I anticipated that this these pillows might not be as well-liked as the other camp crafts because hand stitching is rather time consuming. Surprisingly, these fleece alphabet pillows were very popular at girls camp. I got the idea from a book titled 101 Crafts Under $10 from the editors at Butterick. Their craft is called “Felt name pillows.” The Butterick editors ironed the rest of the name in smaller letters onto the pillow, which I loved but decided was too difficult for camp purposes. We used fleece instead of felt because it’s softer and cheaper. The hardest part (for me) was drawing and cutting out each letter of the alphabet in cardboard for the girls to trace onto the fleece, but you won’t have to make the whole alphabet. Mostly everyone made a pillow out of their first initial, but I thought it would be cute to make “X” and “O” (kiss and hug) pillows. I used red embroidery floss on the “X” and charcoal floss on the “O” so they coordinate.

Fleece alphabet pillows

Supplies and tools

• two 16-inch square pieces of fleece (found at Walmart and JoAnn)
• embroidery floss
• embroidery needle (we liked Singer’s large eye hand needles the best)
• 16-inch square piece of thin cardboard
• pencil & ruler
• fine tip Sharpie or water-erasable fabric marker
• paper scissors
• fabric scissors
• polyester fiberfill

1. Draw your letter onto the cardboard. Cut it out. For best results, make the letter as fat as possible and round the corners so they aren’t as pointy as my “X” pillow. Two alternatives to freehand drawing your patterns: 1) Print out your letter in Gill Sans Ultra Bold, Lithos Pro Black, or Insolent font and enlarge to 16 inches tall, or 2) Try McCall’s pattern #3274 (minus the seam allowance).

2. Trace the pattern onto one piece of felt.

3. Cut out both pieces at the same time. If you used a permanent marker, cut just inside the line, so the ink will be cut away.

4. Line up the edges of the two fleece pieces. Thread your needle with a long piece embroidery floss, using all six strands. Tie a knot in the end.

5. Blanket stitch all around the letter, stuffing the pillow with fiberfill as you go. Alice at futuregirl craft blog has an excellent tutorial on how to sew felt (or fleece) using the blanket stitch. Follow her instructions here. For letters such as A, B, etc., blanket stitch around the opening(s) in the letter first, then around the outside.

4. You’re done!

These paracord bracelets were a hit at girls camp. As you can see, even some of the male camp leaders joined in. I got the idea from Stormdrane at Instructables.com. His tutorial is excellent, but although the site pictures two-color bracelets, he doesn’t explain how to make a two-color bracelet. I wanted to keep it simple for camp anyway, so we made one-color bracelets. However, a few innovative girls at camp figured out one way to make them, so I’m passing the info on to you. I also improved upon the final step to better prevent the bracelet from unraveling. This bracelet takes about 45 minutes to make.

By the way, paracord bracelets are also known as survival bracelets. They’re a convenient way for soldiers and hikers to always have eight feet of 550 parachute cord (which easily supports many times one’s own body weight) literally on hand. Check out Stormdrane’s Blog for more amazing paracord projects. I’m planning to make the adjustable paracord watch band myself.

Paracord bracelets

Supplies and tools

• 550 parachute cord from Supply Captain
• 1/2-inch curved side-release buckles from Creative Designworks
• lighter (I used $1 barbecue lighters from Walmart)
• ruler, yardstick, or tape measure
• sharp scissors
• needle and thread

1. Start with Stormdrane’s step 2: Measure wrist. Skip step 1 because his measurement is off. He says to use about 1 foot of cord for every 1 inch of bracelet length, which I discovered is not enough. Add one more foot to that. So, if your wrist is 7 inches, then you’ll need 8 feet of cord. And because we are making a two-color bracelet, you’ll need half of that in each color.

2. Assuming your wrist is 7 inches, measure and cut two 4-foot pieces of parachute cord.

3. Burn the ends with a lighter to keep the cord from unraveling. Don’t burn it so much that you get a big blob of plastic because it won’t fit through the buckle. Just burn it enough to keep the inner strands in place.

4. Overlap the end of each color about 1/4 inch and hand stitch several times to secure. Tie it off as you normally would by stitching through the loop of thread a couple times. Trim the thread.

5. Continue on to step 3. For two colors, pull the end of each color up through back of the buckle.

6. Pull the loop tight and place the seam at the back against the buckle.

7. Continue with step 4: Finding the bracelet length. Stormdrane recommends that you add an inch to your wrist length, which makes for a snug fit. I prefer to add 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches to avoid the buckle pinching my skin when I put it on. Continue with step 5 and step 6. When you reach the end, it will look like this.

8. In step 7, Stormdrane says to either cut the ends and melt them or tuck/pull the ends under the last couple of knots. I prefer to do both. Start by loosening the very first loop you made, then tuck both ends through the top and out the back. Pull tight.

9. This is what it will look like from the front.

10. Flip it over to the back. Loosen the next closest stitch, then tuck both ends under it. Pull tight.

11. Bend the bracelet back, and trim the ends close to the loop they’re tucked under.

12. Burn the ends to keep them from raveling. It’s ok if you melt them to the loop next to them a little. They will be that much more secure.

13. The back will look like this.

14. The finished bracelet, from the front.

After volunteering for girls camp, I needed a couple weeks to recover. Now I’m back. I planned to take lots of photos at camp, but instead I ended up spending every moment teaching the girls how to make duct tape wallets. By the end of the week, I was seriously sick of duct tape wallets. But the girls loved them, so it was worth it. A friend sent me these photos that she took at camp. (That’s me in the gray sweatshirt in the first photo.)

Because of the green tarp roof on the makeshift quonset hut that we called The Craft Shack, everything looked green tinted. It reminded me of the Mr. Big song “Green Tinted Sixties Mind.” Admit it, you know you loved Mr. Big. :)

Anyway, duct tape wallets are certainly not a new thing, and I probably don’t need to tell most of you how to make one. But when I was searching for instructions online, I couldn’t find one easy-to-follow tutorial for a simple duct tape wallet. Plus, friends have asked me for the instructions for my wallet design. Though I developed this pattern myself, I’m told it’s not exactly original, but here it is. This wallet takes about 45 minutes to make.

Duct tape wallets

Supplies and tools

• duct tape (Walmart and Michaels have a great selection of Duck brand duct tape)
• craft knife (X-Acto or other utility knife. We used these mini cutters)
• self-healing cutting mat or other cutting surface (we used sheets of Plexiglass from my salvaged window project)
• credit card/driver’s license
• 3- by 4-inch piece of clear plastic for ID window (I cut up a roll of clear plastic I had on hand)
• 12-inch ruler with metal edge

Main fabric:

1. Tear off four pieces of tape that are at least 9 inches long. (Don’t use scissors. Don’t use your knife. Rip it!) Place them sticky-side-up on your cutting surface. Stick them to each other (front-to-back), overlapping about 1/2 inch.

2. Tear off four more pieces the same length. Starting about 1/2 inch from the top, adhere one piece at a time (back-to-back). The last piece should overlap about 1/2 inch. (The reason you start 1/2-inch down is to stagger the thicker parts of the duct tape “fabric” you’re making. If you don’t, some parts of the fabric will be four layers thick, which is difficult to fold.)

3. Fold over the top and bottom edges. Your fabric should now be about 6 inches tall.

4. Using your ruler and knife, cut a clean edge on the left side. Always use your ruler when cutting with your knife.

5. Then measure 8-1/2 inches and trim the other edge. Set aside.

Credit card pockets:

6. Tear off two pieces of tape about 5 inches long. Overlap them the same as step 1.

7. Tear off two more 5-inch pieces and adhere the same as step 2.

8. Fold over the top and bottom edges the same as step 3. This large pocket should be about 3 inches tall.

9. Using your ruler and knife, cut a clean edge on the left side.

10. Then measure 4 inches and trim the other edge. Set aside.

11. Tear off two pieces that are about 9 inches long. Stick them directly back-to-back.

12. Cut this double-sided piece into two 4-inch long pieces. These are your smaller pockets.

13. Tear off a 5-inch piece of tape. Rip it lengthwise down the middle. (Yes, I said rip it. Fast. You can do it. Don’t worry if it’s not exactly down the middle.)

14. Use two of the ripped pieces to make a top border on each of the small pockets. Tape the top edge, then fold over. Trim the excess.

15. Tear off a 4-inch piece of tape. Rip it lengthwise down the middle.

16. Stack the pockets on top of each other. Stagger the height of the two smaller ones evenly.

17. Place a credit card on top of the stacked pockets to make sure you leave enough space for your cards. Using one of your ripped pieces, tape the left side of your pockets right up to the edge of the credit card. Fold it over to the back side and trim the excess with your ruler and knife. Do not tape the right side yet.

ID window:

18. Use another ripped piece to tape the right edge of your window. Fold it over and trim the excess. Do not tape any other edge yet. Set aside.

Final assembly:

19. Fold your main fabric in half lengthwise. Make sure the height of your pockets, window, and wallet are all the same height (3 inches). If not, trim them as necessary.

20. Unfold the main fabric. Place the window and pockets in opposite upper corners of your main fabric. Rip a 9-inch piece of tape lengthwise. Option 1: Use one piece to tape the top edge all the way across. Or option 2: Using your knife and ruler, cut one of the pieces in half endwise. Tape the window down, lining up the cut edge with the right side of the window. Then tape the pockets down, lining up the cut edge with the left side of the pockets. Trim off the excess.

21. Tear off another 4-inch piece of tape. Rip it lengthwise down the middle.

22. Refold your main fabric. Place a credit card on top of the pockets. Using one of the ripped pieces, tape the right side of your wallet right up against the edge of your credit card. Fold it over the entire wallet. Trim the excess with your knife.

23. Tape the left edge (window side) of your wallet the same way. Trim the excess.

24. Following either option 1 or 2 in step 20, tape the bottom edge the same way. This piece will show on the outside of your wallet, so follow option 1 if you want a contrasting border. (You can cut out a notch on the inside, if you prefer.)

25. Fold your wallet in half endwise, then press it flat.

26. Add decoration with duct tape as desired. You’re done!

As I mentioned in my last post, hats were commonplace in Victoria magazine. In fact, every issue included at least one woman wearing a hat. Here’s a look at some of Victoria’s many hat ladies…

Photo credits (left to right, top to bottom): Toshi Otsuki, Geoffrey Gross, Toshi Otsuki (3), Tom Hooper, Toshi Otsuki, Luciana Pampalone, Toshi Otsuki

I love high-quality simple straw hats in summer. When I lived in New York City, cozy felt hats were a must for winter. I especially love the big black fur hat, though I doubt I’d have the courage to wear it. It’s too bad we don’t wear hats much on the West Coast. Which one is your favorite hat?

Photo credits (left to right, top to bottom): Pia Tryde, Thomas Hooper (2), Barry Dunne, Stefano Massimo, Steve Randazzo, Toshi Otsuki (3)

All those hats inspired me to make some paper art using their fabulous shapes. I titled my silhouettes “The Hats of Victoria.” All four are made from one of the hats pictured above. Can you find all of them?

I’ve included pdf downloads of all four patterns after the jump for you to make your own paper hats. I thought it would also be great to mix in other feminine accessories: sexy stiletto, small purse, bright umbrella, etc., so I’m planning to make another set soon.

“The Hats of Victoria” silhouettes

Supplies and tools

• patterned scrapbook paper or wallpaper
• black paper
• 4 picture frames
• scissors
• glue stick
• computer, printer, and white paper
• pencil
• 4 patterns (see below)

1. Print out 2-3 of each hat pattern: red hat, orange hat, purple hat, green hat. You can resize them as necessary to fit your frames.

2. Cut out the hat on one sheet, and the hat stand on another sheet.

3. Place the hat pattern on top of your decorative paper, and cut out both pieces of paper together. You might want to use smaller scissors for some of the intricate cuts.

4. First cut the hat, then the bow/band, then the inside of the hat. Then cut out your hat stand in black paper. There are two reasons to cut out the entire hat as one piece: 1) It’s easier to put all the pieces together in the end, and 2) It gives your art more of a three-dimensional look.

5. Make sure your paper isn’t too busy or doesn’t contrast enough. This was my first try, which turned out to be too busy.

6. Glue the pieces together. Use your third printout as a guide, if necessary. Only apply glue to the top part of the hat stand.

7. Trace the cardboard backing piece of each frame onto your background paper and cut out. Glue the hat to the background paper, if desired.

8. Insert the hat and background paper into the frame, and reassemble the frame. Don’t forget to clean the glass.

9. Hang your frames. For an easy way to get a perfect grid of frames the first try, check out my framed doilies post.

Inspired by CB2's bamboo bath mat

I’m on a hot glue kick lately. This bath mat requires just three materials: shelf liner, hot glue, and 175 wine corks. How did I gather 175 wine corks, you ask? Working at Sunset had its perks. With all the wine tastings in that office, collecting corks was a cinch. So far, I’ve made a wine cork trivet with them and now this bath mat. My sister Christy gave me the genius idea of using non-adhesive shelf liner with a grip bottom, so it stays in place. The cork feels good on my bare feet, plus it goes perfectly with the natural color palette of my bathroom. Yeah, but how durable is it, you say? Hmm. I’ll test it out for a few weeks and let you know on Twitter how it holds up. This bath mat was inspired by CB2′s bamboo bath mat, which is perfectly lovely and affordable but too big for my tiny bathroom, hence this equally eco-friendly version. UPDATE: Check out this post to read more about whether to seal your bath mat.

Wine cork bath mat

Supplies

• 175 wine corks (plus a few extra to allow for mistakes)
• hot glue sticks
• non-adhesive shelf liner (I used Duck brand Smooth Top Easy Liner in taupe, found at Walmart. Or try [ribbed side down] Plast-O-Mat ribbed shelf liner, available at Ace Hardware, Bed Bath & Beyond or The Container Store)

Tools

• pocket knife (sharpened)
• cutting board (one that you won’t mind if it gets slightly damaged)
• rotary cutter and mat
• long ruler or yardstick
• hot glue gun
• coarse sand paper

1. Cut each cork in half lengthwise with a sharp pocket knife. Be patient and careful so you don’t cut a finger off. It’s best if you use natural cork wine corks that are similar length and width. Sand the bottoms flat if any of your cuts are jagged.

2. Arrange the corks into a rectangle, flat sides down. Use a ruler or the lines on a cutting mat to make sure your configuration of corks is as close to a straight rectangle as possible. My mat is 18.5 x 30 inches (10 x 35 cork halves)—a little smaller than a standard size bath mat, but then my bathroom is smaller than a standard size bathroom.

3. Measure and cut the shelf liner to size with a rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat.

4. Transfer the outer rows/columns of corks to the shelf liner and glue them to the top side of the liner. Apply a rectangle-shaped line of glue to the flat side of each cork, about 1/8 inch from the edge, line up the cork with the edge of the mat, and press hard. Wipe away any glue dribbles before it hardens fully, but after it cools (so you don’t burn yourself).

5. Once your frame is in place, transfer the rest of the corks to their corresponding position on the mat. You’ll probably have to do some arranging and trading places to make all the corks fit. Then remove one cork at a time and glue it down. You’re done!

I could hardly wait to show you this Popsicle stick craft! These snowflakes are fun, easy, and so inexpensive to make. The smallest snowflake is 12 inches across; the largest is 24 inches. I had some rhinestones left over from my Christmas tree advent calendar, so I glued some at the tips of each white snowflake. You could also coat them in glitter or fake snow. And why stop with snowflakes? You could make stars, wreaths, or Christmas trees decked with lightweight ornaments. Hang them in your window, over a door instead of a wreath, or from the ceiling.

Giant craft stick snowflakes

Supplies and tools

• craft sticks
• protractor
• hot glue gun and glue
• fishing line
• clear cellophane tape
• 3/8- to 1/2-inch-wide holiday ribbon
• red and white paint (I used Benjamin Moore Aura Steam [AF-15] and Caliente [AF-290])
• round 12mm rhinestones
• scissors
• double-stick foam tape
• small paintbrush
• drop cloth or newspaper

All my snowflakes are based on three basic patterns, which I will call star, hexagon, and rotated hexagon.

The star

1. Start by gluing six craft sticks in an asterisk shape at 30 degree angles. Use a protractor to make sure your angles are accurate.

2. Then add the points to the star.

3. Finally, depending on the pattern, add the final craft sticks to complete the snowflake.

The hexagon

1A. Start by gluing six craft sticks in an asterisk shape at 30 degree angles. Use a protractor to make sure your angles are accurate.

1B. For the mini hexagon, start with three craft sticks instead of six.

2. Add more sticks to expand the lengths.

3. Glue six sticks in a hexagon shape, then glue each point of the hexagon to your asterisk shape.

4. Finally, depending on the pattern, add the final craft sticks to complete the snowflake.

The rotated hexagon

1. Start by gluing six craft sticks in an asterisk shape at 30 degree angles. Use a protractor to make sure your angles are accurate.

2. Glue six sticks in a hexagon shape, then glue the middle of each side of the hexagon to your asterisk shape.

3. Finally, add the final craft sticks to complete the snowflake.

1. Using a small paintbrush, paint two coats of paint on each side, including the edges. I recommend spray paint instead because it’s easier and faster, but severe weather prohibited spray paint in my case. Let dry.

2. Glue rhinestones onto the tips of the snowflakes. Or glue on glitter or fake snow. Let dry/cool.

3. To hang them in the window, tie fishing line to each snowflake. Tape the fishing line to the top of the window frame with clear cellophane tape.

4. To hang them on the wall, tie a small ribbon bow to the snowflake, then tie a longer piece of ribbon to the back of the bow. Attach the long ribbon with double-stick foam tape at the very top of the wall.

I had a box of 1000 craft sticks and no idea what to do with them. I wasn’t about to start building 1980s Popsicle stick jewelry boxes. I eventually came up with some Christmas ideas. This advent calendar is my first craft stick project. I’ll post my other ideas next week. The advent calendar is easy but time consuming. I suggest you enlist some helpers to fold the “origami” boxes and tie ribbons and string. Technically, the boxes aren’t origami because they involve a few cuts, but they are assembled without tape or glue. Each box holds a piece of chocolate. The beauty is, you don’t have to remove the ribbon to open each box, so the calendar is reusable.

Craft stick advent calendar with “origami” boxes

Supplies and tools

• 24 craft sticks
• spray primer and spray paint (or any craft paint)
• hot glue gun and glue
• 25 sheets of letter size paper (or 13 sheets of 12×12 paper)
• box template (see #4 below)
• scissors
• 2 spools of 1/4-inch red grosgrain ribbon ( $1 each at Jo-Ann)
• 1 spool of red baker’s twine
• number stickers (I used three packages of Colorbök “Marshmallow Wacky” alphabet stickers from Jo-Ann)
• 9 round 12mm rhinestones
• thick red Sharpie marker
• double-sided foam tape
• candy

1. Glue craft sticks together end-to-end, overlapping about 1/2-inch in the following lengths: 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. A trick to keeping each of them straight is to turn them sideways against the table while the glue cools. Then glue four sticks together in the center in a star shape.

2. Glue the “branches” of graduating lengths at each intersection along the longest strip of craft sticks, then glue the star to the top.

3. Paint the tree and star any color you want. (If you plan to paint the star a different color than the tree, it’s easier to paint the star before gluing it to the tree.) Hot glue rhinestones to each tip and center of the star.

4. For the boxes, you will need 50 4×4-inch sheets of paper with diagonal lines drawn through the center. Either use a ruler to measure and draw the lines yourself, or download and print this template onto 25 sheets of letter size paper. (Part of the lines on the template are outside of the printable area. Don’t worry about this. It was necessary to save you two extra cuts on each sheet.) Cut along the solid lines of the template. I used Hammermill 32 lb. color laser gloss paper because it’s what I had on hand. I recommend it because it’s a good weight, durable, and resists fingerprints.

5. Fold each of the four corners into the center and open back up again.

6. Then fold each corner diagonally so the tip touches the center of the opposite fold, then open back up again.

7. Cut (as shown) along four of the folds, stopping at the center square.

8. Fold two opposites sides into the center again (as shown).

9. Fold again along previous folds to form two sides of the box (as shown).

10. Tuck the top and bottom pieces over and inside the box.

11. This is either the top or bottom of your box. Repeat steps 5-10 for each box top/bottom (50 times). Told you this was time consuming.

12. Slide one box bottom/top into the other. You’ll need to pinch in the sides the first time to make it fit.

13. Each box will look like this when you are done.

14. I couldn’t find any packages of just number stickers, so I bought packages of alphabet/number stickers. Three packets gave me just enough numbers (I was one short “1″ sticker but I changed an “I” into a “1.” I couldn’t find red stickers, so I bought white ones and colored them red with a Sharpie marker. Color your stickers and let dry before peeling and sticking them on the boxes.

15. Tie a bunch of little nooses out of the red twine, then tie one noose to each box with a red ribbon bow.

16. Apply a small dot of hot glue under the knot of the bow and the string. This will keep the bow and string in place.

17. Hang each box by the twine noose.

18. Place candy inside each box. Dove Promises (one of my favorites) fit nicely.

19. Hang the boxes on the Christmas tree. Because there are an odd number of boxes and an even number of spaces, you’ll have to choose one branch that has one fewer boxes on it than the other.

20. Stick the tree to your wall with a small piece of double-sided foam tape at the top and bottom of the tree.

My friend Julie inspired this idea. She framed some fall leaves in a large clear acrylic frame. I loved its simplicity. These Coach picture frames that I received as a gift years ago were perfect for spelling out a word. I had five frames, but I was set on spelling hope, so I added a dove to the fifth frame. (I know: Doves are the universal symbol for peace, but to me a dove with an olive branch—from the story of Noah’s Ark—symbolizes hope.) You could also frame other obvious words such as peace and love—or your name or the initials of the members of your family.

Framed silhouette words

Supplies and tools

• 1 sheet black construction paper
• scissors
• printed stencils (see below)
• magnetic acrylic frames (find similar ones at Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon.com)

1. Use a computer graphics program to spell out and print the word you’ve chosen. Change your text to outlines to save printer ink. (The font I used was 430 pt Minion Pro Semibold.) Or print the stencils I made. Download the hope stencil here, and the dove stencil here.

2. Place your stencil on top of a sheet of black paper and cut both sheets around the stencil. Discard the stencil when done.

3. Insert each letter into a frame. That was easy!

School has left me no time for crafting again this week, so…I’m posting my homework. I made this Halloween e-card for my beginning Flash class. Turn up the volume, then click the hand to make it play. Can you guess what movie Lord Morley is from? The tune is by Rodney Sauer, and the thunder is by Dylan Hicks. Though I drew everything by hand, much is inspired by 1920′s silent movies and the art of Shane Illustration and Blackmoon9, among others. (Hey, we’re graded on technical criteria, not originality.) Enjoy!

I had a scrap 4×4 piece of wood sitting around and decided to put it to use. Drilling the holes in this desk caddy was a bit harder than it looks. This was my third try. It made me wish for a drill press. But, if you have a steady hand and a good eye, a standard drill will work. I love that it echoes the shapes of the keys on the keyboard. I went with a sleek look, but you can paint or decoupage the caddy any way you want. Bonus: It makes a great bookend too.

Salvaged wood pencil and pen caddy

Supplies

• scrap 4×4 board (try Freecycle or a salvage yard)
• spray primer
• spray paint
• painter’s tape
• felt feet

Tools

• sanding block and sandpaper
• drop cloth
• drill and 1/2-inch drill bit
• tack cloth
• ruler and pencil

1. First cut the 4×4 in 4-inch pieces. (You might need more than one in case you mess up). Thanks Rick for cutting the wood for me!

2. Use a ruler and pencil to draw a grid to guide you when drilling the holes. My holes are about 1/2 inch from the edge and 1/2 inch from each other.

3. Measure three inches on the drill bit, and mark it with a flag of painter’s tape. This will ensure that all your holes are the same depth. Drill each of the holes, making sure that the drill is exactly straight up. I used a 1/2-inch drill bit, but if your pencils and pens are fatter, use a larger drill bit.

4. Sand all the sides smooth. Fill any nicks with wood filler, let dry, then sand smooth again. Remove dust with a tack cloth.

5. Apply one coat of spray primer. (I used regular primer because it’s what I had on hand.) Let dry, then lightly sand. Remove dust with a tack cloth, and apply another coat of primer. Let dry.

6. Apply three coats of spray paint, letting dry 15-20 minutes after each coat.

7. Stick felt feet on the bottom.

8. Load it up with your favorite pens and pencils. Enjoy!