Checks n' Cherries Needlebook

Create this handy dandy little needlebook to store your needles while traveling!

Materials:

• Felt
• Bandanna or material of choice, a fat quarter will do fine
• Ribbon of your choice
• Chipboard (the board I used is a bit thinner than chipboard, but serves the same purpose)
• Glue
• Crochet thread or pearl cotton or all six strands of embroidery floss
• Needle
• Scissors or rotary cutter
• Cutting mat and ruler

Dimensions:

Chipboard:
Cut 2 pieces - 2 1/2" by 3 1/2"
Cut 1 piece - 1/2" by 3 1/2"
Cut 1 piece - 1/2" by 2 3/4"

Felt Pages:
Cut 4 pieces - 3" by 5"
(mine are red)

Felt "Batting":
Cut 2 pieces - 2 1/4" by 3 1/4"
Cut 1 piece - 3/8" by 3 1/4"

Inside Felt Cover:
Cut 1 piece - 5 1/2" by 3 3/8"
(mine is green)

Decorative Ribbon:
Cut 2 pieces - 6 1/2" long

Let's Craft!!

Step 1

Glue the felt batting pieces to the 3 /12" long pieces of chipboard.

Try to center them as best as possible.

I'd like to take this time to note that while I'm fairly good with crafting and tutorial writing, you can see that my photography skills are still developing. I'll try to get some better pictures later :)

Step 2

Because I'm picky about certain things, I marked the center of the bandanna fabric as well as the center of the chipboard spine.

I then placed the covers about 1/8" from the spine, leaving a 3/8" border of fabric all around.

Step 3

If using bandanna material, do not glue the batted chipboard pieces directly to the fabric. I used Fabri-Tac and it seeped through, leaving unsightly dots.

Glue the corners first.

Now glue the top and bottom, then the sides. Take your time if you want nice, neat corners but it's not really necessary as they will be covered up by the felt for the inside cover.

Step 4

Using the 2 3/4" piece of chipboard, sew it to the felt pages and felt inside cover. Layer it in this order: chipboard, felt inside cover, then the felt pages. Try to keep your knots small because you don't want added bulk in the next step.


Here is a shot of the finished insides.

Steps 5

Glue about 1/2" of the ribbon to both covers

Step 6

Starting in the center, glue on the felt inside cover.

Step 7

Close the book to bring all the pages together in the center. Hold them together and trim all the pages to the same (or close to the same) length as shown below:

Finished!

(I know... I need to take a better picture)

No Bones About It!!

An Original Fearless Crafter Project

I created this lamp for a crafty challenge on another site, but it was something that I've been puzzling out for a while.

I was inspired by this and this (can't see those pics though....)

*** Safety First!!! ***
and Disclaimer

I'm not sure how true this is, but it is possible that x-rays emit fumes that can be hazardous to your health. It might have something to do with the composition of the film paper. MRI, CT, X-rays are all printed on same paper and may contain trace amounts of silver which can be dangerous to touch as well, but that could just be in large amounts. So don't go licking the films.

If you are wary of such things, then don't make this lamp!!

*** End Safety Note ***

Let's Craft!!!

The total time it takes to do this project does not include the overnight drying time of the glue and paint.


Supplies:

• 4 Wooden frames (got mine at the dollar store)
• 2 3/8" square wooden dowels, cut into pieces to match the length of the longest side of the frame (mine were about 12" long)
• 4 3/8" eye hooks
• 1 Bottle Lamp Kit (hardware store trip!!)
• 1 Finial
• 1 8" lamp harp
• Wood glue
• Wire (I used wire that my dad had on hand, not sure what type or size)

Instructions!
	Start by removing the glass and cardboard backing from the frames. Measure the long side of the frame and cut the dowels to that size. Glue one dowel to one frame with wood glue. Do the same for the other 3 frames and pieces of dowel.
	Clamp for 30 minutes, and then let dry overnight.
	While the frames are drying, use on of the glass pieces from a frame as a guide to cut your image down to size. With her permission, I used my mom's MRI images. Also make sure a plain white sheet of paper is the same size as the glass.
	Now that your frame pieces are dry, start gluing them together to form a box. Clamp for 30 minutes, then let dry overnight. I painted the dowels and the outside of the frame box black. Let the paint dry overnight.
	You now have a box. Here comes the harder part. How to hang it on the lamp harp. Take an eye hook and screw it into the frame, I put mine about 3 or 4 inches from the top. I picked the same spot in each corner, so that there is one eye hook in each frame.
	Take a piece of wire and lay it across your box diagonally. Make sure to have about 2 or 3 inches extra on each end. I used a heavy gauge annealed binding wire that my dad gave me. I think you could probably use bailing wire.
	Fold the wire in half to find the middle. Make a loop to fit around the screw on top of the lamp harp.
	Bend the extra 2 or 3 inches of the wire down, so that you can put it in the eye hooks. You want to hang the wire diagonally across the box.
	You want to try and get the loop in the center, so that your shade will hang evenly. You might have to fiddle with it a bit.
	When I put the images back into the frame, I also used the glass. So here is how the items go into the frame: MRI image, paper, glass. Put the shade on the lamp harp, add the finial and you have a lamp!

Polymer Clay Eyes *Tutorial*

I wanted to make these for a swap, but could not find flat backed plastic doll eyes that looked like the ones pictured. So I decided to make my own eyes. I did not take any pics when I made the first sets of eyes, so I will just have to make more!!

Sculpey Colors used:
01 - white
042 - black
1628 - string bean

*** Safety First!!! ***

It is not recommended to put uncured polymer clay on furniture.
If you use any type of food-related item such as a plastic chopping mat or pasta machine, you can NEVER EVER use it for food again!
Be sure to follow the directions for baking polymer clay!

*** End Safety Note ***

Let's Craft!!!

Start with a piece of white clay that will make a 1/2" ball. With a blade, cut the ball in half. Be careful not to squish the halves. Eyes are round, remember? This is the only part that I actually measured because I wanted to make sure that the eyes would fit the silverware I used.

Next, use green for the iris. All I did was to flatten a bit of clay and used my template to cut a few 3/8" circles. Carefully smooth them onto the white half-balls, but don't completely cover the white.

Use a very small bit of black for the pupils. Basically, use a small ball about half the size of a popcorn kernel. Flatten it. Smooth it onto the green.

Bake at recommended temperature and time (275 degrees for 15 minutes per 1/4" thickness). Since my oven is older and a bit touchy, I baked mine at 250 for about 17 minutes.

**************************

Since I made my eyes, I have taken over the toaster oven for my clay baking. It is now nice enough that I can work outside.

Shower Favors

I wanted to make nice favors that everyone would love. Here is what I created:

















Quick little tutorial

I used flower pot votive holders. Spread a thin layer of glue on the thick rim of the cup (I used Aleene's Original Tacky Glue. Roll the votive in beads, being sure to cover the glue entirely. Don't be afraid to move the beads around. Let dry for about 24 hours.

Be sure to fill in any blank spots with a drop of glue and bead(s). Fill with candy and a candle (or whatever you like), place two tulle circles on top, wrap with ribbon. I bought some novelty pink baby pins and pacifiers from a dollar store and used those to embellish the favor.

Don't forget to add the tag with the date!! (I did that on this one)