US of A Wreath (Pinterest-Inspired)

Another Pinterest-inspired creation to build my holiday decorations.  I got the idea here and tweaked it.  I liked the heart-shape wreath and went from there.  :)

(Sorry for the less-than-desirable picture quality.)

Pinterest-Inspired Upcycling Project

(Apparently I haven't been very chatty lately, since my last post was three months ago!  Ooops!)

After going through some closets at the beginning of the season change, I decided that I wanted to convert some old t-shirts into reusable shopping bags.  I used t-shirts that had logos/events on them or were stained beyond repair.  (Personally, if a shirt can be passed along to someone else to use, I'd rather share the love that way, but once something is stained, that option is out.)

Since I grocery shop for a month at a time at places like Aldi, I need my cloth bags.  However, for multiple reasons, I have been switching over to regular canvas totes or other washable bags instead of the bags that are available from the grocers.  (Who wants to cross-contaminate by putting their produce in a bag that once held meat?  Or who wants to have to get additional plastic bags when purchasing meat?  Or who wants lead or other dangerous by-products to come in contact with the food their family eats??  (I am a huge anti-lead advocate.))

I had made bags in the past, but I learned a couple of things when doing so.

• Size matters.  The smaller the size t-shirt, the better the bag.  After I had lost 35 pounds, I made some bags out of my old XL and XXL shirts.  However, those are too big and awkward for grocery bags.  Larger youth sizes and smaller adult sizes are best.
• Finished edges make me happy.  I did not like cutting the handles and leaving the edges as is.

Because of the desire for finished edges, I started searching for ideas on Pinterest and came up with a few to try.  (NOTE:  I am NOT a seamstress!!  These were bags that were done quickly and are no where close to perfect!!)

The first could have been a no-sew bag had I not decided to finish the neckline.  Instructions here.  (I grabbed some embroidery floss to match the logo to finish the edges.)

The next ones are similar to what I had made in the past, but I added a gusset to the bottom corners and zig-zag stitching to the handles.  Instructions here.  (This website gives several variation ideas and is extremely helpful!)

My favorite St. Louis Cardinals shirt, converted after I stained it.

This was a shirt important to me that a local school organization sold to help with our emergency feeding program in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.  This was a great way for me to hold onto that memory.

The last version is a cute idea I found for making produce bags for those times when you don't want to use a lot of plastic bags or you're headed to the farmer's market.  My version, however, needs some work!!  You get the idea, though.  This pic shows the pre-washed version.  Next time, I will make the bags a little shorter and change up how I cut the slits.  A rotary cutter would be much easier than using scissors!  Instructions here.

I used two of my bags for the first time at Whole Foods today, and I'm definitely happy with their sturdiness and with the ability to throw them in the wash as needed.  Even better...this is a project that has been sitting on my desk for a month or so, and I finished it!!  :)

Until next time...

Spring is in the Air

I've been in a bit of a mood to decorate more for the seasons and holidays.  However, since I have very few decorations, besides my Christmas decor, I'm basically starting over.  Since that is not always conducive to saving money, I'm striving to use things I have and be creative.

Thanks to this idea I found on Pinterest to use foam tubing as a wreath base, I decided to to make a wreath for Easter/Spring.

My purchases included foam tubing ($1.77 for 6 feet, which will make 2 wreaths this size), some rattan flowers and a bunny pick (both from Hobby Lobby at 30% off).  I had the yarn, duct tape, and ribbon in my supplies already.

 Following the instructions from the aforementioned blog, I created the shape of the wreath and used duct tape to hold it together.  In hindsight, I either should have used less tape to hold it together, or I should have shaped it differently before taping it.  See how it's flatter on the side where the tape is?  It wasn't able to be corrected once I started decorating.

Wrapping the wreath base with yarn was a bit more tedious than I expected, but there it is.  :)  This does take some patience.  I had to tie it to start and then wrap away.  However, the yarn needs to continuously be scrunched together to keep the look consistent.  I think I spent about 4 nights (in short time increments) working on this part because I disliked the process so much.

And the finished project...

After experimenting with wrapping different yarns around, I was happy to find just enough ribbon to make it around this wreath.  I preferred this look much better.  Then I used hot glue to attach the flowers and bunny and added a loop on the back with ribbon for hanging.  I'll admit that the end result isn't my favorite, but it works for now.  :)

Using Up Before Buying New

I like to use up yarn by making blankets based on the "pattern" by Warm-Up America.  By doing this, I can use whatever colors I have on hand and end up with a warm blanket to give away...eventually.  However, I have a tendency to want to learn something new from time to time.

Currently I have a couple of skeins of cotton yarn that I want to use.  That's when I found this pattern for a round coaster:  Since I cannot read a pattern for anything, I was thrilled that there are tutorials online to make it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlrr2EG-TzM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PALSsljrEo

I didn't have multiple colors of yarn, so I decided to just use the variegated yarn and not do two different colors.  This is the first one:

It's definitely not perfect, but I'm excited to be able to finally crochet a circle!!  :)

On a different subject, I finished my other daughters infinity scarf...also my first: 

Happy Crocheting!

Be Still My Heart...

Based on this idea, I created a little heart wreath to add to my meager Valentine decoration collection:  http://fiberflux.blogspot.com/2012/01/tinyone-round-hearts-by-jennifer.html

 I believe the original instructions were to use old cardboard (like a cereal box) as the backing.  I decided to rethink that for mine, and as I was looking around for options, I found a round plastic canvas in some of the craft supplies I was getting rid of.  At first, I thought I'd cover the whole thing with hearts, but then I decided to cut out the center so it would be a wreath.

I decided to use some of the buttons out of my sewing box and added them with the hearts to the circle.  However, I had not covered the whole circle in yarn and little bits of the plastic were peaking through.  That's when I stopped at two hearts and added the pink yarn to the whole of the base.

I finished adding hearts with buttons and then added the ribbon.

This project cost me nothing!  That's what I loved the most about it.

Yarn, Yarn, Everywhere...

 

For the past few weeks, I have busily worked on a few crochet projects that I thought I'd share.

This first one is my first baby blanket, which was made for our new nephew who should be joining us soon!

This is a basic scarf I made at my daughter's request.  The variation in it from what I normally would make is that I crocheted the length of the scarf instead of the width and made my rows from there.

These two pictures are miscellaneous scarves I made.  The top two are wider, shorter scarves, and the bottom two are made like the one I made for my daughter.














My current endeavor is an infinity scarf.  Both of my daughters want one, so I'm trying my hand at them.  I did also learn how to crochet tiny hearts with leftover yarn.  I'm so proud!  :)  I cannot read a pattern and have limited crochet ability at this time, so YouTube is my friend!

A Fresh Start

Today is January 1, 2013, and I feel that I should have some profound words to share...a list of goals for the new year, encouraging words about what the new year may hold, something.  However, for as long as I can remember, January 1 has been a day that leaves me feeling melancholy.

Nothing tragic has happened in my life during this time period, yet I have memories from middle school and high school of feeling very down on this day.  In more recent years, this time of year has left my husband and me with more stress than sometimes we have felt we could bear.  It seems that the end of the year has brought out the worst in people in our lives for some reason, and we suffered the effects.

But, alas, I have vowed not to focus on any of that today.  Today has, in fact, been just an ordinary day:  laundry, meal fixing, bill paying.  I do like the feeling of a clean slate.  I enjoy a blank calendar, because that just doesn't last long!  And I enjoy a day to be lazy, which January 1 usually is.

So while I have actually set a few goals (not resolutions -- I break those!), I'm stepping into 2013 with no expectations.

May you have a better 2013 than 2012!