I shared a sneaky peepy of this little fella two weeks ago and am finally getting around to getting the tutorial done (I believe I made some far fetched promise of posting him "later this week"). ahem. Let me esplaine LollyTime (entering the twilight zone - and no I am not talking about that hunka hunka burning Edward either (if you need me to explain this reference let me know...).
The LollyChops Space Time Vortex Explained
It goes something like this... "later this week" could mean later that week or say even maybe later this week sometime next year. I have invented my own special concept of time. I hope that helps bring you one step closer to understanding the madness that is my brain and I hope you can forgive me if it takes me a little time to get some stuff done/mailed/completed, etc...
Sew... now that I have got that confession off my chest let's move on to owls!
I am not sure these fellas translate well to photos but I am hoping you get the gist of how totally sweet they are! I am really trying to keep my posts shorter so I am just going to jump right into the tutorial!
Start with a bunch of fabric.
Sizzix disclaimer: I used my Sizzix for this project BUT you don't need one.
All I used it for was to cut circles...
...and once you have those done you need the free template I have at the bottom of this post to do the rest.
I cut the circles using my Circles #2 die (you can see it HERE).
I am showing you this because I have run into 6 people within the past 2 weeks who ALL have a Sizzix and never knew that it cut fabric!!!
That's the only reason I even bought one... the whole paper cutting thing was just kinda "ehhhh..." for me.
When I found out the other stuff you could cut... I ran out bought one the very next day.
Here are about 4 pieces of fabric run through the Sizzix.
I have run as many as 8 at time (it's so easy it's scary).
So let's review.
You can cut 8 fabric pieces in perfect shapes in about 15 seconds (this is how I do my butterflies en mass).
If you don't have done...birthdays and holidays are a good time to see if you wrangle one out of your special someone...
Oh and I have seen them on craigslist and ebay too. For CHEAP.
Once you have a few 2.5 inch circles cut...
...or in my case a few hundred 2.5 inch circles cut out...
Start putting your stacks together.
For the owls you are going to want to alternate between lighter and darker fabrics.
This helps the wing sections stand out a little bit nicer.
You can do just two fabrics or 8 different ones.
It's entirely up to you.
Once you have 8 - 2.5 inch fabric circles stacked together.
FLIP THEM OVER!
Then grab template #2 (you can download it from the bottom of this page)
Trace it over the back of the circles and then sew down both lines.
The circles will kinda look like a baseball or something at this point.
Once you are done you will need template #3.
Trace that over your newly sewn piece.
The cut along those lines.
Note: The blue fella on the left is all cut out and the green guy in the middle just has the trace lines drawn on him. The guy on the right has template #3 over the top of him all ready to be traced.
Once you have everything sewn and cut out it's time to flip him back over to the front side and start cutting out the wing sections.
The best way I can describe this is to cut off the top layer and then proceed to cut out each layer underneath a little longer than the one you just cut.
Follow the curve of the baseball lines you just sewed.
Your completely cut out owl will look something like this.
I saved the little pieces so you could see what in the heck I am talking out.
If I have lost you at this point... go eat some pie.
That always helps me when my brain starts to ache from a confusin' tutorial.
Here is Mr. Owl trying on some eyes (I took about 6 pictures of all of the different eye combinations I tried but for the sake of trying to keep this post short I decided to spare you that agony).
He looks so plain.
So un-smooshed.
So zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
We gotta remedy that!
Ahhhh.. MUCH better!
Give those fellas a little smooshy love (rumple them up good now).
If they look a little too crazy when you are done, give them a little haircut.
It gives them that sophisticated grunge look that everyone pays big bucks for.
...or was that popular back in 1990?
Nirvana Owls anyone?
Anyhoot...
So you wanna attach these to clothing...??
Well you can only do that if you make them removable (cause if you wash them they are gonna fall apart)... So that means a snap or a button is needed right?!?!?!
SEW... it's time to bust out your mad sewing skills (if you don't have any just call 800-Mom-Chops)
If MomChops is unavailable here is what you do instead..
Oh and just a note: Calling her at 1am with a "how so I sew a button hole" sewing emergency is NOT advisable... Trust Lolly ok.
So in those dire situations you need yourself a sewing machine mascot!
RonChops did not fit on top of the sewing machine so I had to settle for something else...
This little crochet mouse did the trick!
Before you sew all of your circles together you are going to want to sew a button hole to the back piece of your circle stack.
See the sewing machine manual back there in the picture.
SAVED.THE.DAY.
Who knew directions actually worked?
Ta Da! My first button hole EVER!!!!
I should be nominated for an award or something.
I was so proud I ran to show RonChops.
He was not nearly impressed with me as I was with myself.
Here is a little owl family.
The blue guy and light blue gal were done with all the same fabric (they were made before I figured out the whole alternating colors thing)!
Here are a couple more.
Here is one buttoned on to a little baby dress.
I sewed a cute red button onto the dress... so if you don't want to button the owl to it you still have a cute little button in it's place!
pssst...you can do the button hole thing with the butterflies too!
...and lastly...here is just some random stuff I wanted to share with you guys...
I got some cheap fabric shelf organizers at Tuesday Morning this past weekend (I love organization stuff BIG TIME).
It's made it MUCH easier to get to my paints and glitter.
Previously I had them all jumbled on the shelf and I would have to paw through everything to get to the one I wanted. Now I can pull out the shelf and put it on my craft table to paw through.
...and another set of organizers. I got these for my Stickles, alcohol inks, regular inks and refills.
Ahhh... It's soooo much easier to get to everything!
I personally love seeing stuff like this so I hope it's not boring you to pieces.
Random Saturday morning 1am dog shots.
The dogs hang out with me when I craft. Pretty much the entire time.
If you squint you will see they have formed the letter "L"... or was that the bleary eyed 1am squint that made me think they formed an "L' shape.
I just dunno anymore.
I went to another "studio session" at Anthologies this past Friday night. This is a little sneaky peepy of one of the projects for the post next Monday (it's a yarn project gift box!!!)! I am WAY excited about it! Get out your mod podge for this one!
Oh and... I met three girls there last time I went and we arranged to meet up again this past Friday (we were all squealing like long lost friends when we got there... it was funny).
We are all going back again in two weeks and we have brought 4 more girls into the fold (I figure we'll take over the entire studio session night before too long)! I can hardly wait! I think we do as much talking as we do creating! It's a really super fun time!
If you are in the DFW, TX area and want to join us just let me know! I'll adopt you!
Lastly (for real this time)
This is another in-progress sneaky peepy of the Mod Podge post for next Monday.
It's got birds! ...and it's a house! So what is it????
It's a bird house with a bird punch shingle roof!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I am over-the-top-excited about this project! I seriously cannot wait to see how it comes out!
So for the project today... you can get the PDF template needed to make the owls by clicking on the image below!
...and if you have any questions let me know!
But before we part...
I just have one question for you guys. Do you want to see more random stuff, more tutorials, less tutorials, less writing (I am working on that...really I am), just finished projects (cause I have loads of projects in the works but I cannot post them all cause doing the tutorials takes a little more time and prep). What can I do to make your LollyChops visit better is what I am asking. I would really love to know (honest to peanuts)!
P.S. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo's
