April is Earth Month, and in 2010 several blogs joined up to do the April Stash Bust. Many of the blogs did it again last year. I haven't seen any bloggers talking about it this year, but I am sure there will be all sorts of posts tomorrow.
Today, I am pledging to stash bust in the month of April, and not buy any new craft items. No new hooks, needles, pins, thread, yarn, buttons, fabric, glue... No new tools or materials. Trading non-new items with others is okay, though.
On top of that, I will finish at least ONE of the THREE rugs I am working on for my kids, made of stained, broken clothing and/or blankets. I started the first one just over 2 years ago, the second one about a year and a half ago, and the third one a year ago. It is time to finish these things up. Especially since I found a really cool pattern for weaving a rug from old t-shirt fabrics, and I want to make one for my kitchen... That will be my prize if I finish all three rugs.
Also, Bex bought us a new sewing machine this week, so I should probably finish up a few sewing projects I have sitting around, full of pins without any work done on them. I will do at least one bag this month. With a sewing machine, this should be easy-peasy. (Bonus: All the bags I have cut are from stash-busted fabrics.)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
How to: make a kindle cover from a journal
Steve bought himself a kindle fire and gave me his kindle touch. I made him cover for his kindle touch out of a scrap piece of jeans, but the kindle fire is much bigger. He didn't want to buy a cover because they are a billion dollars (okay, about $30). Instead, he bought a journal and had me turn it into a kindle cover for him.
Materials:
Kindle (to trace)
Journal
Fasteners (I used snaps from a very stained onesie)
Mod Podge
Super glue
Tools:
Pen
Binder clips (optional)
Utility knife/exacto blade
Metal Ruler/straight edge - VERY IMPORTANT! You don't want a flimsy piece of plastic coming between your hand and a cutter when you should be putting the piece down to go to sleep, but instead stupidly cut anyway.
Paint brush
To make:
1. Lay your kindle on the first page of your journal; trace around. Clip down the edges of the paper.
2. Using your cutter and your ruler, cut the traced shape out. If you are crazy, you could try to keep the curve. I am not that crazy, so I opted not to. I also opted to not cut out the page that the baby marked up. (Just a reminder to daddy to keep his stuff out of her reach.)
3. Using super glue, attach the fastener to the "lid". Close your cover, and mark where to cut for your fastener. Make the cuts. Note: Do not glue fastener all the way at the edge. Leave a little space so when the cover is closed, there is no tell-tale page cutting. (The fastener is still together in the picture below.)
5. Put your kindle in the journal. (Not pictured because I just finished the project and Steve isn't home yet.)
Materials:
Kindle (to trace)
Journal
Fasteners (I used snaps from a very stained onesie)
Mod Podge
Super glue
Tools:
Pen
Binder clips (optional)
Utility knife/exacto blade
Metal Ruler/straight edge - VERY IMPORTANT! You don't want a flimsy piece of plastic coming between your hand and a cutter when you should be putting the piece down to go to sleep, but instead stupidly cut anyway.
Paint brush
To make:
1. Lay your kindle on the first page of your journal; trace around. Clip down the edges of the paper.
2. Using your cutter and your ruler, cut the traced shape out. If you are crazy, you could try to keep the curve. I am not that crazy, so I opted not to. I also opted to not cut out the page that the baby marked up. (Just a reminder to daddy to keep his stuff out of her reach.)
3. Using super glue, attach the fastener to the "lid". Close your cover, and mark where to cut for your fastener. Make the cuts. Note: Do not glue fastener all the way at the edge. Leave a little space so when the cover is closed, there is no tell-tale page cutting. (The fastener is still together in the picture below.)
4. Mod Podge all the cut edges, and the outside of the pages. Once that is dry, glue the other side of the fastener into its niche.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The Schuyler Blanket Project - March 2012
Yay, I've been made a mod over at The Schuyler Blanket Project. The project was started when a woman lost her daughter, and her friends, online and in real life, wanted to do something. These friends made a blanket in memory of Schuyler. (Read more here.)
The goal of the project is to help grieving parents facing the loss of their child(ren) by putting together blankets of squares made with love by anyone who wants to contribute.
There are five blankets in need of squares right now; the first two are past their due date for squares, so they could really use pledges.
The goal of the project is to help grieving parents facing the loss of their child(ren) by putting together blankets of squares made with love by anyone who wants to contribute.
There are five blankets in need of squares right now; the first two are past their due date for squares, so they could really use pledges.
For Nilsa:
Nilsa requested a blanket in memory of her twins. Nilsa lost a baby boy and a baby girl at 20 weeks gestation. She named her girl Annalyse and calls her boy simply My Baby Boy. Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers in pinks, blues, and neutrals.
Nilsa requested a blanket in memory of her twins. Nilsa lost a baby boy and a baby girl at 20 weeks gestation. She named her girl Annalyse and calls her boy simply My Baby Boy. Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers in pinks, blues, and neutrals.
For Heather G.:
Heather G. recently lost her son to sids at the age of almost 3 months. He was born on 3/26/11 and sadly passed on 6/18/11. His name was Eddy Maurice S. III. Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers in blues and greens.
Heather G. recently lost her son to sids at the age of almost 3 months. He was born on 3/26/11 and sadly passed on 6/18/11. His name was Eddy Maurice S. III. Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers in blues and greens.
For Megan:
Megan had a stillbirth at 23 weeks. She had just gotten married the week before they found out their son, Charlie, no longer had a heartbeat. Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers in boy colors.
Megan had a stillbirth at 23 weeks. She had just gotten married the week before they found out their son, Charlie, no longer had a heartbeat. Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers in boy colors.
In memory of Madison Annabelle:
She and her twin brother were born prematurely, at 24 weeks and 2 days on 7/22/2011. Madison passed on 7/25/2011. Her brother Michael was in the NICU at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. (Michael came home January 25, 2012 and is doing great.) Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers. There are no color preferences for this blanket, so feel free to be creative.
She and her twin brother were born prematurely, at 24 weeks and 2 days on 7/22/2011. Madison passed on 7/25/2011. Her brother Michael was in the NICU at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. (Michael came home January 25, 2012 and is doing great.) Squares should be 8x8” in soft, washable fibers. There are no color preferences for this blanket, so feel free to be creative.
For Ilene and Omar:
Nabil died a few months ago, and leaving behind his only son, and his mom. Nabil was Ilene’s only son as well, and he lived with her. He did his best to help his mom because she was helping him too. The thought is that when Ilene passes away, Nabil’s blanket could be given to his son Omar. Nabil was an avid NY Yankees & Jacksonville Jaguars fan. It would mean a lot if those colors were included (blue/white, teal/black/gold) in the squares. Soft, washable yarn please, 8X8”.
Nabil died a few months ago, and leaving behind his only son, and his mom. Nabil was Ilene’s only son as well, and he lived with her. He did his best to help his mom because she was helping him too. The thought is that when Ilene passes away, Nabil’s blanket could be given to his son Omar. Nabil was an avid NY Yankees & Jacksonville Jaguars fan. It would mean a lot if those colors were included (blue/white, teal/black/gold) in the squares. Soft, washable yarn please, 8X8”.
If you are interested in helping (pledging squares, donating yarn, etc), contact me at Heather@schuylersblankets.org
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Super quick toy storage from a t-shirt
Sick of tripping over stuffed animals in the middle of the night, I made a net for the toys from an old t-shirt. Yeah, I could have just bought a hammock, but those are $10, aren't they? I'm waaaay to cheap for that.
General cutting diagram:
Where to tack:
To make one, you need a t-shirt, a pair of scissors, and some time to cut things (like when you are watching a movie).
1. Cut the sleeves and neck band off the shirt.
2. Cut the t-shirt open along one side seam to make a rectangular(ish) piece of fabric.
Note: This is the point where I stitched the arm hole from the other side closed every few inches, but I don't think it is strictly necessary.
3. Fold the top of the rectangle down about an two inches and make one inch cuts every inch.
4. Fold the top of the rectangle down another inch and make one inch cuts between the previous cuts. (See below image)
5. Repeat step 4 until you have reached the bottom of the rectangle.
6. Hang your newly made stuffed animal hammock. I tacked it in three places: right side, left side, center back. (I used thumb tacks, which may or may not be the best idea, but they've held just fine for an entire week now.)
7. Put all the stuffed animals in the hammock and watch your three your old try to figure out how to get them all "out of bed". Oh, wait, that part is just for me. Hmmm.General cutting diagram:
Where to tack:
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