In my creative space today I’m working on the border for the wagon wheel baby blanket. It’s been almost a year since I started this project. Yikes! I really lost momentum when it came to seaming the squares.
Now they’re all together and the first round of the border is finished. I’m just hdc-ing around until I run out of black yarn, which was reclaimed from a different sweater. I hope to have a finished pic very soon!
What’s in your creative space? Join in the fun here!
Remember the thrifty buffet we found a few months ago? It had been sanded and primed then pushed to the side when our weekends got busy. Yesterday, my husband pulled it out and started painting.
The primer is gray and the paint is chocolate brown. I think he was hoping for a darker, espresso color. We’ll see what it looks like after coat number two.
Ok, so this really could be a how to: personalize any gift. It’s just that I really wanted to get my daughter involved with her teacher thank you gifts this year and this was all her idea.
She had been playing with a fabric gift card sleeve of mine and asked if we could make something similar for her teachers for “receipts and stuff.” She also wanted to decorate it herself.
You could do this with any fabric gift: zipper pouch, bookmark, you could even buy some blank canvas tote bags from the craft store. The important thing is to get your child involved!
Materials
In addition to your project supplies, you’ll need:
-disappearing ink pen
-fabric markers
Step 1
With your disappearing ink pen, mark off the area where your child can draw. It’s ok if she wants to draw outside of the lines, just make sure that the most important artwork is in the marked area.
Step 2
Let her go to town! When she’s finished, follow the directions on your fabric markers. Mine did not require heat to set the ink, but it did recommend two coats of ink. I traced over her lines after she went to bed.
Step 3
Sew up the gift!
What surprised me most about this project was how specific my daughter was for each drawing. Sueann received a picture of a treasure map (something she saw at school) with X marks the spot at a heart-shaped rock. Lorie received flowers (it was nature school—makes sense). Diane received a picture of “things falling” (not sure about that one—neither was Diane). They were all so different! She made sure I put a tag on each gift so it went to the correct teacher.
stash: I wish I thought to put a note about all of the recycled textiles that went into this gift. Nature school teachers are all about reusing. The fabric was thrifted and the zippers were recycled from other textiles. I wish I took a pic of the insides. She picked out different linings for each teacher, too!
Severe weather is finally here in Nebraska and my creative space is filled with some not-so-creative sewing.
In the Spring, we stuff blankets under this cover to protect our car from hail. We got lazy last winter and left it on all year. The Nebraska winds nearly shredded it to pieces.
Now the weather radio alarm is going off and all we’ve got is a giant rag. I grabbed some canvas from my stash and started sewing patches. I gave up after fixing the biggest holes. It’s good enough to hold some blankets in place. That’s about it.
My husband asked if I could use the old cover as a pattern to sew a new one. Ha! I’ve taken on some crazy projects, but I think I’m going to pass on this one.
garage sale find: The canvas came in a tub with a bunch of muslin. I almost tossed it because it had spray paint stains on it. Now there’s hardly any left. I’ve made all sorts of heavy-duty patches with it.
Creative Spaces have a new home. Stop by and play along!
The Thrifting Fairies must have been on Easter vacation last weekend. I did a lot of trying on and left with a lot of nothing. It made me think that refashioning what’s in my closet might be a better way to spend my time. So, on a trip up to Omaha, I grabbed two skirts and my seam ripper.
First to come out were the bulky pockets. Then I unpicked the waist and elastic casing. This week I’m going to take in the sides and insert a zipper (yikes!). Currently on the chopping block are these two linen skirts. Stay tuned!
I’m not sure this is really a “how-to” or more of a crafty public service announcement. We recently had a purple pipe cleaner emergency in our house. (Does anyone else have trouble calling them chenille sticks?)
The project was a rainbow with a pot of gold. We had every color of the rainbow except purple. I suggested we go ahead and make the project and fill in the missing color later. Our Artist in Residence balked at that idea. How can you make a rainbow without purple? Details, Mama, details!
So, in an act of desperation, I grabbed a white pipe cleaner and a permanent purple marker. A Sharpie probably would have been best, but all I had was a dry erase marker. It worked remarkably well: I just colored it, waited about a minute and wiped it down with a tissue to make sure it was dry. Crisis averted!
It had to happen sooner or later. I melted my silicone crayon mold. I guess even silicone can’t handle melting and freezing wax over and over. Luckily I was keeping an eye on things and turned it off before it got really messy.
I kept my eyes peeled at the thrift store for another one. I liked using the microwave because it seemed silly to heat up the oven for just a few crayon shapes. Instead, I found a little mini muffin tin. So mini that it fits in my toaster oven. I didn’t even know something this small existed. I got some mini muffin papers and made my first batch last week. LOVE THEM.
The one thing that I didn’t like about the hearts is that they were a little too cutesy for boys. I’d been giving them as small gifts with handmade journals to some of my daughter’s friends, but boys her age are more into Hot Wheels. The mini muffin shapes are a little more gender neutral.
They take a little bit longer than in the microwave, but I really like not having to heat the whole kitchen to make crayon shapes. My little tin was a definite thrift store score.
In my creative space today, I’m getting in the rhythm of seaming square after square (after square…). I know I could have crocheted these together as I went along, but I want that nice patchwork-y square look. Plus, it’s always nice to play around with color combinations before putting them together.
What’s in your creative space today? Kirsty is up to something with coffee. I hope it turns out better than my coffee project. Don’t forget to check out all of the lovely spaces while you are there.
I know I’ve complained about this before, but why do manufacturers make train, car and dinosaur shirts so gender specific? My daughter loves all three and she loves red, pink and purple. I hit the jackpot a few years ago when I found a white, new with tags, gender neutral train shirt at a garage sale. It was a size too big, but she wore it all the time with her sleeves rolled up. The next year it fit perfectly.
This year, it’s too small. I suggested maybe we pass it on to one of her friends who loves trains. “But Mama, can’t we just sew the train on to another shirt?”
I put this project off, but she kept bringing it up. I may be finished with it, but my daughter isn’t ready to give it up. In fact, she art directed the whole project, choosing the pink shirt and suggesting the border. After she got over her disappointment that I didn’t have any pink ric rac in my stash, she picked blue to match the puffs of steam.
She’s very proud of her new shirt. I’m happy that she’s happy. I think this might be the season finale for this little engine, though. After this, it’s going on a tote bag.
project details: I positioned the ric rac in place with a glue stick before stitching it on, which allowed me to fudge the corners so they matched. Worked like a charm! Also, I didn’t fold over the ends. Just lined them up and sealed them with a little bit of fray check.
almost two years ago: My tutorial on ruffling up a boy’s t-shirt. I wish this would have worked for the train shirt, but my daughter is growing too fast!
behind the scenes: I’m finally seaming the baby blanket. Can’t wait for the big reveal!
This tea towel was spared from the coffee experiment. I’ve been planning to turn it into an apron ever since I saw the project in Amy Karol’s first book. I love how it turned out, especially the pleats. I can’t wait to make more! Here’s a view of the tie.
project details: This towel was part of a wedding gift. I’m so glad to give it a new life in the kitchen. Tie was in my stash from who knows where. Pattern from Bend-the-Rules Sewing.
coffee update: I took Happy Cat’s advice and re-brewed the grounds after my coffee yesterday. The towels have been soaking for over 24 hours and are still blue. I think they are made of kevlar.
