School Poster Project

 I helped Lizzy to make a poster for "The Good Dog" project for school.


 The inspiration for this part of the project is from The Artist Woman's blog: How To Make an Acrostic Book We used Tempra paint for the back ground and cut out the "dog" letters with card stock quality paper. The small word cut outs are an idea from her blog as well.

We were inspired by The Mellow Miller's craft project Wall art Dog Collage for Lizzy's malamute centerpiece. We used construction paper and lined filler paper. The blue of the eyes are tempra paint as well over black construction paper. We covered her malamute with clear contact paper because I thought the filler paper was weak in comparison and was concerned about the eyes, nose and mouth being picked off at school by other children if the corners lifted because we used elmers glue.

Hair Clips: Repurpose and save alot!

 

 We found old silk flowers among the mass of craft things and took them apart to re-purpose them into hair accessories for my daughters. My daughters are 8 years apart and that is why some look they are for a young adult and some for a preteen :)
Supplies:
silk flowers
buttons
sequins
old ponytails, barretts, & clips
ribbon

Tools:
thread
needles
glue gun & sticks
scissors
plyers

Take apart the flowers but keep them in order so you can recreate it the way it was (if you wish). Figure out what you want your clip to look like. Sew the pieces together and to the clip. Where you cannot sew, then use your glue gun. I use very little glue for the clips, but you can use glue exclusively if you wish.

You could also use wire to secure the flowers in place to the clips.

I've had these things around the house and it cost nothing to make these clips today. My inspiration was at the mall where they are selling some clips for over $10. I can't fathom paying  $10 for 1 clip!

If you aren't crafty and would like to buy some please check out my friend Jenna at Etsy: Frills And Fuss . She makes beautiful clips and they aren't from scraps around her house, (like mine are). All of her hair accessories are gorgeous and made from new materials.

Garland

A few years ago I punched out a stack of flowers with a 3" flower punch bought from a craft store for around $10. My daughter and I then sewed them together on the sewing machine. The pictures were taken an older camera and aren't that sharp. But below you can kind of see that we only sewed the centers of the flowers. It held up really well inside. I'm not sure how it would for an outside party. Make sure you change the sewing needle before using with fabric because the paper will dull the tip pretty fast.

Hair Ribbons

Pom-pom bows can be made easily and will out-last the ponytail. I made these 6 years ago and they still look great. To start you will need ribbon. I used grosgrain and satin ribbon for most of the bows I made. You will also need pony-tails or clasps, and jewelery wire. For tools: you will need scissors, wire cutters, needle-nose pliers, and fray check.
1. Folding: These ribbons shown here were folded 4" wide to make 2 folds or loops on each side so that would be around 20" altogether.
2. Fold centers: Although this step is a pain, if you do not fold down centers and are using grosgrain or a heavy ribbon you will notice that the center is too chuncky when you secure it with the wire and it will not lay nicely.
I made 2" bobby pins, you can see one in the center under "Supplies". When you are holding your ribbon it goes easier if your wire is ready.
(It would have been great if I had 3 hands. If you have something like a clasp or clamp tool it may be very helpful in this step.)
3. Twist and trim wire to 5/8".
4. Turn sharp end downward toward bulk of ribbon to prevent someone from getting poked or scratched.
5a. When making more than 1 color you'll need to make each color a bit smaller than the bottom one. I didn't want the silver to stand out that much so I made it the same width as the blue layer.
5b.After you figure out how you want it to look, stack it and add a ponytail or barrette, and secure it with another piece of wire. Trim your ends and use fray check. I've noticed that some fray-checks leave a white residue so always test first.
6. Last step is to cover the wire with a scrap of ribbon and sew it where no one will notice.

Crayon Box Saver

How many times does the box from crayons get too weak to hold crayons. It happens a lot here and the crayons end up in the big tub with the broken ones. I really love the size of the crayon box because it perfectly fits all the crayons from the box. It's not too small and not too big. My daughters desk is not very big, so I came up with an idea.
I thought I'd try something different, than handing her a pencil box when her box deteriorated. In August when I bought a 16 cent box of crayons, I thought I'd reinforce it with packing tape. It held up well and lasted longer than the crayons. This week we had several crayons break so I was going to give her another box. But, first I reinforced this one too. I could have used the other one, but then I wouldn't have pictures for here. :)

Tape top & bottom first. First I took about a 4" piece of tape for the top of the box. The box top is much smaller (2.75" x 1"). I cut the tape so that it would lay flat when I folded it over. The picture didn't come out well for this step because the tape is clear. After taping the top and bottom of box, I then took a 9" piece of tape and went around the front, sides, and back of the tape. I had the overlapping part in the back so that the front would look nicer. Because my tape is only 2" wide I had to use two 9" pieces of tape.Mark a line with a ruler & sharpie, then cut with a sharp utility knife. Do not cut back side. After taping it I cut it like a flip top box of crayons. I realized after I cut it that I should have used a ruler and sharpie.
Add a button with quilt/button thread (or 1/8" ribbon) & an upholstery needle. Leave ends long for easy tying. Place small piece of tape over ends. The button and string makes it look cute and keeps the crayons inside the box.
Tie some thread at the top with at least a 8" tail to wrap around button. To start with my string was probably 12" long. It's not easy getting inside the box, so I wanted plenty of room to tie the ends off. I added another button as can be seen in first picture at top. I thought it looked better that way. With 2 buttons you'll need an 8" tail of thread, not a 5" one. It would look like an inner office folder if you also add a circle of cardstock a little bigger than the button and use red thread. Maybe next time I will try it that way.

New Washcloth

I found a new pattern for a washcloth. It is the zigzag pattern. I forget the other name for it. It is right there on the tip of my tongue... chevrons... maybe that is it. :) This is a quick one, no border and looks nice, yeah!

Most prefer a washcloth for dishes that is under 8" x 8" (20cm x 20cm). It is just big enough for your hand and you can get into a heavy glass with it. This one is my favorite.

I changed my pattern a little. The first 6 rows are solid the middle two are like rows 7 and 8 and then the last 6 rows are solid again. You can make yours as you wish. My finished washcloth is 9" wide x 8 1/2" tall, (23cm x 21.5cm).
In order to clearly see and/or print the directions to the left just click on it and you should see it full size.

2 New Wash Cloths for Washing Dishes

Patterns many times develop when you use variegated colored yarn. This one is my favorite pattern. I love this style wash clothes (for dishes) because they are the perfect size and thickness for my hand. They are also very easy and quick to make.

Gauge: Not important

Hook size: US G/6.00 mm

1. Ch22 loosely.

2. Row 1: Turn, hdc in 3rd chain from hook and then in each chain.

3. Rows 2 - 12: Turn and chain 2, hdc in each hdc.

4. Round 1: Change color if you wish and... Turn and chain 2 (this counts as 1 hdc), hdc 2 more times in corner and then hdc in each hdc except the corners get 3 hdc. On sides evenly crochet around 19 hdc. slst in second chain of beginning ch2.

5. Round 2: Chain 1 and single crochet in each hdc except sc 3 in corners. Slst in beginning ch 1. Tie off.

Key: sc= single crochet hdc= half double crochet slst= slip stitch