Only a week away and a Teacher's Appreciation printout

So many times over the past year I have written blog posts and Facebook updates in my head. Sounds crazy but even when I can't decide what direction I might would go in writing a blog, I still think in terms of one. So here I am about to give birth to another kiddo and thinking I might start again with my blog. Perfect timing to take on ONE MORE THING, right? I am just not going to over-think it and share either what's on my mind or something new that I have made.
This time of year we think about getting small tokens to show the teachers in our kids' lives that we appreciate all their hard work. A friend of mine was having some printer issues and asked me to print out something very similar to what I have here but I couldn't find a print file on the website. So I just remade it. Feel free to use this for the teachers in your life. Right click with your mouse and save it to your desktop. While I would love to give credit to whoever had this clever idea, it would be near impossible to discern where it came from originally. So thank you Pinterest!

UHA: Reusing socks

The Universal Household Assistant promises to tell you "what every person should know." What is so interesting is that the book was published in 1884. Some of the information is good, some very outdated and some quite laughable by today's standards. Every Sunday I will bring you an interesting tidbit that I find in my book. Enjoy!

Skirt for a child: A good way to utilize ribbed socks when the feet are past wearing, is to cut the legs off straight above the heel. Open up the back, sew or crochet enough of them together to give width for a child's skirt, making shell trimming for the bottom, and sewing in a bank at the waist. These are warm, durable, pretty and little trouble to make.

If I were a handy sewer, I would have to try this!

Christmas Wreath

I don't really have a tutorial this time, just a couple pictures of a project that I have wanted to make for a long time. I have collected ornaments for a long time to make this wreath and last week I finally sat down make put it all together. To help with filling in the cracks, I covered the wreath with that red, velvet ribbon that you can get copious amounts of at Christmas.

I used some new, but mostly used ornaments. The best advice I have for you is use a lot of hot glue and keep the wreath laying flat. If you move it too much, it won't lay flat on the wall when you hang it. I have had to go back and re-glue some of the small filler ornaments. Good luck!

Trivet Pin Board

Pinterest has everyone pin-happy, but I still like to actually use a physical pin board for bits and scraps and ideas. While I was at Ikea a few weeks back I bought several packs of cork trivets to make my own cork pin boards. It was an easy afternoon activity to put together several groupings.

Your basic materials are cork mats or trivets, metal mending plates, screws, screw driver, and a small d-ring hanger. You can get a lot fancier with paint and ribbon but this is the original simple idea. 

Place the cork pieces in the position you want them to be in, use the mending plates and screws to connect them together. 

Attach the d-ring hanger at the top of the board, and hang it where you want to use it. I used a little hot glue to hold the screw in place for the hanger, it also keeps the screw from scratching the wall. I also used trivets because at Ikea they are pretty thick and inexpensive. Sometimes cork at a regular department store can get expensive.

This is where I hung one of the boards I made. It hangs on the corner of my corner cabinet, no irony intended!

Patchwork Shoes

I know it seems I fell off the face of the earth, but I have been a busy girl. My daughter, M, finished preschool last week and since then I have had to be sole entertainment. But enough with excuses. I was searching around Pinterest one day when I happened upon this idea. My mom quilts and a while back she gave me a huge box of scraps, and I just knew this was the perfect idea to use some of them. It took me a while to find inexpensive shoes to use, now that Toms are so hot, all the skippies are more expensive than usual. Skippies is what we used to call no-name shoes when I was in high school 100 years ago.

What you need is a bunch of coordinating scraps, fabric fusion glue, a pair of shoes. scissors and a paint brush. It should be a cheap paint brush because you will probably have to throw it away afterwards. Now the blog I read mentioned thinning the glue with water to make it go farther, but I found that I had a hard time getting the fabric to stick when I did that so I used it at original strength. I also found that it worked best when I put glue on the shoe, on the back of the fabric and over the top of the fabric. That helped hold the fabric in place.

Basically you cut scraps to fit the edge of the shoes and glue away! It takes a little bit of time to get the fabric to lay where you want and to cut it to fit. My main problem with this project has been after the glue dried. The shoes are incredibly stiff. I have washed them but I think I will need to wash them again to help with that problem. Also next time I will use only two or three fabrics to make a more cohesive design. 

A take on the twirly drum

I don't know what they are called but you have seen them - the drums that you twirl with your hands so that it beats itself. I found a picture online of making something like that using a wooden spoon. I thought that would make a great craft for our Wiggles Birthday party! Here is how you make one for yourself.

All you need is a wooden spoon with a hole drilled in the center, ribbon or string, beads, and scissors.

Cut a piece of ribbon about 3-4 inches long. Make a knot at one end and thred two beads onto the ribbon.

Thread the ribbon through the hole in the spoon.

Add two more beads and tie a knot at the end. All you have left to do is twirl away! If it annoys you that the string can slide around, you can try to tie knots right before and after you thred the ribbon through the hole. However it won't effect how the noisemaker works and it is really difficult to tie knots that close to the hole.

Custom Word Banners

You see them everywhere, I can even make you one if you need it. But if you decide one day that you would like to give it a try, you can make your own simple, personalized banner in a few easy steps.

First, find some paper that you like. Pick around 4 or 5 different patterns but not too many or your banner will look too disjointed. Then in Word, type out what you want the banner to say in a super-thick font like Arial Black in the size you want the letters to be. Print on a heavy weight paper and cut out. These will be your templates.

Next trace the letters *backwards* on the back of the patterned paper and cut out. You will then need to cut a piece of ribbon the length you want the banner to be. Cut holes with a hole punch or cut slits in the tops of the letters for the ribbon to pass through. Remember that you need at least two cuts, one for the ribbon to go through the front and another for it to pass through the back.

Thread your letters onto the ribbon and space to your taste. I like to turn my banners over and tape across the slits or holes because that will help keep the letters from moving. Enjoy!

An Easy Spring Pinwheel

I am knee deep in some serious birthday party planning for my soon-to-be 4yr old daughter. One of the crafts that I have planned is a small working pinwheel. At this age your child will still need adult assistance but it only takes a minute and the your child will be off to play with their new toy.

You will need glass bead pins, lollipop paper sticks and a piece of paper cut into a square. My paper is 4.5 inches square.

 OPTIONAL
I have a pinwheel template that I printed on my home printer and a tiny hole punch that I used to make it easier but you can skip these steps if you don't have these items or don't need them.

 Cut the paper from the edges toward the middle, but don't cut all the way. If using the punch, cut holes in the alternating corners and the middle of the paper.

 Fold down alternating corners to the middle. Here I lined up the holes that I punched. Then push the pin through the middle of the corners and paper.

 Next, push the pin through the center of the lollipop stick.
All you have left to do now is blow on the pinwheel to make it spin!

 You can use this template to print on your 4.5 inch square paper if you are making multiple pinwheels or if you need the guide.