diy

Superhero capes

spaleksic4 Comments

If you could choose a super power what would it be?

At a party this weekend I was asked what superpower I would chose if I had the option and my response was the ability to fly. Most people wrote something about reading thoughts or controlling people with their minds. Thinking about it now flying might not be the most practical super power but it sure would be fun. In keeping with the flying theme I made all of the super hero’s in my life personalized capes for Christmas. And if you are interested I will make one for you too, click here for details.

When you have more than one child I find that there is fighting over everything. Having personalized toys helps cutting back on the fighting (at least when they can recognize their own names).

Up, Up and away.

On the third day of Christmas…Clothes pin Wreath

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On the third day of Christmas I made a clothes pin wreath.  We have a clear glass front door which means that if you feel the urge to have a midnight snack in the nude the neighbours can see all your bits and pieces.  It also means that anything hanging on the door should be nice looking from both sides.  Most door hanging decorations are only meant to be viewed from one side, the backs are typically unfinished or ugly.  My solution is a washi tape clothes pin wreath which is nice from both sides.  As a bonus the style fits with the modern aesthetic of the door.  Plus it was easy, fast and fairly inexpensive.

To make a similar wreath you will need:

supplies

  • Washi tape – get it at the dollar store, Target or Walmart (don’t spend the big bucks at Michael’s)
  • Clothes pins – dollar store
  • Foam core – dollar store
  • Chalkboard clothes pin – Michael’s
  • Scissors
  • A dessert plate
  • Fishing line and a magnet (for hanging on a steel door)

Instructions:

1. Decide how big to make the wreath.  I held the dessert plate up to the door with a couple of clothes pins on it to get an idea of what the finished size would be.  I traced the dessert plate onto foam core, cut out the circle and then traced a circle that was 1/2″ smaller and cut out the center to make a foam core donut.

2. Using 5 red and 5 green patterns of washi tape I started making the clothes pins.  I made 10 clothes pins with each colour, so 50 pins total, with red on one side and green on the reverse.  When alternating red and green you will have a 10 pin repeat.  I would suggest not mixing and matching the tape patterns when applying them to the pins or it will be difficult to get a nice pattern on both side.  I would make a set of 10 that matched with a red pattern on one side and green on the back (but don’t use those tapes again in other combinations)

3. Decide on the repeat pattern, and clip the pins onto the foam core circle.

4. Write a message on the chalkboard clothes pin, and hang.

Crafty Momma’s

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In December I read a book called “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin where in each chapter (broken into 12 months) she choses something to focus on during the month to improve her happiness.  While we were at our December book club I suggested “The Happiness Project” for our January book club selection.  It was a great book, and December/January is a fantastic time of year to start on your own happiness journey.  When one of the book club ladies mentioned my blog we got into a chat about making crafts.  In “The Happiness Project” Gretchen Rubin choses to teach to improve her happiness one month and share her knowledge and passion.  The day after the book club I was reflecting on the book and the next thing I knew I was hosting a Crafty Momma afternoon.

During the first Crafty Momma’s we made button name crafts, for details on this craft click here.

button 2

The second one was the Toothasaurus, for details click here.

toothasaurus

The 3rd and most recent Crafty Momma’s also included our kiddies who were fabulous assistants making Watermelon tea towels, for details click here.

towels 4

Sharing my enthusiasm for making crafts with the Crafty Momma’s is a great way for me to show other people what I am passionate about and they get to learn something new.  Win, Win.  I even think that teaching and sharing might be increasing my happiness, but maybe that happiness feeling is just a side effect of the cupcakes.

 

The day was great we were outside and the sun was shining.  To top it off my assistant Sasha and I made Watermelon cupcakes.  Here are some pics of the assistants taking a little watermelon cupcake break.  Stand by for a Watermelon cupcake post tomorrow.

Keep crafting, sharing and creating.

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A Sweet Bite Of Summer

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Summer is on the way and so is the end of another school year for the kiddies.  I am always on the look out for teacher gift ideas that I can make.  I have been thinking of making this craft for a while, since I saw watermelon wrapping paper posted on Pinterest.  I typically don’t make cards or packaging, because it seems like a waste especially because wrapping paper ends up in the recycling bin so quickly.  But I loved the idea of the watermelon potato print, and figured that I could adopt if for a tea towel print, which I can give to Sasha’s teacher for a year-end present.  It is also a super easy craft that school age kids can help with.

Here are the instructions:

Step 1. Wash the tea towels (or not, I am lazy and didn’t but it is a good idea)

Step 2. Iron the tea towels (even if you didn’t wash them)

Step 3. Cover the surface that you are working on so that the paint doesn’t ruin your table.

Step 4. Cut a potato into 4 pieces, length wise is best.  The goal is a watermelon looking shape.

step 1     Step 5. Mix Acrylic Craft paint with Textile Medium.  Textile medium is a product that when mixed with acrylic craft paint help the paint from fading when washed.  Some fading will happen, but I have bleached T-shirts and other tea towels that have been printed with the paint textile medium mix without an issue.  Follow the instructions on the textile medium when mixing.

Step 6.  Using a paint brush paint the potato section in the colour of your choice.  I used a red and a pink on some of the towels for a little variety.

Step 7.  With a little pressure stamp the painted potato on the tea towel, and repeat Step 6 & 7 until the desired pattern is reached.

step 2

Step 8.  Using a green paint mixed with textile medium and a brush, paint a rind on every watermelon.

step 3

Step 9.  Using black paint, dab on the seeds using a brush.

towels 5

Step 10.  Let dry.

Step 11.  Iron once dry to set the paint.

Keep crafting, creating and giving.

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Spring is in the air

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The cherry blossoms and daffodils are in bloom in Victoria. Winter is over and spring is in the air. My apologies to those of you that are still in the depths of winter, rest assured that spring is coming soon, and if you want to beat Mother Nature a trip to Victoria might help your winter blues. With spring comes babies, and itty bitty baby booties. I have been knitting hats for the babies that have recently come into this world, but Spring demanded a change in the welcome gifts. Shoes for babies might not be practical but they are cute, and I just couldn’t help myself. I now have a small stock of shoes to be given as shower/baby gifts. For the three moms that I gave these shoes to this week, please send me your feedback. Do these shoes stay on? Are they easy to put on?

I used standard stock felt from a craft/fabric store but not the felt from the dollar store it’s too thin. There are some great patterned felts out there which make super cute baby shoes. I added a felt sticker to the front of each shoe and stitched it on to jazz up the toes. If you are interested in making some felt baby booties follow this link for the pattern and great instructions.

Dino Feet

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dino feetI was browsing the aisles at Michael’s for inspiration and I came across size 10 toddler suede soles perfect for my oldest son.  My creativity was sparked.  I left the store without the soles because I didn’t have a plan.  A couple of days later armed with a 40% off coupon (never go to Michael’s without one)  I bought the soles with the plan to make some slippers.  There was a pattern inside the slipper sole box so I thought I was set, except I wanted to knit with Super Bulky yarn and the pattern was written for sock yarn (for those non-knitters the pattern only works as written in the yarn specified).  So I searched Ravelry, and searched, and searched and I could not find a slipper pattern in Super Bulky with suede soles for a kids size.  So like any knitter I decide that I will do some math and make my own pattern.  Like I mentioned in a previous post, I rarely follow the pattern exactly anyway, so I might as well just make one up.  Using the pattern that came with the soles as a guide I started knitting, and I am happy to say that these little slippers were the result.

One of the greatest things about making things is sharing them with other people.  If I can inspire people to make things themselves I am happy.  Lots of crafters don’t want people to “copy” their ideas, and I say go for it.

If you aren’t familiar with Ravelry, it’s a knit and crochet online commuity, with tons of free patterns and inspiration.  It’s a fantastic resource for anyone with an interest in knitting/crochet.

Happy Crafting.