HOMEMADE TASSEL...

Hey y'all, have you seen all the wonderful TASSELS hanging out in blogland?...Aren't they wonderful?  I have used regular tassels on lamp shades, as drape tiebacks and such but how about all of these cute decorative tassels...there is one to fit every style and room...who would've thunk it? 

I have seen some exquisite ones, whimsical ones, rustic ones...you name it, it's out there and I have been dying to have one of my own...but they are a little too pricey EXPENSIVE for me...soooo, I decided to make one myself...

...of course, this was not a professional job using the highest quality materials or the know how of all those skilled tasselmakers out there...but I think it turned out plum CUTE...

Although I would not consider this a TUTORIAL, the following shows what items I used and explains how I made my cute little Autumn Blessings Tassel...

Gathered my supplies...(these were things I had on had, I did not purchase anything except the burlap for this project)

The body of this tassel (what other's would call the topper) is this adorable little scarecrow plant/floral pick...Ain't he SOOOO cute...

NEXT, since I didn't have any fringe on hand...I MADE some...yes, I made several different fringes...some I made from raffia, some from burlap and some from the other fabric shown...

...this is how I did it...(sorry for the quality of my pictures)

...using tape (in my case electrical tape, I couldn't find my masking tape which would have worked better), I laid out a length of tape approximately 8 inches long and attached lengths of raffia to it...then topped it off with another piece of tape to secure the raffia in place...VIOlA' raffia fringe....I know FANCY, huh....(okay, I trimed the top up to make it a little prettier)...

...next, I cut a strip of burlap about 4 inches wide by 8 inches long...I wrapped a piece of tape on lengthwise at the top edge of the fabric (I used the salvage edge as the bottom of my fringe here, because burlap tends to unravel)...

Next, I cut the burlap in 1/4 inch wide strips all the way up to the tape line...

 ...until I had burlap fringe...I used the same process to make fringe out of the brown and orange floral fabric EXCEPT I made the fringe slightly shorter by using a strip of fabric that was 8 inches long by 3 inches wide...

Once I had my fringes made, I removed the stick from the scarecrow and began hot glueing each one, starting with the raffia fringe, around the bottom half of my scarecrow...

 ...after the raffia fringe I added the burlap fringe, then the brown and orange floral fringe...each time moving slightly up the scarecrow's body toward his waste...

Then I randomly glued on small strips of ribbon, folded in half to make loops, until I had several layers...to finish it off...I glued a narrow strip of ribbon around his waste like a belt to hide all the rough edges and attached a faux fall leaf for decoration...

...for the "hanger" I looped a 6 inch long piece of raffia...tied at the end and hot glued it to the back of Mr. Scarecrow's hat....VIOLA' ......my very own, one of a kind, cheap THRIFTY...homemade tassel.

Well, I know my little guy is not a high quality professionally made tassel...but I did enjoy making it...and I am thrilled with the outcome....I think I am going to make tassels for each one of my friends for Christmas (shhh...don't tell 'em)...provided I find the right toppers to use...AND of course, I won't be using ELECTRICAL TAPE to make fringe, lol...

...I guess I will just have to come up with something a little more sophistocated and high tech...hee, hee.

For a BETTER (more professional) tassel making tutorial...click the McKay Designs link below...

http://www.kmckaydesigns.com/projects/decorative-tassels.html

Have a GREAT day...and try making your own tassel...I would LOVE to see what YOU come up with!!

Joining Kate @ Centsational Girl for the It's Fall Y'all--Fall Crafts party...

and these other fabulous parties:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove
Show your Creation @ Kristin's Creations