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.

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.

Bleach Pen Shirts

Have you seen these bleach pens?  They reside in the laundry aisle of Target/grocer/whatever.  They are in the $3 range.

You can use them to draw designs on t-shirts.  It’s pretty fun.

This green shirt was $2 at the thrift store.  (Maybe less, I can’t remember.)

Use the pen to draw a design (in this case quote) and let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Rinse with cool water (to get the bleach off) and then throw it in the washing machine.

The purple shirt was my second attempt and I like it better.

I only left the bleach on for 10 minutes so the lines are light but not white.

Which I like better than the stark white.

The shirt was a t-shirt of mine that had a stain on it.

I made sure to make my weird flowers cover the stain and now it’s fine.

I will be giving this another shot.

Wee Fairies and Folk

See, I’m still making stuff.  Promise.

I just haven’t been good at taking pictures.

Until today.

This little set of fairy folk is for a sweet little girl’s birthday.

I hope she likes it.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Teacher appreciation week kind of snuck up on me.

Which means I needed something simple.

Each teacher is getting a chocolate bar and a note tied with a ribbon.

The women teachers are getting a nice flower brooch pinned to their ribbon.

Sorry lone man teacher.  I ran out of time.