I is for Insulated

Welcome back for letter I in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! This is number 9 people...we're more than 1/3 of the way through. Amazing.

Because I'm sooooo nice, I'm going to give you another super easy project that looks fancy. These insulated beverage cozies are also pretty popular if you give a batch to a friend who likes to barbecue. There will suddenly be birthday and Christmas requests coming from the left and the right. Ask me how I know this...

Alrighty...let's get down to brass tacks and make us up some cozies. I originally got the idea from Amy over at Positively Splendid, but we're Bronco fans around here so obviously I needed to show a little team spirit. I also changed things up just a bit for my project because, you know, I do that.

You need five layers of fabric to make these babies:

• 1 layer of fabric for the outside. (My BSU fabric)
• 1 layer of fabric for the inside...my blue fabric is actually cut from a cotton sheet.
• 2 layers of fusible fleece. (Believe it or not - only one of the two white pieces up there is fleece)
• 1 layer of Insulbright. (The other white piece up there. This is what keeps these insulated. I know, you're bummed, you were planning on just putting these together with supplies you already have in the house. Sorry. You need this.)

Start off by cutting rectangles from each of your fabrics to build your five layers. Amy suggested 11 x 5" pieces in her tutorial. I tend to make larger seams than a lot of others, so mine were a smidge bigger at 11 1/2 x 5 1/2.

Iron a piece of fusible fleece to the back of each of your two fabrics. 

Layer as follows: 

• Outside layer/fusible fleece with outside layer facing up.
• Inside layer/fusible fleece with inside layer facing outside layer (fleece facing up).
• Insulbright (don't worry about sides...it's all good).

Sew 3/4 of the way around the cozie, leaving one of your narrow ends about 3 1/2" open (make sure to close your corners and sew a little beyond them or keeping your edges clean will be awful. (Ask me how I know...)

Trim your seams so you won't have as much bulk to manipulate and cut your corners at an angle so you'll get a nice crisp point when you flip. Leave your unsewn edges alone. Don't touch them. Seriously. 

Flip your cozie inside out so that the Insulbright is the center layer. Poke the corners out fully with your weapon of choice. (I use a chopstick.) Tuck the open edges from your narrow end inside, pin closed, and top stitch all the way around the cozie.

Add 4 1/4" of Velcro to each narrow edge (one on the outside, one on the inside). I used 3/4" Velcro and it holds just great, but using a wider piece of Velcro could potentially allow your cozies to fit a wider range of beverages. As it is, these will fit beer bottles, soda cans, and disposable coffee cups (you don't need a sleeve any more).

They'll keep cold ones cold and hot ones from burning your freaking hands off. Multiseasonal & multipurpose presents are the best!


Miss any of my A to Z posts so far this year?

1. A is for Anna (Easy Anna Cape)
2. B is for Bath (Appliqued Bath Mat)
3. C is for Child (Children's Growth Ruler)
4. D is for Denim (Denim Bib)
5. E is for Etch (Etched Casserole Dishes)
6. F is for Felt (Felt Hopscotch Mat)
7. G is for Good Night ("Good Night" Envelope Pillows)
8. H is for Hood (Easy Hooded Towel)

Are you visiting from A to Z? 

Be sure to leave me a comment (including your blog link) so I can come over and return the favor!

I can't believe this week is almost over! I'll be back for J tomorrow and then I'll be enjoying my day off. (Okay...really I'll be finishing up the projects that still aren't done for letters M & N and then working on getting going for letters U and W-Z, but we won't talk about that...)

Football Season Mantle

Are you ready for some football? (How sick are you of hearing that phrase around the blogosphere?)

Ready or not, football season is upon us. Around here, that means Boise State. We love our Broncos. This valley goes crazy when September arrives.

I decided it was time to get our house in the festive spirit as well. Why not? So I decided to tackle the mantle yet again.

By the way...the spelling of mantle is one of those things that drives me crazy. Apparently you can spell it either mant-LE or mant-EL. Both mantle and mantel are interchangeable. I hate indecisiveness in language. Especially since I seem to run into mantel all over Pinterest, while I seem to prefer mantle. * End rant. *

The initial endeavor for this project failed miserably. I planned to make some cardboard letters, but it was the project disaster that ended up finding a home in the trashcan.

I redesigned and moved on. Because I'm a ... professional? Who knows? Something like that, I guess.

The first part was easy. A photo made for us last Christmas by my brother Tyler and his wife Victoria. It was taken at a game last season. Next to that, a blue beer bottle from some home brew my brother Chad made. This mantle is a family affair.

On the left side, a few more bottles. This time, a twine wound bottle from our wedding tied with an orange ribbon and an empty wine bottle filled with water and blue food coloring that I sealed with a saved cork. 

I dug out a photo frame that hadn't seen the light of day since approximately 2006. It was hunter green and needed a little neutralizing. A quick black paint job and it was ready to go. In it, a copy of the Boise State fight song all decked out in blue and orange.

After that, the big guns. I needed a centerpiece.

I busted out one of the $2 shelves I salvaged over at ReStore (one of my favorite places in the world) and gave it a quick prime/spray paint.

Thanks to my lack of transfer paper (a small oversight), I had to change my initial plans. I printed out my logos and laid them down over the shelf. I traced over them with an X-Acto knife, leaving small indentations that I could follow for painting.

I hand painted the sign while listening to last week's game (which we won, by the way). Once again, I was reminded that tempera paint is not always my friend. It turned out a little less smooth than I originally planned. But, I think it still looks pretty sharp. I sealed it with some clear coat and it was ready to go. Darian thought it was a sticker, so I'm calling it a win.

Speaking of Darian, he made it obvious that I decorate the mantle far too often. I was down measuring the length when he piped in, "Oh...you're making one of those again?" He was referring to the banner.

The banner was pretty straight forward. Some cardstock triangles, a string of blue ribbon, a little bit of glue, and some strips of leftover fabric. Voila. 

Just like that, festive banner. Go Broncos!!

"X" is for Xilinous

Wow! We're almost done! Today is "X" in the A to Z Challenge. Only two more days after today.

We're going to round out the end of the alphabet with another BSU post. Because I love my Broncos...and so does the family.

Today's "X" word is "Xilinous". Xilinous is an obscure word meaning "of, like, or pertaining to cotton" (source). I just happen to have a lot of cotton in my fabric stash...in the form of t-shirt material left over from my dad's BSU T-Shirt Quilt. See...we're totally coming full circle here.

"D" is for Dress

Are you keeping track? The A-to-Z Challenge is now up to D...

...and D is for...Dress!

That's right...it's the second BSU themed project of the A-to-Z Challenge. I told you we love Boise State around here.

"B" is for Boise State

It's "B" day on the A-to-Z Challenge!

In our case, B is for Boise State! Our family is a huge fan of the Broncos. Football season is a serious time around here. One of the biggest fans is my dad...so I decided that he needed a Boise State themed present for Christmas in 2012.

For those of you who have been around for a while, you know that each Christmas I do the Christmas Project Countdown, where I try to finish everyone's gifts before time runs out on Christmas Eve. I've gotten better at it every year, but it's still always a challenge. You also know that each year, one person gets the big present...the one present that is the total time suck (it's almost always a quilt...they take FOREVER). Well, in 2012, it was Dad's year.