Hand-Stamped Play Tent

This is an awful picture.  Let’s just acknowledge it and move on.  Christmas crafting carries on late into the night and alas, good lighting does not.

Anyway, I made a tent using the fabulous instructions over at Cakies whose tutorial has probably inspired hundred’s of adorabe A-frame tents.  She used a beautiful vintage sheet for her tent, but my tent was for a boy and most of the vintage sheets I’ve seen have been florals.

So I did what any sane person would have done in my situation.  I stole one of the white tab-top curtains from the family room and used it for my tent.

It worked beautifully!  It was a perfect fit and I didn’t need to hem a thing.  I slipped the poles into the two outer tabs and then cut off the the tabs in the middle.  Then I simply sewed two of the cut tabs onto the other side for the other two poles.

Voila!  A Tent with only 5 minutes of sewing!

I wanted to add a little something “extra” to the white fabric so I carved a simple triangle (simple meaning I fretted over the darn thing for 30 minutes trying to get it just right) and then used black paint to stamp the fabric in a random pattern.

I grouped the triangles in sets of 2s and 3s with a couple singles thrown in for balance.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m in love with the tent.  LOVE!

The kids love it too.  It’s been a definite hit with the 6 and under crowd in our house.

I definitely recommend giving it a go, especially if you use a curtain.  It was so, so, so easy and it kind of makes you feel like you are amazing.

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Leather Bow Clip

I made this sweet little clip from scraps from my recent bag endeavor.  It’s held together with hot glue and has an alligator clip on the back.

I kind of wanted to paint gold polka dots on it, but decided to leave it as is.

Super Bear

This is a little super hero bear for a super hero loving little boy.

I know I make little sock/glove animals a lot, but they are fun.

And cute.

The mask and cape are removable so that he can go incognito if necessary.

Dragon Tote

I made this dragon tote for a little boy’s 5th birthday.  I figured it could be a good tote to lug things to and from church.

Because nothing says “church” like a fire-breathing dragon.

Okay, maybe he can take it to the library.

I filled it with some things that would be good for church  the library like crayons, a notebook, candy, and this little fishing game.

The idea for the game came from a tutorial at Doodlecraft.  Mine didn’t turn out as cute as hers, but that’s okay.  I still like it.

Stars and Swaddles

I carved a star stamp today.  I’ve been wanting to try stamp carving and even had all the stuff, but I was scared to start.  I finally decided to give it a go with a simple star.

It was much easier than I thought.

I used the stamp to add interest to the plain white swaddling blanket I made our little baby boy.  I wanted the stars to be varied so I placed them randomly and then made sure some of them had less ink than others.  I like the effect.

Q-Tip Archery

Q-Tip bow and arrow set?  Why yes.

I made each of my boys a set.

I think they turned out adorable.

I hope they work.

Tutorial found at The Brooding Hen.

Halloween Hat-ette

I needed a costume that was quick and easy and cheap.

A hat-ette from Deliia Creates did the trick.

Especially paired with a pair of striped tights from Target that were most certainly NOT one-size fits all.

And some black clothes.