Homemade Hand Warmers

I'm still trying to come up with a few ideas for Valentine's Day. Since it's winter and my husband works outside I was trying to come up with something warm. I've made him hats and scarves before and he's all set on gloves soooo what does that leave? Reusable hand warmers. They are simple and easily made with materials that are already in the house.

Homemade Hand Warmers

Materials:
-Fabric (Flannel or felt would be great but cutting up an old t-shirt or pillowcase works too)
-Rice
-Needle
-Thread

1. Decide what shape you want your hand warmers to be and cut a doubled piece of fabric into it. If you are making them as a Valentine you could always go with a heart shape. I opted for rectangles.

2. Put the two right sides together and sew all along the edges of your shape either by hand or using a sewing machine. Make sure to leave a small section to flip your shape right-side-out and to put the rice in.

3. Flip the shape.

4. Fill with rice and sew up the last section.

You're done! Heat for 30-40 seconds in the microwave and you're set!
Happy Crafting!

Knit Bookmark Patterns

Valentine's Day is next month and it's time to start storing away ideas for some crafty gifts. For the reader in your life, making a bookmark is a lovely gesture. Pair it with a book or a gift certificate to their favorite bookstore and you have a great present. I wanted to do some knit ones so I worked up this little pattern today and thought I would share. Sock yarn works best because it lays more flat, however, it takes FOREVER. I opted for sport and size 5 needles which was a bit bulkier but took about half the time. Alright, here we go.

Cable Knit Bookmark

Materials:
yarn (sport weight or sock)
corresponding size straight needles
Cabling needle or double pointed needle same size

Cast on 14 st
Row 1: k3, p2, k4, p2,k3
Row 2: k1, p2, k2, p4, k2, p2, k1
Row 3: k3, p2, slide 2 stitches onto cable needle and leave in front, k2, k2 from cable needle, p2, k3
Row 4: k1, p2, k2, p4, k2, p2, k1
Repeat rows1-4 until your bookmark reaches desired length.

Bind off, weave in the ends and you're done! I added a little fringe to each end but they look lovely either way. Enjoy!

Looking for something simpler? Try this one.

Simply Knit Bookmark

Materials:
yarn-worsted weight or sport
corresponding size straight needles (I prefer size 5 or 6)

Cast on 10 st.
Knit across for the first row and repeat until you reach your desired length.
Bind off, weave in the end.















Have fun!

Children's Sewing Project-Stuffed Animal

Okay, so previously I posted about how to make children's sewing cards. They are a great way for kids to practice the very basics of sewing. Once they have it down you can move on to fabric. My oldest daughter wanted to make a stuffed animal for her sister's birthday and we found a great way for her to take what she did with the sewing card and apply it in a way that made sense for the stuffed animal. If you're looking for a gift to give a kiddo, collecting the materials and directions in a jar and decorating it would be a great homemade gift. Just be sure to check with the parents to make sure they are okay with the kiddo having a needle. Alright, here we go.

For the project you'll need:
-Some sort of fabric to use (we used felt)
-Marker with a fine tip
-Something to stuff the animal with (we used Polyfil)
-Needle
-Thread

1. Take a piece of fabric that is doubled over. Directly on the fabric take a sharpie or something that will write well on it and draw the outline of what you are wanting to make. You can do this or they can.

2. Next, safety pin the two layers together and cut out the shape.

3. Once you have your shape cut out take a sharpie and dot all along the edge of the shape. Keep the dots fairly close together.

4. Next take your needle, thread it and knot the ends together. Now you're ready to start. I showed my daughter the first stitch, explaining that she needed to make sure the needle went through both layers and she was off from there. Make sure you let them know they need to stop at a certain point so you can fill the animal and then they can finish it.

5. When they get to the stopping place remove the pin and go ahead and have them fill it.

6. Now they can finish up. Show them how to knot the thread at the end.

You're finished!

It's a pretty easy project to get going and they have a great sense of accomplishment when it's over.

Happy Crafting!

Children's Sewing Cards

So most of us who are parents have come across the little lacing card things that we give to our kids. You know, they are fun shapes and the kids take a giant shoelace and go in and out of the holes to practice their hand-eye coordination. We say "Look! You're sewing!" and they look up at us with a big accomplished grin. Okay, well my kid loved that but she never got over that it didn't look like Mom's stuff. There was no needle, this wasn't thread. Now that she's a little older she really doesn't want anything to do with that toy, but when I try to get her sewing a piece of fabric (even cross-stitch fabric) it ends up a giant mess of a knot. What I needed was a happy medium. So we decided to make our own sewing card. Using a piece of scrap cardboard (think pieces of a cereal box) and my sewing machine (minus the thread) we got this thing going.

 To begin with I cut a piece of cardboard into a simple shape like a circle or rectangle. You can try pretty much anything but this was easiest to start out.

Next I used my sewing machine (minus thread) to punch holes all along the edges of the card.

Last I take real thread and put it through a real needle. Here's the part I can't stress enough. Tie the two ends of the thread together, making a knot at the bottom. While they are sewing if they drop the needle at any point (as kids are likely to do) it will hang there instead of sliding off the thread and onto the floor never to be seen again (until it's sticking out of your foot). Seriously, knot those suckers together.

So you've got the threaded needle and the card with holes punched, show your kiddo how to sew in and out and you've won yourself some peace and quiet my friend. Enjoy!

Stay tuned! I have another project along these lines that the kiddos can go after once they've had some practice with the cards. I'll be posting it soon!

New Years Resolution

Happy New Year!
It's that time again, time to start making resolutions. When I was in my early 20's I tried stuff to make myself cool, calm, and collected. I'm going to be more spiritual, confident, calm, patient. I will do yoga and meditate every day. Then it was expanding that brain power. I'm going to learn how to do EVERYTHING! Read EVERYTHING!  Then it was about what I ate. I'M A VEGETARIAN!! These were all great and wonderful and usually forgotten by February, remembered in November, agonized over in December. For a while I just gave up. Then, a few years ago, I heard a friend of mine talking about her resolution and I had resolution envy. Her goal for the year was to do the dishes every night after dinner instead of leaving them for in the morning. But it's not flashy! Not huge! It's so EASY! Then it hit me. Duh! Resolutions don't have to mean big, giant changes. They can be something small, meaningful and attainable. Wow. And it only took me till I was 30 folks. So here it is, my small but meaningful, fully attainable, New Year's resolution. Ready???
I'm going to write thank you cards and notes.
Boom.
That's right.
Watch out.
The mail's a comin'.
It won't be hard to remember because this is something I already have tons of guilt about! Hooray!! So with this in mind I was trying to think of a craft that could go along with my resolution, you know, m'new thang. Anyway, Pinterest to the rescue. I found a post on how people sew designs on their gift tags. They sew little snowflakes on. It made me think of all the possibilities. There is the snowflakes, absolutely, then there's embroidering little flowers. For those who paint, that's an option. You could crochet tiny flowers or borders and superglue them on. I mean, HELLO. The options are endless. Google any of these ideas and see what you get. It's killer. All you need is a little card-stock to get started and you're in the game. Keep in mind, my resolution is NOT to make every single thank you card, THAT is a joke. But if I need something to keep my creative juices from overflowing and to save a little dough on my new hobby, this will do.

Okay, so here is an example of what I'm talking about. Here I just used a scrap piece of cardboard (cut to just under the size of an envelope) and superglued some crocheted flowers on. So simple. If you like them and want to try it out, here's the pattern for the flowers.

Crocheted Sock Yarn Flowers

Materials: Leftover sock yarn, 00/3.50MM crochet hook

Ch 3, sl st into 1st ch to form a ring
Working in the ring, 
(For bigger petals)
ch6 *sc, ch6, sc*repeat 6 times. 
(For smaller petals)
ch5 *sc, ch4, sc* repeat 8 times.

First ch 6

First ch6, sc which makes the first petal

All the petals made. Almost done.

  
Cut your yarn leaving enough to slip through your last loop on the hook. 

Cut the yarn.

Slipping the end through last loop on hook.

 
Pull tight to knot. 

Knotted.

Cut your ends until they are small enough to tuck behind your flower when you superglue it.

Happy New Year!

Winter Games

Winter parties at school are this week and I am one of the parents helping out. Each party we do a snack, craft and game. For this party's game my husband thought it would be cool to make a bean bag toss for the kids. While it would be easy and inexpensive to find one on a site like Oriental Trading Company, we already have a lot of the stuff to make this, so why not save the dough? Here's what we came up with.

How To Make A Bean Bag Toss

For the toss-through-board, we used a trifold presentation/display board made of cardboard. My husband made ours with some found cardboard but if you're low on time you can buy it pretty inexpensively.

1. Come up with a picture idea, what do you want your game to look like? Draw it on the center section of your display board with pencil.

2. Decide where you want the holes to be. Draw them on but make sure they are large enough for your bean bags to fit through. 

3. Go ahead and cut the holes out using an exacto knife or whatever you have that works.

4. Paint your picture.

EASY.

Next you will need bean bags. Again, you can easily find these for sale but if you have the stuff at home you can save a little dough.

How To Make The Bean Bags

1. Find some fabric. Cut it into the shape that you want for your bean bags making sure you have two sides to sew together. For our game we wanted them to look like snowballs so we used fuzzy white fabric cut into circles.

2.  Sew MOST of the edge of your shape together using a tight stitch (so no beans escape). Leave a section about 1-2 inches  long to pour your beans in through. 

3. Flip your shape inside our so that the section you sewed is not visible.

4. Pour in those beans. Looking back, I wish I would have used a funnel for this part.


5. Sew up the rest of the bean bag.

DONE.

Congratulations, you have your very own, one-of-a-kind bean bag toss. Happy Crafting!

Mint Chocolate Pizzelles

Since we are smack in the middle of the holiday season I've started making pizzelles. They have officially become our go-to holiday treat for four reasons.
1. They are delicious.
2. They are cheap
3. They easy to make.
4. They cook fast.
If you've never had or made them, pizzelles are a thin, crispy cookie made kind of like a waffle but on a pizzelle iron. Anyway, our family is hooked. The cookies themselves are mildly sweet and perfect for pairing with tea or coffee. We usually go for the plain ones but this year I wanted to make something especially with my husband in mind. He's a mint chocolate chip fan. Ice cream, cake, whatever. He loves it. So I decided to see if I could figure out how to make a mint chocolate pizzelle. Well I did figure it out. And it's really yummy. The taste kind of reminds me of a thin mint. I'm sure that if you dipped one edge of these in chocolate it would be heaven. But for now, here is my Mint Chocolate Pizzelle recipe. Depending on how large you make them it makes around 24 cookies.

Mint Chocolate Pizzelles

Ingredients:

 3 eggs

 1 cup white sugar

 3/4 of a stick (or 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons) melted butter

 1 tablespoon mint extract (If you want it more seasonal, use peppermint extract)

 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

 1/4 cup cocoa powder

 2 teaspoons baking powder

Have iron heating while mixing the pizzelles. Once it is ready, make sure to spray with cooking spray  or brush with oil. You may have to reapply a few times as you cook. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until smooth. Mix in butter and mint extract. In separate bowl whisk or sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Combine flour and egg mixtures. Beat together until smooth. Use a piping bag and place desired amount onto pizzelle iron. Cook for 20-30 seconds. Let cool and enjoy!!!

The Purple Tree

I love this time of year. I love the holidays, the family and the traditions that pop up unexpectedly. This year we may have stumbled upon a new one by letting go of an old one.
Our first year married my husband and I were trying to save money so we bought a little fake tree. Every year after I happily decorated it. Loving that tree simply because it was our first one together as a married couple. Even when those pre-lit lights started going out, instead of chucking it, I spent HOURS cutting those damn lights off. My fingers were sore, my back ached, but we still had our sweet little tree. After a while the box began disintegrating and the little fake needles were falling out by the handful. It didn't matter. My dedication would not waver. This was our "married tree". And so it went for seven years.
Then, this year, my dedication not only wavered, it shivered and ran for the hills. Because our sweet little, slightly balding, tree had spiders. That was enough. It was time to part ways. Time for a new tree.
Later on, at the giant store that has been pushing Christmas since October, we took a minute to wander through. White trees, green trees, pink and striped trees. My oldest daughter fell in love with a purple one. I should tell you at this point that there are two sides to me in this. There is the side that wants to give my kid everything she asks for. Then there's the part of me that wants to teach her.  I want to teach her that almost anything is possible if you are willing to think outside the box and put some work into it. I want to teach her that we don't always have to buy, buy, buy. Sooo, out of this, I had an idea. It is far from traditional. Maybe a little weird. I proposed we make a tree. The sound of crickets was deafening as my family just stared at me. I said let's craft it out of wood! books! cardboard! paint it! Still, they were unimpressed.  The conversation fizzled.
 A few days later, while everyone was out for the day, I decided to go ahead and give this a shot. I used some craft paper, some tempra paint and my fingers to make my kid a purple tree. I swept dark purple this way and that and then a little light purple on top. While it dried I painted a star on another sheet of paper and wrote "I wish I may, I wish I might..." all around the edge of it. I attached our old tree skirt to the bottom and used Command hooks to hang lights and tinsel. Finished! Clapping my hands together I was sure this was great.
As I picked the kiddo up from school I was all excitement. I couldn't wait to get her home to see what I had done. This was going to be an awesome surprise.
Walking into the room she had a huge grin but after a minute of inspecting things the grin slowly disappeared  into a kind of intense expression. Crap, I thought. This was the worst idea ever. Crap, crap, crap. She doesn't like it. She's disappointed.  What was I thinking?? Where's my purse? I gotta get a tree!
Quietly, almost whispering, I asked her what she thought. She turned to me and said, "This is cool Mom! Next year we should do one that is striped! Blue, purple, blue, purple. And the year after that we should do one that's a rainbow!" Relief.
What do you know? Not only did she like it but it may be a new tradition. One born of trying to show my sweet babe, that I love her. That we don't always need to buy, buy, buy. That anything is possible if you go outside the box. Of course she doesn't see it like this. I'm not delusional. But, hopefully, someday, she might. A mommy can hope.
So here it is. Our one of a kind, free, hopefully a good memory, magical, purple, painted Christmas tree.