Don't Throw Away... Old Calendars

 You can use old calendars as wrapping paper for small gifts.  I like to find a theme and chose a month that matches the recipient.

#CoronaCreative

 A sample of some of my creative endeavors....

 

The above headband is designed to match all of my jeans, regardless of the varying degrees to which they have faded. :)

The tops I just added ruffles to, but it's nice because it transforms a tank-top with spaghetti straps into something I can wear in public.  They are SO comfy -- I'm not a huge fan of bras so I love them -- and now they are modest enough to go anywhere.

I hope you've been having some creative fun this summer, too!

Snow Day Pillow

I did this back in February, but I want my readers to know that I do still craft....

This is entirely from recycled materials.

We had a blue pillow that didn't match our living room decor.  Now it's been nicely hidden by the homemade pillow cover made from old T-shirts.

Black Top from Old T-Shirts

My Latest Creation!

It covers my tummy (still big after my illness and Christmas), which also hides any jean-like element of the non-jeans-so-I-can-wear-them-to-work pants.

I made it with four pattern pieces, although in retrospect I only needed two, one for the two front pieces and one for the two back pieces.

Yes, not counting the braid that connects the front and the back, this top has four pieces.

This isn't a tutorial, but someday I'll make one.

The photo above was the muslin I made, which actually worked on the first try.

Don't Throw Away.... Used Christmas Cards

Give them to me instead!

I'm still collecting used Christmas cards to make stuff with:

Cutting a Rug

Done! 

This was a custom rug for Mom and Dad, for a particular spot in front of a fireplace between two rocking chairs.

I’m not planning on making another one of these because it was so tedious.  If you find it soothing or pleasant to put music on and do something mundane, the project is very simple.  It’s easy.  It’s cheap.  It’s incredibly forgiving.

You need a pile of T-shirts.  (10 or 15????  I didn't count.  Maybe less.)

You need an old towel.

That's it.

1. Cut T-shirts into long strips.

2. Cut the long strips into short ones.

3. Cut an old towel to size and serge/finish the cut edge.  (If the towel is the size you want the rug, you obviously can skip this step.)  Note that the fringe hangs over the edge so sizing is kind of approximate.)

4. Sew the short strips to the towel in long rows.  

If you sew the rows about a quarter inch apart, you get this:

If you sew them a half inch apart, you get this:

Another Good-Bye Card

As you know, I collect used Christmas cards, and sometimes people give me other kinds of cards like Valentine's Day or Mother's Day cards.  

I love roses, and they are a frequently used symbol in connection with St. Teresa, our parish patron, because she promised to send "a shower of roses" on people who pray for her intercession.  (People have received all kinds of answers to prayers that came through roses thanks to the little saint of France.)

I decided to use roses cut from cards to make this new card.  I wanted it to be nice and large so that multiple folks at the party could sign it.

Cutting roses from cards rather than flower catalog worked really well.  The cards are more sturdy, and if there is anything on the reverse side, it doesn't show when the image is wet with glue.

 I trace the saying in pencil first.

 You'll see below that "strewn" has two 'n's.  That's because one was too far from the 'w' and looked like this: "strew n."  So I slipped another "n" in between and made plans to cover the extra with a rose.

 I added a light wash over the text by mixing paint with water.  I just used regular tempura paints, the kind that comes in a big bottle for 99 cents.

It looks rather blank unsigned, but I put it near the desserts at the party so I'm sure it soon got signatures!  :)

Used Christmas Cards

I've been working on getting ready for the St. John's Craft Fair early this year.

Here are some of the circles I've been cutting out of Christmas cards:

You guessed it--that represents 721 circles.  I am guessing that over the past two or three years I have punched out approaching 3,000 of them.

Baby Book Done!

My latest creation!  It is for little Miriam; fortunately I finished it before she's all grown up!

I posted a tutorial here, but there are a few things I did differently, which I'll try to note as I put up the photos.

Most of the pieces I backed with other fabric so I didn't have to spend so much thread tacking them down to the page.  

 Here you can see both ways of attaching the embellishments.

 My niece Arwen helped me decorate the balloons.  We'd intended them for my scarf, but I think they work better here.

 I sewed the topping on first, then the rest of the ice cream cone.

 This decorative stitching closes up the gap used to turn the pages right side out.

Too thick to pin...

 Ta da!  Here is the finished book, cover to cover:

 The fabric on the left was a gift from Mom.  It's all about little girls playing dress-up, and it's probably at least considered vintage by now.

 The embroidery on the right is from a women's cotton blouse.

It was a lot of work, but it was fun.  Happy creating!