Blog Hop: Mom's "Out" Box. A tutorial for "No Housework Day" and a giveaway

Welcome to the National No Housework Day Online Blog hop! If you have arrived not knowing until now about the hop, no problem...just go back to If It's Groovy where this hop starts and work your way through. You may find games, prizes, projects and how do-you-dos along the path :) We would appreciate it if you sign up to keep in touch with us by "following" and would love your comments!
Perhaps you arrived here fromScrapbookers Anonymous. Great! Hope you enjoyed that stop and the others so far!!!

We celebrate this national holiday by scrapping today and into the weekend with projects that remind us of housework or getting away from it!!! Take the day off, put up your feet and let's hop!

Let's make this "out" box to tell everyone to get out of your craft room so you can enjoy No Housework Day, or you could say "Put it in the out box , I'll do it tomorrow", you could make a tag to indicate this is for the Honey Do List (that you will do tomorrow) you get the idea! Most of my usual followers are fabric crafters so this is right up their alley but I made this simple enough for anyone to follow. It also makes a great little accessory for a paper crafters workroom.



Supplies:

2- Fabric pieces of fabric 19" square
2- Fusible fleece pieces 19" square
2- 3/4" Grommets
2" painters tape (optional)
Acrylic ruler with 45 degree angle marking (optional)
Ribbon, and embellishments of your choice
A sewing machine
Scissors
Rotary Cutter (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut your fabric and fleece.

2. Apply fusible fleece to the wrong side of each piece of fabric according to manufacturers instructions.

3. With a ruler mark all the way around the underside of both squares at 3 1/4". You can see I made a mistake so you have to do as I say and  not as I do here :)

This part is optional. I wanted to quilt the outside of my box to make it more fun. If you don't want to do thus part meet us at step

4. Go to the garage and steal your husbands painter's tape. If you don't have a garage, husband, or tape you might have to go to the hardware store (but that is okay because it is shopping not housework :) ) I used 2" tape here.

5. Use the 45 degree line on your ruler lining up your corner at 2 inches. Place a piece of painters tape on your fabric along the edge of the ruler.

6. Measure over 2 inches from the edge of the tape and put another piece of tape across the fabric there. Continue until you reach the opposite corner of the square.

7. Sew down each side of the painters tape. I do not use a walking foot here becuase the fleece is fusible so it won't shift.

8. Take your tape off but don't crumple it up. Just stick it to the side of your rotary mat or something to keep it straight. You will turn the square to one of the adjacent corners and do steps 5-7 again.

When you are done you will have these cute diamonds quilted into  your box.

9. Put the two squares together right sides facing.

10. Pin all the way arround leave 4-6" open on one side for turning. I like to mark my opening with 2 pins like this so that I remember not to sew through my opening. Sew a 1/4 inch seam all the way around.

11. Once you sew all the way around your square (being sure to leave an opening) put your hand inside and open up the corner like this:

12. Flatten your corner so that your seams meet in the middle. My thumb is on the seam and underneath the other side seam meets it. This will make more sense when you do it. Put a pin in your drawn line on the seam and through to the other side making sure that it goes through the line and the seam on the other side.

It is hard to see the pin here so I made an arrow ;)

13. Pin on each side the same way making sure that the lines are meeting on top and bottom.

14. Sew on your line making sure to back stitch at both ends.

15. Repeat step 14 sewing over your sewn line a second time. Repeat for all fourcorners.

16. Measure 1/4 inch from the sewn line and cut off the corner. You will get little squares like this:

You have a little box now :)

17. Turn your box right side out.

18. Use your thumb and fingers to get the seams turned so they lay flat around the top edge of the box.

19. Iron around the top of the box.

20. When you come to your turning opening turn each side in 1/4 inch and iron.

21. Pin the opening closed with the top sides turn in.

22. Top stitch all the way around the top of the box at approximately 1/8 inch.

See here is where my opening was and you can't even tell :)

23. Turn the bottom sides down and iron to make a nice crisp square bottom.

24. Turn the corners so they lay flat and iron to crisp those up too.

Voila a box...

25. Let's make her prettier. Measure to the center of the front of the box it should be about 6 inches from each side. Put a pin in it :)

26. Measure up 1 1/2 inch from the bottom and 2 inches to each side of the pin and make a dot with a pencil.

27. Put a grommet over the dot and make a circle the size of the inside of the grommet.

28. Cut a small circle where you marked. You want the hole to be a little bit smaller than the grommet so that the edges are covered by the grommet and it's washer. This is fabric so you need to cover those edges.

 I decided to use this adorable 7 Gypsies tag for my basket... I thought it was perfect with the "Do Not Disturb" but you can make your own to say whatever you like of course.

29. I used about a yard of two ribbons and tied them through the grommets.

30. Then I attached the tag and made another bow.

When No Housework Day is over you can use it for holding your 12" x 12" papers.

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. If you would like to make one for yourself. I have the fabrics available in my shop. I am giving away a kit for this basket it will include the fabric and fusible fleece. Leave a comment below to be entered in the giveaway.

Thanks for your visit, please head over to see Scrapbooking SOS. Enjoy!