Newspaper organizer

I hope you are all having a wonderfully crafty Saturday afternoon!!

Today I'm going to share with you a modified tutorial from a book I just recently purchased. One yard Wonders

Find it on Amazon here

I think many of these projects are neat, but the instructions can be quite cryptic. It took me a good 30 minutes of reading and look at the pictures over and over again until it finally sank in what they were trying to 'teach' me.

One of the projects in this book was really interesting, but I don't have easy access to 30" heavy interfacing, the largest interfacing my local hobby store sells is 20"

So I decided to make this out of newspaper, and alter the project a bit to fit my budget and time constraints (another pharmacology exam on Wednesday...eeek!)


Here is my finished project so you can get an idea, each of the squares is about 4" by 4"

First gather your supplies:
- scissors, paper cutter (optional)
- tape
- glue stick
- newspaper
- cereal box
- ruler and marker

Paper Flowers part 2

So I went through a paper flower phase...or really anything fun and cute I could make from paper. I found this awesome inspiration from Intimate Weddings Blog, and I made a about 6 myself, but again, I was so excited I didn't take pictures and they now live at my mom's house about 6 hours away!

Image borrowed from Intimate Wedding Blog

These would be a great alternative to live flower center pieces at any function, or just to spruce up a table. These are especially awesome (well really all paper flowers) for those of us who are particularly sensitive to fragrant flowers and/or the pollen they produce.

So head over to Intimate Wedding blog and check out this tutorial here!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Eco Friendly Gift wraping

What if I told you, you never again have to buy bows, wraping paper, or gift bags again? You would be kinda excited right??

Well here is your solution.

How to make a gift bag out of junk mail here
Small gift box out of a dollar bill here
Cereal box to gift box here

Also don't forget that newspaper is your best friend for wrapping packages, stuffing for shipping boxes, etc. Also think about using multiple pages of a magazine to wrap your gifts. Your gift recipient will think "wow, how creative and unique!"

Now for my favorite part....Gift bows!! These are a delight to make, and the results are amazing!

Here are a few that I made out of a bridal magazine that was destine for the recycle bin...

They turned out much better than I had planned, and with a little practice I was making bows that were nearly perfect!!

Here is a list of supplies you will need:

The fabric box

Good evening!
My pharmacology test went well, in case you were wondering. I had planned to get this tutorial posted around 3pm, however it actually rained here in desert-like South Texas and the power was down for several hours. Which means no iron, sewing machine, computer, or internet. I ended up passing the time, cutting fabric for future projects. During my silent solitude of fabric cutting I started thinking how we as a culture have become so dependent on electricity. It almost made me want to get a foot pedal sewing machine--then it's like a work out and sewing all in one! That is an entirely different topic however....

Anyways back to the tutorial. A few days ago I put together the first tote depicted in the "sneek peek" post and I liked the out come, but the whole thing was kinda floppy looking. So I decided to install cardboard sides/bottom in the next one to see if that helped stiffen it up and if it was actually do-able.

The one on the left has cardboard, and the one on the right has just one layer of interfacing.

Cardboard is very unforgiving and I had quite a hard time lining everything up perfectly--If I ever make anymore, I'll just interface the outside and liner of the box. this should be plenty stiff to hold fabric, yarn and other various semi-light weight projects.

So here are the supplies:
- 1/2 yard of fabric for the outside
- 1/2 yard of fabric for the liner
- a little over 2 yards of 20 inch heavy fuse-able interfacing (if you want to interface liner & outside
- bias tape or materials to make double bias tape (1/2 inch or an inch, its your preference)
- approximately 3 cereal boxes, duct tape (optional)
- sewing machine, matching thread, scissors, ruler, fabric marker, bias tape maker, pins

Sneek Peek

I just wanted to give you a sneak peek of Wednesday's Tutorial. I have a pharmacology exam on Wednesday morning, so now I must stop crafting (sigh) and start studying.

Enjoy the sneak  peek...I'm very excited about this out come!

Fabric storage bin! YAY!!! I made this with the idea of it storing my current yarn project, but then to my surprise it fits perfectly in the throw all end table by the front door. Phoebe likes it too! She jumped up there and posed all on her own, promise--she is a ham like that.

Come back Wednesday afternoon for the full tutorial!! Until then you can make the cute newspaper box here and buy a pair of TOMS here

Paper flowers part 1

I've alluded to this project in some of my other posts, but I wanted to really show case it. Over the next few days I'm going to show you all the different types of paper flower's I've mastered--most of which I learned from other people's blogs/websites. No worries I'll give credit where credit is due :)

This is a great tutorial to use with old magazines, newspapers, old class notes (which I'm totally guilty of), junk mail, etc. Any source of paper, that is preferably in the "recycled" category. Plus I think they make great conversation pieces instead of folding these out of regular ole non-interesting-excessive tree killing paper.

20-Min Tunic

As some of you know, there is only one store here that sells fabric off the bolt in my town....with a very very limited selection. So I'm always looking for other ways to obtain fabric, through XL T-shirts, twin flat sheets, pillow cases, cloth shower curtains, table cloths, cloth napkins, etc.

So as I was strolling around HEB plus this afternoon I came across this

TWO pillow cases for a DOLLAR...yes that is $1.00-  just under 2 yards of fabric if you rip all the seams and lay them out flat. 

The first time I saw these, they had orange and white ones, but I was a little hesitant because I wasn't sure about how the fabric would actually hold up--so I just bought the orange ones, made a tunic and was so excited I forgot to take pictures for this tutorial! So I just HAD to go back and get the blue and green ones so you guys could learn this awesome and nifty skill. 

Here is how to turn a pillow case into a tunic in about twenty minutes:

Newspaper basket

Good morning all!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Today I'm going to share with you an awesome tutorial I discovered a while back. Its a great way to make something useful, recycled, and a definite conversation piece!

Supplies:

Newspaper, scissors, stapler, mod podge, and anything you may want to decorate your basket with: ribbon, gems, paint, etc.

The small "test" basket

Interfacing, Zippers, and Gussets OH MY!

The three words to make any seamstress cringe. I myself used to cringe at these words…but after a making a few of these handy dandy zipper bags I have conquered my fear!

This is a long tutorial beware!!

How many of you have a T-shirt in your closet that you haven’t worn in 6+ months because it is too short, tight, small, or has a stain on it?!?!? Well I have about a half a dozen of these taking up valuable space and hangers.

My solution: refashion them into useful items. Today’s Post is how to make a zipper bag (make up bag size) out of a T-shirt.

Supplies:

-One T-shirt you no longer wear

-A bit of coordinating fabric for the liner (1/4 yard with lots of leftovers)

-7” closed coil zipper

-Light weight fuse-able interfacing (1 yard, with left overs)

-Iron

-Sewing machine, matching thread, seam ripper, zipper foot, fabric scissors, straight pins

-Surger (completely optional)

-Ruler and pen/pencil/fabric marker

-Wax paper (to make your pattern)

How many of you ladies out there have make up bags that look like this???

stuffed full, zipper wont close, and that darn brush just doesn't fit!!

How about making an T-shirt into this:

Drab to Fab

What two posts in one day?!?! Yes this is true, I just finished this shirt and I had to show it off!!! Quick tutorial too (YAY)

From drab to fab!  Okay so of course you remember my TJ Maxx XL T's that I got for $5.99 a piece, and how to tailor a shirt right? If not refresh your selves here!

Supplies:
- pins, matching thread, needle, seam ripper (because we all make mistakes sometimes), scissors, a few beads (mine were left over from a Christmas project), a contrasting color (left over bit of a white t-shirt, you can also use tule/cotten blend/ or any thing else that will give the flowers texture), and a T-shirt.

T-shirt Reconstruction!

I've been posting pictures of my creations on my facebook, and I had such a huge response from a few recent pictures of my T-shirt re-designs I thought I'd go ahead and give you guys a tutorial!

Okay first things first. There are a few ways to do this T-shirt reconstruction.

A. Buy two T-shirts, one to wear the other to cut up and use as decoration

B. Buy a T-shirt that is 3-4 sizes bigger - ie: you wear a small, buy an XL

C. Dig in your closet for an old (but in good condition) t-shirt you don't wear, that is too big. 

D. Steal a T-shirt from your Hubby, boyfriend, brother, sister, mom or dad that is too big for you!! 

Either way works fine! 

Here are a few of my completed projects:

Phone books!!

So how many phone books do you have at your house? I managed to acquire 3 in less than 6 months. There always seems to be a new one arriving at my door, or a pile of them at the mail box room at my apartment complex

Who even uses a phone book anymore?!?! When you can hop online and look it up, if your fancy you have an iphone, or you can be like me and "text message" google (466453) when you are on the go and get an instant reply. Say I'm running errands and I want to make a call to (fill in the blank) but i'm not fancy and have an Iphone, so I text message google: fill in the blank, Laredo, TX....a few seconds later = all local listings with addresses and phone numbers! Easy as pie, and it doesn't cost a thing except for maybe a regular text message charge.

Anyways back on topic...phonebooks, and having too many of them.

This was by far my favorite thing to do with a phone book...but oh the possibilities!

The yarn craze!

Okay, so I've realized that I go through some serious "addicted to doing this craft" phases. One of my recent phases was yarn and perfecting my very basic but ever expanding collection of stitches. I started knitting about 3-ish years ago, I learned from my very talented knitting grandma. It started with some long, stressful, anxious, yet slightly boring days spent in the hospital with my grandpa who had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

I started knitting to pass the time, keep my brain active, and spend some wonderful quality time with my grandpa has he battled his way through chemo treatments, noscomial infections, and all those other cancer things.

I started with a dreadful scarf, that the stitches were so uneven and misshaped- but my Mom loved it none-the-less.

So here is a few basic you tube videos to get you started knitting:

The basics and Purling

Once I got that down, I found this wonderful book at Hobby Lobby that would both help me expand my knitting IQ, and give me small manageable projects that will one day become a sampler afghan!

Upcycled Magazines

Okay, tonights topic is RECYCLE!!!  

Everyone has a few magazines laying around, collecting dust, and holding down your coffee table, book shelf, or other random spot. Put that magazine to good use!!

My favorite, yet slightly time consuming, thing to do with old magazines is make bowls...yes that is right bowls.

Here is a few pictures of a completed magazine bowl:

This bowl was made by using two Cosmo magazines, it now lives at my friends house as a birthday gift. It is a great conversation piece!

Supplies:


+     1-2 magazines that are close to the same width
+     Scotch tape
+     Mod-podge (I prefer glossy)
+    A little wax paper
+    Bowl to form your magazine.

Candles!

Okay, my candle making experience started with a 40% off coupon, and a hobby lobby trip. I started with a basic candle making kit, and expanded from there. WARNING: hot wax is HOT, and it will stain clothing, so beware prior to adventuring into the candle making world.

You can get all your supplies at a basic craft store or your kitchen. You will need the following: candle mold (start with a 2oz votive) or container to put your candle in (make sure glass is free of any nicks or cracks), wicks that have been mounted on the round silver doo-dad, raw wax (I prefer paraffin, due to low melting point and its cheap), an old pot, another smaller pot-that you don't mind destroying -or you can get a wax melting pot for about $11 at a craft store(to make a double boiler system) and additional additives-color and smell of your choosing, hammer, chisel, cutting board, small ounce scale and butcher paper to protect your work surface!