Adventures in Ice Dyeing

I've been busy lately doing a lot of sewing.  I decided to open up my Facebook blog page to more of a business page. I'm making and selling more these days so that is the best way to keep up with me.

A couple months ago I purchased some adorable fabric from So Cheeky.

such a fun print

It's so lush and soft. I knew I wanted to make myself a shirt out of it.  Since I've made myself a couple bubble shirts recently I decided to do the same with this fabric.  This style of top is perfect for the hot Memphis summers (and to cover up my inability to lose the baby weight).

I always look like I want to smack my husband in photos 

I love the feel and fit of the top.  But with a toddler and a baby I didn't think that much white would work for me.  So I turned to my newest crafting obsession, ice dyeing. If you don't know about ice dyeing it's simple and fun. I find it less messy than tie dyeing.  It also takes up a lot less space while you are doing it.

I picked out a couple greens and a blue and got started. The only hard part is letting it sit for 24 hours.

 I pleated and then rolled the fabric. I haven't tried that particular fold before so I wanted to give it a try. Since the fabric was thick after 7 hours I flipped it and then dyed the other side. I wanted to make sure it went all the way through.
I'd normally leave the colors to set a bit longer but I decided I wanted the colors to be slightly more subdued than jewel toned so I rinsed it earlier than the 24 hours and did a hot wash with Synthrapol.


 Garrett decided he wanted to show off the t-shirt I made him yesterday.

Here is a better shot of how the colors came out.

I'm in love with the way this came out. I can't stop touching it because the fabric is so soft.  Glad I have another yard to use.

For more of what I'm sewing check out my Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/craftinghobbit

Trying our hand at lacto-fermented pickles

Hope our probiotic pickles are good. 3 more days of fermenting before we try them.

Make your own baker's twine

I remember going to the baker's as a child and watching them wrap the boxes in that red and white twine. Now there are so many different colors you can buy. But why buy when you can make?

I stumbled upon (literally) this great tutorial for making your own baker's twine. I already have a ton of Sharpies on hand so I went to Walmart to get a ruler (25 cents) and the crochet thread ($2.28).
If you get the thread at Michael's or Joann's using a coupon you could probably pay even less. I had masking tape but you could use almost any tape if you aren't planning to use the ruler for anything else.

I had the little cardboard winders on hand already. They are perfect for keeping the twine from getting tangled.

I can't wait to tie up Garrett's birthday gifts. It's so colorful and fun. You could even make multicolor twine.

Fun with Washi Tape

I can't help it. I've gotten caught up in the washi tape craze.  One look at pinterest and you can see all the cool things you can do with it.
I was bored the other night and decided to decorate the back of my tablet.  I want to redo it when I have some more time. But not bad for a first time.

The Luggage Project

For many years Ben has kept his magic cards in this old fashioned train case. He sold his cards but I wouldn't let him get rid of the case. 
It's a Relco brand, Joyce Lane style case from the 40s-50s. But it's in bad shape.

It's going to need a total overhaul. I don't have time to do it all at once so it will happen bit by bit (hopefully with updates).
Here's what I need to do:
Replace the mirror.
Reline the interior
Make a new snap on zipper pouch
Make new elastic strap
Paint and stencil the outside
replace the handle

Tea towels turned bread bags

I don't really have a ton of cute tea towels. For me they were functional for drying dishes. Now we've started baking our own crusty bread (really simple and delicious recipe) I need bread bags.
Plastic bags don't breathe and keep moisture in. Paper bags get tossed out. But linen, linen makes perfect bread bags.

So I gathered some of my tea towels and made simple drawstring bread bags.  I've saved so much cord and ribbon that I used what I had in my stash as drawstrings.

Step 1: Seam up the sides.  I used my serger for this. You can use a regular machine and sew up the sides or do french seams.

I really love my serger

Step 2: Fold the top down to make a casing for your drawstring.  Since the top of the towel already has a finished edge you don't need to have it doubled under.

Step 3: Insert string.

Step 4: Put the bread in the bag. Try not to eat it.

You may notice there is no bread in this bag. That's because we need to make more. These bags are so easy to make and great for gift giving instead of wrapping paper.

Business card holder

My amazing friend Laura made me this Sculptey creation today.
I love it and I'm excited to show it off.

Mini Pincushions

mini pincushions, a photo by teawithfrodo on Flickr.

Love making mini pincushions. So simple and adorable. great way to reuse all those plastic bottle caps.

Unpaper Towels

Everyone knows I love my cloth diapers.  We use cloth wipes, cloth napkins and cloth cleaning wipes. But what the hell is an unpaper towel?
We go through more paper towels than I'd like to admit and I wanted to find a better option. I found a simple tutorial and got working.

I chose to go with a darker terry so stains wouldn't show up easily. I also managed to get flannel on clearance at Joann's for $1.50 a yard. I also used my serger to sew them together instead of stitching, turning and top stitching.
Having them snapped on the roll is really convenient since I have limited counter space.
Now I just see the commercials for paper towels and laugh.  Even Ben thinks they are great and loves using them.  He can wipe down the counter and then leave the towel for wiping up again later.

I'm trying to get enough "growl towels" to make myself a dozen Memphis Grizzlies towels.


Don't forget to enter the Name My Serger Contest/Giveaway

Let's give 'em something to chalk about

I've always wanted to do a chalk wall.  Just one problem...we're in an apartment right now.  While I could paint the wall and then paint it back before we move I figure that is just too much work if it isn't going to be permanent.
I leave myself a ton of notes and love the dry erase board we have in the kitchen. But I needed something in my craft room for projects.  I told Ben I wanted to go to Tuesday Morning to look around. If you haven't been to a Tuesday Morning you should check it out. (No, I am not getting any compensation from them, I think it's a great store with some amazing deals)

I came across stick up chalk boards.

Great price

I couldn't decide between the cup and saucer or the teapot. So I got both.

It fits perfectly on the wall

Now I can write my projects on the chalk boards instead of on papers I keep throwing out.  And I promised that shelf is on straight.  I was just at a strange angle getting the shot.

Lovely lunch bag

oh how I love instagram!

Today Garrett started at Transformations. I'm excited about him getting extra therapy and I think it's a great transition to him starting school this fall. He'll be going twice a week for 4 hours each time, which means he'll be eating lunch there. I loved packing him a lunch today but hated using a brown paper bag.

You know me...that didn't last long. Once I knew he would be going I ordered some Insul-Fleece because I had found a simple lunch bag tutorial. However I hate buying laminated cotton.  It's really expensive and you can just make your own with iron on vinyl.
Now before anyone says anything about food safe I did check on this. It is food safe, they just recommend not using it for anything your child will chew on. 

So I laminated a couple pieces of fabric I got on clearance at Walmart. I really love making my own laminated cotton because I can choose any pattern I want without paying $20 a yard.



I have a snap press but you can always use velcro.  For the next bag I'll make sure I change out my thread and use something matching.  It's bigger than a plastic bag and I know it will keep things cool while we go from home to his classes (it gets hot here in the Mid-South).

And yes, I know the ships are upside down, they are right side up on the other side. The fabric was too cute to pass up and I did this one quickly so I had it for Friday.

Nightstand face lift

We don't have much bedroom furniture but we do have matching nightstands we got at Target several years ago.  They've served us well but I hate the dark color in the bedroom right now.

I found some remnant home decor fabric last year that was really cute. I had no idea what to do with it though.  A few months later I found the same fabric in another color...now I have it in pink and in blue.  I decided to do a his and hers nightstand makeover.

I've been planning to fix them up for a while and thought the blue and pink would be a fun touch.
This project doesn't require much and is great for a beginner.

Supplies:
Furniture to be painted
Paint (I love using a spray for this)
Fabric (I prefer home decor weight)
Adhesive (Mod Podge, spray adhesive, glue, whatever you prefer)
Q-tips (only if you are painting the drawers)
Sand paper
X-acto knife

There was certainly a bit of water damage on these

Take the drawers out, knobs off and sand paper any rough spots or edges. Any bumps are going to show when it is painted.

If you are painting the drawers:
Stick Q-tips in the knob holes and the ends of the knobs (if you are painting them). This will prevent paint from closing the holes up.  Since my fabric has some white and I didn't want the dark wood to show through I painted the drawer front. 

We did a couple coats to completely cover the dark wood

Spray paint your pieces.  I also spray painted the knobs so we didn't have to buy new ones.
Let the paint dry.

You can add the fabric to the drawers while the paint is still a little tacky.  Cut the fabric a little larger than the drawers. Apply your adhesive, I chose to apply it to my drawer and then put the fabric on.  You can cut off the extra fabric or fold it around the edges.  I chose to cut the fabric off and make sure it had plenty of adhesive so it wouldn't peel away.

Once everything is dry, poke through the knob hole and make a small hole in the fabric.
Put the knobs back on and the drawers back in.

It's an easy weekend project that adds some personality to your furniture.

I love our his and hers nightstands. They really brighten up the room.

Don't throw away those ripped pants

For some reason Ben wears through his clothes faster than our toddler. One of his pairs of khakis got a rip in the knee.
"They're not ripped, they're worn through."
"What exactly are you doing at work that you are wearing through the knees on your pants?"
*crickets*

He was going throw them out when it occurred to me that Ben doesn't have any shorts. I know he can't wear them to work but he'll want them for weekends since it will get pretty damned warm here in Memphis.

After a quick modification the pants are now shorts. I cut off the excess fabric and hemmed them.  Instead of tossing the excess fabric away I saved it for the next time he rips any of his khaki pants.
It only took a few minutes for me to do and it saved us from spending a lot more money.

Ben says he looks like he's going golfing

Please consider donating just a few dollars to help fund the FORCE Memphis Chapter.

Guest Post - DIY Sugar Scrub by @miriyap

Hello, I’m @miriyap on twitter and I’m here to help @teawithfrodo out by doing a guest blog post while she is spelunking the wilds of TN!  I’ve recently discovered the joy of DIY, from homemade laundry detergent to sewing my own cloth grocery tote bags for shopping (better than paper or plastic, right?).  Not only does it save money in these difficult economic times, but there is a certain sense of satisfaction to be derived in using something you made yourself (a least for me)!

Today I will be sharing an easy peasy DIY facial sugar scrub recipe with you.  The recipe is courtesy of @58andGrace (who runs a lovely etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/58andGrace) and she swears by it!  So here we go!

Easy Peasy DIY Sugar Scrub Recipe

Ingredients:

--1/3 cup of oil (extra virgin olive oil, or combine natural oils easily found in local health food stores to 1/3 cup)

In a mixing bowl, combine the following:

--1 cup light brown sugar
--1 cup dark brown sugar
--1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw (Cane Sugar)
--2 tbs vanilla extract 
--1 tbs cinnamon 
--1 tsp Pumpkin Spice

Pour in the oil.

Mix well and voila!

Done!  I divided the mix equally into half-pint canning jars, and you can decorate with your own label or tie a pretty ribbon around the jar (I didn’t beribbon my jars because I’m crap at tying bows).

They make great gifts!

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@miriyap is a freelance graphic designer who spends way too much time on twitter. She has a Hubby & two kids.  She loves to read, sew and shout filthy invectives at her friends.