Mother's Day Craft Ideas - A Heart for Mom

OK, so we are almost there. I love Mother's Day!
Try this:

This felt heart filled with lavender or rosemary (my choice this time) is a great little gift that will be loved and used. Placed in a drawer or hanging in a closet, this sachet will keep your clothes smell fresh and natural.
It is easy to make and looks so cure, mom will be glad to have it or even choose to keep it as a room freshener just to let her visitors see her precious little gift.

Here is how to create this particular heart shape:

I cut two identical pieces of red felt and one smaller in pink.

To achieve this naive and rustic look, I chose rough stitches and chunky yellow yarn. I first attached the pink heart to one of my red hearts. Then I added the other red heart to the back. I made a 'pocket' which I filled with dried rosemary and than sewed it all together. You can also glue the edges together, but I preferred to put some more work ( read: 'love') into this.
At the end, I added these lovely beads to the design. Just because they look like m&m's.

Enjoy it! I hope Mom will too :)

Love,
DK

Mother's Day Craft Ideas - Part One (Recycle)

Just a quick one today:

I recycled my old stockings and made this cute little bag. This one took four pairs. Just cut stripes 1-2 cm wide and use as yarn.

This is just an idea - you can let your imagination go wild and make whatever would suit your mom's style.
I bet mom won't mind to wear what used to be your pantyhose. Others will not be able to tell anyway.

More is coming :)

Love,
DK

Happy Easter!

Love,
DK

Easter Craft Ideas - Part Four

Today's Easter Craft Tutorial: Egg Cosies

We make egg cosies mostly because we like to make them. There is something romantic and noble about them.

I am sorry to say I have noticed we actually use egg cosies less and less.
We mostly have our breakfasts on the run - have no time to boil an egg, let alone to put a little cap on it to keep it warm.

Well, you might want to add egg cosies to your Easter breakfast table at least for decoration.

Here is an easy project for you:

Material:

- 1 sheet of felt in a color that matches your table setting
(I used three different colors as I had some leftover felt already.)
- Thick tread in a contrasting color
- A simple sewing needle (make sure the tread fits).

Here is your pattern:

I designed this egg cosy to be a little chunky for a rustic look and that is why the pattern is 5 cm (2") wide. Have in mind that you will loose a couple of millimeters on each side of each part of the cosy if sewing with a thick tread.
The hight of the pattern will be more or less the same as the width, depending on how deep your egg cups are. The hight of the pattern shown here is 53 mm.

One you have your pattern cut out, copy it on felt and cut three pieces for each cosy you want to make.

Start with two pieces, place them so that their wrong sides are facing each other and sew them together from the basis to the top. Then add the third piece and sew them all together, not at all trying to make your stitches perfect. :)

Here is the result again:

And here is another option:

You guessed right - this was one of my February projects (for more see my older posts).

I really believe that these little things add to the atmosphere now as we have less time to eat together.
If you have family meals only on weekends and holidays, that is one more reason to make them special. And it does not mean you have to spend hours cooking.

On making your simple meals special see this book;


Rita's Culinary Trickery

Even if you are a great cook, there are some smart tricks in this book you might want to use.

All the best!

Love,
DK

Easter Craft Ideas - Part Three

Ever since I came to live in Australia, I have a problem to really get into the right mood for holidays. Everything is so... opposite here. I am never sure which time of the year it actually is and what the next coming holiday should be.

My Easter Craft Ideas posts are the product of me trying to put on my 'Easter hat' and think Easter and not autumn.
Now, Easter weather in Melbourne can be nice, but I will always miss all the green gardens full of daffodils.
This year, we are approaching this holiday with cold, gray and rainy weather (however, it can always change to better in one week). And, in my mind, Easter is green, yellow and white. It means spring! :)

The other day, I thought of a great December spent in America and all the lovely ladies wearing red and green sweaters and accessories while approaching Christmas. And I thought I might do exactly the same thing this Easter. I can create the mood I need (and I need to think it's spring!)

That is how this 'necklace' was born - I needed it to be green and yellow and flowery. I'm wearing it to work tomorrow! And, tomorrow night - I will make a pair of hand warmers in same colors. (Of course I'll post pictures - you bet)

The work is very simple - if you have ever crocheted anything, you will be able to make it.

The colors are the ones that will bring the Easter mood wherever you go.


Don't miss my next post this weekend - I'm showing you some cute little (easy to made) egg cosies.
See you then!

Love, DK

Easter Craft Ideas - Part Two

Gifts...

What about this:

This is an inexpensive and effective gift idea.

I used inexpensive paper mache boxes for this project.

First, I covered them with gesso (primer used by painters as primer for canvas or wood). I love using gesso before paint - it allows my colors to really stand out and I need less paint than I would need if I applied color directly on the surface.

After painting the boxes (both inside and outside) you can add any embellishments you have at hand. Not everything has to be about eggs and bunnies every Easter.
I thought my perfume sticker would be good for the pink box made for a girl.
For the sea theme on the green box I just decoupaged pieces of wrapping paper.

You can use white glue mixed with water instead of the Modge Podge (save money).
When you have all the pieces glued, use the same mixture to cover the whole surface (at least one layer).

Finally, fill the boxes with candies and inexpensive little toys and you have perfect Easter gifts for children.
A nicely decorated box like this (you will want to use a different theme), filled with a silk scarf, a tie, a set of beverage coasters (choices are endless) would make great gifts for your grownup friends too.

(See more boxes here.

Well, I hope you'll find this helpful. Let me know either way :)

Love,
DK

P.S.
Sorry about the poor quality of my pictures. I take them in the evening and I really need to do something to provide appropriate light. I promise I will. Soon :)

Easter Craft Ideas - Part One

I promised I would come up with some Easter craft ideas.
So here we are:

Number one: if you still have to send some Easter cards - do not waste your money on fancy designer cards - you can do a great job with templates from your craft or two-dollar shop.
You can start with simple cardboard, but I have found these for $2 per pack.

I added a piece of red cardboard to the top front part of the template. I wanted to keep the leaf uncovered for now. Take a look:

I printed a cute little picture I found here.
I simply glued the picture on the red cardboard.

Then I made this little raffia bow and added it to the lower part of the card.

Well, I liked the result, but there was (still) something missing to this Easter card.
So I added these buttons (buttons seem to be getting more and more popular as inexpensive embellishment material for many crafts).

Take a look now:

That's it. Now, if you use such a delicate template like I did here, you'll need to add a piece of cardboard or paper inside to write on.
That is why it is always safe to buy simple cardboard templates (or make your own). By doing that you are actually giving so much space to your own imagination - your options are endless.
If you are a crafter you will always have leftovers from your previous crafts. If this is a new (potential) hobby for you - keep your eyes open. You can find a lot of supply on sales, at two-dollar shops and supermarkets. In fact, I bought my basic equipment at Aldi for several bucks.
It works well for me. And I have not buy a greeting card since.

I hope you will still have time to use this idea for the coming Easter, but my point is that you can save money making your own cards for Easter or any other occasion.

Enjoy it.
(Part two coming soon!)

Love,
DK

Make Dinner for Less than $10!

This one is a pearl!

A free cookbook full of recipes to help you make dinner for your family for less than $10.

Go to

http://donnakaysblog.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/a-free-coockbook-for-you-make-dinner-for-lee-than-10/

Enjoy it!

Love,
DK

A Free Cookbook for You

This is just a quick one - I want to give you something that will help you save some money.

Important:
Cook at home whenever you can. If you are busy like I am, you will not have time to cook every day.
When I cook, I always try to make more food then we need, so we can have at least lunch for the following day.
That way I save quite some money on food.

I also love getting free stuff. I received this cookbook for free and I want you to have it too.
Like pineapple? - Today is your lucky day and here is a whole booklet of recipes, all including pineapple. :)

http://www.heinz.com.au/testkitchen/cookbook/pineapplemagiccookbook.pdf


I love the upside down cake :)
How about you? Let me know!

Love,
DK

Make & Save with Yarn

I bought this yarn last year.
I loved its fluffiness and the fact it was cotton, and now I'm starting to love pink!
Well, it was cheap too, so I decided I would buy some :)


This is what I've done with it so far:

You've guessed it right - I did this in February :)
I loved combining yarn and left-overs of a tunic of mine for the heart-shaped potholder.
Then I couldn't stop there, so I went to my recycling corner and found a household paper tube which I cut, covered with some paper (with pink hearts) and I finished my napkin rings with my pink yarn.
I made some more pink items in February, I'll show you later...


Now, a colleague of mine has got a new baby girl. While he was on leave we prepared gifts (we do that for each new baby in our office). I remembered my pink yarn again :)
P. is coming back to work tomorrow and here is what I made for little Ava:

Love,
DK