Sara In Akko

I'm not sure what it is that compels me to make my kid's costume instead of buying them. It just goes against my DIY nature. Also, I'm fairly sure I never had a store bought costume in my lifetime.

So here's the princess dress made entirely out of T-shirts.

My personal key ring has just undergone some major work-related changes


My key ring used to be simple (really simple) but now  it looks like that big old set of janitor keys hanging around some dude's belt. Despite the fact that they are heavy and jingle and slow me down when I'm on the go, I actually do need a surprising amount of these keys on a constant basis now and am forced to find a way to hold them along with all the other junk I tote around at work.



The tutorials online abound for this sort of project but as I only have this hardware on hand the project looks something like this:

Find heavy scrap of fabric, sew tube inside out and turn to right side, top stitch into a hand-sized loop. Attach to key ring and top stitch to reinforce. Easily find your less hideous keyring in style.


The close observer may also notice that this is the same scrap of fabric which I used to make my pinch close coin purse that holds my daily travel fare. So now it's a matching set. Find the tutorial of the coin purse remake here.

Next office preparedness craft is a true essential for your desk or purse, not to be missed.

Even if you aren't a die-hard Martha fan, you're going to want to catch her and Joan Rivers crafting together. It's just that good!



Take a minute to process that; remake Marc Jacobs with felt and a glue gun?

I'm no fashionista, but as a sister to and mother of  2 girls with the fancy gene I can tell you that this is probably wrong. And yet, it's sooo right.This purse was made to be remade.

But I'm not entirely in love with the results of this craft session gone astray.


Step 1). If you have some spare pleather lying around in fanciful colors you can start by crafting yourself a basic clutch, any size and shape you like will work. I found this great turquoise purse for about $2. Cutting apart an old purse saves you the trouble of finding the zippers and other important purse parts.

If you're crafting your own clutch from scratch, skip to the bottom, otherwise stay with me.

*Tip: I mix paint when I've finished with one batch of hearts by adding the new paint to my original color. This keeps your hearts mostly within the same color family or tone so everything is well coordinated.

I have lamented before, but if you are new here you should know that my child is a "fancy" child. I'm learning to work with it.

After seeing a small strip of rainbow ribbon I'd been storing away in the stash, my 4 year old became wide eyed and full of delight.




Lo and behold, it was true. "Fancy Nancy, Every Day is Earth Day," features Nancy (or Mancy as she is known to us) with a rainbow headband. The kid already saw the supplies, how could her mother not agree to make one for her?


 Step 1). Draw a cloud shape and cut two from white felt.

Step 2). With white thread, stitch around the outside of your clouds.

Step 3). Draw interlocking hearts on one side of your clouds, break out the rainbow thread and start embroidering your pattern. Set aside for about 2 minutes to make headband.

Step 4). Measure your head to make sure it isn't much larger or smaller than my measurements. Press ends of ribbon about an inch (give or take) turning inward, *secure the elastic so that the final measurement of the headband will allow it to fit snugly on your head. Secure your embroidered cloud to side of headband.

*the elastic only peeks out a few inches at the bottom but should be strong enough to keep your hair back and the ribbon on your head.

You may not be aware, but Valentines day is actually totally foreign here in Israel. As a rule, you can usually count on most St. anything days being out. Some people might have a growing awareness that it's a big deal elsewhere, but culturally it just misses the mark.

Even though I grew up in the US distributing my handfuls of store bought, tear apart valentines with matching stickers, my children won't be receiving the same childhood memories. No classrooms decked out in cupids and hearts or the big sugary parties with the classroom moms. It's just not what goes on around here and I'm Ok with that.

BUT, there are so many great Valentines day crafts that have been circulating the blog world recently, I'm starting to get a creative itch for some projects that, although heart-based and adorable, but not overly Valentine-ish.

I've always loved simple softie making patterns, and this is a perfect one from LollyChops 
who created and shared this excellent pattern and step-by step tutorial about a year ago for a sweet Hedgehog named Hamie. Go check it out!

To get over my "heart ache" (sorry) my matching hedgies have bright colored hearts.



This is a great quick project and the outcome is so terribly cute, it's worth all of the tiny cutting to make the furry bits. Originally, all the tiny hearts were larger scraps so it was great to be able to plow through a bit of that left over to remake something adorable.

I'm a fan of plain muslin for dolls and softies, it's like a blank canvas for your imagination. Even if you're the biggest fan of February 14th, this hedgehog would rock any way you craft it up.

Our newly completed French Bakery hanging playset!

Complete with salivating poodle, ice cream soda, cupcakes, madelines, macaroons, croissants, Eifel Tower, and cherries galore.  And after nap-time there will be pictures galore of this set in action!

You may remember the doorway castle I made some time ago, it's the same principle. Take some heavy canvas and dive right in. This is a great project if you really want a fun interactive mural in your kid's room but rent or aren't sure you're that committed to French bakeries and poodles. Both is true in our case.

With a little impulse and crafty courage, you can take the plunge and finish the entire thing in a few short hours.

Not to worry, there's still a GIVEAWAY!
 
I seem to get more people looking over this remake of the Anthropologie Fresh Deliveries Clutch than any other post.




All you have to do is follow me, leave me a comment, let me know you're out there and you'll be entered to win today's giveaway.

Make sure to have a look at the rest of the French Bakery Playset and visit my other giveaways  this week for your chance to win other neat and crafty things.

  
This project has been a very long time in the making. Originally it was one of the gifts of a fourth birthday extravaganza that was scaled way down after a week long family emergency that kept the set from being completed. I even sat in the hospital with an injured toddler stitching felt food by nightlight but just couldn't make this deadline.

Months and months later, I think that my own birthday is the right time to give the littles in my house their play set. Lucky for them, the extra time of hiding in the craft room has expanded the set to include all sorts of neat extras.

Have a look!

I'm beginning to see the beauty of the many crafty blogers who scan the Anthropologie catalog for things to remake. First, the style is often simplistic and lovely. But then, there is the part that these simple snazzy accessories can cost a good chunk of your hard earned cash. Where's the fun in that?

So here is my latest inspiration, ripped from the (online) catalog. It's a purse, it's a garden, it's a work of wearable art. It's also $268... umm no, for many reasons not in this lifetime.



Let's see if I can't make this for under $5.



Start with my favorite (not quite) a dollar store clutch hardware (ripped from the infamous cigarette purse).

I happen to have a few spare yards of black chintz from an old project so I'll be making the basic clutch out of that.

While I would like to keep in the spirit of the garden that abounds, I actually don't love the pinked edges or these tones 100%. So I made an insane amount of fabric flowers from scrap chiffon.

The rest is in the art of assembly and color play.

Looks like I just saved my family $263. I'll be putting that in my birthday fund.

Actual time for this craft, 1 week of idle sick-time on the couch or possibly 1 hour for the bag and a few hours to cut and assemble all those flowers.

Bonus purse!



I was not in like with the colors of the first attempt, so I tried a few different combinations. You should too, it's fun.