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Decorating With Fabric: Tutorial

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Today I wanted to make a frame of sorts for some photographs that I love. I have been wanting to put them up on my dining room wall, but I don’t have the funds to get them matted and framed. So, until the day when I do have the money, I decided to use fabric that I love as a backdrop for the photos. The first thing I did was iron the fabric to get all the wrinkles out.

Cut the fabric about two inches larger than your cardboard

Cut the fabric about two inches larger than your cardboard

I got a piece of cardboard that was several inches larger than the photograph. Then, I cut the fabric about two inches larger than the cardboard all the way around. I used straight pins to hold the fabric in place until I could put a piece of packing tape to hold it to the cardboard. You could also just use the straight pins without the tape.

Pin the fabric to the cardboard, then use packing tape

Pin the fabric to the cardboard, then use packing tape

Once you have all four sides of the fabric in place, cut a piece of yarn or twine about two inches longer than the piece of cardboad is wide. Tie a knot in each end.

Cut a piece of yarn about two inches longer than your piece is wide

Cut a piece of yarn about two inches longer than your piece is wide

Put the end of a straight pin into the knot, then push it into one side of the cardboard. Do the same thing on the other side, measuring to make sure both ends of the yarn are the same distance from the top of the piece.

Measure to make sure both ends of the yarn are the same distance from the top

Measure to make sure both ends of the yarn are the same distance from the top

I used small, almost invisible straight pins to attach the photograph to the finished “frame”. You could also use double sided tape or a hot glue gun.

Use small straight pins to attach the photograph to the "frame"

Use small straight pins to attach the photograph to the “frame”

Hang with a straight pin in the wall

Hang with a straight pin in the wall

To hang my finished pieces, I used a straight pin that I pushed into the wall. The project is very lightweight so it doesn’t need a big nail to hang it.

My friend and co-worker at the Grand Canyon took this photograph of Aspens in autumn.

My friend and co-worker at the Grand Canyon took this photograph of Aspens in autumn.

I love how my dining room wall turned out:

My dining room wal: Art that I love!

My dining room wal: Art that I love!

 

 

 

 

New Blogs And Websites You Should See

Every once in a while, I tell you about some new bloggers I have come across. This time, they are all people I know personally!

Geogypsie...In The Meantime

Geogypsy…In The Meantime

The first one is a good friend, who is an interpretive ranger at the Grand Canyon. She has been writing at Geogypsy  for quite some time, but just started a new blog, called Geogypsy…In The Meantime. She wants her first blog to be more travel related, and the new one will be more personal stuff. Take a look, and let her know I sent you.

Southerners In The Great While North

Southerners In The Great While North

Next, my oldest daughter, Becca, who moved from Denver to Calgary a little over a year ago. She has started a beautiful blog called Southerners In The Great White North to write about moving to Canada, her travels, and her yummy cooking and gorgeous crafty things she makes. (let’s just say the apple didn’t fall very far from the tree). She has also just opened an Etsy shop, Sweet Tea Alchemy, where she has some pretty pretties listed already!

Seth's Programming Website

Seth’s Programming Website

My son, Seth, has a website that is dedicated to geek stuff, programming, and related things. It is called Seth’s Programming Website.  He is most proud of his recent project tutorial on how to make a Raspberry Pi Keyboad Case. Check it out if you’re into the geeky stuff.

Do you have any new blogs you want to tell me about? I’m always looking for new places to read.

 

 

Grandma’s Gift Guide

Are you still trying to figure out what to give Grandma for Christmas? This Grandma has some ideas for you! From very personal gifts such make up brushes, to some Charitable Giving ideas, I have searched high and low for things that any Grandma (or Mom or Aunt or Sister or Daughter) would love to receive. I will be featuring one item on my list each day from November 1 through December 15, Monday thru Friday, with some Stocking Stuffer ideas each Saturday. Come back often to see what’s on my list, because there will be lots of giveaways, too!  Just click on the featured item pic to get to there. (but you have to wait until the date to see it!)

 

http://fabgrandma.com/2012/12/grandmas-gift-guide-elis-cheesecake-giveaway/

November 1

November 2

November 3

November 4

Grandma’s Gift Guide

November 5

November 6

 

 

November 7

November 8

November 9


November 10

November 11

November 12

November 13

November 14
Somerset Song Salad Plates
November 15

November 16

November 17

November 18

Grandma’s Gift Guide

November 19

November 20

November 21

November 22

November 23

November 24


November 25

Grandma’s Gift Guide

November 26

November 27

November 28

November 29

 

November 30

December 1

The Stocking Was Empty Today!

December 2

Grandma’s Gift Guide

December 3

 

December 4

December 5


December 6


December 7

December 8

December 9

Grandma’s Gift Guide

December 10

Mackenzie Chocolate Owl Backpack

Pottery Barn Kids
December 11

December 12


December 13

Just Jen T-Shirts


December 14

December 15

Stocking Stuffer Saturday

December 16

Giveaway Winner’s Announced!

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My Goal As A Blogger

Trisha over at Momdot is hosting another Blog Hop. This week, she asked “What are your goals as a blogger?” and “How did you get started?”

The second question is easiest to answer, so I will tell you that first. My son, who is in the Air Force, was stationed in England, and met his wife, Sarah, over there. I wanted her to get to know me and the rest of the family before she came to the United States to live. A sort of WELCOME to her. In the beginning, I just wrote as if I was writing to my family.

Over time, things changed. My husband and I worked at campgrounds and resorts, so I wrote about where we were, posting pictures of places we went, and telling about our sightseeing trips. I found out I had to eat gluten free, so I started writing about recipes and products I had tried. I love to sew, so my sewing projects soon became topics of blog posts. And THEN! One day I got an email from someone asking me if I would like to try their gluten free product and write a review. Who, ME? I was flattered by that, so I said yes, and soon I was writing reviews too.

And THEN! I got an email offering to pay me to write articles on another website. OMG! ME? Me, who had failed ninth grade English 4 times was being asked to write for money! Of course I said yes. Who wouldn’t. I did that for a couple of different websites for about a year or so. And THEN! I was getting offers to write for pay on my very own blog! All this made me feel so good! I could call myself a writer because I was getting PAID to write.

So, what are my goals for the future of my blog?

More money from writing and advertising:

I want to be able to make money from writing this blog.It’s not so much that I want to flood my blog with advertising, nor do I think that the advertising is a turn off for my readers, it’s just a reality that my social security, which I may or may not be able to draw in just a few years, is not going to be enough to meet my needs financially. So, if I could make $1500 to $2000 a month consistently, that would be wonderful. I’m not to that point yet, but I know that it is not such an unreachable goal.

More reviews of products of interest to mature women:

I would still like to continue to write reviews of products that are of interest to women of “a certain age”. It is no secret that I am a grandmother who turned 60 years old this year. I love to write reviews, and if it is a really nice product, I like to include a giveaway as well. While we as grandmothers are still interested in the cute baby products, we have other interests and needs that are different from when we were young moms. Send me some cute handbags, some flat shoes, some steamed crabs or some steaks from a gourmet company. Send me some products for mature women. I’d rather try out a moisturizer than a perfume. A pretty serving platter than a baby stroller. Or a set of wine glasses than a set of baby  bottles.

Reviews of home remodeling and decorating products:

I would also like to review items for remodeling and decorating my house, so I can turn it into a home. We bought it in December 2011, but we haven’t actually lived in it yet. We have no furniture, no refrigerator, no stove, no curtains, no anything for it yet, so I am wide open to pitches for those kinds of things.

I want to be invited on trips, and to attend some blog conferences:

I see some of my favorite bloggers going on trips to learn about cool products and places. I would like to be invited to some events and trips too. I think it would be fun to meet other bloggers, and to be able to bring my experiences back to my blog. I have registered for my first blog conference, Food Blog South, and am so excited to be going. I hope to learn more about writing about and photographing food there, as well as meeting some other bloggers in person. The social aspect of blogging is really important to me, and this is my first time stepping out from behind the computer to meet up with some fabulous people.

Increase my audience:

I would really like to be able to increase the number of readers I have. I may or may not be an interesting person, but I do try to make what I write be as interesting as possible.  I try to include a few sewing tutorials, some recipes, some solutions to problems that I have run into along the way. I share my life, my dreams, the ups, the downs.

And lord knows I have written about subjects that seem to be TMI, but if I am having a problem that I can find nothing about when googling, then there are others out there who have the same problems who need information. I believe that we as women need to share our stories so that when we have a problem with itching, we can see that we are not alone.

I would like to have more followers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr.  So, if you have been reading my blog for a while, and haven’t followed me on any of these places, please do, and leave me a comment to let me know.

Finally, I would like for my audience to comment more on the things I write. Tell me I’m crazy, tell me you love me, tell me your thoughts. What would you like to see more of here? What products would you like to see reviews and giveaways for? Do you have any sewing questions you’d like answered? Any tutorials you’d like to see? Yes, it’s my blog to write whatever I want to write, but I’d really like to know what you, my readers, would like to see more of here.

So, there it is, my ambitious new plan for Fabgrandma.com. What do you think?

 

Crocheted Neck Warmer Tutorial

I have had a little bit of time this week to work on something other than, gasp, sewing. Yes, I CAN do other things.  I decided to make a little “mini-scarf” or neck warmer. I used cotton crochet yarn because I don’t like wool up against my neck. This little scarf if just right to wear when you don’t need a big jacket:

my new mini scarf

 

It goes nicely with my favorite sweater

 

it's all single and double crochet, easy to do

crocheted mini scarf, crochet projects, neckwarmer

Braid the ends, and make a tassle and you're done.

It was a fun little project to do while I was sitting waiting for other things to happen, and I got a nice little wardrobe accessory to boot!

To make this:

Chain stitches to be the lengtht you want (measure around your neck). # of stitches must be divisible by 5+3 stiches. I used 73 stitches.

Rows 1-3 Single crochet three rows. 4th row, *Double crochet three, chain two, skip next two stiches*,  continue to end of row, ending with double crochet three. 5th thru 7th rows, single crochet.

Cut 18 strands of yarn, 18 inches long each. Attach 9 strands on each end of the crocheted piece. To do this fold each strand in half, and pull the loop through with crochet hook. Once you have all the strands attached, you’ll have 18 ends on each side. (2X9).  Using two strands for each part of the braid, braid the strands into three braids. Then braid the three braids together. Wrap a piece of yarn tightly around the ends, about3.5 inches from the unbraided end, and tie tightly. Unbraid to the wrapped piece of yarn, then trim tassle to 3 inches. You’re done.

6 Quick Sewing Projects That Make Great Gifts

If you like to sew like I do, here are some quick to make sewing projects that make pretty nice gifts. Just click on the picture to take you to the project. If  you’ve got an hour, you’ve got time to make one of these!

Zippered Cosmetic Bag

 

one hour apron

One Hour Apron from Stop Staring and Start Sewing

 

One hour oven mitt pattern

Oven Mitt Pattern from Skip To My Lou

 

cotton candy kitty pattern

Soft Kitty Doll from Sew 4 Home

 

harry potter doll pattern

Harry Potter Doll Tutorial from My Paper Crane (MY daughter would LOVE this!)

 

onesie with tie tutorial

Cute onesie with a tie tutorial from Brassy Apple

 

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