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Calligraphy Supplies

by Melissa on 07. Jul, 2010 in homemade, tutorials

A few of you have asked what supplies I have for calligraphy. It’s taken me a while to put this together (don’t ask me why), but finally I present to you my little stash of calligraphy goodies:

Isn’t this fun!? I have a little bitty calligraphy set, but my stash of inks and pen nibs are constantly multiplying. It’s always a treat to buy new inks & nibs.

Here are my inks. I started out with buying Higgins inks and quickly realized that they are runny, low-quality and super frustrating to work with. The Black Magic kind on the far right is OK, but I’ll stick to my Dr. Ph. Martin’s from now on. My aunt suggested Pelikan; I have yet to try it but I’ll let you know when I do.

Here are my pen nibs. It’s important to label them & keep them in a safe environment; safe from Penelopes & Christophers. My favorite pen nib is the third from the right. I can draw super thin & juicy thick lines all day long with that one nib. We’re BFFs. The other nibs in the box are getting jealous. I like to buy my pen nibs at Reuel’s Art & Frame because they sell pen nibs individually, rather than in packs. I hate having to buy pen nibs in packs. It also helps that Reuel’s is just around the corner from my house. I love having an art supply store so close!

Here’s my other BFF; ink cleaner. I’ve learned by experience that if you don’t clean your nibs, your lines will become unpredictable and clumsy. Although, maybe that’s the new style in calligraphy. I dunno. This cleaner is pretty old. I got it from my grandpa’s sweet wife, just after they got married. She gave me a ton of her late husband’s drafting supplies. I’m pretty sure this solution is just a mixture of glycerine & dish soap. Not entirely sure, though.

If you’d like a printer-friendly copy of my supplies (with additional supply information), please click the download button below.

ENJOY!

This PDF is free for personal use and should not be distributed without my consent. If you would like to use this PDF for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

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Sweetheart Ballet Tee Tutorial

by Melissa on 28. Jun, 2010 in homemade, sewing, tutorials

Here’s yet another way to spice up your t-shirts when you get a little bored with the plainness of them all. I did this a few weeks ago to two of my plain tees. I’m threatening to do this on all of the t-shirts I own. Seriously. Watch out! This little ruching technique takes literally 2 minutes; the perfect way to jazz up an outfit on your way out the door. Here we go:


Materials:
Fitted Tee
Sewing Machine
Coordinating thread
Elastic thread
Scissors
Magic Erase Fabric Pen (not pictured)

Cut the collar off: only cut a little around the back & cut more around the front to make a deeper neckline. Don’t go too deep because the elastic thread will pull it lower. Toss excess collar aside.

Find the center of the front collar. Measure down 6-10 inches (depending on bust size), marking a line with your magic pen.

HAND wind your bobbin with elastic thread. Thread your machine with matching thread on top. Sew along your line. Don’t backstitch.

Turn your tee inside out and pull on the elastic thread until your shirt is as rouched as you’d like. Using a seam ripper, pull the front thread through to the back & tie a square knot with the two threads.

Trim loose ends after securing the thread in place with a square knot.

Dab the front of your shirt with water and a Q-tip to erase the magic marker line.

FINI! Click the button below to download the printer-friendly PDF version.

This tutorial is free for personal use and should not be distributed without my consent. If you would like to use this tutorial commercially, please email me. Thanks!


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Loopy-Loo Garland Tutorial

by Melissa on 03. Jun, 2010 in crafts, tutorials

A few of you asked if I would share my methods on the garland I made for Penelope’s birthday party last month and I think it’s time I share. This garland is quick and easy and has a slightly different look from the ones you’ll see around the web. I love how fast this method is: from start to finish it’ll take less than 20 minutes for an 8ft. garland. You’ll be amazed. I sure do hope you give it a go!

• • • • •

Materials:
Sewing Machine
Coordinating thread
Ribbon: desired length + 16-20 in.
Quality Paper: cut to 1 x 6 in. strips

Set up your paper strips next to your machine, decorative side down. Insert your ribbon into the machine  with am 8-10 in. tail and place your first strip under the presser foot. Sew a straight, long stitch across the paper & ribbon.

Once you’re finished with the first end of the paper strip, curl (no creases) the paper up to show the decorative side and slip the edge in front of presser foot & sew to ribbon.

Repeat steps 2 & 3.
If you’re uncomfortable with adding paper as you sew, you can pin paper to the ribbon prior to sewing.

Keep adding loops until you’ve reached your desired length, making sure that you have at least 8 inches of extra ribbon at each end. Use ends to affix garland to walls, ceilings, window treatments, trees, etc. Hang garland ribbon-side out. Enjoy! Click the button below to download the printer-friendly PDF version.

This tutorial is free for personal use and should not be distributed without my consent. If you would like to use this commercially, please email me. Thanks!

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Sweetheart Bow T-shirt Tutorial

by Melissa on 28. May, 2010 in sewing, tutorials

I’ve been slightly obsessed with bows recently in case you haven’t noticed. I’m really digging them. I’m seeing bows pop up in the most fashionable of places like Anthropologie, J.Crew, Ann Taylor Loft and Urban Outfitters. As soon as I saw this bow pillow tutorial, I knew I needed to have a shirt with a giant bow on it.

I bought two DownEast Basics v-neck shirts and transformed them into what you see above. The project cost a total of $5 and 45 minutes. Winging it and hand-sewing slowed me down a tad. The finished product is feminine & accentuates my tiny bust, so it might not be suitable for the well-endowed. I’ve included a tutorial on how I did it, if you’d like to give it a try. I sure hope you do!

• • • • •

To make this t-shirt, you’ll need two shirts; one of which needs to be v-neck. I chose two of the exact shirts, in the same color. Feel free to get creative!

Grab the extra tee and set the good tee aside for later.

Fold the extra tee in half lengthwise and cut just below the armpit and about 3 inches above the hem. No need to be exact, just eyeball it.

Grab the middle section and align side seams together. Cut off about 2 inches of fabric.

Unfold the extra two inches and cut a 4×6 inch rectangle. I eyeballed it.

Fold both bow pieces in half lenghtwise with right sides in. Sew along open ends with a half inch seam allowance.

Turn fabric right side out and center the seams along the middle of the back side so they won’t show when you assemble your bow.

fold both bow pieces in half width-wise with the good side facing in. Sew along open ends with a half inch seam allowance.

Turn loops right side out and center the seams along the back side so they won’t show when you assemble the bow.

Turn big loop to the back(seam facing up) and accordion fold along the middle to create the pleats.

Anchor pleats by hand stitching the center together.

Slide small loop over the pleated bow and sew into place.

Snag your nice tee and lay it flat on the ground, smoothing out wrinkles. Place the bow at the base of the V and hand stitch into place. Stitch into place by anchoring undersides of the bow to the tee. Enjoy!

Click the button below to download the tutorial in PDF format.

This tutorial is free for personal use and should not be distributed without my consent. If you would like to use this commercially, please email me. Thanks!

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iPhone Case Pattern 2.0

by Melissa on 09. Apr, 2010 in crafts, homemade, tutorials

I threatened that I would post iPhone case tutorial nearly a month ago and here I am finally getting around to actually doing it. I really liked the old case that I had, it was just slightly impractical to had an unprotected phone to Penelope when she wanted to play her games. I decided that I needed to have a case that could stay on and actually protect my phone from grubby little hands. When I decided to embark on my noble quest, our computer was out of commission, so any designing I did was the old school way with a ruler and a pencil. That method took forever. Also, I kept running into wall after wall of design flaws. BLERG.

After I got my computer back and I had a great brainstorm session with the hubs, I completed the pattern. It’s pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Doesn’t the corsetted back look hott?

The pros to this case:

  • Penelope can’t press the home button, because she can’t see it. So, she’s stuck watching her little videos or playing her games and can’t post random tweets from my phone.
  • The leather makes for a better grip. It’s not going to slip out of mine or Penelope’s hands.
  • The phone is protected from minor bangs and drops.

The cons to this case:

  • It’s sewn in. So if you have to take it to the Apple store (which I do), you might need to un-pick the sewing. No big deal, but slightly annoying.
  • the sides of the case don’t lay flat. Although, time and scoring the inside of the leather remedies this problem.

It’s been about 3 weeks since I’ve had the case on my phone, and I really like it a lot. I feel like it’s protected all the time and it just looks funky fun. I get comments on the stitching ALL the time. If you’re looking to cover your iPhone, I hope you give this little tutorial a try. Click on the Download button below to download. Enjoy!

This printable is free for personal use. If you would like to use this printable commercially, please email me. Thanks!

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