So I guess I should explain why I haven’t been blogging lately.
One reason is that I know some of you are only interested in my crafts and some of you are only interested in my family and do not want the two mixed, so I’ve decided to have two different blogs: one public blog for crafting tutorials and selling those crafts and one private blog for talking about my family.
The second reason is that I’ve watched enough Law & Order: Special Victims Unit not to be concerned about what I write about my children. So, I’ve decided to make a private blog (within the next few months) with a new URL.
If you would like to know that blog address to keep up with my family, leave a comment, and I’ll let you know the URL after I get it up and running. I do want all of you to continue reading my family blog (I just don’t want weirdos who search for google images to be able to see our pictures).
This was my gift to J for last year’s Valentine’s Day. Here are the cool things about this gift:
It’s FREE.
It lasts all year long.
It is also a gift for me.
You really learn to show love for each other better.
I covered some canisters with paper and stickers. I used decoupage, but you could use double sided tape, too.
Here are the rules:
His & Hers Requests (aka Love Bucket)
-Write 46 things (since there are 46 weeks left in the year) that we want our spouse to do with us or with us.
-Put those sheets of paper in your canister, and then we will swap canisters.
-On Sundays, we will each pull a strip of paper out of each other’s jar, and we’ll have to do whatever the spouse asked for.
-We will have the whole week to do the request.
-We will put the papers (with the writing hidden) on our bathroom mirror as a reminder.
On Sunday, J and I each drew one strip of paper (his were blue; mine were pink). Some of his said things like: Create a new meal without a recipe; compose a rap song for me; invite 3 couples over for games; iron 4 shirts for me. Mine were requests like: Bring me a candy bar home from work; rub my feet; take care of Abs on Saturday morning so I can sleep in; write me love notes around the house.
I got this idea from an article I read, and I was happy that J was super excited about this project. Yea for a good, free gift!
Lyds had something on each of her bedroom walls, except for one, and I had no idea what to do. I came across this site and decided it would be a easy, free, and quick way to dress up her wall. And if it didn’t work out, hey, it was free because I had all the supplies on hand, and non invasive, so it can be removed anytime.
You need:
Scrapbook paper (any square size: 12×12, 9×9, etc)
Hot Glue Gun
Adhesive Wall Putty
Directions:
You want to use two pieces of scrapbook paper that are the same square size. I used 12×12, 9×9, and 6×6.
Fold the up and down, like a paper fan.
Crease each folded piece of paper in half.
Glue the outer strips to each other to make a semi circle. Do the same thing on the other piece of paper.
Next, glue them together on the outsides.
Get adhesive wall putty, and roll it into a ball about the size of a ping pong. Put it on the wall. Stick the middle of the decoration into the putty, and you’re done!
Have you done any neat wall art you want to share?
I made Baby Legwarmers in two different ways. The first way: a knee high sock went from this to this.
This way took less time than the second way, but it didn’t look as good, and the
legwarmers kept sliding off Abs’s thighs at church.
So, the tutorial is going to be how to make legwarmers that look the top 3 legwarmers in this picture:
Supplies
Ladies Knee High socks
Thread
Directions
Cut the sock right above the heel.
Then cut off a 3 inch section of the heels. Then cut off the toes. You don’t need those anymore.
Using the middle pieces: turn them inside each other, wrong sides together. You’ll use this for the bottom cuff. I liked mine to be about the side of the existing cuffs, so, I cut the middle piece to about 3 inches.
Now just place the leg pieces INSIDE each cuff, raw edges lining up.
Pin together and sew around the raw edges with a zigzag stitch for stretch.
Abs comes home from church each Sunday and Wednesday with at least two sheets of art work that she made in bible class. We’ve run out of magnets and fridge space.
I think I’d like to “display” her paintings on her color block wall, but I’m not sure how to do that. Any ideas? What do you do with your kids’ art?
So far, I’ve made these two dresses from old shirts I had. They are definitely not perfect, but Abs likes them, so I guess that’s what matters.
This was a super simple project. Can’t believe I didn’t make one sooner. Here’s a tutorial for you:
Lay a dress or shirt of your toddler’s on top of the shirt you’re going to cut. Make sure the necklines match up and fold the sleeves in on the toddler shirt.
Draw around the top item with disappearing ink pen, and then, cut around the lines.
Cut around the neckline.
Then cut the back side of the dress to be closer to the neckline
Sew up the sides with a straight stitch and then a zigzag stitch.
Then sew around the arm holes and stitch the back part, too.
Then, cut the neckline in the middle on the back part (where the tag used to be), and sew the ends onto the back of the dress, to make spaghetti straps.
You’re done, unless you want to embellish more. The first one, I decided to make some flowers with the left over fabric. (I was a little worried that the flowers wouldn’t hold up in the wash, but they stayed perfectly intact!)
For the second dress, I made ruffles. I’ve cut out 4 other shirts, but I haven’t gotten around to sewing them into dresses, yet. Any ideas for other ways to dress up the dresses??
Oh, I learned from making the first one that I should’ve make the bottom part of the dress more like an A-line.
I also made these bows to match the dress themes:
Let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any questions.
I’ve made up a video to describe the process for you. One thing though, at about 50 seconds into the video, I gave the wrong info. . . . You actually put the middle sheet of paper waxy side UP (not down, as said in video).
Some extra information . . .
****I’ve been told by one person that she had a problem with printing her image (the paper got really stuck). Sooo, you might wanna be on the safe side and trace your image onto the paper side of the freezer paper.
Freezer paper is rolled up like wrapping paper. I like to cut mine in 8.5×11 inch sheets, so they can go directly in the printer. If you don’t want to print onto the freezer paper, you can print onto a normal sheet of paper and then trace the image onto freezer paper. Regardless of how you print, you want your design on the freezer paper to be on the paper side because you want the waxy side to be ironed onto your fabric.
Also, cut the image with an exacto knife on top of cardboard, cutting board, or a rotary board.
I open the shirt and insert a cardboard in the middle, so the paint won’t bleed.
You can use tweezers to remove the small bits of freezer paper after you’re finished painting.
