I've mentioned before that if I don't get to do at least a little crafting everyday, I tend to get cranky. Luckily I like to knit and embroider so I can get away with crafting everyday, even if it is just for a few minutes on a given day.
I also try to squeeze in crafts that are so simple they take hardly any time at all. For example, our new mouse pad.
When we bought a new desk at Ikea, we realized that the surface was too shiny for our optical mouse to work on. I'm pretty sure we haven't had a traditional mouse pad in our house for at least two years so I decided to sew one. Here's what I did:
-Cut out two 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" squares of some of my favorite fabric.
-Ironed on heavyweight fusible interfacing to the wrong sides of both pieces of fabric.
-Put the two pieces of fabric together, wrong sides facing, and zig zag stitched around the edge.
-Applied a tiny bit of Fray Stop to make sure the fabric would pull away from the interfacing and fray.
Easy-peasy mac + cheesy. The project probably took me 20 minutes. I certainly could have sewed the fabric right sides together and then turned it, (then I wouldn't have needed the fray stop) but I think that would have taken me a whole 30 minutes, and I just wasn't willing to make that kind of time commitment. Plus I kind of like the way the edges look this way.
Now we have a mouse pad that is functional + pretty to look at. It certainly looks better than the piece of paper N8tr0n taped to the desk while he was waiting for me to make something. I'm completely smitten with the fabric and N8tr0n thinks it's okay too. N8tr0n rarely declares his undying love for a particular fabric...odd, I know.
What small crafts have you been making lately? Would you like to see more of my small craft ideas in the future?
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7 comments:
I definitely want to see more of your small craft ideas! Sometimes I want to make something from scraps, or just in a short amount of time - like you said, no commitment, just simple and easy. Great mousepad!
I love small crafts, too, because I also need to fit in a little something with my hands every day. It's how I combat my depression (with meds, too, of course) and it's doctor-mandated, so I don't even have any guilt about it!
I usually have a little knitting project going, some good mail in the works, an embroidery project to pick up for a few minutes, etc. It keeps me going.
Imagine Nate not declaring his undying love for a fabric! I do that on a regular basis...
That reminds me of the time I asked Dan, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you love this yarn?" His response was a facetious "20." Ah well.
I think our husbands attended a similar school of crafty nonplussedness. (So not a word, but I think you get my drift.)
My small craft this week was a little scrapbook journal for two friends' birthdays.
We are taking a long weekend to celebrate them and to reclaim some balance in our lives. Our theme is eat, pray, love so the journals have thoughts on each item and a little page to do some quick journaling or doodling or insert a pic.
I am going to feature them on my blog next week after I have given them to my friends....don't want to ruin the surprise :-)
I have a bunch of rice hot/cold pads half done. I'm using leftover flannel from my cloth diapers, so they are pretty cute (and babyish).
Dear Miranda,
Thank you, now I can stop using my white trash mousepad (a piece of paper)
XOXO
diana
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