Roooarrrr! (Translation: Thank You)

You know, I don't really consider myself a card-maker. I have several friends who make beautiful cards with card stock and pretty papers and ribbons and stamps. And while I can appreciate them, it's just not "me," not something I've had an interest in. Yet, yesterday I found myself working on more hand made cards, and I suddenly realized, "Ah, I guess I sort of do make cards."

I thought about it some more and decided that I don't make cards because I really love card making itself, but because I enjoy giving a card that is hand made. It's just that I don't do it in the more common, "scrapbook-y" way (for lack of a better term). My way is rather "quick and dirty," a little more carefree, but I like it that way. And it's great for using up and sharing toddler art.


Here's how you can make this kind of card too, in five easy steps:

1. Get some construction paper and stamps and ink. I used a set of foam jungle stamps that I found for $1 at Michael's and the cheapest ink pads I could get (because I knew they wouldn't be treated with much care). Let toddler stamp to heart's content (or, if lacking a toddler, stamp the cards yourself in a toddler-ish way).

2. Cut stamped paper into appropriate sizes and shapes for pre-made blank cards (or your own cards made with card stock). I like using my accumulated scrapbooking tools to make decorative edges, and I rounded the corners of the cards.

3. Attach the stamped paper to the cards.

4. Add a few accent stamps to the inside of the cards and on the envelopes.

5. Use a pen to jot your desired greeting on the card. (I then use a different style and color of ink to write a more personal message, so the greeting looks like part of the card's design.)


Voila! It's another quick, simple way to make something that's a little more personal, a little more fun. I like the abstract, colorful look of these, people like having my kiddo's artwork, and she likes making a huge mess all over my craft space. Everyone wins.

The MiniBoppy (A Tutorial)

Toddlers have a way of copying everything we do, don't they? Since our new little one has arrived, my daughter has been extra careful to treat her baby dolls (and other "friends") just as I treat her brother. She even likes to "nurse" them! I often use a Boppy nursing pillow, and she likes to use it too, so I decided to make her version that was more her size.


Actually, I made several before I had the pattern quite right. Since my daughter doesn't know the difference and tends to get attached to things, we have several floating around our house.


Here's how you can make one too.

You'll need:
The template* (full size or top and bottom**)
About half a yard of fabric (each cut piece is going to be roughly 14" x 20")
Pins
Thread
Needle or sewing machine
Polyfil

*Please forgive my clumsy drawing. I'm still learning how to use Photoshop for this purpose.

**The full-sized version is too big for a standard sheet of printer paper. I have split the template into two separate files ("top" and "bottom"), which you can piece together.

First, use the template to cut out two pieces, being certain to fold your fabric and place the straight edge of the pattern along the fold as marked. You should end up with two identical, C-shaped pieces. (I made mine so the ends curve in a little. The actual Boppy pillow is a little straighter. If you prefer it that way, just redraw your pattern a little bit.)


Turn the pieces right-sides-together and pin in place.


Sew the whole way around with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving a few inches open for turning.


Clip the curves if you wish.


Then turn right side out and stuff with Polyfil to your desired firmness.


Hand stitch the opening closed.


There you have it! It's nice for little ones to use to imitate mama, and it has other uses too. It's good for resting little heads ...


... or resting elbows whilst taking a drink.

Tutorial Tuesday: A Kiddo's Pocket Organizer

This weekend I crossed several things off of my "to do, but to procrastinate because it's not terribly exciting" list, and I even managed to snap photos for a few tutorials and/or patterns that will be popping up here bit by bit.

Here's how you can make a little pocket hanger for a toddler bed* using two fat quarters, some batting, and thread.



*Please note: You should always follow the current safety standards for items used with children. This is not intended for infants or children who are too young/small to use this safely (read: avoid entanglement, suffocation, strangulation, etc.). Use wisely and at your own risk.

You'll need:

• 2 fat quarters. I like to use contrasting or coordinating fabric.
• Thin quilt batting.
  
• Coordinating thread.
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat.
• Ruler.
• Iron.
• Sewing machine.

Step 1. Cut your first fat quarter (FABRIC A) into two rectangles measuring approximately 17.5" x 10". I was able to achieve this by simply folding the fabric in half width-wise and cutting. (Afterward I did a little measuring and trimming to make the rectangles match each other more precisely.)


From your second fat quarter (FABRIC B), cut a piece that is approximately 17.5" x 13.5".

Cut a piece of batting that is slightly smaller than the two 17.5" x 10" rectangles.

Set all of these pieces aside.


Step 2. With the remaining fabric from FABRIC B, cut eight strips that measure approximately 1.5" x 8.75". (If you want to skip this and the following few steps, you can substitute lengths of ribbon instead. Just finish off one end of each ribbon strip and you're ready to go.)


Fold each strip in half lengthwise with right sides together. If it's helpful to you, use your iron to press them in place. Sew one short end and the open long end of each strip using a 1/4" seam allowance.



Turn each strip right-side-out. (I found a knitting needle to be helpful in doing this.) Use the iron to press out any wrinkles gained from the turning. Top stitch around both long sides and the closed short side of each strip. (You can stitch the open end, but it will be hidden eventually anyway.)

(Please pardon the wobbly stitching. I was not particularly fastidious with this project.)

Step 3. Take the rectangle cut from FABRIC B and fold it in half lengthwise with wrong sides together so you have a double thickness. Use your iron to press the fold for a nice, clean edge. Top stitch along the folded edge for a finished look.

Step 4. Now's the tricky part. It's not hard, just requires that you be sure everything stays in place. You're going to layer all of your pieces into a nice sandwich for sewing.

First lay down your batting. Then lay down one of the 17.5" x 10" rectangles (FABRIC A) right-side-up. Next position your pocket fabric (FABRIC B), also right side up, lining up the ends with the ends of the other layers and the bottom with the bottoms of the other layers. All of these rough edges should be caught in the same seam once you start sewing. You should see a few inches of FABRIC A above the folded edges of FABRIC B. At this point you may want to place a few pins to keep your layers from slipping as you work with them.

(A rather lame attempt at photographing the "sandwich.)

To add the ties, use two strips for each corner. Place them side by side (if you place them directly on top of each other you're adding layers to sew through), lining the raw, open edge up with the edges of all the other layers. The strips should be lying on top of the other layers and pointed in toward the middle of the piece, not extended out from it, so that they are in the right place once you're done sewing. Also, learn from my mistake: It is best to position the ties close to the outside edges of the piece. Otherwise when you add cups and books, the piece will sag and pull in.

Baste the strips into place. (You don't have to do this, but it will keep them from shifting when you're ready to sew, and it will add a little strength, too.)


Place your last rectangle right-side-down on top of all the layers. Again, some pins might be helpful here. Now you're ready to sew.

Step 5. Sew around all four sides with a 3/8" seam allowance. Remember you're sewing through a lot of layers, so use the right needle and go slowly where needed. Leave an opening of at least 3" or 4" for turning. (I recommend the opening be somewhere at the top of the piece where there are fewer layers to deal with when you close it up.)

Step 6. Turn the piece right-side-out and use a knitting needle or something similar to push out the corners. Close up the opening with some hand stitching.




Step 7. Top stitch around the entire piece.


Then top stitch a divider in the pocket, if desired. Simply position your needle where you want the divider to be (I measured mine in 6.5" from one side) and sew from the top to the bottom of the pocket, through all the layers.


Tada! There you have it! Tie the pocket onto a bed rail or some decorative hooks or knobs (you could omit the bottom ties in this case) and load it up with books, toys, and a sippie cup. Your little one will have easy access to the "necessities" for naps or early mornings when you pray he stays in his room just a little longer so you can snooze!

Freebie Friday!

You thought I wouldn't make it in time for Friday, didn't you? Ha! I'm sneaking in at the last minute, but I'm here.


A couple days ago I finally got around to making these great kitty toys. I put them together as a gift for my sister's kitties, mainly because my sister loves sushi and I thought they were cute. They are super quick to whip up and take very little fabric. The green for the nori belt isn't quite right, but I didn't feel like going to extra effort to get the right green for a couple of cats! I cut up an old terry wash cloth to make the "rice" and used other fabrics I had on hand for the egg, shrimp, and wasabi. Also, I used peppermint oil instead of catnip because catnip doesn't do it for her cats but they're batty for peppermint.

The pattern is not my own, but it is free, and you can find it here. Meow! Happy eating Hama, Higa, and Molly!

Tutorial Tuesday! A Hooded Towel for Sally

We like to play with baby dolls around here, and we love "props." Here's how you can use a spare hand towel or cleaning rag* and a baby washcloth* to make a doll's hooded towel. Yay for repurposing! This is a quick and dirty version, because I have limited time and I know my daughter won't care how fancy it is. There are plenty of ways you could put a little extra into this project, and I'll try to mention a few of those ways as we go.

*You can really use any fabrics you have on hand if you don't have towels or wash cloths to spare.


Supplies

• A hand towel or cleaning towel. If it's already square, that's nice because you won't need to do any hemming. I used a "multi-surface" towel that came with a package of cleaning supplies. You'll want to measure and cut this to fit your doll and hem if needed. Mine happened to be just the right size from the get-go.
• Baby washcloth. It's nice to use a contrasting color or print. I used a cheapo baby washcloth that came with a bath set someone had given us. If you need to trim this piece to size, you can leave the edges raw.
• Scissors.
• Thread.
• A water soluble marking pen, or something of that nature. (Or you could skip this one and just wing it.)
• Cutting mat and ruler, optional.
• Sewing machine or needle.

Instructions


1. Lay your hood fabric on top of the towel fabric, lining up one corner so you can see how far down you want the hood fabric to come.

2 & 3. Use the diagonal lines on your cutting mat and your ruler to mark a diagonal line across the hood fabric, making a triangle. Or, eyeball it. Mark with the water soluble pen. Be sure to allow for the hem you will add to the bottom side of the triangle.

4. Cut along the line.


5. Hem the long side of the triangle, the side that will go across the baby's forehead. (Why are my pins facing the wrong way? I don't know.) Because I was using a fabric that will fray, I used a zigzag stitch. I chose to fold under the hem and stitch, but you could zigzag or serge over the raw edge or straight stitch over a folded hem, depending on your fabric and preferences. You could also use some bias tape along this edge.


6. Lay the hood fabric and towel fabric right sides together with the corner lined up. Pin the layers together, if desired.

7. Sew the two layers together with 1/4" seam allowance (or whatever you prefer). I chose to round the corner on mine.

8. Because you're stitching these with wrong sides together, you are actually folding in the sides of your towel fabric, which you'll see when you turn the piece right-side-out. That means the sides of the towel are going to roll in a little below the hood piece. (You can see it a bit in photo 9.) If this bothers you, you can angle your seam out at the very end of both sides. Once you're turned right-side-out, you can then hand stitch a few stitches to sort of flatten this out. Or, see other options below.

9. Trim seam allowances as needed. You may want to clip your corner; I chose not to because of the fraying nature of the fabric. Turn right-side-out.

If you don't like the look of the raw edges inside the hood or of the curled sides of the towel, you could do either of these instead:

a. After turning right-side-out, top stitch around the entire piece, making your allowance wide enough to enclose the raw edges inside.

b. Lay the towel fabric down right-side-up and the hood fabric on top of that, also right-side-up. Attach bias tape around the entire piece, enclosing both layers. Now they're stitched together, the towel stays flat, you have no raw edges inside, and you have a nice, finished look.


10. Wrap up baby! (This is Sally. I know she isn't authentically bathing, as she is still fully clothed, but we prefer to keep our babies dressed in photos, ha ha!)

I hope this all made sense. (Please let me know if I've confused the bejeepers out of you.) There are a lot of ways this project could be improved on if you wanted to make it a little more "professional" and better constructed. I hope showing you the quickie version will at least get you started (or be just the ticket for those of you who are like me and don't want to expend too much energy, ha!).

Now you can get started playing. Bath time!

The Comeback Crafter

I was going to take pictures of the mounds of wadded up, used tissues overflowing from wastebaskets, stuffed in pockets, collected in little piles on side tables, to show you why I've been silent so long, but I decided that would just be gross. And I don't want to spread my germs. So instead, here's a photo of a different sort of pile.


I was all set to start crafting again and building back into more regular, serious creating and posting when whammo, I am hit with The Cold That Won't Go Away. Normally when I catch a cold I am miserable for two or three days and then life returns to normal, but this one is just hanging on. And on and on and on. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm just not able to rest much, even at night. Children are tough task masters. They prefer you not call in sick. So I've been rather out of commission, and my little stack of ideas and project hopefuls has been growing taller and more precarious.

This is, in part, thanks to this:


and this:



I have so many other things to finish, yet I am itching and scratching to try something new from one of these lovelies. I may be entering another shift, in which I leap to a new medium* and get obsessed with it at the neglect of all other interests. Hmmph.

*Are you watching Lost? Can you see the influence?

Anyway, back to reality. I did manage to put together one simple project, which I'll post tomorrow, complete with a bare-minimum-to-get-it-done tutorial for ... Tutorial Tuesday! I'd like to start a semi-regular habit of posting tutorials on Tuesdays and/or freebies (patterns, likely) on Fridays. I can't guarantee it will happen every week, and I might just point you to someone else's instructions if I like them a lot, and this might fail miserably and I'll quit, but we'll see where it goes starting tomorrow.

Until then, I leave you with one more crafty space photo. I promise it is completely devoid of snotty tissues. It was late last night, but I swiped the tissues to the side of the frame just for you.

Freebie Alert! Snowflakes That Stay on My Gingham Eyelashes

[Note: This post has been edited to sound more like the usual me and less like the overtired, whiny me who wrote the original thoughts. It's still the same, just a little less 'tude. For those who read the first version, my apologies!]

Because I haven't gotten beyond merely glancing at my pile of projects-to-be and thinking about them late at night after choosing sleep over creative fulfillment (so not like me!), I've decided to encourage others in Blogland to craft so that I might live vicariously through them. Stitchers, I give you ... my original Chicken Scratch Snowflakes.

They took quite a few hours to work up in a readable format, and if I was wise I would attempt to sell them before carelessly tossing them into the wide world of Internets as a freebie, but I am feeling generous (and too tired to figure out how to sell things). It is probably not that hard to figure these out without the pattern. Nevertheless, some people like to take all the thinking right out of it so they can get down to the crafting, and this--this is for you.

I've tried to be as detailed as possible; please do let me know if there's something I could do to make the patterns better, as this is my first attempt. Because these are so simple, they are not drawn to scale; these patterns are more guidelines or instructions for where to place your stitches. You'll see what I mean.

Each of the snowflakes can be found in stitched form on my flickr page. I have drawn them up as if they are stitched on the traditional gingham background, and as a result they look a lot cleaner and more precise than they may turn out in actuality, depending on your foundation fabric. Most of my stitched versions are a lot more free form because I didn't use a gridded background. I like them that way, but do as you wish.

And now, enough babble. Enjoy! (Click to download a full-size image.)

Fancy up the Gift Card

While I've been taking a break from bigger projects (read: avoiding starting the last "major" Christmas gift), I've been working on simpler things, and it has been lovely being able to start and finish something quickly. We're giving away a few gift cards this Christmas, and I wanted to package them a little more personally than with those cardboard holders they come with, so I whipped up my own design. (I mentioned in the last post I was going to use some online tutorials. I had thought about doing a few paper crafts for card holders, but eventually decided to just stick with my own plans.)

Each one is a little different, and if you want to see all of them up close and personal, they're on my Flickr site. But for this blog I've decided to do a little tutorial for one of the designs. They're very simple to make, but I know some people really like the photos and written instructions, so here they are.

First, your supplies.


You'll need some craft felt, cutting implements of choice, a needle, and some embroidery floss. I personally like to use my rotary cutter to make the rectangular pieces and then use my shears or embroidery scissors to cut out an applique, if I'm using one.

You'll want to cut two rectangles approximately 2 1/2" x 3 5/8" (or just measure around a gift card). If you want to add an applique, cut that out too.


Next you're going to do your applique and/or embroidery. Now's the time to do as much or as little embellishing as you want. If you look at the individual card holders, you'll see that I chose to only embroider some of them, but the one in this tutorial makes use of an applique as well.

Use whatever colors and variety of stitches you desire to attach your applique and make your design on one of the rectangular pieces. (Set the other piece aside for now.) The felt is not going to fray, so you can be fairly decorative with your attaching stitches without worrying about making it super tight or folding under edges. Also, don't worry too much about perfection, with the stitching or the cutting that comes later. I think imperfections give the pieces a more "folksy," homemade appearance that is quirky and fun.


And there you have the finished embellishments:


Then the cutting begins. You'll still be working with just the front rectangular piece. You can choose to skip this part if you like (and you'll see that I did so with one of the designs), but I personally much prefer seeing a bit of the card peeking through.

I used my embroidery scissors with the teeniest points so that I could make smaller, more precise cuts. Whatever you use, cut carefully and be sure to leave pieces of the center design still attached to the outer edges of the holder. I learned as I went that it's better to make sure the attached pieces are reasonably thick; otherwise the felt could get strained or tear.

This is another area where you can get as creative as you like. My favorite design just involved cutting around the center design to look like a frame, but on another holder I used the scissors to free-form cut the design itself into the felt.


Once your cutting is done, it's time to attach the two rectangular pieces with your stitch of choice. I preferred whip stitch for most of them, but you can use a blanket stitch or a straight stitch or anything else that suits your fancy. When you get to the edges where you want your opening, simply stitch on each individual layer instead of going through both at once.

And then ...

Tada! Simple and sweet, it costs almost nothing, takes no time at all, and you've got an impressive way to present your gift. Enjoy!

If you think of something I could add or change to make this tutorial more usable, please feel free to let me know!