DIY No Sew Fingerless Gloves In 2 Snips!

Wow! Where has the time gone?


Thanks Vic for the sweet comment on my last post.  That was so kind of you to take the time to comment and see if I'm ok.  :o)   


I'm ok... actually I'm great.  Just super busy.  A promotion at work, finishing up my masters in June, and my Etsy shop has been busy and it's satisfied my creative outlet lately.


I have been super chilly in the evenings lately... Can you believe that it's been in the low 30's in So Cal?? Tomorrow night they are forecasting 30! Brrrr!!!   It's been so cold that today I browsed around on Etsy for fingerless gloves and I found some inspiration on the recycled listings. 


Fingerless gloves are awesome because they don't slow me down.  I can still bake, work on homework, type, do laundry and wrap Christmas gifts all while having warm hands!  Yay!


Here's how I made my own DIY fingerless gloves in 2 snips...


I made these with toe socks I had sitting around.  I think the concept of toe socks is great, but I found that my toes get really cold in them.  My 10 lil piggies like keeping warm by staying close to each other. :o)


# 1 Snip the toes off.  This part gets worn up by the elbow.
#2 Snip a straight line for your thumb to go through.

Annnnnddddd.... You're done!  It's that easy!

You can make these with sweater sleeves too.  I prefer socks because they are snugger on my hands and arms. 

Problems Loading Pictures on Etsy

first of all, sorry that i've been MIA.  i'm back in technology classes so that's where all my creativity has been taking place.  last term it was making videos.  this term it is building websites.  eek.  that's all i have to say about that.


i have an etsy shop and i've had problems with seeing certain images- specifically my banner when viewed on Safari.  i created the image in Photoshop and originally saved it as a jpeg.  i spoke to one of my professors about the problem and he said that i should save the image as gif or png.


here's how i changed the format:

How to fold a paper origami crane & support Japan

this is something that is near and dear to my heart.  

when my older sister was 21, she had a brain tumor removed.  the doctor gave her 1 year to live.  needless to say, i lost it right there in the waiting room.  long story short, she went through radiation and chemotherapy treatments, i prayed A LOT, and now she is 42 and doing great!

while she was going through treatments we received a package in the mail from Japan.  it contained 1000 paper cranes.  each one was hand folded by some dear friends of the family.  it was just beautiful.  please watch the video above to learn a little bit more about the history behind the paper crane and also to learn how to fold one.  :o)

if you fold one and would like to show support for Japan you can go to http://www.dosomething.org/news/join-us-make-paper-cranes-japan

How to tie a small bow

hi.  my name is nori and i am bow challenged.


i am known to breakout in a small sweat and panic over tying a bow.  and a tiny bow??? omgoodness.  no way jose.


i found a cheater way to tie perfect tiny bows every time.  now, i can't claim this as my own.  there are picture tutorials on how to do this.  that's how i learned.  but i can't tell you how many times i read over those tutorials.  i mean i literally read the instructions out loud to myself while i fumbled with my ribbon and it all came out in knots.


it's not their fault... it's totally me.  i'm a visual kinesthetic learner and i do much better by seeing it done and doing it myself.


so in case there's anyone else out there like me... i made a video on how to do it.
can i just tell you... i LOVE making videos!  my ed tech classes i'm taking are more fun than work.  so i hope you enjoy this little clip...

if you're having trouble watching it here, click HERE to watch in YouTube. 

DIY Flat Gift Bag & A Giveaway

hi all!

i hope that you all had a fantabulous thanksgiving!

i got a chance to hang out with my fam and had a wonderful time. :o)

here's another tutorial for y'all!  these flat gift bags are perfect for little trinkets, small journals, gift tags, etc.  i hope you like it! :o)

please let me know if you have any questions.  also, please scroll down to the bottom for more details and also for a GIVEAWAY! :o) 

my printer

CIS ink system

gift tag pdf

here's my giveaway... this set of gift bags & tags, and some other fun things... it'll be a surprise for the winner. :o)  i like surprises... don't you??

to enter:

all you have to do is leave a comment below

i will randomly choose a winner on december 5 at 11:00 pm pst

$5.00 or Less Gift Party

i'm so excited to share my $5.00 or less gift. 

i'm making these gifts for my co-workers.  a monogrammed mug and homemade marshmallows.

i picked up the mug at the Dollar Store and i bought the etching cream half off at Michael's. 

i cut out the N and the frame on contact paper with my Big Shot.  if you don't have a Big Shot, i think you could easily trace the letters or frames on to contact paper or and cut out with an exacto knife. 

i positioned the N and frame on the mug and made sure to smooth all the edges down so that the etching cream didn't seep under. 

i covered the N and frame with the etching cream and was careful to stay in the lines.  as i made more of these mugs i found the more etching cream i used, the better the results.  so use more than i did in this picture.  :o)  i let the etching cream sit for 5 minutes.

i followed the directions on the label... rinsed the cream off...

took off the contact paper and... voila!

i'm so in LOVE with etching cream now!  i want to etch everything now!

and then i made homemade marshmallows (recipe below), a christmas tag... and i love how it looks put together.  :o)

here is another idea for a $5.00 or less gift...

a double-sided coffee cozy!  the directions for this gift is HERE.

scroll down to add your $5.00 or less gift.

Homemade Marshmallows

2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

confectioners sugar for dusting

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment.

Let it stand for 30 minutes.

Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup of water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. 

Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals. 

Clip on candy thermometer; raise heat to high. 

Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees (firm ball stage).

Immediately remove pan from heat. 

With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin.

Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes.

Add vanilla; beat to incorporate. 

Generously dust an 8x12 inch glass baking pan with confectioner's sugar.

Reusable Produce Bags- Tutorial

dear eco-conscious friends,

whenever i took a trip to the grocery store, i always cringed when i reached for the plastic bag in the produce section. i always had an image in my mind of that bag ending up in the ocean and some poor fish or bird eating it, mistaking it for food. 

i started using reusable produce bags last year and i LOVE them. they have helped me cut down on so much waste.  and a bonus... at Henry's or Whole Foods, they sometimes give me 5 cents off for EACH bag i use!  now i don't feel guilty about buying produce anymore.

this past Christmas, i made produce bags for my family.  a friend of mine wanted to buy a couple for her friends, so this past weekend while i made them for her, i took a few pictures of the process so i could post a tutorial for you. :o)

the goal is to make the bags so that they'll last a loooooong time, so i make them 2-ply. when i cut the mesh, i keep it folded and I cut with the fold on the bottom.  to save a lot of headache and frustration make sure to incorporate the fold or else the mesh will slip all around.  ok... i'm totally not a professional sewer, so i'm sorry if i'm not making any sense... let's move on to the pictures, shall we?  maybe it'll make more sense. :o)

these are the measurements for the bags:

small: 10.5 inches x 15.5 inches

medium: 14.5 inches x 19.5 inches

large: 16.5 inches x 23 inches

1. cut out all the pieces of mesh.  i usually make 2 of each size.

2. fold and pin 1.5 inches of mesh on the LONG side.

3. adjust the tension on the sewing machine higher- i adjust mine to 5.  sew two straight (or in my case, straight-ish) lines about an inch apart.  backstitch at the beginning and end points.

4. fold the mesh in half inside out and pin. the loose part on the side you just sewed should face out.

5. sew all along the 2 pinned edges.  don't worry if it's not perfectly straight, i'll show you how to remedy a crooked stitch in the next step.

6. to even out the edges, trim along the sides you just sewed.

see how nicely that cleans it up? :o)

7. turn the bag inside out and make 4 little cuts on both sides of the bag where the pins on my bag are. make sure to cut between the sewn lines. don't cut the lines.

8. attach a safety pin to a piece of ribbon and thread it through the slits at the top of the bag.

when you threaded all the way through, tie the ribbon in a knot.

9. repeat the same thing on the other side.

here's a little tip: use a different color ribbon or mesh for the different sizes you make.  this will save you some time and frustration of finding the right size bag when you're at the grocery store. 

10. pull on both ribbons and do the happy dance when you see the cute little produce bag you made!

think of all the sea creatures you just saved. :o)

have a fabulous week!

nori

i'm linking up to made it monday and diy day.

p.s. please take 3 minutes to check out this excellent video on plastics and marine life

Stretching A Tight Canvas - with a video tutorial

dear crafty friends, 

i'm sorry that i haven't been around lately... life has been a little busy with work and organizing my home.  today i managed to do a quick transformation... I took a $2 picture of a butterfly and turned it into a place to keep and display my flower pins. it's amazing how doing something crafty is so re-energizing!

while i was doing the transformation i shot a video on how to stretch a canvas so tight and even that you can actually bounce a quarter off of it.  i can't bounce a quarter off of anything else, so why not a canvas?? ;o)

here's what i started with:

i loved the natural look of the wood!  i decided to keep it that way but had a difficult time deciding on the backdrop to use.

muslin?

 or burlap?

i decided on burlap because i liked the color and texture contrast.  i cut it bigger than the frame so that i'd have something to grab on to. at first i tried using my electric staple gun, but it was so powerful it started to break little bits of my frame.  so i went old school and grabbed my manual stapler.

when i was an art minor, we used to stretch our own canvases and this is how we did it to ensure that it was both tight and even.

- lay the canvas down on the backside of the frame

- put a staple in the midpoint of each of the sides

- start from the midpoint and work your way out pulling and stapling as you go (see video)

 

once you've worked your way all around your frame, trim the excess fabric/canvas. 

and here's the finished product!

thanks for checking out my tutorial... have a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend everyone!!!!

nori

Tutorial: NO SEW Fabric Flowers

 

these no sew fabric flowers are deliciously beautiful and SO easy to make! grab your glue gun and here we go...

what you'll need:

- glue gun

- iron

- heavy starch

- no fray spray

- fabric

spray your fabric with heavy starch and iron.

cut out 3 different sizes of petals, lay out on a piece of paper and spray with no fray spray. this stuff is STINKY and potent.  make sure you spray it in a well ventilated area and wear a painters mask if possible. 

now you can go get a snack, dream up of all the different colors you can make this in, and let the petals dry.

the combination of the heavy starch and no fray spray make the petals really stiff and fun to work with. take a petal and fold over on the bottom. 

 place a small dot of hot glue on the folded part of the petal. 

wait for a couple of seconds before folding the petal over so you don't burn your fingers. one dot of glue is enough to hold both sides of the folds together. 

 i like to vary the depth of the folds to give the flower more dimension. see the difference in these two petals?

 use an unfolded petal as the base and start hot gluing the smallest petals on.

overlap your petals a little and continue gluing them on in a circular fashion.  it only takes one little drop of hot glue to keep them on. 

it takes about 5 small petals to create the center part. look at how cute!!!

trim away the excess base. 

 take your mid-sized petal and place it staggered behind the small petal. don't glue it yet.

hold the petal in place and flip it over. then place a small dot of glue at the base and hold the petal down. i might be a little OCD... i just liked doing it this way because it ensured that my petal would be just where i wanted it.

continue gluing the mid-sized petals on in a circular fashion. it takes approximately 8 mid-sized petals.  then glue on the largest petals... it takes approximately 8 as well.

for the center, cut a circle out of one of your petals or just use one of your extra small petals and fold twice. 

 place a small dot of glue on the bottom corner. 

 press it down off-center in the inside part of your flower.

it takes about 4 of these folded circles to fill up the center. 

here it is all finished!!! what a cutie you are!!!

i just realized... i made this flower smaller.  i just used 5 small petals, 8 mid-sized petals, and 4 small folded circles to make it. 

i can stop making these beauties!

i need to either give some away or start selling them! my house is going to be overtaken.  i can only wear so many on my clothes and in my hair...

i'm feeling giddy seeing these beauties all around me. 

SO I'M GOING TO GIVE ONE AWAY! :O)

this one...

**Giveaway Closed**
if you'd like to win this little treasure:

- leave a comment (if you don't have a blogger account, please make sure to leave your contact information)

- follow my blog for another entry (leave a separate comment about it)

**giveaway open until 10:00 p.m. PST March 14th**
**Giveaway Closed**

i hope you enjoyed the tutorial and happy flower making!!
have a blessed week!!!

nori

i'm linking to SNS, Make Your Monday, Just Something I Whipped Up, It's So Very Creative, DIY Day, Make It Yours, and Polka Dot Creations.