Pardon My Poppet

Posts Tagged ‘Crafts’

I love reading new blogs!  You must too if you’re here on a regular basis!  Often I’m introduced to topics I want to share with you, our readers, but don’t have the time to stay on top of it.  And you know what they say, out of sight, out of mind (especially for the mum of a toddler)!  This is the first installment of a new weekly feature on Pardon My Poppet.  We already tell you about our exceptional finds in Poppet’s Picks, and we’re extending it to the blogging world.

Each week we will release a mini-newsletter with 7 of our favourite blogs from that week, one that you can visit each day.  I do hope you’ll enjoy the extra reading suggestions.  Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss an issue!  E-mail subscriptions are easy, simply click on the RSS feed and fill out the box for e-mail.  Consider this your one-stop shop for the best reads of the week!  Now, on to the fun part!

Food:

Carrie’s Sweet Life is insanely yummy!!!!  I don’t know where all her recipes come from, but the pics alone are enough to make a grown man drool.  Don’t believe me?  Take a peek at her Coconut Key Lime Bread! Read the rest of this entry »

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I remember making tissue paper flowers as a kid to stick on a car of at a relative’s wedding – how much fun! Since I’m in the midst of changing over our winter decorations in the house to spring/summer ones I thought I’d resurrect the idea. I wanted something fun, and safe to place in Poppet’s bedroom window after the snow, polar bears and penguins were removed, but I didn’t want the typical poufy wedding style tissue paper flower.  Poppet has a lovely tree that is directly outside her room, but it seems to be the last plant that blooms around here! So I’m hoping to rev her imagination with some vibrant blossoms!

I simply used tissue paper, scissors and thread for my flowers. I would have used floral wire, but I want to hang them, and should the suction cups let go of the window I wanted the flowers to be completely soft for safety’s sake.  I choose a light and dark pink for my flowers, and toyed with the idea of adding some white, but didn’t have room on the window in the end!  For 10 flowers I used 2 sheets of tissue paper, some sewing thread and a pair of scissors.

1)  Take your first sheet of tissue paper and fold it in half.  Fold it in half the same direction again, and then a third time.

2)  Cut along the fold lines.  then take these strips and folded them into quarters and cut on the fold lines again.  You are left with a pile of small rectangles.

3)  Place a round-bottomed item in the middle of one piece of paper.  Twist the ends around it like a candy wrapper.  Remove the item.  One petal done, many more to go!

4)  Take 5 petals by one twist with 3 facing up and 2 facing down on top of those 3.  Secure with thread around all the twists.  Trim.

5)  Open petals to desired shape.  Secure a thread around the opposite twist on only 1 petal if you wish to hang the flower.  Trim all petal tips.

Repeat, repeat, repeat!  Now you have enough to decorate for spring too!

Warmest regards,

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I’m about to spend the rest of the day cooking up a storm.  Tomorrow night we are attending a Chili, Curry and Bunco Contest.  As my hubby is the curry judge I need to make sure that I have my recipe finished and well hidden before he gets home tonight.  This is serious stuff!  They’ll even make sure to put it in a different container so he for sure doesn’t know it’s mine!  I’ll make sure to post the recipe after the contest, but until then, thought I’d share my tips for making home-made leg warmers for the kids!  SO much less expensive than buying them at $15 a pop!

What you’ll need:

1 pair of ladies knee-high socks (or use crew socks for infant size leg warmers) I buy mine at the dollar store!

matching thread

a needle or a sewing machine (these are easy enough to make by hand, knock yourself out!)

pins if desired

scissors

What you do with the stuff:

1-  Cut the toe off the sock, then cut the heel off the sock.  This will leave you with 2 straight rectangle tubes.

2- Take the foot tube of the sock and cut in down the length.  Pin inside out and sew 3/4 inch seam on cut edge, trim.  Remember to stretch the material as you sew it so it will not pucker.  Fold in half lengthwise so it is right side out all around.

3-  Turn the calf tube of the sock inside out.  Pin the sewn foot tube into the middle of the calf tube.  Pin evenly in place.  Sew around through all 3 raw edges with 1/2 inch seam at least 2 times.  Remember to stretch the material as you sew it so it will not pucker.  You can finish raw edge with zigzag stitch or surger if you wish, but I leave it.  Turn right side out.  Voila!

Here’s Poppet rockin’ her new warmers on top of tights on a recent shopping trip.

And here’s a pic of her in a pair made with crew socks rather than knee highs.  She is not climbing up, that is her “I’m watching cartoons” pose!

If you wish to make these for older kids, just use men’s knee-high socks.  Enjoy!

Warmest regards,

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Last year a friend of mine gave me a decorated outlet cover.  What a great idea!  Ever since, I have been making my own.  One would be hard pressed to find an undecorated outlet cover, or switch plate, in my house.

This project is not only a lot of fun to do, but it’s something my 2.75 year old daughter can do with me.  It makes creative use out of junk mail, or pieces of memorabilia.  For example, last year I decorated a light switch cover with pieces from my wedding invitation as a present for my husband.  It was a great way to remember our special occasion, and neither of us ran the risk of forgetting the date!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Outlet covers or light switch plates
Whatever you want to decorate it with (lot’s of ideas below)
Mod Podge – Matte
Scissors, pencil/pen, paint brush
a little creativity

Place the outlet cover or light switch plate on the back side of the paper you are going to use.

Trace the outline of the cover onto the paper using a pen or pencil.

Cut out the outline, preferably using scissors that have a fine point.

Mod Podge away!  First start by placing a full coat over the surface of the cover.

Next, place the paper on top of the cover, and repaint the Mod Podge over top of your clippings.

Note: if you are sticking tissue paper to a cover I find it easier to Mod Podge half of the cover first, then position half of the tissue paper onto the cover.  Next apply the Mod Podge over the remaining part of the cover, blanket the cover with the rest of the tissue paper, and Mod Podge the top coat to protect the surface.

Below is a picture of my 2.75 year old daughter doing her own cover.  She designed hers with old stamps.

The owls are from fancy tissue.  You might notice that the first outlet cover is decorated with the left overs from the other owl outlet cover.  That’s the great thing about this project.  The canvass is so small that no scrap is a waste!

The ice cream cone is from a junk mail envelope, and the butterfly cover is wrapping paper from flowers that were given to me for a special occasion.

Now it’s your turn.  #1 rule: Have FUN! :D

About this guest author:

Shawna is an engaging speaker with a heart wrenching story to tell.  Her story is a raw account of the events that led up to the death of her husband, leaving her a widow and a single parent, at the young age of 32.  Her blog, Good Grief Guru, chronicles her journey.

Shawna speaks candidly about her experience living with a spouse who had mental illness, addiction, a big heart, and deep-rooted pain.  A spouse whose life came to a sudden end the day before their daughter’s second birthday.

Shawna is available to share her story nationally, and internationally.  She is willing to journey to any venue.  High schools, conferences, talk shows, corporate events.

Her heart is simply to tell her story, and break the silence caused by stigma, one listener at a time.

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It’s been done before, but not by me, and not like this!

I have a penchant for stationary and pretty things.  So the idea of having an erasable calendar, that is beautiful at the same time, really appealed to me.  But all the instructions I found insisted on cutting each individual square and gluing them equal distance apart to a piece of board.  Never one to do more than I have to in order to enjoy a craft, I decided to simplify the process by using already graduated hues in ready-made paint chip strips (the kind you find in the paint section of any paint carrying store).

What you’ll need:

2 each of 8 different, yet coordinating paint chip strips (i.e. 2 blue, 2 purple, 2 golden, 2 green, etc.)

1 – 12×16″ frame with a glass front (less prone to scratching than plastic)

glue stick

scissors or a straight edge paper-cutter

dry or wet erase markers

How you make it:

Take each paint strip and cut off the first top and bottom square (they have writing on both edges of it).  Leave the white margin between the colours intact.

Take each paint strip again, and cut off the edge that has the paint code on it.  You will be left with 16 paint strips, each with 4 colours still intact.

Turn the paper insert inside the frame face down so you can attach the paint strips to a white surface.

Lay out your paint strips and play with it until you get it how you like it.  If you are using this as a calendar you will need to cut one coloured square off the end of 1/2 of the swatches.  Then you will pair this 3 colour strip with a 4 colour strip to make 7 colours for the days of the week.

Cut one 3 colour strip, and one 4 colour strip in half lengthwise.  You will then have thinner strips you can use at the top of the frame to name your days.

Under this thin strip, lay out another 5 rows for the weeks of the month.

I used the extra single swatches to make a task list beside the calendar.

Glue all pieces in place.

Replace the glass.

You can now write on this with a dry or wet erase marker (if you can find wet erase they show up darker, but they are difficult to find in my area).

When a new month comes along, simply wipe clean and start again!

Warmest regards,

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Have you been over to http://www.tipjunkie.com ?  I never knew this blog existed, but it is everything I LOVE!  And if you scroll down on the right hand side you can access many different topics.

What made me fall in love with this blog was the following post:  http://www.tipjunkie.com/top-10-crafts-to-make-this-week-1030/comment-page-1/#comment-223488 .  Such clever ideas!  especially like the idea of using pumpkins as vases!

Warmest regards,

If you enjoy our posts, please consider taking a moment to follow us!  Pardon My Poppet is on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.  Or you can grab our RSS Feed or Subscribe via E-mail!