Craft Project: Leaf Drawstring Bag

As promised, here's the tutorial for the leaf drawstring bag.

Copy the template above and print it out. It should fit on 8 1/2" by 11" page. Using the template, cut out two pale green leaves and two dark green leaves.

Using a contrasting green thread, top stitch the leaf veins onto one of the dark green leaves. This will be the front of the bag. Click on the image if you're having trouble seeing the detail.

Pin together a dark green leaf and a light green leaf with right sides together. Sew a straight line across the top of the leaves 3/8" from the edge (refer to picture). Make two sets of these.

Open up the leaves and press the seam.

Pin both leaf sets right sides together. Make sure to match up the colors. Sew all the way around with a 1/4" seam allowance. Leave a small opening to turn the piece right side out. Make sure the opening is on the lining (light green).

Turn right side out.

Tuck the light green leaf into the inside of the dark green leaf. You should now have a leaf shaped pouch that is lined.

Now you will sew the casing. This part is a little tricky because the opening of the bag isn't that wide. The measurements for the casing are 1" and 1/2" from the top edge.

In between the casing stitches on the side seams of the bag, use a seam ripper to open a hole on each side of the bag.

Tie a piece of ribbon to a safety pin. Thread the ribbon through the opening and all the way around the bag to where you started. Do this again with another piece of ribbon starting at the other opening.

You should now have something that looks like the above picture.

Done.

Inspiration

Today you can find me over at Amy Turn Sharp's blog Doohbley-vay. I'll be sharing about what inspires me when it comes to crafting. Hope to see you there.

Craft Project: Tulle Ponytail Holder

A while back I saw a pom pom made out of tulle on Once Wed (fabulous site by the way). I loved the idea and knew I had to incorporate it into a craft. So the other day it came to me that they would make cute pony tail holders. Simple directions below to make this hair accessory.

Supplies
Tulle
Scissors
Needle
Thread
Basic Black Ponytail Holder

First make a basic pom pom, you can find direction for that here. Next, just sew the pom pom to the pony tail holder. Done! This takes maybe 5 minutes to 10 minutes to make at the most.

Leaf Drawstring Bag

Over the past weekend I made this drawstring bag for the "sewing with nature contest". I haven't sewn in a while so it was nice to get the sewing machine out and make something. I'll do my best to post a tutorial for the bag at the end of the week. I realize I still need to post the American Girl Hat Pattern as well. I'll be working on that too.

If you're interested in the contest there's still time to enter. The deadline is February 4, 2009. Click here for all the info.

Craft Project: Heart Shaped Pom Pom

Embellish gifts, hats, scarves, or whatever else you can think of with these adorable heart shaped pom poms. Simple directions below.

Supplies
Scissors
Yarn

Wrap yarn around fingers (at least 50 times). The more yarn the better.

Slip the yarn off your fingers. Tie a separate strand of yarn around the center of the ball of yarn (refer to dotted yellow lines). Make sure to tie the knot as tight as you can, cinching the yarn.

Cut all the loops of yarn with a pair of scissors.

Trim the yarn down to a regular shaped pom pom. Then, just trim the pom pom into a shape of a heart. Done.

Clip Art Craft: Valentine Card

Valentine's Day is approaching soon which means it's time to start making Valentine cards. Each year I like to make an original Valentine to pass out. When I started brainstorming, I knew I wanted to incorporate a snail (don't ask me why). After a little thought it occurred to me that a lollipop would make a cute shell for the snail. So, if you want to give out snail valentines this year, clip art plus simple directions below. Enjoy.

1. Right click, copy, and save the clip art to a file. The clip art should fit on a letter (8 1/2 by 11) size page. You should get four snail valentines per page.

2. Print on heavy card stock and cut out images.

3. With an exacto knife cut a slit in the center of the snail. Place a lollipop in through the slit (refer to picture). You can also use a hole punch instead. Tape the lollipop stick to back of the paper. Done.

Craft Project: Princess Wand

I can remember my first princess wand from childhood. It was all wood. The handle was painted blue and the star top was covered in silver glitter. It even had my name painted on the handle. It was a simple toy that lead to hours of imagination and fun. After thinking back to those fond memories, I decided to make a wand for my daughter.

Directions below to make your very own princess wand.

Supplies:
Cream and Pink felt - wool felt works best
Poly Fil
Ribbon
One button
Wooden dowel - make sure its not too flimsy. You'll want something will hold up well and can't be broken easily.
Embroidery thread - cream and pink
Hot Glue

Right click, copy, and paste the template into a document like Word.

Cut out two large stars in the cream felt and one small star in the pink felt.

Click on the image for a larger view.

* Optional - you can glue a wooden bead to the bottom of the wand to make it more child safe.

* If you don't like the wood showing, you can wind/glue ribbon around the handle of the wand.

Craft Project: Plastic Bottle Beads

I found a great tutorial for plastic bottle beads on ThreadBanger via Waiting for Wonderland. The beads were very easy and quick to make. I made them a little different than the directions by adding washi paper to them. Below I share how I altered the tutorial and a few tips for making the beads.

Plastic Bead Tutorial, Click here.

Instead of coloring the plastic with markers, I glued washi paper to the plastic. You'll want to cover only part of the plastic with paper. This way when you roll up the plastic to make the bead the paper will not be exposed.

* When making the beads always use caution. Some plastics can be toxic when melted.

* If you don't have a heat gun, a blow dryer will work too; I tried it both ways. However, the heat gun yields better results.

* Be careful of over heating the bead which can lead to the edges curling up. Hold the seam down with tweezers while heating. This will prevent it from curling up.

Close up of the back of the bead. The beads do not look perfect but I suppose that's part of their charm.

Life Hack: Balloon Key Cover

This key cover was made from a small water balloon. The idea came to me when I saw a bunch of broken balloons lying on the ground. Something about them reminded me of key covers. So here's an easy inexpensive way to color code your keys. Simple directions below.

Take a small water balloon and cut it in half. Place the top part over the key. Trim back any excess balloon with a pair of scissors. Poke a hole with a toothpick through the part of the key that hangs on the key chain. Done.

Craft Project: Window to Fairyland

A couple weeks back a commenter (Rane) referred me to "The Toymaker". It's a website with lots of free paper toy patterns to download. It's also where I got the pattern for the "window to fairyland"toy (picture above). There are patterns for boxes, cards, and educational toys on the site as well. I definitely recommend checking it out.

The fairyland toy was really simple and quick to make. I envision it used for a favor or craft project for a fairy themed birthday party. Perhaps one could glue a picture of each child attending the party to the inside of the toy. Glitter and embellishments would also look nice glued to the fairy picture.

closeup of the top of the toy

Craft Project: House Key Hider

A while back I entered a contest on how to upcycle prescription bottles. The idea I submitted was a key hider. It's a simple project with a very practical purpose. Directions below.

To make the key hider just glue a rock to a prescription bottle. I recommend using e6000 glue because it's strong and water resistant. Now just follow the rest of the directions below.

Japanese New Year's Food

Kamaboko - fish cake

Each year, my husband's family has a big gathering on New Year's Day. Osechi dishes are prepared for the day that have special meanings. For example, the kamaboko above represents the rising sun and has a festive meaning. The party mainly consists of us eating and hanging out with the family.

Below are some pictures of the special dishes.

Nishime - A simmered vegetable dish consisting of lotus roots, Japanese potatoes, carrots, shitaki mushrooms, fish cake, bamboo shoots, and konnyaku. This one is my favorite!

Konnyaku is made out of the Japanese yam and has the texture of firm jello.

Kobumaki (kelp roll) symbolizing joy

Kuromame (black soybeans) symbolizing good health in the New Year

Kazunoku konbu (seaweed with fish eggs) symbolizing to be blessed with many children.


Monju ( rice cake with red bean paste in the center). We had these for dessert. My husband's Grandmother usually makes them fresh but this year we had the store bought ones.

HAPPY NEW YEAR