tutorial

IKEA Picture Ledge Hack

- handmadejoy

I love how this shelf turned out! I took the popular Mosslanda photo ledge from IKEA and hung a piece of driftwood from it. It is perfect for hanging plants.

This is so easy to make, anyone can make it! Two drill holes and a few knots later, you will have yourself a beautiful hanging plant display!

You will need:

Instructions:

1. Drill two holes into the bottom of the photo ledge. I positioned the holes under the wall screws.

2. Thread rope through drilled hole and secure with double knot.

3. Tie rope around driftwood.

This shelf is located in my basement landing at the base of the stairs. As there is not much natural light, I used artificial plants from IKEA. The links to these are below.

My favourite IKEA artificial plants:

The hanging planters are a DIY I made from recycled Pine-Sol bottles! Check out my tutorial for instructions on how to make these cute hanging planters.

DIY Hanging Planter from Pine-Sol Bottle

If you try this tutorial I would love to see it! You can tag me on Instagram @handmadejoydesigns #handmadejoyblog

Check out my other DIY’S:

Upcycle an Old Shirt – See what I made!

- handmadejoy

Want to see some upcycle magic? See how I upcycled an old shirt into three new items. I loved the fabric and details of this shirt, but not the fit. I never wore it but didn’t want to get rid of it because I loved the colour and design so much. I started cutting and made three items from it that now get lots of use!

When you love the colour and fabric of a clothing item but not the fit, upcycling is the answer!

UPCYCLE

reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.

Here is what I made from this ONE shirt:

1. Scrunchies

I used the bottom hem of the shirt to make scrunchies. I was able to make 2 scrunchies from the hem of this one shirt. I love the trim detail and used that as the outside edge of the scrunchie.

Here is my Favourite scrunchie tutorial from Martha Stewart.

2. Face Mask

To make this simple mask:

  1. Cut out 2 – 6 x 9 inch rectangles
  2. Sew right sides together leaving a 1 inch opening.
  3. Turn right side out and stitch closed.
  4. Fold sides and sew to create channel for elastic loops.
  5. Insert elastic and tie knot to from loop.

3. Bowl Cover

I made a mixing bowl cover for my Kitchenaid Mixer bowl. This bowl cover gets a ton of use in my kitchen!

Here is a Mixing bowl cover tutorial from My Frugal Home.

What would you make out of an old shirt you no longer wear?

More Sewing Tutorials on the Blog:

DIY Hanging Planter Made from Recycled Bottle

- handmadejoy
DIY recycled hanging planter

Here is an easy DIY hanging planter you can make for nothing! All you need is an empty Pine-Sol bottle, spray paint and string.

I was about to throw my Pine-Sol bottle in the recycling when I noticed the pattern on the bottom and thought it might make a cute planter. I gave it a try and love how it turned out!

You will need:

  • Empty Pine-Sol bottle
  • Knife
  • Spray paint
  • String
Materials to make DOY hanging planter from Bottle

Instructions:

1. Using a knife, cut the bottle off about 3.5 inches from the bottom.

2. Make 2 holes on one side and 2 holes on the other side equally spaced.

Cut holes into bottle to hang your DIY planter

3. Spray paint

Spray paint bottle

4. Thread string through two holes on side. Thread another 24 inch string through the two holes on the other side.

Insert string into DIY hanging PLanter
DIY hanging planter from recycled Pine-Sol bottle

5. Tie a loop at the top using all 4 strings.

I would love to see your DIY hanging planter! Tag me on Instagram @handmadejoydesigns #handmadejoyblog

DIY hanging planter from recycled bottle

Check out my DIY plant stand tutorial

Turn any SVG into a Stencil – Cricut Design Space Tutorial

- handmadejoy
Cricut TUtorial

This is one of my favourite Cricut tips! There are many times I am making a project and don’t have the right vinyl colour on hand. My solution is to make a stencil and paint the design on! I will show you how to turn any SVG into a stencil in Cricut Design Space. It is so easy!

Upload your SVG and place on your canvas. Now you will place a rectangle over top of your SVG, making sure to fully cover the SVG.

Next select both the rectangle and SVG and click slice. Slice is located in “actions”.

Now remove the cut out piece of your design and the original SVG from your canvas. You are left with a stencil ready to be cut out!

Bunny Crew SVG available in my Etsy Shop_

I hope this Cricut Design Space tip comes in handy for you!

Bunny Backpack Sewing Tutorial

- handmadejoy

Here is a sewing tutorial for these sweet bunny backpacks I made for my nephews. It is just a simple drawstring backpack, but the bunny ears and tail turn it into the cutest little Easter backpack!

They are a perfect gift bag for Easter goodies. Fill it with Easter goodies, books, and gifts for the perfect Easter Gift for the littles in your life.

Materials Needed:

  • 2 x 14 inch by 16 inch rectangles of main fabric (I used white canvas)
  • 4 x ear pieces ( 2 lining and 2 main fabric ) SEE PATTERN DOWNLOAD AT BOTTOM OF THIS POST
  • 2 x 3 inch by 3 inch square in main fabric for drawstring loops
  • yarn to make pom pom or ready made pom pom
  • rope or cord for drawstring

NOTE: I used cotton canvas fabric to make these. My favourite canvas fabric is painters drop cloths! I buy the natural drop cloths like this one from Canadian Tire and bleach them. You end up with lots of great white canvas material perfect for sewing!

SEWING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut out all of your fabric pieces.

2. Sew the ear pieces right sides together. Turn right side out and top stitch leaving the bottom unsewn. Fold the sides towards the centre, pin in place and than baste in place.

3. Fold top of bag over twice leaving room for your drawstring cord to fit through. Pin ears in place and stitch along bottom of the fold. This will be the front piece of your backpack.

4. Take your back fabric piece and fold over twice and stitch along bottom of fold to create drawstring casing. Sew on the pom pom tail.

5. Now you will sew the drawstring loops. Fold 3 x 3 inch squares in half and sew. Turn right side out. Pin in place at bottom sides of bag.

6. Put back of bag and front of back right sides together and sew sides and bottom of bag together. Turn right way out.

7. Insert your drawstring cord through one loop and up through the drawstring and down through the other loop. Repeat in other direction going through other side of drawstring casing at the top. Tie knots in the ends of your drawstring.

DIY Pom Pom

Making your own pom poms is easy! Here is a link to a great video tutorial by Sheep & Stitch

Use whatever yarn you have at home and you can wrap the yarn around cardboard, or whatever you find at home that works. I wrapped chunky weight yarn around a potato masher to make mine!

Bunny Ear Pattern

If you make a bunny backpack I would love to see it! Tag me on Instagram @handmadejoydesigns #handmadejoyblog

Check out my other Sewing tutorials:

Candy Wrapper Zippered Pouch Tutorial

- handmadejoy

Being stuck at home these last few months has given me lots of time to craft with my kids. I have enjoyed having the time to teach them to sew. This is a project they loved. It is a fun and easy beginner sewing project! My oldest, 13 & 10, made them by themselves. My six year old did the cutting and contact paper and then I helped him sew it together.

Yes you can sew plastic with a sewing machine! My kids were completely amazed by this! It will dull your needle, so remember to replace your needle after this project.

You will need :

– candy wrapper

– clear contact paper

– zipper

Cut your candy wrapper at the sides and bottom so you have a front and back for your zippered pouch. Then apply clear contact paper to the front of both pieces.

Next place your wrapper facing down and sew along one side of the zipper.

Place other side of wrapper facing down and sew along other side of zipper.

NOW UNZIP YOUR ZIPPER HALF WAY (don’t skip this step!) so you can turn it right side out after the next step!! Sew along the sides and bottom of your pouch.

Turn it right side out and you now have a zipped pouch! Perfect to use as a pencil pouch or whatever you want. It is a great DIY gift idea for kids to make for their friends too.

DIY Leather Tags for Hand knit or Crochet Items – Tutorial and free SVG

- handmadejoy
leather tag tutorial

Fall is when I pick up my knitting needles again and enjoy cozying up on the couch with a knitting project. I love the look of leather tags on knit/crochet items. I came up with this DIY version that is easy to create at home with some leather and heat transfer vinyl. I am giving you the free SVG file below too!

I made my tags out of leather from a thrifted bag. I am always on the lookout for leather bags and jackets when thrifting! To make these tags you will need leather (or faux leather), Heat transfer vinyl, my free cut file which you’ll find below, and a hammer and nail.

First you will cut a 1 inch by 2 inch rectangle out of the leather. Then using the hammer and Nail you will punch a hole in each corner of the tag. Be careful not to punch too close to the edge or the hole could rip. Use a piece of scrap wood under while you hammer.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE SVG

Now you will cut your design out of vinyl and apply it to your tag. Make sure when weeding the vinyl to remove the outline as shown below. It is a bit tedious because it is such a small piece. I used a hair straightener to apply my vinyl to the leather. It works great for small applications like this! I just put parchment paper between the straightener and the leather.

Now you get to sew your finished tag on and admire how professional your handknit looks!

If you make your own tags I’d love to see how they look on your hand knit or Crochet creations! Tag me on Instagram @handmadejoydesigns #handmadejoyblog

leather tag tutorial

DIY Mask Pouch for backpack or Purse – Sewing Tutorial

- handmadejoy

Are your kids going back to school? In our area the Covid cases are low so kids are going back to school in September. However they are required to wear masks in the common areas of school. I’ve made these pouches to attach to their backpacks so that their masks are easy to reach when they arrive at school! Below I have included a quick tutorial to show you how I made them.

Supplies needed: main fabric and lining fabric, velcro, amd ribbon or bias tape. The mask fabric I used is available in my Spoonflower collection.

First You will cut out 2 pieces of fabric 12 inches x 6 inches – one main fabric and one lining fabric. I wanted to have a rounded edge so I traced a lid and rounded the corners of the top. You will also cut a 3.5 inch piece of ribbon or bias tape for the loop.

Next you will sew your fabric right sides together, leaving a small gap so you can turn it right-side-out after.

Turn right-side-out and fold the bottom up to form the pouch. You will pin your ribbon/bias tape in place along the side. Sew along the edge to secure. Final step is to sew on your velcro. You can do this before you sew the pouch if you find that easier.

I used a key ring to attach it to a zipper on my son’s backpack. I love that they will always have their mask handy when they enter school in the morning!

Soft Elastic ear loops for your homemade fabric Mask

- handmadejoy
Soft diy mask earloops from headband

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be sewing a stack of cloth masks for my family, I would have thought you were crazy! But here we are. I am finding there is a shortage of elastic now that everyone is making masks, so I had to get creative when making mine.

I bought some stretchy headbands and cut them up into strips to make my ear loops. They work great and are so soft on the ears!

I was able to get four pairs of ear loops from each headband. However, that would vary depending on the stretch of the headband fabric.

I used Made Every Day’s Fabric Face Mask free pattern to make my masks. The only change I made was to do ears loops instead of the around the head ties.

I hope you try this is you are having trouble finding elastic to make masks or if you just want to try something that is softer on the ears! What is your favourite fabric mask pattern? I am going to try the 3D fitted mask style next.

signature

Custom Camper Cutting Board – Easy DIY for Camper

- handmadejoy

We are cleaning our trailer and packing it up for our first camping trip of the season. I recently bought a wood burner and wanted to make a cutting board for the camper. These little bamboo cutting boards from the Dollar Tree are the perfect size for camping. I also picked up a bamboo spatula to customize for the camper.

For the cutting board, I used my HAPPY CAMPER cut file. I printed off the png clipart file and used graphite paper to transfer the design onto the cutting board. For the spatula I just sketched the roasting marshmallows with pencil and then traced over with the wood burner.

Use Graphite paper to transfer your design onto your cutting board and utensils

I am new to wood burning but have had fun playing with it. I bought this basic Walnut Hollow wood burner from Michaels. It comes with a few different tips.

The basic wood burner I used

I can’t wait to try it out while we are camping this weekend! These would make great gifts for your friends and family.

Do you have a wood burner? What are your favourite projects to use it for?