tutorial Archives - thesoutherninstitute.com

Faux Peter Pan Collar with Sumo from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff.

May 8, 2013 By Jenny Yarbrough 4 Comments

I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t even remember where I first saw today’s guest. I believe it was one of her guest posts on another blog, but I can’t quite be sure! What I am sure of is that Sumo is one sweet lady, and creative as all get out! I’m so excited to have her as my guest today at The Southern Institute. Please welcome, Sumo from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff! (Insert wild applause here)

Hello!

I’m Sumo, and I blog over at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff.

I do a little bit of crafting, and a lot of sewing. With three little girls to sew for, I’ve always got plenty of projects to work on! Besides sewing and fabric shopping, I’m a big fan of historical fiction, diet coke, chips and salsa, and most treats.

I’m so excited to be visiting over here today!

The Peter Pan collar seems to be super trendy right now, so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon by turning some plain shirts into something a bit cuter.

Here’s what you need to get started:

- t-shirt(s)

- iron on vinyl

- iron

- pen/pencil

- scissors

Start off by taking a plain piece of paper (even tissue paper would be great since it’s a little bit see through) and trace the neckline of the shirt.

You can probably find a template online somewhere for the collar part, which is totally great – but you do need to make sure your neckline will fit the shirt you have. Find the middle of the neckline. I just hand drew the collar part to the middle of the neckline next. I love the little scalloped edge!

Cut out your template.

If you’re like me and like to match your girlies, you might have to take time to draw a couple of other templates as well. I did three different variations for my three girls’ shirts.

Now take the template and trace it on to the back of the iron on vinyl. The iron on vinyl will have a clear sheet over the top of the side that will be displayed on the shirt. Flip the template and trace again so that you will have both sides of the collar.

Cut the templates out and make sure the curve of the neckline is going to work with the shirt before you start ironing.

Iron the templates on to the shirt, and peel up the clear backing.

And you’re done! Can you believe how easy that was?

I made all three shirts for my girls in an hour; talk about productive!

I hope you enjoy making your own iron on vinyl shirts; there are so many fun things you can do with iron on vinyl!

Come visit me at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff anytime!

Thank you so much for being my guest today, Sumo! These are just adorable and perfect for pairing with spring and summer dresses!

Filed Under: crafts, tutorial Tagged With: guest blogger, kids shirts, peter pan collar, tutorial

PEEPS Headband Tutorial.

March 27, 2013 By Jenny Yarbrough 4 Comments

With all of the PEEPS that I keep seeing around town I couldn’t help but make this cute little PEEPS headband for Abby. It’s another simple project that takes absolutely no skill at all and hardly any time, and the result is just too cute. Here is how to make your own PEEPS headband.

What You’ll Need:

yellow felt with adhesive backing
brown Tulip fabric paint with skinny applicator tip
cheap, skinny headband in a color of your choice
marker
scissors

Draw a PEEPS Bunny on a piece of white paper and cut it out. I Googled “PEEPS Bunny” and found one to trace.

Lightly trace four bunnies onto your felt with a light colored marker.

Cut out the bunnies.

Use the brown fabric paint to apply three small dots of paint to two of the bunnies, for the eyes and the nose. You will have two bunnies with faces and two without.

Peel the backing from one of the front bunny pieces and stick it to the outside of the headband. Next, peel the backing from one of the back bunny pieces, carefully match it to the back of the front piece (sticky sides together) and press it on. They will really stick together so be careful to get them straight the first time (don’t ask me how I know this).

Repeat that on the opposite side of the headband.

There you go! A cute little headband to wear this spring!

The only things better than eating PEEPS is wearing them on your head, right?

Filed Under: crafts, tutorial Tagged With: accessories, bunnies, crafting with kids, DIY headband, headband, PEEPS, spring, yellow

DIY Superhero Cape Video Tutorial.

March 25, 2013 By Jenny Yarbrough 2 Comments

My DIY Superhero Cape tutorial has been my Numero Uno, #1, top most viewed post at The Southern Institute for quite some time now. I posted it over two years ago as part of the Celebrate the Boy series at MADE and Made By Rae and boy (no pun intended) has it taken off! It has been pinned and re-pinned thousands of time, which makes me so happy! I love that people love the simplicity of this project. The DIY Superhero Cape is the perfect thing for a rainy day, a playdate, or a birthday party. It’s inexpensive, requires no sewing at all, and kids love it! I decided to update the tutorial a bit by creating a video tutorial for Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores Creativity Made Simple campaign. The new video is actually a little bit different than the pictorial tutorial, cutting out one of the steps and making it even faster and easier! Have a look and see what you think!

This DIY Superhero cape tutorial shows me making a girl’s version of the cape, but you can make one for your little boy too by using any kind of embellishment that you like. Use felt to create an emblem and hot glue that to the back of the cape. You can use glitter paint or puffy paint to draw your little superhero’s name. Get creative and let you children in on the fun! They’ll love decorating their own capes! The possibilities are endless.