Posted on

personalized denim tote bags

small denim gift bag

Thanks to Sister Diane, I spent more time cleaning than crafting this weekend. She wrote a post about how we crafters just don’t seem to put things away and I looked around my room and thought, “Yep, that’s me!” I figured if I wasn’t brave enough to take a picture of my to-do piles then they needed to go.

I did get a little bit of sewing done, though. I was inspired by a denim tote my daughter received as a gift and decided to make a few for upcoming birthdays. I found this denim in my stash and it was already hemmed at the top (yes!) so all I had to do was serge the sides and make some handles. I used Heat n Bond Ultra Hold for the initials. I made a total of three small and one big, which I think is destined to become a project tote for myself.

font: I used the House Industries Haulnhouse font for the initial caps. You can find a similar, free download of the “Austin Powers” font from about.com. By the way, House Industries occasionally gives away free fonts. You should check them out because they are all pretty awesome.

Posted on

tiny crochet ball pattern

tiny crochet ball pattern

It took a few tries until I was satisfied with this pattern. At first, they were coming out too hexagon shaped, so I decided to alternate the increase/decrease placement every other row. That gives the ball a more round shape.

I also wasn’t happy with the gaps that the decreases made, especially on the navy ball. You could see the white stuffing! Then I remembered this invisible decrease from Planet June. Problem solved!

Have fun with this one. On Friday I’ll show you a little variation. Stay tuned!

Tiny Crochet Ball Pattern
worsted weight yarn (I used Aunt Lydia’s cotton)
size G/6 (4.25mm) crochet hook
polyfil for stuffing
tapestry needle for weaving ends

sc: single crochet
inc: 2 sc in one stitch
dec: 1 sc over two stitches through the front loops only

gauge: not important, but mine are about 2 1/2 inches wide

Make a magic ring.
R1: 6 sc into ring
Ball worked as a spiral. Place marker to keep track of rounds.
R2: inc in each stitch around
R3: *inc, sc* around
R4: *2 sc, inc* around
R5: *inc, 3 sc* around
R6: *4 sc, inc* around
R7-11: sc around
R12: *dec, 4 sc* around
R13: *3 sc, dec* around
R14: *dec, 2 sc* around
R15: *1 sc, dec* around
Stuff with polyfil
R16: dec around

Posted on

little crochet balls

crochet amigurumi ball

I started this little guy one day when I needed to cleanse my crochet palette. It’s just a simple ball. Something that will fit in a little hand and is safe for chewing. I blame this project on all of the cute little babies in my life. Maybe I’ll make a whack of them to give as holiday gifts.

stash: aunt lydia’s cotton that’s super soft and machine washable.

Posted on

wardrobe refashion: t-shirt to little girl’s beach cover-up

I’ve talked about our vacation, but have I mentioned where we’re going?

t shirt to toddler dress

Yep! Can you believe I found this t-shirt? I thought it might make a really cool beach cover-up for my daughter. I just used one of her currently fitting dresses as a pattern.

t-shirt to beach coverup

This should have been such an easy project. The t-shirt was twisted and I had a hard time making the vertical lines look even. Also, the material is really thin and kept getting sucked into my machine. But I loved how it turned out!

t-shirt to beach coverup

So does my daughter. It would be nice if this fits next summer as a dress, but they way she’s growing, it will probably fit in the middle of January.

thrifted and refashioned: 99 cent sale t-shirt.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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!

Posted on

dressy bessy!

dressy bessy

Did you have a Dressy Bessy (or Dapper Dan?) when you were little? I did and I loved her! My daughter is learning to button/snap/tie and I really wanted to get her one. However, the dolls from the last few decades look very different than the one I had. This one isn’t so bad. I don’t even recognize this one!

Here is the Dressy Bessy I had. I’ve been searching on ebay for the past few months and these girls are hard to come by in nice condition. (New in the box went for $84!) Then I started to see dolls like the one above. She looks like the doll I remember, but doesn’t have the vinyl shoes and vest. I figured I could live without them if I could get something similar and clean.

I was so happy to win her! I’m also happy that my daughter likes her, although she’s not a fan of the buttons and snaps. I guess she’s officially a member of the Velcro generation. I’m going to keep working on her, though. Sooner or later she’s got to learn how to button/snap her own pants!

Do you have a favorite doll or toy from your past that you really wanted for your kids? When you gave it to them, they like it as much as you did?

Posted on

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.

Posted on

another successful flower appliqué

flower for spring hat

My daughter doesn’t really like wearing hats, unless it’s her Nebraska Husker hat. I bought this little bucket hat at Neat Repeatz, long before it would ever fit her. I just fell in love with the denim and unfinished edges. It finally fits, but I knew I’d have to come up with something special to get her to wear it.

I asked her if she’d like me to crochet a flower for it. Yes! What colors would she like? Red and white! (Husker colors, of course.) Would she like to pick out the flower pattern? Yes! Yes!

I whipped this up Sunday morning and she wore it to the zoo on Monday. I’d say she had it on about 95% of the time — a definite success!

wardrobe refashion, stash and pattern: Cotton yarn from my stash, left over from knitting baby bibs. Pattern from Crochet Adorned, which I received via Swaptree.com.