Cropping Pictures for Ornaments or Jewelry - PicMonkey

Christmas is just around the corner, and I'm already in the mood to put up a tree!!!

Darn that Hobby Lobby!

They put Christmas stuff out so early - 

who can help themselves?

Truthfully, I think one of the reasons I'm so excited is I get to add a 2nd sweet grand baby's face to my tree.  I didn't used to decorate much with those kinds of ornaments, but when you have grand babies as cute as mine - it's a must!

See what I mean?

This handsome man joined our

family in July of this year.

Here is a quick, little tutorial to help you get a nicely cropped, quality picture that will look great in your ornament, piece of jewelry, or tiny frame:

Go to PicMonkey.com and click the Edit button.  (PicMonkey is a photo editing site that has tons of cool edits for FREE!)  When you click Edit, places you store pictures on your computer will pop up, and you just need to select the picture you wish to edit.

Once you have your picture pulled up in PicMonkey, click the Crop button on the left.

Within the Crop function, you will click on the little drop-down menu and select "how" you wish to crop your picture.  For my application I'm choosing a Square.  As soon as you click Square - a square highlight will pop up on your picture.  You can now drag this anywhere on your picture to frame what you want included in the crop.  You can also adjust the size by grabbing one of the corners and sliding it.  When you are happy with the size and position, Click Apply.

This will leave you with a wonderfully squared picture.  All you need to do now is Save it back to your computer with a new name.

To print the picture, open Word (or some other word processing software), and create a New Document.  Click on Insert, then select Picture - and choose your newly created picture from where you stored it on your computer.  When you hit Enter, your picture will appear in the document.  The last step is to go over to the right of your screen and enter the dimensions you need your picture to be.  If it is an inch - use 1.0   If a half inch - then .5   All that is left is to print your picture and cut it out!

Wasn't that easy?

If you need a circle for your ornament or jewelry - I made a tutorial for that here.

This little lion is my beautiful grand daughter about 2 years ago.  Don't you agree that my tree will look much sweeter with these two precious babies lighting up its branches?

How I Hung The Chandelier In The Tree

LOL, 

enough people have asked, so here is my answer

to how I finally got the chandelier (see my post here)

way up in my tree.

 

I first tried throwing different things with a thin chord attached - up in my tree.  Sadly, the only throw I was successful at had to do with my shoulder - as in "throwing it out".

I did get the most height with this wreath.  Unfortunately, though, it landed on our roof, in our neighbors yard, in our gutter where it got stuck, and almost on my head.  Not 

a great plan.

I really didn't want to ask Edward for help, because I knew he would poo-poo the whole "chandelier in the tree" thing anyway.  He never likes my ideas in advance - only after they are in place.  I knew I was on my own.  So, I secretly pondered and pondered and pondered, and after much pondering I gave this a try - and it worked!!!

We have these 3 fiberglass rods that hook together.  I can't tell you where to get any - ours were just left here.  3 of them got me to about 18 feet.  Not nearly enough.  

Then I found this thin piece of wood trim that was small enough to fit snuggly inside the fiberglass pole, but sturdy enough not to break.

I attached a metal eye on the end of the wood, then ran a thin chord through the eye.  I tied a piece of metal on the end of the chord and unwound chord the full length of my combined poles - so I could hold it tight.  I then lifted all 28+ feet of pole into the air and balanced the pole until I made contact with the tree branch I wanted.  I pushed the metal piece over the branch and let it fall down the other side - releasing the chord I was holding tight.

Next, I attached a much stronger rope to the chord and pulled that back up over the branch.  Finally, I added some chain to the rope and hung the chandelier.  The rest of the rope is wrapped around a concrete pillar, so I can raise and lower the chandelier at will.

Was this easy?  No!

Did I strain muscles I didn't know I had?  Yes!

Can you hold me liable if you try this and hurt yourself

Never!

There! Now you know my story 

and that I am, indeed, a crazy woman

But a crazy woman with a really fun chandelier in her tree ;) !

Sewing/Cutting a Round Tablecloth

A while ago, I let you in on a secret of how you can use trash cans to make round tables in your home.  You can see that post here.  Today I'd like to show you an easy way to make a round tablecloth for that table, or any other round table you may have.

 

 Step 1.  You will first need to measure the width of the top of your round table.  Next, measure from the top edge to the floor, or however long you want the tablecloth to hang.  Finally, decide how you will finish the edge of the tablecloth.  Will you stitch lace to the edge, serge it, do a rolled hem,  or apply No-fray?  To determine your CUTTING LENGTH:  Add together the width of the top + the drop (length) x 2 + how much you need to hem (If rolled hem - add 1/2 inch, if serging - add 1/4 inch) x 2.

If you have a wide enough piece of fabric, like a sheet, go ahead and skip to Step 4.

Step 2.  Most fabrics are not wide enough for round tablecloths, which means you have to piece them.  To know how much fabric to purchase - take the cutting length you figured above and multiply times 2.  To cut my fabric for piecing, I simply fold the big piece of fabric in half matching up the top and bottom, and cut on the fold.  Then I fold one of those pieces in half lengthwise, and cut on that fold.  You should now have a large rectangle and two strips the same length as the rectangle, but half the width of it.  

Step 3.  I fold each piece of fabric in half width-wise enough to find my center point and start pinning the pieces, right sides together, from the center out. 

Stitch into place.  Open the seams and press nice and flat. 

(In my example, my strips are slightly shorter, but just a 

little and it will not alter the outcome.)

 

Step 4.  Fold the pieced fabric in half lengthwise, matching up the seams and the edges.  Now fold in half the other way, so the top and the bottom of the fabric are lined up.  I like to pin around the edge to keep everything from slipping.  

Step 5.  If you can work on a surface where you can stick a pin into it - that would be great.  My hard wood floors have little gaps between the planks and work perfect for me.  I've marked which corner you will want to stick the pin in.

Step 6.  If your tape is like mine and has a little nail hole, go ahead and measure from the edge of the nail hole to the flat metal edge of the tape measure (probably about 1/4").  Add this small amount to 1/2 your CUTTING LENGTH that you determined in Step 1.  If yours does not have this hole, just use 1/2 your CUTTING LENGTH.  Poke a stick pin into the center of the tape measure at the place that is 1/2 your CUTTING LENGTH plus the 1/4" - if you have a hole.  Now poke the pin through the folded top corner of your fabric and into your surface - if you can.

Step 7.  Put a pen or pencil through the hole of your tape measure, and carefully draw a curved line onto your fabric.  Your tape measure will pivot  on the pin at the top.  Take your time and don't pull on the tape measure, but rather use gentle tension and glide your marking.

Step 8.  Cut through all 4 thicknesses of fabric on the curved line.  When you open your fabric after cutting, you should have a nice, big circle.  Simply finish the edge of the circle with whatever method of hem you decided on, and you are finished!

It really is super easy and very satisfying to make a beautiful round tablecloth in your favorite fabric.  Start with a large sheet and give it a try.  If you do go for piecing the fabric, I would recommend you stay with a plain fabric until you get the hang of piecing fabric and are ready to move on to matching up designs.

Who is going to give this a try?

Thanks for stopping by the Tub!

Ellie

 

Circle Cropping for Projects

Today I have a tutorial to share with you for cropping a perfect circle to use in your crafts, decorating, jewelry, labels, jar lids, scrapbooking - whatever you need a perfect circle for.  You can actually do ovals, squares, and other shapes once you get the hang of it, but I'm demonstrating with a circle since I find I often need one.  The great part is you only need your computer and printer, and you do not have to purchase anything special.  In fact, the online photo editor I use to do this -while they do offer a subscription to get other special effects - everything to do this application is FREE.  The photo editor I'm using is called PicMonkey, but there are others like Ribbet that you could also use.

So, go to PicMonkey.com and click on the Edit a Photo link.

Pull up the picture you want to crop from your computer, the cloud or wherever you have pictures stored, 

and select the Crop button.

Now, on the pull-down menu, select Square.

A highlighted square will appear.

Position the square highlighted box over your 

picture, centering the area you want for your circle,

then adjust the size to the smallest square possible 

that still includes the area you wish to include.  

Click Apply.

Next, click on the Frames link on the left of your screen,

and select Rounded Corners,  

check the box that says Transparent Corners,

then slide the Corner Value Slide all the way to the right.  

(See the aqua arrow)

Finally, Save your rounded picture back to your 

computer giving it a new name.

 Handsome boys if ever I've seen!

When you are ready to print the picture, go to Microsoft Word, click on the Insert button, and select the Picture icon.  Your picture will then show up on your page.  Notice on the right a place for dimensions (see aqua arrow).  Change what is there to fit the size of circle you are needing.

For my locket I received as a gift, I chose .90 and it created a perfect fit.  Just measure the space you want to put a circle in and input that dimension in fractions of an inch.  If you need a 3 / 4 " circle - use . 75.

I hope you have a lot of fun with this!

Happy cropping, and thanks for stopping by the Tub!

Ellie

Sushi - The Lavender Tub Way, The Roll

If you're a sushi lover, I suspect you are going to love this post, because wouldn't it be great to have sushi at home?  If you're not, you're probably wondering why I'm even bothering with this at all. 

Well, my family loooooves sushi.  The problem is we are blessed with two, strapping, teen boys who can't seem to get filled up, and it costs us a fortune to go out for sushi.  We hate to live without it, so I became determined to figure out how to make it!

Lavender Tub Tip:  I've taught all of my children how to make their own sushi rolls.  On sushi night, we prepare the ingredients and then have a sushi making party.  It is really great fun, and you should see how impressive my kids' sushi is.  Won't they be the life of a party some day?

While I did some research, the internet didn't answer all of my questions, therefore the method I'm describing is pretty much my own trial and error.  What I'm demonstrating probably doesn't follow any of the appropriate ways of making sushi, but it is what works for me, and I hope it will for you, too.  I can tell you that the end result tastes about 99% like one of our favorite sushi rolls in our favorite local restaurant, which makes us sooo happy!

All crab sticks are not alike.  I prefer crab sticks that can be pulled
apart in strings, like the brand shown above.  Some crab sticks are
all one pressed tube, and I don't like the taste as well. 
If you have a favorite brand, I hope you will share.

To keep this post from getting too long, I'm going to show you how to make the rice and eel sauce in tomorrow's post.  For now, we are going to assume that you have already prepared those a few hours in advance.

To learn how to make eel sauce, go here:
 For instructions on sushi rice, go here:

For this roll, we will be filling with avocado, cucumber, crab sticks, and cream cheese.  Prepare each of these ingredients by cutting into thin narrow strips (see the pic at the top of the post).  By the way, every ingredient needed to make this roll can be purchased simply at Wal-Mart.

To make the roll, place a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface such as a cutting board.  Lay a sheet of sushi wrapper on the plastic, and spoon sushi rice onto the wrapper.  The rice will be very sticky, but you can still press it somewhat into place with the back of a spoon.  Completely cover the sushi wrapper with rice about 1/3 "  thick.

Place a second sheet of plastic over the rice and press the rice through the plastic with your hand.  You are not trying to smash the rice, just trying to get it to stay together.  Next, flip the sheet over and remove the piece of plastic that is covering the green sushi wrapper.

Line up the sushi fillings along the side of the sushi wrapper closest to you.

Now, grasp the plastic on the closest edge and begin rolling the fillings into the rice covered sushi wrapper.  You will roll the plastic right into the roll.  Press and shape as you roll.

With the roll only about 1/3 complete, stop rolling and gently pull the plastic that has been rolled into the roll, out.  You may need to roll and untuck the plastic a couple of times until you have a roll completely formed.  Again, squeeze and shape the roll until it feels like it is holding together.

Remove the plastic and place the sushi roll, seam down, on a cutting board.  For me, the next part is the hardest to master.  Using a serrated knife that has been slightly dampened, carefully cut the roll using gentle sawing motions.  I find it is best to clean my blade and dampen it between each cut.  It may take some practice to get this down, so just be prepared.

To finish the sushi, I like to garnish the top of each slice with some additional crab meat and a drizzle of eel sauce.

So, what do you think?  No special equipment to buy, no cooking classes - just tools you already have in your kitchen and a little practice.  Do you think you will give it a try? 

I'm surprised how many of my friends think sushi is just raw fish, and are turned off by that.  Sushi comes in raw fish versions, but it is often made with cooked fish/shrimp, and there are vegetarian rolls, as well.  Unless you absolutely hate fish - the wrappers have a bit of a fishy taste - you should give sushi a try.  It really is very, very delicious.

And to my sushi-loving friends, I hope this is exciting for you because you can now have fun making sushi at home, and save enough $ to send your kids to college!  Please write and let me know if you had success with this method, and what flavor of sushi rolls you put together.

Thanks for stopping by the tub,

Ellie

Recovered Bell Lampshade with Boa

We have a lamp in our Living Room that has been looking a bit "Second-Hand Rose-ish" for far too long.  I found a lampshade at a garage sale for $1 that was in good shape, but had the vertical trim pieces falling off.  The plan was just to glue it back together, but I decided to do something a little more colorful since that lamp is where your eye lands when you come in the front door.

So, this is how the shade looked when I bought it
 - nothing special.

For this type of shade, it is best to fit the fabric to the shade.  I lined up the fabric so the weave would fall horizontal at the front of the shade.  A solid fabric or an all-over pattern works best for this shape.

After I pinned the fabric to 1 / 2 of the shade, I ran pins vertically along the opposing vertical side supports of the shade.  This showed me where my stitching line would be.  I, then, used a marker and tape measure to mark 1 / 2 inch (since I was using 1 / 2 " seam allowances) from the vertical pins.  This established my cutting line.

Once I marked both cutting lines, I removed the fabric from the shade and laid it out on a second piece of fabric.  If your fabric has an inside and a face side, be sure to keep the right sides together.  I would suggest you lay the face sides together so you can cut, pin, and then stitch pretty much in one step.

Also, after stitching the 2 side seams I think it is a good idea to try the cover on for size.  My fabric had a lot of stretch to it, and I actually needed to take it in another 1 / 2 inch.  Once I was happy with the fit, I pressed the seams open and slipped the cover on the shade.  Since this cover needs to be glued in place to lay nicely against the frame, I lined up the seams with the supports and then pinned it along the top.

Next, I bunched up the cover and ran some E6000 glue about 1 / 4 of the way down each of the 6 supports.  I did this so I could smooth the cover from the top down and not get glue all over the fabric - which would happen if I ran glue down the full distance of the supports one at a time.  I also pinned it along the supports to make sure the fabric adhered to the frame.

 

To finish the cover, I cut the fabric at the top 1 / 2 " above the top of the shade and then glued it in place.  The pictures show slits cut in the fabric around the top, but when I cut it to 1 / 2 " - slits were not necessary.  They may or may not be depending on your fabric.  I trimmed the bottom of the cover even with the bottom on the shade and glued it down with a thin line of glue.  Finally, I finished the shade by pinning a feather boa as the trim.  I didn't glue it down, because I don't know how committed I am to the boa - but it looks the best from what I have on hand.

It's a little frou-frou, but I think it adds a nice pop of color in that corner and the feathers are kind of fun.  The best part is this project cost me $1 for the shade (garage sale), 50 cents for the fabric (garage sale), and whatever a feather boa is 1 / 2 off at Hobby Lobby.  Not too bad!

Now, about that shabby little table the lamp is sitting on.......

 Thanks for visiting the tub today!

Ellie

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello