Wardrobe Wednesday - Reconstructed Tee

I had one of those sleeps last night, where I was woken so many times that my dreams were kind of just thoughts with some colourful, dreamy details.  For instance, all morning I've had to remind myself that the theme for this week's Wardrobe Wednesday is not Bespoke Flamenco Clothing.  Um.  Yeah anyway.  Yesterday/last night I pulled apart and reconstructed this cheap K-Mart Tee ($9), basing the new design on another cheap K-Mart Tee that I bought recently (and LOOOVE - I'll show you soon).  It ended up completely different, but anyway.  I nicknamed it a 'boyfriend tee', based on the rolled up sleeves and the fact that if I paid Zan heaps of money, he might wear it for me.  Just kidding.  He wouldn't.

OMG I spent a good long time trying to get a picture of myself wearing this t-shirt.  You know, a picture that I didn't totally hate.  I'm not saying that I love these ones, but the others were... well... deleted.

I set out to write a tutorial for this, but you probably don't need one.  I think I'll just write a 'sort-of' one, because half of my brain is still in dreamland today, so I'm have no idea what's going on.  And no, three coffees have not helped.

So.  Take a tee, and a couple of pieces of knit fabric (I picked up these pieces in a Maryborough opshop for super cheap).  

Grab a quick-unpick and set aside some time to unpick this beast.  It took me awhile.  I removed the sleeves and the front panel.  I didn't like the V-neck, so I based my decision around that.  Whichever panel you have chosen to remove, pin it (or lazily place it) against one of your pieces of knit fabric, and cut out your new panel.

Do the same with your new sleeves.  Like so.  You could just hem your sleeves normally, but I ended up rolling mine and stitching them on that way.  It was a tiny bit messier, but also a tiny bit easier, and I like the look.

Hmm, as I write this my son is literally teaching himself to crawl.  Oh.  I thought he might do that cute just-sitting thing for a bit longer, but he's moved about a metre across our living room floor as I've penned this.  *Sigh*  Guess I should video it or something. 

Anyway, after you've cut out all your pieces, basically just reassemble them!  Easy!  I did the front panel first, joining the sides and the shoulders.  Then I added the sleeves.  And a pocket.  And reattached the neck thingy. I told you this was just a sort-of tutorial. 

I wore this tee with some K-Mart jeans I bought while we were in Auckland recently and some older K-Mart shoes from a few years back.  Hmm.  I do shop in other stores also.

The cute brooch was gifted to me by this sweet friend.  She frequently bestows amazing gifts upon me. I'm pretty lucky.

Joining in with Wardrobe Wednesday, hosted by CreateHopeInspire.

DIY Pimp My Walnut Boat

A few weeks ago a friend handed me a container of walnut shells to make boats for Eleanor.  I do love me a walnut boat of the traditional variety, but this time I decided to up the ante a little.  I think The Borrowers would really like these boats, don't you?

I made a small fleet of boats, which these Paper Pocket Friends were quite pleased about.  The tiny bunting was a bit tricky to make, but I just used the wee tiny bunting I had printed a while back (you could just cut tiny squares of coloured paper), and dipped some thick wire coil in glue.  Like I said, it was tricky, but with much patience, I managed to make some teeny tiny boat flags.  It was totally worth the effort as far as I'm concerned, the boats with flags are def my favourites.

I imagine this would be a fun activity at a birthday party too.  For a nautical theme perhaps, or even a fairy theme (what fairy wouldn't want one of these boats?!).  The partygoers could race them once they finished decorating them, and then they would make cute take home favours.  Which practically makes these the moat ultimate party activity ever, now that I think about it.  Also, completely free (apart from basic supplies you probably already have in your craft cupboard).  You're welcome.

Other materials I used: glitter, lace tape, fabric, scrap book paper (both used to line the boats), kraft paper, twine, ribbon, and of course - paint.

Back tomorrow with more Blog Birthday goodness.  x

My Creative Space: Child's Tee Restyle

I whipped up this little restyle a while back, loosely inspired by this cute tee that I've had my eye on for a long time now...  I love seeing my girl child in cute tees.  Like this one from Kristin.  I hope to add to this collection sometime soon, by shopping Croutons... x

Easy peasy capped sleeves and a simple applique.  Nothing in it.  Tomorrow I have a special guest blogger sharing another amaze-pants way to make a plain tee a lot cooler, so totally come back and check that out!

And how she's been wearing it while we're away:

Pop back later for my third sweet giveaway, and keep an eye out tomorrow for another guest post x

Art Envelopes

This is a project for everyday use, but I also think they are perfect for sending out invites.  Garden parties, Spring themes, Fairy parties, or just a little get together with friends.  I would never try to claim ownership of this idea, and really these are so simple to make that you hardly need a tutorial not that that seems to be stopping me.  I don't have anyone to link back to, and I wouldn't even know who originated this idea, but I suspect people have been making these for decades anyway.

You will need:

1. An old book, preferably one that is already damaged.  2. An envelope to use as a template.  3. Some clear, flat plastic packaging (I always save this type of packaging for projects like this.  I promise I won't start hoarding things in a scary way :-/).  4. Watercolour paints.  5. Scissors.  6. DECAdry letters - but if you don't have these, alphabet stamps or even just an inky pen will do.  7. Glue.

1. Open out your envelope to use as a template.  2. Find a page with a large illustration and size up your template against it, making sure that the best part of the illustration will end up on the front part of the envelope.

3. Trace around your envelope.  4. Ahem.  Cut it out.  Yeah I know, these instructions are v. obvious. 5. Pre-fold your new envelope and press down the edges with your finger nails to make sure they are crisp.  6. Open the envelope back out again, and then find a spot on the front of your envelope to cut out your window.  It doesn't matter where.  Just somewhere that looks good.

7. Paint around the edge of your window.  I did a scallop design because that seems to be my fall back at the moment, as you have quite possibly already noticed.  8. Use whatever lettering device you have to leave a little message for the recipient.

9.  Once the paint has dried, turn the envelope over and glue a pre-cut square of plastic sheeting onto it. 10.  Glue the tabs together.  Done!

Easy peasy.  

Tomorrow:  More makings, and a giveaway...

'Carve Your Love' Rustic Bookends DIY

This DIY (it really is easy), is also a very very basic carving lesson.  As such, the tutorial is in part written by my dad in that I am paraphrasing instructions that he gave me and would not have happened without his help and his woodcarving tools.  

Yeah, sorry about the chainsaw bit.  You could also give it a go with a handsaw, but in my dad's words, "that would take a very long time."  I suggest finding someone who is confident using one (I'm not, despite having a certificate that says I'm qualified to use one - yes really!), and getting them to help you with the first bit.

Thanks Pop!  Like many of my wood-based projects, Papa-bear helped me get started in the same way that Mama helps me with many of my yarn/fabric related crafts.  At first I wasn't sure about cutting it before carving it, but I soon realised that my Pa was right.  

Don't expect to get perfectly flat edges, but it looks more rustic this way anyway...

My dad has an awesome vice built onto his workbench and I'm not exactly sure what you would use instead of this.  The log doesn't need to be completely secure, but can just be jammed in, in a way that prevents it from moving too much while you carve.  The ropes really aren't at all necessary.  Rest easy though this is a method you could try in order to hold your wood tight.

Have you done woodcarving before?  I'm not sure if this is obvious to everyone already, or whether this is useful information to share.  I was brought up around these tools so they fit easily in my hands, but I guess maybe some of you have never seen anyone carve before...  Basically, hold your chisel (a 'V' chisel for this project) in your 'wrong' hand, and the mallet in your strong hand.  If you have some scrap wood, clamp it to your bench and have a bit of a practice first.  The key is to tap gently.  You must follow the grain of the wood as much as possible, and tap even more gently (with the mallet banging against the top of your chisel - as pictured), at any point that you find yourself going against the grain.  Wood kind of splinters and goes ugly (hows that for mean technical jargon?!) if you bash away too heavily, without 'tuning in' to the wood you are carving.  Um.  Well anyway, that's the way I feel about it.  It's kind of an intuitive thing.  You'll see.

I am right-handed so this is my 'mallet' hand - though in this picture my dad is standing in as my right hand - guess he's my 'right hand man'.  Sorry.  That was bad.

Woodcarving is also a very meditative craft.  Creating this simple project reminded me of that, and I'm actually very keen to do some more soon.  My pop is a woodcarver by trade, and he is planning to do a time-lapse woodcarving lesson sometime soon (a much more thorough and informative one that this!). I'll let you know.

You want to keep the bark in a rustic condition, which means it is pretty much impossible to pencil your design in first.  My suggestion is to carve a very light outline of your design first, and then tap away more heavily at that once you are happy.  Small mistakes can be disguised thanks to the 'rustic' look, so don't worry if your initial outline is not absolutely perfect.  For this project, I carved to the bone (that's what I call it anyway, just until you can see some white 'flesh'). 

The benefit of having cut your log first, is that you do not have to endure the stress of having to cut exactly through the centre of your heart.  Carve one side of your heart, and then mirror that design again on the other half.

This next step is not absolutely essential but depending on how 'barky' your piece of wood is, will give you a smoother surface to carve on.  Using a flat chisel, gently tap away some of the excess bark (going with the grain again, despite what the image shows!).  I tried to keep as much of the bark as possible, to give it an authentic look, but chipped off any flaky bits, or bits that had gum or small knots.

Once again, gently outline the word you are going to carve.  It doesn't matter if your rough sketch looks ugly at this stage, you can pretty it up when you go over it again.

Well... it still looks a little bit messy, but I guess we can just call that rustic!  Some of my bark chipped away from the insides of the letters, so I collected those chips to re-glue at the end.  

And an arrow as a final touch!  Carving to the bone helps your design to stand out.  I briefly considered adding paint to my carved design - a metallic gold perhaps - but decided against.  I like the rustic look more, but you might decide to add paint to yours!

I hope to share more projects like this soon.  We are making a little Woodland themed nook in Eleanor's room (sneak peek soon), so there may be a few more projects along these lines...

Tomorrow:  Giveaway the Second! x