Friday, May 26, 2017
Lucky Prosperity Panda
Some of the ideas for my cutest projects are requests from other people! I have tons of things that I would love to try but I've also done projects that I never would have thought of if someone else didn't ask for it.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Thrift Store Hutch Makeover
I love the thrift store for two reasons. First of all, and I'll come right out and say it, I'm cheap. Second, I hate to see things get thrown away that just need a little TLC to make them awesome again.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Mannequin Head For Crochet Hats
I've been making crochet hats for about 4 years now. I've mostly done children's hats, which I photograph using a painted styrofoam ball. Lately I've been doing more adult sizes. I didn't really have a good way to photograph them, aside from a live model. I finally decided to get a mannequin head!
I got mine from Michael's. It cost $5.99 but with a coupon, came out to be about $3.60. Not too bad and great pricing if you want more than one for a craft fair display. I've seen people take photos with foam heads where they just left them plain white, just how they bought them. I wanted mine to look different than everyone else's plus this foam can easily be damaged. I don't have a designated craft room so my supplies live in rubbermaid bins. Besides regular wear and tear, I have three kids here, who can't resist playing with a head! I was afraid all the moving around would nick and dent my head. I decided to cover my it in fabric. Besides looking nice, the fabric gives the head some texture so the hats don't slip around.
I didn't take pictures of the process, but it's fairly self explanatory. I cut fabric into strips about 1-1½ inches wide and long enough to go from crown of head to the bottom of the base. I put some Mod Podge into a disposable container and added a little water to thin it out. I dunked a strip of fabric into the Mod Podge, squeezed out excess and then stuck it on the head. To get around the nose, I cut a smaller strip the sized of the nose. Place it over the nose and cut slits in the sides to form fabric around nostril area. Each strip of fabric overlaps the one before. As I was working with the fabric, it did begin to fray a little. Just keep scissors handy to trim the threads.
This did take longer than I expected to dry. There are a couple areas where the fabric "bubbled up" as the glue dried. If I made this again, I think I might try using cheese cloth or a thinner cotton fabric.
I got mine from Michael's. It cost $5.99 but with a coupon, came out to be about $3.60. Not too bad and great pricing if you want more than one for a craft fair display. I've seen people take photos with foam heads where they just left them plain white, just how they bought them. I wanted mine to look different than everyone else's plus this foam can easily be damaged. I don't have a designated craft room so my supplies live in rubbermaid bins. Besides regular wear and tear, I have three kids here, who can't resist playing with a head! I was afraid all the moving around would nick and dent my head. I decided to cover my it in fabric. Besides looking nice, the fabric gives the head some texture so the hats don't slip around.
I didn't take pictures of the process, but it's fairly self explanatory. I cut fabric into strips about 1-1½ inches wide and long enough to go from crown of head to the bottom of the base. I put some Mod Podge into a disposable container and added a little water to thin it out. I dunked a strip of fabric into the Mod Podge, squeezed out excess and then stuck it on the head. To get around the nose, I cut a smaller strip the sized of the nose. Place it over the nose and cut slits in the sides to form fabric around nostril area. Each strip of fabric overlaps the one before. As I was working with the fabric, it did begin to fray a little. Just keep scissors handy to trim the threads.
This did take longer than I expected to dry. There are a couple areas where the fabric "bubbled up" as the glue dried. If I made this again, I think I might try using cheese cloth or a thinner cotton fabric.
I will be sharing with these great blogs!
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Friday, March 24, 2017
New Girls Poncho
My daughter requested a new poncho...
I few year ago I made a granny square poncho for my daughter, She still wears it and it still fits, but she's older now. She has new style and color preferences. So off to the store we went to pick out a color. I'm thinking neutral, something that will match a variety of outfits. My eight year old and I were not on the same page. She chose red and there was no changing her mind.
I found a pattern I liked, I showed it to her, she liked the style. When it came down to it, we were debating between two different patterns. Of course, I lost again! So here's the two we liked. the first one (my choice) is the Rustically Elegant Shoulder Warmer and my daughter's pick was the Chelsea Wrap. Both of these patterns are easily altered to adjust size. So obviously I made the Chelsea Wrap, designed by Michele DuNaier because that's what girly wanted. It's a super simple design and works up quickly. Park your butt and turn on some Netflix! You'll be done before you know it!
I will be sharing with these great blogs!
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Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Recycled Yarn
Give unwanted sweaters from the thrift store a new life!
It takes a little work, but thrifted sweaters are a great place to source yarn. You can find unique and what might normally be expensive fibers, for a crazy low price. Bonus, you save a sweater from living the rest of its life in a landfill! There are plenty of posts out there showing how to take apart your sweater, how to chose the best and how to wash your yarn. Please defer to the experts, I'm an amateur with this! Here's a good post from How To Spin Yarn. Need more help? YouTube tutorials are great for visual learners!
When picking sweaters, think about this...
