DIY: Inexpensive Rag Wreath

So I have a lot of scraps of fabric laying around, and I wanted to make something out them. I found an idea on a blog to make a Rag Wreath and it was so easy!

Supplies:

• a heap of fabric scraps
• a cute little helper (My 2 1/2 loved helping me with this project!)
• scissors
• sturdy wire: I used a wire hanger (FREE: who doesn't have one lying around?), you could also use florists' wire, double wrapped. 

I bent the hanger into a circle shape. Then I tore strips of fabric 1 inch wide by 6 inches long approximately. The best part is, it doesn't have to be perfect! The scraps can all be different lengths and it will look great. I also added in canvas material and strips of ribbon and chenille for a variety. I used greens and turquoise colored fabric because I am going to hang the wreath in our room and our new duvet cover is a mix of those colors.

Then you begin to tie the fabric around the hanger in knots. Continue all the way around the hanger in no particular order. When you finish, tie some ribbon at the top to hang from. It's as easy as that! From start to finish this project took me about 45min and I put to use a lot of old scraps of fabric! You could also make a Christmas Rag Wreath out of reds and green fabric, see an idea here.

DIY Christmas Gift Idea

After checking out a couple of DIY websites and some of my favorite stores including Anthropologie, I came up with this idea. I wanted to do a little DIY project for Madison's teachers at preschool, but it turned out to be so fun that we continued to make some for others that we love. I took Maddie with me to several local thrift stores on the hunt for a variety of white mugs. They range in price from $0.49 to $0.69 each. The idea I went with was to get very different looking mugs so that they would all be unique. We ended up going to 3 different thrift stores to find these.

Step 1: Wash mugs. I handwashed, then put in dishwasher to sterilize. 

Step 2: Let completely dry.

Step 3: I made stencils of each initial that I was going to use with Rockwell Bold 200 Point font. Then I cut them out.

Step 4: I traced the initial stencil with a thick lead construction pencil (so that it would leave a darker line to trace). Then trace with black porcelain pen (found at Michaels $3.99, plus I used a 50% off Coupon to get for only $1.99). Definitely make sure you practice with the pen before using, it does get splotchy at times. 

Step 5: After tracing the stencil I then used sketchy strokes to fill in the stenciled letter. I did diagonal lines each way. Let the mugs dry for 24 hours after you have sketched what you would like on them. Then bake per the instructions on the back of the pen. Mine needed to be baked at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Fill the mugs with your drink of choice. I am going to give the recipients a bag a World Market coffee with the mugs. You could also do hot cocoa mixes, tea, spiced cider, or hot buttered rum mix.

Personally, I love how these turned out, they are definitely not perfect but that is part of it being handmade. Remember you can always wash off the porcelain pen and re-do as many times as you need. It is not permanent until baked in the oven.