Cheap Dog Toy

Here's something I whipped up for Molly last week when she was driving me nuts (I was super busy and she was clearly bored). She loves new toys but, unfortunately, dog toys are so EXPENSIVE which I think is ridiculous, because she rips them to shreds and then tires of them a few days later. What a waste!
 

This is my upcycled version, using one of her favourite tennis balls and an old sock that lost its elasticity during the winter. I slipped the ball into the sock and nestled it into the hell of the sock. Then I tied two knots either side to keep the ball in place. It bounces when we throw it, it's a great tug-o-war toy and I have the other sock to slip the tennis ball into when she finally rips this one apart.

It's similar to the sweater sleeve + soda bottle toy I made a while ago (which she still adores). Any old clothing that the thrift store refuses or throws into land fill could be reused this way.

Basically, she loves old clothing tied around something hard. I could just shove any of her preexisting hard chew toys into a sock and wait a few days for her to fish it out.

What else could I shove into a sock/ sweater sleeve? I'd love your opinions/ feedback!!!

Pillow Case Box

I ditched school work today in favour of some crafting :)

Here is my creation; A fabric box made using an old pillow case and some cardboard!

I started with a plain white pillow case from the thrift store. We live in a tourist town, so lots of plain white hotel linens end up at the thrift store. Woo-hoo!

I trimmed off the band at the open end of the pillow case and later used it as a handle on the box.

I then sat the pillow case on the counter to create a flat base. I rolled down the top part so that I could see the corners. It's exactly how I made the tiny fabric box in this post.

I then marked straight lines across the corners...

Difficult to see the pencil marks, but they're there!

Then I sewed along the pencil lines.

The triangular flaps were long enough to sew together, so I did :)

Here you can see the box standing up, but it has no support.

Inside of the box...

(note: this is a great time to attach a handle to the box. The band I cut off at the beginning worked well - but I forgot to take photos of this step! I also should have ironed it, but didn't realize how crinkled the finished box would look.)

To give it some support, I used some cardboard I had lying around.

I made a box shape using the cardboard...

 

... Then stretched the pillow case around it...

... Then shoved the base to the bottom and hid all the rough edges.

I glued the excess pillow case (the raw edge from taking off the band) back up inside the box. I then glued the base of the box around the bottom edge to keep everything in place.

Here it is looking tidy-ish:

Ta-da!

The bottom of the box:

Inside the box:

I saw some similar boxes at Home Hardware for $7 each, but this one took me 25 minutes to make and cost me $1.50.

And because it is plain white, it's a blank canvas to decorate. Flowers, accent fabrics, labels... the possibilities are endless. How would you decorate it?

Happy crafting!

No-measuring Fabric Boxes

I am sure I am not the first to figure this out, but after lots of experimentation at my sewing machine today, I have an awesome box pattern to show you. It involves only 4 seams and a hem. I have used this pattern before, actually, when I made my sewing machine cover.

Actually, I don't know if I can call it a pattern. There are no measurements involved. I read a blog post lately where someone said they 'eyeballed it', so I guess that's what I did today too.

And before I start, I need to mention that I am terrible at sewing. But, because every cloud has a silver lining, I am awesome with a quick unpick. And I am not going to let my faults stop me from sharing this with you.

First of all, you need to make a little pillow-case like sack. If you can do this without instructions, skip to step 3. Or, just grab a pillow case!

1. Grab a strip of fabric. Cut the long edges with pinking shears and roll and iron the short edges.

2. Fold in half lengthways and sew up the side seams. Hem the top edge.

 3. Not sure how to describe step 3, so I'll let the picture do the talking. With the bag still inside out, sit it like this:

 4. Next, you are going to sew over the corners you created (the red lines in the picture below). This is the 'eyeballing' part that I mentioned before.

5. Once you have sewn the corners, flip the box inside out to make sure they are in the right place.

Looking at the bottom, you can see the 4 seams that you have created:

6. If you're satisfied with it, then go ahead and chop off the corners.

 And viola! You have a box!

I also used this method to make a little denim box using the leg of some old jeans. And I am sure there are other ways to use this very simple method. I was wondering if a pillow case would be the correct size to make a crate liner? Or if I could jazz up an old cardboard box by actually measuring it... Time will tell!!!

Happy crafting!

Sewn Storage

I have been messing around with my sewing machine quite a lot today. It took me ages to achieve something, but I had a few scraps of fabric and a very full recycling bag.

These are my creations:

Right now my creations are all taking up residence in the bathroom, but it's a temporary home. Still not sure where/how I should use them.

But for now, I am off to bed. I will have tutorials up tomorrow :)

Neck Tie turned Cable Tamer

I am not sure what to call this invention... so I have dubbed it a cable tamer.

Here is the problem:

The appliance is super close to the power outlet, so I don't need the 3' cable that comes with it. It's puddling on the floor, collecting dust and dog hair. So, creativity to the rescue.

I have seen this done with a toilet paper roll on Pinterest, but have devised my own 'laundry-proof/ fabric' design so that as it gets dirty (and it will, being so close to the dog floor) I can toss it in the washing machine.

I wanted a neutral colour that would blend in with the cable and I had just the thing - one of hubby's old neck ties.

I had previously shoved a tp roll onto all the cables and knew that it was a good fit, so I found the point at which the tp roll and the neck tie were the same size.

I then chopped out that section, discarded the innards (who knew there was so much stuff inside a neck tie???) then hemmed both ends.

I then went back and shoved the excess cord into it. The whole process took about 5 minutes.

Problem solved.

Decorate Mason Jars and Coffee Cans Different Ways

Thought I'd share a few of the different jar/coffee cans I have on display in my craft desk. Seeing as the cupboards above my desk have glass doors, it's vital that my craft supplies are stored in a pretty and chic way.

So, from L-R these are my suggestions:

1. Put the right items at the front. My mini glitter glue collection looked crazy with all the colours showing, until I realized I just had to shove the blue/green colours to the front to match my craft desk decor.

2. Re-purpose an old sweater. See this previous blog post.

3. Put pretty items in. I am not going to decorate this tiny glass mason jar because it's holding shells and they are pretty enough on their own.

4. Wrapping paper. Enough said.

5. Stickers and Frosted Glass Spray Paint. I would love to pick the stickers off to leave little circles of clear glass, but I had another jar go horribly wrong when I tried it, so the white stickers are staying on for now.

6. Paint Chips on a coffee can. See this previous blog post.

So there you have it! I never throw away a glass jar or a coffee can, so keep posted to see if I come up with any other ideas :)

Old Sweater = Sewing Machine Cover

I recently told you how I chopped up an old sweater to decorate a glass jar, but I only used a tiny portion of one sleeve to do so.

So what to do with the rest of the sweater?

Well, I have been meaning to make a sewing machine cover for a long time, to hide it's ugliness (they are such ugly machines, don't you think?) whenever I open my secretary desk.

See:

Not pretty. Ever wonder why I didn't post photos of the inside of my desk yet? The sewing machine is the reason why.

Anyway, I chopped off the bottom half of my sweater. Then, by sewing only three seams, I whipped up this beauty in less than 5 minutes:

Ta-da! Problem solved :)

Thread Spool/Bobbin Storage

Until today my thread spools were lumped in a pile in an old coffee can. It was difficult to find them and the threads always came loose and created such a mess. But not anymore...

I hammered a few nails into the doors of the shelves above my secretary desk...

... then shoved the spools on.

Now when I open the doors, my spools are easy to see, easy to reach when sewing and, most importantly; not tangled! Hooray!