Tuestorial: Personalized Pencil Jar

The smell of freshly sharpened pencils, new clothes, and Fall teasing you around the corner...that's right, kids, it's back to school time! Even if your school years are behind you, here is a craft the kid in you will still enjoy. Give it as a gift to your favorite teacher or add it to your work desk. Either way you use it, you'll be the coolest kid in your class.

Materials Needed:

• Mason jar or any large glass jar without a lid
• Glass-friendly paint 
• Thickers or adhesive letters
• Paint brush
• Scissors

Step 1:

Decide what personal statement you would like on your jar. I went with "Mine" so no one will confuse my pens with theirs (smart!). 

Step 2:

Cut out your letters and make sure they fit on your jar before applying. Once your layout is complete, apply the letters and make any necessary adjustments.

Step 3:

Time to paint! I chose to paint my jar and letters the same color for a subtle look, but you can paint your letters a different color or add glitter (before applying to your jar, of course!). Depending on the type of paint you use, a couple of coats might be necessary.

Once the paint is dry, stand back and enjoy! Add pens, pencils, scissors, or any school supplies to your jar and start daydreaming at your desk.

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Tuestorial: No Sew Coasters

This week's Tuestorial is brought to you by Rebecca Saylor of OodleBaDoodle! Rebecca hosted a workshop this past Friday at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles to show fellow Etsy folks how to make these unique coasters. Jen Johnson of Mama's Magic Studio wrote about the event on our blog here and now we are here to show you how to make no sew coasters of your own!

These would make a great Father's Day gift and a chance to use up scrap fabric you might have lying around.
 

Rebecca showing off her skills!

 Materials Needed:

• 8x10 piece of fabric for the 8 pieces you will cut (Fabmo supplied the materials for Rebecca's workshop. Linen and cotton works best!).
• Scissors
• Pins
• Rotary cutter or kraft knife
• Cutting mat
• Print this pattern here to use when cutting your fabric.

Step 1:

Begin by selecting your fabric pieces. If you don’t find a large enough piece, you can also begin by choosing your favorite color plus a neutral (such as white, beige, brown, or black).

When selecting patterns, it’s best to vary the size of the pattern. For example, select a small floral and mix it with a bold stripe. Or a large floral pattern with a thin stripe.

Common patterns to start with are florals, stripes, polka dots and plaids. Stripes and  plaids can create a nice chevron pattern.

Step 2:

Pinning!

Once you’ve selected your materials, begin by pinning the pattern pieces to your fabric. Make sure the pattern is pinned neatly and straight, this will make it easier to construct the coasters in the next step. You will need 4 pattern pieces for each coaster. Since we are making 2 coasters, you will need 8 pattern pieces.

Step 3:

 

Cut your pattern carefully being mindful of each of the cutting lines. Once you’ve cut the main part of the pattern, snip the two small diagonal slits on the edge of the right side of the pattern.

Using a rotary cutter, or a kraft knife on a cutting mat, make a slit the size of the dotted line on the left side of each pattern piece.

Step 4:

Now that you have completed the cutting, it’s time to assemble your coasters! You may have noticed that you created a small tab and a “tab slit” on each  pattern piece.

Lay out the pattern pieces like this:

 Step 5:

Working counter-clockwise, starting with the upper right corner, pull the “tab” up through the right corner tab slit. Repeat this step with the remaining 3 sides.

If your tab slit seems tight, you can gently snip the slit to make it a bit bigger. Be careful not to make it too large.

Step 6:

Enjoy your new coasters! You can use all types of fabric, textures and patterns to really personalize these coasters for your home and they make great gifts :)

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Our Team Captain about joining SFEtsy!