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Friday Craft: Back-to-School Fashions
Personally, I’ve never been a big fashion fan (and if you know me, you’re nodding your head in agreement right about now). I mean, it LOOKS cool, but I’m too cheap to buy new stuff and I’m also too lazy to shop for it (even online – yes, I realize how pathetic that makes me sound).
I don’t have any personal fashion sense to speak of (I’m a year-round t-shirts/shorts/sweatshirts/sweats sort of gal. I could totally use a makeover and I’m not even kidding), but I appreciate other people’s flair.
Here are some cute, and different, ideas for your fashionable back-to-school kidlet.
This fuzzy fleece wrap has a bonus feature: a pair of pockets that double as hand warmers.
Materials
* Piece of fleece (ours is 60 inches long an 8 inches wide)
* Embroidery floss and sewing needle
* 3 buttons
* Scissors
Instructions
1. Fold the ends of the scarf, lining them up with the sides.
2. Use a whipstitch to sew along the sides, creating two triangular pockets.
3. Sew a button just inside the center of each pocket. Cut a corresponding buttonhole above each, as shown.
4. Add a third button to the outside corner of one of the pockets, sewing through both layers of fleece. Cut its buttonhole in the opposite pocket, snipping through both layers. You can use this button to secure your scarf in place.
Kids can create their own spring fashion lines by using shoe treads to stamp colorful designs onto their tees.
Materials
* T-shirt
* Con-Tact paper
* Cardboard
* Cosmetic wedges or sponge pieces
* Fabric paint
Instructions
1. Create a template from a piece of Con-Tact paper. (Draw your own free-form design or download Family Fun’s.)
2. Insert a piece of cardboard between the shirt layers to keep the paint from bleeding through. Remove the paper backing from the template and press it onto the shirt.
3. Using cosmetic wedges or sponge pieces, dab fabric paint onto a clean shoe tread. Practice printing on a piece of paper, then gently press the paint-covered tread onto the shirt, adding more paint and repeating as needed.
4. When you are finished painting, wash the bottom of the shoe immediately with soap and water. Let the shirt dry completely before peeling off the template, then wash the shirt according to the paint manufacturer’s instructions.
This felt pig and her seven friends (see links below) have so much animal magnetism, your child may want to make enough of them to fill a zoo. Click here for the piglet template.
Materials
* Scissors
* Felt
* Tacky glue
* Markers
* Stiff felt
Instructions
1. Cut two 5 1/2-inch circles from the felt.
2. Decorate one circle with glued-on felt facial features (eyes, ears, mouth) and marker details. If desired, add a tail, feet, or other features to the second circle.
3. From the stiff felt, cut 2 partial circles as shown below, then cut a hole in each to form handles. Glue the bottom of each handle to the inside of one of the felt circles.
4. Apply a line of glue along the inside edge of one circle, excluding the part with the handle. Press the circles together, aligning the handles, and let the purse dry overnight.
For more Critter Clutches, click below:
To craft this funky satchel, simply fold and glue a brightly hued length of faux fur.
Materials
* 8- by 49-inch piece of fake fur fabric
* Tacky glue
* 2- by 7 1/2-inch strip of craft foam
* Needle and thread
* 2 large buttons
* Curtain tieback with loop ends (available at fabric stores)
Instructions
1. Lay the fabric fuzzy side down. Following diagram 1, glue the craft foam strip to the fabric. Next, apply glue as shown, then fold both ends of the fabric and press firmly to seal the seams.
2. Apply more glue as shown in diagram 2, above, then fold the fabric (be sure to fold this piece up to the top of the foam strip). Let the purse dry overnight.
3. Sew the buttons to the back of the purse as shown at left, one through each end of the foam strip. Don’t stitch through the front of the bag. Place the tieback cord loops around each button for a handle.
Turn a sweatshirt into a fashionable shrug!
Materials
* FOR SEW SIMPLE SHIRT:
* Scissors
* Sweatshirt
* Needle
* Embroidery floss
* FOR FRINGE-TASTIC TOP:
* Pinking shears
* Sweatshirt
* Transparent tape
* Scissors
* Pony beads
Instructions
1. For Sew Simple Shirt: Cut the sweatshirt following the diagram. To add a colorful border, first thread the needle with a full piece of floss (all 6 strands). Then turn the fabric under 1/2 inch along the edges and whipstitch it into place.
2. For Fringe-tastic Top: With the pinking shears, cut the sweatshirt as shown. To make the fringe, place a band of tape all the way around the bottom of the sweatshirt, 2 1/2 inches from the edge. Use the scissors to cut up to the tape every 1/2 inch. Remove the tape, then thread a pony bead on every other strand and knot to secure. Knot the rest of the fringe to complete the shrug.
Take your pet with you to school — on your shirt!
Materials
* Digital camera
* Ink-jet printer
* T-shirt transfer paper (we used Avery Dark)
* Iron
* T-shirt
Instructions
1. Take a photo of your pet and enlarge the image (ours is approximately 6 by 9 inches), then print it on the transfer paper. (We recommend Avery Dark, which stands up to multiple washings.)
2. Following the manufacturer’s directions, iron the image onto the T-shirt. Wash the shirt according to the package instructions.
*Disclaimer: These crafts are from Family Fun. Family Fun did not compensate me in any way for this post. I’m simply a fan of Family Fun and thought I would pass these crafts on to you.
“Woof”
Audio Post
Thanks for listening!!
Talk to you soon!
Day-By-Day
(I seriously love this picture – alas, it’s not mine )
The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Newsflash: I like my mother-in-law. I’ve been blessed with one of the few women in the world who will give me my space, but be there when I need her, who has a sense of humor, but doesn’t take me too seriously, who is a constant presence in our lives without being a pest (most of the time. *wink*). She was an absolute rock for me when Kevin had his motorcycle accident in April.
I was fond of her before the accident; I think the world of her now after the accident.
Today was her birthday.
The woman is in her upper 60′s, but looks like she’s in her 50′s. Her and my father-in-law stay incredibly active (in fact, I honestly can’t keep up with the woman – she left me in the dust those two weeks we lived in the hospital in Columbia to take care of my husband – she often times kept watch while I tried to catch up on a few ZzzZz’s), and as a result, they both get around like they’re in their 50′s.
It’s very inspiring to watch them and to be around them. (And a lesson for all us, stay active, stay young!)
Kevin and I bought her a gift card to the JCPenney Home Store because she loves to shop for her home. We had only planned on dropping by her house and giving her the card and gift, but we ended up staying an hour because one of my sisters-in-law and her family had driven up minutes before we had, then my other sister-in-law drove up a little while later – so it ended up being an impromptu family get together.
One of the reasons I like my in-law family so much is because they make an effort to include me in their conversation. I ended up sitting on the sofa, by myself, while the rest of the family sat in a semi-circle in front of me. I didn’t even think of me being off by myself until my mother-in-law made a joke of it – we all laughed, they started asking me questions, I responded, we laughed some more … it was nice.
I can honestly say that I feel like a part of their family. They’ve been very warm to me and truly are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
I know it’s not exactly “cool” to admit that you like your in-laws, but well, since when have I been cool?
Exactly.
We were on the verge of leaving, when my sister-in-law asked if they could come over. I had asked her opinion about what we should do about our living room/dining room because we want to rip the carpets out and put in hardwood floors and we honestly have no idea if we want to go dark, or light – we already have so much oak furniture in the rooms that we don’t want to match it exactly, that would just look weird, in my opinion.
Since I’m about the furthest thing from being a Susie Homemaker, I asked my sister-in-law because oh my gosh, you should see her house. It’s gorgeous!! And I love her taste. She also has a knack of finding the best deals on things so I trust her.
They came over and we talked about possibilities for about twenty minutes. She is actually going to make a trip up to Lowe’s to see if she can get some ideas for us.
I think that’s about the sweetest thing ever. I can’t believe she’s going to go out of her way like that, but she says she really enjoys decorating (I tease her about going into business, but I’m actually quite serious) and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.
Now my next question is, how in the world can I compensate her for her time and talents?? Any ideas?
Monday, August 30, 2010
Took Jazz to the orthodontist today. He’s had braces … for about a year now. I know he got them last year, and I know he started school without them, so that must mean he got them in September sometime.
Being precise is too exhausting.
He’s doing well with them. He didn’t handle them as well as Dude, and I knew he wouldn’t. Jazz doesn’t tolerant pain/discomfort as well as Dude does. Jazz’s teeth weren’t that bad, to look at him. But after examining the mold they did of his mouth, his teeth were actually pretty bad. Jazz’s biggest problem is his overbite. If you look at his profile, you can see where his upper lip pushes forward over his teeth. I don’t think he’ll have to wear them as long as Dude, but he’ll have to wear them most of his high school years.
I make a point of making sure he doesn’t have any sort of adjustment appointments in October – he has competitions every week and I think it would be rather mean to make him endure mouth pain while he’s trying to play his saxophone and perform. I’m always very conscious about when next appointments are scheduled – at all times. I wouldn’t want the boys to feel bad over the holidays or their birthdays, either. That either makes me a really good mom, or a really anal mom. Maybe both.
Kevin and I went and looked at the leather sofa / loveseat we have our eye on again last night. I was thinking it was more of a dove color when in fact, it’s more a khaki color. I actually prefer the khaki color as I think that might go better in our room, anyway. I think we’ve decided on a dark floor, like walnut dark, but nothing is set in stone at this point. If we buy the khaki sofa set, we’ll have to repaint our walls – they’re currently khaki. It’s always something, isn’t it?
We also can’t find a leather sleeper sofa that we like. I would like a sleeper because I don’t sleep with Kevin – we have determined, after years of not sleeping that we don’t sleep well with EACH OTHER. And when we get sleep, we’re less likely to argue or get on each other’s nerves … so it works out. If we can’t find a leather sleeper (because Kevin really has his heart set on leather), then I’ll have to sleep on an air mattress again. Which is fine, actually, it’s really comfortable, but it makes Kevin feel bad. Which … might not be a bad thing, actually. Lol
Ragweed is on the rise. Which means my eyes are constantly watering. I’m also feeling REALLY tired and run down and it’s really an effort for me to get motivated to do anything. This time of year would be perfect, if I could just get used to the ragweed.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
My day started off with a bang – no literally, I woke to a clap of thunder. By the time it was time to take the boys to school, it was pouring. And it’s continued to pour all day. In fact, I just heard on the radio that we broke a record – three inches. And I heard that about three hours ago.
It’s still raining. And according to radar, it’s sticking around most of the night.
I got back from dropping the boys off at school to learn that Kevin had listed our sofa and love seat on Craig’s List. We had agreed we would buy a new sofa set, but I didn’t realize he was going to list it so soon. Not fifteen minutes after listing it, we got a phone call – the woman wanted to come out today to take a look at them, and if she liked them, would pick them up on Friday (when the weather was nicer).
While we were waiting for this woman to arrive, we noticed that our crawl space was starting to fill up with water. This is a common problem with us as our house is sort of on a slope, so we get a lot of run off. When it rains really hard for an extended period of time (like today), our sump pump just can’t keep up. In addition, a pipe had come loose on it so it wasn’t pumping any water out.
Kevin actually crawled (but more like swam) over to the sump pump and fixed it. It started gushing out water and was working fine for about 20 minutes, when the stupid pipe came loose again. He was getting ready to crawl back under the house when our lady and her husband arrived to look at our sofa set.
They took one look, sat down for ten seconds and decided they wanted it – right then. It was POURING outside, but that didn’t deter them from loading the pieces up. I’m sure they got quite soaked in the process. Kevin and I couldn’t figure out why she just didn’t come back on a nice day. I just hope they didn’t ruin them.
After they left, Kevin suggested we go to Lowe’s and buy another sump pump, place it in the opening to the crawl space, run a hose out of our back door, through the garage and pump the water out that way. Then he wouldn’t have to crawl back under the house and if the thing started acting up, it would be right there.
He could also use the second sump pump to use with the french drain that he wants to install on the north side of our house (because it’s currently a lake on that side of the house, which is not helping the water situation in our crawl space).
So, we bought the pump, he installed it and it’s currently pumping water out of our crawl space.
Here’s a picture:
1. Out of the crawl space. 2. Out the back door. 3. Through the garage.
It doesn’t pump out water as hard as the other sump pump, but we figure it should pump out most of it by the morning. IF it ever stops raining, that is.
Our living room is HUGE without our sofa set. Kevin is thinking we should just buy a sofa and nix the love seat … but, I like love seats, so we’ll see.
In the meantime, we have our lawn chairs.
I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.
These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)
Thanks for reading.
Flash Fiction: The Gift of Air
Wanda glanced at her watch and then leaned forward to look to see if the bus was coming.
She sighed and moved back to stand by the wall. The sun was in her eyes and she turned to the side to try and escape its direct glare.
The bus was running late. And if she was late to work one more time, she was afraid her boss would fire her.
Her boss had threatened everyone, “I don’t give a rat’s ass whether you like working here or not. You give me one excuse to get rid of you? And I will. I’ve got 200 people waiting to take your place.”
Wanda glanced down at her fingernails – she had bitten them to the quick last night after the phone call with her mother.
She mentally kicked herself for falling for her mother’s lies. She was a toxic person, even her therapist said so.
She reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Oh right, it didn’t work. She had had to cancel the plan last week because she couldn’t afford it.
She leaned her head against the brick wall and blinked back tears. Work, her mother, money problems …what next?
“Excuse me,” the sweet voice of a child broke through her thoughts. She had a handful of balloons clasped tightly in one small fist.
Wanda self-consciously tugged her too tight shirt over her belly and gave the girl a weak smile.
“You look sad. Would you like a balloon?”
Fiction under 250 words.
Wordless Wednesday: Rotting Away
Did you know we’re big campers?
Well,we’re not.
But we have a camper, a 21 foot “Cub” that we haven’t used in a few years.
We go through camping phases where we go camping 50 times in one year and then don’t even look under the camper cover for a few years.
I think we’re starting to get that camping bug again. We may go camping in Branson this weekend – that’s a big MAY.
In the meantime, I think we can make this camper cover last through the winter, don’t you?
Writing That Shines
I enjoy finding new voices. (Well, new to me, at least). I purposefully ignore links to the “popular” bloggers (though I’m sure what they’ve contributed is equally awesome) and instead focus on the lesser-known voices, for I am so tired of not hearing them. The blog-o-sphere is so full of silly self-imposed get-more-traffic drivel, let’s focus our energies on more raw, amazing, heart-wrenching, populist issues we can relate to, shall we?
“Why I Am a Feminist, And Why I Will Shout It Loudly Into the Ears of Anyone That Will Listen” from Knotty Yarn.
“In Need of the Heimlich Manoeuvre” from Yarn Harlot
“My Soul Speaks” by Paige Johnson at My Tornado Alley
“Amanda’s Attempt to Entertain Us this Month – Bullying” by Amanda at Birmingham Mommy
“As Promised” from 2birds1blog
(hahahaha!)
“Forgiveness” from The Accidental Olympian
“Mind Your Own Business, Gmail!” from Nanny Goats in Panties
“Today Would Have Been Our Anniversary” from Beregond’s Bar
“Disposable People” from No Points For Style
(Wow)
These writers, these wonderful PEOPLE, inspire me to be a better writer, a better PERSON.
I’m hungry for more. If you can recommend more great writing, I’m ready to feast.
You can find many more interesting reads at Five Star Friday.
