Newspaper Fabric Ball - Tutorial

You have all seen them.  The fabric rag balls.

I wanted to make some for this cool platter my grandmother gave me for my birthday, but I didn't feel like hauling three children to the store in the cold weather.  blah.  So, I came up with a short cut.

Here is what you need: 

Scissors

Newspaper

Long strips of fabric

glue gun

Ball up one piece of newspaper

Put your ball of newspaper on top of another piece and start rolling it up.

 Tuck the sides in as you go.

You should have something like this when you get to the end.

Now just glue it down really well with your hot glue gun.

Cut long strips of fabric no wider than 1 inch.  I had some quilted strips that I was using for a quilt I started and never finished, but you can just you long strips of one color.

Put hot glue at the end of one of your strips.

 Attach it to the ball and start wrapping.

 When you get to the end, add glue to the end of the strip.

 Glue it underneath a strip that is right next to it.

 Look over your ball for fabric that is sticking up.

Glue it down. This will secure the strips so they don't slide off.

Then, stick them in a cool bowl and set it on your table.  I have a few more to make to fill up my bowl, but I think it looks great for not costing me anything.

Sew & Tell: WINNER!!!!

This was a rough competition!  I can't believe how hard it was to narrow it down to one!  Kimbo had her work cut out for her.  Trust me when I say, she thought it through thoroughly!

As much as we wanted to give it to three different people, only one winner could be selected for the awesome 1/2 yard fabric bundle (3 yards total) from Lily Bella Fabrics!

The winner is....

Kimberly from bugaboo, mini mr & me!

Kimberly went all out and truly made an ENTIRE outfit!

Congrats Kimberly!  Contact me so we can get your prize out to you.

frebyrds (at) gmail (dot) com

Some of mine and Kimbo's favorites that truly deserve mentioning are:

The pencil skirt by Selina from The Sisters 4 say More is More.

  

And

The Lace Skirt from Kate at Our Life in a Nut Shell.

Trust me when I say there were more contenders!  You ladies did AWESOME!

Look for another competition coming this spring!

Sew & Tell Prize!!!

For those of you who have and will be entering the competition before the night is over, there is a pretty great prize in store for you. 

Since you took the challenge to use up your stash or thrifted items, you deserve something new.  Don't you think?

The winner will have their choice at a 1/2 yard fabric bundle from Lily Bella Fabrics!!! 

Christy carries some fabulous fabrics like Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, and Joel Dewberry.  Check her shop out for some great fabrics.  Trust me when I say you will love her.  She is so sweet, so accommodating, so friendly, and mother after my own heart with 4 children all close in age.  Love her already!

Here are the fabric choices the winner will get to choose from (Jealous!  There's so many to choose from):

Make sure to link your craft  before midnight (central time) tonight!!!

Also, make sure you post the "a craft a day" button in the post you make about your craft!!!

Chocolate Earth Balls - Recipe

Tomorrow I will be posting the photos of the prize for the Sew and Tell.  Let me just say this... it is a 1/2 yard fabric bundle (3 yards total) of AMAZINGLY awesome fabric (and you get to choose your bundle)!  Post those projects, you don't want to miss this prize!

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Alanna LOVES to help me cook.  So, finding recipes that she can help a great deal with is always a challenge.  Here is one of her favorite recipes to make.

I got this recipe from Whole Foods Market.  It's fabulous.  There is no baking or cooking required!  Perfect for a child to make.  They are like a child version of a truffle.  Trust me, you won't be able to stay out of them either...  or maybe that's just me.

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons carob powder or unsweetened organic cocoa powder
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided (you can used sweetened, but it is not as healthy... obviously)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (gluten-free, if desired)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

Method

Mix the peanut butter, honey and carob or cocoa powder until well combined. Stir in the raisins and 2 tablespoons of the coconut. Stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Place the remaining coconut, sesame seeds and nuts into 3 separate bowls. Using a spoon, scoop small heaps of the peanut mixture from the bowl; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Rolling is easier if you form a rough ball, roll in the coconut, and then continue rolling into a more perfect shape. Roll each finished ball in more coconut, sesame seeds and chopped nuts. Arrange the balls on a plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 each/22g-wt.): 110 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 40mg sodium, 10g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 3g protein

A little shortcut that will make you laugh

Have you seen this awesome cuff over at Kootoyoo?

It is a simple crochet method that looks so great!  I love this.  

Here is the one I made last night. 

It's called a broomstick lace and it is made with a crochet hook and a super huge knitting needle.  The problem is, I don't have a huge knitting needle and I couldn't justify spending money on a needle I would probably never use again (or rarely).  So, I hunted around the house to find something that would work in it's place.  And.... This is what I used...

Yes... a turkey baster.  It worked really well, actually!  Why buy a needle that I really do not need when I can use what I have on hand (even if my husband thinks I'm crazy)?

Here is part one of the video I used to learn how to do this stitch.  Super easy!

Sew & Tell

This week is time for our Sew & Tell!  

A few reminders.  All materials used must come from your stash and/or your local thrift store.  The finished product should be an outfit of some sort for you, your child, or whoever.  Have fun with it!  

Simply make a blog post about your project and add it to the linky party below. Also, please add this button to your blog post by copying the html code and inserting it to your post.

<center><br /> <a href="http://www.wecraftdaily.blogspot.com/"><img alt="A Craft A Day" src="http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l624/frebyrds1/button.jpg" /></a></center>

If you need help or have questions, let me know.

Look for a post in a day or two about the winners prize!

Sew & Tell - and a little randomness

We will be starting the Sew & Tell Competition on MONDAY!  I will make a post on Monday with the linky party where submissions will need to be made by Friday.  If you haven't signed up and would like to, just add your creation to the linky party next week.  

The only rules, the materials must be from a thrift store and/or your stash.

Last night I made an example.  My daughters Valentines Dress.

 

I used a tutorial from Ashley at Make it and Love it. I hit the thrift store and found the pink shirt and two adult t-shirts (white and red) for $2.90.  Instead of using fabric as Ashley did, I cut up the white t-shirt.  It was EASY!  At the top of the shirt, I cut the lining piece.  Then I cut the rest of the bottom half into three strips.  I didn't cut down the sides or anything.  Then I just had to ruffle the edges and attach it to the lining.  It was easy. 

I top stitched three hearts on the bottom side and made a scarf with the scraps.  Nothing major.  But super cute and very easy!

 

Have fun with it ladies!  Can't wait to see your submissions and Kimbo's pick!  

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Did you see the post over at Between the Lines today?  She made this really cool grocery bag awhile back and Good Housekeeping ripped off the idea without any credit!  Isn't that sickening?

I recently noticed one of my tutorials posted on another blog without any credit.  It ticked me off, but I wasn't going to say anything.  See, I had taken a simple idea and made it better. It was simple, but it worked wonders!  I searched around the web to see if there were other tutorials like it... maybe it wasn't as original as I had thought????  I didn't see anything.  Things like that just stink!  People... leave credit where credit is due!  Respecting other craters is so needed on the internet.  They are real ideas from real people.

I hope Good Housekeeping makes some sort of fix to their screw up!  It's only fair, right?

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In other news... My husband just landed a job after 9 months without work!  The job will pay between 20,000 and 40,000 more than his last job.

It hasn't sunk in yet.  I mean... we just adjusted to him being home.  Eli (our youngest - 16 months) has no idea what it is like to have Daddy gone for 5 days a week.  I'm nervous about the transition, but ridiculously excited about the fact that he has a job.  Truth is, it hasn't sunk in yet.  It feels like I'm going to wake up and we're still going to be without a job.  Thankfully, we have my business, but it definitely is not enough to support a family.  But it sure did help get us through!  Thank you God, for a job!

Waterproof Candy Filled Vase Tutorial

I always love when people make flower arrangements and fill the vases with interesting objects.  Unfortunately, if you use a filler that isn't waterproof, you have to use fake flowers.  Or do you?

Here is how you can do this with water and real flowers.

First get a vase, a smaller vase or glass that will fit inside the larger one, and enough filler.  

Place the smaller glass inside the larger one, centering it the best you can.

 

Then pour your filler in between the large and small vases.

Now you can put your flowers in the center... water and all.