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My sister got married a few days after Christmas. She had asked me to make the topper for their pecan pie they were having at the reception. After a few different failed attempts, I think it looks pretty good, and most importantly, my sister loved it.
(And yes, I did photograph the final product being held up by my couch cushions. Silly me, I didn’t have a pie handy…and I was too busy with the cheese platter at the reception to take a picture of it actually in the pie…)

When I first tried making this, I thought I had a pretty good idea-just cut out triangles and glue them on a piece of string that is tied to a couple skewers.
But the super glue got everywhere, the burlap I was using wouldn’t stick to it, and I ended up with my fingers glued together and a pile of sticky burlap.
After that first attempt, I was done. I quit. I called my sister to ask if she really needed a pie topper. She told me to eat a granola bar and try it a different way–just fold the burlap in half and sew it onto the string.
I told her it would never work and hung up the phone. But after my granola bar, I realized she was right.
So here’s how I made it:

You’ll need some fabric. I used burlap because that’s what I was ordered to use. But any fabric you want will do…and will probably be easier. Burlap gets everywhere and it kind of smells funky.

Take the long side of the fabric and fold it over, like so:

Then just cut out a bunch of little triangles. When you open them, they should resemble diamonds. And you don’t necessarily have to cut out triangles. You could do any shape you wanted.

Then fold a few onto a piece of string and pin them in place.

FYI, you’ll want an extra long piece of string. It’s easier to cut off any excess…but if you run out of string…well, then you run out of string.

Once they’re pinned, you can sew them onto the string. 

Now, I had my mom do this part because I was still grumpy and my sewing skills are pathetic. One of my goals this year is to get a little better/braver at sewing stuff. Next project I do that requires sewing I promise I will actually do it and not make my mom come and do it for me. 

Anyway, all she did was sew them down onto the string, and then she sewed the sides down so they weren’t open.

I kind of cleaned up the sides, but I didn’t trim all the way to where my mom sewed the triangle shut. Burlap can come apart easily so I didn’t want it to come open or anything.

Once they were all sewed down, I tied the ends to a wooded skewer. I used the ones intended for 

shish-ka-bobs…they were the perfect size for a little pie topper.

I tied them a few times and put a small dab of super glue on the knot to secure it in place.

For this banner, I used a sharpie to write the letters. I’m sure if you’re more proficient in sewing you can sew letters on. 

I learned a few different things while making this little banner:

1. Never try and make anything while you are hangry

2. Super glue will get everywhere

3. Mom’s can fix anything

I think I might try another banner like this soon…with easier fabric and on a bit larger scale. 

I wish I had a photo of it in the pie, but that cheese platter was so dang delicious. 

My sister loved it though, and that’s all that matters.

Super Easy Small Gift Box

So I’ve been thinking about what I should make my neighbors for a small Christmas present. I decided to make some super scrumptious Chocolate Chip Bars. But I wanted something cute to deliver them in. Then I remembered some boxes I used to make when I was little, I think my sister showed me how to make these. So I got my paper out and started folding and they turned out great! I added a bow and a tag and it made that all that much more awesome! What do you think?

The Lid:

First we are going to start with a square piece of paper. Mine is 12″x12″. Any size square will work for this, the directions will be exactly the same, but it’ll just make a different size box.

Next fold the square in half to make a triangle, unfold. Fold it in half again, forming another triangle just the other way, unfold.

 Now you should have something like this, a square with an X in the middle.

Now take one corner and fold it into the middle. The tip of the outer corner will be where the 2 fold lines cross in the center.

 Do this to all 4 corners, you should now have something like this.

Now we are going to keep folding always folding in the corners at a different line. For the next step fold in the corner  to the line just beyond the middle crease. You will need to do this with each corner.

 You should then have something like this. Lots of fold and lots of little squares.

Now the last set of folds. We are going to fold in the corners to the very first fold you come to. It’ll create a small triangle.

Now you should have something like this, with even more folds, squares, and triangles.

Next, we are going to make a couple of cuts. The small triangle that you just made with the previous fold, cut in two squares worth at the ends of that triangle.

Now make the same cuts to the side opposite. You are done cutting.

Now turn so you have one of the corners that of the square that you didn’t cut. It should look like this.

 At the very edges fold in the small triangles, using the folds that are already there.

Again using the same creases that you’ve already made, fold the top corner down to the middle again.

 Now fold that whole portion over, and crease again.

Unfold and then fold over the small squares.

Now we are going to do the exact same thing to the opposite side. Fold in the small triangle.

Fold down the corner to the middle.

Fold over again, unfold.

Fold over the the two small squares.

Now you should have something that looks like this.

Now turn to the opposite corners. The small squares that you folded over should be standing up like this.

Take those two squares and pull together so they are side by side.

Now pull up the side of the box so it covers the outside of the two smaller square flaps.

Now fold over the rest so that the top corner folds right back to the center.

Now you should have something that looks like this.

We are going to do the same thing to the other side. Fold the two small squares so they are next to each other.

Fold up the outer side.

 And then fold over the flap so that the outer corner is back in the middle.

Yay! You are done with one part!

Optional: If you want to pull up the corners that are now all in the middle and put a small dab of glue you can. I’ve found that the box stays just fine so I don’t put glue there.

The Base:

Now we are going to make the base of the box. We want the base of the box to fit just inside the lid, so we want it just a tad bit smaller. I cut off ¼ inch from two sides, so my square paper is 11¾”x11¾”. 

(I made a few different sizes of boxes and I found the ¼” was the right amount for any size of box you make.)

So just a little strip of paper from two sides.

Now make all the same folds that you did for the lid.

Again, same cuts.

Fold the sides just like the top.

And you should have something that looks just like the lid.

Now you have the lid and base! YAY!

And the base should fit just barely into the lid.

Turn it over and you have a nice little gift box!

I lined my boxes in wax paper, popped in some goodies, and tied with a bow.

This one I also added a little tag for something a little extra. I found the tag over at Minted Strawberry. So cute!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!