Year of the Pig…Pom

Happy Lunar New Year!

2019 is the Year of the Pig in the Chinese zodiac, so to celebrate I made myself a cute pig pompom! Or as I like to call it….a Pig Pom.

I’m happy to report that I made this project using only items in my stash, so it doesn’t require too many supplies:

• Pink Yarn
• Preferred Pompom making tool (I used Loome)
• Pink felt (2 tones if possible)
• Black felt (I used grey)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun or craft glue
• Tapestry needle (optional)

Step 1: Make your pompom!

There are quite a few ways you can make a pompom, all of which involve winding your yarn around a tool, tying all of it together with string, cutting the loops open, and then trimming down to resemble a sphere.

Step 2: Create the face.

You really only need a tiny bit of felt, so if you have scraps this is the perfect project! To make the ears you start with the light pink felt and make a general triangle shape, curving the sides to resemble a pig ear. You will make the same shape, but smaller, with the darker pink felt for the inner ear.

For the snout use the darker pink felt to make an elongated circle, or you can start with a rectangle and round out the corners. Then you take the light pink felt and make two small ovals. The eyes will be two small circles in either black or charcoal felt.

This only shows the first layer and not the inner layer of the ears or the nostrils on the snout. I also used fine tip scissors to facilitate cutting out the smaller shapes.

Step 3: Layer the dark and light pink pieces.

Take the small pink ovals and glue them to the dark pink snout and let dry. For the ears you’ll want to take the inner/dark pink part and glue them to the larger/lighter pink pieces. After they dry, place a dab of glue on the bottom border and pinch closed to create the 3D ear shape.

Step 4: Glue them onto your Pig Pom!

NOTE: if you want to be able to hang your pompom on something, do this BEFORE gluing the face on! This is where the optional tapestry needle comes in handy. Take some yarn or string, and with the needle you will slowly take it through the body of the pompom and back out. Make sure you do this slowly so that you don’t pull out any strings from the pompom.

You can use your Pig Pom as a charm to hang on your door, as a keychain, on a headband or pin, or just to sit on your desk as you enjoy this Year of the Pig!

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Happy National Spaghetti Day!

Did you know today is National Spaghetti Day?

Yeah, I didn’t either…but now that we do know, I wish you a good one!

What is it, meatball?

 

To make these cuties all you need is scissors, some felt in white (cream), red, and brown, a little bit of polyfill,  felt glue (for the eyes and mouth), and a needle and thread.

Step 1: Cut 1/4″ strips from the white felt (cream, really) until you have a plateful. I had five 36″ strips. (I used the felt that is sold by the yard, not sheets.)

Step 2: Cut the spaghetti sauce shape out of red felt.

Step 3: Cut 2 circles from the brown felt. Mine were 3″. With a needle and thread make a running stitch along the border of the circle (about 1/8″ from the edge). Place a wad of polyfill in the center, then gather and stitch the opening closed.

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To make the eyes I used scraps of white and black felt, but you can also use embroidery!

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Bon Appetit!

Stranger Things Ugly Christmas Sweater

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll know that Stranger Things is life! While we could debate whether Season 2 was as good as Season 1 (it wasn’t, sorry), pretty much anyone will agree its a great show. Back in October Target released a line of Stranger Things themed apparel to herald in the new season of the show, including this winning Men’s sweater.

Ugly? Really?

I’ll be honest, I’ve gotten pretty tired of seeing cool sweaters being called “ugly” just because they look like they were knitted. Now, a tacky, truly ugly sweater? That is a thing to behold…and that is what I would make!

The image came to me right away….red sweatshirt (as big and awkward as I can get), felt Christmas light bulbs, and painted letters.

Supply List:

• Men’s Red Fleece Sweatshirt (not the exact one we used, but similar)
• Felt squares in 5 colors (dark grey, dark pink, blue, green, and yellow)
• Felt Glue
• Green Fabric Paint (Hunter Green)
• Black Fabric Paint
• Scissors

This project was suprisingly quick and easy. The hardest part was probably fitting all the bulbs onto the shirt.

Step 1: Cut out 26 bulbs out of the felt squares, alternating between pink, blue, green, and yellow. Cut out 26 small rectangles from the grey felt. (I don’t have a template to share for the bulbs, but you can freehand it.)

Step 2: Arrange the bulbs on the sweatshirt in rows. They don’t have to be super straight, or even point in the same direction. Be sure to leave space underneath for the letters, and little bit more for the “string” if you want to make it loopy.

Step 3: Once you have your layout glue the bulbs and the grey caps to the sweatshirt using felt glue. If you really wanted to take it to the next level stitch them on! I think it would add a great touch.

Step 4: Write out that alphabet using the black paint. (Make sure to not get distracted and skip letters. Not that I speak from experience or anything….). Your goal is to have each bulb have a letter underneath. Crazy kindergartner looking letters are encouraged!

Step 5: Connect your lights using the green paint. You can use a direct line or you can make it loop. Go crazy! Follow your heart!

Step 6: Step back and admire your work. For 4 hours. Because that’s how long it takes for the paint to dry.

Its rare for my projects to turn out exactly how I envision them, but this one did! Best of all it was easy enough to do in a group, and we were done in a couple hours!

Of course, once our ugly sweaters were dry, we couldn’t resist an 80’s inspired group photo….

A big thanks to Nabila Verushka for bringing our cheesy 80’s family portrait dreams to life, and for taking all the photos included in this post!

Side note: This sweatshirt is SO comfy and cozy, don’t be surprised if you catch me wearing it during our next cold front!

 

 

 

That time I made Unicorn Headbands for a bunch of grown women…

What happens when a group of grown women get together to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of a magical friend?

We wear Unicorn Headbands!

I recently volunteered to make Unicorn headbands for a magical themed bachelorette party. With the much appreciated help of a friend it wasn’t too difficult. By the end of the night we were Unicorn Headband making pros.

Supplies needed:

• Headbands (we used 1/4″ white plastic)
• White felt (you can fit 2 horns onto one sheet)
• Colored felt (we used 5 different colors, 1 sheet will get you 2, maybe 3 sets of ears)
• Gold thread (we used embroidery floss, but recommend using something that won’t fray at the ends)
• Glue Gun (and about 1 stick of glue per headband)
• Tulle in assorted colors (6 – 3″x6″ strips for each headband)
• Polyester fill/stuffing
• Scissors

There are a few tutorials out there to make the horns using different methods. We ended up using the pattern from HowToGal’s Unicorn Headband tutorial and drew inspiration from a combination of headbands out there on the internets. You can improvise and make your own pattern, but having one premade sped things up (even though it took us a while to figure out exactly how to roll up those horns….)

The ear shape was drawn freehand and required one larger shape, and a smaller one to fit into the larger shape.

First step: Cut out the parts!

The white felt is used for the horn, the inner part of the ear (2 needed) and the base of the horn (2 needed).

The colored felt is used for the outer part of the ear….so you need two! To minimize the amount of cutting the pattern is meant to be cut on the fold! If you don’t do this, you won’t be able to attach it easily to the headband.

Be sure to cut on the fold so that both sides of the ear (front and back) are connected!!

Once you have all your parts cut out….

Step 2: The horn

This isn’t as complicated as I convinced myself it was…you basically apply a strip of glue to the edge of one side of the horn piece. Then you take the other edge, and rolling the piece, you place it over that glued edge.

There’s probably a proper way to deal with the tip of the horn, but life is short, so most of them ended up with a little gap up top.

Your horn is going to end up a little asymmetrical, so you just chop off that extra piece.

Step 3: Stuff and wrap! (Still working on the horn)

To properly stuff the horn you should use small pieces of fill to get to the very top of the horn. Then you gradually use larger pieces until the whole thing is firmly stuffed. Make sure to stuff the top well or your horn will droop later on.

To ensure that your horn does not look like a dunce cap, you can’t skip the gold thread! Start by tying the string as close to the top as you can. Then you bring the floss down in a spiral until you reach the bottom. The tighter you squeeze, the cuter it will look! Then you glue the end on the bottom, and tuck the loose end under.

Finally, apply glue to the bottom perimeter of the horn and attach to one of the circles. The circle is going to be bigger than the base of the horn so that you can trim it down once the glue has dried up.

Step 4: The Headband!

Now that you have a standalone horn, take the headband and find the center. Apply some glue (about 1-1/2″ wide), and stick that horn on! Then take the 2nd white circle, and glue that to the bottom so that the headband is sandwiched between the horn and the circle.

Step 5: Ears!

Attaching the ears was my favorite part! Open up the “ear” piece, apply glue on the inside, and close it with the headband on the bottom edge. Make sure to leave room between the ear and the horn for the tulle!

Repeat that on the other side, and then glue on the inner ear.

Step 6: Tulle!

The final step is adding the tulle strips! First you decide what order (yellow on the inside? blue  on the outside??), then you take one strip at a time and just tie it onto the headband!

….and you’re done!

The headbands were a HUGE hit at the party, to the point that we wore them again to the Bridal Shower (and I wouldn’t be surprised if some make an appearance at the wedding next month as well).

I’ve been asked a few times whether I will be selling these. While they will not be listed in my Etsy shop, I will accept custom requests! Contact me for more information.

Mythical Creatures Brunch: Totoro

Have you heard of Geek Girl Brunch? If you haven’t, go check it out right now.

I joined as soon as they launched a chapter in Miami, and I am not exaggerating when I say its one of the best things I’ve done in the last few years. I have met so many great people through Geek Girl Brunch (GGB) and it has legitimately changed my life.

Last weekend the Miami Chapter had their November brunch with the theme of “Mythical Creatures” in honor of the new Harry Potter movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. It took me a few weeks to find the proper inspiration and I finally made the decision with less than a week before the event. I decided on one of my favorite mythical creatures: Totoro, from “My Neighbor Totoro.”

As soon as I made my decision, I knew exactly how I would make this happen, and all without having to buy a single thing! (You see, hoarding does have its benefits!)

All I needed was a grey dress, grey and white fleece, and a headband. The most complicated part was the headband. I had purchased a few pairs of kids bunny ears at Target back around Easter (yay for the Dollar Spot!) so I used one as the base for my Totoro ears.

I was crafting this all the night before, so I didn’t get any progress pics. However the process is simple. Once I had the headband and wires exposed I shaped them into the general shape I wanted. I traced this shape onto the fleece and cut out 4 times (I added a seam allowance, but in hindsight I would make it smaller, or eliminate altogether) and sewed two pairs together to make 2 ears! (Sew right sides together, trim excess fabric, and turn right side out!)

If you don’t have a sewing machine I’m fairly sure you can recreate this by sandwiching the wires in between two layers and gluing together.

I slipped them over the wires and glued down the base of the ears to the headband. To cover up the band I cut out a rectangle long enough to cover from end to end, and tapered the width to match the headband. I measured out the location for two slits through which I could squeeze the ears through, and then glued it all down with a glue gun. (I won’t show you the inner part of the headband, because like I said….I was in a hurry so it does NOT look pretty!

The bib was the easiest part to make. I grabbed a piece of fleece, eyeballed the width and height I wanted, and cut out the shape with scissors. I cut out and glued the little crescents with a glue gun. Once dry, I safety pinned (from the inside) to the front of my dress. Definitely not the most impeccable items I’ve ever made, but it was quick, fun, and dare I say cute!

My best attempt at imitating Totoro’s expression.

Geek Girl Brunch always does a fantastic job at the brunches. If you consider yourself even mildly geeky I’d suggest you check it out! The brunches are very popular, thus a bit difficult to get into, but so worth it! (Did I mention there are swag bags?!)

Group shot  courtesy of GGB Miami

 

 

Channeling my Spirit Animal: Stimpson J. Cat

 

 

A friend of mine recently celebrated her 30th birthday with the best theme ever….Nickelodeon of the 90’s!

Of course, dressing up was encouraged and there were SO MANY great shows to choose from! From the game shows (Legends of the Hidden Temple, Gutz, Double Dare, What Would You Do?), to the cartoons (Doug, Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy), and other classics like Salute Your Shorts, Clarissa Explains it all, Are you Afraid of the Dark, just to name a few.

I decided early on I wanted to be Judy Funnie. However when I realized I’d be Judy Funnie minus the orange hair, minus the purple dress, and minus the glasses….I knew I had to do something else. Unfortunately that was the day before the party. I was out of time.

I brainstormed that morning, and something drew my thoughts toward everybody’s favorite cat…Stimpson J. Cat!

My spirit animal.

I had a burgundy shirt that would work and I would recreate Stimpy’s goofy face on my shirt!

With some white, blue and pink fleece from leftover projects I could make it happen. I was a little short on time, so after a few attempts at using a satin stitch for the mouth (the sewing machine kept jamming) I decided on using a Sharpie to outline his eyes and his mouth. The tongue was sewn only on one end which left it wagging a little (a feature I was very excited/proud about for some reason).

The hardest part was getting the face onto the shirt. Fleece doesn’t stretch very much. On the other hand the shirt was very stretchy. I hand sewed the top corners, and the rest I safety pinned to allow it to stretch and move without bunching up. (Plus, I wanted to be able to use the shirt later without Stimpy.)

It doesn’t look exactly like him, but for someone who doesn’t draw at all, I’d say I’m close enough! Most importantly I had a lot of fun making it and wearing it!

Any other 90’s kids? What was your favorite Nickelodeon show?

 

The Triforce Pillow

My boyfriend is a life-long Zelda fan. To the point that he has a Zelda-related tattoo…The Triforce. Hence my decision to make him a Triforce pillow.

Originally I had planned on this being a birthday gift, but of course, I am a procrastinator and I missed the deadline. Instead…he got a Valentine’s Day gift this year!

The materials were few: a pillow form (I used 18″), hunter green fleece, yellow felt, and matching thread for each color. Tools needed: cutting tools, measuring tools, a sewing machine and paper (to serve as a pattern for the triangles).

I prefer fleece to make pillow cases because 1) its softer, and 2) it has a stretch that’s a bit easier to shape in the end. For the “shapes” I  prefer felt over fleece because it WON’T stretch (as much) and is less likely to get distorted while sewing.

I wanted to keep it simple and opted for an envelope closure for the pillow, meaning the back would consist of two overlapping pieces….it also means you don’t need a zipper or buttons. I added a bit more overlap than I probably needed just to be safe….(you can see the 3 pieces in the picture above. From right to left is the front, the back top piece, and the back bottom).

Next up: The Triforce!

In this case it was super easy laying out and cutting the Triforce….after all, its 3 equilateral triangles. How hard can it be??? (Its not, just remember to make them truly equilateral….which means the overall height is NOT going to be the same as the width. Oops. I missed that on m first attempt.)

Once I had my paper pattern I used a rotary cutter to make sure all my lines were extra clean…I don’t know about you, but my scissor work can get a little ragged…

Another word to the wise: Iron your fabric beforehand. Not only do pictures come out better, you ensure you’re laying everything out correctly. (I lightly ironed the felt after I cut it out.)

Cutting: simple. Layout…..slightly trickier. I always struggle a little to keep shapes perfectly aligned, and when you’re trying to match these tiny points with a fluffy fabric it doesn’t always turn out right. However, I’d say I did pretty well….

I stitched the outline of the larger triangle first, leaving the inner triangle last.

Once that’s done, its ready to become a pillow!

I laid the “top” section first (because I wanted that to be on the outside once I flipped it inside out), and the “bottom” section on top of that…

Sew around the border (1/2″ seam allowance), clip the corners, and flip!

I’ve got myself a pillow!

Er, I mean….the boyfriend has a pillow…

 

 

 

Candy Heart Garland

Sometimes you get something into your head, and there’s no way to get it out except to force it out. This was one of those times.

I got it in my head I wanted to make a candy heart garland for Valentine’s Day, so one random night I got home, pulled out some yellow felt, and started working. I stayed up much too late, and in the end I made….well, a creepy looking heart that was completely the wrong shape, with some lame looking letters. Not what I was going for. Frustrated, I put the project aside and gave it up as a failure.

But it wouldn’t leave me alone. I decided to try again….this time with fleece. And instead of embroidery for the letters  I’d cut them out of felt.

The moment I picked out my fabric colors at JoAnn’s I knew I was headed in the right direction….I mean, how cute are these colors?!

For the shape, I wanted similar proportions to traditional candy hearts without making them flat on both sides. It took me a few rounds of trial and error to finally get a shape I was happy with.

Once I had my template ready to go I cut out two hearts from each of the fabrics.

The process of actually making the hearts after this was pretty quick and easy….I sewed all the way around with roughly 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving 1-2″ open, then I flipped and stuffed. The last step was to hand sew that 1-2″ opening to seal in the filling.

My favorite part of the whole process was making the letters. I’ve always enjoyed cutting letters out of construction paper. I find it oddly therapeutic.I purchased a couple of sheets of fuchsia felt from JoAnn’s which I cut into 1″ strips (for a consistent height).

Why are M’s so hard to make?!!

In my research, I was amused to find that candy hearts nowadays often say “Txt me” or “Email me”. There was none of that around when I was a kid! I went with the traditional “Be Mine” and “Kiss me”….and decided to throw in a “Bae” reference since, you know, I’m cool and stuff… (“cool” is still a thing, right?)

Because I wanted the flexibility to take these on and off a garland (not ’cause I’m lazy or anything…) I used safety pins to attach a ribbon to the very top of each heart.

Last step: string a ribbon through those babies! I did tie a loose knot at each to maintain the separation between them once they got hung up.

In the end I’m very pleased with how they turned out! They’re far from perfect, but they make me happy!