Iron Craft 20: To a Tee

T-shirts are pretty much a staple in my wardrobe.  I wear them well over half the time.  So I've got a number of them and I've also got a number of them that are sitting there unworn because they have holes in or are stained.  So, I was really looking forward to this round.  I just needed to decide what to do.  I googled a lot and found this site.  Perfect the shirts there actually look a little more dressy afterwards.  So I gave it a try.  I took a blue t-shirt, put it on, marked where I wanted to cut it and then broke out the scissors.    I encountered a few problems in the process. One, I only ended up with enough "yarn" to go half way around the shirt's neckline, but fortunately I was able to finish the front.

 Two, my stitches don't look nearly so smooth as the ones in their picture, I don't know if it's something with the way I cut the strip or if there's something else I did wrong.


 The neck opening it a little larger now than I really am comfortable wearing. I knew it would be wider when I made the decision on where to cut, but I was planning on having several rows of crochet.  My daughter tells me how much she likes the shirt every time I have it out though so maybe I'll try wearing it some time.

I really would like to try the one at this site too.  I've got a shirt in mind, but need to double check that it fits right.  Or, maybe one of the other Iron Crafters will submit something even better!

Iron Craft 19: Spring Craft Challenge

Over at the Iron Craft site they had a Spring Challenge.  We could do anything related to spring.  Well, around here, we broke out the flip flops as soon as spring hit.  But, my youngest had out grown hers from last year.

So, I found some for $1 and decided to embelish them.

Materials:
Ribbon (less than a yard)
Two buttons
Thread and needle
Hot glue
Fabric paint.



I cut 4 lengths of Hello Kitty ribbon (from Target's Dollar spot!) just slightly longer than the length of each side of the straps.



Then, I hot glued the ribbon on each side, just to hold it in place for the next step.


Next I took a thread and needle and made a small stitch in one side of the ribbon, ran the thread under the strap and made another small stitch in the other side of the ribbon, essentially whip stitching the ribbon to the flip flop. (click to see a bigger version of the pics).


Then, I was afraid that the thread would break and the ribbon would come off, so I took some fabric paint and painted the inside of the straps with it.  I think it gives it a bit more finished look too.  I also sewed a flower button at the point.


I've done every challenge since I started the IC Challenge, but haven't blogged about them all. I'll try to do a post for the others a little later.

Iron Craft 16: Taxman

This weeks Iron Craft challenge was to create something dealing with money.  I took the opportunity to knock out one of the other crafts that I've been wanting to do, but haven't taken the time.  We use a lot of gift cards and I'm always struggling to figure out if I have one for a particular restaurant. So, I decided to keep them in their own wallet.

Start with two rectangles of fabric that are about 6.5 inches by 4.5 inches and two rectangles that are 2 inches by 4.5 inches. (You'll also need about 1.5 inches of elastic and thread).

Turn down a narrow hem on the long edge of both smaller rectangles and sew.

Lay one big rectangle down (right side up) then lay the two smaller rectangles down at each end of the bigger rectangle (right side down with the hemmed edge towards the middle), lastly lay the other big rectangle on top right side down.

Sew a seam around the outside edge making sure to catch all three layers where applicable and leaving a place to turn it.  Clip the corners.

Turn, close the opening and then top stitch the whole way around.  Take a small piece of elastic, form it into a circle and sew it to the middle (I closed it up to see where that was).

Then, I put in a mini Sharpie and a set of Wallet windows that I bought.  I'll get another set for the other side.

Now, I'll have my Sharpie handy to mark the gift cards and I wont need to search through my wallet for them.

WFMW - Keeping Track of Gift Cards

We use gift cards quite a bit around here.  The schools do a fundraiser with them where they get a portion of the profits from the sale.  Our credit card gives us rewards in gift cards.  I'm a member of MyPoints.com (interested in joining? let me know, I can refer you and we'll both gain!).  And Oh yeah, I get gift cards as gifts!

With all these gift cards, it's pretty much impossible to remember the balance on each one.  It's even worse when you consider I've got some for my kids as well and I try to let them choose how they're spent.  I tried keeping the receipt that they gave me with the balance on them wrapped around, but a lot of the receipts would fade over time.

Finally I came up with the idea of using a Sharpie to write the remaining balance on the card right away so that way I knew what was left on the cards.  Here's where I'm going to start keeping them.

For more great ideas check out the Works for Me Wednesday post over at We Are That Family.

Iron Craft 15: Bunny or Chick? Marshmallow Topiary

This week's Iron Craft Challenge is to use Marshmallow peeps or bunnies in a different way.  Since microwaving peeps with toothpicks so they joust really isn't a craft, I had to think of something else.

So, I present my Marshmallow Topiary.


Materials
Square vase
12 inch long dowel
8 Peeps Bunnies
Bunny shaped marshmallows (half a bag)
Glue Gun
Shredded green paper (not shown)
3" styrofoam ball
2" styrofoam ball or cube
Ribbon

Directions
Put two Bunnies on each of three sides of the vase, (facing outward).  If you're using a ball for the base, put some hot glue on the bottom of the ball and put it in the middle of the vase then squeeze in the remaining two bunnies (I used a knife between them and the vase to squeeze them in and avoid messing up their faces).


Next use the hot glue gun to cover the bigger styrofoam ball  (3") with the bunny marshmallows.  I found it was just as easy to put some of the glue on the ball and then put a bunch of marshmallows on.  But if you're having problems with the glue melting the ball you can put the glue on the marshmallow and then put it on the ball.


Next take the ribbon and wrap it around the dowel rod and secure each end with a bit of glue.  Then, put a dab of glue on one end of the dowel and insert it into the ball that is in the vase.  Put glue on the other end and put the other ball on that end.  Then, finish it up by covering the base ball with shredded green paper or Easter grass.



Do you have any great crafts to do with Marshmallow peeps?  Check out the Iron Craft flickr pool for more ideas!

IC 14: Easter Post card

This time of year, Easter is on my mind.  So when the challenge for the week was announced as a post card, I immediately decided that I wanted to make an Easter one. The decision on what medium to use wasn't so easy.  I wanted to do something that looked like a stained glass window. But, I couldn't decide if I wanted to do it in fabric (either with stitching or black fabric paint for the leading) or if I wanted to do a project similar to one I did in Elementary school art class with black paper and tissue paper.  In the end, I ran out of time and ended up with just my prototype which is just a digital image.  But digital versions were allowed, so here you go.  Feel free to use it as you like, just don't use it to make money.

Iron Craft 13: Best in Show

This week's iron craft challenge was to be Animal related.  About half an hour before I read the challenge, I saw this post over at mmmcrafts and saved the idea to make for my future nephew.  I love the face on Larissa's  even more than the cute one on the one she used for inspiration.  I was so anxious to start making mine, that I ended up finishing it Thursday night!



Mine didn't turn out quite as cute, but I'm happy with the results.  Hopefully my brother and sister in law will like it as well.