Bag for Silent Brass System

Last year my husband bought me a Silent Brass System for my trombone. I love it, but hate having to put it back in its boring box every time I use it.  Of course, crafty me said "I can make something for it!"  And although it took a year to do, I finally got around to making it.  I only took after pictures because from the beginning I thought this was going to be a disaster! I'm not the best at improvising sewing.  I like to have instructions.  

So here it is, my new storage system for my Silent Brass System!  I bought some quilting pieces from Hobby Lobby that as soon as I saw I fell in love with.  I'm not quite ready for small square patches but I figured strips would be easy to do!

This is a mouthpiece holder.  I made it to hold two of my trombone mouthpieces.  I made it so that it has a flap that ties shut.

Here is a picture of it open and with the two mouthpieces inside.

And this is the backside of it.

These are two smaller bags I made to hold the wires and sound control for my mute.  I used binding for the first time and also sew on Velcro.  The Velcro was an afterthought, I should have sewn it onto the binding first so you wouldn't see the thread from sewing on the Velcro.  Oh well, for next time!

Look I even lined the insides!

 And last is the bag for the mute itself.  I made it similar to my purse I made a few months ago.  I wanted it soft yet strong, and since I was only using basic fabric I decided to add a layer of batting and a layer of interface  That made it very thick to sew through!

Here's what it looks like in the front with the flap closed.

This is with the flap open.

The backside.

And the inside.

Vinyl Sticker

So I was going to make one of those melting crayon art pictures and put on a vinyl sticker to block the crayon.  But since I can't decide what to make, that project is on hold.   So what do I do now with this roll of sticky vinyl I bought?

Hum....

I know, make a computer sticker.

  I really want one to kind of jazz up my laptop.  So the whole way home from band practice, I'm thinking how much fun this is going to be.  Then it hits me, I bought black vinyl and my computer is black.  Hum, that doesn't sound like the best mix.  So now I'm experimenting.

Here's what I used:
*Vinyl (i bought the kind for the Cricut machine, oh gosh how I really want one of those!)
*Printed cardstock (mine was of course, music related, JoAnne's was having a sale and I bought a whole pack of music related paper)
* Cutter ( I used my new Precision Cutter I bought from Michael's)
*Scissors
*Mod Podge

Here's what I did:

1.  I found a cool clip art from online.  It's been circulated so much, I don't know who to give credit to for it.

2.  I edited the clip art using my Adobe Illustrator free trial version.  I love that too! But it costs way too much for me to buy it, so I'm enjoying my free trial for 30 days, then will probably go into withdrawals!

3.  Next I printed the design directly on my cardstock.  I printed only the outline, so it's very faint.

4.  I cut out a square around my design and attached it with Mod Podge to a square of vinyl.  The vinyl rolled up for the picture.

5.  Then I applied a two layers of Mod Podge to seal it.

6.  After everything dried I cut out the design.  This was so hard! Maybe I didn't let the Mod Podge dry all the way, or my knife wasn't sharp enough to cut through all my layers.  It took forever and if you look up close it doesn't have the cleanest lines. I guess more reason to get a Cricut! Hint Hint to Ryan since my birthday is coming up! Oh well.

 Here's the finished product on my computer, I'll have to post in a week or two to update how well it stays on.  I'm a little worried about my paper layer peeling off!  

Paper Basket

It's Friday and it's raining and I'm bored.  The house is clean (other than the dishes in the sink) and I wanted to do something.  So I decided that something on Pinterest would be fun.  So this evening I made:

A PAPER BASKET!!!!

It was actually quite fun, for me at least.  I used a tutorial I found online that was very simple to do.  I tried to take pictures of all the steps, but I think I probably forgot some.

I used:
20 sheets of paper
Paper Cutter
Tape
Heavy Book

Here's how I made it.

1.  Cut all of the sheets in half the long way.  Hot dog style. : ) Don't mind the hole punches.  I used some old school paper.  I folded it so that the lettering was on the outside, you can do it either way, or use colored paper.

2.  Then you fold those pieces in half.

3.  Open up the pieces and fold the ends to meet at the center fold.

4.  Then refold on the center fold.

5.  Next you need to combine them to make long strips.  Combine two strips to make a long strip.  I used 14 long strips for the bottom/side edges. I just overlapped the edges by 2 inches and taped into place. This picture shows the different folds.  The one on the right is the long strip.

6.  Then I made 3 really long strips to weave around the outside.  I again overlapped the strips, this time using 4 pieces.

7.  I laid out 7 long strips and tape the edges together so they wouldn't move. Then I weaved the other 7 the other way so that I formed the base starting 6 inches from the edge.  I didn't take a picture of this step, but the tutorial I am linking to has a picture.  I used the book to hold the edges down when I first started to weave the strips.

8.  Once the bottom was done I creased the edges up.

9.  Next I weaved the 3 really long strips around the basket.  I used paperclips to hold into place.

10.  Once done I folded the top edges over and tucked them under the top strip.  This was the hardest part! I kept getting impatient when it didn't fold right.  So there are a few that have tape holding them down.  I used paperclips on each to strip to hold them out of the way while I was folding.

Now that it's done, I'm thinking of putting something over it to "seal" it.  That way it'll last longer.  And I'm going to play around with the sizes to see if I can make a smaller yet taller basket.

I got my idea from Jane Avion at http://janeavion.blogspot.com/2009/10/recycled-paper-basket.html

Book Shelf Ledge

I found a really easy tutorial on Pinterest on how to create your own hanging book shelf ledge.  I did basically the same thing, except I used a Kreg Jig and screws to attach the wood together.
















So here's what I used to build one shelf.

Kreg Jig (love it, my new favorite tool!)
6 screws
Drill
1x2 cut to desired length
2 1x4 cut to same length
2 Toggle Bolts

Using the Kreg Jig was so simple, I just drilled three holes on each side of my bottom piece.

Then I screwed on the sides.

Painted two coats on it.

Drilled two holes on the back piece, and hung it up on the wall.

So easy!

Here's a link to the tutorial I used: http://classyclutter.blogspot.com/2011/12/diy-book-shelf-ledges-easy-inexpensive.html

Doll Shelves

 I am so proud of this project!!! Here's what I made:

Okay so how did I make this?? Well it took a few days, only because I didn't work straight through, and I was hopping around between a few projects.  And I didn't have instructions, only a picture I found off of Pinterest. 

1.  I measured where I was going to hang the doll shelves.  I then went to Lowe's (love that store!) and had them cut two pieces of wood.  At first I was going to make 4 shelves, but figured that was too many.  Plus I didn't have enough drawer pulls to hang with (more on that later)  I bought a 1x3x4 and a 1x4x4 and had them cut it in half, so they are I think 24 inches long. I am very limited on space and I didn't want them sticking out too far.

2.  I then painted the pieces white.  I knew that I was going to use color in my fabric so I went with a  basic white; plus I had it already for another project.  Why waste??

3.  I finally finished painting them, it took two days because I waited for one side to dry before I painted the other.  I only put on one coat of paint.  I admit it, I got lazy and wanted to finish the project.  I have people coming to Bunco next week and I wanted this project done!

4.  So before I even started the painting I went to Hobby Lobby to buy fabric.  I didn't know how much I needed, or how long it needed to be.  So I bought 2 yards.  BIG mistake.  I didn't even use a yard, and I had to start over! As I'm pushing around Hobby Lobby I find these awesome drawer pulls marked down. And at 3 dollars each, I don't really know how "marked down" that is!  But I fell in love with them.  Only problem, they only had 5.  And I needed 8.  So I grabbed 4 of them.  Then I look some more and found the black ones.  They only had 3 (what's with the odd numbers??)  So I got two.  And that's how I decided I was only doing 3 shelves. 

5.  I bought 3 fabrics.  The outside (stripes), the inside (pink/brown), and the middle (a canvas material that was marked down) So the following steps are what I did the SECOND time through, because the first time was trial and error!

6.  I cut my canvas first.  I decided that I wanted to cut each strip 2 inches wide.  I don't know what it measures out to after I sewed it.  I'm sure less.  I used the entire width of the canvas (which was 33 inches)  The length I cut out was 12 inches (i needed 6 strips, so 6 x 2 in = 12 in)

7.  Next I layered my fabric on the ironing board.  I put the striped fabric right side up then placed the pink/brown fabric wrong side up on top of it.  I then put my cut canvas over them both.  I pinned into place and generously cut out my large rectangle.

8.  I moved back to my table now, I had a bunch of cutting to do, and wanted to sit for it.  So the first thing I did was clean up my edges.

8.  Next I measure out 2 inch strips and marked cutting lines.  I'm still getting used to this rotary cutter and cannot make a straight line!  So having it already drawn for me really helped! Then I cut all the strips out.  

9.  So I mentioned I'm still new at this cutting business.  My blade was really dusty from all the fibers or what not on it.  So I thought I'd just wipe it off real quick. And I thought "Okay it's sharp, I'll use a piece of discarded fabric to clean with"  HAHAHA  I cut the fabric and my finger! And earlier I cut the ironing board cover too... Thankfully no blood (and there was a lot of blood) got on my fabric!

10.  So now I'm done with the cutting, bandaged finger and all.  Next I sewed them, leaving one end open so I can turn them right side out. This is where I discovered I did it wrong on the first try.  

11.  I used a drumstick to turn them out.  I pushed the drumstick into the sewed end and pulled the fabric down and over (if that makes sense).  I'm at a loss of words here on how to explain how I did this.  It was 2:30 in the morning and I was getting sleepy, somehow my mind was still working enough to figure out how to turn them.  You can't see, but my little one decided to use the table as a fort and is fast asleep at my feet! 

12.  So yay they are all turned correctly now.  Just a quick press on the ironing board and a trim so they are all the same length, and time for bed!














13.  Opps I didn't take pictured for this next step.  I put the fabric through the drawer pulls and sewed the ends together.  Yeah that's it.

14.  Then with the help of my father, we hung them up. We decided the height of the bottom one, hung it up, then moved our way up.  It was easy this way to figure out the spacing.

 Here's a link to the picture I based mine off of: http://www.beeskneesbungalow.com/2011/06/bachmans-2011-summer-ideas-house-pt-iii.html

Alphabet Blocks

I found an idea on Pinterest to work on letters for my little one.  I bought some cheap Jenga blocks from Ross.  Then I labeled one for each letter, both uppercase and lowercase.  On the leftovers I wrote some basic sight words and opposites.  I left a few blank to add to later on.  

Here's a link to where I found the idea from: http://tutorialadventures.blogspot.com/2011/10/easy-wooden-alphabet-blocks-tutorial.html

Sweet Treat Sayings

 I sent Ryan a Valentine's Day box...in January.  I wanted to make sure it would get there in time!  I found a great idea online that had some awesome printable sayings.  So heck yeah, I used it.  Ryan said that everyone in his office thought I made up the sayings.  Nope not my words, but I told him they could keep thinking that!

Here's a link to the printables and where I got the idea from : http://www.thedatingdivas.com/erika/quick-sweet-treats/