Cute Fabric Keychains

So a couple years ago my mother-in-law got me the cutest fabric key chain and I have been wanting another one for awhile. I couldn't find any while shopping, so I decided that I would just have to make one.
Here are a couple finished ones...

Here is the how to:
I started by purchasing:
two different fabrics (one for the inside and one for the outside)
fusible interfacing
1 key chain piece (I found mine at Hobby Lobby, you can also get a purse strap clip)
ribbon
thread

First, cut the two fabrics so they measure 2.5 (2 and a half) inches by 13 inches. Also, cut one strip of fusible interface to measure .75 inches by 12 inches.

Iron the sides of both strips of fabric so that the width will fit in the key chain holder that you purchased. Mine ended up with about 1.5 inches width.

Put the fabrics together with the fabric interface between the two. Iron all together. Then sew the two coordinating fabrics along both edges. I sewed mine fairly close to the edge.

Next up, take your key chain clip and slide in onto the key chain. Be sure that the clip is on top of the material you want to be on the outside of your key chain. Then, sew the two ends together overlapping just a little. I usually go over this a few times so it is a strong hold.

Now it's time to do something with the ribbon. Cut the ribbon so it is about 4-5 inches long. Burn the edges with a lighter or match so that it doesn't unravel. Move the purse clip around the key chain until the seam is about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch above the clip. Take the ribbon and wrap it around the area where the two ends have been sewn together. Tuck both ends of the ribbon to the inside of the key chain.

Sew along all four edges.

You can also use a color thread that matches the ribbon such as this:

And there you have it! Now you have a cute and functional key chain!



School is Just Around the Corner

This past week I have been going up to the school to get my classroom ready for the coming year! With school starting the 20th and meetings before that, it is quickly approaching! Last year I did minimal decor in my room, so I definitely wanted to spice it up a little this year...here are some pics!

My desk

Calendar and Schedule

My cute curtains and some posters

The bulletin board outside my classroom

Welcome to Mrs. Morris' 6th Grade Math Class!! ;)

Holland

To get the background and history of our trips to Michigan please go here! Last year was the first year ever that I didn't get to go to Holland, Michigan for our family reunion; so you can imagine how excited I was about going this year. Plus, with Trevor and I just buying a house, our vacation fund was pretty limited this summer, so this was our one big vacation!

Beach Day!!

Family Time

Winston gets so tuckered out from running in the sand.

Watching a massive ship coming through the channel.

Volleyball in the evenings

Hanging out with the cutest kids! These two were mine and Trevor's ring bearer and flower girl.

Best ice cream in the world!!! Mackinac Island Fudge!

We rented a boat one day

Winston digging!

Winston loved swimming!

Sorry...since I don't have kids I like to celebrate the success' of my dog!!

My grandparents have 5 kids, my dad being one of them. So every night of the week one family cooks for the rest of the family. We decided to do something a little different this year and Trevor and I took over for my parents and made sour cream enchiladas! They turned out amazing! I have never made food for that many people before!

preparing everything

32 enchiladas later...

Check out these BEAUTIFUL sunsets!!!

It doesn't get much better than this! A couple thousand miles later and we are home left with some great memories! Holland is pretty special between me and Trevor because the first time I brought Trevor to Michigan is when he knew he was going to marry me one day. Life has a way of just falling into place!

Reuse Revamp Repurpose

As mentioned yesterday, I re stained and repainted an old bench that Trevor's grandma had given to us.
Here is what it looked like originally

It really wasn't in bad shape at all, we just wanted to revamp it a little. It has some spots on the metal that looked like this:

So a guy at Lowes told me to use a neutralizer on it. (I used vinegar and water because I was told it would give the same results.)

Then I put a primer on it that also helps with rust

I waited about two hours and then spray painted it the color I wanted. -Which, if you saw yesterdays post I actually used the same color green that I used on the doormat

After the spray paint dried, I started putting stain on the wood to make it a dark rich color. I actually used the same color that Trevor used on his bar.

The color is Ebony

And here it is next to my new green doormat by our back door!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Doormat Project

Trevor and I have been looking for nice doormats to go at our front and back doors. I didn't really find anything that I liked so I saw an idea on pinterest (what's new) and decided to try it out!

(source)

First I found just black rubber doormats at Target ($12.99 each) I bought two of them.

I then bought spray paint...

orange to go by the front door

green to go by the back door. I would almost recommend this spray paint more for this type of project because it dried a lot quicker than the other brand.

After painting

I did about 3 coats on both of them

Here they are next to the doors...

I wanted it to match my wreath...if you saw my wreath blog then you know I changed the color of the numbers. Orange just looked better next to our trim and brick color.

I'm in the middle of redoing a bench (I'll maybe post about that tomorrow) and the sides of the bench are green so I thought it would look perfect next to this doormat!

This might not have been the most cost efficient way to get doormats, but all in all I spend about $35 for two doormats, and I had a little fun while doing it.

Happy Thursday!