Angry Birds -- Ornaments!

(Thanks for all the love for my plush Angry Birds!!)

Today's Dollar Store Craft is just KILLING me!! With a small amount of paint and a few scraps of felt, you can transform plain ball ornaments into a FANTASTIC group of Angry Birds!

I got my supplies at the dollar store. I searched out the entire store for some PLASTIC ornaments, knowing full well that these birds and pigs would not be staying on the tree. :o) This year, the only plastic ornaments to be found were strung on a garland. You can get a garland with all red ornaments, but I chose this one so I could get a couple green ornaments -- for pigs, of course!

The dollar store acrylic paints will do the job, with some patience. I admit, though -- the white and yellow require numerous coats in order to get the coverage you need. I finally gave up and bought some "real" acrylic craft paints in white and orange at the craft store for about $1 apiece. The green and black from the dollar store acrylics worked just fine, though!

Let's start with one small bit of information: I am NOT a craft painter! Feel free to mock my craft painting skillz! :o)

STEP ONE: You will paint your birds in three steps -- first white, then orange, then black. Allow the paint to dry between colors.

You will do the same for the pigs.

(Side note: Look how perfect the top of the ornament would be for a king pig -- just pop it off and turn it upside down!)

STEP TWO: Cut scraps of felt, as shown, to create their hats. Don't stress about this -- just wing it! You don't need a pattern!

STEP THREE: Do a quick running stitch to attach the white trim. (I used red thread so you can see my stitches.) Tie a knot, but don't cut your thread yet.

STEP FOUR: Whipstitch the sides of the hat together. It doesn't have to be pretty -- these stitches will be (mostly) hidden. Knot and clip your thread.

STEP FIVE: Take a running stitch all the way around your small circle. You will then place a small scrap of felt in the center and pull the stitches tight, creating a little ball.
**If you have small pompoms on hand, use them instead!**

STEP SIX: Attach the ball to the end of the hat and knot and clip your thread. Then fold the end of the hat down. Take a few stitches to hold the fold in place, as shown.

STEP SEVEN: Loop an ornament hanger through the top of your ornament.

Thread the hat onto the ornament hook, poking the wire through the top of the hat, and curve the wire. You're ready to hang your cute Angry Bird on your tree!

The garland ornaments don't have a hole in the top, so you just have to remove the top and hook an ornament hanger underneath, twisting it together at the top. Then pop it back on your ornament and place the hat on.

Hee hee! They're so crabby! :o)

Won't they be perfect for a desktop tree at the office?
You can make all your co-workers so jealous!

My pigs and birds stayed on the tree for about .5 seconds after I took photos... and now they are off having adventures with my kids. :o) Good thing I sought out the plastic ornaments!!

How to Make a Kids Spyglass Telescope

Susan made the most FABULOUS telescopes for my boys last week -- pirate style, of course -- and today she is here to show you how to make one of your own! Read on for Susan's instructions!


Here is how to make a Kids Spyglass Telescope -using PVC pipe!

The idea came when my nephew had a pirate birthday party coming up-and needed the perfect Pirate Spyglass! I have a ton of PVC pipe leftovers from making Teepee Tents- so this idea was born. It looks great and collapses down, just like the real thing!

And this pirate thinks it's pretty awesome.


(I got my supplies at Lowes. I recommend that you try out all your pieces before you buy them, just to double check that they fit together. I'm sure people at Lowes thought I was nutty when I spent an hour there testing pieces together to see what would fit!)


You will need:

One 8" piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe (comes in 5' lengths. 1.20)

One 7.5" piece of 3/4" PVC pipe (also in 5' lengths. $1.09.)

One 3/4" Slip coupling ($.24)

One 3/4" Adapter, Slip and Thread ($.44)

One 1" CPVC Slip coupling ($1.22. This piece is key and is found in a slightly different section than the other regular PVC pieces. It is more of a tan color.)

Sandpaper

PVC pipe glue or Super Glue (put everything together for a trial run before you glue it)

Paint, stickers, or whatever to decorate!

Your CPVC piece needs to be able to fit inside your 1 1/4" PVC pipe. You will need to sand down the ridge across the middle in order to get it in. It should be a very snug fit!

You will also need to sand down the ridge on the inside a little bit. Just enough that your 3/4" PVC pipe can slide smoothly inside (keeping in mind that you will need some extra clearance to accommodate a layer of paint if you want to paint your telescope).

Insert the CPVC piece into your 1 1/4" PVC pipe, leaving a little bit sticking out (just for looks) You can glue this piece in, but it is such a tight fit, you shouldn't need to.

Take the 3/4" coupling and put into place on one end of your 3/4" pipe.

Insert that 3/4" piece through your 1 1/4" pipe (the coupling will be hidden inside) and put the 3/4" adapter on the other end (You will end up seeing the side with the threads). And you are done!

To paint mine, I used Krylon Fusion spray paint,which seems to work well, though not totally scratch proof. However, a word of warning that you are supposed to let it cure for 1 week. And they mean it. I am very impatient. I also recommend that you paint it before you glue all the pieces together.

Enjoy! Make one for a pirate or explorer (or Princess) that you know! And share pictures with me! I love to see how creative you can all be! (in fact, if anyone can figure out how to make these really work to magnify things, I would love to know how!)

Coin Purse Keychains -- from a Dishtowel!!

I don't always have a particular project in mind when I head to the dollar store. I don't necessarily even have a project idea when I find materials! A couple weeks ago I found a dishtowel with the CUTEST little pictures on it. I had no idea exactly what I would be using it for, but I knew I would think of something -- so I bought it!

Well, this week my idea emerged:Little coin purse keychains!
Perfect for stocking stuffers...


...if I can bear to part with any of them!! :o)


What you'll need:
~ cute dish towel (or placemat!)
~ zipper(s)
~ key rings (optional)
(I found my key rings on the craft aisle at the dollar store -- 12 for a buck!!)


STEP ONE: One of the cute motifs I liked was awfully close to the edge of my dishtowel, so I picked the edge stitching open and pressed out the folds with my iron.

STEP TWO: Cut a front and back for your coin purse. You can make these any size -- just make it fit around your motif with enough room on the edges for 1/4" to 3/8" seam allowance.

STEP THREE: (Note: I'm switching coin purses from here on out!) Using your iron, press the top edge of your front and back pieces down (towards the back) twice. This will tuck away that raw edge and keep it free from your zipper.

STEP FOUR: Open your zipper and attach the front and back pieces to it. Line them up carefully to each other! Be sure to leave enough space between the teeth of the zipper and the edge of the fabric so that the zipper tab will pull freely without catching the fabric.

STEP FIVE: Zip your zipper shut and sew a wide zigzag at stitch length zero to create a zipper stop. You don't want to be zipping your zipper tab right off the end!

STEP SIX: Leave your zipper about 2/3 of the way open and sew around the three raw edges of your coin purse, using no less than a 1/4" seam allowance.

STEP SEVEN: Cut off the excess zipper, leaving the same seam allowance as the rest of your coin purse. (DON'T use your good sewing scissors!!)


STEP EIGHT: Sew a zigzag stitch around all the same edges, allowing the needle to stitch off the edge of the fabric on the right. This will help prevent most fraying.

STEP NINE: Carefully turn your coin purse right side out.

Isn't it CUTE??!?

STEP TEN: Make a million more of them and add key rings!

They're even cute on the back!!

I-Spy Fabric Scrap Cards

Here's my entry for the Sew, Mama, Sew! Scrap Buster Contest!

With any sewing obsession comes...
SCRAPS.
And lots of them.
I've been I-Spy obsessed for a couple years now (mostly collecting, not cutting), and I've finally started putting together my destined-to-be-ginormous quilt! Being as generally fabric-obsessed as I am, I have a hard time parting with even the tiniest of scraps. Hence my most recent project!

I-Spy Cards!

Here's how I made them:

SUPPLIES:

~ SCRAPS (of course!)
~ 3x5 index cards
~ glue stick
~ cardstock
~ pinking shears (optional)

STEP ONE: Cover your index card with motifs from your fabric scraps. (I cut about 1/2" off one end of my index cards so they will fit better on my cardstock.) Use just a little swipe of your gluestick on your index card to hold your scraps in place. Be sure there is about 1/2" overhang beyond the edges of the index card.


STEP TWO: Turn to the back side, so you can see where to start and stop your stitches, and sew your scraps down. I do an allover zig-zag pattern, but you can do anything you like. (I use my free-motion foot for maximum laziness!)


STEP THREE: Trim the fabric around your index card about 1/4" away from the card. I use my pinking shears for a little extra interest.


STEP FOUR: Using your glue stick, glue your little fabric/index card "quilt" to a half-sheet of cardstock, folded in half. If you like, you can sew rather than glue, but I wanted the inside of the card to be free of stitches.
Ta-Da! A cute little any-occasion card!

It would be fun to make some themed cards, too -- birthday, holiday, baby, etc.
Here are a couple I made from some Halloween scraps:

These cards are super cute, super quick, and so much fun to make!

Fail.

Yep. I've done it again.

Read about it here.

Customized Rubiks Cube

It was my husband's birthday a couple weeks ago. He is a fan of Rubiks cubes, so when I found this one at the dollar store I knew I needed to do something with it to make a great Rubiks gift for him. I decided to turn it into a customized photo cube!


First I peeled off all those ridiculous stickers. (Did you ever "solve" the cube as a kid by peeling off the stickers and sticking them back on in the "right" places? Ha!!)


Choose photos that will fit in the space you need. Find out how you will need to cut them by measuring one of the original stickers from your cube. Multiply that number by three, and you will have the measurement for the "full" size you need to cut your photo. Then cut your photo into the smaller squares (the original sticker measurement).


I used ModPodge to adhere my photos. Icoated one side of the cube, then centered each photo piece.


One more layer of ModPodge over the top, and I was ready to let it dry.

After it dried I needed to take an Xacto to the seams to remove the stretchy dried ModPodge in between photo squares. It actually shifts pretty nicely!

This works better as a conversation or art piece than as a puzzle you would actually want to attempt solving (don't want all those picture pieces to fall off!), but I sure like how it looks!

UPDATE: It was just called to my attention that there is another (better!) Rubiks cube tutorial out there. Check out Anne's version here!