Since I was gone this last week, I didn't get any sewing in. Consequently, I've been feeling the need to do something - even a small project. So I went to work on creating something for my next swap (no peeking Tuesday!).

This time I made a donut pincushion (I scented it with a sugar cookie fragrance that smells a lot like a donut, too) and some sugary treat pins:

This project was actually much more difficult than what I thought it would be. I'm sure that there is a simpler way to make a stuffed donut, but I'm not sure that I would make more to find out. Here's the steps that I took:

1) Place two felt squares together, draw a large circle and a smaller circle (inside of the larger one) on one (wrong) side of felt
2) Sew the large circle, right sides together. Cut small circle out, leaving a 1/4 seam allowance
3) Turn right side out
4) Stuff the donut (I inserted fragrance here)
5) Sew small circle shut (you'll have to hand stitch this once closed, tucking the raw edges inside).
6) Cut pink (or other 'frosting' color) felt the same size as donut circles
7) Decorate with beads, etc. for sprinkles and sew onto stuffed donut

With Taylor having so many teachers to give gifts to each year, our Christmas budget can be blown very quickly. Quite some time ago, I started making swirled glass ornaments and packaging them in gift tins for coaches, teachers, and office exchanges. Depending on the number of ornaments you give and the size or price of the tin that you place them in, the cost per present can be under $5. So, if you're interested in giving a cost effective gift this year, read on!

For this project you will need:

Acrylic paint in various colors
Vinegar
Clear glass ornaments
Dixie bathroom size cups
Gift tins or boxes

Step 1:

Before working with your ornament, you should remove the hanger and clean the inside of the bulb with vinegar. Swirling around a small amount of vinegar inside the bulb will help remove any dust, dirt, and glass particles that my have gotten trapped inside and will help the paint stick. Make sure that the ornament is completely dry before preceding to the next step. You can skip this step, however, if the bulb is too dirty, the paint will not adhere to the glass properly.

Step 2:

Next take the dry ornament and squirt a stream of acrylic paint inside the bulb. Do this several times, alternating desired colors and creating 'stripes' inside the ornament. Do not cover the entire bulb with paint - make sure that there is some glass peaking through!

Step 3:

Now rotate the ornament so that the paint begins covering all of the glass surface. You'll notice that you're already getting a marble effect!

Step 4:

After the inside of the bulb is coated in paint, drain the ornament upside down in a bathroom size Dixie cup. If you're in a hurry, you can stop here. However, for more dramatic swirled effects, allow the paint to drain approximately 30 minutes (it may talk longer if you used a lot of paint or a shorter amount of time if you used less. I tend to use a lot of paint and 30 minutes allows for most of the paint to drip out, but is not completely gone) and begin rotating the bulb again. You can do this by resting the bulb on it's side or right side up for several hours. Each time you rotate the bulb, you'll get more swirling in that area.

For a soft marbleized look like the image on the left (where colors gently blend together into each other), rotate the bulb gradually until the ornament is dry.

However, for dramatic marbleization such as the photo on the right, make sharp rotations. I do this by making 180 degree turns after it has sat for several hours.

Step 5:

After the bulb has dried, replace the ornament top and package in a pretty gift box. Don't forget to make a few extras for yourself to hang on your tree.

The "Perfect Pear Pattern' is up. The instructions and pattern can be found here (tutorial removed for now - check back this Winter to see why). There are two sizes included, a large (5" x 4 1/2") and small (3 1/2" x 3") and either can be used as decoration, pincushion, or holiday decorating.

Have fun and happy sewing!