Happy Fall Craftastic Monday Link Party

Happy Fall crafty friends!  We're officially into a new season, so it's time to link up those festive projects.  I can't wait to see what lovely autumnal & Halloween goodies you have to share.  And don't forget that the link-up is open through Friday every week, so you can add new things all week long.

Last week I shared my DIY Giant Thread Spool Canister for the perfect craft space decor that helps keep things organized too:

 ~~~~~~~
And for an extra way to get yourself noticed and gain more followers, head over to Facebook for the Sew Can Do Craftastic Mixer to get the word out about YOUR blog or shop for FREE:
   

Share your blog or handmade/craft-related business or its Facebook page.  A new one posts every Sunday night on the Sew Can Do Facebook page at 5pm EST (the same time this link up kicks off).  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now let's see those Craftastic Picks!

Intelligent Domestications shared this festive DIY witch's hat wreath:

Anika's DIY Life showed how to make this stylish and useful wooden spice/craft rack:

The Creative Twins created this fun owl pen stand out of some old ads - great up cycling idea!

Sparkle Living did these cute mini cheesecloth ghosts globes:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

On Twitter: Follow @sewcandoblog

On Pinterest: Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

DIY Giant Thread Spool Canister: The Perfect Craft Room Decor!

Looking for a cute accent for your craft space?  Extra storage that is fun & functional? Make a handy Giant Thread Spool Storage Canister!  

I came up with this project as a party decoration for the Sewing Themed Birthday Party I put together for my daughter:

A giant faux spool of thread (aka cotton reel for my UK friends) was a super cute table accent: 

Not only was it the perfect table decoration, but it's become totally practical after the party, thanks to its great hidden storage for small notions and accessories:

Now let's make one the easy way!

Materials:

- Yarn

- 2 wood circles (beveled edge is ideal)

- Cardboard canisters - mine were nesting

- Tacky glue, hot glue

I got all my supplies at the local big box craft store, so easy to find.  I gathered my yarn, wood circles and cardboard can to get started:

I totally lucked out and found a skein of yarn in the exact shade of pink that matched our other party decorations (and my craft room for its later residence) in the clearance bin:

For the canister I used the largest of the nesting 3 container set, but the lid from the middle size so the top edge of my finished container would fit into it to stay on.  If you don't have a smaller top to use, you could probably roll a strip of cardboard into a circle slightly smaller than the base or use a lid from something else.  

I started by giving the entire canister a good coat of tacky glue using a foam brush.

I put a dab of hot glue at the edge to tack down the start of my yarn and then began winding it around the canister in a single row, fairly close together:

It was ok there were some small gaps in this layer since another layer was going over it.

I wound a second later back down, keeping it pretty taut so it would stay even:

I put another dab of hot glue to attach the tail end to the bottom edge.  Hot glue works ideally because you don't have to wait for it to set:

Then it was time to attach it to the base.  A round squiggle of hot glue on the top of one wood circle was all that was needed and then stuck the canister on it:

To do the top I did another round squiggle of glue on the other wood circle, but this time it was on the underside and put the smaller canister lid on it.  

Boom - All done and ready to fill with all those crafty supplies!

Here Comes Fall Craftastic Monday Link Party

Fall is starting this week, so it's the ideal time to link up those seasonal creations - sewing, knitting, DIY, decor, food, anything you've made (new or old) is welcome!  And don't forget that the link-up is open through Friday every week, so you can add new things all week long.

Last week I shared a tour of our Sewing Themed Birthday Party:

I also wanted to share that Sew Can Do is now on Instagram for my project sneak peeks, new tutorials and pretty crafty finds.  I'd love if you followed me there :)

 ~~~~~~~
Don't forget, after linking up below, head over to Facebook for the Sew Can Do Craftastic Mixer to spread the word about YOUR blog or shop for FREE:
   

It's an easy way to share your site or FB page with other creative people and find some new sites you might love at the same time.  

Share your blog or handmade/craft-related business or its Facebook page.  A new one posts every Sunday night on the Sew Can Do Facebook page at 5pm EST (the same time this link up kicks off).  

Head over to the Sew Can Do FB page to join in this week's Craftastic Mixer!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now let's see those Craftastic Picks!

Haekelfieber shared this incredible popcorn word crochet baby blanket:

My Bright Ideas showed how to make this rustic autumn decoration using twigs from the yard (clean-up + craft = win!):

Dizzy, Busy & Hungry had this tasty apple cider smoothie:

Busy Being Jennifer did this cute ghost hoop art:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

On Twitter: Follow @sewcandoblog

On Pinterest: Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Sewing Themed Birthday Party Tour

We recently celebrated our daughter's 9th birthday and it was an extra special one since she asked for her party to be sewing themed.  That was totally in my wheelhouse and my birthday budget.  I'm thrilled to be able to share how I put it together and the final results, which were a big hit with the birthday girl - and didn't result in utter exhaustion for me.  So, c'mon and join the party!

I didn't want to stress out trying to DIY an elaborate party (which I have done many times before as seen here), so most of what I used was stuff I found around our house.  When I was looking for party ideas I actually saw a party-planner styled sewing party where each child guest was gifted a $30 kiddie Singer machine as a "favor".  Um, what???  $300+ just on favors?  Get outta here.  Ours was an extended family party, so I kept it pretty, but more realistic.    Most of us aren't looking to spend a wedding level budget on a kid's party.  

I utilized a lot items I already had like my great-grandmother's sewing basket and a sewing machine pincushion from my craft room.  A quick trip to Hobby Lobby got my paper products, foam flowers and felt table runner (which I scored on clearance for just $1.49!).

I found some colorful plastic button assortments that were perfect table decoration and useful since they became part of her gift of sewing notions.  One of my biggest party peeves is spending a bunch of money on themed decorations that are literally useless after the party is done.  Not this time!

Extra buttons went into this DIY'd mason jar pincushion, with a set of matching thread spool pins:

I used other glass jars I had around the house to hold some color coordinated candies:

I tweaked my Sculptable Frosting recipe to make some sweet edible button candies:

A mini dress form my daughter plays fashion design with (a gift from a few Christmases ago) plus a paper covered wood button shaped wall decoration that I'd bought years ago and never used served as other decorations, as well as a giant thread spool I crafted up for the occasion:

In keeping with my goal of saying no to useless post-party items, I made the big thread spool actually open to be a handy lidded storage container (I'll share the tutorial for making it soon):

I ordered a sewing themed cake with her party colors and a white background from our favorite local bakery and asked for it to just be frosted - no fondant.  They've always done an amazing job on previous cakes so I didn't feel like I needed to get picky with copying a cake from a photo.  That was a mistake.  They made it cream colored with brown icing and, weirdly, put black ribbon all over it. It looked a bit odd with the fondant pink and mint buttons they stuck on it. 

So at the 11th hour I peeled off the ribbon, replaced it with pink one that did match and put my silicone sewing machine usb drive on top as a decoration to help tie it all together.  Much better!

Her extra special gift from us was her own sewing machine.  She'd been wanting one for a long time and I wanted her to have a machine that will last her through adulthood.  I decided to purchase this New Home Janome model because it was all metal parts inside (= solidly built), like my Janome HD1000, and the set up and features are nearly identical.  Added bonus was that it came in her party color, Arctic Crystal! 

I also crafted up this quick heat transfer shirt present with a blank tee I had:

And since she's all about jewelry these days, I made an easy necklace with this sewing-themed silicone bead set from my shop:

Our lucky girl was also gifted this amazing sewing chest that my sister and brother-in-law put together.  He took an unfinished chest and created a custom pull out tray for it and stained it inside and out.  Since my daughter loves Legend of Zelda, they created a vinyl Zelda emblem for the outside and gifted her some Zelda-themed fabric too:

I kept waffling on making a piñata or not, because I know the kids love them, but I didn't want the hassle of an elaborate crafting project.  Literally the day before the party I caved and made one from stuff we had in the house.  On principal I can't see paying $20+ for something we're planning to destroy.  That & there are no ready-made perfectly themed versions knocking about.  It was basic, but fit with the theme, came together in 15 minutes and was sturdy enough that even a couple of teenagers gave it some serious whacks before it spilled the treats.  Win!

Each year we either get weather in the 90s and/or full on rainstorms on her party day, which isn't ideal.  I got smart this year and set up the majority of things inside.  SO much better having a pretty set-up indoors and a lot easier than hauling everything outside and then drag it all back in later.  This may be my favorite party to date!