What I've Been Up To + Chenille Baby Blanket Tutorial

 Well, obviously I have been a little absent lately. I've been busy with multiple projects the past few weeks that have taken up quite a bit of time. Projects like this one for a friend that just got married...

 

And this one for a newborn at my church. 

 

 

This blanket is great for any little ones that you might know, and it surprisingly simple. The one I made came out to be a 34" x 34" blanket after trimming.

Here's what you need for a 34" x 34" blanket:

1yd each of three different colors of flannel

1yd flannel for top of blanket

2 packs of 3yds extra wide double fold biased tape

Thread

 

Step 1: 

Layer all four layers of fabric together. using the picture above as a guide, I layed the green plaid flannel face down, and then the light blue face up, the gray face up and the cobalt on top face up. 

Step 2: 

Trace the first line from one corner to the opposite corner. The important thing is that the lines sewn on the flannel are done on the biased or else the fabric won't fray correctly. Once you have one line, sewing the rest is decently easy. It depends on how good you are at eyeballing the spaces but if you have a parallel spacing foot it would help, or you can draw each line but that would take a while. I opted to eyeball it and I think it came out fine. Your spaces should be about an inch apart. 

Now, sew your heart out! This may take a while to sew all the lines. It took me about an hour; maybe a touch more. I would suggest sewing the first time using the marking on the bottom layers, but, if possible, sew the rest of them on the top layer. The blanket comes out a lot smoother when you sew on the top.

 

Step 3: 

Once you have all the lines sewn, next thing to do is cut in between the seams. (Just a heads up, the edges will not be lined up perfectly, no matter how hard you tried while sewing the layers together. This will be fixed, though, so have no fear. That's why my blanket was 34" x 34" and not 36" x 36".)

Imperfections in the cutting are okay because once this part gets frayed, you won't even know they're there. This also took a little while, and I developed a hand cramp when I was only half way done. Fair warning.

  

Step 4: 

After cutting all the lines, you will want to even out the edges. You want to make sure that the blanket is square still when you do this, so I would cut the excess off the edges first, and then square it out.

 

Step 5:

Then you will want to corner off the edges.  I used an old cracked mug that I use for storing tools in my craft room, but this created a smaller curved edge. You can use anything round as a template, depending on how big of a curve you want.

 

Step 6:

Next thing is to apply the biased tape on the edges. As I mentioned, I used extra wide double fold biased tape that came in a pack of 3 yds. You will want to pin that down and sew it.

 

Step 7:

Next is to wash and dry the blanket. I used just a touch of laundry soup and then dried it with no static sheet. This is what creates the frayed look. 

 

 

Step 8: Add any last details. For me, I added a piece of fabric with a verse from Jeremiah 29:11 and the baby's name on it. I hand tacked this on so that it wouldn't create a seam on the back where it should fray. 

 

 

If you don't decide to add any details, then you're done! This blanket comes out so soft and comfortable: I want to make myself one now! But it's size and versitility, not to mention warmth, is perfect for a baby or toddler, and something that they can hold on to for years to come. 

 

 

Here's the final outcome one more time. I think this blanket is so unique and beautiful, and much more original than any other blanket I've seen.

So, again, my apologize for being sparse. At least I have a good excuse. :) 

Tata for now...

DIY: Crayon Art Tutorial

Well, this crayon art thing has been floating around Pinterest for a while now, and when I needed a baby shower gift, I thought this would be perfect! I can customize it for the kid and the crayons would look great in a nursery. The art was made for a little baby boy named Zaryk who with grace us with his presence any day now, but the shower wasn't until today. So wanted to wait to post this so I didn't spoil anything! Here's the final product!

 

Isn't it so cute?! I chose the colors black, gray, greens, and blues. I also decided to make a Z on it so that it was more personal and had a little design on it. 

Here's what you need:

A Canvas

Crayons

Hot Glue Gun

Blow Dryer 

Possibly Ribbon

Possibly Painter's Tape

So because I used a canvas that was flat instead of a gallery wrap so I had to create a way to hang the canvas. I could have framed it but I thought that this would be cute. Anyways, that why I said "possibly" ribbon. So first thing I did was hot glue that to the back of the canvas.

 

After that, collect all the crayons you want to use and arrange them how you want. You can keep the wrappers on or take them off. I took them off because I used an assortment of old crayons that were not all the same brand. 

 

Once you have them all arranged, start hot gluing them down. I would suggest putting the glue on the canvas instead of the crayon.

  

If you want to make a design to show through the crayons, now's a good time to use the painter's tape and tape that on. I would lay down some newspapers before you melt, and to get more of a dripping and runny effect you will want to prop the canvas up against something. I used a shoe box. Then you start melting with the blow dryer.....

 

Until you get it to look how you want! I would have stopped sooner but I needed it to cover the entire Z so it was clearly outlined. 

  

Remove the tape an voila! 

 

I really like how this came out!

  

I hope you enjoyed this! Have a wonderful week everyone!