More Bows and headbands

My 11 year old daughter was invited to a birthday party tomorrow.  She wanted to take a headband.  She chose the ribbon and also put together another hair decoration - a flower and button combo.

I think they turned out pretty cute!  My daughter said she'd love to wear them. :)

Ruffled Tote. It's DONE!

I saw a cute ruffled tote on pinterest.  It looked a little complicated for my simple skills, but I pinned it anyway.  I kept looking at it and wondering if I could actually DO it. 

I decided to give it a try using just supplies I had on hand - then if it didn't turn out, I'm not out anything. :)  I had an old canvas tote with a picture of a gray wolf on the front and wording on the back.  Not that I don't like gray wolves or anything, but it wasn't my favorite bag to carry around.   I had a hard time coming up with fabric for the ruffles.  I didn't have a lot of choices in the type of fabric I needed (now if it used FLANNEL - a whole different story!  I have plenty of that. ).  My daughter Audra helped me decide which fabrics would go together and I really love the combination.

I have to say I was so intimidated I just let the material and bag sit in the craft room a few days before I got up the courage to start cutting.  Once I got started, it probably took me 3 hours to finish the bag.  If I did it again I could do it in much less. 

The tutorial I followed from pinterest is HERE...  I love how she does ruffles.  Easy!  That's not how I learned to ruffle. :)  My hope it posting my project is that you'll figure if *I* can do it, so can you!

Here's my bag before:

And after:

Un-Paper Towels

Browsing Pinterest I found a tutorial for Un-Paper Towels. You can find the tutorial HERE.  I had a stray white towel and some flannel left from a blanket I made a couple of years ago so I thought I'd give this a try.   We use paper towels minimally anyway, but these look so much more cheery than an old t-shirt or worn out towel.  AND they fit on the counter nicely.

I opted not to do the snaps so I could roll them on a paper towel holder.  Seemed like more work that it was worth AND I could utilize ALL of my white towel by making different sizes.  I made 6 of these handy towels.  I can see I will need more.  I think for the next batch I'll use a darker towel and flannel to use for spills that will stain.  I don't see these white ones staying beautiful very long. :) 

I will still keep paper towels on hand for the REALLY yucky jobs... but these un-paper towels are much more absorbent, prettier, and better for both the environment and my budget. 

Family Home Evening Chart

Here's my version of a Family Home Evening Chart using items already on hand.  An old clipboard is spiffied up with craft paper, ribbon, and decorated clothes pins.  This will help us remember who's turn it is to do what every Monday night!

I didn't spend any "new" money on this project.  The name plates are covered with pieces of plastic cut from a 2-liter soda bottle...  Already had everything else on had left from other projects.  I'm pretty pleased with it... especially considering it has taken me nearly 15 years to get around to actually making a chart.  lol

Bow for Dani

My friend Dani wanted  pink bow.  She picked out the ribbon by herself.  :) 

Kindness Kritter Board

Our family decided to take turns doing kindnesses for each other this upcoming year.  I made the Kindness Kritter Strikes Again board to help us with that.

When a kindness is done for someone in the family.... Kritter is moved to that persons name.  Then that person is responsible for doing a kindness for someone else.   Fun!

I didn't want to buy anything.  Challenging. :)   I decided to use an old, worn-out children's book for the base.  I hot glued it together, covered it with paper and ribbon.  I used a 5x7 piece of metal we've had around for a couple of years (intended for a different project & never used) in the center.  Kritter is made from yarn, a stray pair of Mr. Potato Head eyes, and some shaped sports buttons leftover from a different project last fall.  He has a bottle cap & magnet glued to his back so he can move from name to name.

I think it turned out pretty cute considering my crafting skills!

New Bows for New Outfits!

JC Penney had an amazing clearance sale this weekend.  70% off is just too good to pass up!  My girls, 9 & 11 both got a few new shirts and pants.  I've just started playing around with bow making.  My daughter-in-law Brianna showed me a little of what to do, and then turned me loose to play on my own. lol   The girls have been having fun with more bows to choose from, so I decided to make bows to go with each of their new shirts.

Here are tonight's results...

Crafting? Me?

Honestly....   I haven't a crafty or creative bone in my body.  BUT  I'm not too bad at looking at something and figuring out a way to do my own thing with it. 

This blog is just to document my projects and progress as I learn and practice fun new things! 

No instructions or tutorials just yet...  maybe if I get good at something or a project turns out amazing (snicker) I'll let you know how I did it.  Otherwise - maybe just seeing my efforts will help you realize you can do that - but even better!  ;)