'Ailina Willis: Tutorials

I spent a couple hours setting up and organizing the laundry room last night. I was happy to get it clean and tidy, but there was nothing pretty about it. That's par for the course of moving into a new house, though.

This morning, after washing a load of kids' clothes, I found a full 31 cents in change! My coin jar from the old house didn't make the move, and I didn't have any pockets, so I made up my mind right then to craft a pretty tip jar for the new laundry room. It wouldn't transform the space, but it would be my very first lovingly created project for the new house.

I didn't buy a single item to make this. I used what I had around the house.

Supplies:

jar
lined paper
clear clipboard, or any clear surface
clear packing tape
permanent marker, fine point
cloth napkin
ribbon

1. Find a font. I looked up "antique type" and found dozens of samples.

2. Put lined paper inside clipboard so the lines are visible through the plastic. Put a stack of other papers or maybe a folded towel beneath the lined paper to stabilize it.

3. Tear off a piece of tape long enough to wrap around the jar. Place the tape on the clipboard.

4. Using the lined paper as a guide, draw the letters on the tape. Be careful not to smudge. In case of smudges, use the corner of a twisted paper towel to remove any unwanted ink. To start over completely, simply wipe off or use a new piece of tape.

5. Tear off another strip of tape and place over the first piece to seal. Smooth out any air bubbles. The ink will feather between the layers of tape. This is a good thing -- the feathering is what gives the letters a true antiqued quality. Remove handmade decal and carefully tape to jar.

6. Fold a cloth napkin, right sides together, lining up two corners. Cut the pieces for the pouch in the shape shown. Be sure pouch pattern pieces are large enough to fill the jar.

7. Right sides together, handstitch or machine sew along the edges.