Category: crafts

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Simple. Fancy. Frames.

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Simple? Fancy?

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Simple? Fancy? Sounds like somebody needs to pick a lane here.

But wait.

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You start with some pretty simple stuff…like basic, blank, boring wooden frames.

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Choose some scrapbook paper that you really like.

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Find scissors and dig out the Mod Podge.

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You can trace around the frame if that floats your boat…

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or you can just cut out enough to fit the frame, generally. Either way.

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Paint on the Mod Podge. Have you noticed that it’s actually so much more fun to say, “Modge Podge?” I try very hard to say it just like that whenever the Bald Kid is around. It makes his eye twitch. That’s the goal.

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Even out the gluey stuff. Press the paper onto the sticky surface–right side up…of course. Smooth it out so that there are no bubbles under the paper. We used the end of the paintbrush and a baking scrapper… but you could use a bone folder if you’re really prepared. Now this is important—be sure to let the glue dry.

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Poke a hole in the middle and cut out the excess paper.

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Cut just a bit closer to the frame than silly Lyndi…keep cutting you nut!

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Now, take a file or emery board and sand the edges. It will cut the excess paper off in the process. If your paper and glue isn’t dry you run the risk of tearing the paper with the file. So again–be sure it’s all dry before you sand it.

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Keep going.

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Make sure to get all the edges…

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inside and out.

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Top coat it with another dose of “Modge Podge”… ha ha. There are eyes twitching behind me. Heh.

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Let them dry. Let them dry. Let them dry.

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Now—add the sparkly little doo-dads that make it fancy. Oh, I think this generation calls them “embellishments.” La-tee-da.

Whatever.

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Now then–is this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?

Simple? Check. Fancy? Check. Fabulous? Check.

Bingo.

Or–if you just want someone to do it all for you–check out Somebody’s Stuff. You’ll love it!

 

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Happy Birthday my sweet Lyndi!

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Week # 25 Food Storage Prompt is: 100 lbs. of wheat.

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Confetti Crayons

I’ve seen these all over the place lately and have been anxious to try them. You may have tons of crayons around your house–but if not, luckily, they are about 25 cents in all the Back To School sales now-a-days.

Peel off the paper. When I was a kid–this was easy. But crayons today are a bit more snooty.  They have some plastic stuff under the paper to help the crayons not break so easy–which also makes the paper harder to get off. Ask for help. I was surprised at how many people like to take the paper off of crayons.

Break them up and sort them into whatever color combos interest you.

Drop them in paper lined cupcake pans. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, then turn it off. Set the pan on the top rack and leave them there for about 10-15 minutes…

until they look about like this.

Set them in the freezer for about an hour.

Peel them out of the paper…

and there you have it…

Confetti Crayons for your very favorite little artists.

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Recycled Thought Process…

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When you look at a typical pile of cast off clothing, it’s likely you have the same conversation going on in your head that a lot of us do.

“Can someone else wear that?”

“Should I just donate it to DI or Good Will?”

“Is it unwearable?”

“Should we throw it away?”

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But lately–since my beloved sewing machine has made it’s way home, every too-short shirt and badly fitting sweater has begun morphing in my mind–to something…

more.

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Suddenly, I’m seeing the dreaded, disturbing collection as a fabulous store of potential—spread out in front of me…

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waiting to see what’s next for them in the universal “repurpose” life plan…

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My head seems filled with 10,000 little sticky notes…

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giving a new direction to something old or torn or droopy or faded or just plain ugly.

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It feels good to recycle paper and plastic and unplug the cell phone charger and turn out the lights and use less water and sew pretty handbags out of evil plastic sacks and make things we need right now out of things we thought we were finished with.

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This all may seem like tiny drops in the big, huge world bucket—but doing something always beats doing nothing. So, because we honestly really love this place, this pretty, little planet…we choose something…

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and it feels very right.

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T-shirt Baby Pants

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So with the heat of August, which means a cooler on and off during the day–we’ve needed something to add to the babies’ summer wardrobe that will keep her legs from getting too chilly. She does spend more time on the floor where all the cool air lands.

We’ve found a simple solution in Baby Pants, made from T-shirts. With all the grown-ups around here we are always having T-shirts being passed around. When they finally go through all hands, and no one claims one, we either put in the box for donations or we try to make something else out of it. In this case Baby Pants.

Are you ready?

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First, smooth out the shirt nice and flat so that you have two side folds.

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Using a pair of pants that already fit baby, fold them in half and lay the side edge along one of the folded sides of the the T-shirt with the bottom of the pants lined up on the bottom of the T-shirt.

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Cut around the pants being sure to leave about 1/2 inch seam allowance on the sides, and at least 2 inches at the top. If you are using jeans as a pattern–as I am–be sure to leave a little more because they cut them low these days…even for babies.

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Sorry this is harder to see but flip the piece you just cut out over to the other folded edge and cut it out the same way.

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You’ll have two pieces the same.

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Open them up and place them right sides together.

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Sew down the curved edge on each side, stopping at the point.

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Now, re-orient the pants by matching those two seams together by laying them on top of each other. Now they should look a bit more like pants.

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Sew the inside leg seam being careful to match the bottoms and the middle seams.

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Fold down the top about 1 inch and sew it down, to form a casing–leaving an opening of about 1-1/2 inches.

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Measure around baby’s waist and add one inch. Cut 3/4 inch wide elastic using this measurment.  With a safety pin, guide elastic through the opening, around the waistband and out the other side.

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Sew the two ends of the elastic securely together.

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Sew the opening closed.

And now you have them…

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Soft and squishy, long and cozy, cuddly and warm baby pants! Wahoo!

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Our donation bag is in serious trouble now.

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My Boyfriend’s Back…

Hey la…hey la…

My beloved sewing machine–my Bernina 930…is back.

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It has been gone for a few years on an extended road trip to my daughter’s place–while I strayed away from the proven paths, and explored different, fancier, more high-tech sewing machines.

I’m back now and I’ve repented.

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What I’ve learned, Dorothy, is that while the more expensive, snooty machines can indeed, do everything from defrosting the freezer to performing surgery on ingrown toenails–for me, I just missed the plain, old, regular sewing time. Usually that was because the fancy, ridiculous machine was in the shop—again.

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Now to be fair, I’ve heard that most of these new darlings are wonderful and fill the owner’s life with complete bliss and joy–but somehow I missed that part. In fact, I hated the darn computerized, embroidery-ing, push this button and I’ll sing your kids to sleep ordeal.

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The thing is, with a conventional, metal machine–if something goes wrong, you change a needle or adjust the tension and keep on cookin’. But with the Wonder Woman deal, if an eyelash falls out or the planets aren’t aligned perfectly, the whole diva beast shuts down and you have no idea what the problem is. Now you are once again forced to find a crane to load it back into the car and take it to. the. shop. again. SHEESH.

But this is not a negative post. No, no. This is a happy, joyous, rejoicing, exuberant post. Because my cute daughter–who is now, also converted to the old school, no nonsense, plow-horse machine, just bought one of her very own and handed me this handsome fellow–back. Yee haw!

Welcome home my dah-ling.

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The mending basket has missed you.

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The fabric stash has missed you.

We shall make beautiful music together.

On second thought, forget about the music.

Let’s just sew.