DIY project - dust cover for a printer

My next sewing project is a printer cover. I have received an order in which I was asked to do a cover in orange & red toned fabric. The customer has two kids and a cat and wants to keep all electronics devices out of their reach. I have sewn a laptop sleeve, a tablet sleeve and padded bag for her already and I was so happy to receive another order from her.

I would like to share this project with you as I think our printers deserve a little bit of maintenance and protection too. My printer is usually covered in dust when not in use to be honest. So now it's the right time to change it. Let's do this together!

  

step 1: find out your printer's dimensions or measure it by yourself. In my case the printer dimensions are 62 x 37 x 23 cm.

step 2: Choose fabric/fabrics you like. Cut out 5 rectangles from desired fabric. I cut out 3 rectangles from orange heavy cotton fabric and 2 from Tulip fabric as follows: 

2 x rectangles from Tulip fabric - 62.5 x 23.5 cm  (printer length x printer height) + add seam allowance (1.5 cm for each side)

2 x rectangles from orange fabric - 37.5 x 23.5 cm (printer width x printer height) + seaming allowance

1 x rectangle from orange fabric - 62.5 x 37.5 cm (printer length x printer width) + seaming allowance

step 4. Pin orange rectangles right sides together as per below picture ( the longest rectangle stays in the middle) and sew.

step 5: Pin & sew the Tulip rectangles to the orange sides (as per below picture) 

and then sew on the top sides. You should have now cuboid shaped cover without a bottom.

 

step 6: Turn the cover up side down and hem it to avoid ripping of the fabric. You should do this step at the start. You should hem all rectangles separately. That's the right way to do that. I only did it at the end as I was lazy and this way is faster!

step 7: Iron the cover, straighten up the edges and... that's it! Enjoy your new dust cover made by yourself! :)    

You can use the same pattern and make dust covers for other machines which you don't use too much like sewing machine, photocopier, scanning machine, or  an old drawer, bookshelf, shoe rack ...

Boo ZOO collection (textile home decor / soft fabric toys)

Go wild with a "Boo ZOO" collection! These cute little creatures will brighten up any room in your home!

They look great in a bookshelf, in a kid room, 

hallway or kitchen!

These cute little toys feature charming black & white animal 

characters which I fell in love with. Aren't they cute? :) 

Each toy/decoration is made from durable 100 % cotton, 

filled in with polyester fibrefill.  

Boo Zoo characters are approximately 2.5" long and 3" wide.  

Available for purchase here! 

Christmas decoration ideas

Here are some ideas how  you can decorate your home this Christmas. You can either do it yourself or buy some of these items in my shop

1. Christmas fabric hearts - This cute hearts will bring pleasure and color to your home at Christmas. It is made from red & white cotton fabric and it’s stuffed with soft polyester. 

It's  great for hanging on a door knob, cabinet door or shelf hook! 

available for purchase here

2.  Christmas bone for your dog - well, this cute bone can't be decoration for long time as your pet might enjoy playing with it :) Each bone is made from durable cotton and polyester filling. It measures approx. 7 inches = 18 cm. 

available for purchase here

3. Ho Ho Ho! - Fabric letter ornaments - Create various letters /words (such as Christmas, home, Santa, Love, or members of your family) and place them on a table, window or hang them on a wall or door knob! 

4. Christmas ginger biscuits - I baked these last year and I will definitely do some this year too! If you have kids let them decorate these biscuits. They will love it!! 

You can find various recipes online. 

Tip: Bake these in first/second week of December and leave them in biscuit box for two weeks. They will get softer and taste better!!

If you have any ideas for Christmas decoration please share it with me here ! 

DIY project: Chalkboard painted jars - get your kitchen organized!

I decided I wanted some  little jars to keep spices and all various ingredients in my kitchen drawer. I thought a chalkboard paint would be great on glass jars as it is the simplest way how to easily label and relabel the jars. 

It was simple DIY project and everyone can do it in few minutes.

You can find similar project which I did with wine bottles just few days ago HERE.

DIY TUTORIAL: 

1. Tape around the edges of where you’re going to put the chalkboard paint. Use masking tape or something similar. I used an ordinary office tape and it took me a long while to remove remaining glue from jars.

2. Stand the jars up and smooth some paint onto the surface.  Paint them from side to side  and try to do it in one or two strokes. Paint top of the lids as well. 

3. Let the paint dry for about 30 minutes. If necessary apply another coat. Leave the jars aside for 1-2 days. Then remove the tape and enjoy writing on them with a chalk!!

DIY: Chalkboard painted bottles - write a message to your loved one!

I've found a lot of projects to occupy my mind at Pinterest and this is one of them. It took only few minutes to complete! 

Cheer up somebody's day by leaving  a cute message on  a bottle! 

If you want to change message just wipe it up with wet cloth, just like at school! :)

...And here is the tutorial. What you need is:

Chalkboard (Blackboard) paint 

empty wine, beer bottles

paint brush

You can also see some jars on the picture. I painted them as well and use them as herbs/spice jars. I will post the pictures soon!

Paint each bottle with blackboard paint. Stand the bottle up so you can paint each side at once.

Leave it dry for about 30 minutes. And that's it! Now you can leave a message on your new vase :)

DIY projects (part 1)

Hi everyone!

Due to my orders I am quite busy and I don’t post too much recently. So please forgive me! I will add more posts very soon. What I want to share with you guys today is DIY projects which are extremely EASY to do and look fabulous. I have already tried to do few of these and it's been such a fun!

!! Please follow links displayed below each project to see full tutorials !!

1. Gift box packaging tutorial

Do you have a problem to find appropriate packaging for gifts sometimes? Make your own packaging! It takes only few minutes!!

How about a puffy boxes? This packaging is perfect for small gifts, such as jewellery, sweets, make up, perfume, cell phone, …

You can find the basic tutorials for “milk box”, puffy boxes and other packaging here!

2. Magnet containers

Give pretty spice or candy containers a new life in seconds by turning them into refrigerator magnets. 

Place a small, powerful magnet inside the back of an empty tin, which makes the tin itself magnetic. (Nonmetallic containers will work if you stick an adhesive magnet on the

outside.)

3. Flower project

This is quite funny project. All you need is empty toilet rolls (well, you need to start to collect them quickly), scissors, and quality paper glue!

Fold the toilet rolls, cut them into same sized thin strips and qlue every 5 strips together to form a flower. Use cloths pins to hold them together while the glue is drying. After that glue the flowers to each other and create a flowing connected design.

Full flower project tutorial is here.

4. Cherry Blossom Branch

For this project you will need pink paper squares ( I used yellow – which wasn’t great idea, because yellow cherry flowers don’t exist, hehe ...ups!  ) tape, scissors, bare branches, vase or frame.

Follow the origami club tutorial to make cherry flowers. Cut your branches to a size that will suit the frame or vase that your will be using. After you have arranged your branches in a vase or frame, attach the folded cherry blossoms to the branches using

tape.

You know what is great about this cute cherry blossom branch? It will never dry out!!

Cherry blossom branch tutorial

5. Painted Wine Bottle Vases

Collect a bunch of bottles and jars in different shapes and sizes and make lovely DIY centerpieces for any occassion!

Find out more about this project here!

Do you like any of these projects? Which one would you like to try? 

Easter Monsters

Easter is just around the corner so I have decided to create something weird for this holidays :) 

!!EASTER MONSTER!!

I don't know why people create bunnies for Easter which I think have nothing much to do with the religious or historical aspects of the holiday. They probably do it for the same reason as I do. It's so much fun!!! I enjoyed doing these weird large-sized eyes bunnies / monsters :)

It is made from new fluffy super soft kids socks, foam insert (could be pillow polyester insert), polystyrene eye inserts and few buttons!  

It is very simple and easy to make a sock doll. You don't even need sewing machine to do these creatures. All you need is scissors, needle, thread and some old socks! :) You can do it by yourself or help your child create lovely sock bunnies this  holiday. You can find a lot of ideas how to make a  sock doll at various website. Some offer videos or step-by-step presentation.

Good luck and have a fun! 

Original gifts (Special finds by MirkaDesign* Part 2)

Sometimes it is hard to find an original gift for your friend, family member or loved one, especially when you have only few days left! I want to share some Etsy items which I found very cute, interesting and original!

This is lovely and very functional storage bag. It will look very stylish in any play room, office, kitchen or hall. Find out more here http://www.etsy.com/listing/61287649/organizer-basket-fabric-bin-khaki-with

This is very funny & cool gift - Bow N Arrow pillow case. Find out more here http://www.etsy.com/listing/46257439/bow-n-arrow-pillow-case

I like this necklace so much! http://www.etsy.com/listing/68734763/home-necklace-forget-me-not-blue?ref=tre-4d6912e11ebd6d91c47a38fd-1

This present should be given to all new house buyers. It is a can full of small surprises! http://www.etsy.com/listing/58776879/housewarming-gift-set

Use a special way to say "I love you", "I miss you" or "I am sorry". Send a message in a bottle! http://www.etsy.com/listing/64198212/message-in-a-bottle-kit

Universal gilf = SLIPPERS!! :) These are Unisex felted slippers which look very comfortable, warm and stylish! http://www.etsy.com/listing/68485887/terra-cotta-felted-slippers-unisex

An inspirational poster could be very good present for everyone! Find out more here http://www.etsy.com/listing/62207205/do-what-you-love-8x10-art-print

I think this cute bear makes everybody smile no matter what happened!  http://www.etsy.com/listing/68625646/deep-pink-bear-with-black-crystal-in-paw

A natural linen tea towel by PonyAndPoppy" http://www.etsy.com/listing/65914689/forest-fern-natural-linen-tea-towel 

Treat someone who you love with a day at the spa Gift box by "Cindydevore" on Etsy. Find out more here http://www.etsy.com/listing/62430425/a-day-at-the-spa-gift-box-by-valley