T-shirt 10 minute bag!

http://www.leethal.net/zine/?p=1344

Ten minute no-sew recycled t-shirt bag!

Tutorial time!  I got a gig teaching a recycled t-shirt project at the library a few months ago, with a request for a recycled tee bag – the only bags I’d made from tees in the past had required sturdy sewing, and I didn’t want hand-sewing to be the only thing holding the bottom closed in a class version of the bags, so I started brainstorming about some kind of hand-sewing-friendly or no-sew bag idea…. and here’s what I came up with!

 

The simplest version of these bags is great for smaller tees, or the more light-weight kind of girl-tees – just turn the bottom of the shirt into a drawstring and tie it closed!  As you can see, even with a not huge tee, this will still leave a significant hole in the bottom of your bag, but for purposes like grocery shopping, this size hole shouldn’t really matter…

But to make smaller holes, just make more than one of them!  Here’s a bag bottom with 2 holes:

And now for the actual tutorial – for this one, with the step-by-step, I will be making the bottom with 3 holes.  So, start with a t-shirt that you don’t wear anymore, or a fun one you found at a thrift store.  Besides a tee, you’ll also need scissors and a safety pin.  That’s it!

Cut the sleeves off, but try to make a somewhat straight line, and go in a bit from the seam – these lines will be the sides of your straps:

Cut some strips from those sleeve pieces – about half an inch wide, the length of one time around a sleeve is good, and as many strips as the number of holes you’ll be making in your bag bottom. (I’ve made bags with 1, 2, and 3 holes, but I haven’t tried more than that.)  Pull the ends of the strips to stretch them out and make them curl in:

Cut the neck out to become your bag’s opening – the way you cut this can depend on your tee’s picture (if there is a picture), and also the shape you want your bag.  Just make sure you cut a big enough opening to fit things through, for a functional bag:

You could make it rounded, V-shaped, or squared like this one:

Now the top/straps part is done, time for the bottom.  Snip slits in the hem part of the tee bottom – as many slits as you want holes.  3 slits, below, is for 3 holes, for a single hole, like the yellow one at the top, just cut one slit, and for 2 holes, snip 2 slits.  The slits should be equally spaced from each other, but the spacing doesn’t need to be exact – I just eyeballed my slit placement, no measuring:

Now stick a safety pin through the end of one of those strips you made, and start running it through the hem, through one of the slits:

Run it through to the next slit (or all the way around and back to the beginning, if you’re making a single hole) and pull the cord so it’s centered-ish:

Tie the hole closed as tightly as you can, and tie a tight knot:

Now repeat those steps for the remaining sections, one slit to the next, tie tightly.  This is after the second hole is closed:

For an ultra sturdy bag bottom, tie one cord strand from one hole together with one strand from the hole next to it, tightly, and repeat for each strand (as many of these knots as the number of holes you have; ignore this step if you’re making a single hole), so that the holes are all tied to each other.

Now, you can choose whether you want the t-shirt cord ties hanging down at the bottom, or hidden on the inside.  To hide them inside, bring them through the center, then tie bows on the inside so they don’t fall back through.  Or, tie bows on the outside if you prefer (or you could just cut the cords short and skip the bows):

My finished Sonic bag!

The 1-hole version of this project takes more like 5 minutes, but the more holes you have, the longer it takes (by a few minutes) – it’s my favorite kind of project: 100% recycled materials (in this case, just the tee and nothing else!), minimal tools, quick+easy, and a super useful finished product!

Negative Lamp

http://www.poopscape.com/projects/grono%20lamp/gronolamp.htm

Project: Grönö Lamp Hack

Ikea- the very name can either make someone grimace or groan with pleasure. Me? I couldn't do without it. Cheap? Yes. Cheaply made? Probably, yes. I know it's not heirloom quality stuff, but to me that means that I can mess around with Ikea products to customize them (aka "Ikea hack") without feeling worried about the cost of my "experiment". The Grönö lamp is an Ikea staple, it's inexpensive ($6.99!), made of frosted glass (not plastic) and BEGS to be messed with. A blank canvas, if you will, and I decided to make a nice light fixture for my photo classroom (now gone totally digital) by covering it with black and white negatives- a respectful nod to the past. What you'll need: Ikea's Grönö lamp Negatives or other transparancies Mod Podge Foam brush Scissors OPTIONAL: rubber bands for holding the strips of negatives to the lamp Step 1: I used black and white negatives, left over from the days when I used to teach darkroom photography, but you can use color negatives or any other transparency film (like x-rays!) I measured my film against the sides of the lamp to figure out how long the strips should be. I made some of my lamps with the negatives running vertically, and one other where they run horizontally. Obvious note: Don't attach the hardware to the lamp base until after you've finished covering the sides in negatives and letting the Mod Podge dry. Duh! Step 2: Spread an even coat of Mod Podge (I used the glossy kind since the negatives are also glossy) on one side of the lamp.

Step 3: Carefully press down the first strip of negatives on one edge of the lamp. Place the second strip on the opposite side. The third strip will go in the middle and slightly overlap the other strips. Step 4: When you have all three strips glued down, run your finger over the negatives to ensure a decent bond. Step 5: After all four sides are covered, layer on a few more coatings of the Mod Podge (love that stuff). The Mod Podge should hold the negatives to the lamp pretty well until it dries, but if you find that the negatives keep popping up, add more Mod Podge and whip a rubber band around the lamp to hold them in place. Step 6: Dry and attach the lamp hardware.

$ Store Christmas Wreath

http://thetoyboxyears.blogspot.com/2011/01/2-snowflake-wreath.html

So after I took down the Christmas wreath, my door was looking pretty bare.  I don't have another seasonal wreath to put up, so I thought I'd make one.

How?  You ask.

As I was purging some of our Christmas stuff, I came across these plastic snowflakes that I had bought at the Dollar Tree on clearance. (Yes - the Dollar Tree does have clearances, believe it or not!) 

I also had the floral ring in my craft stash (also from the Dollar Store) and a spool of white and silver glittery ribbon.  The floral ring was green and it showed through the ribbon, so I painted it with a light coat of white paint first.

After it dried, I wrapped the whole thing with the ribbon.  To hang it up, I looped a piece of yarn through the floral ring and then continued to wrap the ribbon around it so that you couldn't see it on the ring.

Then I started gluing the snowflakes all over the front and back - using 8 snowflakes for each side.  I was going to use the bigger snowflakes as the bottom layer and then fill in with the smaller snowflakes, but the big snowflakes just didn't seem to fit.  So small snowflakes it is!

I would have taken more pictures but I was spending a lot of time peeling dried glue from my hands and soothing hot glue blisters on my fingers!

So, once that was all completed - I had my finished wreath - and a huge sense of happy accomplishment!

Word Game

http://thesnailstrail.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-in-workbox-handmade-word-family.html

What's In The [work]BOX? Handmade Word Family Game

I thought that I would repost the most linked to, and shared, post at The Snail's Trail:

What's in the [work]BOX?: Handmade Word Family Game

This is the first post in a series I am calling, "What's in the [work]BOX?" To see an overview of our system, Click Here. Today I am going to share with you a word family game that I just whipped together with paint chips. If you don't have a paint chip collection, it is time you started one! Paint chips can be used for all kinds of things. I will be sharing another handmade activity from paint chips in my next post. So the next time you are in a paint department, unashamedly grab as many paint chips as you can stuff in your purse. Seriously...that is what they are there for! (Just kidding! You need aprox. 13 "long cards" for consonants, blends, and diagraphs and 34 cards that have the hole cut out...12 if there are three colors to the card.)

To make this game, you need two kinds of paint chips. The first type of paint chip will have three colors. Each color will have a square cut out of the side. You will be cutting these into three separate cards. The other kind of paint chip is a super long one with lots of colors.

Note: To help your child, keep the same kind of diagraphs and blends on the same card. See how I have them?

Here is a list of the phonograms that I used. The Phonogram Page is a great site that lets your child hear the phonograms correctly. All About Spelling has a list of Phonograms and how to teach them.

I wrote these on the cards with the square cut out on them. These are commonly called word families.

• ag
• ab
• ail
• ain
• ack
• ake
• am
• an
• ank
• ap
• all
• at
• ay
• eed
• ell
• est
• ew
• ick
• ight
• ill
• ine
• ing
• ink
• ip
• ob
• og
• ore
• ot
• out
• ow
• uck
• um
• unk
• y

The following consonants, blends, and diagraphs are all written on the long paint chip that has a lot of colors.

Consonants:

• b
• c
• d
• f
• g
• h
• j
• k
• l
• m
• n
• p
• q
• r
• s
• t
• v
• w
• x
• y
• z

Blends:

• bl
• cl
• fl
• gl
• pl
• sl
• br
• cr
• dr
• fr
• gr
• pr
• tr
• sc
• sk
• sp
• st
• sm
• sn
• sw
• spl
• spr
• str
• squ

Diagraphs:

• ch
• wh
• th
• sh
• ph
• thr
• shr

How many words can you make? (there are over 500+ words in this set) 

--ab cab, lab, blab, crab, flab, grab, scab, slab, stab

--ack back, pack, quack, rack, black, crack, shack, snack, stack, track

--ag bag, rag, tag, brag, flag

--ail fail, mail, jail, nail, pail, rail, sail, tail, snail, trail

--ain main, pain, rain, brain, chain, drain, grain, plain, Spain, sprain, stain, train

--ake bake, cake, fake, lake, make, quake, rake, take, wake, brake, flake, shake, snake

--am ham, Sam, clam, slam, swam

--an can, fan, man, pan, ran, tan, van, bran, plan, than

--ank bank, sank, yank, blank, crank, drank, thank

--ap cap, lap, map, nap, rap, tap, clap, flap, scrap, slap, snap, strap, trap, wrap

--at bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, rat, sat, brat, chat, flat, spat, that

--ay day, may, pay, say, clay, play, pray, spray, stay, tray

--eed feed, need, seed, weed, bleed, freed, greed, speed

--ell bell, fell, sell, tell, well, yell, shell, smell, spell, swell

--est best, guest, nest, pest, rest, test, vest, west, chest, crest

--ew dew, few, knew, new, blew, chew

--ick kick, lick, pick, quick, sick, brick, chick, click, stick, thick, trick

--ight knight, light, might, night, right, sight, tight, bright, flight, fright, slight

--ill fill, hill, pill, will, chill, drill, grill, skill, spill, thrill
--in bin, fin, pin, sin, win, chin, grin, shin, skin, spin, thin, twin

--ine fine, line, mine, nine, pine, vine, wine, shine, spine, whine

--ing king, ring, sing, wing, bring, cling, spring, sting, string, swing, thing

--ink link, pink, sink, wink, blink, drink, shrink, stink, think

--ip dip, hip, lip, rip, sip, tip, chip, clip, drip, flip, grip, ship, skip, strip, trip, whip

--ob knob, mob, rob, blob, slob, snob

--ock knock, lock, dock, rock, sock, block, clock, frock, shock, stock

--op cop, hop, mop, pop, top, chop, crop, drop, flop, plop, shop, stop

--ore bore, more, sore, tore, wore, chore, score, shore, snore, store

--ot got, dot, hot, knot, lot, not, plot, shot, spot

--out grout, scout, shout, spout, sprout

--ow cow, how, now, brow, chow, plow

--uck buck, duck, luck, cluck, stuck, truck

--um gum, hum, drum, plum, slum

--unk junk, chunk, drunk, shrunk, stunk, trunk

-y by, my, cry, dry, fly, fry, shy, sky, spy, try, why

Fishbowl Snowman

http://mymixofsix.blogspot.com/2011/01/fishbowl-snowman.html
Fishbowl Snowman

You take this

And invert it into a fluted bowl-

Don't put a fish in it though, use white lights.  The fluted edge makes it possible for the white light's cord to come out.  Be sure and use white lights that have a white cord because if you don't the green cord will show through.  Kim said that they used a strand of 50 small white lights.

Use a men's sock to cover and hold the fish bowls all together.  Cut a small cord in the back for the cord to come out the back of the snowman.  The fleece scarf will then cover the hole and disguise the fluted edge.

Then decorate however you wish with buttons and fleece.  They are really cute!  The pictures don't do them justice.  They are fun plugged in at night or even unplugged during the day.

Sheet Projects

http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2011/01/vintage-sheet-projects.html
Vintage Sheet Projects

I realized I never shared pictures of the final hanging of the hoops. I love them.  I was originally inspired the first time I visited Purl Patchwork and saw their swatch portraits. Only their's are Liberty prints - and seeing as my Liberty collection is still pretty small (extremely small, like maybe one really small hoop's worth), and that Liberty prints are around $30 a yard, I never did anything about it. Until I saw Amanda's wonderful use of Vintage Sheets for such a purpose! Brilliant!

(The one on the bottom left was my Grandma's. It's my sentimental favorite. I still have a flat sheet to use as a quilt back some day . . .)

Here's a brief tutorial how I framed mine.  I found all the hoops at thrift shops for really cheap.  Most of the sheets in a likewise manner.  Use the hoop to frame the sheet portion you would like to focus on. Tighten that screw-thingy.  Trim off the excess leaving about an inch of fabric all the way around.  Carefully apply hot glue a couple inches at a time and then gently pull the fabric taught over the glue.

 This should create a nice, tightly framed swatch.

I've hung mine over my cutting table where I can admire them. And here is a rare glimpse of my work space. (Notice the photo is strategically cropped to hide some serious piles of WIPS.) My goal this year is to have my whole sewing space aesthetically pleasing enough to be photographed.

Critters that keep out Cold

http://familyfun.go.com/winter/winter-crafts/more-winter-crafts/critters-that-keep-out-the-cold-671472/

Stationed in a window or up against a door this winter, these charming homemade draft blockers will help keep indoor temperatures up and fuel bills down -- provided they don't get coaxed off the job for a playdate, that is. Both are simply fashioned from a pair of tights and filled with rice, which makes them posable enough to tuck tightly into nooks and corners.

Materials

• HEAT-SAVING SNAKE
• 1 pair striped women's tights
• Uncooked rice (ours took a full 5-pound bag)
• Needle and thread
• Fabric glue
• Felt
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• DOGGY IN THE WINDOW
• 1 pair women's tights

• Uncooked rice
• Needle and thread
• Fabric glue
• Felt
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• Paper clips
• Button
• Old belt or bracelet

Instructions

1. HEAT-SAVING SNAKE: Cut off one leg from a pair of striped women's tights and fill it with rice (ours took a full 5-pound bag). An easy, spillproof method is to use a plastic cup with the bottom cut out for a funnel.
2.  Pinch the open end of the leg into itself to form a tapered snake tail and stitch it closed.
3. Glue on googly eyes. Lastly, sew on a felt tongue, using the same technique described for attaching the dog's ears (see step 7 for Doggy in the Window, below).
4. DOGGY IN THE WINDOW: Cut one leg from a pair of women's tights and fill it with rice. Leave enough room to tie the open end into a tight knot.
5.  For a tail, apply fabric glue across the base of a felt triangle (ours was about 2 1/2 inches wide and 7 inches tall) and sandwich it around the knot.
6.  Apply more glue to the sides and then fold the felt in half. Secure the tail with paper clips until the glue dries.
7.  Glue on googly eyes. Attach felt ears by draping each one over the head, as shown, and then sewing the base in place. This way, when you flop the ear down, the stitching won't show.
8. For the finishing touches, sew on felt feet and a button nose (we used a triangular shank button). Then use your hands to shape the nose and body. Don't forget a collar: an old belt trimmed to fit, or even a bracelet.