Posts tagged ‘scraps’

When a crafter sets forth on a mission, there is not much that can stop them as long as there are scissors around. The mission I have set upon is to run a “barefoot” half marathon in May. To run “barefoot” I am running in Vibram Five Fingers shoes to protect my soles on the roads from debris and other things. But this is Northeast Ohio, and it’s still essentially winter, so I need socks. This creates a problem when there are toe pockets. Even toe socks get bunched up in there. So I hacked a pair of wool athletic socks to be toeless, but still stay on my foot. I used a small stitch between my big toe and second toe to keep the sock from slipping. It works amazingly well, and once I’m running I have no idea they are there. My feet are warm, which is important. Sorry that my socks are a little dirty in the picture, I just came back from a run, I wanted to make sure that it worked before I posted it!

The other problem I have is wanting to use the Nike + iPod gizmo to track and share my runs. But since I am not using the Nike + shoes, how I needed a hack to keep my sensor on my shoe. I took some commercial vinyl fabric I got from Zero Landfill that matches my shoes and made a pouch for the sensor. There is an overlap for the in the opening flap so I don’t lose the sensor on a run, and there is a strap to loop over the velcro shoe closure on my shoe.  This sensor pouch could also slide over shoelaces if you plan to run with the Nike + thing but have a pair of trainers you really love, so it’s not just for us crazy Barefooters.

I made some soup for the Church potluck this Wednesday. It wasn’t until I was almost finished making the soup, and had announced on Facebook that  I planned to bring the soup, that I realized I had no way to transport hot soup without spilling it or letting it cool off.

Hense, the crockpot cozy. I had seen a casserole cozy on the interwebs somewhere (if anyone can remember, or was the maker of this please let me know because I didn’t bookmark it) and it came to mind as the perfect solution to the conundrum I was in.  It was also the perfect excuse to use my new serger because I needed to make it fast.

Essentially this is just a 22″ by 22″ un-quilted quilt, no binding, with over-locked edges. To make it all transportable I made some straps from upholstery weight fabric (over-locked again) and stitched them to the middle of the bottom of the cozy in an X. Then I folded up the corners of the cozy over my crockpot stoneware insert and tied the straps.

It’s machine washable, quick to make, very gift-able, and it kept my soup warm and unspilled all the way to the potluck!

Last year at Zero Landfill I grabbed a ton of stuff. I’ve used at least half of it, but there are a good deal of items which have just been stuffed into the stash box.

This year I took a different strategy to the event. I only grabbed stuff that I ran out of last time. So I picked up 4 wallpaper sample books and some loose fabric swatches. They weighed my grub on my way out. It was a whopping 38 pounds!

These books are going to be free for your use in decorating a journal if you show up on Thursday to my class. Otherwise I will be cutting them up for all sorts of crafts, as will my scissor-happy girls!

I wanted to do something lovely with my girls for Valentine’s Day. So I sent them on the scavenger hunt through the house to find all the purple, pink and red broken crayons. Then we put them on the stove in a double boiler made from a tin can, and we melted them down.

Colleen had just handed-down these candy molds to me. We filled them up with the melted crayon mixture, which had turned to a swirly pinkish-purple. The girls were really excited about the whole process. They had no idea what to expect for the final outcome.

When we ended up with these heart shaped crayons they were pretty surprised. I don’t know if they intend to use them for coloring or not. Next time we do this I’m going to make them a rounder, more sturdy shape. We already snapped one of our hearts. And no one wants to be broken hearted because of a valentine!

With Clementine Season reaching a close we have accumulated at least 6 crates. Those wooden boxes are so wonderful, and I never throw them out. At the moment I am using them to hold individual projects-in-the-making in my craft room, and will probably continue to use them for that for a while.

There are other ways to use the clementine crates though. I have used them in the past as drawer organizers, since they are so short. I keep my cookbooks in one in my kitchen on top the fridge. And I know that Colleen used them for craft room organization in the past. Since I have more than I need this year, I will probably use the two extra I have for kindling in our fireplace since the wood is nice and dry and should catch fire quickly.

But all of those crates were easy to find purposes for. The challenge for me this year was what to do with the orange plastic nets that are on the top of them. Well, I zigzagged two of them together and sewed a strap onto it. Now we hang all of the bath toys in it for draining. But that only used two! Does anyone else have a creative use for them?

This necklace is inspired by a piece my friend Jenn was wearing to Stitch N Bitch a few weeks ago. I loved it. Luckily, I had just bought a chunky black bead necklace at the thrift store to repurpose the beads and hadn’t designated a project for them yet. I also had some teal lace I got in the remnant section at the fabric store. It was a match made in heaven, and I’m passing this simple project on to you!

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Items from last year's Zero Landfill

If you’re artistic & want to build your stash of recycled supplies, come to Zero Landfill!  It’s an event where architects, interior designers, and graphic designers donate their discontinued samples & materials so that artists & teachers can collect & reuse them.  You’ll find paint samples, tiles, carpets, wallpaper books, fabric samples, and binders, and you can have them for free!

The event will be happening in downtown Akron every Saturday in February from noon-3pm at 30 N. High Street.    Plus they have events on the calendar in Chattanooga, TN & Cleveland, OH.

I know this update is a little last minute, but I wanted to post about my class at Craft Akron tomorrow. I have been finding time to put the kits together, but not to write my post!

Tomorrow in class, using silk, ribbon, lace, wool and jewelry scraps we will make attractive and versatile head pieces called “fascinators” in time for your Valentine’s Day date. Kit will include everything you need for your project. If there is something you’d like to use for your piece, please bring it to class.

Date: Saturday, January 23
Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Cost: $20 plus $5 kit fee.

This is a great class for advanced beginners to intermediate sewers. I have made quite a few of these dolls and I just love them.

Come down to Craft Akron and make a super adorable little pet to take with you!

2 Hours – $35.00

Please bring sewing notions and a gallon sized ziplock bag full of scraps, at least 4″ by 4″. I’ll bring some scraps and the stuffing!

Hopefully my mom won’t read this post, because this is going to be her Christmas present. She collects ugly trees, and I usually buy her one, but this year I wanted to make it for her. After a few mistakes I found a method that I really like and I decided to share it here.

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