Tie Dye

In our continuing "Summer O Projects" the girls and I made tie-dye t-shirts. We bought white t-shirts on sale for half price and a neon tie-dye kit. There are all sorts of suggestions in the pamphlet that comes with the kit, but we decided to do a traditional tie-dye style. We folded the t-shirts up accordion style and tied them with rubber bands (then twine when I ran out of rubber bands).

Then we sprayed on the dye. The dye in the kit comes in handy little spray bottles so no mixing which is nice. The girls had fun deciding which color to put where.

We let them dry tied up overnight and then hung them up to finish air drying the next morning. After they were completely dry I set the dye with an iron.

They turned out really cute and the dye has survived the wash with no running or fading.  Next on the list, tie-dyed socks!

On a side note, you should have seen the smiles we got when the three of us wore our matching t-shirts, friendship bracelets, and dyed shoes.  I'm just hoping we didn't look like craft crazy clowns and people were just smiling because we looked like we'd been having fun!

Friendship Bracelets

The girls and I worked on another 100 Days of Summer project today. We've had a great time making friendship bracelets.

This version is made with yarn instead of DMC floss so they're actually a little easier to make, plus if you're like me you have lots of yarn scraps lying around. I feel like I'm at summer camp. :) Now we're off to the pool.

100 Days of Summer

I've you've been needing ideas for entertaining your family this summer I found a great resource! 100 Days of Summer

One of the ideas is to create a colorful pair of canvas tennis shoes for less than $10. I HAD to try it! I dyed mine yellow and my girls want purple and orange. This is a great project for teenagers to do themselves.

I sewed elastic inside so that they don't need laces.

I think they turned out so cute! I'm going to wear them all summer.

Click for Shoe makeover directions

A Touch of Red

I've had a chalkboard in my kitchen for years. I love it and we write all sorts of things on it. Everything from Bible verses to grocery lists. It was painted with an off-white crackle finish and I decided to freshen it up with a little red paint.

It stands out now against the pale yellow of the wall.

Make a Mosiac

As you can see, I don't have a window over my kitchen sink (I do have a large bay window in the table area of the kitchen). When we first moved in I had a huge wreath hanging over the sink. I never really liked it, but didn't know what else would go in such a large space.

One day, I visited a gorgeous home that had a professionally done mosaic style back splash in the kitchen made with pieces of blue and white dishes as tiles and I just fell in love with it. I decided to replicate it on a much smaller scale in DIY fashion.

First, I had to gather the dishes (it took more dishes than you might think). I decided to use one and only one of my beloved Blue Willow plates as the focal point of the mosaic, but I wasn't about to break more than I absolutely had to. The great part was that since I was going to break the plates anyway, I could buy the chipped and broken pieces on clearance. I got a couple of chipped plates on clearance at T.J. Maxx and I also bought a service for four of blue and white dishes at Target. The set was already on clearance, but I noticed that one of the plates was broken inside the box. I asked the checker if she could mark it down even further and pointed out the broken plate. I got the entire set for $6! I found the small blue "outline" tiles on clearance at Home Depot. I think they were being discontinued.

Next, my brother helped me cut a large piece of plywood to fit between the cabinets. I didn't want the mosaic to be permanent. We have no intention of moving, but you never know. Plus it was easier to make the mosaic while the plywood was laying flat and then fit it into place rather than doing it directly on the wall.

I broke the plates with a hammer (be sure and wear safety glasses if you do this). I had to hit them harder than I thought. I thought I could just tap them and they would break, but it actually took a little force. I put the plates in a pillowcase (that wound up cut to ribbons) and broke them on the front porch. Poor Mike thought I had lost my mind (and not for the first time I'm sure) when he came home and found me breaking plates on the porch with a hammer.

Then all I had to do was spread tile mastic on the plywood with a trowel and arrange the tiles like I wanted. I didn't even grout it afterward (although I probably should have). Once it was good and dry I nailed it into place and it's been there ever since. I love it and I think it adds a lot of character to my kitchen. I get lots of compliments on it. By the way, you can click on the picture to view it larger.

If you have a project that you want to try, go for it. If I can do it, so can you! :)

Progress

I thought you might want to see the progress I've made on the rainy day scarf that I started on the 14th when I shared A Day in My Life. I haven't been able to devote any large blocks of time to knitting, but it is coming along nicely. I love the wavy pattern and it's a lot of fun to knit.

Candy Cane Cookies and Christmas Garland

This afternoon the girls and I made candy cane cookies. I found the recipe at The Homespun Heart. They are really good and it was fun rolling the dough and forming it into the candy cane shapes.

Candy Cane Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. red food coloring

Cream together butter, shortening, sugar and egg until light and fluffy. Add extracts. Gradually stir in flour. Divide dough in half. Add food coloring to one half and mix well. Wrap each half in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour (or you can freeze the dough at this point). Preheat oven to 375. Roll cookies to long ropes twisting together one of each color to form the candy cane shape. Bake 9 to 10 minutes. If desired, brush with egg white and sprinkle with crushed candy cane.

The girls also made this Names of Jesus garland along the lines of one we saw at The Homespun Heart. She has a tutorial if you want to know how to make one.


The girls love to be crafty and this was a fun and easy project for them. I didn't laminate it so it may only last through the season, but that's OK. We can make another one next year. :)

Have you done anything Christmassy this week?

What can you do with a can of spray paint?

I bought these bar stools about 5 years ago at our church garage sale. They were brand new and we only paid $20 each for them. They were originally too tall to fit under the bar, so Mike sawed a few inches off the legs for me. I spray painted them black today (they were originally the light pine color of the chairs you see in the background). I think the new color gives my kitchen a whole new look. I wonder what else I can paint? :)

Homemade Bed Buddy

I am always cold in the winter time and we keep our heat set fairly low to save on those bills. I've been meaning to make a "bed buddy" for quite some time and I finally made one this weekend! I didn't use a pattern or anything and it was so easy. I made a "pillow" out of a scrap of plain white fabric, filled it with white rice (not minute rice) and sewed it shut. I then made a removable case for it that can be washed. I just warm it in the microwave for about 2 minutes, then put it under the covers by my feet. It stays warm for quite a while and keeps my feet so nice and toasty. I love it! My girls both want one now. I wonder if these might make good frugal Christmas gifts for next year?