Bento tote bag

Boy, have I been busy these past few weeks! I've actually been making things in the pockets of time I've had in my busy schedule. I just couldn't find the time to blog about them, which is a tragedy! So here's my first one for March: a bento tote bag!

I found the tutorial for this incredible easy tote bag last year but neglected to note the website or the name of this particular design. I had to do a few hours of online 'investigative research' (re: endlessly scrolling through pictures of DIY tote bag designs) until I found the original blog post. I also discovered that there several different ways of constructing it. Between The Lines calls it the "wings" tote because the construction resembles a pair of wings folded upwards to form a bag. I went with Pretty Prudent's 'bento' tote bag, which I found to be much easier for beginners, but modified it to fit my needs. Check out both their posts to see which method appeals to you.

It took me about 30 miniutes to make my first one - which turned out PERFECT! - and I've been using it as my go-to carry-all for a few weeks now. There are a few different ways to construct and finish the bag - lined or unlined; flat, angled or boxed corners; single compartment or with pockets; short or long handles. I chose to line mine with an old bed sheet and finish it with boxed corners and a eight-inch handle from some thick cotton canvas.

 The great thing about this bag is that it's easy enough that you could experiment with it on a scaled down version (which is what I did for this tutorial) in order to understand the construction and modify it to suit your taste. Since there are only straight stitches involved, you can certainly spend  a little bit more time hand-stitching the bag if you want.

Check out how you can make this bento tote bag yourself after the jump.

Tea towel pillow case

It's starting to look as though I've developed an obsession with tea towels, doesn't it? Well, I can't help it! They come in such fun colours and motifs, they're sturdy and their edges are all neatly hemmed. And when they go on clearance at Ikea, tea towels are impossible to resist! They also beat buying yards of fabric only to end up with bits and pieces that I can't really use for anything.

I've been wanting to give my throw pillow a makeover, so when I got these tea towels, I just played around and wrapped one around my pillow. Et voila! I discovered that I can make a pillow case out of this tea towel with just three lines of stitches and a button. It took me less than 30 minutes to make this pillow case. How easy is that?

This project is perfect for beginners since you only have to sew a few lines of straight stitches and you don't have to worry about measuring, cutting patterns, serging frayed edges or attaching zippers. It's also completely doable without a sewing machine. Do note, though, that this project requires a tea towel with a built-in loop and it makes a 12"x18" pillow case for a standard throw pillow.

Read on after the jump for the full picture tutorial.

Two-toned infinity scarf - from upcycled pashminas

So this is what happens when you buy things on impulse. I wear the hijab and I have a pronounced weakness when it comes to scarves. One of my ongoing quests is to reduce the number of scarves I buy because, really, I don't need that many. These two pashminas are the result of an impulse buy several years back. The colours are pretty but the materials is far too coarse for me to wear around my face so they've been sitting dormant in my drawer.

I decided to turn them into an infinity scarf after stumbling upon a few Youtube tutorials and seeing how easy it is to make one. Plus, I've also been craving for a new infinity scarf since winter set in. The two pashminas combined made a four-layer thick infinity scarf. Two days ago, when temperatures in Toronto dropped to almost thirty below, this scarf did its job in keeping my neck warm and toasty. It also doubled as a heavy hood which didn't flip too easily in gusty winds.

Because of the double layers, there's a few extra steps in this tutorial as opposed to making a regular infinity scarf. You can totally do this with just one pashmina for a thinner infinity scarf. Also, the final step of turning the finished scarf inside out can be a bit nerve-wrecking, but don't panic. Just keeping pulling and it'll all come together at the end!

Check out the full picture tutorial after the jump.

Jump ring bracelet - 100% thrift store inspired!

I have to credit my favourite thrift/beading supply store for this clever and incredibly simple DIY. I bought this cute blue ombre plastic bead necklace from Value Village for $1.99, which is a steal considering how many beads there are on this one necklace. On my next visit I saw this interesting little bracelet made all out of jump rings. I didn't purchase the bracelet because it wasn't entirely to my taste but I took a picture of it so that I can replicate it with my own choice of beads. The project was so much fun and easy to make that I made several in one sitting!

 
This is, by far, the easiest jewelry I've made; it didn't need any chains, wires, or crimps. All I used were jump rings in 2 sizes, clasps and beads. If you're a beginner, I would recommend starting with this project to get a hang of handling jump rings and tools like pliers.

Check out the tutorial on how to make this jump ring bracelet.

Puzzle trinket box - from repurposed photo frame protective corners

Here's a quick little DIY you can make in about fifteen minutes or less. I repurposed 4 cardboard corners and decorated them with some washi tape and dollar store alphabet stickers. As usual, I've had these photo frame cardboard corners in my scrap box for a while before I discovered what I can do with them.

The four corners fit into each other quite nicely like a puzzle, but one simple enough for my five-year-old niece Zara to solve. Plus, since the puzzle forms a box, I decided to store a little surpirse in it for her!

I added the alphabet stickers so she can disassemble the puzzle and spell her name.

Check out the photo tutorial if you'd like to see how I made this quick but ingenious little DIY!

P/S: I also made a trinket box for my little niece Dina with a used plastic box. Here it is:

Tea towel jumbo tote bag - 100% repurposed materials!

Hang on to your pants because today's DIY is a triple threat!  This tea towel tote is made from three fabrics that all repurposed/recycled: a tea towel, an old bedsheet and some leftover fabric.

I love tote bags for the obvious reason that it's the environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags. They can also be easily folded and stuffed into my purse when I'm hurrying out the door. Plus, having all your shopping in one bag is so much more convinient than hefting half a dozen paper or plastic bags! I used to feel weird when I started refusing plastic bags during checkouts but now I feel quite confident telling the cashier, "I don't need a bag, thank you,"especially when I whip out my well-worn canvas tote bag. The one I'm using right now is at least 3 years old; it's tremendously gratifying to think about all the plastic I've avoided using with just one single bag!

I must have browsed a dozen tutorials on how to sew a tote bag. I got even more excited when I realized I have materials I can repurpose into a bag. The tea towel is a mystery in that it's one of those things that's been laying about the house and no one in my family is 100% sure where it came from. We believe my brother bought it on an impulse (albeit, a weird impulse) during one of his trips to downtown Toronto, but we have yet to confirm that. The bedsheet is an old one from my own bed. The colour has gone from pale blue to even paler lifeless blue so I replaced it with a new one (in the exact same colour, I now realize...); but still, I couldn't bring myself to simply throw away all that fabric so I decided to dice it up and use as lining material. I wanted a jumbo-sized tote bag so I extended the height of the bag with some fabric, also from my scrap box. The extension fabric is actually from an old sarong and the tartan-like motif happened to match my tea towel quite perfectly.

Note: I took the extra step of sewing box corners for this bag; box corners give the bag dimension and a flat bottom, which I think is necessary for a bag this size. But it is optional and you can skip it if you like (Sew4home has detailed instructions on sewing boxed corners here).

 Read on after the jump for the full picture tutorial.

Woven Ribbon-wrapped Bangles

I'm not over the craze of upcycling thrifted plastic bangles, apparently. I usually go to thrift stores to get my fresh supply of vintage beads but, nowadays, plastic bangles are the first things I see. Like my Embroidery Thread Wrapped bangles project, this one took only three materials and about fifteen minutes to make.

I already had a duo-toned ribbon on hand but you can opt to use two different coloured ribbons. The bangles came in a set of three for just $1.99. Altogether, I estimate the cost of these bangles came to about $5.00. Awesome, right? Check out the full picture tutorial if you'd like to give this a try.

Oktoberfest and birthday cards

October is always special for my family because my niece, my brother-in-law, my dad and my brother all have birthdays one after another in this month. That usually calls for an abundance of birthday cards and presents to make in October and I'm always in search for fresh ideas. I always believe that presents don't have to be expensive, shiney and flashy to be meaningful; something made personally and marked with imperfections are worth more than anything to me because they come from the heart. Browsing through craft blogs is a great way to get your creative juices going, but this year I found my inspiration in the very people for whom I'm making these cards. Here are the two birthday cards:

Since my niece Dina is only three, I wanted to make something that she could identify and relate to easily. According to my sister, one of Dina's favourite movies at the moment is Up. I came across a card with a picture of the famous flying house from "Up". It had a pretty close representation of the house, with intricate architectural details of the windows, doors, verandah, etc. I don't have the tools or the skills neccessary to replicate such details, but I figured a tilted house with balloons coming out of its chimney is close enough.

Since this a really small collage, most of my materials came from remnant cardstock. The bonus part is the balloons - I didn't have cardstock in the colours I need, so I punched them out of colourful magazine pages. Pretty nifty, right?

My brother-in-law, on the other hand, sports a mustache and a pair of geeky glasses, so this is what I made for him:

I Googled images of glasses and mustaches (most of which came with a nose) and scaled them to size in a Word doc. Then I printed them on plain paper, pasted them onto cardstock and cut out the shapes. To get the faux-3D effect, I simply layered foam double-sided tape for extra height.

For the letterings, I simply typed them up in a Word doc and estimated their location on the card. It would be a good idea to test-print them on paper to make sure you're happy with the location before printing on your cardstock.

So there you go - two simple greeting cards inspired by the people I'm giving them to. Who needs Hallmark, right?

Personalized Tees

Got some plain ol' tees? Want to give them some personalized touch? Well check out what my sister a.k.a. crafty-momma Nani did with her little girls' T-shirts in her first guest post. With just five things, she added a personalized design to mark their ages and jazz up a couple of plain T-shirts. No special skills required!

Full DIY after the jump.

Personalized Tees

Materials:
Plain T-shirts
Acrylic paint - white or a contrasting colour to your T-shirst

Tools:
Sponge brush
Design template
A pice of cardboard

Instructions:
1. Print and cut out your choice of design to be used as a template. I chose a leaf shape with the number three cut out of its center and a 12-petal floral shape with the number five.

2. Place the piece of cardboard inside your T-shirt to stop the paint from seeping to the back layer of the shirt.

3. Place your T-shirt on a flat surface. Position your template on your T-shirt and press down firmly to set it in place. Optionally, you can pin the template to your shirt with a few straight pins to stop it from moving around while you paint.

4. Dab your sponge brush in a little paint, remove access and dab it onto your T-shirt. Fill in the areas on your template accordingly.  Remember NOT to use too much paint or your design will be stiff and crack once it's dry. Use just enough paint to cover your design areas.

5. When you've filled in the areas of your design, remove your template but keep the cardboard piece inside the shirt. Let dry for 24 hours.

6. Turn the T-shirt inside-out, iron on low heat to set the paint and voila, it's done!

*Alternatively, you can pre-wash your T-shirts before painting them or chuck them in the washer after setting the paint. I washed mine after I was done because I was too excited to get started on this DIY!

~Nani

Whimsy-fy a vintage blouse (with a ruffled hem!)

I love simple designs with little whimsical embelishments.I was online window shopping a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon this dainty little number and instantly fell in love.

I won't say where I found it or how much it cost (hint: somewhere around an arm and a leg) but suffice it to say that my reaction was, "Hey, I can make that for SO much less!" And so I did. I happened to have a Victorian-esque blouse with sumptuously puffed sleeves that I bought for an absolute bargain at a local vintage store, Netty Vintage. I can't remember the exact price but I'm 100% sure it wasn't more than $15. Then I simply headed over to my local crafts store to get a matching fabric for the ruffle and voila!

Vintage blouse whimsy-fied!

This is the first major refashion project I've done and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.The stitching is a bit messy because I'm still a newbie on the sewing machine but you can hardly tell from afar. What's important was that the ruffled hem was in place, my blouse now has the whimsical touch I was aiming for, my wardrobe has something new, so I'm happy!

Full tutorial (with pictures!) after the jump.

Accessorizing for Eid, the eco-friendly way!

Welcome to part 2 (of two) of my Eid/Thanksgiving post! (Click here for Part 1).

This is a quick (and image heavy) post on how I accessorized my Eid oufit the eco-friendly way.

My love affair with beads goes all the way back to my childhood; the earliest piece beaded jewelry I have is a knitted seed bead necklace my mom made at one of her crafting classes when I was five or six years old. It was only last summer that it occured to me to try my hand at beading. Needless to say, my relationship with beads took a different turn from then on.

I call this necklace the Blue Lantern and it's one of the first necklaces I made for myself. This would have cost more than what I'm willing to pay at a retail store so being able to make simple things like this can be really good for your wallet. There are no intricate maneuvers involved, just stringing one bead after another and putting together colours that complement each other. Simple, right?

Oh, and here's my favourite part: memory wire bracelet from repurposed clay beads!

This summer, my beading career made a right turn down Eco-friendly Boulevard. I started "harvesting" beads from accessories I find in thrift stores and second-hand shops. The beads I used for this bracelett came from a necklace I found at Value Village for $1.99.

There are huge benefits from repurposing beads from old accessories. First, I'm salvaging things rather than adding to the global garbage heap. Second, I know I'm not adding to the pollution that result from the production of brand new beads. Third, profits from thrift stores like Value Village, St. Vincent's and the Salvation Army usually go towards helping the needy or funding research on cancer or diabetes*. Fourth, used beads have the antiqued, worn-out quality which I like in my accessories. Plus, knowing that each string of bead has its own history prior to my finding it gives that much more meaning to the pieces I make. It's a perfect arrangement, isn't it?

I still need to purchase new materials, such as wires and crimps. Nevertheless, I'd like to believe that every little thing we do makes an impact, no matter how small.

*Not all charities contribute 100% of their profits to their stated goals, so do your research and find out where your money's going.

The mirror and the bow

I previously hung a bigger mirror in this spot. Then I replaced it with this oval mirror. I didn't want to puncture the wall with more nails so in simply hung my new mirror in the same spot.

Obviously, it was too high. So to adjust the mirror's height and avoid damaging my wall at the same time, I did this:

And voila! A mirror at the right height, no extra nail holes in my wall and a bow to make it all pretty.

The best part about this DIY? The string, which I salvaged from an old pair of running pants. So this DIY solution came at zero cost. How cool is that?

Click here to find out how I made the framed jewelry organizer pictured above.

Upcycle a photo frame into a jewelry organizer!

So here's another DIY project I have had in my Ideas folder for, like, forever. Although I love upcycling things I have lying around and the frame looks really cute, I put it off because I already had a jewelry organizer. My dad had artfully installed hooks and nails on the side of my old dresser and that's where I've been storing my bracelets, bangles and necklaces. Last month, however, I replaced the dresser with a new one, so there goes my jewelry organizer. And so came the reason to make a new organizer!

All I used were an old (and not very pretty) photo frame, a cork board (which I salvaged from my previous study), spray paint and some nails.

I first removed the frame and spray-painted it white to match the rest of my room's furniture. I applied two coats of paint to get the finished surface I wanted. When reassembling the frame, I discarded the frame's glass plate and put the cork board in its place. My cork board happened to fit the frame perfectly, so no cutting or trimming was necessary. Finally, I hammered several *nails in a zig zag pattern from which to hang my necklaces.

It's that simple!

Now, I not only have an easily accessible organizer for my necklaces but I also made a functional wall art that fits my room's deco. Winning!

Click here to see what I did with the simple mirror below for some aesthetic appeal.

*I originally used thumbtacks but they weren't long enough to hold more than one necklace each so I upgraded to some nails.

Upcycle thrifted plastic bangles with jewel-toned embroidery thread!

My sister sent me a picture of some embroidery thread-wrapped bangles over a year ago and challenged me to make some of my own. I don't know why but I was intimidated by them and didn't attempt to make them until recently. As it turns out, they are SO easy to make! You literally only need three materials for this DIY project: plastic bangles, embroidery thread and glue. 

I chose a set of four bangles which I bought from Value Village for $1.99 (score!) and embroidery threads in three shades. I wrapped two bangles in solid maroon and pink threads while the other two I wrapped in alternating stripes of maroon, pink and red.

To start wrapping, I dabbed some glue onto the inner ring of the bangle and pressed down one end of the thread. I glued about half an inch of thread to the bangle to make sure it's secure. After the glue has dried (about 1-2 minutes) I began wrapping the thread back over the glued end and onwards until I ran out of thread. To continue with a new length of thread, I made sure to glue it onto the bangle and wrap the previous length of thread over it to make sure it's secure (again). I then knotted the previous length of thread and continue wrapping with the new piece of thread over the knot to hide it. To end, I knotted the thread, dabbed some glue on it, let it dry and then snip off the access thread.

The results was pretty impressive; for a simple DIY, the bangles came out looking quite elegant, especially with the jewel-toned threads.

These were so much fun to make, I might just run over to the thrift store and grab some more plastic bangles!