How to make a tee with a kids drawing.

At the last minute I realized that Lilo hadn't made anything for Isla for her birthday. So quick thinking Mom came up with this idea to have her draw a picture and I attach it to tee and voila a great gift.

I took a piece of white knit jersey and ironed on some Heat n' Bond to the back and cut it into 2 pieces. I gave them to Lilo with some fabric markers that I got at the dollar store. I gave her 2 pieces so there was no stress if one doesn't turn out. The paper back of the Heat n' Bond made the fabric more stable for her to draw on, but I did forget to tell her which side to draw on so the first attempt was on the paper backing.

When she was done with the drawing I removed the backing and I ironed it on to a spare blank tee I had.

Then I sewed 2 rows of straight stitch around the whole square about 1/8" inch from the edge.

I added a boarder to the image with a wide piece of rick rack. The corners I just folded the trim over and sewed on the other side of the trim since there is no true right and wrong side.

And done. Fast, easy and super cute.

She was super happy to open the present and has worn it a few times already. She is very proud to tell everyone that her sister and Mom made it for her.

How to make a feather necklace

I just thought I'd add a photo of the feather necklace I made since people seems to have liked the earring so much.

Short post today since we're busy getting our house ready to sell. So we've been busy painting, cleaning, installing new carpet and hiding toys. It's funny how empty a room can look when you remove all the toys.

How to make feather earrings

More Christmas presents I made, here are some feather earrings made from leather and beads. This was another gift made from my stash of stuff, nothing purchased to make them.

I went through my stash of leather scraps and finally got to use some of the printed leather swatches. I cut out 2 feather shapes for each earring. I used my punch to make holes in the top feather, a combination of small and bigger holes. I also made a small hole at the top of each feather.

Then I created a string of beads using an assortment of coordinating bead that I had. I made a loop at the top so I could string it all together.

Then I took a piece of coated wire and strung on a crimp bead, black spacer bead, red feather, another black spacer bead, printed feather, bead string, black spacer bead, another crimp bead and then the earring.

Thread the wire back through to create a hoop. Then using pliers, crimp the crimp beads and trim extra wire. The challenge is to make the hoop the same size on the other earring.
I made 2 pairs but would like to make more, I really like how they turned out. So package them I used a blank gift tag that I had printed and punched small holes to fit the earrings in.

How to MSCE - day 2: googly eye hair clips

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, too busy. But I did make something cool, inspired by my love for googly eyes.
So I made monster clips and a peek-a-boo barrette.
For the blue monster, I just cut out some fun fur and glued on to the clip and added eyes. The black barrette, I used 2 different sized eyes to give it a goofier look. I need to find a better glue since they didn't stay that well on the metal, I'll have to experiment.
But I'm in love. I can see making more, so cute and so many options. I'm going out and buying more barrette styles so I can make more critters.

This black peek-a-boo barrette looked so cute on my little one, even with her limited hair. But she was too curious for me to get a photo, in other words she pulled it out in no time. So I'm modeling it. Since I have short hair I never wear barrettes but I actually really liked it, so maybe I will now.

I'm busy today, going to the One of a Kind show. So I think today's craft will be one I've already done but haven't posted about yet, it's not cheating, is it? Or maybe I'll be inspired.

How to … make use of the shells you collect on the beach

A few years ago we went on this awesome trip to Panama (sing as the Van Halen song) with our friends Deb and Ryan. It was a great trip of relaxing on the beach drinking “beach ladies”.
After waking up we would walk down the beach that was just littered with the most beautiful shells. I mean I have never seen shells these colours before – they ranged from the brightest fuchsia pinks to deep purple, pure white and even neon orange – and there were a ton of them. We were actually getting picky while selecting them otherwise we would have come home with a truck full.
Anyways we probably took more Panama property home with us that legally allowed. When we got home I wanted to do something with them so I made necklaces – for pretty much everyone. This is what usually happens – I get an idea and get hooked and then everyone I know for the next 6 months gets this craft as a gift for their birthday. If your birthday falls after that 6 months then I have probably gotten bored of it and either have moved on to something else or in between projects and you get something I found at the Bay (I’m a last minute shopper and crafter)

How to ... make shell necklacesSupplies needed-Shells
-Drill and the smallest drill bit you have
-Beads
-Jewelry fasteners, crimp beads, etc.
-Wire, thread, or fishing line


First drill a hole in the top of the shell – it’s not easy but take it slow and pick a part on the shell that’s not too thick. It takes awhile but you can get through.
Then you need a ring to put through the shell. You can either buy one or make one. To make one, get a piece of wire and put through the shell, then put small seed beads on the wire. Then close the wire at the back – so the shell front is hiding it and you have a ring of beads. I tried rings I bought but I think the beaded ring looks better because it hides the hole you drilled (which is never perfect).
Now make your necklace with whatever beads you have. You can also just attach the shell to chain or rope if you want.

I just wanted to inspire those all leaving this weekend for the beach – have fun – wish we could go too. And hopefully you have a beach with treasures to collect.
From our honeymoon, I collected sand from our beach in a mini local rum bottle. Rob and I collected rocks from a camping weekend and they are now in our fish tank. It’s nice to have a real souvenir from where you’ve been.