lemonade...

When life hands you lemons (holes in your favorite argyle socks) you can make lemonade. (Ignore the callous... it is winter in MN, I haven't had a pedicure in MONTHS!)1) wash you socks
2) cut off the foot portion
3) turn sock inside out, fold over 1/2" of the edge you just cut. Set sewing machine on a zig zag stitch (so you will have some stretch) & sew around the opening.
4) try on your fingerless gloves and pinch a spot between your thumb & fingers. Put a stitch here (machine OR hand stitch)
5) Enjoy! These fingerless gloves are great - keep you hands warm & your fingers free for working on the computer of other craft projects in the cold basement.

Peep-a-doo didn't care for them on.

Thanks Disney for another lovely upcycle idea :)

Note Pads

I cannot take credit for this craft. My Husband actually orchestrated it... I was just the laborer.

In Print Shop (you could use other programs) I uploaded some on my favorite Peep-a-doo photos on to a blank landscape template.

For the half sheet note pads, I put a photo on each half page. For the quarter sheet note pads I used the 4 corners for adding photos to allow writing space. I did 10 different photos per pad.
I made the photos black & white and faded them out to 40%. On some I added a torn paper or other decorative boarder.

We then took then to an office supply store to make copies… 10 copies of the 10 photos = 100 page note pads.

For the back of the note pads, we reused the cardboard backing from tear off form sheet that my Hubby’s company uses (you could also cut up cereal boxes for the backing). Cut them the same size (half of quarter sheet) as your paper.I lined up all the edges even & held it together with a binder clip.

My Hubby made this contraption with scrap lumber, long screws & wing nuts. You then take your clipped together note pads & put them in the binder machine ( line these up straight too) & screw it down tight. I was able to do up to 4 note books at a time.Then you just paint on this special adhesive. I did one thick coat & let it dry for 15-20 minutes. I then used a utility knife to separate the 4 note pads for a clean cut edge.

Custom Note Pads for Valentine's Day (or any holiday).

Love Monster

I made Peepers a Love Monster for Valentine's Day from scrap felt & an old sweater. He has really long arms for giving big hugs. I even stitched in some elbows or "belbows" as PD calls them.

He had a cute little butt that can be seen thru the back drop drawer.

He has a friendly smile with just a bit of an under bite & a big heart.

With Big button eyes & loopy hair, what's not to love?

Repurposed Tee

3 easy things to do with an old Tee shirt… WARNING: they do require a little sewing.

Scarf #1: Take an old tee, cut off the hem & cut it just below the arm pits. Then cut that in half lengthwise (roughly 6-8” depending on the size of the tee).


Cut off the side seams from one side. Open up the strips of fabric & sew the ends together so you have one long piece. About 1” in from the long edges, I used my ruffle attachment to gather it all up. If you don’t have this, you have to gather it the old fashioned way (really long basting stitch, pull a thread to the desired shirring, knot it off & re-stitch it with a regular stitch to really secure it). The pink tee used was a fitted tee & once it was all gathered up, it wasn’t really long enough to tie. So I wrapped it around my neck, let one edge peek out under a cardigan and used a safety pin at the front where they overlapped. It was a ruffled Dickie! The second scarf I made was from a bigger tee & it gathered up to the perfect length. See here for full tutorial. Vermillion Rules: http://vermillionrules.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-ruffle-scarf-tutorial.html

Scarf #2: I’ve made a bunch of these for myself & family. Take an old tee, cut off the hem & cut the tee up into 4x4 squares (use the sleeves too). You will end up with 60+ squares. Lay the squares so that the corners of one square ends in the center of the square below it and so on (if the corners overlap slightly or if there is a little space between them, that is OK, you will never notice). Sew down the center of the square corner to corner… keep overlapping & sewing until all your squares are used up. You will end up with one really really long scarf. Then fold the scarf in half & in half again them wrap it around my neck & loop it thru. If you are using a jersey tee, once you wash it, the edges will curl, making it even more ruffle looking.

Ruffles & stuff scarf: http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2009/08/super-easy-t-shirt-scarf.html

BAG: use a plate to cut off the neck & sleeves. Cut off the hem. Since, the shoulder seams then become the handles, a reinforced the shoulder seams with a Zig Zag stitch. Turn the tee inside out & stitch the bottom closed… Keep the side seams of the tee in their usual place. Turn it right side out & you now have a great little kid friendly knit bag for boys to carry their stuff around in. Tee- shirt bag: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/good-thing-t-shirt-bag