For Christmas, I made this kimono dress for my niece using Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing. It's a great book with over 40 projects. 

The best piece of advice I gleaned from the book was that even a skilled seamstress such as Heather Ross gets her hand made dresses and skirts professionally hemmed. She explained that it's worth the $5 or $10 to make a project look professional. 

I tried my best to hem properly and follow the directions, however, the dress came out WAY to big. It was meant to be a small and it ended up something like a size 10. I'm not sure how this happened. Perhaps I was a little lose with my scissors. 

So, I'm hoping for a growth spurt from my niece. 

DIY Rubber Band and Nail Board

This is an easy and fun do it yourself rubber band and nail board project - a perfect gift for your inquisitive toddler.


And this one has a twist: a handy dandy rubber band holder that can velcro on and off AND a durable handle for transporting the board. 


To make this project, you will need the following items:

spare rubber bands
nail (I used about 70)
hammer
piece of wood (my piece measured 9 inches by 9 inches)
sandpaper
a piece of scrap fabric (mine measured about 7 x 2)
two small pieces of Velcro
2 screws (the kind with the open loop on top)
Twine


Step One:
Begin by sanding down the wooden square so that there are no poky parts for your toddler. 


Step two:
Using a ruler, mark dots every inch  or so.





Step three:
Hammer your nails into every spot you've marked on your wooden square. 


 


Step four:
Cut your scrap of fabric into a piece that is 6 inches long and 2 inches wide.

Step five:
With right sides face, sew the strip along the long, 6-inch section. 


Step six:
Turn the piece right side out. 





Step seven:
Sew the short ends closed. 


Step eight:
At the short end of each strip, sew your Velcro (i placed the "hook" side of the Velcro on my fabric as opposed to the fuzzy piece of Velcro)

Step nine:
Line up the fuzzy side on your wood block to that the "hook" side will fit right on top of it. 

Now you have a place to hang your rubber bands!


Step ten:
screw your two hooks to another side of your wood square.

Step eleven:
Place twine in the eyes of your screw and tie together. 
Now you have a handle to transport your wood block. 

Step twelve:

Create! The world is your geometric oyster. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to All!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!

Hope you are relaxing and enjoying!!

Disappearing Act

Remember that time I disappeared for a week?


Sorry about that!!! I've been stuck in a vortex of holiday madness and the insanity of being home with the kids!


I'll have a new tutorial for you on Monday! And a roundup of my Lego birthday party for Mr. P.'s 6th! 


And lots, lots more!


In the meantime, I wish you all Happy Holidays!!

we have a winner!

The winner of the car burp cloth is:

LaurKnotter who said:

"New follower! I love the blue."


Laura: I don't have an email link on your profile page, so please do email me within a week to collect your prize....


meremadeblog (at) gmail (dot) com

She has selected blue for her prize!

Everyone else, thanks so much for stopping by! And if you're desperate for that burp cloth, please visit me at my Etsy store! (The burpcloths sell for $12 through January 1st.)

easy gift for wonderful teachers

I wanted to share this simple hot cocoa kit that I am giving to Doodlebop's preschool teachers for the holidays. 

All you need are some glass jars, cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, cinnamon sticks and baker's twine. 

I'm also going to include a little paper with directions on the card. 

And if they save the glass jars, I will fill with homemade jam come January! 

Hopefully, these hardworking teachers will get to relax, put their feet up and sip on some hot chocolate over the break! (after all the work they put in potty training my child - they most definitely deserve it!!!)

My New E-Book Contribution

Come check out my salt dough ornaments as featured in All Free Holiday Craft's new e-book, 

"Santa's Favorite X-mas Crafts for Children."

There's a variety of easy-to-make holiday crafts including an upcycled sock snowman and a recycled bottle top ornament. 

The best part about the book is that it's downloadable for free! Just click here!

Salt Dough Ornaments

Check out my free burp cloth giveaway happening now through December 14th!


A few days ago we made our annual batch of salt dough ornaments.

These are really the easiest tree decorations to make! I've reposted my original tutorial from last year below.

If you do decide to make some, please feel free to email me a photo or two and I'll link back to you!
_______________________________________________

This is an easy weekend ornament project. 

What you'll need:
1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
cookie cutters
1 chopstick (to make hole in dough)
tempera paint in many colors
brushes

Mix everything together until the dough is formed. You may need to keep adding flour little by little until it's no longer sticky. 

We used cookie cutters (both Christmas-themed and Star Wars-themed) to mold dough into shapes. 

Using the chopstick, place a hole at the top of the dough ornament.

Place in microwave and begin zapping on high in 30-second increments until ornament is hardened. For most ornaments, this took about a minute and thirty seconds. The uber-thick ones took about two minutes.

     Wait for ornament to cool and then paint.

            
             

                          

   Let dry and add string to hang from tree! 

Flying Trapeze

A few weeks ago a friend somehow talked me into taking a trapeze class at the Santa Monica pier. 


I had seen this particular school before when I had taken my kids to the pier play the carnival games or go on the rides and I always thought to myself, "Who on earth would be crazy enough to take this class?"


Apparently, I am. 


In case I hadn't shared this with you, I have a lovely fear of heights. This includes, but is not limited to: airplanes, bridges, tall buildings and now....trapezery. Yes, that's my own made up word. 


I was excited to take the class because I hadn't really challenged myself in this way in a long time. Sure, kid rearing has plenty of challenges as do relationships and jobs, but this sort of physical challenge hadn't come my way since I did a ropes course in high school or perhaps rock climbing in college.


Climbing up the ladder was really scary, but the hardest part was taking that leap of faith off of the platform. Logic told me I was harnessed and safe, but my body was yelling the opposite. 


For what it's worth, I went up three times, leaped off and hung by my legs. My kids were cheering me on below. 

While I didn't become "addicted" to trapeze school as one woman in the class admitted she had become, I was glad I stepped out of my comfort zone, even if only for a few hours. 

And hey! Who knew your armpits could be so sore!!

Burp Cloth Giveaway (ends 12/14)

To get into the holiday spirit, I am giving away a burp cloth from my Etsy store! This will be my last giveaway for 2011. 

This is the perfect gift for  a new baby! 


The burp cloths are made using Echino Ni-co car prints on one side and soft, swirly minky on the other side. 

And I've finally put my Meremade tags to good use! 


The winner can choose between red, green or blue.

There are many more burp cloths at my Etsy store!(Please note that the price of the burp cloths will go up from $12 to $15 starting on January 1st.)

To enter: Please become a follower of my blog and leave a comment below letting me know which color you'd like if you win. 


I will be selecting the winner at random. 

This contest closes on December 14th at 11:59 pm et and a winner will be announced on December 15th. 

Craftastic Hotel

I came across this all-knitted hotel room on the HUffington Post. I must admit it gives me a little bit of craft envy. This knitted and crocheted nook named "Do Knit Disturb" is eager for guests at the Hotel Pelirocco in Brighton, England. Artist Kate Jenkins completed the project in a little over two and a half weeks (how's that for productivity?)

And look at the details! 

Knitted tea time.

Knitted toothpaste. 

Okay, these items may not curb your hunger or keep you hygienic, but they do get the Craftastic! seal of approval from this wannabe crafter!