It’s that holly jolly time of year again and you better believe I’ve been crafting up a storm again this year. I’ve been at this blog for many years and there are bound to be a few ideas that are similar if not identical because I’m becoming a bit of a creature of habit as I level up each year.
Day one brings a pile of knit hats. I have made 4 so far this season from this pattern called Tin Star by designer Kelly Vu. Yarn is Loops & Treads Cozy Wool.
It has been a busy few weeks here, and today is the first day in a long time where we didn’t have any commitments. I am spending the day in my jammies knitting. What goes with a day of Christmas movies, knitting and jammies? An eggnog chai tea latte, and a cookie all served up on a mug rug. On the ninth day of Christmas my friend made for me a…Mug Rug.
We are in the midst of a cold spell on the island, and I am struggling to stay warm and cozy. The wool socks, and sweaters just aren’t cutting it. I am sure that I am not alone, so I made a few hats for the kids teachers. On the seventh day of Christmas a parent made for me a …Wool hat.
I can’t believe the school year is over, maybe it’s because we got a late start due to a strike, or maybe it’s because this was my oldest’s first year of school. Either way it’s over and summer is officially here. Along with the graduation cupcakes, and the vacationing bear cupcakes I also made some teacher’s gifts. Last year I made watermelon tea towels with some lovely ladies, but this year it was a last minute race to get the presents done on time.
The cost of this gift is in no way related to the thanks I have for S’s amazing teachers this year. I am hoping that the thought and effort outweighs the $1.25 that I spent. Honestly if I didn’t tell you that I spent $1.25 you would never know. Being that I have a overflowing closet of crafting supplies I didn’t need to buy paint, but even if I had needed to the total cost of this project would still be less than $5.00. If you happen to have a pile of kids, celery, and a dollar store near by this might be right up your alley.
Supplies
Instructions
1. wash and iron the scarves
2. Lay the scarf out on a flat surface, and place paper towels under it so that you don’t ruin the table or get the scarf stuck to it
3. Chop the end off of a bunch of celery, and cut one stalk in half for the leaves
4. Mix the paint and textile medium as per the bottle instructions
5. Paint the end of the celery bunch and stamp it onto the scarf
6. Repeat step 5 until you have a desired pattern
7. Paint the end of the celery stalks to make the green leaves, and stamp onto the scarf
8. Repeat step 7 until all of the roses have leaves
10. Once the scarf it dry iron it to set the colours
Being that the project cost me so little I made one for me too. I don’t usually take selfies, so I could use a little practice. But you can see how the scarf looks when finished, and I really don’t think you could guess that it cost me $1.25 to make.
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 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 8. Using a green paint mixed with textile medium and a brush, paint a rind on every watermelon.
Step 9. Using black paint, dab on the seeds using a brush.
Step 10. Let dry.
Step 11. Iron once dry to set the paint.
Keep crafting, creating and giving.
Making A Life 