Sara In Akko

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.

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.

  
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 am not the mother who bribes her children (normally).

Really. My kids aren't looking at the candy at the check-out line to take home with us, they know it won't happen. But if they behave very nicely for the entire time in the market, they are allowed to reorganize the misplaced packs of gum.

So why is it that this week, a week with no birthdays or holidays, I'm trying to craft little gifts to get them through the days?

One has a mysterious returning (but otherwise symptom-free) fever and the other a spastic cough with an asthma diagnosis trailing behind. With MD visits, x-rays, blood tests and long inhaler sessions, my 4 year old's child-sized patience is waning (the penguin is our nebulizer friend, he's sort of a frienemy).

So what can I do to make the littles in my home feel better?


Ten minutes of playing with scrap organza and some shredded black chintz turn very unhappy child above into super happy child bellow.

The first coin purse I remade at the beginning of this week wasn't really ugly to start with. It was plain and lacked personality, but as far as things go to hold your change not terrible.

Today's remake is from fairly awful beginnings in its former life as a cigarette pouch. I was unaware such a thing existed. But when I picked it up to see if I couldn't tear it apart for the hardware, I was told by an enthusiastic shopkeep that this was the best thing to hold my smokes in, there's even a side pouch for the lighter. Rockin!



But I'm no smoker. This thing had to be re-crafted into something beautiful to be rescued from it's dull dollar store life,  to be given a new start in it's non-toxic life for the new year. But this time with a visual tutorial, hurrah!



Re-crafting an Ugly Metal Framed Coin Purse to Become Something Beautiful

Materials:
Scraps of fabric large enough to get two cuts of your purse shape. One fabric for outside and one for lining (if you're into lining your purse).
One ugly "Cigarette Purse" or any other cheap metal clasp purse you fancy deconstructing.
Basics: Needle, thread, pencil paper, fabric glue and pliers

Time estimate for 1 complete coin purse: not more than 1 hour (and I hand stitch).

Step 2). Sketch out a rough shape that you like. I enjoy life without actual patterns, if it makes you nervous to think of all that design freedom, Google some images you'll find tons of coin purse shapes.


Step 5). There is an exceptional tutorial at the Purl Bee that will teach you how to finish the clasp of your purse (and also tempt you to buy $50 worth of a coin purse kit with Liberty of London fabric). Go to the tutorial, it is concise and fairly self-explanatory.

I've come to notice that in the US, coins have been nearly eradicated. Here in Israel (Europe as well) our coins are worth actual money. I can easily pay for the bus, a cab, a carton of milk or even leave a tip at a restaurant all in coins.

On a recent visit to Chicago I made a purchase for $4.67. I handed the clerk a $5 bill as well as the $.67 in change to get back a single $1 bill. The man looked positively befuddled. I thought I was making his job easier. I've learned that nobody would throw and handful of coins at their barista's tip jar, I was told by people in the know that anything not a bill is rude. I doubt any cashier would have the patience to count  a handful of coins to pay for a latte.  I even saw a home clean-up show where the family found a small fortune in forgotten change behind furniture and in the couch cushions, enough money to open a checking account for their college bound teen.

So I just have to wonder, doesn't anybody know that these coins are still worth money? Maybe in these difficult economic times people have started holding on to their nickles and dimes.