonies that took no more than ten minutes from the bridal march to the smooch.

Centerpieces On A Budget

Dollarstore anyone? This is the time to get creative! Scour Pinterest for the aesthetic you’re drawn to and make a list isolating the key elements. For my friends’ wedding, I liked old books, candles, and moss (I literally didn’t give her a say because it was such short notice so I surprised her. A HUGE leap of faith on her part!).

Once I’d decided on the look, I knew with those three things I could do a simple and elegant centerpiece. I looted all my local Goodwill stores for old looking books, bought some bagged moss on Amazon, and used some dollar store candle holders. They turned out beautiful!

Again, the key is to really figure out:

1.) what’s most important to you as a couple

2.) what will have the biggest impact for a low cost; A great example of a this would be to use cheap paper lanterns to help light a path. This gives an illusion of a lot of landscaping and thought even though it’s simple.

Another great example would be the uniformity of tables/ etc. I used a white base for all the linens and chairs in both mine and my friends’ wedding to add some elegance. Here’s a photo of my friends:

A coordinator/ MC On A Budget

Okay, so your average 30-50 guest backyard wedding might not require a coordinator, but it never hurts! Put that bossy (I mean assertive) family member in charge of the schedule. This can be an MC like a MOH or BM, or an aunt or uncle that means business. You’ll be happy later not having to worry about letting people know the cake is being served or that it’s time for a send-off.

DO A SEND-OFF

Even if you just go to the bar down the street for a breather, and loop back after. It’s nice to have a moment alone! Plus it’ll help expedite getting everyone the fuck out of your parent’s house/ the venue.

Weddings can be stressful as it is. Your relationship will be tested in the months leading up to your wedding. But it won’t break you and it shouldn’t break the bank either. My final word of advice is this (actually a friend of ours suggested this to us while we were in the trenches of planning): Around 2-3 months out, you’re going to be panicking. Your invitations haven’t gone out yet and you feel like a general shit-show. Grab your partner and go out for a beer. Bring a notepad and a couple of pens. Over the next hour, drink and ask each other, “Okay, if the wedding was tomorrow/ this week, what would we do?” Fill in the blanks for food, booze, officiant, music, dessert, traditions—and you’re good! Don’t stress, cuz at the end of the day, you got this!

Xo.

Let me know what I missed or any tips your have for planning a wedding on a budget!

DIY Recipe

How To Make Your Own Granola

For breakfast, I’ve always loved granola. As a kid, I had an Uncle who kept granola in his pantry at all times. My home was usually stocked with Grape Nuts and skim milk, so granola with yogurt was a huge treat! Since then, I’ve almost always kept granola stocked in my kitchen as well. However, I can’t believe I’ve been paying for it all this time when it’s soooo simple to make your own granola! For the most part, granola only requires ingredients that you’ll already find in your kitchen cupboards. So, I decided to learn (and teach you) how to make your own! Get ready to level up your smoothie bowl and breakfast recipes!

Recipes for granola all are very versatile because the main component is rolled oats! I read that you won’t want to use quick oats because they don’t hold up as well after baking. This recipe is a great activity to do with family or friends and—perhaps even more so—it’s a quick and easy option to impress some early (or entirely unexpected) guests! Let’s not forget it as a budget option either since granola works as a meal or as a simple grab and go snack.

To make your own granola requires as little or as many ingredients as you’d like and only takes about an hour to make from start to finish.

For my granola, I wanted something that was tropical and kind of sweet. I knew I’d be putting it over plain Greek yogurt and wanted to include what I already had too much of in my pantry.

In this recipe, I added an egg white for added protein. However, granola only needs a ratio of around 1:6 wet to dry. You can make a simple syrup or use honey/agave, egg whites, and oil for your wet ingredients like I did. If you’re adding dried fruits like raisins, goji, apricots, etc., you’ll want to wait to add those until the mix is baked through and transferred to a bowl.

Make Your Own Granola

Print Recipe

Serves: 10 Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup of extra-finely shredded coconut
1/2 cup of pepitas
1/2 cup of crushed almonds
3 tbsp. bee pollen
1/3 cup honey/ agave
1/3 cup warmed coconut oil
1 egg white
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
dash of cardamom
dash of cinnamon
1/3 cup green raisins
1/4 cup goji berries
1 packet of Mango Açaí fruit snacks

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 300°F

Mix the oats, seeds, nuts, and other dry ingredients in a bowl

Add your spices and salt to the dry mix and combine thoroughly

Stir in your wet mixture until all the ingredients and coated

Spread your mix on a parchment lined baking sheet

Bake for 40-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes

Transfer your mix to a bowl and add your berries and dried fruits

Serve!

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make your own granola! Check back often for more recipes and kitchen tips Xo.

DIY

Coconut Lime Cardamom Lip and Body Scrub DIY

I’ve wanted to do a tutorial on a lip scrub for a while. It wasn’t until around five years ago that I realized lip scrubs existed. I suffer from bizarrely chapped lips, even products that are meant to moisturize can turn my lips peeling and puckered. For that reason, I don’t use lipstick too much because it just ends up looking like shit within an hour or two. Because of my bad luck in beauty, I’ve been diligent over the past couple of years about finding beauty products and solutions that work for my skin, budget, and lifestyle. This lip and body scrub DIY will demonstrate to you the basics of creating a delicious, fragrant, and natural beauty product for your friends and family.

Lip and Body Scrub DIY

Exfoliating Lip Scrub

I’m absolutely in love with the sweet citrus and cardamom notes that come from both of these scrubs. When I used the lip scrub for the first time, I was immediately transported back to Bali in my mind. There’s something about the combination of fragrances and flavors that are truly tropical and luxurious. I’m obsessed with this lip and body scrub DIY—I might even develop a lip balm for my upcoming online shop.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup brown sugar (or sugar in the raw)
1+ tbsp. coconut oil or honey/ agave
5 drops lime essential oil
1-2 drops vanilla oil or extract
A pinch of cardamom spice

Combine your sugar with your oil or honey/ agave. Combine well until the mixture is a paste
Add the essential oils and spices to the mix. Mix well
Bottle your delicious lip scrub in a glass or plastic container. If you’re trying the recipe as a gift option, you can get cute bottles in bulk on Amazon.

This lip scrub is so delicious and edible! To use: apply a small amount to lips, rubbing around to exfoliate, and lick away excess.

Face and Body Scrub

One of my favorite parts about this face and body scrub is that it reuses used coffee grounds. This is an excellent way to repurpose household items to make sure you’re less wasteful, and you’ll get a luxury product out of it that smells divine! Used coffee grounds already have so many practical uses in and around the home, but bath and beauty products are great! The coffee helps to wake you up as it invigorates your senses while the lime oil energizes as it’s astringent qualities cleanse.

**I don’t recommend using your used coffee grounds if you have low-quality coffee in the house (the worst part of waking up is a bad cup of coffee and the breakout it caused your face after using it in a scrub recipe).

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup used coffee grounds, pressed to get rid of excess moisture
2 tbsp. coconut oil
10 drops lime essential oil
1/4 tsp. cardamom

Combine your used coffee grounds with your coconut oil. Work together until a paste begins to form
Add your essential oils and spices while stirring together
Bottle your scrub and gift/ use accordingly

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial for Lip and Body Scrub DIY!

DIY

How to Build A Porch Swing

Lately, my husband and I have been putting a lot of focus on making our porch and back patio more comfortable for entertaining. This has included a lot of things, such as purchasing new patio furniture and an ivy trellis, which I’ll feature in another post. Something I’ve always really wanted was a porch swing. I find something romantic in the safety and coziness of a good porch set-up. An ideal place to sip wine or coffee while cozied up to loved one. So after shopping some things online, I decided it would be best for me to learn how to build a porch swing.

I viewed lots of tutorials and different DIY porch swing options. There are quite a few beautiful tutorials on how to build a porch swing, but they aren’t accessible for the average person. Most people don’t have every type of saw available to them. Furthermore, even some of the more basic models needed pocket holes, which are great but I didn’t want to fork out extra money for a Kreg jig. I wanted to design something that was functional, cute and—most of all— one that required as few tools as possible.

I have a lot of experience with basic woodwork because of building frames, mural panels, and wall jacks for festivals I work. If there’s enough lumber available, I can build anything. However, you don’t have to have previous experience to build a porch swing.

When you build a porch swing, it’s of the utmost importance that it’s safe. Most of all, no one wants the embarrassment of having their swing collapse on a guest or family member. Trust me; my brother has had two hammock swings collapse on him at my place (I didn’t make those, though, and was using a Husky brand velcro strap to hang).

Before you tackle this instructional on how to build a porch swing, read through everything first to ensure you don’t have to re-do steps.

Release of Liability:

These instructions and guidelines are provided as a resource and general advice/ recommendations regarding installing a porch swing. Each situation is unique, and it is your (the reader’s) responsibility to ensure the safe installation of any porch swing in and out of your home.

This notice serves as a release of liability for thornandthimble.com and Sionann Ghahremani.

How to Build A Porch Swing

DOWNLOAD PORCH SWING PLANS

SUPPLIES USED

Tape measure
Drill
2.5″ Wood Screws
1.5″ Wood Screws
2″ Finishing nails
Hammer (or nail gun if you’re lucky)
Sand paper/ Electric sander
Exterior paint
Safety glasses

CUT LIST

(2) 2′ x 4′ @ 55″ (base frame)
(5) 2′ x 4′ @ 21″ (base frame)
(3) 2′ x 4′ @ 27″ (back supports)
(12) 1′ x 3′ @ 55″ (seat and back slats)
(2) 1′ x 4′ @ 25″ (I accidentally miscalculated and did 24″, whoops)
(2) 1′ x 4′ @ 13″

HANGING MATERIALS

(2) Packs of 15′ chain link (zinc coated) for 340 lbs, working load
(4) 1/4″ quick links with 880 lb, working load
(4) Nylon lock nut, coarse
(2) 5/16″ x 4″ Screw hook lag thread
(8) Fender washers 1.5.”
(4) 5/16″ x 4″ Eye Bolt with Nut

The entire project cost me about $90.00, but if you need to purchase essentials link screws, wood glue, etc., you may end up paying closer to $100.

Start with building the frame.

Your frame includes the (2) 55″ 2′ x 4’s and the (5) 21″ 2′ x 4’s. There will be exactly 12″ of space between each seat support and the next.

First, I drilled pilot holes before I began gluing or screwing. For pilot holes, your want to use a bit that’s at least as large as the smallest diameter of your 2.5″ screw. Once that’s all the way through both pieces, you should use a drill bit that is the same size of your screw to re-pilot the first piece of wood/ entry point for the screw. The wider pilot hole here will allow the screw to pull the piece you’re attaching tightly, this eliminates any gaping in the wood. You can read more about why to use pilot holes here.

Once the pilot holes were complete, I applied wood glue to the seat support end and attached the screws, 2 for each piece. Then I repeated it on the other side.

Begin attaching the (3) back supports.

Now you’ll attach the (3) 27″ back supports. I used the same method of piloting, gluing and drilling here. Instead of (2) screws, I used (4) for each support.

Lay your swing on it’s back to attach the front armrest support.

Next, I attached my (2) 13″ armrest pieces to the front of each side of the swing using (2) screws and wood glue. Make sure to use your smaller 1.5″ wood screws here to avoid hot-points.

Begin attaching (7) of the 55″ seat slats to your swing with the 2″ finishing nails.

You’ll nail them straight into all the base supports beneath them, being sure to keep the sides aligned neatly. I attached the back and front seat slats first, so each was flush with the back supports and front armrests, respectively. Then, I worked inward giving each slat a 1 1/4″ gap between them. I used (3) nails on the outside edges, and (2) nails per point of contact for the rest. Use your best judgment; things should be getting pretty sturdy by now.

Attach the 25″ armrest after nailing in the first two bottom (5) 55″ back slats.

I started with doing the top and the bottom slats first again. The top slat should be flush with the upper/ top part of the back supports, and the bottom slat should be flush and on top of the back seat slat.

The top of the second back slat from the bottom should be at exactly 8 3/4″, this will allow your to rest your 25″ armrest perfectly on that second slat for support.

Once that 2nd back slat is in, attach the 25″ armrest using finishing nails. Continue connecting the remainder of your backrest slats with equal spacing.

FINISHING

Use a piece of sandpaper or an electric hand sander to sand down any rough edges or pieces of wood. You want your swing to be splinter-free.

Paint your swing with whichever color exterior paint you desire!

HANGING

All of the swing hardware will attach to the swing itself except for the Screw hook lag thread, which will go directly into the ceiling/ beam you’re hanging from. If you’re drilling into a ceiling, make sure to use a stud finder. Measure your beam to allow at least 2 inches extra on each side of the swing to account for motion. So for a 55″ swing, you’d measure 59″ total. You’ll want to first drill a pilot hole that’s slightly smaller than your screw hooks threaded diameter. Then screw in the hook to complete.

For the hardware on the swing itself, you’ll want to use the same drill bit to create a pilot hole on the 21″ exterior of the swing base on each side. Use a washer as a guide to ensure the washers have room. Once the pilot holes are drilled, put a washer on your eye hook with the nut between the washer and hook, and screw in. You’ll cap the eye bolt with a washer and Nylon lock nut on the interior underside of the swing. Repeat on the other side.

Attach one quick link to each eye bolt.

For the chain, I found the center point of each 15′ chain and hooked that link onto the Screw hook that I installed in my beam. This gave me two even sides hanging down. Attach the hanging link to your quick link at the desired height. For reference, the front of my swing is suspended one link higher than the rear, with 57 links on the rear and 56 links on the front.

Ta-da!! Now you know how to build a porch swing! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know how your projects went in the comments and reach out for any questions or concerns regarding this DIY.

DIY

Go-Bag for the Urban Witch DIY

Lately, I’ve been trying to organize my life and efforts across the board. For the first time, I’m buying and using storage bins in my art studio. I’m categorizing notions and accessories and filing them away in their proper place. Part of this may be growing up, or an increased incentive to have a presentable and stress-free work/home environment. At any rate, I’m having a great time creating a place for everything and I’m super proud to bring you our first DIY tutorial! This DIY Go-Bag for the Urban Witch is a perfect weekend project and a great way to organize any magical supplies, sacred personal items, or even a small apothecary.

Sometimes you need to grab your supplies and hit the road in a pinch, whether it be the last minute work trip or a race to a sister in need, the best thing about this Go-Bag is that there are a ton of uses for it. It can serve as a sacred place for your travel altar or as a to-go apothecary/ medicine bag for when you’re on the move. The Go-Bag can even act as a general storage bag for magical items, stones, charms, and cards. The Go-Bag can serve whichever intention you choose. It’s up to you.

You can adjust the size of this bag based on when you intend to keep inside it. Increasing the 23″ measurement would make the bag taller/ deeper. Increasing the 15″ measurement would make the bag longer; you need the zipper to be 1″ longer than whatever your length measurement is.

GO-BAG SUPPLIES

Outer fabric 15″x23″
Fusible fleece
Inner fabric
Handle: 4×9 of exterior fabric and fusible fleece
Tab: 3×5 of interior fabric
16″ zipper

Optional:

4 flat bottom feet screws
1 round stud fastener

GO-BAG INSTRUCTIONS

Part One:

A.) Collect all your supplies with your fabric cut to the correct size: 15″ x 23″ for bag “body” and fusible fleece and 4″ x 9″ of exterior fabric and fusible fleece for the handle. Fuse your fleece (also 15″ x 23″) to the wrong side of your handle and exterior fabric.

B.) Fuse your fleece (also 15″ x 23″) to the wrong side of your handle and exterior fabric. Now the wrong side of your handle and exterior fabric will be the fleece.

C.) Place your lining (interior fabric) right side up. Right side up means the side that will be exposed when finished is facing up.

D.) Open your zipper and line it up with the 15″ edge of your lining fabric and place it on top with the other zipper half hanging down. The pull of your zipper will be facing you. The zipper aligned as pictured, with stops 1/2″ away from the left side of the fabric. Align the exterior fabric face down/ wrong side up on top and pin for sewing. Sew your zipper with 1/4 seam allowance.

Part Two:

E.) Keep your zipper open and flip the bottom raw edge of your top (exterior fabric) up so that it’s right sides are together and the bottom raw edge is now up with the zipper.

F.) Fold the outer fabric the same way to its right sides are together and its raw edge is aligned with the raw edge of the interior fabric. See in the photo below how each fabric is folded onto itself? Line up the zipper as before, this time with the zipper pull on the left.

G.) Pin as shown below and sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Part Three:

H.) Turn the bag inside itself, so it appears as normal from the outside, with the interior fabric inside and exterior fabric outside.

I.) Top stitch your zipper on each side, going through both the exterior and lining, but not sewing it shut. You’ll have your zipper open to do this; it should end up looking top-stitched like pictured.

Part Four:

J.) Now place your bag flat, zipped up, with the zipper down the center and pin through all fabrics as shown.

Part Five:

K.) With your bag pinned, cut a 2 1/4″ L x 2″ H square at each corner.

Part Six:

L.) Make your tab:

For the tab, fold each long edge to meet in the center and press.

Then fold it in half width-wise, so the raw edges meet and press again.

If you’re adding a metal tab, add it now.

Top stitch the non-raw edges of the tab.

Part Seven:

P.) Make Your handle:

For the handle, make sure you fused the fleece in Step One. You’ll do three folds. I find it helpful to press after each. Fold the long raw edges lengthwise to meet in the middle.

Then fold it once more in half, so your only raw edges are the 1″ ends and topstitch.

Part Eight:

Q.) Attach the tab and handle by first turning your interior and exterior fabric, so the wrong sides are out/ right sides together. Make sure all layers are aligned and unzip the zipper a few inches.

R.) Pin your handle on the end with the zipper pull as shown. Sew the aligned and pinned edge with a 1/2″ seam (or whatever your bag/ zipper allows if you resized or made mistakes it’s okay).

S.) Pin your tab upside down and “finished” end-inside in the same manner and sew the aligned edge.

T.) Turn your bag right side out through one of the square openings that are left unfinished.

Part Nine:

Now we’ll do a French seam on the square edges. A French seam is where you first sew a raw edge; then you sew over the seam from the interior to “trap” the raw edge completely. Here’s a link for french seams if it’s confusing.

U.) You’ll first want to reopen your square edge to create a box seam, this is accomplished by sewing from corner to corner, as shown. Pin each corner and sew.

V.) Trim the excess down. If you made mistakes or had rough cuts, you have had to increase seam allowance. Trim, so you only have about 1/4″ of a raw edge.

W.) Turn bag inside out. Push out your new square bottom/ corners. Use your pins to mark the seam allowance needed to trap the outer seam. Sew to complete.

X.) Your interior will look like this. Add your bag feet now if you wish, using a seam ripper to poke holes first where they will go through to the exterior.

Your completed go-bag will look like this:

Each Go-Bag will hold three or four 7 day candles, three large bundles of sage, one tarot deck, and other items as needed (crystals, pendulums, poppet, sachets, charms, travel altars, etc..) Check back here for more DIY’s and ideas for living creatively mindful.

*This post first appeared on I AM A HEALER.

DIY Lifestyle

Two Cute Ways to Repurpose Leftover Bunting

We all have extra stuff lying around. Some of it is really useful, while some of it just takes up space. Anyone who has thrown a wedding or a big birthday knows that decor is no exception. I was eyeing all my extra stuff from our wedding and my eyes fell on all this extra burlap bunting we never used. There are quite a few tutorials out there on how to turn old wrapping paper and clothes into bunting. However, I couldn’t find many on how to actually repurpose leftover bunting.

I was thinking of various ways to use the bunting by folding it. Maybe a geometric ornament or putting a few together could make a hat or a lantern bag for a flameless candle? Eventually, I landed on an idea for a flat wallet and an air plant/ succulent holder; two cute ways to repurpose leftover bunting into new items and quick DIY projects.

FLAT WALLET

This project is great for a craft night or even for a kids party. You can complete the project by sewing OR even with a hot glue gun. Kids will love seeing how you can transform “junk” decor into something cool, useful, and personalized. Furthermore, with cute themed birthdays, the kids could end up with adorable spiderman wallets at the end of the party from the branded bunting.

I used a few items in the creation on my DIY Flat Wallet:

Burlap bunting
Scissors
Leftover random charms/ beads
Round bag making stud
Vinyl snap
Sewing machine (although you can hand stitch or use a glue gun instead)

Step One:

Collect your supplies. If you have a glue gun you’ll be using, plug it in! This is a quick project.

Step Two:

Fold the bottom of the bunting a little over 1/3 of the way up. Test the triangle flap to make sure it covers the amount of space you want it to and doesn’t overlap the bottom.

Step Three:

Flip the bunting over while keeping it folded. Draw a line to mark where the edges overlap.

Step Four:

Cut the bunting on the lines you marked.

Step Five:

Line up your wallet how it will lay when complete. Line up where you want your snap to be.

Step Six:

Line up your first snap and sew the snap down to the wallet body (not the flap).

Step Seven:

Pin the edge of your wallet for sewing and sew.

Step Eight:

Attach the second snap to the interior of the flap.

Step Nine:

Begin to attached your embellishments/ charms/ decor/ or embroidery to your wallet. Use a needle and thread or a hot glue gun.

Fin!

Air Plant/ Succulent Holder

The second cute way to repurpose leftover bunting is to turn it into a cute geometric planter. You can hang it on the wall or put it on a shelf. I used basically the same process for the dimensions as the wallet, the only difference is that instead of cutting the extra from the sides. You bring the edges pictured with the pink markers together and top stitch to create a tiny planter.

I used a few items in the creation on my Air Plant/ Succulent Holder:

Burlap bunting
Scissors
Sewing machine (although you can hand stitch or use a glue gun instead)
A piece of coral I found on the beach in Bali
Neon Green Thread

Once you’re done with the stitching you can add some stitches in a cool color, or add fabric to the front. I even considered using paint or dip dye on mine. Have fun with it!

I hope you enjoyed these ideas on how to repurpose leftover bunting!

DIY

DIY Square Bottom Tarot Pouch

Sometimes you just need a tarot pouch! People choose to carry their tarot in different ways. Some, neatly keep the cards in their original box to bring out when they want to do a spread. Many carry their cards wrapped in a special cloth and in a pouch similar to this.

With the tarot often looked to for guidance in weighty decisions, why not treat your deck as the sacred item it is?

If you buy crystals, pendulums, and divination tools regularly, you’ll often have a small collection of velvet or plastic lined pouches at your disposal. These can be useful, but boring. For the urban witch, you might choose to carry your tarot cards in a more stylish and personalized way. That’s where this DIY Tarot Pouch comes in handy. It’s easy to make and requires very little fabric. Furthermore, this tarot pouch makes a great conversation starter, everyone will wonder where you procured such a cool bag for your cards.

This DIY will take about 30 minutes to complete depending on your skill level.

For this tarot pouch you’ll need:

(1) 10.5″ x 11″ exterior cloth
(1) 10.5 x 11″ interior lining cloth
Scissors
A sewing machine or needle and thread
Rope or extra fabric to create a cord
Set of tarot cards

Step One:

Take your lining fabric and your exterior fabric and place them with their right sides together. Pin the top edge (that will be the opening). Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance and press the seam open afterward.

Step Two:

Open your fabric so that the wrong sides are facing up as shown. Cut 1/2″ tabs on the sides of each fabric, this will mark where your cord will go.

Step Three:

Press your tabs for sewing. You can do a double-fold hem or a single fold and keep the interior edges raw. I did a double fold because my fabric comes apart easily and I didn’t want any rogue string coming out the drawstring area.

Step Four:

Sew the hem so it secures the raw edge of the fabric (or not if you don’t care).

Step Five:

Fold your fabric in half length-wise to that the exterior fabric is exposed and the lining fabric is touching itself. Make sure your tabs line up. Pin the raw edges of the fabric together.

Step Six:

Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance. You can do a larger seam if it’s easier, you’ll cut the excess off anyway. Make sure to not sew over your drawstring opening. Otherwise, you’ll seal it shut!

Step Seven:

Flip your fabric inside out so the exterior is touching and the exterior fabric is outside. This is a weird kind of double inside out. If you’re used to making bags, you know what I mean, but if not, I’ve attached the following video to explain.

Find the seam of the long edge that you just sewed (and trimmed down as much as possible) and pin it neatly.

Step Eight:

You’ll now hide the raw edge of the seam by sewing down that same section (called a french seam), trapping the exterior seam inside. See, the drawstring opening is still open!

Step Nine:

Turn your fabric inside out with the side seam directly in the center. At the bottom of your pouch, cut two small squares that are slightly taller than they are wide. I did around 1″.

Step Ten:

Sew the very bottom raw edge of the bag closed, excluding the squares. Then, turn the squares so the bottom seam is in the center and pin them in a straight line. This will square out the bottom of your pouch. Sew each side to have squared edges. ***I should add that you don’t have to do a french seam here, I just didn’t want any raw edges on my interior, you could totally just turn the bag inside out and hem the bottom, making sure to turn the square areas.

Step Eleven:

Turn the bag inside out once more and trap those raw edges with a french seam. You’ll do this on the raw edges you just sewed—so the bottom, and each squared corner.

Step Twelve:

Now turn your tarot pouch inside out and insert your drawstring. It’s best to attach a safety pin to the drawstring and lead it through the opening as shown in this video. I couldn’t find a safety pin so I improvised with sewing needles.

I hope you found this DIY Tarot Pouch useful! I’d love to see pictures of the pouches you create! Tag me on IG: @thornandthimble

DIY Lifestyle Motherhood

Building a Nursery: How I Saved on Cost and Space

What do babies need? I asked this as my husband and I set upon preparing and building a nursery for our first child.

Car seat, definitely. A crib? Or basinet? The nursery is small. Oh, it turns out we both want to share a bed with the baby, that solves it. High chair, but not for a while, right? When do we start solid food, again? What about a changing table? I think they are unnecessary; he likes the idea of a diaper station. Bottles, pacifiers, toys, socks. We need to get socks.

So, I began compiling lists. You might not think it, but babies need a lot of stuff. Or so we’re told by advertisements and baby stores. Children’s furniture is shockingly expensive, especially considering the size. Tiny people require tiny things, but eventually, all too quickly, they outgrow the tiny things. It seemed absurd to spend hundreds of dollars on any one thing that might last a couple of years or even a couple months. I started researching and asking advice from other parents. What we needed versus what we wanted. What was a life saver, and what we could do without. Slowly, items were being crossed off my lists.

We began making room. As my due date approached, we brought out the gear, clothes, furniture, and all things baby related we’d been collecting. I nested. I cleaned, organized, and folded tiny socks. We bought paint.

I began building a nursery.

This is what you see when you first walk in the room. The end result came after several rearrangements, adding/taking away accent pieces and furniture. I’m sure it will continue to evolve as my daughter grows.

One of my favorite parts about the nursery is this Alphabet I found on Etsy. I love the illustrations, and the set only cost $32. It was my first purchase specifically in mind for a baby’s room.
A friend gifted the fish mobile in the upper left corner.
The square floor shelf was pulled from another room because we decided furniture in the nursery looked better white. The colorful shelves were around $3 each on clearance at IKEA. Actually, the shelf came from IKEA, too. We super love IKEA.
A friend gifted The Pack ’n Play because her little ones grew too old. We’ve yet to use it for anything other than storage, which is a nice dual purpose. The room is a small space, 10 x 10 feet, so it’s nice to quickly pull her tummy time mat off the floor and out of the way. When I’m carrying around a crying baby, I don’t want to trip on “stuff.”

The Dresser:

I saved on cost by buying used and fixing up. This is the before/after of the dresser I bought on craigslist for $40. I only have this photo from my Instagram of the “original” blue. It took FOREVER to finish this 3-foot tall dresser. Or felt like forever because I was working in a hot garage at the end of summer while 8 months pregnant. Unfortunately, I never took progress pictures. So I’ll give a description of my work:

Sanded down the blue paint (with help from my husband).
Painted several coats of white, excepting the back and bottom, and the yellow fronts of the drawers.
Painted several coats of the yellow.
Taped off the sides of the drawers and painted the black stripes.
I found an image online of a cat silhouette, then birds, and I drew onto the dresser. Full disclosure, I just copied a cat image from Google because it’s not like I’m trying to sell this. Then, painted in the black.
The knobs were a dollar each from Home Depot.

When I put the shelves back in order, the two smallest with birds didn’t fit. After a week of working on this, usually in a couple 2-3 hour blocks each day, I thought I might die. I cried a lot. After a small breakdown, I swapped drawers, and tada—they fit! Good enough. I spent so much painstaking time getting everything just right during two days of touch-ups using paint dipped q-tips, that I was done. Other than that tiny mistake, I really love it!

Building a Nursery: It’s all in the details.

Building a Nursery In the photo on the left, I fixed the alphabet to the wall with adhesive photo corners from a local craft store. They didn’t stay stuck, though. After a couple of days, the cards began falling off. So, I got some sticky tac, and they’ve been up without issue since. I really like the finished look of the photo corners, which saved on cost. It gives the illusion of framing, without the expense of actually framing.

Building a Nursery To the right, the 3×3 feet “you are my sunshine” painting. I used the paint we’d purchased for the baby furniture, plus a little orange I found in the garage. The leftover plywood came from my husband building our platform bed. Upcycling is a great way to stay within a budget!

***

The handmade blocks and “Grace’s First Library” are two aspects of the room which came out of our baby shower; therefore costing us nothing. Instead of decorating onesies, I wanted something my daughter could get use out of years down the road. We set up a station with crafts and paint, and guests designed these special toys just for her.

On the shower invitation, I asked that each person brings their favorite children’s book to start her collection. We now have over 40 books, and she’s 5 months old.

Rocking Chair Project:

Here, I again did not take progress pictures. I didn’t expect to be sharing any of this with the public, so it never crossed my mind. The chair cost $12 at a local Habitat for Humanity store. We’d been searching for months, so when my husband showed up with that sweet deal, he found me elated. Until I realized he brought me another painting project. I love how it turned out, though, so we both did a good job.

My husband took apart the chair and helped me sand. Sanding sucks, even without a huge belly.
I painted 3 coats, and it was all tedious. If you look really close, which please don’t, you can see where I got tired of painting and got sloppy toward the bottom. Whatever, it looks way better than the original brown, right?
I purchased the cat pillow a couple years ago, and now it fits perfectly with the unintentional animal theme.

The Closet

This is the back wall of our nursery. A closet is not particularly eye-catching, but this shows how we utilized room in the small space. We spent a lot of time organizing. Everything has a place, and we do our best to put things where they belong. This is a huge help in keeping the room decluttered.

Her diaper bag and stroller hang on designated hooks, which makes it easy to always put them away after each use. Less clutter for the ground.
We took the door off the closet to make the area feel more open.
Shelves are great for decorating and storage. Above the tiny TV, we have a little family photo section. Plus The Hulk piggy banks from when my husband was a kid. Passing down = cost saving. Inside the closet, each shelf contains similarly themed items (work out gear: yoga mat/hand weights, canned cat food/treats, breastpump/accessories).
To the right we have our laundry baskets, both purchased on clearance. The larger one for the adults, the smaller for our daughter. Fabric makes them look a little fancier than plastic, and since they are exposed and easily accessed, instead of crammed in a closet, we keep dirty clothes picked up. Again, less clutter in a small space is key to having the room feel big.
The stuffed animal corner cost us $20. My husband found another sweet deal on the large bear, and the rest were free from the local “Buy Nothing” Facebook group, or gifts.

This is another example of how I saved on cost while building a nursery. I bought these picture frames at Goodwill and painted them black and white (again, using what we already have). I drew digital pictures of our cats, framed the first ultrasound pictures of our daughter, and printed a couple photos from when my husband and I were kids (our favorite of each other). One of a kind, personal artwork makes the room unique, and this section cost less than $10!

The moral of my story:

It’s relatively easy to spend a lot of money building a nursery. If done right, it can be incredibly easy to save. Everything pictured that we bought specifically for the nursery, totaled under $200. You’ll notice no crib is in the room. We decided to co-sleep with a family bed, so our daughter sleeps with us. Good thing we own a king sized bed. I convinced my husband we don’t need a changing table. Instead, we change her on the bed, which is more convenient for us anyway.

Bringing what you can off the floor is going to help save space when building a nursery.
Use your own crafty ways to decorate the nursery (or any room) to save on cost.
Upcycle.
Check out local groups online.
Browse craigslist every day.
Find a friend, like I did, whose kids are slightly older than yours, and take all their hand-me-downs.

We’ve paid for almost nothing full price while prepping for baby and building a nursery. Except for socks. We totally bought socks.

DIY Lifestyle

Envelope Style Pillow DIY

In our home, we have a problem that my husband affectionately calls “pillow hell.” I do purchase an excessive amount of throw pillows…but there’s a method to my madness! When it comes to decorating, like many people, I like a strong neutral base. Having a gray couch instead of a green one allows me to use pillows and various other decor to set the tone. When I get sick of it, I can just swap it out for what’s in style or season. Which brings me to my inspiration for doing this Envelope Style Pillow DIY!

The other day I saw a tutorial for a Cactus Pillow Outline DIY on A Beautiful Mess and a lightbulb went off. I’d been going about this all wrong! Instead of being a weirdo pillow hoarder I can just make different pillow covers to switch out, saving space and lots of cash!

Lucky for me, I’m also a fabric hoarder. Whenever I’m at a fabric store downtown like Michael Levine, I always pick up a yard of a few Ikats and styles that speak to me. These types of fabric can get really pricey (like $18 a yard, that’s pricey, right?) so I love the option to pick up a little bit to use as a chair cushion cover, purse, or as part of a handmade gift. My textile obsession definitely paid off when I went to create my Envelope Style Pillow DIY. I had quite a few Ikats and other fabrics to choose from. In the end, I chose a beautiful earth and jewel toned Ikat and a bright orange cotton duck for my Envelope Style Pillow DIY.

I already had a pillow (as evidenced from my pillow hoarding), this one came with a comforter set from Ross that I’d just been clinging on to. It’s been traveling aimlessly around our bedroom floor forever and I thought it deserved a better life.

Let’s go, Envelope Style Pillow DIY!

You’ll need:

A pillow you hate
Fabric, I used two kinds one for the front, one for the back
Scissors
Pins
A sewing machine (or the patience for hand sewing)

Step 1:

Mark the fabric for the back/ envelope side of the pillow for cutting. Gave an extra 1″ on each side of the pillow to allow for the height/ stuffing. I just eyed it, it isn’t rocket science.

I used a white fabric pencil to mark my cuts.

Step 2:

Once you cut out the fabric square for the back, cut it in half just a little off center.

Step 3:

Repeat the process of marking and cutting the front piece of fabric. You can use the back piece as a guide for the height, but the width will be uniform (since you won’t be doing an fabric overlap in front).

Step 4:

You can see that the front piece is less wide than the back piece.

Step 5:

Pin your back pieces for a hem where they’ll “meet” (if you’re doing a hem).

Step 6:

Sew your hem. You can match the thread color if you’re OCD, but I don’t care and my husband won’t notice, so I just used what was in my machine. Pin the fabrics with the right side of the fabrics facing each other and with the fabric for the back of your pillow overlapped as shown. Sew around the exterior border with a 1/2″ seam allowance.