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thrifty thursday: father’s day edition

I could have posted this last Thursday, when I actually found it, but that would have ruined my Father’s Day surprise. There are very few surprises around our house where gifts are concerned, so here it is a week late.

A few weeks ago my husband was looking for some shoe polish and I told him to check the pink wicker basket in the linen closet. Yeah, I know. A pink wicker basket doesn’t seem appropriate for black, brown and cordovan polish, wooden brushes and buffing rags. Then last week, while I was wandering around a church sale not really looking for anything in particular I saw this:

ronson roto shine

Now that’s proper shoe supply storage! I checked it over briefly. It looked ok from the outside. The inside appeared to be filled with old polish tins. I figured I’d throw them out and clean it up later. When I got home and had a closer look, guess what I found!

ronson roto shine

Not only was everything there, but it worked! I was pretty excited. I think for once I actually surprised my husband and he seems to really like it. Now the question is: how well does it work?

church sales: This year church sales have been mostly a bust for me. Usually they are filled with garage sale leftovers. I don’t know if people are holding on to things longer or they are selling more at their sales. I still go to them because they’re inside and it’s much easier to keep an eye on my daughter while I look around. Plus, there’s always such a wide assortment of things that get donated. You never know what you’ll find!

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finished: beach blanket to go

amanda soule handmade home beach blanket to go

I wrote about this blanket last year and I’m so glad it is finally in the hands of the married couple! I had hoped to take it to their wedding, but it was heavy. With the weight limits put on luggage — and extra fees — I figured it would make more sense to send it flat rate priority mail.

Then it got cold. We got a blizzard. My beach blanket mojo was kind of low. I figured they wouldn’t use it until next summer anyway.

Then all of the sudden it was warm. I had to finish it up and send it off before beach season!

amanda soule handmade home beach blanket to go

I think everyone who gets married on a beach should have a personalized beach blanket, don’t you? You can find fabric and pattern details about this project in my original post.

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noteworthy graduation gift for a music student

handmade graduation gift

Our neighbor’s daughter is graduating from high school this week. She’s a very talented violinist and I love when the windows are open in the summer and I can hear her play. She’s planning to study music at the university in the Fall and I wanted to make her something special. Honestly, I had a hard time coming up with something music specific, so I went with a school-book theme.

This tote is made out of upholstery fabric and hopefully will last for many years after she graduates from college. The pockets have tiny music notes on them. Inside I added this cool manuscript notebook that I found at music store downtown. I think it will be perfect for music theory or composition class.

stash: Everything except the notebook was from my thrifted stash. The upholstery fabric didn’t behave all that nice and kept unraveling on me while I sewed. Note to self: overlock all of the edges next time even on seams that won’t be exposed. It will make life much easier.

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handmade birthday gift for a special friend

handmade birthday gift

Yesterday when I told you this pattern was addicting, I really meant it. I just finished one for myself today, which makes six total! (I’ll spare you the sixth picture.) I think I am finished for awhile — need to get back into a granny square groove.

I chose the colors because my friend is a UCLA alum. Of course, after having her second baby boy, she’s probably up to her eyeballs in blue. In hindsight, maybe I should have done something in pink! The blue and yellow coordinated nicely with the little drawstring bag I made. I included more soaps from yummy suds.

handmade birthday gift

stash: I am really putting a dent in my stash. It feels good. Just in time for garage sailing on Saturday!

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teacher thank you gifts

teacher gifts

Do these look familiar? I posted a sneak peak a few weeks ago. I made these washcloths for my daughter’s teachers, added a bar of soap and put them in a little fabric drawstring bag. Actually, I made a lot more than these. This pattern is addicting!

details: Yarn was from my stash. (Boy, do I have a lot of brightly colored cotton!) Fire Blossom pattern is a free ravelry download. Soaps are from yummy suds on etsy. They smell delicious!

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my creative space

little amigurumi bear

In my creative space today I’m finishing up the details on a few gifts.

First up is this little teddy bear for my friend Lisa, who is expecting a baby any day now. Lisa is all about cute crochet stuffies, so I figured an amigurumi bear would be perfect.

Want to know the coolest thing about this teddy? She’s made completely out of recycled sweater yarn! Don’t you just love her even more now?

The pattern is from the amigurumi volume of Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts! If you are interested in Japanese craft books, but are nervous about following the diagrams, this is a good place to start. It’s translated into English!

I’m off to finish up some more gifts. You should head on over to Kirsty’s blog for more creative spaces!

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my creative space

handmade gifts

Good grief! May is almost half over! You wouldn’t know it by the weather. It feels more like Fall than Spring. Yesterday I realized I’ve got some gift making to do this month. I can’t give too much detail right now, but I’m combining this with some handmade goodies from etsy.com. I’ll do a full reveal after they’ve been gifted.

Check out more creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog.

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mother’s day idea: how to make a photo frame applique in 3 easy steps

photo frame applique tutorial

A few years ago, my mother gave me a little photo frame change purse. I had been using it for knitting bits and bobs, but it’s kind of small. I decided to make a bigger one for myself.

This applique will add a great touch to any Mother’s Day gift. I love mine!

Materials
photo: 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches
plastic: 3 x 4 inches
bias tape (or make your own)
heavy duty sewing needle

photo frame applique tutorial

I used the packaging from a set of sheets for my plastic. The same kind of packaging is used for blankets, comforters, tablecloths and shower curtains. (Don’t forget to save the zipper, too!)

photo frame applique tutorial

Step 1
Stitch the bias trim to your plastic (A). Here’s a great video on how to miter your corners.

Step 2
You’ll only be stitching three sides of the applique to your fabric because you need an opening to slip in the photo. Top stitch the fourth side so it will match the others when you are finished (B).

Step 3
Position your applique on the fabric and stitch the remaining three sides in place (C). Make sure you don’t pin it through the plastic! Pin through the fabric trim instead.

Obviously it’s easier to add this to a work in progress while your piece is still flat, but you can stitch this to already made items, too.

Try other sizes like a 5×7 on a small bag or even a 8×10 on a large tote. Simply add the width of your bias tape to your photo dimensions to get the size for your plastic. Make sure you adjust the length of your trim and add 1-2 inches for overlap.

photo frame applique tutorial

project details: Zipper, upholstery and lining fabric all thrifted. Sheet packaging from my linen closet. I always save the ones with zippers because they make great storage for yarn and fabric.

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cool birthday gift idea for boys

I was at the bookstore the other night and found a book called How to Draw Cool Cars.* These weren’t your average cool cars, but super fast ones like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lamborghini — you get the idea. I had never seen anything like it and knew I needed to get it for Wyatt’s ninth birthday.

A few years ago I made a bunch of crayon rolls, including one for Wyatt with car fabric. You can’t really draw a Lamborghini with crayon, though. It just doesn’t seem right. So, I made him a much more grown-up colored pencil roll.

felt pencil roll

I have this really nice, thick wool felt that I got at a garage sale a few years ago. I never knew what to do with it, but it had Japanese characters printed on it with a sparkly gold ink. I knew I had to save it. I was so glad I did. It was perfect for this project!

felt pencil roll

I saved the printed part of the wool for myself. It will make a cool crochet hook roll, don’t you think?

stash: If you don’t have a use for a certain fabric right away, but it speaks to you somehow, I recommend keeping it in your stash. It might just be waiting for the perfect project to come along.

*I can’t find the exact book online, but this one looks similar.