Category: crafts

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Clipboards with Class

Do you have any boring old clipboards just sitting around looking ugly? Well, I spent the other day with my daughter, April and she showed me how to spruce them up and make them so pretty–you’d be proud to use them anywhere. In fact, if you use a new clipboard they would make a great gift. Don’t be afraid…it was really easy and just see how cute they look!

All you need is:

A clipboard

2 sheets of scrapbook paper

Mod Podge

Scissors

Emery board

Trace the clipboard onto one of the sheets of scrapbook paper.

Trace a 3 inch strip from contrasting paper for the top of the clipboard.

Cut both pieces out.

Spread Mod Podge adhesive and apply paper carefully.

Smooth out excess glue and air bubbles with a plastic scraper.

From the contrasting piece of scrapbook paper, mark and cut out where the metal clip piece will be. It doesn’t have to be exact because even if some of the board shows it still looks fine. Glue it in place. Let the glue dry for about 10 minutes.

Sand the excess paper off the edges of the board with a nail file, emery board or piece of fine sand paper.

This makes the edges of the clipboard look a bit worn.

Cover the whole thing with Mod Podge in two coats–one going from side to side, the other going up and down to give it a linen-look finish.

Allow the clipboard to dry over night. Be amazed.

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Organizing Craft Supplies

So I have these shelves…

…they hold tons of stuff, but honestly, there’s no order to any of it and that makes me nuts. Looking for a needle? Yeah, well, it’s in there somewhere. I really hate that. Why have stuff if you can’t ever find it?

I thought about it for awhile, and came to the conclusion that the reason for the frustration is that all the containers are different shapes and sizes, none are labeled and they’re just stuffed on the shelf–with no rhyme or reason other than they fit there.

I decided that I would see what I could do to clean all this up and gave myself a $30 budget to do it with.

Walmart is having a good deal on their storage bins and tubs right now–a January thing, I suppose. The shoe boxes were $1 a piece and I bought 20. The small 3 drawer bin was $6 and the 2 small craft sorters were about $1.60 each. That equals $29.20 plus tax. Not bad.

It took most of the day to sort all this stuff, but it was actually fun to see what supplies I have and then to give them all a place. I couldn’t believe how many packages of needles I have socked away. I’m always afraid I won’t be able to find one when I need it, so just I buy more. Sheesh…

I don’t have labels on any of the boxes yet, but since they are clear, I can tell what is in them anyway, so no big rush. This looks even better in real life, because even all the tiny things have a home. Now if I find a button on the floor, I know just where it goes.

Oh, and besides these shelves, I also have this squishy, sweet, smiling baby with a dinosaur on her head—from Aunt April.  She needs a kiss.

I have to go… :]

New Year’s Goal #7– I will organize my stuff so that everything has it’s own place. What I can’t make fit I will get rid of…somehow.

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Tissue Paper Crowns

You will need a sheet of tissue paper–any color, a pair of scissors and a glue stick.

Fold the tissue over on itself until it is about 3-4 inches wide. Cut a point shape about 3 inches up.

Unfold it and glue the two ends together with a glue stick.

Ta-Da!

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Rice Pillow

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At our house the rice pillow is the cozy remedy for sore joints, headaches, tummy trouble, or cold feet. Luckily, they are so easy to make. I made these two out of a couple of T-shirts that I was finished with.

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Cut two strips of fabric–the striped one is about 15″x 4.” The flower one is about 15″x 5.” The size depends on what you’ll be doing with it. A nice square is great for keeping your feet warm and a longer strip makes a good back of the neck wrap. The exact measurements aren’t that big of a deal.

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Double zigzag the edges leaving one short side open.

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Fill with rice, or wheat. We chose wheat because this is Utah…and we are all about wheat.  :]

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You can sew the end shut or tie it into a huge knot–that works well with cotton knit.

It is a good idea to sew a pillow case for your rice pillow that you can remove and throw in the washer every week or so.

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Steiner Baby

I first saw these little dollies on a site called Sooz. They are tiny and simple to stitch together from felt scraps, T-shirt fabric and some cotton thread. They just looked sweet to me and it was easy to imagine them sneaking into a six-year-old’s pocket as she’s on her way to church. I’ll show you my adventure with this fun thing.

I folded a piece of paper and sketched a basic pattern. It wasn’t anything complicated. I’ll post a pattern here by day’s end–but really it’s quite simple. Cut two from felt–wool felt is wonderful, but I had a piece of earthy brown regular felt and I couldn’t resist using it.

This will give you a good idea of the size. Just right for your Goldilocks. Use a blanket stitch to sew the front and back together.

I didn’t have a flesh colored piece of interlock for the head and none of my kids had a T-shirt the right color either or it would have been in great danger. I finally bought a 4″ strip at the fabric store. Fold a 4″x 4″ piece and sew a 2″ wide casing. Gather the top into a bunch. Turn it right side out.

Stuff the head and body with cotton or wool batting.

Sew it onto the body.

I made a brown braid from cotton thread, and cut out a bandana from red sparkle felt.

After tacking on the bandana, sew two simple stitch sleepy eyes.

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