New Use for Erasers

So I got a pack of cute Hello Kitty erasers from the dollar section at Target.  I guess lately I have been in to collecting cute erasers, I have several of those food shaped ones.

Anyway, I thought they would be cute as jewelry so I made these simple eraser necklaces.  I used a skewer to make a hole through the eraser, and then threaded some ribbon through with a large needle.  Just add some decorative beads and tie it off to finish.  This could probably be good to do with kids, assuming they don’t handle the skewer part.  Getting skewered wouldn’t be fun.

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Seven down, three to go.  The next project should be up Saturday at the latest, it’s turning out to be more difficult than I thought. 

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Neck ”lace”

I’ve seen pretty lace necklaces around various places and thought they were pretty.  So inspired by those as well as my button broaches (see Button Broach, A Tutorial), I decided to whip up some lace necklaces of my own.

I made these chokers by hand sewing ribbon to lace and then threading the ends through some pretty buttons.  They are secured with some glue and I cut the ribbon longer on the other ends to allow enough to tie around one’s neck.  Simple enough really but there were some problems.  For the one on the left, the lace is slightly thicker than the other one and was harder to thread through the button’s shank.  I guess this is one of those projects where cheaper thinner lace works best. 

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Six down, four to go.  The next project is a really simple and fun one.  I’ll show you Monday.

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Bad News, Good News, and Good Deals

First the bad news.  The Goodwill Store closest to me closed up last week. 

Now the good news!  A new one opened up.  It’s farther away, but larger and better organized.  Today they had their grand opening.  It was great but unbelievably crowded.  They gave out bottled water, orange juice, chips and donuts to everyone who came and several people got free gift certificates.  Not me, I got there too late.  I did score some excellent deals.  Here they are all together.

• 9 My Little Ponies
• 1 non-name brand pony toy
• 2 packages of bobbins
• 1 pack silk pins
• 1 really nice seam gauge
• 1 pack dressmaker’s chalk pencils
• 1 pack doll hands
• 1 wooden crochet hook
• Several knitting needles
• Some ribbon
• 1 girl scout cookie badge
• 1 Hello Kitty bento box
• 1 triangle shaped pendant thingy
• A ton of vintage buttons
• More 9 and 7 inch zippers than I know what to do with.

Total Cost: $5.00.  Hours spent among my fellow thrifters: priceless.

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Button Broach, a Tutorial

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

Updated 6/17/17 with better Photos!

Awhile ago I found the cutest pack of buttons at SAS, I seem to be finding lots of cool stuff there lately.  Anyway, the buttons had a sort of vintage feel to them so I thought they would make pretty broaches.

Here’s what you need:

• Some interesting buttons, about 1 inch in size is preferable
• Some pin-backs (like these) 
• scissors
• Wide pretty lace, I used two kinds of cotton eyelet lace.
• A decent glue, I used Aleene’s Jewel-It.  It works miracles.
• A threaded needle with a knot at the end, this is one of those things that is easier sewn by hand than machine.
  

First cut about 7 inches of lace.  You are going to gather it to make a rosette, so if you already know how you can skip down a few steps.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, keep reading.

Sew the ends of your strip of lace together to form a tube shape.

Now grab your needle and start sewing a running stitch along the bottom edge of the lace.  It doesn’t have to be neat.

When you reach the end all you have to do is tug on the thread to gather the lace.  It will form a perfect little flower shape, perfect for embellishing a wide range of items. 

While you are dreaming of all the things you will use your lace rosettes for, don’t forget to knot the end of thread so it doesn’t un-gather.

Now dab a good sized amount of glue to the front of the rosette.

Carefully press your button into the glue.  The shank of the button should fit perfectly into the center of the rosette.

Gently flip the rosette over and add some more glue.  This is to attach the pin-back and help secure the lace.

Press your pin-back into the glue to finish the broach.

Another option here is to cut a circle from felt or some other fabric and glue it to the back before adding the pin-back.  This will allow for a neater look, at least neater than what’s shown here.

Another option is to avoid gluing all together by sewing it all.  Takes a little longer to make that way, but the results are beautiful. 

Here’s my finished results.  Hope yours looks just as lovely.  The cameo one at the bottom is the one in the other photos.  The other two I made using the “neater” option.  I will probably either sell those two or give them as gifts.

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Five down, five to go.  The next project should be up by Saturday.

Update: I made a video tutorial for the lace rosette, feel free to check it out if you are having trouble making them.  Plus I made another tutorial for a similar broach, my lace applique broach.  Please check it out.

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Comb Over

Awhile ago I bought some plastic hair combs from SAS for about 15 cents each.  I had intended to use them immediately to make pretty hair accessories.

Took a little longer than “immediately”, but I got them done.  For the one on the right I used a scrap of cheap lace for the base and glued on ribbon roses.  At least they are suppose to be roses, first time I ever made ribbon roses that actually had some resemblance to roses.  For the one on the left, I glued some thin lace and thinner ribbon along the top and added a single fake rosebud I had leftover from previous projects.  It kind of reminds me of something for a wedding, strange.  Anyway, I now have two lovely hair ornaments, assuming I can pull them off.

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Four down, six to go.  Should have the next one up by Wednesday.

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Pjs and a Long Awaited Photo

So I posted last Friday and then disappeared.  Oops.  I had a test in Chemistry on Monday that I sorta kind of forgot about until the day before.  Thankfully the test covered stuff I had down already.  Not much need to study and I’m confident I did well one it.  Sort of.

Anyway, I finished my first major assignment for my sewing class.  A pair of pajama pants.  Simple right since it is a basic class.  Except that I have never been very good at making pants.  Something always seems to go wrong.  In this case, that worked out well.  It has a drawstring waist and I accidentally made the holes for the drawstring on the inside instead of the outside.  The pants actually look better that way.  Who knew?

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Three down, seven to go.  I’ll get the next one done by this weekend.

Bonus!  Sometime ago I mentioned that we got a new addition to our household (see All Done, Finally!).  I never did post any pictures until now.

This is Angel.  Isn’t he pretty?  He’s pretty quiet most of the time and spends way more time napping during the daytime than Midnight.  I think it’s because he still hasn’t fully adjusted to life indoors.  Out-door cats sleep during the day and come out when it’s cooler in the evening, so it makes sense.  Oh and that is a paper clip hanging from his collar.  My niece put it there and I didn’t notice until after I took this picture.  Luckily Angel is very tolerant about small children.  Poor thing.

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When Not to Share

At my house we sometimes have a problem with telling whose cup/mug is whose when ever someone sets it down.  I do recall an incident when I picked up a glass of water I thought was mine only to find someone had used it for something that wasn’t water. 

I decided to make these little covers to fix this little problem.  I used some of my favorite scraps for them.  For the red one I added some nice lace to it, that’s the one I’m using.  The covers wrap around with Velcro, making them adjustable for various sized cups.  Also, they are tapered on one end to fit through handles.  They are actually kind of fun to make, maybe I should make some to put in my shop.  For now there should be no more problems with mix ups around here.

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Two down, eight to go.  The next should be up by Wednesday, but I may have something amusing tomorrow or Monday. 

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Not For Mailing

Needle cases are wonderful things, especially for those of us who seem to “collect” hand sewing needles.

I thought it would be nice to have a cute new one to use for class and I found the cutest tutorial for this letter needle book.  Who could resist?  It was really easy to make with a few scraps of fabric and fast too.  Just under an hour to do. 

The only problem is that I was out of snaps and Velcro so I used a hook and eye.  Not quite as effective for a closure.  I mean it stays closed and is easy to open up, but it’s a pain to get it shut again.  Definitely go with Velcro on this project.  Still, I love how adorable it is, and it matches that envelope pouch I made a while ago (see Crafty All-Nighter, scroll down).

Here’s the updated list:

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

One down, nine to go.  The next one should be up by Friday at the latest. 

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Up to 18

It’s been hectic around here lately.  I started classes this week.  So it seems like all I’ve been doing lately is running here and there finding classrooms, getting supplies, downloading required materials, dealing with homework, etc.  But I think I have everything under control, at least now I do.  And of course I said I would probably have to make a few more things for school and I definitely do.  I needed an extra class so I signed up for a basic sewing class.  I know, I have been sewing for how many years and I’m taking a basic class?  I thought it would be a good idea, a way to brush up on the skills I haven’t perfected (zippers, button holes, ironing, taking my time, etc.)  It’s also a good excuse to go fabric shopping and such, it’s “school” supplies.  So anyway, here’s my latest list.

Project List #18

• Needle case
• Mug cozy
• Pants
• Hair accessories
• Brooches
• Necklace
• Other jewelry
• Food
• Top
• Skirt

Given my current schedule and all, I should have this all done before the end of July.

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