Live Your Art: Car Seat Protector Tutorial. Remember that post about the slower pace of summer? Well, I'm afraid that will be ending in a few precious days, as I have to return to work on Friday and the kids start back on Tuesday. Since we will be spending more time in the car now, I thought I'd make some new back seat protectors. (If you have kids that never kick the back of your chair or put their feet on the back of the seat, you can skip this post.
But, if your kids are like mine, then the backs of the driver and passenger seats seam to have a permanent "kick me' sign attached.) I had one awful vinyl cover still hanging on behind the passenger seat. Step One: Cut 4 pieces of cotton fabric to serve as the top of your protector. Attach ribbon (or shoe laces) to the tops of TWO of your pieces, pinning it in place. Put a second piece ove the first, right sides together. Turn right side out and press. Cut the bath towel in half horizontally. There you have it! Lunch time! A group of friends and I share a tradition of taking our kids’ teachers lunch during teacher appreciation week. We tally up the amount of lunches we need, notify our teachers and then gather in the morning to assemble the lunches. One friend makes delicious chicken salad, another brings croissants for the sandwiches, one brings fruit, another makes wonderful pasta salad and another awesome brownies.
I take care of the packaging. Last year I made these sacks. This year I made oilcloth lunch sacks. How to make an oil cloth lunch bag I first made a pattern out of cardboard measuring 15 x 12. Take two pieces of oilcloth right sides together and draw around your template. I used pinking shears to cut across the top (very optional- I thought it gave the edge a finished look) Sew down each side and across the bottom. Fold in bottom of bag bringing bottom seam and side seam together Pin bag bottom to bag side with clips Sew across on each side Finished! Uses for all those empty egg cartons. Have a lot of egg cartons from all those Easter eggs?
Why not reuse them for crafts or practical uses? Here are some links showing neat craft ideas using egg cartons: Three things to do with egg cartons, from Family Fun, which include: Making a "transporter" for small action figures (something my boys would love), which looks really cool. (shown above on the right) Creating a "count the days till...
" - they did Easter but it could be used for birthdays, any holiday, last day of school, vacation, etc. I could see filling each compartment with a paper stating different things that you love about your child, or your best memories with them over the last year, etc. for counting down to their birthday. Egg carton creatures (from Family Fun) Carton cuties (from Family Fun) - these are whimsical butterflies that you create from the clear plastic egg cartons. Egg carton sea creatures (from About.com:Family Crafts, Sherri Osborne) How about all of you? Diy wednesdays: refrigerator facelift. Refrigerator Facelift by The Curiosity Shoppe Our kitchen has problems. Our old, beat up refrigerator rattles and hums, but the landlord refuses to replace it until it officially kicks the dust. We’ve seriously considered putting it out of its misery, but have since decided that a cheap and easy face lift might be a better option.
With Fall finally here, we were inspired to whip up a little collection of felt fridge magnets that we could arrange in a pretty pattern along the side of our fridge. -Happy Fall! Derek & Lauren Here’s what you’ll need (it ain’t much): 2 pieces of 9″ x 12″ felt (we used one gold and one orange) 4 pieces of 5″ x 8″ adhesive magnet sheeting, available at your local craft store Small piece of paper or cardboard for creating a template Scissors 1.
Diy wednedays: 9-hole buttons. We’ve been obsessing over some 9-hole buttons we saw online a while back, and thought we’d try to make a few of our own using some oven bake clay from the art store. a film canister acts as a great cookie cutter for the buttons, and we indented the centers with an old wine cork. with 9 holes you can pretty much embroider any letter you want, which is great for personalizing your clothes or emblazoning your favorite coat with a catchy word or phrase. have fun! Derek & lauren CLICK HERE for the full instructions after the jump! Here’s what you’ll need: sculpey, or fimo in a color of your choice rolling pin plastic wrap to cover your work surface empty film canister or small round cookie cutter wine cork toothpick. Toaster Pastry iPod Cozy. Materials and Tools: 1 sheet of light brown felt1 sheet of pink feltpink seed beads scissorspink cotton threadlight brown cotton threadwashable chalkstraight pinssewing needle Steps: 1.
Create a pattern by placing the iPod on the light brown felt and tracing around it with washable chalk. Be careful not to draw too closely, make your outline about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch wider than the iPod. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Recommended Reading: 65 Craft Blogs We Love. It's April, which means it's officially stashbusting month! It's time to dust off all of the supplies hiding at the back of your closets and create using what you already have on hand. Think of it like spring cleaning, only much more fun! If you're planning to plow through your excess stash this month, you'll be needing plenty of ideas and inspiration. Heather and Rhonda put their heads together and came up with this list of must-visit blogs to help steer your way through your stashbusting odyssey.
Give your bookmarking finger a few good stretches, then read on. Every Post is Amazing One of the things we value most highly is innovation (coming up with new ideas). [Recycled Keyboard Letter Necklaces by Mich L in L.A.] 1. [Mini Crepe Paper Roses by Filth Wizardry] 2. [Spoon Egg Holder by Just Something I Made] 3. [Recycled Treasure Chest Gift Box by Creative Jewish Mom] 4. [Hair Barrette Necklace by Aunt Peaches] 5. [Wine Cork Ink Pens by Paper, Plate, and Plane] 6. Dollar Store Crafty 7. 8. 9. Steampunk fashion - Book purse. Book purses were mentioned on here a little while back. I thought you might like to see the one I made. It's a nice accessory for the librarian side of steampunk! I had my eye on some attractively bound Reader's Digest Condensed Books (I have no pity for them) that were in the local library book sale, but wanted a little more space than one book could give me.
So I made a box-type purse out of three. I started by cutting out the attractive endpapers for future use, then coated the text block edges with thinned-down school glue (using wax paper to keep them separate from the covers). The handle is a leather belt with a nice buckle from a thrift store. As the final touch, I lined it with some stiff cardboard and then the endpapers I had saved aside. At $4 plus glue it's a fun, inexpensive project! Studio Quality Product Photography With a $12 Set Up. Handmadeology’s resident product photography pro Mariano, has put together a $12 product photography set up that will help you achieve studio quality product photography . Anderson Soap Company is one of the most successful Etsy sellers with LOADS of sales! This photography demo uses his liquid soap as the photography example. Look at his Etsy shop to observe the consistency in picture styles that creates a cohesive photo theme of all his products.
Learn from the best – browse his shop – and you might even find some soap you’ve gotta have! I took this picture in my kitchen. It looks like a photograph I could have done in the studio, using complicated lighting equipment. I did not. Here’s what you’ll need for this product photography set up. 1. 2. 3. 4. This is one of those times when bigger is indeed better.
Cut a flat panel from the box that is much bigger than the thing you want to photograph. 1. 2. 3. 4. Is your furniture high enough? Don’t let the neighbors watch. Take many.