1UP Upcycled Bag

As you may well know (or not)

I have 2 kids...

a daughter (oldest) and a son.

 This son of mine LOVES his older sister,

it's a regular case of "Monkey See, Monkey Do around here.

A while ago, Miss Morgan got into bags.

She sees me carry around at least 2 most times...

so who could blame her, really?

Will requested a bag and who was I to say no?

Originally, I had tried all sorts of Glow in the Dark

fabric markers and paint so our 1up Bag could have a little oomph.

As you can see...

The result wasn't pretty.

So, I went over it with regular white acrylic.

Much better!

Next it needed a Messenger Bag sized strap,

so I found a super long Green Zipper I'd liberated from 

something...green.

I don't really remember what clothes I took it from and what 

got made from whatever it was.

Shame on me!

I love the trick of sewing around the Zipper Teeth so the Pull

stops where you want it to!

I attached the zipper to the bag's existing strap ends

where I cut.

(Making sure to fold in the raw edges)

I then outlined in Black Gel Fabric Pen and

gave the little guy some eyes.

Done!

And now my little guy can carry around whatever

his little heart desires.

Everyone needs a Bag of Holding!

Upcycled Fingerless Gloves!

So this idea just popped in my head today...

I should be doing other things, 

but I just got too giddy with the notion of a quick little project.

Behold! 

I upcycled my son's "too small" socks into Fingerless Gloves!

Just find some socks around the house.

You know they're there. Just taking up space: in a dust rag or waiting to be donated bin.

These particular socks fit Will when he was 4 years old, if that gives you any indication of sizing.

So I've found my socks, the next step is to cut the toes off.

You don't have to be too exact on this as the raw edge tends to roll.

Then comes the Thumb Hole.

In most of these "Character Socks" the trademark/copyright for said characters is somewhere

on the bottom of the foot. 

If its there, flatten the sock out and grab your sissors again...

I made my hole smaller than I thought would be necessary due to stretchage.

This placement also allows for the Heel to act as the Thumb Gusset. 

Magical!

Then try on for size!

Yay! You're done!

Unless...

you want to do a little Blanket Stitch on the raw edges of the Fingers and Thumb.

I opted not to finish off with stitching and just let them be.

I'm not looking at these to become heirlooms 

and it would take away from...

 my lightning fast start to finish time!

Crochet Hoop of Sunshiny Goodness!

With the abundance of Snow piled on us today

I thought a Sunshine Crochet Hoop 

would be in order!

This was a little "extra" for SonjaBoo in the

Box Full of Sunshine swap.

I just took a Thrift Store Hoop and some

yellow Stash Yarn and crocheted around it.

Sure, it was a bit awkward at times 

(the hoop was one of those old metal ones)

but I enjoyed using something

for a totally different purpose than what it was intended for.

So while I'm flabbergasted by the amount of snow 

outside my window and long for the sun...

I wouldn't want all this white stuff to melt.

First of all, the inevitable flooding would reek havok!

Second of all it's Thanksgiving!

I should be able to put up with the snow until at least Jan 1st.

Then Snow better beat it.

Snow and I are not friends after Christmas.

You know nothing...Snow!

Potter Switch-plate!

Almost a 1 1/2 years ago (during summer), 

I developed a strained thumb.

It seriously messed with my Crafty Mojo!

I couldn't crochet (which is what I think caused the strain),

knit, or embroider. 

What's a Crafty Girl to do?

I could hold a marker!

Even though Melissa's Birthday wasn't until February, 

I made this Potter Switch-plate for her and held onto it

for months and months...

I'm terrible with Secrets like that!!!!

But I persevered.

Somehow...

For the details:

I found the Switch-plate at the Thrift Store.

Sketched the design "free hand" with pencil.

Colored in with Oil Based Sharpies.

"Happiness can be found in the darkest of times,

when one only remembers to turn on the light."

-Albus Dumbledore

Whovian Hidden Book of Mystery!

This is a "Secret Compartment" Book

I crafted up such a long time ago for

Grindhousehussy19 as an extra in the Frozen Swap.

I had been saving this Thrift Store Find of a book

for the perfect Whovian.

It even had a wonderful Tardis color to it!

So I went for the zen approach to cutting out the rectangle below 

as it can get real tedious...real fast.

Little Tip: 

If you take the thinnest bit and drill the 4 corners,

it makes for cleaner cutting.

Geez, looking at this pic, my straight edges are not so straight.

Oh well, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey right?

I also slippped her some Whovian Bottlecap Magnets.

Dimensional Magic rules!

And a big Thank You to Shannon 

who gave me some bottlecaps to craft up!

Allons-y!

Rory's Lunchbox!

Another Tribute to my favorite Centurion and yours...

RORY!

(I think this is the last one...thank you for your indulgence.)

In some webisodes, we got to see some Domestic Life of 

Rory and Amy.

He's a tireless nurse and is so budget conscious he takes a lunch every day.

At least this is what I like to think! 

I decided my swap partner needed her own lunchbox desperately and found at the Thrift Store

a perfect white plastic one demanding to be transformed.

I'm sorry I don't have a "before" picture here, but it was a pretty straightforward

white plastic lunchbox. 

A lunchbox good enough for a hero

I painted a white base primer coat then went to town with some acrylic paint.

Then found some Roman Centurion images and Mod Podged like a maniac!

This was a neat project and I think it turned out pretty neat as I'd 

never crafted anything quite like it before.

Now for some silliness...

I have a Rory Theory.

It's not new or blow-your-mind crazy.

I want Rory to be the next Master.

He has an issue actually dying (Time Lord).

He fathered River. (Time Lord) 

(sure there was that whole concieved in the time vortex thing, but still)

The Master has been a real stinker and deserves to have a nice regeneration for once.

Call the theory what you will,

but a girl can dream can't she?

It's a Thrift Store Miracle!

It's not often you find EXACTLY what your looking for at the Thrift Store....

Usually you wander in and fate takes over whether or not something catches your eye enough to buy.
But every once in a blue moon fate smiles on you.

Morgan and I went in looking for Junie B. Jones books and we found 8 of them!!!












Her 1st grade class is reading them and she's become enthralled. So much so we're now working on a Halloween Costume!

 

I found these "fake" "fashion" glasses at Target so we're well on our way!

What are you fine people doing for costumes in your house?

Sir Robin Shirt!

Yes, he slew the vicious Chicken of Bristol and 

personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon Hill.

We love Sir Robin so!

Will has discovered he does not have as many "dress-up" clothes as Morgan.

This needed some changing!

The shirt was a thrift store find and I used my handy-dandy fabric markers.

We love the soundrack to Monty Python's Spamalot around here,

Will has a special affinity toward Sir Robin. 

Here's Will as Sir Robin for Halloween a few years ago!

This was when he was 2 and probably the last year I would 

get to choose his costume. Sigh.

A few things Sir Will had in common with Sir Robin that Halloween...

Both had red hair,

Both have an affinity for the color green, 

Both had issues with soiling their pants!

Minion Crowns from TP Rolls

How to make Minion Crowns from Toilet Paper Rolls

or...

Silly Minion time occupier.

Every Minion needs a crown, at least that's what Miss Morgan would have you believe...

Materials Needed

Toilet Paper Rolls

McDonald's Happy Meal Minions

Scissors

Markers

Willing Raucous Kids 

1. Get Your Materials rounded up

The TP rolls fit the Happy Meal Minions the best.

I make no promises for other sizes. :D

NO PROMISES!!!

(Look, they're not smiling!)

2. Cut the TP Rolls in half

3. Take your scissors and cut a zig zag across one edge

Ta Dah!

4. Find your kids and get a'markering (or a'painting, or leave them plain...the Minimal Minion look is HOT for fall!)

5. Sit back and admire the fruits of your labors. (And don't think about how many Happy Meals were consumed to acquire the Minions in the first place.)

The Minions were SO pleased with their new crowns they rejoiced!

 MINION PARTY!!!

This purple one started out okay.

There, you see him and he seems to be having an okay time...

 Whoops!

Party Foul!

Star T-Rex Mousepad!

Another entry for the Nerd Games!

45 Points July Randomizer

Here's the prompt:

---Randomizer: Our Ancestors  Since the dawn of time, the Nerdyverse has existed.  …guy who invented the wheel, total nerd…. We are going to focus on minds towards the past.  Craft something that either is inspired by our prehistoric past (dinos, cavemen, cave paintings) OR is created from a vintage pattern/method (vintage think 1970s or before).

So, I decided to portray a cave drawing found in Riverside, Iowa...on a mousepad!

I've just been loving the T-Rex Trying Book by Hugh Murphy.

All the simplicity in his art and the hilarity I find in it make for a fun filled day!

Who says the most awesomely awesome dinosaur can't have been a trekkie too?

I say that makes Mr. Rex Science Officer 3.14% awesome-er!

I grabbed a thrift store aquired mousepad, some fabric, my trusty fabric markers, and my new best friend Spray Adhesive. I dare say this is such a fun thing to do, only problem is...

Does anyone other than my kids use mouses (meeces?) anymore?

ACTION SHOT! 

Just look at Morgan's hand expertly gripping that mouse...

I bet she's solving big world problems on the computer today.

(guffaw)

Thriftin Fun: Salty!

This is my latest Thrifty Find!

A Cache of Morton Salt Tableware!

Each piece was .49-.99 cents.

This little "When it Rains, it Pours" phrase 

has been following me around a great deal lately....

The little pitcher was too cute to pass up!

And now for something completely different... 

Obligatory Goofy Morgan Pic.

Mwa ha.