Sewing Challenge - week 1

Anyone have a sewing projects or idea they want to do?  Or a pile of clothes in their "to sew" bin?  No?  Just me?  I have been putting off fixing clothes for way too long.  Probably long enough that if I were to pull them out, they won't even fit the hubs or kids anymore!  And the "want to do" sewing projects are stacking up.  So...I'm going to challenge myself to do 1 thing a week.  

Here I go.  

Week 1 - Nothing fun.  Sewing AWANAS patches on my kids vests.  They've been sitting on my desk for a few weeks and the kids keep asking.  Done! ;)

Soap re-do

This is what I gave as teacher gifts this year and a thank you to the leaders in our Sunday School class.  I got the idea from here, but tweaked it just a little.

She has a thorough tutorial and its easy to follow, but here are my (minor) modifications.

*I had a really hard time getting some of the labels off, so decided to leave the front one on.  (Keep in mind, I did about 20 of these, and was too lazy busy to be goo-gone-ing (technical term) that many.  The back label came off just fine, so I made the back the front.  

*I did not spray prime these, instead bought spray paint suitable for plastic.  It said no priming needed and I was all about skipping that step.  

*Since you could still kind of see the label in back (even after 3 coats of paint) I opted to punch a scallop circle out of scrapbook paper and modge podge it on to cover the label.  Worked out just fine and had an added touch of color.

I have a handful left over, so will be finishing them in various ways, just like the original.  I'll do one in black with a "G" for our kitchen sink.  I might do them for Valentines day with a big white heart?  I already have the red paint!

Ragamuffin Garland Tutorial

Got a lot of fabric scraps and want to use them up???  This is perfect!!

Supplies:

Jute (or ribbon)

Ring clips

Fabric

Ribbon (optional)

Scissors

A good movie (optional, but will make the process more fun)

How to:

Cut your jute/ribbon 6 inches longer than desired finished length.  Tie each end to a ring clip.

Cut/rip fabric in roughly 1" by 8-12" strips.  I took my fabric and cut it to about 10" (some were more, some were less), then snipped the edge every 3/4"-1" and ripped each strip off.  I like the frayed looked of the ripped fabric.  (I have no idea how many strips, cut I cut and tied, cut and tied, cut and tied...until it was as full as I wanted.)

I also cut extra jute and ribbons that I had in my ribbon jars.  For that matter, I dug through all my fabric and used some warm and soft batting that was too small for any thing else, extra fleece...pretty much anything that was white, cream, red, or green was fair game!

Put your movie in and start tying.  And keep tying.  And tie some more.  You might actually have to get a second movie going...that how long it takes!  I actually separated my piles into like colors and prints.  (Yes, I'm like that.)  I tied in patterns first.  For example...starting on the left hand side, red plaid every 4 inches across the jute...then green solid...then white, etc.  I wanted it too look random, but also not lopsided with color.  At the end, I filled in where needed.

This one is was for sale here.

All that work and you'd think I'd keep it, right?  Nope.

You can do these on wreath forms, too.  In fact, I picked up some at local garage sales and antique stores this summer with plans to make one from extra drop cloth material.

Personalized Christmas Decor

A post from Christmas last year...

After getting our tree up and decorated (in a minimalist way), I decided it needed a little something extra. I've seen variations of these with the numbers 1-25 (but really...who's going to buy 25 frames???) or ho-ho-ho, but I decided our tree needed a little personalization. And since there are 6 of us now, that ought to fill it up, right? Somehow my car managed to drive me to Hobby Lobby this morning, where there table frames were all 50% off. I rarely buy anything at HL unless is on sale, cuz lets face it...sooner or later everything is on sale there! Anyway...this little project only ended up costing $15...and that's for 6! These would be great gift for a teacher or friend or neighbor, since they were $2.50 each. Who doesn't like a little personalization?

Supplies Needed:

Frames,

Spray paint

Paper

Here's what you do:

Disassembled the frames, so they are just the frame part.  Take outside and attack them with a bottle of flat black spray paint.  Let them dry. In the meantime, find a font that you like and print out initials.  Cut into squares, then reassemble with the initials and viola!

Variations:

Vinyl on the glass with a Christmas paper backing

Embroider or cross-stitch initials on fabric

Print on Christmas paper 

I really just stuck them in the tree like that! Next year, I'm hoping to embroider the letters, but we'll see. With "B" coming in Feb, I know I'm not going to have much free time. :)

Another Adorable Advent Calendar

How cute is this????  And you can get most of the supplies at the Dollar Tree.  My kinda project!

Go here for the tutorial.  Then loose a few hours browsing Infarrantly Creative's wonderful site!

Thanksgiving Tablecloth

Do you think I can squeeze in another craft before Turkey Day?  (The day in which I am not at all prepared for seeing as how I just realized yesterday that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK!!!)

How neat is this idea?  A Soft Place to Land has a great tutorial for this.  I'm going to try it!!!  I happen to have a painter's cloth laying around (one that was supposed to get made into throw pillows) and paint so I shouldn't to buy anything for it.  I like a free craft! :)

Thankful Tree {tutorial}

This is our Thankful Tree.  Each leaf represents something we are thankful for.  We all take turns writing something down.  One leaf per day in November.  After we are done, I will scrapbook the project so we can look back each year and see what has stayed the same and what has changed.  

 I have wanted to do this project for awhile, but since we live in a new neighborhood there are no trees, so no branches.  Apparently it took me a couple of years before I realized I could cut branches from a friends tree.  What's that saying...can't see the forest through the trees?  Um, ya.  Take a step back and look at the bigger picture? :)  I need to do that more.  

Supplies:

Tree branches

Vase

Sand (or rocks or marbles)

String

Paper (in various fall colors)

Leaf punch

Hole punch

Scissors

Pen

How to:

I bought a leaf punch (um, 6 years ago) for another project (family tree) that I have yet to do.  I love having supplies on hand to quickly whip up a project and I already had most of these.

Go out in the yard (or a friends/neighbors....but ask first!) and cut some branches.

Put a floral frog/foam into the vase and cover with sand.  (Yes, I actually had to go buy some overpriced sand at Wal-Mart.)

Punch 30 leaves in various reds, oranges, and yellows.  Mine are patterned, textured and solids. Then punch a hole in the top to hang.

Cut 30 pieces of string to about 6".

Every day write down something you and your family are thankful for and tie it to the "tree." 

(Once I scrap the page, I'll take a picture and add to the post!)

Grocery shopping

We are all creatures of habit.  From our daily routines at home to the order we put on our socks and shoes and how we make (or not) our beds.  Have you ever noticed when you go grocery shopping, you usually go the same route through the store.  Every. Single. Time.  To save time, arrange your grocery shopping list in the order that you generally go through the store and shop efficiently, only going down the aisles you actually need. 

Kids clean up game

I am always looking for creative ways to get my kiddos to help clean up the playroom.  They are much more willing to help if it seems a little fun, right?  So, make a game out of cleaning.  Get a set of big foam dice ($1 store).  Have them roll a die and pick up whatever number it lands on.  This is a two-fer.  They can practice counting AND pick up their toys.c

Crepe Paper Flowers

How cute are these?  Wouldn't they be fun on a wreath or a lampshade?  Here is a great tutorial.  It says its a bit time consuming, but for these....it'll be worth it.