Sunday

Cute Chair Covers for Events & Holidays

Perfect for the kiddos to help make. I want to try the Birthday Throne Chair Covers for my daughters 18th birthday.  I am inviting a group of her friends to have a "Lock In" where we will serve snack finger foods, movies, games & music all night:) 

I love all crafts, except sewing!  My plan is to use pillow cases instead of making the slipcovers. Perfect for the party because they can use them. For my daughter, I bought zebra, pink & blue felt for her name and decorations. I will use polka dot, stripe and zebra ribbon for the candles. And of course, super cute fringe for the edge.  For her friends, I will personalize with their name and decorate in their favorite colors. My daughter and her friends all graduate this year so I may use school colors, 2013, and the sport they are involved in. I will post a pics of my completed project when I finish. Fun!

My younger daughter likes to sew and I am going to see if she will make me some pretty chair covers using this idea.  However, I want the back to be the full length of the chair. 


MY IDEAS/CHANGES:
  • Pillow Case instead of making Slip Cover 
  • Cute Patterned Ribbon for Candles
  • Ric Rac Ribbon for Candles
  • Make Personalized Chair Cover/Pillow Case for Sleep Over
  • Cute Fringe on the Bottom :)
  • Short Ruffled Tulle on the Bottom for TuTu
  • Long Ruffled Tulle on the Bottom for Princess
  • Make the Back the Full Length of the Chair
MATERIALS:
  • Felt Fabric
  • Glue or Needle & Thread
  • Pins  
  • Repositionable Glue (We used Aleene's Spritz-On Reposition-It Tacky Glue, available at craft.)
SLIPCOVER INSTRUCTIONS:
This easy slipcover, made from a few yards of felt, serves as a backdrop for a year's worth of decorations. 
  1. First, decide how far down the back of your chair you want the slipcover to hang. Measure from that point up and over the top of the chair, then down to the seat (or stop at the arms if your chair has them). This is the total length of felt you'll need for each cover. Now measure the width of the chair back at its widest point; add to that measurement the thickness of the chair back and 1 inch for the seams (1/2 inch per side).
  2. For each chair, cut a piece of white felt to fit your measurements. Ours ran 1 1/2 yards long and 2/3 yard wide.
  3. Fold the felt over the chair and pin the sides in place. Remove the cover and sew up the sides or glue them together with fabric glue. If you sew them, turn the cover inside out 
DECORATION INSTRUCTIONS
Treat your birthday boy or girl with this personalized chair cover, adding one candle with each passing year. You can draw the letters of your child's name freehand or use a stencil. Download Birthday Throne Template 1 and Birthday Throne Template 2.
 
(To view the .pdf files, you'll need Adobe Reader which is available for free from the Adobe site.)
  1. Trace the templates on to felt (or other lightweight materials such as ribbon) and then cut them out. Dimensions will depend on the size of your chair covers.
  2. Spray the back of each piece with a thin layer of repositionable glue, then press them onto the slipcovers or layer them on top of one another. (If little hands peel off any of them, just apply another layer of glue and press them back on.) Tip: If you get a clump of glue, spread it out with a paintbrush so it doesn't leave a mark on the white felt.
  3. Store the pieces in plastic bags, preferably with the sticky sides facing away from one another. Next time you use them, spritz on another layer of glue.

    IMPORTANT:  If using a pillow case or a lighter fabric other than felt to make the slipcover, an insert may be needed for the corners to stand up properly.  
    Solution 1 - Iron: Use heavy starch to iron the top and corners
    Solution 2 - Batting: Place quilt batting in the top of the pillow case/slipcover.

    Template & Instructions by: FamilyFun.go.com 
      
    -----------------------------------------------

    I have included additional pics & links of templates that are offered for the Chair Covers.


    Turkey Chair Cover instructions & template are here.



    Snowman Chair Cover instructions & template are here.

      

    Valentine Chair Cover instructions & template are here.

     

    Bunny Chair Cover instructions & template are here.



     Fourth of July Chair Cover instructions & template are here. 


     
    Ghost Chair Cover instructions & template are here.

     
     
    Would love to see and hear your ideas. Be creative :)

Saturday

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is a favorite for cupcakes, muffins. Perfect carrot cake, pumpkin muffins.  Yummy goodness!


Ingredients:
8oz Cream Cheese - Room Temperature
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Unsalted Butter - Room Temperature
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar - Sifted
Food Coloring (Optional)

Directions:
Beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Add vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar in small amounts. Beat for 3-4 minutes, until very smooth.

Tips:
It is important that the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature before beating.

Royal Icing

Icing that hardens after it is dry. Great for decorating.  You choose the consistency.


Ingredients:
2 Cups Powered Sugar
2-6 Teaspoons Warm Milk or Water - Depending on desired Consistency.

2 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Your Choice of Food Coloring

Variations:
Substitute your choice of flavor for vanilla.

Directions:
Beat sugar and 2 teaspoons water together until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and continue to beat until icing is glossy and stiff peaks form.  This takes 8-10 minutes. Add additional milk in small amounts until desired consistency is reached. Add a few drops of food coloring until color is achieved.

Tips:
Icing made with water can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 2 weeks. Dried decorations last for months.

Friday

Confectioners' Sugar Glaze

Sugar glaze for cupcakes, cookies, donuts or anything sweet!  Hardens when dry and is great for decorating.


Ingredients :
1 Cup Powered Sugar - Sifted
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter - Melted
2-4 Tablespoons Cream - Can use milk or half & half.
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Variations:
Cocoa Glaze :  Add 2-4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.  You decide how much chocolate is needed.  A small amount of cream/milk may be necessary to reach a pourable consistency.

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl, adding liquid slowly until desired consistency is reached.

Tips:
If glaze starts to thicken you can microwave for a few seconds to thin it out.

Wordle made this from text on my blog...

I love it!  Very random and fun!  I just picked the colors and it did the rest!  You can give it a Wordle.net.

Monday

Vintage Pendants for Valentine's Day!

Me and the kiddos made these pendants for Valentine's Day gifts.  Braden even helped by starting us off with a background image.  We were going for a vintage theme.  Each will be hung from a sterling silver neck wire.  This was a fun project... We had a blast!