Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy Day of the Saint P!

I'm not sure why. It's not like we did much more than wearing green and pinching each other growing up, but I love holidays, and for some reason, this year I got really gung ho for Saint Patrick's Day. And since there are several fabric related bits, I wanted to share it with you!

Craft projects tend to scare me sometimes (I'm a seamstress, not a crafter--despite being related, knowing about one doesn't necessarily mean you can do the other well, and I'm an apparel seamstress, so even curtains intimidate me!) but my friend Jenny is super clever with crafts and has been trying to ease me into some fun holiday decor ideas:

I added some of her scrapbook paper to leftover blocks from a Christmas project (told you I wasn't crafty~I only got as far as painting these ones, but at least I made one stack into a mini-tree! Luckily, green worked for my purposes). We mod-podged cut-out letters (cut by a Cricut machine) on the front,

and since it's on my coffee table, I decided to put letters on the back as well!
(Pardon the lighting--I never get home in time to use the natural light!)

We painted these pots together, using glass and tile medium, to create the perfect pot o' gold, and dumped some dollar store pirate treasure inside for bling! (Scroll down to see where I placed it in my room)

I found the cutest St Patty's Day Subway art on eighteen25 and painted my dollar store frame to match it. Add a plant and a super cute wooden Shamrock from JoAnns and you've got a vignette ($3 since I had a half off coupon! It's really a door hanging type, but I tied a wooden block behind it to act as an easel--kinda proud that I thought of that!)

And, the pièce de résistance... a fabric rainbow!


I have so much fabric that an entire wardrobe is dedicated to it--this used to be clothing storage, but when we moved and got a tiny bit more closet space, my husband said I could commandeer the wardrobe, and that I did!


Among all of those items, I didn't really have the pretty purple or orange I was hoping for, so I just raided my closet for those. You'll notice the purple is a shimmery skirt, and the orange is a sweater that is actually one of my favorites for fall. Obviously I went for texture and sheen as a priority in all of my fabric choices here!


I started with a base shape (re-using some pumpkins from fall decor stacked in a triangle--I love it when I can use something for more than one season!) and figured tape would hold it together pretty well...NOPE!


I was frustrated and sticky before it occurred to me to use my strengths--I work with fabric all the time. I know how to deal with fabric. Tape is NOT the way to deal with fabric--pins are!




Once I got that through my thick skull, it was cake! I literally felt like I was draping a dress on a mannequin, which made way more sense to my sewing brain, especially considering my recent projects :)
No sense in cutting the fabric when I still want to make other things out of it--I just wrapped it all around the base and covered the back with the extra red fabric. Ain't it pretty?
I made a "cloud" out of some white knit fabric, and placed my Pot o' Gold at the end of the rainbow!


(Note, the quote in the frame right above says "Nothing is as Obnoxious as Other People's Luck" by F. Scott Fitzgerald--I got the PDF from Less Cake, More Frosting)


Oh, and I just couldn't resist this St Patty's Day trick!


When a LCMF mentioned dropping some food coloring in the toilet and telling her kids the Leprechaun must have used it, the hubby and I decided we had to find some excuse to do this to Chance and  Jenny! We left them this surprise last night, but still haven't heard anything from them, so we're a bit nervous that they are planning something in revenge! Oh, my! I feel so trick-sy today, so this little Leprechaun may just see how her co-workers react as well! Leave a comment and let me know what tricks are up your sleeve for today!


P.S. I've also been working on another fabric related craft project, and I made sure to take pictures for a tutorial because I am SO in love with it that I want you to try it too! Here's your clue:


Check back soon for the reveal!






Update: I'm linking up! Check out these fabulous blogs and their linky parties!

3 comments:

Jenny @ An Apple for the Crafter said...

I haven't said anything because I wanted to tell you the whole story!. We cracked up and even took pictures. You should have seen Chance's face when I said that he needed to come get a picture of the toilet. Priceless.

I LOVE your fabric rainbow. So clever that I blogged about it too...

http://anappleforthecrafter.blogspot.com/2011/03/tmjs-take-on-pot-o-gold.html

Nicole@Thrifty Decorating said...

Thanks so much for linking up.....what cute projects!!

The Bailey Family said...

So fun, Tana! I love all the St. Patty's Day stuff. I need some of that for my house. Sadly, I totally forgot about the holiday, and none of us wore green or did any pinching or anything. Pretty lame, huh? Thanks for all your comments on my blog:)