Ladybug pillow

Posted on November 24, 2012 by kate

You may have seen last week’s post on my ladybug quilt made entirely from gifted scraps of quilting fabric. Well it never really stops there does it. There’s always more scraps to work with. and i had just enough to make this pillow:

ladybug pillow

I took the small leftover strips I had from backing the quilt and made the front and back of the pillow. the middle black section looked a little extra blank, so I made three red yo-yos and embroidered lady bug wings and eyes onto them. The pillow is small, perfect for little ladybug to rest her head on.

ladybug pillow back

The back is just an interesting as the front. I had to use the scraps of making the front of the pillow, which were the scraps of making the back of the quilt, which were scraps of making the front, which were scraps to begin with. That’s scraps to the 5th power!

What scrappy project have you made lately? Leave a comment in below and let me know!

Little Birdie Crochet from Upcycled Yarn

Posted on July 25, 2012 by kate

So last week I showed you my dishcloths made from upcycled yarn. Well I still have alot of yarn…about two sweaters’ worth. But as I said, I’m still learning crochet. So I made a cute little birdie based off this pattern by jjcrochet.com.

reclaimed yarn crochet birdie

The pattern was easy to follow, even for a beginner like me. I only had to start over once. The whole bird is less than 2 1/2 inches square. The only problem is, now I’m not sure what to do with it. I’m thinking of putting it on a hair clip for one of the girls.

So go check out that pattern. I think it might be addicting. I’m working on something else based off of her pattern. And please leave a comment below. What should I do with little reclaimed yarn birdies like these?

Make Do Craft Tutorial – Game of Thrones Hat

Posted on June 20, 2012 by kate

So for my Hubby’s birthday, I WAS going to get him an ipad. However the car broke down so I couldn’t go shopping, then we got the bill…Which meant even if I could go shopping, I couldn’t go shopping. But a few days before I picked up a plain black hat, thinking “maybe I can do something with this.”

So I had to think of what he likes to do. He used to be really into World of Warcraft, but he’s quit raiding, so that was out. And since I don’t have many crafts for surfing websites or beer-making I was almost at a loss. But we do have our favorite TV shows.

Every Sunday my hubby and I plop down with some tapenade and drinks of varying degrees of alcoholic content to watch Game of Thrones on HBO. We’ve recently started inviting friends over to watch with us. Some days it’s the most adult conversation I get.

Crafted Game of Thrones Hat

The hat was black and so I decided that what better house to represent than the greyjoys, which their take what the want approach to life. I grabbed some silver paint and fabric medium and mixed them like the bottle says so the paint with become like fabric paint.

game of thrones hat

I painted the words “iron born” on the front of the hat and “greyjoy” around the back adjustment curve. Then I painted on little iron links around the bill. I also painted the little knob silver just for kicks.

This was all he had to open for his birthday. Poor thing.

On a good note, our insurance took care of most of the bill, so my hubby has his eye on that iPad again.

Did you create something on short notice when you weren’t expecting to? I’d love to see what you did and story behind it. Leave a comment in the section below.

DIY Father’s Day gift – Potholder tutorial

Posted on June 13, 2012 by kate

If you saw last’s weeks post on how to make a BBQ apron as a DIY Father’s Day gift, You might be interested in what I did with the leftovers. After all, just one gift sometimes is just not enough. So I had just enough bias binding and half of one towel. Perfect to make a pot holder.

DIY potholder

What you need to make this DIY Gift

Half of a towel
bias binding
shammy cloth or other comfy fabric to line the potholder
cotton or wool batting or other thick natural fiber to insulate the potholder against heat. (Be safe here and use something natural so it won’t melt, and thick enough to withstand the heat of a hot tools.)
Thread
sewing machine

What you need to do to make this DIY Potholder

DIY potholder inside

Cut a 8×5 section from the towel, batting, and shammy. You may want to center the main design of the towel on this piece as this it what shows on the potholder.
Cut two 5×3 1/2 sections from each towel, batting, and shammy
Sandwich the 5×3 1/2 sections so that you have 2 stacks, each one with the towel right side up on top, the batting in the middle, then the lining facing down on the bottom.
Fit the bias binding over one 5 inch edge.
Sew the bias binding in the section.
Repeat steps 3-5 for other 5×3 1/2 section.
Sandwich the 8×5 section so that it’s stacked with the towel right side up on top, the batting in the middle, then the lining facing down on the bottom.
On top of this, put a 5×3 1/2 sandwich on each 5 inch edge so that the binding strips are toward the middle and the open edges match up to the open edges of the larger section. Make sure these section are towel side down. (The lining should be facing up on top and down on the bottom of the entire stack.)
sew around the edges. If you want you can gently curve the edges. I suggest going around at least twice, once with a straight stitch and once with a small zig zag.
Trim off excess.
Your potholder is now inside out. flip it right side out and you have another DIY Father’s day gift.

This project was pretty much free for me. I used the leftovers from the apron I made earlier, a shammy cloth from a failed experiment, and for the batting I used a felted wool scrap. It took less than half an hour to create this quick easy DIY.

Hope you all have a happy Father’s day Crafting! If you do this I’d love to see it. Post a comment below and tell me all about it.

Smoking hot BBQ – DIY Father’s Day Gift

Posted on June 6, 2012 by kate

Smoking hot BBQ

June, the time for all crafty mamas to get crafting for Father’s day. My hubby is hard to craft for. He likes gadgets and shiny things. Since I can’t craft him an iPad, I have to get extra creative. He does like to grill.

When I spotted these grill themed towels at the dollar store last year I knew these were going to become an apron for his Father’s Day gift.

Make Do Craft Tutorial – Father’s Day Apron

What you need for this quick DIY gift:

two towels
bias binding
thread
sewing machine

How you do this quick easy DIY gift

DIY Father's Day gift - Apron

bias binding on DIY Father's day gift

Pick a towel that can go horizontally. This will be the apron skirt
Cut half of the next towel crosswise
Find the middle point of the skirt part and the end of the second towel
Pin them together and sew across the edge so you have a basic apron shape
Fit Bias binding so that it goes across the upper part of the second towel if it’s a raw edge
Sew on bias tape.
Fit more bias tape going up the second towel, over so he has enough room to stick his head through, and down the second towel.
Sew on bias tape.
Fit another strip of bias tape across the first towel. Make sure to leave enough on each end to be able to tie it around the waist.
Sew on bias tape.
Enjoy

This is an easy craft and takes less than an hour. I used two towels from the dollar store, and a pair of plaid kid’s shorts from the dollar store which I cut up and used for binding. So for a total effort of $3, and an hour, you have a great DIY gift for Father’s Day. Next week I’ll post another quick easy DIY gift I made with the leftovers.

Upcycled headband

Posted on March 14, 2012 by kate

Two minute headband

Crafting a Green World had a great post about upcycling men’s ties. I mean, really, how many men still wear ties? My husband might wear three a year. Yet he has more ties than shoes. This may say more about his shoes than his ties though.

Making a headband

So anyway, after seeing a great shamrock tie at the dollar tree, knowing I couldn’t give it to my husband since he already has way too many, I decided to make it into something for me using 5 Minute Headband tutorial.

shamrock headband craft

Honestly, I think it took more like two minutes, and that included threading the machine! It was the definition of easy, looks good enough to give as a gift (or sell for the Etsy people out there), and unlike all the other headbands I own, it doesn’t either slip off or constrict my brain. WIN! I love this upcycled headband.

Have you made one? Have another project with ties? Leave a comment and link to your project. I’d love to see them.

More Doll Clothes from Socks (Part 2)

Posted on February 29, 2012 by kate

Ok. So last time I showed you how to make tiny dresses for dolls about 3″ high from baby socks. You should have the heel and sole of the sock left. I hope you didn’t throw that out. You can use to to make more doll clothes!

Making doll clothes from socks

This time I’m going to show you how to make a headband kind of hat and a shirt for the 12″ fashion, barbie doll type dolls.

Now you just need the rest of your sock and some scissors.

Making the hat/headband

cut heel to make a hat

Cut off the heel, making sure to cut all the way across the sock so at the point of the heel there is a thin strap. that’s it. There’s your hat. You can hide the strap behind the hair and use it as a head band, or put it under the chin and make it look like a helmet. Or you can cut strap, give it a little tug and make the hat look like it has earflaps.

Making the shirt

cut holes in toe to make a shirt

Now you have the sole and foot of the sock.
Clip a small hole at the very tip of the toe for the head
clip two holes on wither side of the toe for the arms. (Keep high up on the toe for a sleeveless look or lower down for a cap sleeve.)

Doll hat and shirt

And that’s the shirt. Depending on the size of baby sock it may show Barbie’s belly. Here’s a picture of the “Mom” doll modeling her new threads. Making these takes very little time and makes a great surprise gift for a little girl. If you are on the lookout for stocking stuffers or basket fillers, you can make a couple of dozen of these in less than an hour, all for free.

DIY Doll Clothes from Socks

Have you made doll clothes from socks? I’d love to see. Leave a comment below with a link to your doll clothes project.

Tiny Doll Clothes from Socks

Posted on February 23, 2012 by kate

My kids have lots and lots of dolls. They have Barbie dolls, princess dolls, baby dolls, and little tiny dolls that are under 3 inches high. And every single one of them needs clothes. Of course they come with cute doll clothes. One, maybe two outfits. But my daughter wants them to have swim suits and pajamas and party dresses, and dance clothes….

Baby Sock Doll Clothes

So there is always more to sew. Being the Make Do crafter I am, I decided to use something I had on hand to make doll clothes for the itty bitty dolls she has. Baby socks!

One baby sock that lost it’s mate can make two dresses for itty bitty dolls and a hat and shirt for Barbie or other 12″ fashion dolls.

First I’m going to show how to make the dresses. I’ll show the rest in another post.

Baby sock doll dresses

Materials:

1 baby sock
sewing machine threaded with matching thread
scissors

Procedure for making baby clothes from socks:

Cut the sock cuff off where it meets the heel

cut sock

Flatten the sock inside out so any image is folded on the side (do as I say not as I show, inside out!)

flatten image to side

Sew two lines down the sock cuff, close to the middle

cut sock

Cut the sock between the two lines (This would be vertical in the picture above)

Turn right side out and flatten so any image faces front
clip holes for arms

Clip a hole 1/8″ to 1/4″ from the top of the cuff (for the arm holes) – sorry this fuzzy buzzy picture was the best I had.

tiny doll dresses from socks

And now her tiny dolls have matching penguin dresses. Save the rest of that sock and I’ll show you how to turn it into more doll clothes later!

Have you made doll clothes from stuff around the house? I’d love to see. leave a comment and link to your project below.

Winner of the Making Contest

Posted on January 9, 2012 by kate

Glitz Princess Applique Project

glitz princess applique

Today I did a little project for my little princess. My mom made her a little shawl with pockets for the holidays and I embroidered the pockets with appliques from the glitz princess embroidery pack. My daughter watched intently as the machine zipped spreading a row of colored thread behind it, shaping a castle, and then a fairy princess. When we were done, I got out a few stick on rhinestones and we decorated the fairy.

The Making contest

Not only did she demand that we call Mimi, her grandma, immediately so she could see what it looked like, she ran into my room a few minutes later with a play Olympic medal. “Mommy, Mommy, wear this! You won the Making contest!” This is why I craft for my kids.

What was a favorite project you remember your mom making? Have you won any making contests in your children’s eyes lately. I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below and let me know how you got to be a winner of the making contest in your child’s eyes.
If you decide you want the princess pack, please support this site and use the link below to buy it from amazon.

Favorite Craft: An End to 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by kate

First off, sorry about my lack of posts. the last two months have been… trying. Between several vermin that thought my house would be much better than their outdoor nests and other homes, a cold that just keep going (I swear, it’s like the energizer bunny cold), and the fact that as a crafter, I actually need to craft some gifts for the holidays, blogging fell to the wayside.

I am looking forward to the new year. The present year got off to a bumpy start and never really got much better. In fact when a light bulb shattered near our dear child last night, my husband asked me, “When will this year be over?”

I’m looking forward to making lots of great things for myself, my home, and my kids this next year. I’m plotting how to spend my gifts cards to crafty stores even now. But this year I made many things. to remind myself this year wasn’t all bad, I want to think about my favorite crafty project.

Favorite craft

I think mine must be the murloc ornament. It took just long enough to be proud when I was done, looked exactly like i wanted it to, and it was well received.

What about you? I must know, what was the favorite crafty project you did this year? Feel free to link to your crafty post. Leave a comment below. (BTW, spammy links that have nothing to do with crafty stuff will be deleted. I’ve been getting more and more of those lately. I appreciate that small business people want to get the word out, that’s why there’s a url under your name. Please only link in text, if it relates to the post.)

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Tag Archives: DIY gifts