Bargain Shopping/Item Remake - Part 1

I recently went to my local Hobby Lobby store for one thing and came out with three full shopping carts of things. They had a ton of their housewares on sale for 80% OFF to make room for...are you ready for this...Christmas.

So, like I told my husband, I spent a lot, but I can't even explain how much I saved! :)

Here are just a few of my bargains (more to come in future Before/After posts).

This frame is HUGE--5' x 2.5'. It's aluminum/tin/? some rather light metal. And I'm sure at one time had something in it since the before cost was $199.99. I paid $40! (It's hanging in my hallway so it's sort of hard to get a great picture of it.)

The metal rings inside were each $.99. I have no idea what they are for. I was going to use them as wreath forms for rag wreaths, but I decided to try them in my huge empty frame and I like them there. I tied them with torn strips of off-white cotton fabric. Around the holidays, I'll take the metal rings out and hang berry wreaths in this frame.

And if I ever get sick of it in my house, it's great for outdoors too since it's metal. See, win-win! :)

This mirror has a thick plastic frame around it that looks like wood. There is a broken part on the bottom (that you can't see at all with it hanging this way) so it was marked down to...$18! I brought it home and roughed it up a bit to make it even more distressed and I love it over my piano.

That's it for today. More to come...

Jersey (Sea Anemone) Pom Pom Tutorial

This fun little pom pom made from jersey knit fabric would make a fun pin or gift topper. Here we make it into a hair clip. Doesn't it sort of look like a sea anemone? :)

Supplies Needed:

Knit Fabric (I used my leftovers from this scarf)

Cutting mat and rotary cutter

Clothespins

Pom pom maker or piece of cardboard

Small piece of felt

Alligator clip (covered with ribbon)
Glue Gun
Scissors

Step 1 - Cut the Fabric
You don't need a lot of fabric but it does help if it's rather long so your strips are continuous. This makes them easier to wrap. My strips ended up being 3/4" wide and 2.5 yards long.

I found the best way was to fold it over several times (notice your edge is curling--you want that, but it's hard to cut this way). I clipped the curled edges as flat as I could with some clothespins and cut off the ragged edge and discarded it.


See that nice clean, edge! I then cut 3/4" strips.

TIP - When I was all through cutting the strips, I pinned my fabric because I can never get this nice of a straight line with knit! I'm storing the fabric this way for the next time I need to cut it.

Step 2 - Stretch the Knit to Curl Your Strips

Go through all your strips and pull them gently to get them to curl in on themselves. You'll see. It's like magic. (FYI: You can also knit with the strips once you've done this to them. See my t-shirt purse at the bottom of this post.)

Step 3 - Wrap Your Pom Pom Maker

I have the Clover XL Pom Pom Maker, but you can use your favorite method--a rectangle of cardboard works fine.  (I found the Pom Pom Maker on e-bay.)

I used almost 2 full 2.5 yards long strips on each arm of my pom pom maker. You can adjust this to suit your needs. 

Step 4 - Cut the Fabric and Tie The Pom Pom

I used a thin strip of knit to tie it off and that worked well.

Step 5 - Trim It Up and Glue a Felt Circle to the Back

Step 6 - Glue an Alligator Clip to the Back

And you're done!

They're Baaaaack

This is the first time I've ever made them, but I know they aren't new. Yo-yo's are back in a big way and I, for one, am happy about it. They are fun, quick, and easy!

These three have alligator clips on the back to use as hair bows or even a lapel pin. (My daughter sometimes just clips the alligator clip to the strap of a tank dress).

The blue fabric on the blue and yellow one is from an old doll stroller that we just decided we could part with (even though it's been broken for years). I cut the seat part off of it because I love the fabric. It was just enough to make this yo-yo and maybe one more smaller one. I love finding new uses! :)

Here's What We Do...

When the boys are away. :) The boys of our house were away at Scout Camp this week. So my daughter and I had "Girl's Week". Part of Girl's Week is always crafting. We pulled out our Dollar Store and Walmart flowers and went to work making these hair flowers.

My daughter picked out the ones she wanted and the ones to send to her cousins.

 One quick thing, these two were both made from the same exact kind of flowers. Just layered differently. That's the fun part--trying different designs and combinations until you get what you like. Then choose the beads or buttons you want for the center.

(Here's my tutorial on how to make them.)

A Relief Effort

A little while ago I got an e-mail from my sister where she admitted to almost buying some hair bows for my niece. Buying?!? Uh, no. So "Hairbows for Haley" was started. :)

My daughter went through her bows and chose some Haley might like. Recycling--this is a green effort! And then we made her some new ones. (Stay tuned for a tutorial on the turquoise one).

It was fun to send off this fun little package to my sweet little niece!

Newest Name Signs

Child Name Signs and Teacher Name Signs are always available in my bumblebina ETSY shop.

Nibblefest - A Dog's World

The theme for this month is A Dog's World. These three fun little cards are available now on e-bay with a starting bid of just $.99!

*SOLD

Newest Teacher Name Sign

And here's to you

Sorry, couldn't resist. :)

Teacher Name Signs are always available in my bumblebina ETSY shop.