Thursday, January 21, 2021
The Best Ever Sea Shanty and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 565
Thursday, December 31, 2020
End of the Year Silver Linings and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 562
What a long, strange, trip this year has been. My husband and I kicked off 2020 at a Roaring 20's party and shortly afterwards everything roared to a full stop. While it is all too easy to focus on the boatload of the bad things that happened this year, for my sanity and mental health, I'm trying to focus on the few positives I experienced:
- I did a lot of projects on my Do It Yourself Honey! list. DIY, craft, and otherwise. As a result, I got new and repaired clothes, household items, home improvements, and cleaned out a bunch of my fabric stash and scraps. Yay!
- A Christmas gift from my mother in law inspired me to relearn how to crochet. Something I haven't done since my grandmother taught me as a kid.
- Zooming all over the country to see friends, family, and performances regularly instead of the once or twice a year we normally do in real life.
- Having the free time to shop at farmer's markets and can a boatload of end of season sale tomatoes.
- Lacey is absolutely thriving with both of her people being at home 24/7 (although her people have gone a little stir crazy at times being home 24/7.)
Time to show off your creative recipes, projects, and ideas for the last time this year!
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Slow Christmas Ideas and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 560
Christmas is my favorite time of year because there are so many fun places to go, things to see and performances to do before we get the extended family together for a big, happy celebration on Christmas day!
Except this year. It's a pivot. pivot. Christmas pivot kind of year.
But you know what? I'm enjoying the change.
- No quick, wolf down dinner, we have to book it out the door and to an event.
- No fighting traffic, crowds, or stores because everything is being picked up or delivered to our door (let's give an extra shout and thank you to all postal and delivery drivers. THANK YOU!)
- There's the chance to put the holiday things you don't always enjoy aside for something new because it's just the household this year. For us, we're going to start our day with mimosas and end it with either fancy lobster tails or super causal homemade pizza for dinner. We haven't decided yet. Which one would do you think we should have for Christmas dinner?
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Happy Hanukkah and Linky Party Week 559
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah! I hope you start your holiday off right and celebrate happily and safely.
Time to show off your creative recipes, projects, and ideas!
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 558
Time to show off your creative recipes, projects, and ideas!
Monday, November 30, 2020
DIY No Sew Thread Cone Gnomes
I buy sewing machine thread in the colors I use most often in bulk by the serger cone. I use stand alone bobbin winder like this one to wind the cone thread onto an empty regular size thread spool to use on my sewing machine. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.) This is supposed to keep me from running out of thread but when my historical costuming projects usually take up to 10 yards of fabric I still go through a ton of sewing thread.
Which means I have a nice little stack of empty thread cones on my To Upcycle shelf waiting for a craft project that never comes.
Until today!
I recycled empty thread cones into cute little gnomes. If you don’t have empty thread or serger cones cluttering up your house waiting to be upcycled you can use paper craft cones like these.
You will need for each gnome you want to make:
Thursday, August 20, 2020
The Benefits of Pet Health Insurance and Friday Favorites Link Party Week 543
Thursday, August 13, 2020
Friday Favorites Link Party Week 542
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
How to Make Button Hair Ties
My hair is growing out and is now long enough to put up into a proper ponytail as long as I use these exact Goody no slip hair elastics because for the first time in my life I haven't had to use a ton of clips, barrettes, bobby pins, and a gallon of hairspray to hold flyaways when I put my hair up. It's a miracle! (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.) I've tried other hair ties that claim to be for sports or no slip and they often slip out of my hair or slip enough that I have fly aways mid day. The same goes for the thin hair ties that look like this that I used as a teen. Bleah. I think they are better put to use around my thread spools and bobbins in sewing room to keep them from unwinding.
So while the no slip Goody hair elastics work fantastic, they are super thick and don't look as cute or subtle. Yeah I could hide the pony hair tie with a ribbon or barrette but it’s been so long that I’ve had hair long enough to use them, I really don’t have any. Besides, I’d like the option of wearing something a little more sleek when I have to be a grown up.
Let's make a hair elastic cover up with buttons!
Pin this post to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!
Most of the buttons in this tutorial are vintage buttons from my Grandmother’s button box. I also made a button pony tail holder from a large flat button to see if it would work. It did!
You will need:
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Never Underestimate a Small DIYer Driving a Small Car and Friday Favorites Link Party Week 541
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Virtual Get Togethers and Friday Favorites Link Party Week 540
Sunday, July 26, 2020
3 Quick and Easy DIY Face Mask Lanyards
When I have to go out and about on a necessary errand to two, I'm required to wear a cloth face mask.
As always, I try to batch my errands to save gas (eco friendlier and all) and most importantly, time.
Which means, I usually take off my mask by the ear loops when I get back into the car. Then I hunt to find where it shifted around while I was driving to my next stop when it is time to put the mask back on again (always using the ear loops as recommended!) I need a better way to keep track of my cloth face mask in between the short times I remove it and need to put it back on again.
I took my inspiration from the floating sunglasses strap similar to this one I use when I’m at a water park or pool to keep my sunglasses from sinking if they are accidentally knocked off my face. In no time at all I a cloth face mask lanyard. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.)
Well, actually I made 3. Two handmade face mask lanyards and one cloth face mask chain because it is such a quick and easy project to do.
Let’s make stuff!
Save this idea to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Quick and Easy Popsocket Makeover and Friday Favorites Link Party Week 539
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Soapmaking and Friday Favorites Linky Party 538
Monday, July 13, 2020
How to Make a Recycled Aluminum Can Butterfly Necklace
I don’t drink a lot of soda but every once and awhile a pop can will cross my path. Once I finish the beverage I have two choices:
1. Recycle the can in the recycling bin.
2. Recycle the can into a cute necklace.
Today I am going with Option 2 because it will make a much more entertaining tutorial than Option 1 and it will give me a chance to answer I often get: How do you smooth the edges of a cut aluminum can?
It’s easy! Let’s get started.
How to Smooth and File the Sharp Edges of a Cut Aluminum Can
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Red, White, and Blue Face Masks and Friday Favorites 530
After all that sewing, I had to take my workhorse sewing machine in for repair and my backup sewing machine when it decided it wanted to break too. Oh no!
Thursday, May 14, 2020
DIY Mental Health Jar and Friday Favorites Week 529
After one too many social media conversations about being disappointed about upcoming plans, events, and whatnot being cancelled due to Covid-19 (and then feeling guilty afterward for being sad over something so trivial when so many people around the world are going through much, much worse) I started to think that for my mental health I should try to focus on what little good things are happening around me instead the daily mountain of bad.
No good or happy event or moment is too big or small for my jar, because let's face it, things are so weird that I road the happy until the wheels fell off the day I ordered Instacart groceries and the original delivery date was a week away until I added my product substitutions and the delivery date changed to later the same day of the order - which hasn't happened in a very long time. Kinda silly, I know, but at least it points my head in the direction of complimenting rather than complaining.
Monday, May 11, 2020
20 New Sewing Tips, Tricks, and Hacks for Beginners to Professionals!
Lately I’ve been fielding questions from folks who are breaking out their old sewing machines after a long hiatus – a quarantine will do that, you know. I’ve also been brushing up on new sewing hacks from fellow sewing and costuming friends as we dive into sewing cloth face masks for our family and friends. I figure it is my turn to share what I know to help you make your sewing projects go a little easier, a little quicker, or allow you to make that one little unexpected tweak that takes your sewing project from OK to Wow!