Here’s another craft standard that we’re using for Valentine’s Day. After seeing these polymer clay hearts that I linked to yesterday, I found this project. So we decided to make these little salt dough hearts for my five-year-old’s class.

Though I think it would have been adorable to make them shaped like candies and it would have made a useful gift to add a magnet, I questioned the wisdom of giving small children something shaped like candy, particularly with a magnet attached. Then my husband proved how delicious these hearts look when he actually attempted to eat one, thinking they were cookies. (Take note, April Fool’s Day pranksters). See, don’t they look delicious?

We used a small heart-shaped cookie cutter and this standard salt dough recipe: 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup warm water, 1 cup flour. My five-year-old enjoyed rolling out the dough and cutting the hearts. Then we poked large holes for the string, baked them at 250 for around two hours (until hard all the way through), painted with acrylic paints and dusted them with glitter while the paint was still wet. Easy!

We’re planning ahead for Valentine’s Day. Since it was a gloomy weekend, the kids and I made some melted heart crayons for my first-grader’s Valentine’s Day cards. If you haven’t ever tried this project, it’s simple with great results and is a nice way to recycle broken crayons. We followed the directions from Marie at Make and Takes. The only advice I have is that the brighter colors look much better, so hide the browns, blacks and dark blues from your kids. I also used a knife on one batch to cut the crayons into even smaller bits, which I think worked well.

I made two versions of this card. One can be used without the crayon in the center, and the other has an open middle to attach the crayon. We used foam adhesive tape to attach the hearts to the cards. Simply click on an image below to download the .pdf file, print it out on card stock and cut. We also used a corner punch to create rounded corners.

My daughter is going to send the crayons with her own drawing below, which we scanned in and will print out. That way she can decorate them as much as she likes, but if she gets tired of it, they are still done. I’ve got another idea for my five-year-old’s valentines because she really requires that everything be covered in glitter. The teachers will love that.

I took some old ribbon scraps and made a sleeve for a glass jar. This is a quick and easy project, a good way to use your embroidered ribbon scraps, and a free project if you’re using an old glass jar or tin can. You could also make smaller versions with votive holders or a larger version with a wide vase. Just be sure that the sides of the jar are straight (not tapered).

Simply cut pieces of ribbon approximately 1″ longer than the circumference of the jar and sew each ribbon right sides facing with barely any seam allowance until you have one large rectangular shaped piece. Press after each additional ribbon is sewn. Fold the piece over and sew right sides together with a 1/2″ seam allowance, forming a sleeve. Easy! I planted a primrose in this jar, but put some rocks in the bottom for drainage. I’m sure to kill it, but then I can use the jar for fresh flowers or as a pencil holder.

Ten minutes. Really. This is sort of a variation on the elf skittles that I posted about last week. But even easier. I think these would make cute additions to gifts for family, friends or teachers. The kids can help make these if you skip the glue gun and use regular school glue. You  could sign them on the back and add the year.  You could use even smaller wooden balls to make teeny tiny Santas. Or you can take it a step further and make a little body with chenille stems, a larger ball for the belly and beads for the arms and legs.

Supplies:

• wooden ball (1 1/2″ diameter)
• red and white felt scraps
• black acrylic paint
• white chenille stem (cut to 2″)
• twine
• glue gun

1. Cut out the hat and beard from felt according to this template.
2. Bend the end of your chenille stem and cut to 2″.
3. Insert the chenille stem in the top of the hat felt and sew, right sides together, using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance. Turn right sides out and poke out the tip with a blunt tool.
4. Place a couple of drops of glue on the inside rim of the hat and fit onto the wooden ball. Glue the beard on as well, just meeting the hat at the corners.
5. Draw eyes with a pencil and then paint them on with black acrylic paint.
6. Loop twine through the chenille stem and tie in a knot. Trim off the ends and put a tiny drop of glue to hold the knot in place just at the chenille stem. All done!

If you make this project or anything else from the Make it Monday series, be sure to post a photo in the Make it Monday Flickr group.

Well, maybe I can make all of our holiday decorations from two thrifted sweaters.  Here’s a quick tutorial for a felted sweater stocking.  I never can seem to find any good striped sweaters at the thrift store, so I thought I’d make my own.  I have a sneaking suspicion that Betz White has visited every thrift store in the land and is hoarding all the cool sweaters in her closet.

This makes a 12″ long stocking, but you could increase or decrease the pattern to suit your needs.  Print the template here.

1. First, you’ll need 100% wool sweaters, washed and dried.
2. I cut my sweaters into 1 1/2″ strips (the width of my yard stick).  I used about 15 strips in all.  I sewed them with a straight stitch right sides together until I had a somewhat rectangular striped piece.
3. I then cut the pattern front from this piece, adding 1/2″ around the outside for the seam allowance.  I cut the back from a solid color (with a band at the top).  Be sure to cut the front and back in mirror image.  I then inserted a quick loop and sewed it all together.

This wouldn’t be a sewing blog without a picture of a cat, would it?  Here’s the the best cat in the world with her new stocking.  Seriously, this cat comes when you call her and she would meow at my door when the girls were babies and cried at night.  She was the only family member who didn’t have a stocking yet.  I will not be making one for the fish.

I just made another set of placemats and napkins for my younger daughter to use at her Montessori school. She is starting to have lunch at school and on her way to becoming an “afternoon child”, so she’ll stay in the afternoons and do some more serious learning. This is a big step for her!

Anyway, since I made some more of these, I thought I’d share again. This is such a simple project and a great one for beginners. You can use the same instructions for adult-sized placemats and napkins as well. I think it would also be nice to sew in some ribbon or twill tape to tie the placemat into a roll.  And these are reversible! This time I made my version a bit larger from the original instructions, which really make some pint-sized linens. I used 16″x16″ uncut dimensions for the napkins and 12″x16″ uncut dimensions for the placemats. This turned out to be just the right size. You can find the instructions here from my post last year.

I made the placemats pictured above with some cute kokka fabrics (deer and pandas) with a gingham and a stripe on the reverse side.

I made this dress-up crown as part of a birthday gift for a very sweet three-year-old girl.  I’m also going to make her one of these capes to go with it.  With Halloween coming up, I thought a quick how-to for the crown might be useful.  It’s reversible too.  This fits both of my young kids, but you might want to measure to be sure.

The dotted fabric is Sunspots from the Love collection by Amy Butler.  And the hot pink is an Echino solid from Etsuko Furuya.

Supplies:

• Fabric (approximately 7″x26″ or a quarter yard of each fabric)
• Heavyweight fusible interfacing (7″x26″)
• Velcro (3″ length of 1″ wide velcro)
• Thread
• Wooden beads (optional–for older children)

Step 1: Cut fabric and interfacing according to template (be sure to add the extra 2″ which will form the tab).  Iron the interfacing onto one piece of your fabric.  If you are using very lightweight fabrics, you might want to use interfacing on both fabric pieces.

Step 2:  Using a zig-zag stitch,  sew one side of 3″ velcro to the right tab of the front of one crown piece.  Leave about 1/2″ from all edges for the seam allowance.  Repeat with the other piece of velcro, also sewing the velcro onto the right tab of the front of the fabric.

Step 3: With right sides together, sew around the sides and peaks of the crown.

Step 4: Turn right sides out and press the peaks of the crown as you pull the fabric to make neat corners.  Press under the bottom seam by 1/4″ and sew in place.  I used a decorative stitch.

Step 5 (optional): Sew beads onto tips of the crown, pulling your knots through to the inside.

Attach your sewing pins to your body and you’re pretty much guaranteed not to misplace them.

I’ve had pincushions on the brain after this post, so today I made a handy wrist pincushion.  Simple to sew, it’s made from one fabric scrap, some filling and velcro.  Easy!  The measurements should be correct for an average sized woman’s wrist, but you can measure your own wrist and make necessary adjustments.  The pincushion in the center takes up 3″ of space, so be sure to account for that.  I thought about adding a cardboard piece to keep you from poking your arm with pins, but decided to leave that out as I found that I didn’t have any problems.  But use caution!

Instructions are below.  And if you make one of these, we’d love to see it!  Add your photo to the Make it Monday Flickr pool here.

Today we made this caddy to hold the ever-growing supply of kid’s art materials.  Made from clothesline and recycled tin cans, it’s an easy and inexpensive solution.  You could use this caddy to hold various art supplies like we did here, or you could put it in the center of the table to keep utensils handy.  And I’m sure you could think of other uses.  We used four cans, but you could use more or less for your project.  You could also add a braided rope handle.  Here’s what you’ll need for the project:

• cans
• pliers
• clothesline (I bought mine at a fabric store, but I think you could pick this up at a hardware or even the grocery store.  The plain cotton kind is best if you can find it.  A package of clothesline should make it through several projects.  I’ve been using mine for little backpacks like this one.)
• glue gun and glue sticks
• scissors
• masking tape

1. Wash out four tin cans.  Flatten any protruding metal with the pliers.
2. Using the glue gun, put some glue toward the bottom of the cans to hold them together, two at a time.  Allow the glue to harden.
3. Wrap masking tape around one end of your clothesline.
4. Using the glue gun, glue the end of the clotheslin in place at the bottom of one of the cans (not the underside).
5. Wrap around the cans, pulling the clothesline as you go.  Add a bead of glue when you get back to your starting point and continue to wrap it around, pushing down to keep the clothesline together.  Continue until you get to the top.
6. Leave a tail 2″ long.  Wrap the tail end with masking tape, add some hot glue and tuck it in between the cans so that it sticks in place (see photo below).

If you make one of these, add your photo to the Make it Monday Flickr group here.

Here’s a tutorial for this little house pouch.  Quick and easy to make.  It’s lined and you can add a velcro or magnetic closure.  Tuck some colored pencils and paper inside for a child’s art pouch, or put it in your bag to carry odds and ends.  You could even add a strap and make it into a sweet child’s purse.  This one’s been taken over by my six-year-old who is calling it a wallet.  Kind of big for that, but okay.  Oh, and the printed fabrics came from here and here.

Click here for the template and instructions.  If you make one of these, be sure to share a picture in our Make it Monday Flickr group here.

A very cool way to make a flip doll with legs from We Wilsons (link via Luv in the Mommyhood).

And over at Meet me at Mike’s, Pip has posted some great links: 25 Adorable Amigurumi Critters to Crochet and25 Super Cute Totes to Make (that’s my kid’s artwork tote pictured).

Print this handy Pocket Stitch Book from Cassi of The Crafty Crow for Sew, Mama, Sew.

Make this Table Runner from Betz White for Craft.

Pincushion from A Stitch in Dye (link via Whip Up).  And look, she has a new book available for pre-order.

Find some sandwich inspiration for your kid’s lunchbox from Funky Lunch (link via Craft Gossip).

Log Cabin washcloths from The Purl Bee.

Make it Do shows you how she made these school bags (she used my squirrel appliqué design that you can find here).

This one’s for those of you with an embroidery machine.  I designed these happy little apples last year, but never got around to sewing them out.  Just stumbled across the file this morning and thought I’d share.  The design is 4.8″x3.1″ with a quick and easy stitch count of 1460.  I’m attaching it here in several formats.  I think it would be sweet on a little tee, a tote bag, or my drawstring backpack from last week.  Happy Sewing!

happy-apples-pes

happy-apples-hus

happy-apples-dst

Oh, and I have to mention that this design is for personal use only.  Please don’t sell stuff made from this without my permission.  Thanks!