DIY: Rubber Band Bracelet

I like using items I see and use every day in different ways. I had quite a few rubber bands and thought they could be tied together to make a quick and easy bracelet.

DIY: Tassel Embroidery Floss Earrings

Embroidery floss comes in a bunch of colors and isn’t terribly expensive (usually under 40 cents for a regular color, more for metallic). I had some embroidery floss and thought I could use it in creating earrings for a simple burst of color.

Pleated Change Purse

My old change purse was dying a slow and painful death. I had used it for many years and filled it to the brim with change; it was fraying and filthy and far from its once cute state. So instead of purchasing a new one, I thought I’d create one with some of my fabric scraps.

I had a basic idea of what I wanted to do: a small purse with a zipper closure. Simple enough. I didn’t really follow any directions because what I needed to do was fairly straightforward. I selected a sturdier cotton fabric for my change purse (left over fabric from my navy skirt). Instead of doing the bare minimum of using two flat pieces of fabric to create my change purse, I decided to use inverted pleats as a design element. It wasn’t that much more difficult; I just had to use a bit more fabric for the width, measure where my pleats would be, press the pleats down and then baste the pleats in place. It’s simple but I think it adds some nice visual interest.

The second thing I did to make this change purse a bit more interesting was using a contrasting zipper color. I happen to have this cream-colored zipper and thought it would match well with navy. It was my first time shortening a zipper (which turned out to be super easy). As usual I made mistakes along the way, but it was a good small (and necessary) sewing project for me. 

DIY: Glitter Pin

Glitter is not to be ignored—it screams, “Look at me! I’m here!” As a child I had a great appreciation for glitter, but with time tastes change, and now I prefer matte to shine. Yet there are times you might want the bright sparkle of glitter to bring a sense of fun. Glitter is celebratory in nature, so I thought a glitter pin could be a nice accent in wrapping a present.

Doable Retro Dress

My resistance is low when fabric and supplies are on sale. I admit, it’s my own fault; not entering a store would be the correct step in avoiding getting more stuff. Sadly, I choose over and over again to go into a store to “just take a look” and inevitably find something I want.

I like to rationalize and think that as long as it’s not full price, I’m getting a good deal. This time it was a 1950’s retro dress pattern that was on sale. I do like vintage style items and the pattern had a sewing rating of “very easy” (which I thought was doable with my limited sewing skills). The pattern required quite a bit of fabric (which despite my growing collection of fabric, I didn’t have the required yardage at home) so I decided to get some cheap fabric.