Woven Headband

Woven Headband

Materials

Old T-shirt(s)

Hair Tie

Rotary Cutter or Scissors

Sewing Machine or Needle/Thread

Hot Glue Gun

Masking Tape

Start by cutting 5 strips from the bottom of an old t-shirt; cut through both the front and back layer.  You can do all the same color or mix and match.  For a thicker headband (shown above, about 1 1/4") I cut each strip 1" wide.  For a thinner headband (about 3/4") I cut each strip 1/2" wide.  

 After you have all five strips, cut one side open on each.

Stack the 5 five strips on top of one another.  (The color on top will be the color that you weave through the other 5 strips.  If you are using multiple colors, the second color will be one side and the bottom color will be the other side, with the others in the middle.)  Using about a 1/4" seam, sew the stack of strips together using a sewing machine or by hand sewing.

Take a hair tie and bring it up to the seam by weaving it between the 5 strips, then secure the strips to a hard surface with masking tape.

Slightly curl the raw edges under and start weaving the top layer through the other four layers.  Start by going under the second strip, over the third, under the fourth, and over the fifth (bottom).  Then wrap your top strip (pictured in teal) around the bottom strip and weave back in the other direction.  It is a little tricky to get started, but once you get it going it is pretty easy.  I also taped down the hair tie to keep it out of the way.

 

I kept weaving down until my band was about 16" long.  (For reference, my head where I would wear a headband of this type is about 21" around.)  You don't have to make the weave super tight, so pull in downward a few times to loosen the weave.  When your band is long enough, put the other side of the hair tie between the strips and sew the strips together.  (Don't sew the hair tie itself.) Cut off the excess fabric.

Apply a small amount of hot glue near the seam of the band and use a small strip cut off from the excess to wrap around the seam.  Flip it over and glue the strip to the other side, and flip one more time and glue so the strip covers the seam all the way around.  Cut off any remaining fabric.

Repeat the process of covering the seam on the other side of the head band and you're done!

4th of July Tray

4th of July Tray

 Materials

Tray 

White Spray Paint

Mod Podge (I used homemade; half glue, half water)

Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer Spray

Paint Brush

Brayer (optional) 

Ruler

Rotary Cutter or Scissors

Festive Cloth or Paper

Decorative Foam Stickers

     I got an ugly (in my opinion) tray from Goodwill for $0.99!  So I decided to jazz it up for the 4th of July so that I would have something patriotic to display my desserts on for the upcoming holiday. 

     I started by wiping it down with a wet paper towel to get any dirt and dust off.  I took it out to my yard and used white spray paint to cover it.  I needed a few coats since I was going from a darker to lighter color.  I didn't worry about covering the bottom too well since I would be covering it with cloth anyway.  

     I measured the bottom of the tray, length and width.  I used some leftover cloth that I had from another project, but depending on the size of your tray you could use paper as well.

  I cut my cloth to match the length and width of my tray. I used a rotary cutter to get a nice straight edge but you could use scissors as well.

     I then applied a thin layer of homemade mod podge (equal parts water and white school glue) to the bottom of the tray.  I carefully laid the cloth to cover the bottom of the tray and then covered the top of the cloth with mod podge as well.  I used a brayer to make sure it was smooth and there were no air bubbles.

    Once the mod podge was completely dry, I used a ruler to help guide me in applying some decorative foam stickers.  I put them along both sides, inside the tray.  You could also decorate the outside of the tray if you wanted.

    Finally, I took the tray outside and applied a coat of Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer.  Let it dry completely...

   And voila! My tray is ready for the 4th of July!