Woodworking is Crafting Right?

In elementary, junior high and high school I had mandatory wood shop classes. I loved them and thrived in that environment. We were given free rein to make anything we wanted the only stipulation is it had to be at least 90% wood products. I still love working with wood, maybe it’s the fact that I come from a long line of loggers. We recently figured that we needed a storage unit for the youngest child’s wooden puzzles. We could find one that had enough slots to hold all his puzzles and buying multiples seemed expensive.

So remembering those classes I broke out the pen and paper and sketched out a design, and figured out the dimensions. It was than off to the lumber store. I’ll be honest it isn’t a store I visit often, I didn’t know what I was looking for but I figured when I found it I would know. I did find “it”; two 2x2 oak plywood and a handful square poplar dowels and some small brads to attach the dowels. Unfortunately I am kind of rusty when it comes to using power tools so I handed the next step off to my significant other, well after I drew out where the cuts should be.

The next step was tedious gluing down the dowels to the board, waiting for it to dry and hammering in the brads to make sure they stayed in place. This project still has several more steps to go. I find it’s not as easy to whip together a project made of wood as it is to whip together one made of fabric. In the time the boards were cut I managed to make a wet bag and several diaper inserts. Tomorrow I have plans to paint it; pumpkin orange on the inside and chalkboard on the outside. For now I leave you with a picture of the puzzle box in process.

To Sew or Not to Sew

Fabric flowers are a great way to use up those scraps of fabric. I on the other hand needed a way to use up all the two and three inch strips of tulle I have left over from making tutus. I figured that once I mastered that I could find a way to affix them to hats, hair ties, headbands, or even to pins. One thing I knew is that I didn’t want to have to be stuck at my sewing machine to make them. With that idea in mind I used the hour I was sitting at the pediatric walk-in clinic waiting for my youngest to be seen to brainstorm ideas on how I could accomplish this.

I came up with one idea and upon coming home and trying it, I was successful. I was quite happy with the results, although I still needed a needle and thread. I still wanted a new sew flower as well. I was sure that I could come up with something. After playing around with tulle for a bit I figured that one out as well. I’ve outlined the basic steps I took to create the two types of flowers.

To start on the no-sew flower you need at least one strip of tulle 2-3 inches wide by 48+inches long.

1. Wrap the tulle around your fingers in a figure eight by going between your second and third finger leaving about 2” of tail on each end. If using more than one color layer them and wrap them all at the same time.
2. Wrap the ends of the tulle around the center and tie in a knot
3. Wrap the ends through the center of the tulle and tie in a knot
4. Separate and spread out the tulle this will create the petals
5. Your no-sew tulle flower is now done

To make the second tulle flower you need 2 strips of tulle in different colors, a small button, and needle and thread.

1. Similar to the first flower you wrap the first color tulle around your fingers in a figure eight leaving 2 inches on each end.
2. Wrap the ends around the center of the tulle and tie in a knot.
3. Repeat above steps for second piece of tulle.
4. Spread and separate the tulle to create petals.
5. Flatten flowers so you can see the knot in the center
6. Put one tulle flower on top of the other and sew a couple of stitches to hold them together.
7. Place button over the knot and sew it down.
8. Your flower is done!

So now what should I do with these tulle flowers?

Just Roll with It

Our family has an upcoming vacation which involves over 10 hours on the road with three kids. When going over what keeps the three kids entertained we came to crayons and coloring books. In hopes of keeping things neat and tidy I decided to make some crayon rolls using the tutorial over at The Pleated Poppy . As always my first step is a trip to the fabric store. I brought the oldest with because I know he can be picky about patterns. I also picked up a bit of rick rack to try and trim it, and over-sized buttons to wrap the elastic around.

The first was for my daughter I of course the one time I needed it I was unable to find fabric ruler. I took out one of the kids school rulers and attempted to use that. Sadly my cuts were not squared like they should have been, however the crayon roll is functional and still cute. The second attempt I tried to use the rick rack along the outside edge of the crayon roll. The rick rack created a bit of a challenge, it looks cute but isn’t even. I have one more to make to house the oldest colored pencils. For that one I’ll be trying the tutorial over at You Go Girl. As always here are the obligatory pictures of the first two I made.

OH MY TUTU! A Giveaway.

There is nothing I love more than making tutus. For me it is how I relax after a stressful day. As evidence of this my daughter has more tutus than I can count. I’ve traded tutus for cloth diapers, made them as birthday gifts even. Next to my sewing machine sits several totes, the largest tote the one full of tulle. Anytime I go to the local craft, hobby or fabric stores I buy several yards of tulle. Shimmer tulle, matte tulle, in all colors of the rainbow.

Yesterday was a particularly stressful day for me. The youngest was reminding me how terrible the second year of life was, he had a day full of meltdowns. The older two were out of sorts as well. Yesterday was a hard day. Once all of the kids were fast asleep I needed to unwind. I did this by crafting two tutus and getting rid of all the stress from the day and make room for more tulle. Since my daughter doesn’t have any birthday parties coming up and she doesn’t need any more tutus I am going to give them away here. The first tutu I’m giving away is pictured below I am also including a secret coordinating item. Sadly my flash washed out the color it is lovely lavender, mint, and chocolate colored 2 tiered tutu it has an elastic waist should fit 2-7 year old and tied with a chocolate brown ribbon.. The drawing for the winner will be on February 28^th.

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