goody-goody

DIY Scarf Round Up

                                      Image from How About Orange

If you're like me, then you love pulling out the giant rubbermaid filled to the brim with scarves for Fall. We have so many, I've lost count. It's like seeing old friends again! Now, truth be told, I"m not much of one for knitting or crochet. I've tried many many times, but I struggle to finish projects that can't be done in a few hours.

So I've put together pack of fun scarf tutorials that are yarn + needle-free. They are great for gift making, but I say treat yourself first. Let everyone ooh and ahh..and then decide who's worthy. Click on the pics to link to each project.

One of my all-time faves from the sew mama sew blog. I've made these longer to fit an adult. The hidden button feature is so cool!

From Dana Made It. She calls it a summer scarf, but I plan on making them in lightweight wovens for cooler weather, too. Sometimes you don't want a giant wool pashmina strangling you.

This one has the whole modern, cool hipster vibe going for it. And her tutorial is hilarious. Chevrons are IN, baby. Remember all that Missoni bruhaha chaos at Target? Egad.

Reversible! Yes, please! Not because I'm finicky about which pattern goes with my outfit. It's more likely I will spill salsa on one side and need to flip it over.

Have a plain scarf that just needs to be gussied up? Check out this little lovely using a freezer paper stencil and fabric paint.

No-sew scarf using t-shirts? That settles it. I'm going to the thrift store tomorrow. A little (gross) tip? Always sniff the pits before buying any used knits. Hey, that rhymes!

From Just Another Day in Paradise, this one literally sent me digging some sweaters out of the donation bag. It's all about the size of your pom-poms, people.

And, finally, Martha, Martha, Martha. Oops, I promised no yarn but this one uses super-bulky weight yarn. But we're only tying knots here, so I'm lettin' it slide.

That's a scarf for every day of the week + one. Woo-hoo! And if you need some new ways to tie your old scarves, watch this video. Pure awesomeness.

Giveaway winners!

Hey there! Happy Friday, everyone! I am pleased to announce the winners of my little pennant banner bunting bits. If you say that five times fast, it comes out sounding like peanut butter.

 
Commenters #2 and #10 are Bobbi M and knittingmette. Please send me your mailing addresses so I can get them on their way! Thank you so much to those who entered. I'll have more freebies soon (there's always little treasures hiding in the craft room!). I've got a new Fall-Friendly Round-Up on it's way! Check back soon.

In the meantime, I have to share this super easy and adorable puppet project from Mer Mag. I love the vintage feel of it. My kids are a little old for puppets but I think we'll bust out some dolls instead by adding some spindly arms + legs. Find the project instructions here.

A little something something...

The bad news is it's Monday. The good news is I have a little giveaway! I found these two mini pennant banners stashed in my bin from my craft show days. I'd love to share them with you! I have two--a yellow/brown and pink/green. It's a little portable celebration wherever you hang them. Just leave a comment below by the end of day Thursday and I will randomly pick two winners to receive them. Thank you for reading and have a great week!

Get Organized Roundup

 

We had our first bit of rain today. In our neck of the woods, that's pretty early. We're usually still sporting flip-flops and pit-stained t-shirts well into October. I panicked. I'm not ready! I'm not organized! For goodness sake, we still have swim goggles hanging on the kitchen doorknob. So I poked around on the internet (which is my solution to many things--don't do anything, just research what you should do) and found some pretty darn cute and clever ideas to get things in order. Just click on the pics, they should guide you to their source and project directions.

These are the first thing I lose around here. With such a cute key rack, I would happily hang 'em up!

photo courtesy of How About Orange

Yes, yes, yes! I practically did a happy dance when I saw this one. You never see peoples "stuff" on the designer blogs. Well, I have kids--and the school paper trail is painful. Such a cute sorter. Great directions, to boot.

photo courtesy of bright and blithe

I love the color combos on these cans. Although this is a Father's Day tute, I like the idea of having initials to divvy up everyone's loot.

from parents.com

Road trips do a number on our car. How perfectly subtle is this organizer? And to put it in or take it out, all you have to do is remove the head rest. Saweet.

from the mayfly.com website

Buckets are my friends. Lots and lots of buckets, please.

from vintagericrac

Has anybody seen my phone? Anybody? I like the idea of having a pen and pad at the ready, too. Brilliance strikes when you're least prepared, you know.

from the always wonderful design sponge

Thanks for stopping by!

Tutorial Wednesday: Let's Dance! Shoe Sachets

It's been ages since I've done a sewing tutorial on this ole blog, eh? Let's change that today! If you live in a house with anyone other than yourself you've probably come across some, uh, stink. Eminating from the closet. I am guilty of this, as well. Cute ladies' shoes aren't always breatheable..which means at the end of the day those dogs are barking. And kids? Well, soccer cleats, Crocs and Keens are the worst in my opinion.  So here's a littly ditty for those digits. Lavender-filled shoe sachets, laced together so you'll never lose one foot or the other.

I wanted the sachets to look like dance steps, so I created a pattern with silhouetted shoe prints. I hope you enjoy it. Now, let's rhumba!

Get It:

• print out the shoe pattern pdf here: Download Let's dance!
• Print and solid fabrics of your choice
• Trim, rickrack or ribbon 7" long
• needle and thread or sewing machine (preferred)

Do It:

Cut out all yer pieces. I used linen for my background fabric, but any solid will do. The pattern pieces can be customized for boy, girl or grown-up. To get a backside for your shoe, simply flip over your big background piece, trace and cut out of other print or solid fabrics. I used a little small scale check pattern on mine.

Pin and sew your applique pieces onto the background piece. I used a zig-zag (I'm lazy like that) but you could do a fancy pants freezer stencil if you like. It would be more polished. But then, they are going in shoes, ya know?

Place your shoe print on the backside, right sides together. Pin and sew around the edge, being careful not to come too close or it will pop out when you turn and stuff. Also, don't forget to leave an opening at the top to turn! (I speak from expletive-inducing experience here)
Turn and iron flat. Make a little funnel out of a scrap of cardstock or cardboard hanging around. Mine has french instructions on it. Aren't I fancy? Fill with lavender or a mixture of lavender and rice. Rice is absorbent, so that's a good thing for shoes. I order my lavender from here. Keep left-over lavender in a sealed bag or jar and away from sunlight--it will fade and lose its scent. I used a wooden skewer to help push in the filling if the funnel gets clogged.

Insert the end of your ribbon or tie and sew the opening closed. I admit it would look neater if I had done this by hand, but I was worried the tie-end wouldn't be secure enough. I have a feeling these may be swung about, nunchuck-style, by my kids.

This project is for fun, personal non-commercial use only. Please don't sell anything made from it, but do upload pictures of your creation to the goody-goody flickr group! Let me know if you have any questions! Happy sewing!

 

Tissue Cozy Round-Up

                                         photo courtesy of the adventures of blue girl xo

Hi! If you're like me, the beginning of Fall is full with crafty possibilities. Kids are back in school, yummy coffee drinks are out in force and you can actually stomach the idea of snuggling up with the sewing machine without your thighs sticking to the chair. I'm going to feature some great crafts for Fall here under the theme "Fall Friendly". Let's not refer to them as "gift-giving" ideas, because that adds all kinds of pressure and may incite a panic-attack. I like to circle the Holidays non-chalantly and then pounce when I'm good and ready. I don't need anyone telling me I'm already behind when I haven't even started yet. You, too? Happy we're on the same page.

School is synonomous with snotty noses and communicable disease. Learning seems to take a back seat when all I want to do is decontaminate them when they walk through the door. I love me some tissue cozies--they're portable, cute and make me feel like I'm doing something (without really knowing if they use them or not). With one in each backpack, desk and purse..I feel armed and ready. Here's some cutie ptootie tutorials out there (just click on the pictures and you'll be on your way!):

From The Adventures of Blue Girl xo, with a zipper!

A sweet felt-one, perfect for the hand-sewer or kid:

I love this sopisticated one:

These little red cuties would be perfect all year:

And you can never have enough sweet florals. Yum.

Happy Weekend, wherever you may be!

Reboot

I'm actually making some things I'd like to share. I know it's been forever, but I'm still here. Just dividing my time among too many things. But the call of the needle + thread is pretty powerful. To get it off with a bang, I ordered new biz cards from Vistaprint. I mean, who doesn't love a makeover?  I look forward to checking in here often. Thanks for hanging in there with me. See you soon.

-L

New Spring Wreath

Spring..which isn't quite here yet. But a gal can hope, even with freezing temps last night that sent us burrowing beneath our down comforters. I could have added so much more but tried to control myself. I used the tutorial at Take Heart and added a few other springy bits. Wrapping the wreath was the most time-consuming part because I repeatedly got the whole ball of yarn tangled into a nasty mess. Everything else was a breeze.

Shopping List:

skein of yarn {on sale} $2.50

floral berry spring {on sale} $.69

straw wreath base {on sale with coupon} $1.79

felt squares {4 @ 1.29} $5.16

already had glue gun + rick rack

TOTAL: $10.14

 

Geek dreams and lookie this!

Sometimes I dream of a girlie version of Tron where I get to leave my grubby, kid-clutter filled home and live...say, in Martha Stewart's website. Forced to spend my days in beautifully decorated spaces with crafty bits at my fingertips, tall brightly lit rooms, and artfully presented gourmet food.  No fingerprints or food crusties on everything. No Texas-sized boogers lying in wait on the bathroom floor (for real). I didn't recognize it as such accidentally picked it up with MY BARE HANDS.

I have never (until now) been a fan of these paper punches. Maybe because I tend to run screaming from things that remind me of my tacky scrapbooking days. But now that has changed. I want. all.

Please please please suck me into the Martha mainframe. And if there happen to be Light Cycles there, too, that would be awesome.

Photos and paper punch garland tutorial can be found here.

First Round of firsts

You may notice a little badge on my sidebar about trying new things. It's courtesy of Amy who is trying a LOT of new things these days. She's made some really courageous, inspiring decisions in order to push herself and embrace the fun (and fear!) that comes with stepping out of your comfort zone. My firsts are kind of lame compared to some, but we're challenging ourselves--and that's all that matters, eh?

1. Started a new project over on my painting blog. Giving away art!

2. Limiting my shopping to mostly necessities. I am a huuuuge impulse buyer. I am requiring myself to go home, think about it for a night and if I still think I need it, go back for it. (Most times, I decide it's not worth the hassle) This is new for me. My old motto was more like: buy it now and if I feel really guilty, take it back later. Guess what? I never took much back.

3. Brussel sprouts. Tried them again for the first time in decades...and hello! They're yummy and grown right here in California. What was I waiting for? I tried this recipe from Real Simple and next will be this one (above) with pancetta and balsamic which my sister-in-law recommended. Delish.

It's only three things, but it's a start. It's addictive, too! I'm already looking forward to all kinds of firsts I can experience this year... Yippee!

 Go visit Amy's site, grab the badge and start some firsts of your own. Whatcha waiting for?