Ann Butler, Author at Ann Butler Designs

December 8, 2020 By Ann Butler 13 Comments

Easy Buffalo Plaid Pillow

We are having a Pillow Party and you are invited to follow along and check out all of the awesome creations! I created an Easy Buffalo Plaid Pillow…no wait I created 4 of them and made them reversible to put out on my enclosed porch and pull my Christmas theme together!

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All of the Pillows for the Fairfield World Pillow Party we created with a Fairfield World 20 inch Ultra Plush Premier Pillow insert…oh so easy to use!

Here is how to get started:

Step One:

Cut Buffalo Plaid and Black Cotton Backing to 20″ square.

Cut Buffalo Plaid and Backing 20" Square

Step Two:

Place right sides together and sew a 1/2″ seam around the outside, leaving about an 8 inch opening.

Sew around the outside edge of the front and back

Step Three:

Trim corners at an angle.

Step Four:

Turn right side out and press.

Step Five:

Insert pillow form.

Step Six:

Stitch opening closed.

Supplies for an Easy Buffalo Plaid Pillow

Fairfield World Premier Ultra Plush Pillow Insert, 20″
Buffalo Plaid Cotton Fabric, prewashed, 1/2 yard
Black Cotton Fabric, prewashed. 1/2 yard
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Thread
Ruler
Cutting Mat

Here are another Pin to Share…

NOW…For some pillows from the PILLOW party to inspire you…Hop around to view all of the fabulous pillows that my talented designer friends created – here are the links!!

THANK YOU to Fairfield World for sponsoring the Fairfield World 2020 Pillow Party!

For more Fairfield World inspiration, check out my Stenciled Faux Quilted Pin Cushion stuffed with Poly-Fil.

As part of the Fairfield World Holiday Pillow Party, you can save 20% on ANY Fairfield purchase with code pillowpartyABD. Also, click below to enter for a chance to win the giveaway: a set of SIX Premium Pillow Forms from Fairfield World…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

September 3, 2020 By Ann Butler 16 Comments

Stenciled Faux Quilted Pin Cushion

Create a Faux Quilted Stenciled Pin Cushion with my EZ-De’s Stencils from StencilGirl® and pigment ink.

Please note: This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you…

This Faux Quilted Stenciled Pin Cushion is a quick and easy project for the sewer in your life!

Step 1:

Choose one of the 3″ half triangle patterns and place it on one piece of muslin 1/2″ from one edge. Then, ink up a dauber and apply the ink over the pattern.

Place Stencil on Muslin and ink up daubber

Remove the stencil and see the nice clean crisp design.

Remove the stencil to reveal the inked pattern

Step 2:

Continue creating the pattern by placing the long edge of one of the 1 1/2″ triangles along one of the short edges of the triangle you just created…line it up so that the edges meet…in the picture below I am showing that you can see if you are over the edge you can easily see it…so just take a minute and line it up…

and ink it up…remove the stencil and look how great those 2 stencils came together.

Check out how the pattern comes together

Step 3:

Create the pattern by placing one of the short edges of another of the patterns of 1 1/2″ triangles along one of the short edges of the triangle you just created…ink it up…below you can see the pattern being created in the color of Blueberry…and again see how great these stencils line up.

If you are more comfortable, use painters tape to cover the other patterns on the stencil, to keep from inking in the wrong place or to use as guidelines if needed.

Use painter tape to mark off unwanted stencil parts

Step 4:

Repeat steps 1 – 3 to complete the block.

Use baby wipes to clean off your stencil. Heat set with an iron or heat gun.

Step 5:

Place the batting onto the back of the stenciled block. Stitch on the top side around the block and where the patterns come together.

Stitch around the pattern leaving a 2" opening

Add a 2nd piece of muslin on the right side of quilted piece and stitch around the edge, leaving about a 2″ opening. Trim the excess as needed.

Step 6:

Turn to the right side and stuff with batting.

Stitch the opening closed.

Step 7:

Sew an optional button through the center, if desired.

Enjoy your new Stenciled Faux Quilted Pin Cushion!

Ann Butler Products used:

Ann Butler EZ-De’s Stencil by StencilGirl®, 3″ Squares and Tris Set 1

Ann Butler Crafter’s Ink by Clearsnap, Tangel o

Partner Products:

Other products:

Button
Sewing Machine
Needle and thread
Scissors
Baby wipes

Here is a video for this project:

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July 14, 2020 By Ann Butler 11 Comments

Harry Potter Inspired Wizard Wands

Today I am happy to be a part of Creative Crafts Harry Potter Week with my Harry Potter Inspired Wizard Wands. My crafty friends Laura from Me and My Inklings and Meg from Makeable Crafts bring Creative Crafts to you each month with a new theme and host, this month the host is the talented Lindsay from Artsy Fartsy Mama. Check out my tutorial, then scroll to the bottom, follow the link on the Creative Harry Potter graphic to see all the projects!

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CreateForLess.com - Create More, Spend Less

These Harry Potter Inspired Wizard Wands turned out perfect…I think I might have to make several more since I do have 14 Grandlittle ones and I have created only three Wizard Wands so far…

These are incredibly simple to create and each one is unique. You can make these from a variety of items for the base… I used a Dowel Rod, Pencils and Skewers.

Step One:

Using a glue gun glue two pencils or Skewers together to get the desired length for your wand. With a Dowel Rod simply cut it to desired length.

Gluing ends together to get desired length for Wizard Wands

Step Two:

Place wooden bead over the seam and glue in place. Run a line of glue around the top and bottom of the bead.

Step Three:

Determine what other beads you want to add to your wand.

Step Four:

Glue the beads onto the wand as desired.

Step Five:

Add designs to the base of the wand with the glue gun. Create circle, lines, dots, zigzags, etc.

Step Six:

Place the wand into a Styrofoam ball to let dry. When the hot glue goes from clear to white it is dry.

Place Wizard Wand into a Styrofoam ball to dry.

Step Seven:

Paint the wands with a base coat of black paint. Let dry.

Step Eight:

Add a coat or two of Iridescents in Onyx or Bronze to add magical shimmer and shine. Let dry.

As I said the process of making these is easy and the results for each are unique…for these Harry Potter Inspired Wizard Wands!

Close up of Harry Potter Inspired Wizard Wands

Ann Butler Designs Products used:

I ridescents: Onyx, Bronze

Partner Products:

Earth Safe Finishes Perfect Paint, Black

Additional Supplies:

Dowel Rod, Pencils or Skewers
Wooden Beads
Styrofoam Ball
Hot Glue Gun (Children will need Adult supervision)

Let me know if you have any questions! ENJOY!

Follow Ann Butler Designs on Social Media (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) for more quick and easy, stamped, inked and stenciled inspiration!

June 20, 2020 By Ann Butler 8 Comments

DIY Blended Makin’s Clay® Postcards

I love Makin’s Clay®, it is a No Bake Polymer Clay that is oh so easy to use! I created this Blended Clay Technique to create Postcards for a workshop at a trade show years ago and I still LOVE this technique…it is quick and easy and always has fabulous results!

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Instructions for the Blended Clay Technique:

Step One:

With wrapping on clay cut about 1/4 to 1/3 from each of the clay blocks in the colors of your choice. I like to use 3 – 5 colors for the best blending. Place remaining clay into Ziploc plastic bag with a baby wipe to prevent drying. Unwrap the clay and place in the color order desired. Press the clay together to form a log shape.

Press pieces of clay together for the Blended Clay Technique

Step Two:

Begin to roll roll the clay out.

Begin rolling out the clay for blended clay technique

Step Three:

Fold rolled clay in half and roll the clay out again. Fold the clay and continue rolling to blend clay together.

Fold rolled out clay in have to begin blending for the blended clay technique

Step Four:

Continue folding and rolling until the clay is very thin, about the thickness of a playing card, and you like the color blend. Let this dry a several hours or overnight, turning as needed. If for some reason it begins to curl place a book on top of the clay to help flatten it out. There is some shrinkage which is why it is cut after drying when a specific size is needed.

Now the fun part starts…you are ready to create some projects with the Blended Clay!

Grab a Postcard stamp to create postcards! Create Luggage tags for your suitcases and use a sharpie to add your address. You can use a paper trimmer to cut the clay, it can be die cut and of course you can cut it with a scissors…even a decorative edge scissors!

The clay is flexible and goes through the mail without any problems.

The Clay is Flexible with the Blended Clay Technique

Supply list for the Makin’s No Bake Polymer Clay Blended Postcards:

Let me know if you have any questions!

ENJOY!

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March 16, 2020 By Ann Butler 5 Comments

DIY Craft: Glitter up those Easter Eggs

Let’s Glitter up those Easter Eggs with this quick and easy craft project…perfect to do with the kids!

Easter is right around the corner…so, I thought now would be a good time to update those Plastic Easter Eggs that we all have left over from years past. You can give them an update quickly and easily with adhesive dots and glitter…so let’s Glitter up those Easter Eggs!

Step One:

Gather your supplies. Here is a before picture of some eggs from last year, they came in three pieces instead of two, which makes them rather cool to begin with….

Of course everything is better with glitter, right!

Step Two:

Work over a piece of copy paper, simply attach the adhesive dots to the eggs one or two at a time and sprinkled the glitter over them, in the color of your choice. Tap the loose excess glitter onto the copy paper and then, use a paint brush to remove any additional excess glitter as needed.

Designer Tips:

You will be sprinkling out a lot of glitter but not using much…as a little glitter goes a long ways.
Do one color of glitter at a time to keep from mixing colors together.
Simply fold the copy paper in the middle to easily pour the left over glitter back into their containers.

Step Three:

Repeat step two until you have the desired look on your egg.

Each egg can be done a bit differently to have a variety of looks. If kids are helping you glitter up those eggs…they could each pick out 2 or 3 colors of glitter so they know which ones are theirs when all of them are done. I did each of these three a bit different and they turned out great.

I also did a Facebook Live sharing this technique, where I used glue dots, Mod Podge and double sided tape. I uploaded it and you can check it out on my YouTube channel:

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Products used: