Don't Get Rid of That Shirt!!

Do you have plain shirts that sit at the bottom of your drawers because they lack that piece of flair you enjoy so much? Well, before you get rid of them read this post and see if there is someway you can give them that update they are longing for.

So, make your way to the back of you t-shirt drawer and get ready for some updating. (I promise my dog isn't dead in this picture, this is how he sleeps)

Step 1: Decide what you want to put on your shirt. I chose to paint a peace sign, simple and fun.

Step 2: Pick out whatever craft paint you want and mix it with water. This keeps the paint from being stiff on your shirt.

Step 3: Insert something in your shirt to keep the fabric from sticking together. You can use a newspaper or cardboard.

Step 4: If you are not confident with your circle painting abilities like me, then grab something circular to trace. Remember your painting does not have to be perfect.

Step 5: Paint a line down the center dividing the circle in half.

Step 6: Add the "legs" to your peace sign.

Step 7: Let dry and wear!!

Of course you can paint anything on your shirt... hearts, trees, flowers, birds, etc...

Happy Tuesday!!

Not Another Magazine Craft: Coaster Edition

Are you feeling inspired to do more with your left over magazines after you created your own magazine bracelet? (moecraftsplease.blogspot.com/2011/09/magazines-theyre-not-just-for-reading.html) Well, great news for you! After reading this post you will be able to create your own magazine coasters!

All you need are two ingredients: magazines and scotch tape.

Step 1: Read your magazine.

Step 2: Tear out pages that are full in color (by that I mean pages that do not have a thick white strip around the edge).

Step 3: Start at one corner and begin folding.

Step 4: Once you've reached the end take a small piece of tape and secure the end in place.

Step 5: Start at one end of the folded strip and begin rolling.

Step 6: Once you've reached the end tape the strip in place.

Step 7: Obviously this won't be big enough for a coaster, so repeat steps 2-4. Tape one end of the new folded strip to the coaster you've started and continue rolling around it.

Step 8: Continue these steps until you have reached your desired sized coaster.

Now make a cup of hot cocoa set it on your coaster and enjoy a nice movie!

Happy Crafting!

Game Day Doggie Gear

Do you have a dog that loves watching football or baseball games with you? Maybe your dog is more of a die-hard fan than you are, but you can't tell because he or she is lacking the appropriate game day wear. Fortunately, I have a very easy solution for you.

I made mine for my dog Bailey. We live in South Carolina and Bailey attends many tailgating events with us, so I made him a Gamecock bandana. For those of you Minnesota readers don't turn away yet, you can easily make this for your doggie Twins fan.

Step 1: Cut out your fabric. I used Bailey's current collar as a measure of how to cut it out.

Step 2: Take out your crafters paint (I used acrylic) and paint your first letter. "S" for Gamecock fans and "T" for Twins fans.

Step 3: Both Twins and Gamecocks fans paint a "C" on top of your first letter.

Step 4: Let dry and tie around your dog's neck

Happy Game Day!!! 

Oh for the love of Headbands

Do you often move about in your day-to-day lives with your hair in your face? Are you considering shaving your head because of your annoyance with the hair attached to your scalp? Well DON'T!! I have a solution for you!

Here's a way to solve your woes in a way that is both functional and stylish:

Step 1: Buy a simple skinny headband.

Step 2: Cut 8 or 9 small circles of fabric. My circles were about 1-1 1/2 inches in diameter.

Step 3: Take a circle and fold it in half.

Step 4: Fold in half again.

Step 5: Take out your hot glue gun and glue a little less than half way up your headband.

Step 6: Repeat steps 3 and 4 and glue a couple centimeters down from the first.

Step 7: Keep going through all of your pre-cut circles.

Step 8: Wear with pride!

Happy Headbanding!!

Bow Beauty

Forget your long assumptions that bows are only for little girls. Trust me when I say, you can be an adult and have a bow in your hair without looking ridiculous. Here's a no sew way to do so:

Step 1: Cut out four rectangular pieces of fabric.

Step 2: Stack them on top of each other (this is going to give depth to your bow):

Step 3: Cut a very narrow rectangular piece of fabric. This does not have to be the same fabric as before if you so choose.

Step 4: Pinch your stacked pieces of fabric and wrap the long rectangular piece around the center. Hot glue gun into place.

Step 5: Glue the backside of your bow to a hair clip.

Step 6: Wear your bow and let your inner child shine.

Have a bow beautiful day!!

Tissue Flowers

Do you have a vase that needs filling, but don't have the money to keep live flowers in it all the time? Well I have a solution for you!! You can make your own bouquet of flowers simply out of tissue paper.

Here's what you do:

Step 1: Cut a long narrow piece of tissue paper.

Step 2: Fold your paper in half about four or five times and cut a rounded tip at one end.

Step 3: Unfold.

Step 4: Fold again, but make sure the fold creases do not line up. Like so:

Step 5: Fold four or five times again and cut a new rounded tip on the other side.

Step 6: Unfold again.

Step 7: Fold tissue paper in half "hotdog style" and tie one corner together with some kind of string.

Step 7: Begin wrapping the tissue paper to look like a flower.

Step 8: When finished wrapping the tissue paper, tie another piece of string around the base to hold everything together.

Nice Work!! Now, I'm going to throw another, easier, kind of flower at you.

Step 1: Take a piece of scrapbook paper, card-stock, or whatever else (I used a leftover book page from our book wreath) and cut it into a circle.

Step 2: Make cuts nearly to the center all the way around it.

Step 3: Glue a button or bead to the center and fray out the petals.

I put these flowers together with the tissue flowers to make this framed picture:

This picture sits next to my vase of tissue paper flowers.

Whenever working with tissue paper remember.... tissue paper is not used for blowing your nose!

Enjoy!

If The Shoe Fits

A while ago I purchased a cute pair of pink sandals that had a pink flower in the center. While trying them on at the store I did not notice anything uncomfortable about them, but alas, I was wrong. After a few weeks of wearing them the metal piece that secured the flowers in place began scratching the top of my feet.  Unfortunately, it was bad enough that I had to take the flower off leaving a little hole in each sandal.

Here's what I did to fix things:

Step 1: Grab your glue gun and some beads. Begin glueing the beads into place on your shoe.

Step 2: Glue all the beads into place.

Step 3: Secure all the beads in place by taking a needle and some thread. Start at one end and thread your beads in place.

Step 4: Repeat with your second shoe and you have a beautiful matching set of sandals.

(I thought about modeling these on my feet for this picture and decided that may turn readers away from this blog)

Happy Monday and Happy Crafting.