Cardigan Hat

Such a cute hat for a little girl!

From http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com

Hi everyone!

I am so honored to be here at 30 Days guest blogging today!

My name is Disney, and I have a little craft blog calledRuffles and Stuff, where I share my ideas, projects, and as many tutorials as I can. :o) I love to make anything girly & cute, and the easier the better! I also try to focus on recycling and thrifted projects, as most of my materials come from what I have lying around the house. I love the challenge of a low budget!

Today I'm going to share with you a project that costs nothing at all if you've got an old sweater lying around!

The cardigan hat:

I was inspired by this little cutie at Anthropologie:

Here's how I did it!

1) Start with an old cardigan (I loved this one, but sadly, it's too small!). Cut a circle out of the middle, the larger the better!

2) Cut off the ribbed band around the bottom.

3) Sew a long stitch (the longest stitch length on your machine) around the edge of the circle, and pull the top string to gather into a circle the size of your head, or the person's head your making it for.

4) With your gathering stitch threads hanging out, fold the band of your sweater around the edge of the hat, and sew a zig-zag stitch just above your gathering stitch. Then pull your gathering stitches out. (this way it will be able to stretch)

If yours turns out a little big (like mine, I didn't measure first! Naughty!), you can sew some elastic on the inside of the band!

5) Tie a ribbon bow, and hand stitch it on!

All done!

I would have added a pom-pom, but I was out of black yarn! Beans!

Scrabble Tiles to Jewelry

So cute! I love this idea. Mod Podge scrapbook paper onto scrabble tiles and you get these cute things!

From http://cuegly.blogspot.com

Travel Pouch

Great way to store jewelry/makeup while traveling or anywhere else!

From http://cuegly.blogspot.com/

Don't you hate traveling and not having a perfect place to store a little makeup or some jewelry?

Here's how to make and solve that problem...

Cut out two big circles of fabric and lay them on top of each other facing pattern-front to pattern-front.

Now, sew two outer edge lines around the fabric leaving enough space in between the two so that you can later shimmy a ribbon or string in there!

BUT WAIT!!! You NEED to leave two 2" gaps at either end of the circle....like so...(I'm not a seamstress...so just get the idea and do better okay?)

Now flip it right side in, and put a safety pin on the end of your ribbon or string or shoe lace (whatever will tie it together) And start push-threading it. Start at one 2" gap you left open and then make it around to the other gap you left open and...

Once you thread it around to the opposite gap, pull a big loop out, and then continue threading in the same direction all the way around the circle till you make it back to the one where you started...

Place big beads on the ends of the strings and add knots so that the beads don't come off!

Here's the FIRST SIDE!:

Did I tell you they're reversible?

Here's the 2nd side:

(The best way to tie it closed is to...pull the beads up towards the end of the string where your knots should be...tie one knot -like how you start a shoe tie- and then push the beads down to hold it there. It will stay closed for your whole trip!)

makeup traveler...

jewelry traveler...

Open...

Beaded Wreath

This is way cute!

From infarrantlycreative.blogspot.com

I was perusing the 90% off Christmas clearance aisle at Joann Fabrics and I came across these beady things.

I was not a big fan of the "too organgey to call it rust" color of the beads. But at 90% off...

How could I resist? Then I had an idea. I got a styrofoam wreath out of my stash (originally purchased at Dollar Tree) and some floral pins that I inherited from my grandma's stash and started wrapping the beads around the wreath tightly. Every fourth or fifth wrap around I would pin a bead holding it all in place.

I made sure all the pins were in the back of the wreath so that they would all be hidden from the front. I also made sure I ended on the back of the wreath as well. Doesn't it look gorgeous?

What? No? You don't likey? Then I zapped it with some spray primer....

Looking better...then I had some leftover glossy spray paint in Berry Pink from this project. I gave her a once over with that. Then I wrapped a pink satin ribbon around it and secured it to the wall with a thumbtack. Then I made a bow and hot glued it to the tack.

Paper Mache Earrings

Cute and cheap way to make new jewelry!

From infarrantlycreative.blogspot.com/

Here is a twist on paper beads. They are paper mache beads…

They kind of look like hunks of turqouise don’t they? Fun, Fun and cheap, cheap!

Supplies:

Newspaper

Boiling Water

Small Saucepan

Acrylic Paint

Mod Podge

Fine grit Sandpaper

Drill with small

Sealant or Polyuerethane

Toothpick

Upside down pop can for drying the beads

1. Rip up newspapers into small pieces. I used one cup of paper (smashed down to fit as many as possible).

2. Bring water to a boil and then add newspaper.

3. I stirred it using a wire whisk to speed up the process of breaking down the paper fibers. Then I turned off the stovetop and let it sit for a half hour stirring every once in a while until it was mush.4. After the fibers are broken down and it turns to mush rinse it with cool water. Take a handful of the mush and squeeze out the excess water and put it in a plastic bowl.5. Add some Mod Podge to it and mix it a little.6. Next take a hunk of it and smoosh it into a ball. It doesn’t really work to roll it in your hands. You want to press and squoosh it into a ball squeezing out excess water and glue. You really want to compact it or when they dry and you go to drill them they will crack.

7. After you roll a trillion of them cook them at 200 degrees for two hours. It may take more or less time if you have bigger or smaller beads. After you take them out lightly sand them with a fine grit sandpaper. Drill a hole through the bead with a small drill bit.8. Now the fun begins. PAINT THEM!!! Experiment with layering of colors to get more depth of color to the bead. I used about 3-4 colors on each of mine. I didn’t use a paintbrush. I found it was easier to finger paint them and roll them in my hand to distribute the color. I really like adding silver or gold-it adds a little bling. Let them dry.

9. They won’t look all that pretty now because the color is matted.

But here is the shine…

I used Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze because that is what I had on hand and I love how shiny it is. I added a few coats and it really gives it a pretty finish. But you could use any polyurethane, dimensional adhesive or sealant. Let them dry…

10. String them onto a necklace or bracelet. Embellish them with some metal findings. Make earrings or something fabulous. Cheap, easy, versatile, and light weight. LOVES!!I will add more pictures of my creations once they dry.

Such a cute idea for a game room, and you can display and store them too!

From infarrantlycreative.blogspot.com

Hello friends. Today I promised you some color in my game room. I am so totally excited about this project I can barely contain myself. If you have been around Infarrantly Creative for any length of time you know about my disdain for children’s game boxes hereand here. Well…here’s a little storage and a little art in one!

LOVES!

Do you want to see the best part?

Storage!!!…LOVES! Are you FUH-REAKING out yet? Board games makes the perfect art, in my humble opinion. They are beautifully designed and large enough to be substantial art pieces. Want to see how I did it? Basically it is a reversed shadow box.

Supplies:

1” x 4” wood boards (I used poplar but you could use anything)

game board of your choice

spray paint

table saw

miter saw

Sticky back hooks

Finishing nails

Hammer or a nail gun

1. Pick out your game board of choice. Measure the length and width of your boards and add an inch. Example… If your board measures 21” x 15” you will cut two boards 22” x 1 1/2” and two boards measuring 16” x 1 1/2”. I used Cranium, Monopoly, Chutes & Ladders, and Candyland.

2. Purchase 1” x 4” boards from Home Depot or another home center. Set your table saw to rip them to 1 1/2” in width (you measure from the fence to the inside of the blade). You will get two equal pieces and a little scrap left over. I recommend doing it that way rather than trying to cut them in half exactly. It doesn’t work too well.

A woman with power tools and big tails? Hilarious!

3. Next we are going to create a dado. That is fancy schmancy carpenter terminology for cutting into the board so that your game board will fit inside. What you do is set your fence at 3/8” inch from the edge of the blade. Lower the blade 1/4” above the table. The blade is thick enough that when you create the dado it will fit your board perfectly inside.

4. Using a miter saw cut your pieces to the correct size mitering the corners at a 45 degree angle. You could also use a hand saw and miter box if you don’t have a powered miter saw.

Here’s all the cut boards waiting to be painted.5. Spray paint your boards. I used Canyon Black by Rustoleum.

6. Slides the boards in place and with some finishing nails tack it in place. You can patch the nail holes if you want and touch up paint them.

7. Now take some sticky back hooks and tack them on the back of the game board. Using a hole punch and some ziploc bags hang them on the back of your board.

Now hang them on the wall and SMILE REALLY BIG. I want my whole house decorated in game boards now simply for storage sake. I am in love with this idea. What do you think?