Feeling Toasty!

I really love this idea for a cutesy thoughtful gift! My Doug says it's a little kooky... but I think that's because he is a native Floridian and didn't grow up in IL (a.k.a. the frozen tundra) like I did. He has never been awoken in the middle of the night by the pain of toes so cold they've turned white and threaten to fall off like little chunks of ice. He's never, in his sleep, wrestled with mounds of blankets to get sweaty wool socks off his feet. If he had, maybe he would appreciate the warm... but not too warm... comfort of a hot water bottle at the foot of his bed.

I will admit though that there are a couple hang ups with grandma's hot water bottle. For one, that big lump of pink rubber is just sort of creepy looking for some reason, and secondly rubber is not exactly cuddly. Problem solved!

I made this cover for a hot water bottle with scraps I had in my studio. The outside is Minky (if you're not familiar with Minky you MUST ask your crafty friend who has a baby. She'll know all about the softest/can't put it down/cuddliest fabric ever!), it's lined with satin, and I embroidered that adorable bundled up toast design from Urban Threads on it.

Maybe I'll let my Doug try it out when the temperatures finally get below 50 around here... maybe!

An easy to make, stylish, useful, inexpensive gift!

What more could you ask for?!

This is a busy time of the year for Elle Belle, and I needed a spot to keep my to-do lists visible, calendar pages posted, reference thread charts, post flyers from shows I'm scheduled to sell at, and maybe even glean a bit of inspiration from. So I decided cork boards would do the trick. I put together a little tutorial of sorts below, make some for yourself to stay organized during this festive time of year, or for a friend who could use a little handmade goodness.


Here's what you need: Cork (I picked up a package of 4 12x12 cork tiles at a big box store for about $8), scissors, spray adhesive, a stapler (if you have a mini one that uses smaller staples so they don't poke out the other side of the cork tile that might save your fingers in the long run), some ribbon, the little adhesive thingies that come with the cork tiles to mount it to the wall, and fabric (I used some scraps I had left over from the Birdie bag I made).



Step 1 - Cover the cork: Cut your fabric about an inch and a half bigger than your cork tiles (mine was smaller because I working with scraps). Lightly coat one side of the tile with spray adhesive and lay your fabric over the tile. Smooth the fabric out with your hand to remove any wrinkles. Flip the tile over and staple the excess fabric around the back.


Step 2 - Embellish: I laid the three covered tiles on the floor in the order that I wanted to hang them and laid pieces of coordinating ribbon on them in a pattern that I thought made a nice over all design and would also be functional for holding notes and such. Staple the ribbon onto the back of the tile.


Step 3 - Finish: If I were giving these as a gift I would cut a piece of card stock about half and inch smaller than the tiles and glue it onto the back to cover all the staples and rough edges. Apply the adhesive squares that come with the tiles (I only needed one in each corner and one in the center). Get out your level and stick away! Or, tie them up with some string and add a handmade tag!