Ashley must be the most celebrated Birtdhay-ee of all time. She has had 1, 2, THREE posts in a row about her birthday! Way to go Ash!
SO, I told you last Monday I’d let you know what she got gift-wise for her big birthday bash… here it is!
Ashley and I both just have an understanding that when it comes to any sort of gift giving occasion (Birthday, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, etc…) that gifts between us MUST be handmade. Again, never spoken out loud…just understood! I think we just both love the idea of not only giving something out of love but investing the time and energy into making it as well to make sure they don’t miss the point! You’re loved OKAY!?
I wanted my gift to Ashley to be something that would make her smile and also have a sentimental quality to it. She and her husband, J, have been gradually building a work studio for her in the back of her house. Fresh paint, new lighting, new furniture, the works! So my thought, was to make her something to hang in her new studio that would inspire her creativity!
The result? A stitched/ stretched canvas made out of scrap materials of our past thrifted TCAT projects that spells out “LOVE” to remind her that this is what she loves to do and that she’s great at it. Awww… 
Here’s how I did it:
- Gather your favorite scrap materials (some for the letters and one larger piece for the background) They can be mix-matched or all uniform, whichever way you’d like! Press with iron so it’s nice and flat!
(You’l also need, a sewing machine, scissors, newspaper, a marker, a canvas, pins, staple gun, and ribbon)
- Start by drawing on some newspaper and cut out your word of choice. In this case L O V E. Using newspaper as a pattern works great for lots of projects! It’s nice and light like real sewing pattern paper and is usually free! woo hoo!
- Now take your newspattern (new word!!!) letters and pin on to scrap fabric.
- Cut out!
- Lay them out on the larger piece and decide exactly how you want them, then pin into place!
- Dust off the old sewing machine and start a-stitchin’! I left my ends nice and frayed to keep the nostalgic “scrap” feel about it.
- Next, pull out that old canvas painting from freshmen year that you’re not so proud of and give it a new purpose! Cover it up!
- Use that staple gun to secure it into place.
(p.s.- if you don’t already have a staple gun…get one….they’re such a good investment! especially if you like to cover chairs as much as I do!)
- Next, flip it over and grab that coordinating scrap ribbon you have (I cut mine in half length-wise so it would be skinnier) and attach to the edges. Staple gun OR hot glue if you prefer!
Voila! A Beautifully handmade craft with sentimental memories too!
QUIZ: Can you name the previous TCAT projects that some of the materials are from? Bet you can!
These might help…. HINT HINT HINT
BONUS PROJECT
Ever heard of a Lavender Sachet?
It’s basically a little pillow filled with dried lavender buds that smell AMAZING!!!!!!! (they were leftover from my wedding) You can put them in your closet to make your clothes smell good, or use them to nap with for a relaxing scent to waft you off to dream land.
And if there’s two things I know about Ashley, it’s 1.) She loves butterflies and 2.) She’s a major NAP-oholic
Here’s how you combine the two to get a cute and cozy Lavender Sachet:
- Get scrap fabric from your amazing thrifted finds, sewing machine, lavender buds and go!
- Sew butterfly out of scraps. I used shoulder pads as wings!!! Complete artistic freedom here… nothing is wrong!
- Attach your butterfly onto one side of fabric for sachet
- With fabric “wrong side out” stitch together a small square and leave 2 inch opening at the end.
- Turn sachet right side out and pour lavender buds in! (roll a piece of paper to make a funnel!)
- Stitch close your opening and you’re done!!! It smells amazing and will be sooooo relaxing come nap time!
And that’s how you handmake a couple inexpensive (yet rich in love) gifts for your friends!
I’ll let you in on a secret though….Ashley actually got something else for her birthday… and it was…dare I say, “Store-bought” eek! It was totally worth it though! She got a new sewing dress form!!!! It’s super nice and is going to be so handy for all of her new thrifting projects!!! I think we feel about the new dress form like the Mythbusters must feel about their crash dummy, Buster. They’d make a cute couple…
p.s. if you’d like to help name the dress from, hop on over to our Facebook Page and tell us your suggestion!
I believe that’s all for Ashley’s Birthday post. We had a lot to cover with all the great stuff going on! Glad we got to share! Let us know what your favorite part of Ashley’s Birthday Soiree was!
Price breakdown…. literally completely FREE with leftovers from previous projects. Except for the dress form which was found on amazon.com.
Go Be Crafty,
Ellen