Create-Celebrate-Explore

Kidzui Blog: Handmade Thanksgiving Cards

Have your child stitch some pretty Fall cards to send to relatives this Thanksgiving.  My tutorial for these is over at Kidzui.

Tutorial: A Handmade Superhero Costume

Flynn wanted to be a superhero for Halloween.  Specifically Spiderman, however, my skills (or lack thereof) and time available were not quite going to fit in with that plan, so when we had a look at superhero costumes on-line he decided he wanted to have a cape and mask instead.  Perfect.  I asked him if he would like to be Super Flynn and he was beyond excited.

What you need to make this costume:

• Leggings (I found these thick green ones at Gymboree)
• Plain t-shirt
• Plain shoes
• Pleather in black, green and silver croc
• Solid Alova Caviar fabric (it looks a little like suede) - this is for the cape
• Black foam mask
• Black lanyard cord
• Strong fabric glue
• Needle and black thread

To make:

To make the logo on the front of the shirt and back of the cape I began by creating the logo in a word document on the computer, sized it on there and printed it to use as a template.  I then cut out two identical pieces from the pleather and glued it all together.

The cape is very simple.  I lay the fabric on the ground and started cutting until it looked like the shape of a cape.  I made sure it wasn't too long, folded over the top edge, with the lanyard cord threaded through and stitched it in place.  No hemming required.  I then glued the logo to the back of it.

The second logo was glued to the front of the t-shirt.

Lastly, the mask.  I had purchased a black mask with cord which came in a packet with an orange mask as well.  I cut the eyes on the orange mask so they were wider and then trimmed the outside of the mask too and lay it over the top of the black mask.  Once I was happy with how it looked, I used the newly cut orange mask as a template on the green pleather.  Once the pleather was cut into shape, it was glued on too.

And there you have it, a simple superhero costume.

AS SEEN ON:

Mama Mary Show ... Fox 5 San Diego ... Skimbaco ... Dear Creatives

This post linked to:

How To: Organize Fabric Scraps

I picked up this lovely old cassette tape tray at a thrift shop a month or so ago for $3.  

Before I had even left the store I knew what I wanted to do with it.

Store all of those lovely scraps of fabric that I hang onto for various projects.

How do you organize fabric scraps?

 

Re-purpose And Save Money During Back To School

If you can re-purpose old clothes for this school year, I highly recommend doing so, think of the money you will save.

These three pairs of jeans were from last year. Two pairs are too short, and the third, well, the holes just too big.

It's still summer, we live in San Diego, and these are not worth sending to the Thrift Shop, so I decided to turn all three pairs into shorts for the little man to wear to school. However I wanted them to look nice for school (as opposed to backyard, play in the mud attire), so I didn't want there to be frayed bottoms from not hemming, and I wanted to make sure that the holes were patched.

I began by using an old pair of shorts as a guide for the length:

I tend to just eye-ball things but if you prefer, measure and use a fabric marker to make sure you get your line straight before cutting.

As you can see two pairs of shorts still had holes in them but the third didn't, so I tackled that pair first.

I cut a piece of scrap fabric to the size I would need to make a hem for the shorts, then stitched it on.

I then turned the edges of the hem up, hand stitched the sides to keep the hem up, and ironed it in place.

The second pair I tackled were the tan pair. I cut a small piece of patterned fleece from a roll I found in my fabric stash from when the kids were babies.

Using the sewing machine I stitched it to the inside of the pants and then cut off the excess. Then I hemmed the pants and I think they look pretty darn cute with the peek-a-boo green, blue and yellow checked fabric patch:

Lastly, I tackled the jeans that still had two holes, even after the bottom of the legs were cut off. I knew these ones would need to be hand-stitched as the holes were quite high and the legs tighter so feeding it through my sewing machine was going to be difficult. I cut rectangular pieces of tan cord and hand-stitched each to the inside of the pants and cut off the excess. Then I hemmed the pants and trimmed off any extra long pieces of thread that were hanging in the patched area.

Now he has three new pairs of shorts to wear to school and I haven't had to spend a dime. Now that's saving money!

Do you have a little girl who has jeans that are just a little too short too or that have frayed bottoms? Add some flowers and frills and transform them into long shorts she will love.

Share your back to school money saving advice below for a chance to win a $500 Back to School Shopping Spree from BlogFrog!

Want to exchange more tips and ideas with other moms about back to school topics such as healthy snacks, school supplies and saving money? Visit the Horizon® Healthily Families Back to School Community!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon. The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the Horizon Organic brand.

A stamped vase cozy (and a giveaway)

UPDATED:  The winners of this giveaway drawn via random.org are no.12 Sabirah and no.32 Kate Dunn.  Congratulations, I will be emailing you shortly.

***********************

I recently received some fabulous Faber-Castell Mix & Match products to try out.  After days and days of procrastinating as to what I should make with them and perusing every single page of the design memory craft blog, I was doing dishes one afternoon and happened to be washing out a large crushed garlic jar to pop into the recyling bin when I finally had an idea.

The jar was just too big for me to give it up that easily, I knew I could re-purpose it and I had remembered reading that the Mix & Match products could be used on canvas, so I decided to make a jar cozy and turn this great jar into a funky vase.

The products I received were these Mix & Match Mixed Media Sampler and Color Gelatos & Clear Stamp kit.

With the various products in the Mix & Match collection you can create some absolutely stunning pieces of work.  I came across this gorgeous artwork on Scrapscene and then this fantastic bird banner (scroll down a bit) on Art Talk (you may want to turn your volume down, there's music).  

Here are the instructions to make the vase cozy:

Step 1:

Using a tape measure, take the measurements of your jar and cut out a piece of canvas allowing an extra 5mm all round for a hem.

Step 2:

Choose a clear stamp and attach to a stampers block.  Fill in the detail on the stamp using the Color Gelatos - you can brush over these with water to create a watercolor effect.  I used 3 colors on mine: The metallic pink gelato around the outside, orange just inside that and yellow toward the center of each wing.  Stamp onto your canvas.

I then used the Art GRIP® Aquarelle Watercolor Pencil in red to highlight the details around the butterfly.  These pencils are permanent, but again, if you brush a little water over the top it creates a beautiful watercolor effect.

Step 3:

Color over a worded stamp using the Metallic PITT® Artist Pen and stamp just underneath the butterfly.  I did this in two stages as the phrase was quite long and I wanted to separate it over two lines.

Step 4:

Using a Yellow Gelato in a downright position stamp a few scattered circles around your design.

Step 5:

Create a frame around your design using a PITT® Pastel Pencil.  Add highlights using the Metallic PITT® Artist Pen.

I had a cardboard scrapbooking frame that I used as a stencil to create the frame around my design.

Step 6:

Sew hems on the top and bottom of your canvas using a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying.  Stitch the open side together using a straight stitch to make a sleeve and very carefully wiggle it down over your jar.

The possibilities truly are endless with these amazing products. 

***************************

And with that, I have a GIVEAWAY!

2 winners will each receive the same kits that I did to create their own masterpiece: the Mix & Match Mixed Media Sampler and Color Gelatos & Clear Stamp kit.

It is very simple to enter, just leave a comment below, ensuring that you leave details on how I can get in contact with you if you are one of the winners.

This giveaway is open to all residents of the United States over 18 years of age and will end on Thursday May 5 at 10am PST when a winner will be drawn via random.org.

To keep up with the latest design memory craft news, please follow them on Twitter and Facebook

 

Disclosure:  I was provided with product for the purpose of this review

Handmade Lunch Bag

We go on a lot of road trips, the kids have extra curricular activities and there is always waiting around at doctors offices and various other appointments, so taking snacks or lunch with us not only saves us money, but also reduces the number of times we might be tempted by the dreaded (aka unhealthy) drive-thru.  We had some adorable little lunch sacks that the preschool teachers gave the twins last year as gifts, but I had wanted to make new ones for a while.

Now, I don't have a complete tutorial for these, but they are very easy to make; I kind of winged it, as I tend to do sometimes.

I came across absolutely gorgeous handmade lunch bags on The Purl Bee but knew I wanted to use oilcloth (which I had quite a few bits and pieces in my stash, and thought it would be easier to clean) like Skip To My Lou had used to make hers.

So I decided to start measuring and cutting and see what happened.

So this is what I cut:

• 2  9" x 7" rectangles (front and back)
• 2 4" x 9" rectangles (sides)
• 1 4" x 7" rectangle (base)

Using my sewing machine I stitched a hem along the top of each of the side, front and back pieces.  I then stitched the side, front and back pieces together.  Then stitched the base of the bag on last.

Next, I stitched a small piece of cord elastic to the inside of the back into the shape of a loop.

I handstitched a large button to the front of the bag.

I found some strong ribbon in my stash, hemmed it and hand stitched it using embroidery thread to the top of the back of the lunch bag to make a handle.

And that was it.

AS SEEN ON:

10Marifet.org

How To Convert Socks To Leg Warmers

I frequently find cute socks on clearance that are not Marisol's size.   They seem to be for older girls, especially in long socks to wear with boots.   I've started a little collection of these, some that I've set aside for when she is bigger and others that I want to convert into leg warmers.

I picked up these gorgeous thick knit socks on clearance from $4.99 to $1.99.  Of course they were two sizes too big, but were perfect to alter.

And after doing a quick Google search, I came across a very simple to follow tutorial on Everything Your Mama Made and More.

Less than 30 minutes later, 2 pairs of socks had been converted to leg warmers.

and the blue ones:

How To Display Kids Artwork

This is a very simple, yet effective way to display kids artwork, whether it be at home or school. 

The twins preschool teacher asked me to put this one together a couple of weeks ago.  These pockets are perfect not only for displaying paintings and drawings on paper, but also for holding other artwork such as decorated paper plates, puppets, pasta or beaded jewelery, and small clay creations to name a few.

Materials:

A large piece of burlap

Clear Vinyl

Embroidery thread and a needle.

To make:

Lay a standard sheet (8.5 x 11) of paper over the vinyl.  Rule about 1cm extra around each side and cut out.  Use this as your stencil.  

When you have cut out enough vinyl rectangles to fill the Burlap, lay each piece of vinyl down and mark the corners with a fabric marker so you don't lose their positioning as you are sewing.

Using embroidery thread and a needle stitch the sides and bottom of each piece of vinyl to the burlap. The seam should be approx 5mm.  This will allow a little extra room for projects that have items stuck to the paper.

Tip: Make a narrower one of these to hang on the back of your kids playroom or bedroom door to display their artwork as they bring it home.  A couple of eyelets at the top will enable you to hang it on small hooks.

 This post linked to:

As seen on:

Crafty Crow ...  Home School Parent ...  The Homeschool Learning Lane ...  Genuine mudpie ... Teach Preschool

Tutorial: Camera Strap Cover

One of those things that has been on the never ending TO DO list.

I absolutely love it.  Now to make a matching bag for my new Kodak EasyShare Camera (courtesy of Kodak - I'll be going on a bus tour of New York with them later this week) and my Flip Video Camera.

Now I will be able to tell my camera apart from my BlogHer10 room-mate Laura, who has the same one, so we discovered at a recent Bay Area BlogHer Meet-Up.  What a coincidence.

Make It and Love it have a super easy tutorial to make these.

I made it and I love it!

Re-Purpose Little Girl Jeans

How many other mother's go crazy spending money over and over again on pants that end up looking like this?

I'm so tired of it.  You can't donate them, and yet you feel guilty for throwing them out.  Today I decided to add a little something to these and turn them into new summer pants for Marisol. 

So I chopped off the torn bottoms.

Cut up some sweet flower fabric (that I picked up on clearance this week at Beverly's for $2 a yard).  I stitched up the sides and attached it to the bottom.

Then I hand-stitched a pretty lace trim (I really need an industrial strength sewing machine). And viola!

Such a simple way to bring new life to old jeans, and perfect for the weather we are currently experiencing.  More importantly, there is a very happy little girl who loves them.

This post linked to: