t-shirt cutting series: a little racier

Now that you’ve learned the simple-cut you’re ready to get a little more daring with the shears (and your shirts).

Click on the picture to see full-size details!

Tips:

1. Make sure you use super sharp scissors. Sharp scissors make smooth effortless cuts.

2. Once you try on the shirt, you can make adjustments to the style and fit. For instance, if one section droops more than others, you can cut the knot and then retie it into a better shape.

3. The first few ties closest to the neck of the shirt usually need to be tighter, or closer together, than the middle and bottom sections of the t-shirt.

4. Cutting and retying your t-shirt with this style is a great way of making a huge shirt more slim fitting. To do this, just make wider lines across the back and tie the strands closer together.

5. To make a tight shirt looser, tie the strands together near the tips of the fabric, leaving less excess to cut off.

Have fun and play around with different different sized shirts and vary the width and length of the strips to create an effect all your own.

Last summer, when I was putting together a box of clothes to donate to the homeless shelter, I picked up a few ill-fitting T-shirts and got happy with the scissors. This summer, I’m bringing it to the blog.

Redesigning an old shirt with a few snips and knots is a great no-sew way to make the old new again. This project works best with over sized, frumpy, tight-necked, concert and even giveaway shirts (you know the ones you get for free from events that come in the one-size-fits-all poorly variety). It’s also a great way to jazz up your kids summer camp T’s.

I am going to start the post-series with a simple cut and work my way up to more intricate designs in the following lessons. This simple cut is also the starting point for other designs. So pay attention!!

Check out the images below for instructions, and please…

** click on the image to see full-size!! the thumbnails crop out details **

Once you’re done, try on your new creation to see how it looks!! You may decide to make a larger scoop of the neck for a little off-the-shoulder action, or you might grab another T and get snippin’… just remember to save some shirts for the next tutorial.

New home. New needs. New uses for old projects.

Since I’ve moved, the floating herb garden has been dangling succulents and rooting cuttings.

the floating herb garden

Here’s a project I can’t wait to replicate. Eliza and her mom crafted this project after being inspired by a Spend Share Save box at a friends house.

The idea is simple, start by digging an empty box out of the recycle bin:

Divide the inside into sections (scotch tape and cardboard):

Using a sharp knife, and adult supervision, cut the lid into three pieces to match the sections created on the inside:

When all the chopping and taping is done, decorate your bank and start dividing up your funds. My favorite part is the ’share’ section.

Thanks for the great idea Eliza!!

With winter in full swing, there’s sure to be a glove or two that goes astray. What to do with its lonely only other half… Glove Bunny!!

This Baby Glove Bunny only takes one glove to make. A chop-chop here and a stitch stitch there, here a stuff, there a stuff and there you have it.

I have included a visual layout of how to transform your stray glove into a precious little softie, below. The dashed lines need to be cut with sharp scissors and then sewed together

The two middle fingers are turned into the bunny arms, the legs are cut up from the wrist and sewed apart. The face details can either be stitched on, or adorned with buttons and trim. Be creative… this is only a jumping point!!

For recycled stuffing ideas see my post on Stray Sock Stuffing.

Holiday catalogues…

wooden scraps

chop chop and a little thread

assemble

..dangle & dazzle!

With the holidays approaching you’ll soon find yourself knee deep in packaging waste. This is the perfect time to add another type of recycle bin to the home. A projects bin, like this one, can be used to collect empty packaging and other discarded items that have art-project potential. Everything, from the plastic and twist ties holding dolly in place to empty candy containers and wrapping paper, can be re-imagined into something useful.

This project takes a simple idea, and multiplies the fun!

You start with a shoe box, or a box of similar size, and create a room for your toys to dwell. The best thing about this project is not only do you get to do it over and over, at different times, with different friends, etc., but you get to take them all home, and assemble each piece into a grand mansion.

The bedroom, for instance, could have been made at a cousin’s house over Thanksgiving, the kitchen, at a sleepover and the playroom on a rainy afternoon. Creating add-on houses is great for holidays, sick days, vacation days and sleepovers.

The examples below are from one of ingenious kids I spend time with. She used wallpaper and wrapping paper scraps to adorn the walls. Altoids tins became closets and beds. Popsicle sticks are now hardwood floors and stamps transformed into artwork.

Click on the pictures below to get a closer look at the creative uses for everyday trash.

(You MUST click on the pictures to see the incredible detail!)

It’s all Star Wars all the time!! (at least to my little bud, it is)

While my 4 year old friend is not making these projects all by himself, it’s the time we spend together.. digging through the recycle bin, tearing the tape, looking through books.. that makes doing projects together so much fun!

Not only that, but he truly cherishes his homemade toys. His x-wing fighter has been smooshed, squished and stomped on, but it still flies missions alongside the store-bought ones.

While I don’t expect everyone to have the same items we used, after reading through the rundown below, I hope you get some good ideas on how to fashion your own.

Here’s the rundown: The bottom of the snow speeder is a discarded plastic tray from dog bones. We used an awl to pop some holes in it and thread the orange straws through.

The top is a juice bottle bottom, cut with a sharp kitchen knife. The top and bottom are joined in the back with clear packing tape. We put 2 layers on the outside, then 2 layers on the inside, to create a hinge, so the top opens and closes.

We jazzed it up with some craft foam strips, and in the very back is a broken Nerf bullet.

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Now hit up the recycle bin and make some fun!!

Creating this beautiful floating herb garden is simple, all you need are a few empty jars and a quick trip to the hardware store. The steps to make your own are outlined in the gallery below… be sure to click on the pictures to see the detail.

(click on an image to enlarge)

When my young friend started pretending his Star Wars toys were parachuting in the other room, I instantly remembered those cheapo plastic parachute toys I used to get from the gum ball machine as a child. They were so much fun! So I dug through the cabinets and constructed this quickie craft…

The steps are outlined below. Click to see a larger, more detailed image: