Card Wallet

I have all these cards in my purse, over and above my debit and credit cards, which I keep with my checkbook.

So these include store reward cards (cards you use instead of having coupons), library card, AAA card, and the like; you get the picture.

Previously I had these in one of those photo holders. You know the kind, thin, plastic, that comes with a wallet. Anyhoo, it has been worn out for a while now from putting the cards in and out. I mean seriously worn out as in most of the pockets were ripped and my cards and pics would fall out when I was trying to get one of the cards out.

So, enough was enough, when I realized I had lost one of my store cards and had to get it replaced.  I got the inspiration and tutorial from Pinterest of course. 

Here’s the pin on my “Things I'd Like To Make Or Just Find Interesting” board if you’re interested: http://pinterest.com/pin/83105555593591545/ While you’re there, why don’t you become a follower? I’ll always follow back at least one of your boards that interest me.

You can find the tutorial for this card wallet  at Nancy's Couture. I didn’t do another tutorial, because I think she did a wonderful job of it, so she gets the credit.

So, here’s my version

                                           

I didn’t add the snap, because this is always in my purse, so I didn’t feel I needed one. As you can see, I don’t have enough cards to fill it, so I finished it out with pics of my grandkids.

On a side note, I used a couple of my Christmas and Birthday presents to do this project.  These were both from Gary. The first is my new self healing cutting mat, which you can see in the background of the above pics. It is 24”X36”! I have a little dinky one that just wasn’t big enough for a lot of the projects I do and I have a larger cardboard sewing mat that you just can’t do any cutting on except with a scissors.

This is the kind of mat I got.  As you can see it is black on the other side. You can buy it at Amazon.

 

The second gift I used is a 12”X8” carpenter square. I’ve been wanting a smaller square for some time, but whenever I would go shopping I would forget to either put it on the list or simply forget about it. Outta sight, outta mind as it were. As you can see it is not very expensive at Amazon; although he got  it at  the local True Value hardware store.

So that’s what I did this afternoon. It only took a couple of hours, including writing on the blog about it. In fact the writing probably takes longer, since I write, read, reread, rewrite and so on, until I get it just the way I want.

Have a great evening!

Ice Cream Sundae Totem

This is the totem I made for my new garden bed. I used a small green flower vase inverted to serve as the “holder” to slip over the post (ice cream cup stem). I found these great posts at Menards, which are 60” long and are plastic coated metal hollow rods. I only used 30” for this project, so I have the other 1/2 to use for another totem. I cut them off with a chop saw, but a hacksaw would work as well.

Here’s how the totem stacked up:

On top of the vase, I adhered a yellow dinner plate and yellow salad plate right side up (bowl of ice  cream cup), followed by a sort of pumpkin shaped white canister upside down, that I had used to keep my utensils in on the kitchen counter (scoop of ice cream). Next came a fluted carnival glass plate we received as a wedding gift 35 years ago. I very seldom used it, except to put candy in once or twice. This also was upside down (caramel topping). A clear cut glass bowl, also upside down came next (whipped cream) and it was topped off with a metal cupola, I guess you would call it, from a lantern candle holder that I made into a solar patio lantern. I spray painted the cupola red to simulate a cherry. I finished off my sundae with a tablespoon, which I cut off 1/3 of the bowl, with a chop saw, and glued to the bottom of the whipped topping.

These are the steps I followed:

First, I marked where the pieces needed to go by tracing them with a marker. I then “sanded” these markings off, with a little over each way;

with a dremel, fitted with a diamond tip bit. This made short work of the task of roughening the areas for the glue to adhere to.

Secondly, I cleaned the area to be glued well with alcohol and a rag.

Starting with the plates, I next applied clear silicon adhesive sealant, liberally to one surface and glued them together. I glued all the top pieces, above the vase, the same day. To attach the spoon, I hammered the bowl of the spoon a little flatter, to be close to the same arc as the whipped topping bowl. I then glued it on with the silicon adhesive and propped it against a tall object until it was set. Worked out ok, so far, but we’ll see how it handles the elements. I then waited a day and turned the piece upside down , placing it on a roll of painter’s tape, so the “cherry” was in the hole; therefore, resting mostly level. I then glued the vase, upside down to the bottom of the dinner plate and waited another day before tipping it over and putting it on the post which I had pounded into the ground.  I used Loctite clear silicon adhesive sealant, but I’m sure there are other brands as well. 

So, here is my ice cream sundae in the new garden bed. It is next to the planter bench I made out of an old metal bed frame. More to come on that another time.

Technorati Tags: DIY,Outdoor Design,Recycle

Silent Auction Donation

I made another bird feeder to donate to the Church’s silent auction they are having in conjunction with their chicken dinner, this coming Sunday.

I really love the cup on this one. It is a Holstein print on the outside and bright yellow on the inside. I believe it was intended as an ice cream cup, because on the bottom, it said made especially for Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. After I got it all done, I liked it so much that I kinda wanted to keep it for myself. Oh, well, if I want it, I’ll just have to bid on it and try to win it. I’m not sure I’ll ever find a cup like that again.
I did a couple of things differently with this one. First, I used clear epoxy for the whole thing. I just feel a 2-
part epoxy will be stronger than a 1-part glue. We’ll see. The other thing I did differently was to cut the copper pipe to a point, after I hammered a flat end on it, with a hacksaw. Hopefully it will poke into the ground easier this way; although, the other way worked ok.
I included a small bag of birdseed and a card with instructions on how to assemble this. Believe it or not, there is a right way to do this. You do not want to put it together and then push it into the ground. You risk breaking the dishes. Also, you do not want to twist the feeder on the post, because if you are using glue, it will loosen the bond. The best thing is to get it into the position you want and slide it on straight. If it’s not quite where you want it, take it off and start again. Trust me, a little caution will save you repairs.

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Have a

Mootiful Day!

Technorati Tags: Outdoor,Design,Recycle

Mother’s Day Gift

Here’s what I made for my MIL for Mother’s Day:

It’s a sugar bowl  bird feeder/waterer

Here’s a closer pic

I got the inspiration here from a teacup bird feeder tutorial.

I could not find any teacup/saucer combinations I liked, so I went with a sugar bowl. I actually like this better. It has a bigger area for water than a teacup and I could use a bigger plate and spoon that would not look out of place if using a smaller teacup.

Basically, this is how I made it.

1) Plan this for several days in advance, because you need to have the glue cure.

2) Find a nice sugar bowl, plate, and spoon. either of your own or from a thrift store or garage sale.  Mine were matching, but you could certainly do coordinating or even contrasting colors.

           Even my spoon had a rose on it to match the plate.

3) You need to sand around the bottom of the sugar bowl, the bottom of the spoon and the 2 coordinating areas on the plate where they will both sit to roughen it up so the glue will adhere well. I didn’t take pics of the sanding process, but I think it is self explanatory. Just be sure to sand quite a lot of the glaze off.

4) Glue the bowl and spoon to the plate using E-6000 glue. This is some strong glue that is waterproof. Follow the directions on the package. It takes about 24 hrs. to cure before you can flip it over and do the backside.

5) After the glue has cured for a day, turn the  feeder over and glue a 1/2” copper cap in the middle of the plate. Again the surface of both the plate and the cap need to be roughened up with sand paper. Make sure to apply a generous amount of glue to the plate and cap, because the cap is usually convex, so you need to make sure it is going to be held over the entire cap.

Original way.... didn't work out so well.

** UPDATE **

5) It was not sturdy enough with the E-6000 and just that small area to apply glue to. One twist with my husbands strong hands and it wanted to move too easily. This is what we did to reinforce  the cap and make a larger surface for adhesive. My husband soldered a fender washer to the top of the cap and then filed it to roughen the surface and make it even. Meanwhile, I scraped off the glue from the bottom of the plate and sanded a larger area to accommodate the fender washer size. This time around, I glued it with waterproof epoxy. It dried to a light amber color , but that's ok, since it's underneath and won't be seen. After curing for 24 hrs., it's solid and not going anywhere.

New improved version with a fender washer soldered to the cap

               I didn’t even bother to remove the entire tag, since it will be on the bottom and not show.

       

6) In the meantime; while you wait for this glue on the bottom to cure. You can prepare the stake. This is made from a 36” piece of 1/2” copper tubing. I bought a 10’ piece at the hardware store because I plan to make one of theses for myself as well, but I saw you could get these in 5’ sections also, which were more expensive/ft. Personally, I think I might like more than one of these in my yard. Cut the tubing with a pipe cutter if you have one, or a hacksaw. Sand around one end of the tubing as far as the cap will go on, so that the cap will slide on easily. These are very tight fitting; after all, they are made to hold water. On the other end, hammer the tubing flat , to make a “knife edge”  to poke into the ground easier.

7) Stick the pipe into the ground about a foot. Once the glue has cured on the back of the plate, you can turn it over, slip it onto the pipe, and fill the bowl with water and put some bird food on the plate.

Here's the bird feeder in my in-laws front yard with bird seed and water.

This is the card I made to go along with her gift:

The envelope I made last year out of a heavy magazine cover.

Here’s a closer look at the card. It is a “Do Not Disturb” hanger for the door.

I got the inspiration here.

Happy Mother’s

Day
Linking to:
Fine Craft Guild

Baby Shower Gifts

I attended a baby shower a couple of weeks ago. The mom-to-be likes frogs, so I tailored my homemade gifts to go with that theme.

Hooter Hider

I pretty much followed the tutorial here, except I used a metal fastener and I always double seam, to make sure the seams are not going to rip apart easily.

Frog Hat and Booties

For the booties, I used my standby Best Crochet Slippers pattern, but adjusted the pattern to make them smaller, by using a smaller hook, only one strand of yarn, and less rows.

For the hat, I followed the pattern here, except I did the eyes a little different and I used 1/4” ribbon instead of yarn for the contrasting edge.

Burp Cloths

This is the tutorial I followed, roughly. Mine had a more rounded shape on the ends.  To achieve this, I used a dinner plate to trace a pattern of 2 circles, then joined the circles with an inside arc. I used bar towels for the absorbent backside.

Ribbon Tab Toy

Here’s what I did:
1) I basically just traced a circle with a dinner plate onto 2 fabrics, 1 cotton and the other fleece and cut them out.
2) Cut various lengths  of ribbons ranging 2-4”.
3) Fold the ribbon strips in half and pin them between the the 2 circles of fabric right sides together, ribbons in toward the middle. 
4) Sew around the edge of the circle with a 14” seam, leaving about a 3-4” opening for turning, (leave out 1 ribbon until after it is turned and stuffed). I always double seam, to make sure the seam is sturdy. Turn it right side out.
5) Wrap a large bell , or several small bells, with poly batting. Put about 1/3 of the batting in through the opening, then put in the wrapped bells and finish stuffing with poly batting.
6) Slip stitch the opening closed along with the last ribbon.

Pacifier Leash

Follow the tutorial here 

Closet Dividers

For these, I made a template out of cardboard, traced them, and cut the shapes out of foam board. I covered them with contact paper and used acrylic craft paint to color around the edges. I cut out the letters on my Silhouette, applied them, and Bob’s your uncle. Easy Peasy!

Froggy Bank

I made this bank from a recycled coffee container. It was decaf, since that’s the kind that comes in green.

Here’s what I did:

1) Removed the label with Acetone. They do not make paper labels anymore, but paint them on, so it is a little more difficult to get a label free surface.

2) Clean the container up real well. I place newspapers inside to get rid of the coffee smell. Most of it was gone the next day

3) I cut out the frog and phrases on my Silhouette, but you could easily draw these on with a permanent marker.

4) Cut a slot in the top. I made a frog face (with no mouth) on my Silhouette and placed it so the slot is the mouth and the ears stand up on the edge. I left the backing off on the vinyl behind the ears so they would not stick to the container.

The irony of this is that the container came from the mom-to-be in question!  In fact she asked me what I was doing with it. I told  her I couldn’t tell her and she left it at that.

Gift Bag

All these goodies went into the gift bag I decorated with a frog.

 Have A Hoppin’ Good Day!

Linking To: 
Someday Crafts
Night Owl Crafting
Beyond The Picket Fence

Fireflies and Jellybeans
Paisley Passions

The CSI Project
The Thrifty Groove
My Re-purposed Life
Remodelaholic
The Creative Crate

Technorati Tags: Sewing,DIY,Crafts,Silhouette

SILHOUETTE LOVE

A few weeks ago  we celebrated my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law’s 60th wedding anniversary. Each child’s (of theirs) family was asked to contribute some type of wall decoration, poster, pics, etc., to decorate the church cafeteria, which was where the affair was held.  This post is a long time coming, because I was waiting for nice clear pics from the photographer that was there that day. Unfortunately, either the pics of the tree did not turn out or she forgot to take them, so I’m stuck with my usual point and shoot camera pics.

This was our contribution:

What I did was to make hearts on my Silhouette. For the children, of which there are 8, I started each branch with the child’s and spouse’s name and the year of their marriage in another heart at the bottom. Next on the branch came the child’s children (grandchildren),  followed by their children (great-grandchildren). For these it was just the grandchild’s name and spouse (if applicable) and just the great-grandchildren’s name on hearts after each of their parents.
 
I used an online poster maker, Block Posters, to make an image of a tree trunk, which I cut out from black poster board and placed the branches starting from it in a willow tree type shape. Here it is laid out on the living room floor to check for size and composition.

Across the top of the trunk I put the cut out phrase “All Because Two People Fell In Love” on a gold ribbon.

Under the ribbon; the tree trunk is attached, with thumbtacks, to a cork strip that runs across that short section of wall in the church cafeteria. That was a pretty sweet way to put it up. Luckily, nobody else needed that much space, so I could use it.
For the anniversary couple, I made a B&W copy of their wedding photo and placed it in a heart which I cut out of wood print contact paper. The two intertwined hearts at the bottom contain their names and date of their wedding.

I took these pics the day before the event when we set up for the party, so I don’t have a final pic of the Family Tree. What I added was a large Black Heart at the center top  with  60th Anniversary and the date of the party, just because I felt it needed something in that space up there. I think it turned out rather well and I got numerous compliments on it.
I left the backing on the hearts and just cut out the main part, so that we could just attach them with some double sided carpet tape and each sibling could take their family’s branch home with them to do as they pleased. I plan to make some sort of framed picture with our family’s hearts.

 

Have A “Love”ly Day!

Linking to:

Fireflies and Jellybeans

Polly Want A Crafter
Homemaker On A Dime
Sew Many Ways
The DIY Show Off
Someday Crafts
Night Owl Crafting
Beyond The Picket Fence
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Paisley Passions
The CSI Project
The Thrifty Groove
My Re-purposed Life
Remodelaholic
The Creative Crate

Technorati Tags: DIY,Silhouette,Love

FROGS

Technorati Tags: Silhouette,Crafts

I just attended a baby shower, where the mom-to-be had a frog theme.

This is the gift bag I decorated to put my homemade gifts in (more on those in another post).

It started out as a plain green bag to which I added some cut outs  from contact paper, made on my Silhouette cutting machine.                                                                                                                                    
I did trace around the letters and the features of the frog with a fine tip marker, just because they didn’t quite show up as well as I would have liked.

This is the cutting file I used for the bag and the outline frog I used for another project.

These are my own creation and I am sharing the zip file if anyone is interested in the frogs. I am not sure if this file will work for any other cutters, since it is labeled a Silhouette studio file on my PC.
This is the first time I am sharing a file, so I would like some input as to whether or not it actually works. If so, I will share some more in the future.
Zip file  ----- http://www.mediafire.com/?d4keui6ax3digp3

Linking to :

The Creative Crate
Sew Many Ways
Homemaker on a Dime
The Idea Room
Polly Want A Crafter
DotDotDot
DIY by Design
Remodelaholic
The Creative Crate

CROCHET RIBBON NECKLACE

I made this necklace for one of my daughters for Christmas.

 Materials and Tools 

1 spool of 1" ribbon
1 spool of 1/4" ribbon
5 large beads
Size H crochet hook
Large embroidery or darning needle

CROCHET BALLET SLIPPERS - VARIATION

This is a variation of my Crochet Ballet Slippers.

CROCHET BALLET SLIPPERS

My daughter wanted some ballet type slippers. I looked at several patterns online and did not like any of them. For one thing, they didn't seem to have much substance for slippers. I made up my own pattern. I started with my trusty Slipper Sock  pattern and developed it from there.

**You are welcome to use the pattern, and even sell any slippers you make from it, but please don't sell the pattern and pass it off as your own. Kindly link back to this post if you use it.**

**If you see a mistake in the pattern or something is not clear, email me and I will try to help.**

♥email me♥

Here's the pattern:

Crochet Ballet Slippers

Materials

Worsted weight yarn approximately 6-8 ounces

(Can be made with 1or 2 colors)

Crochet hooks size I and size H

Large button

*Note: These are made with 2 strands of yarn.

Instructions for womens size 11. For smaller sizes, use a smaller size hook, or do a few less rows in the ribbed part.

Right Slipper

Rnd 1: With size I hook and 2 strands of yarn, ch 2, work 5 sc info 2nd ch from hook to form a circle. Mark last st of this rnd with a pin, then move pin to mark the end of each succeeding rnd.

Rnd 2: Work 3 sc into each sc around: you should have 15 sc.

Rnd 3: * 2 sc in first sc, sc in each of next 2 sc, rep from * around:  20 Sc.

Rnd 4:  * 2 sc in first sc, sc in each of the next 3sc, rep from * around 25 sc.

Rnds 5-12 Work even on 25 sc, making sure to move your marker each round.

From now on sc in the back loop only.

Rnd 13 Ch 1, turn. Sc in back loop of  next 18 sc.

Rnds 14-31 Ch1, turn. Sc in back loop of each sc across. (18sc)

Dec Row 1: Ch 1, turn. Sc in each of next 7 sc, dec over next 2 sts as follows: draw up a loop in each of the next 2 sts: 3 loops on hook, YO and pull through all 3 loops on hook, dec as before over next 2 sts, sc in each of next 7 sc.

Dec Row 2: Ch1, turn. Sc in each of next 6 sc, dec over next 2 sts, twice, sc in each of next 6 sc.

Dec Row 3: Ch1, turn. Sc in each of next 5 Sc, dec over next 2 sts, sc in each of next 5 sc; ch 1, turn.

Fold back section in half, carefully matching sts. Sl St inside loops of sides tog. Fasten off.

Edging and strap

With the size H hook, attach 1 strand of yarn in the first stitch to the left side of the back joining with a sl st.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, sc evenly around top left  rim of slipper (about 3 sc per row on the sides), in each sc across front, and  evenly around top right rim of slipper. Join with sl st to first sc.

Rnd 2: *Ch 1, sc in next sc, dec over next 2 sc. Repeat from * 8 more times.

Ch 30, join with sc in 10th sc back from chain in same row, sc in next sc back in same row.

Ch1 turn, skip first sc, sc in next sc and in each chain back around. (strap)

*sc in next sc, dec over next 2 sc. Repeat from * around to back. Join with a sl st and fasten off.

Left Slipper

With the size I hook, crochet the main part of the slipper the same as the left one.

Edging and strap

With the size H hook, attach 1 strand of yarn in the first stitch to the left side of the back joining with a sl st .

Rnd 1: Ch 1, sc evenly around top left  rim of slipper (about 3 sc per row on the sides), in each sc across front, and  evenly around top right rim of slipper. Join with sl st to first sc.

Rnd 2: Count 13 stitches to the right of the back joining and place a stitch marker.

* Ch 1, sc next sc, dec over next 2sc. Repeat from * around to the marked stitch. 

Ch 30, join with sc in 10th sc back from chain in same row, sc in next sc back in same row.

Ch1 turn, skip first sc, sc in next sc and in each chain back around. (strap)

*sc in next sc, dec over next 2 sc. Repeat from * to back joining and fasten off.

Weave in ends. Sew a button  on the opposite side from strap directly across from the center of the strap on each slipper.

Alternate finishing:

Edging

With the size H hook, attach 1 strand of yarn in the first stitch to the left side of the back joining with a sl st.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, sc evenly around top left  rim of slipper (about 3 sc per row on the sides), in each sc across front, and  evenly around top right rim of slipper. Join with sl st to first sc.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, * sc in 1 sc, dec over next 2 sc. Repeat from * around.

Rnd 3: Repeat rnd 2.

Rnd 4: Sc in each st around. Fasten off and weave in ends.


You can see the finished variation HERE!