With Christmas less than a few days away and Kwanzaa soon following, why not pull on your creative juices and save a little money at the same time with great fabric gift wrappings and bows?
For most crafters and designers alike, fabric scraps from botched projects, incomplete projects, and projects with more fabric left over than used, often times accumulate into colorful mountains of textured material eagerly waiting to be recycled and put to good use. Many times the end result is a funky reconstructed shirt, festively trimmed greeting card, or cute little fabricated doll for the holidays. But what about using that beautiful fabric as an inexpensive and easy substitute for actual store bought wrapping paper for use during the holidays and any special occasion.
Since fabric can be cut to size just like regular paper, wrapping a gift box in your child’s favorite Disney character or your wife’s favorite material is a great say I love you with an added flair! From Dora and Sesame Street prints, to brocade dress fabrics and Pima dot cottons, the perfect fabric wrap for that special someone is right under your nose. With the added benefit that recycling your fabrics can bring to our ecosystem and in turn, humankind itself, this single craft idea alone contains one of the greatest gifts you can give our planet. That same fabric you used to wrap a gift for your sister is the same fabric that she will use to make a patch for her son’s pants, and the same print her husband will transform into sellable bookmarks for the holiday. It’s the gift that just keeps on giving.
To start utilizing your fabric scraps to their fullest, the following instructions are helpful. In as little as 1-2-3, your fun and fabulous fabric wrapping will be garnishing dull shirt boxes in no time. Well, what are you waiting for? Christmas is almost here!
Supplies
· pinking sheers
· fabric scraps
· ribbons, twine
Instructions
Lay your scrap fabric out on a flat surface.
Place the gift in the center of your scrap fabric and check the fit to see if you have enough to cover all the sides once cut. Leave about a 1-2” surplus for complete coverage.
Fold the corners and sides up together to get a visual measurement then cut your fabric accordingly using your pinking shears to create a nice decorative edge.
Wrap the gift box with the fabric.
Secure it closed with scrap fabric ribbons, twine, or fabric tape.
Check out our great selection of Holiday fabric here!
Check out our large selection of novelty cotton fabric here!
Posts by J&O
Fabrics StoreLabels: back to school crafts, christmas crafts, christmas presents, consumer savvy carol, frugal, frugil, frugile, holiday crafts, holiday fabric, holiday fabric crafts, special occasions
The old school saying, “pressure makes diamonds” vibrates as a hopeful reminder that in these crazy economic times, the threat of financial hardship crushing us can serve as a motivation to use our God given imagination to create lemonade out of lemons. And not just any old lemonade either. I’m talking about the kind of lemonade that gets discovered, packaged and sold as an exotic beverage because of its unique texture and taste. You know, the kind that only you can make because there’s only one you in this whole wide world. The kind that creates a demand so great that instead of baking under the unrelenting sun as you earn just enough to get by, you instead find yourself basking under a warm and generous sun as you await your next check from the shares in your now successful beverage line. And to think, this time last year, you were fearing foreclosures and bankruptcy. Now this scenario may seem a little unrealistic when we look at the ridiculous prices on fruits and vegetables, let alone lemons right now. But if you can at least take this concept and apply it to such a degree that you are able to turn your obstacles into opportunities, then you are able to take a look around your environment and see just where you can increase your wealth with minimum expense to your pockets.
Take fabric scraps for instance. Since we are one of the largest fabric stores in the Tri-State area, we carry totes and totes of these colorful, funky and fancy ¼ yard pieces that literally collect over the years. They sit here taking up space and not paying towards the rent. They want to be put to use, but have been made to feel like they are only good for one thing…..nostalgic memories of craft projects done long ago and clippings from love momentos for family and friends.
I am sure we are not the only ones holding onto colorful pieces of satin, denim and bark cloth. With the holidays quickly approaching, maybe it might be worth the minute or two it would take to pull the scraps out of your own closets and see what creative projects you can revamp or create. Just by adding a fabricated trim to drapes, clothing or home accent pieces, you can change a plain kitchen or living room décor into a holiday oasis.
No money for gifts and Christmas is right around the corner? Turn off the part of your brain that says you aren’t a good parent if you don’t buy your children all the latest toys, and instead let that pressure make beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts that little Suzy will cherish long after Polly Pocket has lost her touch. A crafty sweatshirt with autographed inscriptions in glittery fabric pens from all her neighborhood friends or a handmade ‘no-sew’ Angelina Ballerina fleece throw for those cold winter nights can make your 8 year old feel like the princess that she is, and she would owe it all to you and your crafty ways.
Whatever you do with your time, energy, and resources is up to you. But if you want to make lemonades out of your lemons and save yourself a buck or two, consider the creative power of the imagination…then watch the resourceful artist come to life!
For some really cool novelty cotton fabrics click here!
Until next time, this is Consumer Savvy Carol signing off!
Posts by J&O
Fabrics StoreLabels: childrens crafts, consumer savvy carol, frugal, holiday fabric, novelty cottons
Halloween for some is nothing more than a night of inconvenience as little snot nosed children from far and wide seem to flock to your door at the setting of the sun and beg for their fix of red 40, high fructose corn syrup , and of course, that powdered white stuff the FDA calls ‘sugar’. You know, the stuff that makes children’s heads spin and their mouths to run a mile in a minute flat. It’s the stuff that a junkies high is made of, and an addicts low craves for. For others, Halloween is the night of frights where you are guaranteed a front row seat at a double feature showing of Michael Myers in Halloween, and then an all night viewing on your favorite sofa of Jason the comeback kid in Friday the 13th Parts 1-10. For these individuals, Halloween goes hand in hand with devil worship, haunted houses and of course, heinous acts of terror.
For the rest of us, Halloween is all about the wildest, most creative and of course, most fashionable costumes! Out of all the “secular” holidays we Americans celebrate, this one gives us permission to dress as scandalous ladies of the night , impersonate police officers, and cast spells on arch enemies with the stroke of our magic wands, all without punishment or apology. And if we are lucky, the perfect hand made costume incorporating fabulous Halloween material from our local fabric store, can win us a few extra bucks in our pockets and the title of “Queen of the Costumes” for the night.
Maybe the ancient Gaels from the Celtic culture were on to something in their beliefs that on October 31st, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead became dangerous for the living. Even then, it was a practice to wear masks and costumes in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. Interesting. Maybe the religious festivities born out of various European Pagan traditions better known as All Saint’s Day, brought just the right amount of spiritual undertone and mystery to conjure up the battle between good and evil that Halloween has been notoriously known for. Or maybe, just maybe the imagery and hype surrounding Halloween is just an amalgamation of nearly a century of work fro
m the American filmmakers and the FDA to create a demand in the consumer’s minds for the dark, the mysterious and all that CANDY!
Whatever the motivation to embrace this wickedly wild and spiritually festive event, one thing is for sure; it must be done in style. If you’re a trick or treater, carry the best bag to hold your goodies. If you are attending a costume party, make sure yours wins. And if you are joining the angels at the All Saint’s Day parade, wear the most colorful and festive outfit you can find. Hey, the freaks only come out once a year, why not join them!
Check out some of the coolest Halloween fabric on line right here!
Check out the hottest skull & cross bone fabric here!
Check out some colorful harvest fabric here!
Posts by J&O
Fabrics StoreLabels: all saints day, all souls day, costumes, halloween, halloween fabric, harvest fabric, holiday fabric, trick or treat, trick or treat fabric