How to Make an Elongated Oval Placemat Pattern

Posted on March 12, 2013 by sam

I really like dressing the table, whether it’s for a holiday or for every day. For some reason, it always seems to make the room look more pulled together. I love what a clean table cloth & place mats can do for the room. But I can never find what I want. The colors are either off or the place mats looked ‘store bought’. A trip to a fabric store can spark your imagination & you can usually find exactly what goes with your decor. That’s how I started making my own place mats. But I get bored very easily. I like to change things up. Making my own place mat patterns gives me a broader outlet to make my home, ‘my own’. You can make unique items for your home too!

Here’s what you’ll need:

brown craft paper (a quick tip: I use a pony tail elastic to hold the roll instead of a rubber band. It seems to last longer & doesn’t mark the paper)

ruler

plate

marker

scissors

I got out the brown craft paper & put a dinner plate on it to judge the amount of paper I’d need.

For mine, I needed about 15″. I measured 15″ across the bottom of the roll of paper, making marks to make sure it would be straight. After I marked the paper, I cut the paper across at the marks.

Then I folded the paper into quarters, to mark the center of the paper. Open the paper up. The center point where the folds cross.

Next you’ll have to judge the width that you’ll need for the place mat. I put the dinner plate on the center fold & added the knife & spoon to the paper. I needed about 10 1/2″ from the center. So my pattern had to be 21″ wide by 15″ high.

Cut off excess paper after you’ve found your ideal size. Push the plate to the far right side of the paper. Draw around the outside of the plate at the fold.

Sketch in a curve from the line you’ve just made to the center bottom of the paper. You’ll do this free-hand. As you can see, it took me several times to find a curve that I liked.

Fold the paper in half, from top to bottom, with the line that you just made on top. Cut out the curve along the line. (first half made)

Open the paper back up. The curve is made for the right side of the pattern.

Fold the paper in half, side to side. Draw around the curve to mark the cutting line for the left side of the pattern.

Cut along the line you’ve just made. And you’re done! You now have an elongated oval place mat pattern. This pattern gives a completely different look to your table, and I think you’ll like it.

Sewing/Craft Room – Pattern Organization

Posted on March 11, 2013 by sam

I love these cabinets. They hold so much & keep the sewing area of the sewing/craft room organized. We searched for a long time for a 54″ overhead cabinet, but they were either too expensive or didn’t come in white or the size we wanted. We went to home improvement stores, IKEA, and searched on line for several months. We actually found exactly what we wanted at Walmart.com http://www.walmart.com/ip/SystemBuild-54-Wall-Cabinet-White/17470884

We had it delivered to our home for a very small fee. When it arrived it came in a large, flat box.

It only took a couple of hours to put it together. Much faster than I thought it would. Getting the doors on was probably the most frustrating for me, since they rely on pictures, rather than words to explain what to do. I fought with those doors like crazy. Then hubby came in, took one look at what I was doing, and fixed it in about a minute. Now they’re hanging over my sewing desk & they hold more than I thought they would. I’m so happy with them!

What’s inside tells the whole story. The far right hand cabinet holds most of my patterns, both bought & my own.

The middle part of the cabinet holds the rest of my patterns, shoulder pads, & all of my zippers.

It’s so nice being able to open up two doors & see all of my patterns at a glance.

And finally, the left hand side of the cabinet holds all of my little drawers & boxes for sewing.

And there’s still some room for another box or two!

The cabinet is organized, easy to see & get to.

We still have to add a shelf underneath to hold my DVDs, but that will come a little later.

Hope you enjoyed my organized sewing/craft room cabinet!

Sewing/Craft Room Desk Organization

Posted on March 10, 2013 by sam

I’ve had this desk for years. It used to be my daughter’s when she was little. It’s the perfect size for my sewing machine and all the things that I need while sewing. (Including my purple TV) Now that the Sewing/Craft room is almost complete, I’ve been spending lots of time organizing everything. The desk was no exception.

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Thumb Tacks for a Memo or Bulletin Board

Posted on March 9, 2013 by sam

I was playing around with thumb tacks today. Since I’ve recently made a couple of new memo boards (tutorial coming soon) I wanted to make the thumb tacks match them rather than the plain white ones available in the stores. Since the theme to the new sewing/craft room is in white, lilac & purple, I wanted the thumb tacks to blend in. And naturally, they had to have some sparkle. These could be used in a home office or kitchen as well. Continue reading →

The Sewing/Craft Room Window

Posted on March 8, 2013 by sam

My sewing/craft room is very small. It’s only 6′ x 7′. Everything in the room is small, including the window. But it’s one of the first things that I see when I walk into the room. The walls are white, but because of that little window, when the sun shines in, I have a lilac glow through the whole room. And on a sunny day, I have rainbows dancing on the walls. I thought I’d invite you in to my little sanctuary to see part of my little piece of Heaven.

Welcome to Creatively Sam’s:

This is the tiny window in my sewing/craft room.

I wanted to add some privacy, but I needed the sun to shine in. I chose to make a lace curtain with an open pattern. I only used one panel because I didn’t want folds to block the sunlight.

Then I made curtains and a valance from Lilac Satin.

I added Curtain Tie Backs to keep the curtains open so the sun can shine through. (I’ll be doing a tutorial on how I made them)

So that I could have the rainbows dancing in the room, I added a white tension bar. (I painted the brass that was on it with acrylic paint) From the tension bar, I strung crystals from fishing line. They seem to hang in mid-air.

I been fascinated by the rainbows that come from crystals since I was a kid & saw the Disney movie Pollyanna. (that movie had a great impact on me) They put me in a creative mood & bring me such an inner peace.

Hope you enjoyed the first glimpse into my new Sewing/Craft Room.

Repainting Shelves

Posted on March 7, 2013 by sam

I’ve had these shelves for years. They were originally black, and eventually they were spray painted white. They are mostly used in the bathroom now. The steam & moisture make them rust in spots sometimes. Because of that, they usually get a facelift once a year. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with a pearl finish. I thought I’d try this with the shelves.

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Christmas Wedding Couple Figurine

Posted on March 1, 2013 by sam

I know that Christmas is several months away, but I’ve always got Christmas on my mind. When I was out shopping the After Christmas Sales, I found this little ‘Just Married’ figurine. I didn’t have one for my Christmas Village, so naturally, I grabbed it up in a hurry.

When I got it home, I looked closely at it. There were a few things about it that really bothered me. Firstly, the hand of the Bride on the back of the Groom wasn’t painted. (I could fix that) Secondly, I wanted it to go with our wedding colors. (if it was going in our home, why not personalize it?) I learned a long time ago, that if it can be changed to go in our home, then why not? That’s the beauty of crafting. You can make it your own! I did, you can too.

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St. Patrick’s Day Wreath

Posted on February 28, 2013 by sam

I’m still decorating for St. Patrick’s Day, so I thought I’d share the most recent addition to our home. To welcome people, we needed a new wreath for the door. Since the theme for this year is the pot of gold coins that the Wee People hide under the rainbow, I thought I’d continue the same theme for the door wreath.

I wanted to incorporate the lucky shamrocks, gold coins with some roses. (my Dad used to call me his “Wild Irish Rose”). Continue reading →

Glitter!

Posted on February 27, 2013 by sam

I love glitter, especially the fine glitter. I can’t help it, I’m hopelessly addicted. I’ve tried to stay away from it, but the sparkles just call to me. To say that I was excited when Walmart got a new 12 pack in, is putting it mildly. The colors are glorious. I’ve already used the green for the St. Patrick’s Day T-Shirt!

This is what I found:

I was immediately in love when I turned the box over.

There was purple, lilac, pink, red, blue, green, black, white, turquoise, gold, silver & copper. All in a fine texture! I had to have it! Continue reading →

St. Patrick’s Day Candle

Posted on February 23, 2013 by sam

In the St. Patrick’s Day Tablescape you may have noticed a small candle in the background.

I used my Grandmother’s ‘depression’ bowl with a plain white pillar candle & some shamrock ‘scatter’. It brought a pop of color into an empty corner. And it worked for the tablescape with the patterned placemats. It was simple enough that it didn’t compete with the busyness of the placemats.

But, I just can’t leave well enough alone. It just disappeared when I used the plain/solid sided placemats. Plain white just wouldn’t do for me. I had to add ‘more’. I used some wire edged shamrock ribbon and some glitter stickers to add color.

I measured the ribbon around the candle. Added about an inch to it. I cut the ribbon and folded the end under, over lapping the raw edge. Using two straight pins, I anchored the ribbon to the candle. But that still wasn’t enough. So I added some glitter shamrock stickers above and below the ribbon. That was all it needed. Now it really adds a pop of color to the plain, boring corner of the room.

It’s now strong enough that it doesn’t disappear anymore.

I love an easy project! This could be used for any decor, as an accent piece or a centerpiece. You can use this idea anytime. Whether it’s for everyday or a holiday. Just change up the ribbon to go with what ever you’re decorating for! You can have so much fun with this one! Continue reading →

Creatively Sam's

A teaching website for diy. home decor, crafting, sewing & lots of creative ideas

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