a remote idea

Well, I was reading one of my fav. mags: Country Living. It has lots of recycled type crafty ideas and I saw this one and thought, cool!
But once I got into it...I texted my daughter, Betsy, and said "arg". And she also thought the idea was a neat one, but the labor involved was immense. So she gave me a better idea, which you will see at the end...
today's project is:
BOOK - REMOTE CONTROL HOLDER

You will need:

a big old book (large enough to hold your remote control)

a ribbon, about 12"



a sharp exacto knife
Elmer's glue

First you need to glue the back page to the back cover, and the front page to the front cover. Close book and let dry for an hour. Then you will have to cover all the three outer edges with glue. I used a sponge painter brush and liberally spread white glue over the edges. Close and let dry several hours (overnight)
Then you have to take your remote, and trace it with a pencil, onto the first page. I would add 1/2" all around to that, since when you start cutting, you will see that you taper inward as you go. And it was hard for me to cut away more, after the fact.
So after several hours of cutting a few pages, and then cutting a few pages, and cutting a few pages, arg! I texted Betsy and said, "ARG"! She suggested that I take off the cover of a book and make my own box with cardboard.
Thanks kiddo....Brilliant idea, wish I had thought of that!....SOONER
Anyway, I have a remote holder, and a better idea for a gift. Who do you know that needs to corral those remotes? Visit the thrift shop for a good old fat book to use.

Tip of the day:
summer is coming, and out come the flip flops. Unfortunately these don't last too long because the little round toe holder comes out of the rubber bottom. So take a plastic bread tag and put it around the bottom of the toe holder. The bigger size will now not slip through the rubber sandal bottom hole.


That's all for now...
Dee

Cat and mouse

I have a new cat since November. My old buddy passed away and a new baby found her way to us.
Her name is Sedona, and she has been adjusting to us and we to her. She is not like my old gal, but sweet in her own rite.
I do craft fairs, and the few things I always sell are 'cat' items. So today's project is for the cat lovers and their cats or friends who have cats...
today's project is:
Cat Nip Mouse

You will need:

gray felt, fabric scraps (4" square), 6" ribbon, cat nip, fiberfill stuffing

 

 Cut two pieces of fabric (I use cotton, something thin so the kitty can smell the cat nip through it).
Place them wrong sides together.
Cut two ears from the felt, about 1 1/2" long. Place them inside with the ends sticking out just beyond the seam line.
Place the tail inside the mouse with just the tip sticking out of the end. Pin.

Now sew three sides encasing the ears and tail. Turn right side out. Fill with about 4 teaspoons of dried catnip. Then stuff the rest with fiberfill.
Hand stitch the remaining side shut.
Your cat will LOVE this, just like mine....

tip of the day:
When doing laundry, make sure you unfold any pieces and also unfold and unfurl before throwing into the dryer.  I washed some napkins without unfolding them, and they came out of the dryer with the same folds in them. Telling me that perhaps they didn't get washed all the way inside.
That's all for now...
Dee





wine bottle gift bag

I have some great sewing buddies who pass on fabric. And I love to figure out ways to recycle it. I got a particularly fun batch of fabric samples that used to be attached to a large sample book.     

                                                                       They have two grommets in the tops and all four sides were serged and finished.  I figured out that the height was a perfect size to fit a wine bottle in. But what about those grommets... so what I did was use them to put a ribbon through to close up the gift bag around the neck of the bottle.  And to minimize the amount of sewing, I turned the top down, stitched a casing into which I threaded the ribbon. If you look at the photo at the right, you will see that the top part is a little different than the bottom part. That's because it's the 'inside' pattern of the fabric.

The ribbon comes out of the grommets and they give a nice finished touch to the gift bag. I also made four wine glass coasters to match the bag. So now when I go to someone's house for dinner, I can bring a bottle of wine in a gift bag that can be recycled over and over. But the coasters can be kept by the first recipient as a hostess gift.  The coasters were made by zigzagging a circle of heavier fabric. Then trimming away the outside close to the zigzag edge.

 

If you don't have access to fabric samples, but have some fabric that would make a nice bag, you can still make some simple cloth wine bottle gift bags very quickly and easily.

Measure the fabric 18" X 13", and a length of ribbon about 24" long. (The ribbon in this picture was a little too short, it was 18" and I couldn't tie a bow with it when I finished. So I would rather have a longer piece) Fold the top down 3" toward the wrong side. Fold the ribbon in half and tuck it inside with the folded end extending out a little bit.

Sew up the bottom and up the long side, catching the ribbon into the seam. You don't even have to hem the top down. Because it will be hidden inside. Turn the bag right side out. Put your wine bottle in, take the ribbon ends, wrap around the bottle and tie. And tell your hostess that she could pass on the gift bag to THEIR next dinner party hostess.

tip of the day: I have an ivy plant which is getting a bit leggy. So I took a wire clothes hanger, curved it into a circle, straightened out the hook and stuck it in the middle of the pot. Then I wound the ivy around the circle to create a faux topiary.

That's all for now...

Dee

picture perfect

The daffodils are blooming everywhere here in California.
I love it, that means that winter is on its way out. I know some of you love the snow,  but it ain't me, babe!
April Fools Day has always been a fun day for my mom and me. She always tried to fool me (usually first thing in the morning) with silly things. Like: 'You have a spider on you', or when I got older 'Your sister is getting married', etc. Usually I figured it out and she couldn't fool me. Well, this year, I got one daughter, but not the other (but it was close). But my hubby got me, and my neighbor got me. ARG!  How did this happen? I'm slipping. Have to be more aware of the day next year... Look out you guys, I'm putting in my phone to remind me...APRIL FOOLS DAY!

Anyway, this nice weather makes me want to be outside and taking pictures. And of course, when you get that one great photo, you will want to put it in a cool frame. So today, we will be making our own frame from recycled materials....
Today's project is:

Picture frame
You will need:
cardboard (from cereal boxes, etc.)
paper, fabric or old maps
glue, scissors, xacto knife or box cutter

First, decide how big your photo is, and measure it, so you know how big to make your "open" area on the frame.

After that, measure a couple of inches larger and that will be the outside edge of the frame.

Cut two pieces of cardboard of the outside edges of your frame. And one long rectangle for the frame easel base.

Then cut out the inner area where the photo will be displayed. Make sure you leave about 1/4" all the way around smaller than the photo. So when you slip in the photograph, it will have a nice nest to rest in.

Now you need to cut three pieces of paper (scrapbook paper, old maps, magazine page, etc.) to cover the cardboard. It will have to be at least 1" larger than the cardboard pieces. Because you will be folding it around and gluing it so it covers the ugly cereal box cardboard.

For the easel and backing: lay the cardboard down on the plain side of the decorative paper.
Fold the corners  down and glue. Then fold down the edgesd and glue.

For the "open" frame, you will lay the cardboard frame down onto the plain side of the decorative paper. Cut an X from inner corner to inner corner, you will fold and glue these edges down. And then fold over and glue the outer edges.

Glue the front and back together on 3 sides. Leave the top unglued, so you can slip in the photo.
Then fold the easel back about 2" from the top, and apply glue to this top edge, and glue to back.

This works great on purchased notebooks. You only have to make the "open" frame, and glue to the front of the notebook (leave top open to insert photo), and you have a custom notebook! Cool!

tip of the day:
Lots of you are trying to get a jump on planting those veggies. Here's a little tip to help you out ~
Protect your seedlings from the wind by planting them in paper bags, partially filled with soil. Dig a hole in your garden for each paper bag. Place the bag in the hole, but leave about 2" of the bag sticking up. The paper will protect your little plant from the wind and will disintegrate as the plant grows, letting the roots unfurl into your garden's soil.

That's all for now...
Dee

Easter Egg Card

Wow, how did Easter sneak up on me? Time is zipping by and I have to stop.... and focus on the important things.  Easter is a very important day for us Christians. It is one of the two holy days (Christmas being the first one) that we love to celebrate. And I want to share this day with friends and family, so...

I made some Easter Cards that you might want to make too.

Today's project is:
Easter Egg Card
you will need:
white card stock
colored/printed card stock
brad
glue

You will want to make an egg pattern on scrap paper. Make sure it fits an envelope.

Then trace this egg onto the white card stock and the colored card stock.

Take your scissors and cut zig zags into the lower half to show the 'egg' cracking. You will glue this onto the bottom of the white egg.

Then take an exacto knife, or something likewise, and cut a slit into the top to put in the brad. This will enable the top half of the colored egg to open up to show the greeting.



You can also write a greeting onto the back of the egg.
I want to wish everyone a happy Easter and a wonderful new year since this is the beginning of Spring. Winter is ending and I'm thankful for that. I love the new flowers and buds and warm weather. So bring on shorts and flip flops.

tip of the day:

take your fabric softener sheet, and sew around three sides. Tuck in some lavender and sew around the remaining edge. Throw this into your dryer and your clothes will smell  wonderful! It should last several dryings.

 

That's all for now...

Dee

Tea for Two

I recently went to my neighbor's home and she offered me tea (since I don't drink coffee).
And she brought out a sweet little wooden box filled with a variety of tea bags.

We thought this was a great idea, and since I'm always trying to RECYCLE and REUSE and RENEW and upcycle and upgrade and whatever UP or RE prefixes you want to use...here's the project for today:

Wooden Decoupage Tea Box

You will need:
a wooden box, I used a cigar box (one of many that my hubby has donated to my projects)
ModPodge (a decoupage liquid) You could probably use a watered down Elmer's glue (?)
decorative papers (scrapbook papers, tea bags, hand drawn designs, newspapers,  OR really you can use any kind of paper.
scissors

First decide on your paper theme. I cut a piece of paper almost as large as the top of the box. I adhered this down, first brush ModPodge onto the box, then put the paper on it, and smear more ModPodge on top of this.

Then I cut several pieces, mostly triangles, of related paper design. Here I chose a paisley design, plus I cut out the fronts of 3 decoratively designed tea bags.

I mainly worked on the top of the box, but you can certainly cover all the sides. You have to smooth the ModPodge over, but be careful you don't overwork it. The paper may tear. But if it does, just decoupage a piece of paper over it. (Don't cover over the box opening edges.)

I worked on a laminated placemat to protect my table. And the ModPodge stinks, so take a break now and then and get away from it. Working in a ventilated area is important. So get out of the closet and move into the living room.

After I covered the top, I used my brush to stipple all over the top (pounding down using only the tips of the bristles). Then put that stinky thing outside to dry a bit.  Then I used my rolling pin with a piece of wax paper under it, and rolled all over it to smooth out bubbles.

When it is all dried, I added a variety of teas. What a great gift for those of us who are tea drinkers. I guess you could do the same for coffee drinkers, and put in those individual coffee packs. That would be nice too.

tip of the day:
Make a little card to match the box. Add a tea bag to the front, some of the same decorative paper and you have a wonderful gift!

That's all for now....
:D

Lady bug pouch

I've been playing around with different ideas for my cell phone accessory pouch.
A couple of posts ago, I gave you directions to make a turtle.

And today it's going to be a ladybug.  Both shapes lend themselves well to the round pouch. And they are soooo cute, I can't stop...

Today's project is:
Lady Bug Pouch
You will need:
black felt
red fleece, or red cotton fabric
black ribbon
black cotton fabric
black zipper
fabric glue

First you will cut 2 black circles, and one red circle. I used an old DVD. It's the perfect size to use as a template. Cut one black circle in half, and the red circle in half.

 Iron a small 1/4" hem into the straight edge of the black fabric. This will be pinned, then stitched to the zipper. This is bottom of the bug.

Now if you have red fleece, there is no need to fold under the straight edge, but if you have plain cotton fabric, you should iron down the edge to the 'wrong' side of the fabric about 1/4 "

With the red fabric, open slightly at an angle to look like ladybug wings and lay on the black circle. Right sides are both facing up. Now you will pin down and stitch along the straight edge of the red fabric.  This is the top of the bug.

With the felt, you will cut out 6 small circles (about  1/2" wide) and one larger oval (about 2" long and  1" wide) for the head.  Cut about a 1 1/2" length of narrow ribbon also.

With right sides together, you will "sandwich" the head inside the two body parts, with the bulk of the oval INSIDE. Make sure it is at the top, where the red fabric comes to a point. At the opposite end, fold the ribbon in half, and lay it INSIDE with the two ends peeking out.

At the illustration here.......^
I used a red zipper and ladybug fabric for the bottom. The black on black was too hard to see.
Plus, I trimmed the oval head, yours should be peeking out a bit more.

IMPORTANT: un-zip the the zipper so it is halfway open, before you sew around the perimeter!  That way you can turn it right side out. Also, if you have a super long zipper, you can trim it now, with old scissors, if the teeth are metal. Never use your good fabric scissors to do this.

Stitch around the lady bug "sandwich", trim excess fabric outside of your stitch lines. Turn it right side out. Put a popsicle stick, or dull pencil, or chopstick inside the bug, and drag around the inside edge to ease the fabric out to it's fullest.

Now last touch is to glue the black felt circles onto the wings. If you want to wash this pouch in the future, you must use fabric glue that is washable. If you don't think you will be washing it, Tacky glue will work fine.  I added a split ring onto the ribbon 'tail', but that's optional.

Now it's ready for anything you want to put into it. I use it for my cell phone recharging plug. My daughter uses hers for her earbud earphones. My other daughter uses it for her small sewing notions. Like replacable needles (see tip below)
I think you'll find lots of uses for the cute little guy.

tip of the day:
My friend Sheila, gave me a great tip for you sewing ladies. Different size needles have TINY numbers on them, sometimes very hard to read, so she puts different colors of nail polish on the ends, for the different sizes. You can brush a small dot on the side of your sewing machine and use a Sharpie Marker to write the needle size next to it.  Or paint this on a piece of white cardboard and keep it with your needles. Happy sewing!

That's all for now...
:D