Love 2 DIY on the Weekend: Towel Wrap!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I use two towels after every shower. One for me, and one for my hair! Years ago, when I lived in Jersey I found this amazing product called a Turban Towel! It's the size of a large hand towel and it keeps my wet hair up until I'm ready to tackle it.


That was about 10 years ago, and my Turban Towel is full of holes. I found some copy-cats at the dollar store but they were not the same.


Sometimes I wonder why it takes me so long to realize I can make something I want, instead of endlessly searching at Target!

All you need for this project is
an old towel (any size)
thread for sewing (sewing machine or needle will do!)
a small piece of scrap ribbon (3-4")
and a button!





Fold the towel in half longwise. You are going to be cutting it in a curve, so it would probably be best to mark the towel first. The end wrap should be approx 26 inches long.

The best way for me to describe it is like when you are going to cut a heart of paper so you fold it over and cut that curve at the top and then to a point at the bottom - except the open part is the straight part where the fold would be on a paper heart.

Here is a horrible pattern I created on Excel and Picnik.com but hopefully it gives you a better idea.

To save on a ton of sewing, the straight piece in the pattern is the edge of the towel. This way your end product will have a nice finished look.

Pin the towel with the ribbon folded in a loop on the inside. Up at the top of the curve.

Sew the one seam! I backstitched over the ribbon several times.

Add the button with needle and thread at the pointy end of the towel. Twist the end with the button up to the ribbon loop and secure!

These are perfect as hostess gifts! If you have someone stay at your house, leave out a towel wrap and then let them take it home! They will use it for years!

About the Author:

Sammi is a creative starter who loves to help others do the same. She always has several projects going at once and loves to boss people around. So she had three children. You can find her on freckleLips or a soccer a field in middle America.

Meet & Greet: Beachglassshop

Beth spends her summer months walking the beaches of Lake Erie, looking for beach glass, porcelain and shoreline findings.

In turn, these pieces become amazing beach glass jewelry, lamps, trays and anything else her imagination conjures up.

Beautiful Blues beach sea glass locket

I asked Beth to tell us a little about herself and her creations, here is what she had to share:

Tell us a little about yourself and what you sell.
My name is Beth and I welcome you to the beachglassshop.etsy.com!
Beach glass, pottery and shoreline findings have such great mystery. Finding beach glass can take you back - was it a discarded piece of tableware, tossed years ago? A small button....who wore this? Could it be from a mishap on the water in the early 1900's? Beach and sea glass collector's alike have a similar passion and we all wonder what the mystery could possibly be as you hold the piece in the palm of your hand

I am a lifelong native of Rocky River, Ohio, a suburb just west of Cleveland. Located on the southern shores of Lake Erie I spend the summer months walking the beaches, looking for the elusive beach glass! Lake Erie is the shallowest of all the Great Lakes and gives us some of the best beach glass in the world!

I opened my shop in May, 2010. Having spent several years designing jewelry with beach glass, it is a perfect fit!

Frosted white and pale seafoam beach glass 

Why did you decide to work with upcycled/recycled/repurposed/vintage materials?
Some people’s trash is other people’s treasures. Beach glass is a treasure! My specialty is taking these gems and creating fabulous pieces of jewelry, home accessories, anything that I can conjure up! Recycle, Upcycle, Repurpose could not get any better when one takes a piece of glass, possibly over a century old and creating a special item.

Pastel Beach Glass Bracelet 

What inspires you to create/sell what you do?
My inspiration comes from knowing possible century old pieces of glass and findings which start out as tableware, bottles, china, windows, and jugs. After years of being tumbled by the sand, rocks and waves, they can be turned into beautiful pieces of jewelry or décor. What was once a bismol bottle or decanter, vase or candy dish, can be made into a beautiful piece of jewelry. Embellish with beads and charms and one has the perfect accessory! Beach Glass is an inspiring medium that the waters keep on giving!

Frosted Pale Blue Beach Sea Glass

What is your favorite thing about running your etsy shop?
The customers! The feedback is gratifying. The creativity from the members of Etsy is amazing and I am proud to be a part of this community.

You can find Beth at:
beachglassshop.etsy.com
beachglassshop.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/beachglassshop

Thanks for sharing Beth!

See you next week,
Valerie
Everyday Inspired

Tuesday's Treasuries: Some April Foolishness!

Here's some fun and foolishness to make you walk with a Spring in your step~ and a little love in your heart!


Reclaimed Trends sent a message and says, 'Just Read It...And Celebrate'





Hellogaogao wants to know 'What's Another Word for Thesaurus?'





And if you were wondering who has the 'Best Goats and Shrooms on Etsy', Verdant Violet found out!





Thanks to all of our fantastic members for all of their creations this week, check out our Treasured page tomorrow for more new treasuries!

Monday's Makeover: The Art of ReUse!

When we reuse~ it's basically a makeover! Taking something "trashy" and making it over into something useful, sometimes beautiful, sometimes wacky and sometimes awe-inspiring!

Etsy has partnered with Green is Universal to sponsor a contest called "The Art of Reuse". This is a dream contest for Upcyclers, our Etsy team of artists whose members Love 2 Upcycle,  it's what we do best. Just take a look at our gallery pages and previous posts and you'll see what we mean. And we're proud to say, the poster features an upcycled clock created by one of our members, PixelThis! Ever since he can remember, Allan, the creator of "stuff made from stuff" has been taking things apart to figure out what makes them tick. Now he literally makes them tick! His clocks are made from computer hard drives, bicycle parts, record players and more. Not only clever by function, they are beautiful in form, truly the epitome of "The Art of Reuse".

Green is Universal is offering prizes of a green gift pack, gift card and a grand prize, which is an all expenses paid family trip to Universal Studios in Orlando! The contest rules are simple, but most importantly entries must be submitted in a tutorial format either in photos or a two minute video, and must never have been previously published. So hurry and submit your upcycled masterpiece~ the deadline for entry is April 8th! If you aren't interested in entering, please stop by the gallery of entries and vote for your favorite Upcyclers' submission between April 9 and April 15th, 2011. The ten entries with the most votes will then be judged by the panel of judges including celebrities Martha Stewart, Kathie Lee and more. We'll keep you posted here for more details and we'll announce the winners!

Love 2 DIY on the Weekend: Pencil Case

Are you guys having as much with the tutorials as I am? I would love to feature more of your shops but I am just asking Upcyclers randomly one at a time and I'm having a tough time finding willing participants. This week we are fortunate to have this fantastic upcycler, but if you would like to write a tutorial with great pictures please send me an email so I can get you on the schedule! Without further ado, enjoy this weeks guest tutorial post!

Creating Trouble Makes a Pencil Case!

It's been about 15 years since I made my last pencil-case, and this week it finally gave up and it frayed through. It was made out of an old pencil case and was quite unique. Anyway, I don't exactly use my pencil-case as I used to any more; I don't go to school any more (actually that's a lie - I go to school every day!) but it's still useful to have something to put your pens and pencils in - and I have quite a few.

So I decided that I need to make a new pencil-case, and figured this would be a good how-to for this month. 

My new pencil-case is made entirely out of upcycled products: an old pair of jeans (including the zip) and some strips of material that I had left over from the last elephant project.

1) Using a seam-unpicker, take the zip out of an old pair of jeans or trousers that you are going to make the main part of the case with. I have new-found admiration for jean manufacturers as those zips are seriously well sewn in. I think this part may have taken me the most time! 

2) Cut part of the leg from your jeans - make it about the size that you want your case to be. Think about the length of the zip as well - you don't want a pencil-case that is much longer than the opening. Open up the seams and cut your piece to the size you want it to be. It's going to be folded over not sewn along the bottom seam so it needs to be double the size of one side.

Can't wait to finish? For the rest of this tutorial please head over to Creating Trouble's blog and let her know you came by.