What to do with old Christmas cards.

Every year I rack my brain looking for projects my kids can do at Christmas time.  This year we used Christmas cards I just happened to save with the holiday decorations.  Together we made gifts for their grandparents, teacher, and friends.

Large bookmarks are the easiest.  Simply cut the card at the fold, punch a hole at the top and add a ribbon or yarn. 

Punch out shapes for confetti or shapes to use for other embellishments.

   

Parts of a card was used to make three different cards of different sizes.  Glue punched shapes back-to-back on the ends of the ribbons.

 Be sure to check out the inside of the cards for cute pictures,  lettering, or poems.

 Another idea is to make your own package tags.  If you have a die cutting machine cut out tags.  The two on the right were cut out by scissors. The white tag is embosses with a winter shapes.  The bird bookmark with the hearts is a gift for a friend with a January birthday.

 My husband likes to buy a super large roll of multipurpose wrapping paper.  Below is a sample of the gold stripe-Christmas, wedding, birthday paper we will be using for the next five years.  I use ribbons to make it look snazzy but at Christmas our cat will pull off and eat any bow he finds.  He also considers under the tree his personal space.  So we have been using used Christmas cards to personalize the gifts.  Cat proof.

 Of course any type of greeting card can be repurposed into fun gifts.

Need help with creating modern quilt blocks?

Need some ideas to make your next quilt look more up to date?

Explore modern quilting with designer Tula Pink and her book Tula Pink’s City Sampler 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.  Ms Pink’s designs incorporate a pallet of color using crosses, rectangles, squares, stripes, and triangles.  There is a great section titled Haiku, the blocks are a study of color and shapes.  I like this book for the unusual color combinations, a ton of ideas for random combination that work together.  The book includes three different methods for putting your newly created blocks together.  I highly recommend this book especially for those of us who suffer from the jitters anytime we think of creating with new color combinations or out of the box designs.  

A few favorite examples:

 Cool stuff.  

The Bag Making Bible

If you are thinking of venturing into making your own designer bags The Bag Making Bible is well worth checking into.  The book covers every element of asembling a fabric bag.  It has great sections on closures of various types and instruction on several kinds of pockets.  With each chapter a project is included. The book was first published in the U.K. and some terns were not translated into American English, for example the book refers to zip instead of zipper. I also found a few grammar errors, page 9 has "If you want a job doing well you have to do it yourself."  Oops. Nonetheless, I thought the book had great projects and is packed with useful tips.  I appreciated the tips on types of presser feet to purchase to make the bag making process easier.  I am all over easier.

Modern designs for classic quilts

I picked up this book because I love the quilt on the cover.  I was scratching my head over modern verses classic quilts.  What are the differences?  I thought that modern quilts would be about using traditional quilt patterns with modern fabric color and patterns.  Which according to the authors somewhat explains the difference betwixt modern and classic.  The book lists several other differences.  Modern quilts have less or no borders, often use multiple-fabric background, use more neutrals and solids, employ less elaborate piecing and more focus on the fabric.  Take a look at page 6 for the full list of Modern vs. Traditional.  The authors list recommended stuff to get for quilting.  I will have to look for some fork pins, they looked pretty handy.  Nineteen different quilting project instructions are included, with three pages of templates and patterns.  

Big A book

An eclectic collection of upcycling contained in one book.  The projects in this book vary from making pillows from ribbon left-overs and  jewelry from plastic bottles to garden bugs from aluminum flashing and wire.  Each project is contained on two full color pages with a list of materials and equipment needed.  I can see me doing several of the ideas but a few are pretty weird. Any kid would be terrorized by a nightlight make from a doll’s head, it would freak out most adults.  Also, I can’t see making a table using wooden hanger for the center support, an uncontrolled pant leg catching on the hanger hook would cause the table to topple.  Oops how embarrassing.  Despite a few less than practical ideas the book is packed with great ideas for the upcycling enthusiasts.    

Embroidery "Hip" patterns

Most of this book is made up of black line patterns to transfer.  It does include different transfer methods and shows ideas of how to embellish materials with your own creative handiwork.  The hip patterns include borders, flowers, cars, trucks, and oh yeah Scotty dogs (retro must be hip).  The book is spiral bound with a handy pocket for the patterns once they are removed from the book.  I found the transfer information useful but many of the patterns are very basic, great for someone new to the craft.  Too many of the patterns are the same picture in different sizes.  Rather ho hum.

Scrap booking ideas

If scrapbooking is your passion take a look at The Big Book of Scrapbook Pages.  It is literally full of completed scrapbook pages.  If just looking at a finished project is all the instructions you need your set with this one.  Each completed page list the creator, supplies used and the source of the supplies.  Every third to fourth page has a bit of information called “Inspired Ideas.”  These tidbit include ideas such as sewing bits of lace or fabric to your page to keep it in place.  The book ends with single and double-page layout sketches and a score of product manufactures with phone number and or web addresses.

Repurposed plastic--cheap fun

Save your plastic bags of all size and colors!  Upcycle the plastic that abounds as a leftover in modern life.  With a few basic materials; plastic, parchment paper, scissors, and an iron create over 2 dozen projects. After trying two of the projects in the book all kinds of ideas have bubbled up in my head.

I tried this craft with a group of teens.  They had a great time.  We found that following the techniques to fuse the plastics on pages 12 and 13 helpful.  

Blue book bag made from the plastic sleeves that cover the newspaper each day.  Even the handles are made from several layers of fused plastic, the sides and bottom are sewn.  It's strong and waterproof besides.

One teen designed a bag that will hold a can of soda and ice and doesn't leak.  Instead of sewing she fused  all the seams--sides and bottom.  Viola let your imagination go! 

Crocheting continued

Continuing on a crocheting tangent I found more interesting books to suggest.  Baby Crochet has a basket load of projects for infants that span from easy thru advanced level.  Chucked full of cute baby pictures, the instructions are written out with a list of needed materials at the first of each project.  I personally tucked away the instructions for the sock monkey hat and toddler leg warmers.

I found this fun book at my local library, yahoo!!

Crochet fun

After trying Edie Eckman’s book Beyond the Square I searched out another of her crochet books.  I next discovered Connect the Shapes which demonstrates what to do with my new found pastime of crocheting all kinds of motifs.  The book describes how to connect the shapes voila! 

First I made a small little triangle thing.

Then I made a row of little triangle things all connected together--I feel a scarf coming on.                  

Choices choices...what to do?

The biggest problem I had with Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs is deciding which motif I wanted to try next.  If you’re tired of crocheting squares take a peek at the circles, hexagons, triangles, and unusual shapes patterns offered.  The book includes the usual basics of crocheting and troubleshooting problems with your stitches.  The 144 motif patterns range from beginner easy to more challenging for the experienced.  The motif patterns are written as well as pictured in symbols.  I had a good time trying out a few different patterns.

Some of my experiments.

Embroidery continued....

The book is touted as presenting a modern, experimental and creative approach to embroidery, the creator is known for her artistic style of thread projects.  The book is a collection by the author of various artists’ designs.  I found the ideas interesting, a springboard to projects I would like to try.  To be honest several of the projects in the book were just too weird for my tastes.  On the other hand I loved the idea of creating a design by printing with a stamp and embellishing the design with thread. 

The part titled Transfer Methods 101 lists step-by-step instruction for seven different ways to transfer your design to its intended target.  The book includes the usual introduction of materials required and explains the various types of threads that can be used in embroidery projects. It concludes with templates to recreate the projects in the book, a concise four page stitch guide, contributing artist’s names and websites, and material resources.  Use this book for generating ideas.  To me many of the modernistic ideas looked cheesy.  

Not your momma's embroidery

I learned to embroidery at about age 8.  My mom helped me put initials on handkerchiefs and Sunbonnet Sue on dish towels.  I have done a few pillowcases since then so I was interested to see what’s up with the craft currently.  I came across Better Homes and Garden’s Embroidery 2012.  I was amazed to see embroidery embellishing a wooden cabinet, on a crate, on a plate, and used to enhance handmade cards.  It has come far from handkerchiefs.  The book features a project that uses large knots of wool roving to create flower buds…hum I can see all kinds of applications for that one.  My favorite is the look of the heirloom ribbon embroidery.  The book ends with basic stitch instructions and finishing techniques.  The bonus is a sheet of full size patterns!!  P.S. I found it free at the local library or you can buy it on Amazon.

Woodburning ???

I have to admit that woodburning is way out of my comfort zone at this point.  I picked up the book by Deborah Pompano and was in awe of her artistic talent.  The book outlines tools of the trade and shows some pretty fantastic creations.  One consolation is that it appears that you can trace a design on to the wood; whoa, you don’t have to freehand the project, which is somewhat comforting.  I enjoyed looking at the projects but the passion and talent just aren’t there for me.  Also, the tools are not in the budget.  I would recommend this for someone who is artistic and fanatic about attention to details.  I could also see that zentangles enthusiasts might like to move from ink to woodburning tools.  Let me know what you think.

Freehand Machine Embroidery

Machine embroidery produces some fantastic stuff but what about those of us who don't have the need or the funds for such fancy smancy equipment?  I wondered if it is possible to embroider with a regular sewing machine.  I did a little research and found Poppy Treffy's Freehand Machine Embroidery.

Using her instructions I did a few trial attempts. 

No too bad.  It needs more work on the tension but this has great potential.  Be sure to mark somehow the tension setting on your sewing machine so you can easily return to the former settings.  The book has several projects to do or to use as a springboard for your own ideas.  I purchased this book from B and N, but of course check your local library first.

Holiday craft ideas

It is probably cheesy but I wanted to see the ideas Martha had for holiday decoration.  I am pleased to report that she lived up to her reputation of clever easy craft ideas, best of all most of them are cheap!  I tried her Easter egg decorating ideas and appeared above average ingenious when company arrived for Easter dinner.  The projects have clear instructions with pictures for those who only read instructions as a last resort—yeah, you know who you are.  This book was publish in 2011 so it is a few year old so may not be available at your favorite craft store but can be purchased on Amazon.  Or better yet check your local library.