Have you ever thought of making a journal with a wooden cover? I hadn’t until I stumbled across this on Pinterest….from ThriftDiving.com….
….it kept coming back to my mind that this is my woodworking skill level. I really should try this!
I’m really happy with how it turned out. Rather than wood burning like Serena did. I hand painted a daisy on mine.
You will need:
- 1/4 inch birch plywood
- drill and 5/16″ drill bit
- fine sandpaper
- stain and rag
- craft paint – yellow, white, brown
- clear coat varnish and brush
- binder clips
- computer paper
- 3 hole punch
The thin birch plywood comes as a large piece that needs to be cut down. I don’t have a table saw-so I had the wood cut for me at Home Depot.
Each cover needs to be approximately 9″ x 11″. So do the math and try to get the most out of your wood board. Each book needs a front and a back cover. I was able to get 6 pieces from mine to make up 3 books and there is enough left over to make at least one more.
I stained the board and then drilled the holes. Next time I would drill the holes first and then stain the wood.
The cuts may cause some fraying of the thin birch veneer, don’t panic! Sand the rough parts smooth-the stain will also hide flaws. I used my favorite color Jacobean from MinWax.
Using a rag, rub the stain into both sides of the boards. It’s quite a dark stain so I don’t use much and start light and work at slowly going darker. Allow the stain to dry overnight.
As I mentioned above, it would be sensible to drill the holes before staining. Doing it afterwards can mean you’ll do some touch ups with stain afterward.
Use a page with holes as a template. Mark the hole with a pencil first.
Place a scrap board under the journal cover before drilling. The journal cover will be damaged if you drill without scrap wood underneath…do don’t skip this step.
For the second piece of birch you could set it right on top and drill through both book covers to make sure they are matched up perfectly.
Put in the binder rings and see how it fits. Everything fits perfectly. So take the top cover back off and prepare to personalize and decorate the cover.
Using inexpensive craft acrylic paint, I painted the daisy on in white. Then I added some highlights with tan and yellow paints.
I used this exact same daisy idea on long boards for ways to use up scrap wood. I’ll include the link at the bottom of this post.
The last step is to turn the paintbrush upside down and dip it into the paint. I added rows of dots all around the edge of the daisy’s centre and some random ones in the middle.
Again allow to fully dry.
Put a coat of clear polyurethane for extra durability. Allow to fully dry overnight.
You can use lined paper or computer paper and punch the holes in it yourself. I like blank pages if you are going to give it as a gift. It looks like a sketchbook and how great would it be to sketch with a book with a wooden cover!
Thanks for reading this post! I hope you will share it or save it on Pinterest. See below for more easy woodworking ideas.
Patchwork Leggings DIY
Upcycle Patchwork Leggings!
Have you got old clothes you’d like to add to your new clothes. Well might I suggest making patchwork leggings by mixing patterns together. I’ll show you how!
Here is a stack of hand me downs. The grey piece is an adult sweater top and the red and white polk a dot is also a waffle top. I added both of these so that it gave it a bit of texture. The other patterns are all leggings worn a few years ago by my eldest waiting for her little sister to grow in to them.
Change of plans – I’m chopping them up for parts!
I laid out the new black leggings which is going to be the base piece. Eventually I will cut it off below the knees – But not yet!
First I used it as a sizing guide. The legs will need to follow the same tapered pattered. The sleeve from the grey shirt was the most narrow so it became the lowest on the leg. It was already hemmed so that saved me hemming it at the end. The red polka-dot shirt I had used a wide piece from the front. That also needed a side seem to make it a tube like the others.
I only wanted below the knee to have patchwork because kids playing on the floor will find seems on the knees irritating if not painful.
Starting from the bottom of the pantleg, pin the first two pieces – with right sides together.
Turn inside out. Next. with right sides together again, pin on the third piece to the second one. Stich this seam.
Leggings tend to have one seam on the inside of the leg so make sure they all line up.
Turn it right side out.
On this pair of legging I sewed 4 pieces on each leg. Then I cut one of the legs off the black pants and pin and sew the 4 patches of the lower leg to complete the pants.
Remember that right sides go together. For some reason I kept sewing it on wrong and then removing it and doing wrong again. Doh!
With one leg completed do the next leg. Make sure they are the same length when completed.
After a while of me taking photos of her while she read she let me know what she thought of that….
I love how one eye is peeking at me.
Okay I think she has had enough…so I found her sister…
For her leggings I didn’t have them matching with similar patches on both legs. She has a long one and a short one on her right pant leg and smaller patches on her left leg. She was delighted when I pulled this out on Thursday night because Friday was pajama day at school and her pj’s were not for public viewing.
On super cold days these would make great long-johns or pants under snow-pants.
There you have it two girls in upcycled original pants. There is enough scraps left over to make more pants…or to make co-ordinating sleeves on tops.
Thanks for reading another one of my posts. I’ll link some of my other upcycles too.
T-Shirt Refashion – Add details from baby clothes to jazz up plain clothes!
…
Make a Huge Black Infinity Scarf!
Make an Awesome, Huge, Black Infinity Scarf for $10 in 10 minutes!
I love scarves and I am almost always wearing black. So I was inspired to make a big, black infinity scarf from a photo I found on Pinterest. Unfortunately, I can’t find the original source.
They have done some fancy stitching on this scarf. That is a bit advanced for us. We are just going to make a really wide and long scarf for a similar effect.
https://www.stilechtonline.de/index.php?cPath=2
I want to give credit to the right folks if I include their photo….so correct me if I’m wrong. It appears to have come from a European website called…. www.stilechtonline.de, from a clothing line called Rundholz Black Label. Possibly from the Winter of 2014. I don’t understand it but I think the website language is German. They make very original styles of clothing and a lot of BLACK.
This inspired me to make a big black infinity scarf for myself. It turns out infinity scarves are super easy and take very little sewing.
You will need:
- black jersey stretch fabric (60×70 inches or 152x178cm)
- sewing machine
- pins
Fabric
Find jersey stretch fabric 60 inches wide (150cm) and have measured 70 inches (180 cm). I found my thin jersey fabric on a clearance shelf at my fabric store for $5 per meter. So this project cost around $10. It’s usually recommended to prewash the fabric.
Open the fabric up. Fold the side of the fabric that is 70 inches long in half.
Pin the ends together and sew down the seam. This is all the sewing that you need to do. If you don’t have a sewing machine you could hand sew it with a needle and black thread.
Fold the fabric in half again, sliding the top portion inside to make a tube. I chose not to sew up the bottom the way a lot of infinity scarves are. This makes it so you can adjust the shape of the scarf. I like to pull it over my shoulders a bit.
So for the cost of 2 yards or less than 2 meters of fabric you have an awesome, huge infinity scarf.
How to Make an Easy Infinity Scarf with Zipper Hidden Pocket
Easy to Make Fleece Hat with Flowers – Simple Sewing Project
Twisted Wire Art – Love Heart SunCatchers
I have been excitedly pinning all sorts of “Wire Art Crafts” on Pinterest – But for some reason I’ve been nervous to get started….until now! This is my first attempt and I hope there will be many more to come! So let me show you how I made a beaded suncatcher!
You will need:
- wire (14 and 20 gauge wire)
- wire cutters
- wire plyers
- beads
- a cutting board or other desktop protection
- ribbon
I recommend a cutting board because I don’t want you to scratch up your dining room table or kitchen counter or any other surface you craft on. Wire projects can leave sharp ends-which can do some damage.
For wire: I bought 14 and 20 gauge galvanized stainless steel. This is much cheaper at the hardware store than the craft store.
Cut a length of 20 gauge wire approx. 27 inches long (69cm). Use big wire cutters from your DIY tool box rather than jewelry making plyers. 20 gauge wire is thick!
Bend it in half so the heart shape begins to form the point in the top middle of the heart.
Gently manipulate the wire (with your hands not tools) to make the shape of a heart. Bring the bottoms together and twist.
Keep twisting the bottom and rounding the ends.
Fast forward to see how the amber one turned out….
For the blue suncatcher I formed the wire into a heart and wrapped the excess on the side.
This is actually really hard on your hand muscles. Take breaks if you are getting achy muscles in your arms or hands. I think this looks a bit sloppy so I prefer the first option.
Now cut a piece of fine 14 gauge wire 30-40 inches long (90cm).
Start by twisting the fine wire around the side of the heart a few times and then wrap the wire around a round pen to make a loop. Slide the bead onto the wire and then make another loop around a pen. Have this loop face opposite direction.
Continue wrapping the wire to make a loop and then bead it and next loop in the opposite direction. Wrap it around the side a few times and repeat making loops and adding beads, zig zagging over the heart. You may need up 3 yards (2.5 m) of wire for this part. This takes a bit of time.
When I finished this one off, I just wrapped the excess wire around the bottom of the suncatcher.
For the blue one I added a drop bead on the bottom. Cut a piece of 14 gauge wire 3 inches long. Twist the end around to anchor a few beads on. Wrap this at the end bottom of the heart.
This is a great project for someone who doesn’t follow patterns well and likes to free style (Like Moi). It’s a random, twisting, original piece of wire art.
Finish the project by putting a bit of ribbon (or clear fishing line) through the top and tying it in a bow. Hang in your window!
I’m pretty pleased with my first attempts at wire art. I am eager to try it again soon!
Upcycle Jeans into Wine Gift Bags!
Repurpose Jean Pant Legs Into Wine Bags!
Want to bring an original hostess gift to a casual dinner party? Dress up your wine bottle with a pair of old blue jeans!
This will get your mind inspired for other upcycling and gift wrapping ideas too!
You will need:
- Blue jeans you don’t mind cutting up (child’s size would be ideal)
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- Ribbon/String/Twine
- Burlap for bow or something else you can add to embellish
As long as the jeans are freshly washed it doesn’t matter if there is fraying on the cuff. We want the bottom of the jeans to be at the top so it can add character.
The pant leg opening should be around 6 inches (15cm) wide. So skinny jeans or children’s jeans are perfect. I picked up 4 pairs of kids jeans from my goodwill for around $3 each. I will be making more blog posts out of the scraps and pockets too. Save any decent leftovers when you are done.
If your jeans are adult size, no problem you can trim the pant leg width and make a seam.
Cut the pant leg approximately 15 inches (or 38 cm). This will give you a bit extra for the seam on an average 13 inch bottle.
Turn the pant leg inside out and pin closed.
Sew straight across the bottom 1/2 inch or 1 cm from the edge. You could hand sew this if you don’t have a sewing machine.
Now flatten the bottom of the bag and pin 1 inch (2.5 cms) from each corner. This will make your bag more boxy at the bottom and easier to stand up. Stitch across this line.
Cut off the triangles on the outside of your last stitch. Turn it right side out again.
See what I mean? Boxy on the bottom to help it stand up.
Now decide how you would like to decorate it. Put the bottle of wine in the bag and tie a ribbon or piece of twine.
If you like the felt pink flower in the photo on the left have a look at my cup cozy project link at the bottom of this post. http://mybrightideasblog.com/easy-to-make-felt-coffee-cup-cozy/
I also went a bit nuts with hot glue gun and pompoms in the photo on the right. Maybe you should save that for friends with a great sense of humour. Your accountant friends might think its a bit ridiculous! (no offence to the accountants)
This bow is so easy to make and versatile for other project too!
I hope this has inspired you to dazzle up a hostess gift of wine!
….
Easy to Make Fleece Hat with Flowers – Simple Sewing Project
Pebble Art – A Girl and her Dog
I have been wanting to make pebble art for months but I’ve been nervous to get started. How silly is that? It’s just rocks glued to a board for heavens sake?! Well today I finally went for my first of many (hopefully) attempts to make pebble art.
You will need:
- a wood board
- sand paper
- paint or stain
- rag
- rubber gloves
- pebbles
- industrial glue or hot glue gun
- twine
- jute rope
- red craft paint and red glitter paint
Start by preparing the board. Use sand paper to smooth out rough edges. It doesn’t have to be perfect just make sure the rough corners are smooth.
Apply stain, wearing gloves, use a rag to wipe stain onto the wood. In this project I used my favorite. Minwax “Jacobean”. I waited 12 hours for this to dry.
Next, lay out your stones to create your artwork. I broke a little piece of drift wood to become her legs. Rummaging through my treasured pebble collection I found a funny shaped rock for her foot.
This piece of jute rope was a perfect scrap so I unravelled it to make hair for her.
I used industrial strength glue “E6000”. It’s so much stronger than a hot glue gun. But it is stinky and dries slowly. Use in a well ventilated area.
Did you crack a window?
I needed to put some other pebbles on and around the hair to hold it down while the glue dried.
I tied a knot in a piece of twine and made it into the dog leash. At the bottom of the wood I glued a piece of jute rope to make a path for my girl and her dog to walk on. The ends were then tucked around the sides and glued down. (Okay, I confess, for this one part of the project I used the glue gun) I also added tiny dots for the dog’s eyes with a sharpie.
Notice how I just tucked the end of the twine in between the two pebbles to have her holding the leash.
I like the natural colors on this so far, so I found it hard to decide if I should leave it natural….or add a splash of colour.
Here I tried out a natural big round stone for the sun or moon.
I love this red heart shaped stone that I had previously painted with red craft paint and a sparkly top coat. You could also use nail polish. Since I wanted to make this a gift for my daughter who loves her pooches I think this is a nice touch.
For this one I put in some yellow pebbles for the sun. Nothing is permanent until you glue it on, so you can tinker around with your design while you try out different options.
I loved making this and plan to make a lot more. It becomes a mixed medium art piece. It’s really exciting to try something new and see it turn out great! Since every stone is different it will be impossible to make a duplicate. This is a one of a kind gift idea!!
…..
Make a Twig Photo Frame Gift
My hubby and I took this picture the day we bought a car together. We had been married a few years by then. It was before kids and a mortgage and grey hair and bags under the eyes. We were so young and dewy. Sigh….
Well that’s nostalgic for days gone by…simpler times. But now we have a home and family and dogs…with our 18th anniversary only a few weeks away we are putting this photo into a home-made twig picture frame.
I have 2 or 3 more twig plans before the winter hits. I love twig crafts because they are natural, rustic and free! I have a slew of shrubs and trees that are needing trimming or after a windy night have left twigs all over the lawn so I have an endless amount of free craft supplies within a few steps of our front or back door.
You will need:
- straight sticks/twigs
- gardening snips
- hot glue gun
- inexpensive photo frame
- brown paint
- paint brush
- ribbon/lace/burlap ribbon
- moss
Start by painting the frame with dark brown craft paint. The frame and paint is from my local dollar store, add on the cost of 8 glue sticks and this might cost around $4 dollars….more if you add moss and a burlap bow. This would be a great snow day craft for your older kids (my girls are 8 and 11 and can use a hot glue gun without hurting themselves).
Choose branches that are relatively straight. Snip off the little twiggy parts sticking out. Trim your sticks down to the size just past your frame edge. They don’t have to be exactly the same length-the variation is what makes it rustic. I also didn’t use branches from the same shrubs so the color and texture of the twigs are different.
Using your hot glue gun, begin securing twigs to the frame. Start with the long ones on the top and bottom of the frame.
Add smaller twigs to the vertical part of the frame that is bare. Save the skinny twigs until the end to fill in gaps.
I liked the frame as it was with just twigs…so you might want to stop the project there. But when I added moss to my birdhouse project a few months ago. I really loved it.
The moss I used on the birdhouse is my favorite but I seem to have run out of it. The one I used on this project is a bit duller. But it looks very natural.
I added some hot glue and pushed the moss into the grooves. It was a bit tricky and my hot glue gun also ended up with rustic coat of moss stuck to it. After the project was done and the glue gun cooled I was able to peel off the mess.
Next I made a few bows out of burlap. This one I just folded a small square of burlap into thirds and used a long thin scrap of the burlap to make a tie in the middle. I had some scraps of ribbons and lace and inserted them under the tie.
You could try out some different bows and where you would place them on the frame.
This big bow reminded me of some hair clips I wore as a kid. Maybe if the photo we chose to put in the frame was of children or the dogs….but not over top of hubby’s head. I decided to stick with the previous bow but I didn’t hot glue it on in case I want to replace it later. Using a straight pin, I poked it into the twigs but you could get creative with a straightened paper clip or twist tie or pipe cleaner. Maybe in the spring I will pull off the bow and attach a butterfly or flowers. I’m leaving my options open.
I almost forgot to say that to hang it I cut a piece of jute rope 12 inches long and hot glued the ends to the frame.
Happy Anniversary to my Hubby!
xoxo
Have a look at the other twig projects below. See you again soon!
…
Make a Super Easy Poncho!
This has got to be the easiest poncho plans ever! Using fleece or another stretch fabric means that you don’t need to hem it. So all it takes is one simple seam and you have a gorgeous poncho you will love to wear!
You will need:
- t-shirt, sweatshirt or fleece fabric 25 inches wide by 70 inches long (64 cms x 178 cms long)
- sewing machine
- 2 purchased tassels (I’ll get working on a DIY for making a tassel soon)
- needle and co-ordinating thread
Start by cutting your fabric to size. Cut it carefully to be completely straight. We aren’t planning to hem the fabric so take your time to make the cut as perfect as possible.
Then fold it in half.
With the fold on the left, measure 21 inches from the right edge of the fabric and pin it together along the top edge.
Leaving 14 inches for your neck hole, sew the remaining 21 inches. This is the one seam that you need to sew for this awesome poncho.
Now add on the tassels-by hand stitching them onto the bottom right corners. This is completely optional. If you don’t have purchased tassels you can skip it. I will make a post about making a tassel soon and link it to this post.
That is all there is to it! This poncho will look great with jeans and boots or dress it up for fancy occasions. If your office is chilly you could have one of these in your desk drawer. You should make a few!
Thanks for reading this post and I hope you will share it with your friends by social media or Pinterest.
Sew a Super Easy Fleece Poncho-Simple Starter Sewing Project
Easy Dog Coat from an Upcycled Sweater
Make your little dog an easy winter sweater by repurposing one of your own!
You know how you should never, ever wash a wool sweater in hot water or put it in the dryer? Well that is exactly what you need to do today to make a little dog a wool coat.
We have a little girl named Gemma who is a Yorkie/Poodle mix. This is the perfect size for her. She is 9 lbs and loves to share your toast. She gets chilled easily so she loves it when her momma makes her a new coat or sweater.
You will need:
- a wool sweater (or wool blend with at least 50% wool)
- scissors
- tape measure or ruler
Start by washing your wool sweater in hot water and machine dry it. This will shrink the wool and “felt” the stitches of the sweater so that it will not unravel when we cut it. You could wash and dry the sweater a few times to further shrink it.
Lay the sweater on a flat surface and cut the sleeve off at the shoulder seam.
Also cut off the cuff.
Lay the sleeve flat with the seam in the middle facing upwards. I cut 2 small leg holes 3 inches apart.
Cut the holes small because the sweater will stretch after a day or two of wearing it.
This photo shows a much bigger hole after Gemma wore it for 3 days. She gets cold with the weather changing so she sleeps in it at night too.
This photo shows her right after I made it. Her fur is very scruffy and adorable….but matted. So we took her to the groomer.
And here she is after grooming and smelling like cookie shampoo. She is so darling. The sweater size looks bigger because of her haircut and because of stretching. When we toss it into the washer and dryer it shrinks back to perfect size again.
That sweater had two arms, of course, so we can make a second one for her to wear on laundry day! Hurray!
Personalize Your Suitcase or Craft Bag with Paint
Today we personalized a boring black suitcase with craft and fabric paint! It turned out amazing.
If you have ever been to the airport you will know that the classic black suitcase is still the most popular. This makes it difficult to determine which suitcase is yours, there could be dozens of black suitcases on the carousel. If all you have on it, to identify your bag is your address, you are going to be there a while.
Let’s save you some time and make your bag stand out from the crowd and get you on your way.
Introducing the black suitcase. Zzzzz boring…. Zero personality. Why not turn it into something really special. Your own work of art.
If its your tween’s bag maybe its shouting for some glitter. I’ve even seen some funny messages painted on it like…”Going to Gramma’s, Where Life is Good!!” Sleep over at the grandparents house? or “Oh the places you’ll go” or “I love you to the moon and back” which I could totally see on a bag for a child going to camp. There are some really great ideas for vintage suitcases too.
You will need:
- multi-surface craft paint
- paint brushes
- fabric dimensional paint (optional for details)
- clear spray sealer (optional for extra protection)
I started with metallic paint from Deco-Art in Teal. Its just a multi-surface craft paint from the craft store. Treat your suitcase like a canvas and start with your base colours for your design.
After I finished painting a pocket with “Metallic Teal” I moved on to painting the side panels with “Metallic Amethyst” purple from Deco-Art. I did go back and do another coat of these colours as needed.
For the centre panel I used Deco-Art Silver Twinkles. The silver glitter paint really added some wow factor. Now my 8 year old would like it in her room to hold her stuffed animals.
The edge was done with Martha Stewart Glitter paint by itself.
The front pink areas were done with a mixture of Martha Stewart Glitter paint mixed with DecoArt Electric Pink.
I should mention that if you get paint on the plastic parts of the suitcase you can wait until it dries and scrape it off with a finger nail. Having a damp piece of paper towel handy is good idea too.
Now, it looks fabulous without going onto the next step. Already its a one of a kind suitcase that is unmistakably my own.
It’s at this point that you have to decide whether to keep going with embellishments or stop while your ahead.
I carried on with some Tulip Slick fabric paint. This was $9.99 at Hobby Lobby but I had a coupon. This package has black, white, green, red, blue and yellow. You can purchase individual colours if you don’t need 6. I wish I had some metallic colours on hand for this but I used what I had.
These fabric paint bottles are great for writing because of the fine tip. I like doing dots with them.
Should we stop with just white hearts or keep going? Decisions, decisions….
So of course, I kept going and filled in the hearts with more dot designs.
When you are finished, you may want to spray with a clear protective coat if you are going to using it a lot and its going to be tossed around in the airports.
The carry-on size suitcase would be perfect if you take your craft supplies with you to work with friends or classes.
I have seen where sewing pros have embroidered something onto fabric and then mod-podged the fabric onto their bags. Why not! If your using this for crafts you could put your name on it. But I wouldn’t write a name or phone number on it if you use it for travelling just for safety sake. Maybe a monogram though.
…
This goes to show you how you can make art out of anything.
Happy Crafting Friends! See you again soon!