DIY - Wine Bottle Koozie

I love creating something 

NEW from something OLD!  

The other day I was wearing a sweater and my husband told me it looked "frumpy".  I didn't mind the sweater, but I appreciated his honesty, so I started thinking about what I could make with it because I liked the overall look.  In five minutes,....I had myself a wine bottle Koozie.  Fact: nobody needs a wine koozie, but you know I'm a firm believer that "ordinary is boring", so I pulled one of my Francis Coppola Wine bottles off the rack and wrapped it in this nice, cozy sweater.  It's also a great hostess gift idea - if you're taking a bottle to a party!  

See below for the easy steps:

1.  Turn sweater wrong side out & remove sleeves at the armpit.

2.  Line sweater up next to bottle for length dimensions & trim.

3.  Stitch the raw edge end of sweater.
4.  Slip your bottle of wine in sweater & pat yourself on the back.
5.  Pop a cork, pour yourself a glass, sit back, relax, & sip away!

Sew & Tell - My Soap is Dope!

This is my soap dispenser before. Naked. I decided to pull some scrap fabric and make a cover for it.

I'm fully aware that this is slightly reminiscent of a child's kindergarten craft project - & I think that's why I like it.  As you know,....I think ordinary is boring.  So this little cover takes it from Bad to Rad.

My soap dispenser after.  Dressed to the 9's.

It's Sew Saturday...

...and what makes today different than all the other Sew Saturdays? Well, today I'm not sewing on fabric. ...I'm making a little switch-a-roo to paper.   "PAPER"? - You say? Yes, paper.  Why?  Because ordinary is boring, so I decided to whip up - or rather stitch up some invitation sleeves for our neighborhood party. ...And I thought I'd share the easy four-step instructions for this very inexpensive project.  Let's get started!

Supplies needed: You will need thread, scissors, textured scissors (optional), paper bag, and a lighter.

Step 1: Cut out a piece of paper double the length of your invitation allow a little extra space on the sides to allow room for invitation and for seam allowance.

Step 2: Stitch the sides closed.  I did a standard straight stitch, but you can do any stitch.  Don't be shy - get as crazy as your creative little heart desires!

Step 3: Cut off the top.  I started off using these textured scissors to give it a rough-torn look, however in the next step you will find that it's really not necessary.  I decided to keep this step in the mix in case you don't feel comfortable doing #4.

Step 4: Warning this is a stinky step! Grab your lighter and singe the top-opening section of the invitation sleeve.  Blow out the flame quickly, it only needs a second to singe down.   Be-careful.  If you don't feel 100% safe doing this, grab a spray bottle - for the unlikely event that you need to spray out the fire.  If you don't use texturing scissors, the flame will have the same effect on the paper.

Here is a close up of what step 4's effect does to your paper.

The finished product.

The aftermath - paper shavings and ashes.

Click on above images to enlarge.