I love hardware stores! I like all the little doodads and tools and whatnots you never knew existed. So here is my homage to the humble hardware store, a wrapped washer.

Materials

For this pendant you need the following materials:

• 18 gage copper wire
• 3/4″ washer
• wire cutters
• round nose pliers
• chain nose pliers
• ruler

Instructions

1. Cut four pieces of 5 3/4″ long wire and two pieces of 4″ long wire. Use a soft cloth to straighten the wire.

 



2. Bundle three of the longer wires together and wrap the one remaining longer wire four times around the center of the bundle.



3. Wrap each shorter wire three times about a 3/4″ to the left and the right of the bundle’s center wrap.



4. Here’s the tricky part: center the washer on top of the center wrap and fit the wire bundle against the washer.
5. Then secure the washer as follows: use the round nose pliers and place them in between the bottom center and the side wraps. Coax one strand of wire out of the bundle and pull it toward the center to form a sort of cage that will prevent the washer from falling out. Repeat on the other side and the back of the pendant. You should have two pulled-out strands on the front and two on the back of the pendant.



6. Okay, don’t be intimidated by this picture! You’re almost there. Now on the top of the pendant, from the left and the right side, take a center wire from the bundle and tightly twist one wire around the other three times. Snip off the end of the wrapping wire only, not the stem wire.
7. With the remaining stem wire shape a wrapped loop. Use the chain nose pliers to form a 90 degree angle right above the wrapped stem.



Insert the tip of the round nose pliers in the bend, bring the wire over the top of the pliers, and shape a loop. Reposition the pliers to form a complete loop and wrap the wire around the bottom of the pliers. Using the chain nose pliers, hold the loop with your dominant hand and wrap the wire around the stem covering the end of the previously snipped off wire. (If you’re hopelessly lost, refer to Wigjig’s wrapped loop instructions.)



8. To finish off the remaining wires, use the round nose pliers and make a small loop with one of the wire ends. Continue shaping a spiral around the loop. Once the spiral is complete, press it against the center of the washer using the chain nose pliers. Repeat this with the other wires. Use your imagination to create shapes other than spirals.

Instead of a pendant you could also fashion some earrings. Here is the pair I completed for my 99 Earrings project.

This really cute towel screamed Apron to me and it was so easy to make!

This towel set came folded in thirds so I used the pleats to narrow this towel to better fit as an apron. I made a 2″ overlap from the pleat on the right and left and pinned the neck strap within the pleats. Then sewed across the top, securing the neck straps. Next I measured 15″ down from the top and sewed down the pleats. This left it to flair like a skirt a little at the bottom.

I tucked the ric rac ends under on the back side and sewed down the middle of the ric rac on the front. This would be such an easy way to make any color combination to match any kitchen.

I used grosgrain ribbon for the waist ties. I burned the ends slightly so that they wouldn’t fray and just sewed on the back side along the edge seam higher than where the sewn pleat ended. Super quick and easy!

This apron can be found at my shop in black and red.

When I was in elementary school my mother would extend the life of my jeans with a piece of jacquard trim. As an eight-year old I hated it, but now in the age of craft and retro design what could be cooler than a personalized pair of pants.

So, when my daughter began to outgrow her much loved khakis I began my hunt for some trim. Luckily our local notions store had a stack of it. I decided on three different kinds and bought a yard of each. The trim should be at least two inches wide to get a noticeable extension of length. To ensure my daughter’s buy-in, she decided which trim would go with which pants and we were on our way.

To attach the trim, you measure the perimeter of the leg bottoms and add two inches to that number. In my case the perimeter measured 13 6/8″ plus 2″ equals 15 6/8″. Cut two pieces of trim to this length.

To clean up the cut edges, fold over a half inch at each end and zigzag stitch across the width of the trim.

Then attach the trim along the line of the bottom leg hem allowing for an inch of overlap at the inner leg seam.

Once you’ve come full circle, sew together the overlapping ends of the trim.

Finish with a few stitches across the bottom of the trim overlap.

Should you have some leftover trim as we did, you can fashion a stylish and quick headband by attaching 1 inch wide braided elastic to each end of the trim.

I can’t believe how expensive decorative pillows are to buy!! We recently moved and I want to change some of my old pillows with new colors so I headed to my favorite aisle for inspiration- the clearance aisle at TJMaxx.

I found a single king-sized sham to make a cover for my old couch pillow. I like using shams because they are already lined, thick, and since they are quilted already have style to them. I also like to be able to take the pillow cover off and wash it since we snack alot on our couch. The sham was so long that I could fold it in half and perfectly surround my old pillow.

To make your own:
1. Fit pillow (or make one desired size) and measure how far in to make the seams. I made a mark all the way down with chalk. I liked the striped fabric the inside was lined with and the scalloped edges, so I decided to sew the seams on the right and left on the right side of the pillow sham, stopping a few inches from the top. This left a slight flap so I could see the reverse lining. (do not sew on the wrong sides as I marked to do here!)

2. Sew down chalk line on top (right side) of sham, or on reverse side if you want to turn it inside out (like making a normal pillowcase).

3. Measuring down on the inside along the top I used adhesive strips of velcro every few inches to attach at the top. Even though this doesn’t need to be opened every day I am going to now sew a line down the middle of the velcro because it hasn’t stuck as well as I’d hoped.

I liked that this was $5 update and the recycling of my old pillow!

. . . a.k.a. Stencils

I bought a set of these stencils for a beach bag project and have gotten quite a bit of use out of them. Two years ago, we rented a beach house with two other families. In anticipation of the toys that would soon be all over the rental, I wrote each child’s name on a tote bag using the stencils and fabric markers hoping that it would make it easier to organize their stuff.

The organizational aspect of that project was a total failure, but the kids were excited about seeing their name “in print.”

Recently, I used the stencils for a treasure box a la Amy Karol for a special girl’s birthday present.

The letters are cut out of scrapbook paper, glued onto the box, and covered with several layers of varnish.

And here, finally a work-in-progress. When I visited my parents in Hamburg last summer, I saw all these army surplus canvas bags with lettering at different craft markets.

With my handy-dandy stencil set I traced a certain little girl’s name on fusible web, ironed it on some scrap fabric and fused the letters onto the bag. Now they just need some blanket stitching and other decorations and Elizabeth’s handful of Pokemons will have a fashionable and comfortable mode of transportation to Grandmother’s house.

After many years of sifting through the old lady coats at Goodwill I finally found a good match for me! Unfortunately it came with some stains and hideous gold nugget buttons. But both were an easy fix! Dry cleaning help to freshen it up and I chose some buttons that were silver and had faux pearls on them so it still had an vintage feel. The tie in the back had come unsewn but after 15 minutes of mending I had a great winter coat!

Before:

After:

$7.50 for coat, $3 on buttons, and $5 on drycleaning = $15.50! Not bad!
Send a pic if you have a great update to share!

Okay, I understand, enough with the holiday theme already. However, as the year draws to a close and you are contemplating the pretty cards on your mantle, consider saving them for one of these projects:

A Ball

All Free Crafts.com has a tutorial on making a ball shaped ornament out of a card. This is a fun little project that turned out better than I had expected.

A Box

Julie Bolduc has instructions for a hexagon shaped lidded box. I actually didn’t receive enough suitable cards to make this box (16), but it looks like a cool project that you could make out of a variety of papers.

A Book

In July, Jennifer shared a guest posting on making a mini journal. You could follow her instructions and create a similar journal using a holiday card as a cover. The book could be left blank, you could turn it into an Advent journal with a little thought or activity for each day, or you could make a special address book for next year’s holiday cards.

A Luminary

Kawaii Crafter made these pretty luminaries out of Christmas Cards. I think the picture says it all. They are the perfect thing for dreary days during the next three months, at least in the Northeast.

Other Cool Ideas

Jenny Harada made a funky star. It looks like you’ll need about 10 cards for this project.

And here is Diane Gilleland’s popular greeting card gift box as featured on her blog CraftyPod

I hope this is some inspiration to Reuse before you Recycle. Maybe you can make a little something before 2008 begins.

From all of us at Crafty Daisies: Happy New Year!

For those of you parents who are thinking of this last minute (and I’m assuming that you are if you are reading this on Oct. 30!) I have a few ideas that are quick and also cheap! Mostly made from clothes my son already had or stuff found around the house and best of all not wasteful!

Here are just a few on my favorite model:

First, using overalls, bandana, kids’ cowboy hat, and a party favor badge- the Cowboy!

Repeating with the overalls and bandana, a train bucket and whistle, and striped hat and jacket (that I got second hand for $1!) - the Train engineer!

Camo pants, vest, fisherman hat, toy fishing pole that came with a puzzle, a small camo backpack of mine, and I cut fish out of felt and strung through twine - the Lucky Sportsman!

Why not borrow from another holiday? Green sweatpants, a red shirt inside out with felt cut out collar (also good on green for Kermit), a red gift bag or stocking for candy, green shoes, and a dollar store elf hat (which I would pin smaller) - the Cutest Little Elf!

Or try getting use out of that suit bought just for a wedding or Easter - carry a Bible and go as a Preacher, put on a campaign button and be a Politician, a bow tie, beard, and book as a Professor, a little suitcase as a salesman!

I saw a few other inspiring ideas on the Today show last week like a:
Train Conductor costume - a dark 3-piece suit with a pocket watch chain and piece of gold braiding glued on a hat with toy train in hand.
Cheerleader or Football player - with mop heads for pom pons and colorful electrical tape for uniform stripes and numbers.

Remember it just needs to be fun, cute, and easy for the child to wear. I like to dress my child up as something he can be when he grows up since he wants to copy his dad so much anyway. I like cute and simple better than scary! So look through the kid’s dresser and pair things together you wouldn’t normally. It will be fun to dig together and get their imagination going too!

Any other ideas you want to share?

Don’t know what to do with those empty coffee canisters? Turn them into pumpkins! My mom used to do this and they make great fall decorations and you can fill them with just about anything, or give them to the kids to use for trick-or-treating. Even if you’re not a crafty person, this project is easy and quick and virtually fool-proof.

Supplies needed:

Empty metal cans
Two different shades of acrylic orange paint
Black acrylic paint
Pencil
Sponge or sponge brush
Small paint brush or small sponge
Paper plate
nail and hammer, or electric drill and bit
Craft wire or a wire coat hangar

1) You’ll first peel the packaging off the can, and wash with soapy water to remove any residue; dry completely.

2) Drill two holes (or use the nail and hammer) about an inch below the rim on opposite sides of each other to place the handle. Be careful handling the can afterwards - the holes will be sharp on the inside, so you may want to file them down a bit.

3) Take the darker color orange paint and pour a little into the paper plate, then sponge the paint over the outer surface of the can. You can brush it on first if you like and them dab it to create texture. Let the paint dry completely.

4) Take the lighter color orange paint, pour a little into the paper place, and then using the sponge dab it into both colors and sponge onto the can, creating more texture and a more saturated color. Let the paint dry completely.

5) Using your pencil, draw on the eyes, nose, and mouth, using whatever template you already have or whatever’s in your minds eye. Then fill in with the black paint (in the same manner - sponging it on or dabbing it with a paint brush). You may need to do two coats so no orange shoes through.

6) The final step is attaching your handle. If you have a wire coat hangar around you may certainly use this, but you must also have pliers or a big, strong man to help twist the wire. Since I had a coat hangar, I decided to use one, but using craft wire may be the easiest to work with. You’ll stick one end through one of the holes, and twist it at the sides to keep it in the hole. Then you’ll do it from the other side.

To protect yourself from being poked by the sharp ends, you may want to sand them down a smidge. Then place on a mantle or table and voila! A pumpkin coffee canister that can hold cookies, candies, potpourri or even your art supplies.

This was one of those projects I put off for 2 years and only took one day to complete: recovering the cushions on our dining room chairs.
Here is one of the chairs previously, with large, off-white cushions, spotted with circles and stains and one year old handprints.

I bought a remnant piece of fabric without measuring the piece or the chair cushions (impulse buy!) but I liked the fabric a lot and it was only $6 for the whole piece. When I got home I saw that it was about 3″ too narrow to work! So I bought brown lining fabric and sewed a 2″ strip onto the right and left sides. This gave me just enough width to fit these very large seats. I bought brown rather than white lining so just in case it showed on the sides it wouldn’t stick out too much. The hardest part was just wrapping the corners and getting it stapled down smoothly. An electric staple gun is a necessity to get the fabric snug with the cushion.

My living, dining, and kitchen are all in one long row in my house so I wanted to choose a fabric that was a little formal and also brought the colors of all these rooms together. What I liked best about this striped fabric was that it had a gold stripe that complements my yellow dining and living room walls, a brown and rust color that match my kitchen, and a little blue and green too to match the living room furniture. I am much happier with what seem like new chairs to me!