And we’re back! The super puffy bandage is off, there is pretty much no pain unless I grab things a certain way or flex my fingers, and typing is not a problem. Knitting, however, will probably not commence until the stitches are out next Wednesday. So that’s pretty awesome. The worst thing was the loss of time. Yesterday I posted my web inspirations and today I’ll post the crafting hour. I am not going to be able to do Monday’s tutorial, it just isn’t in the cards. So, sorry about that. Also, this weekend, I will make a concerted effort to finish up my series of posts on my first encounter with my Cameo. I’ve also decided to make a few changes to my weekly schedule. Not much, but it will still be a change.
Monday: The Crafting Hour
I’m switching this series of posts to Mondays for one major reason: they are the easiest for me to write, and therefore to edit. Since Monday is my busiest day, and I tend to leave teaching stuff till way too late, it seems best to do these posts on Monday. So keep your eyes peeled for some Monday hourly updates!
Wednesday: Mid-Week Inspiration
These posts will still probably be from the web, but this allows me to add other media inspiration as well. And who doesn’t need a bit of a pick-me-up come Wednesday?
Friday: Finished Object Friday.
I like the alliteration here. Also, by switching from tutorials to finished objects it allows me to showcase items that I can’t do tutorials for. Some of these will be projects that were completed before I entered blog land. Others will be projects that rely on patterns or directions from other sources to an extant that I am uncomfortable doing them as hourly progress updates. Additionally, I can show of some of the finished hourly projects (like my socks) where you would probably get bored from a second iteration of the first. I’ll still do tutorials when I can, this just expands the possibilities. Finally, since I do my tutorial stuff on the weekends, this gives me a week to be able to write and edit the posts, hopefully making for a better reading experience overall.
Ok, business aside, let’s go on to see some crafting hour goodness!
Today’s crafting hour is all about a paper craft I made. There aren’t too many pictures, but that’s because it’s a really easy project. I recently sold some wedding jewelry I received with my dress, and I wanted to add a little something special to the package for the recipient, but I didn’t really want to spend any money. During our wedding, Earl managed to rip my dress (still not sure how he managed that one…). It was only through the amazing preparedness of Melissa, one of my brides maids, that it was an easy fix. She may not have been the only one with a sewing kit, but I am sure glad she had it!
I thought that making a small sewing kit would be appropriate for all occasions, and I happen to have all sorts of thread, needles, and the like around my house. When thinking about the shape, I lit upon the idea of a small folding matchbox with some thread and a needle inside. I have some old matchboxes from our wedding around, so I thought I could use that for a template if I needed. I couldn’t be the first to think of this idea, so checked around online first to see if there was anything out there. Lo and behold, Jivvy from microjivvy.com not only created an amazing matchbook sewing kit that was way cooler than what I could have done, she provided us with the .pdf file to make our own for free!
If you are so inclined, you should really check out more photos of her final product over by clicking on the link above.
This project only took me 2 hours, so here is the breakdown.
Hour 1: Editing frenzy
I was insistent that I wanted to use my silhouette to cut my paper. I don’t know why, I just was. New toy syndrome maybe? So, I created a cut and print file in Silhouette Studio. I cannot tell you how much in love I am with cut and print files right now. It places markers on the page so you can print something (like microjivvy’s awesome layout) and then the silhouette will know where to cut. I have also made a paper Tardis for Earl. There are so many paper cut files that this could work amazingly with….. Gushing aside, once I had the layout down, I decided that I didn’t need the black cut lines (or dotted fold lines) from the original file, so I spent some time cleaning those out. Because some of the fold lines are not associated with the outline of the box, I also added in a few cross cuts to help locate those folds later. I used some of my calligraphy paper for the project, since cardstock would have been too heavy. Here is what it all looked like printed out:
Hour 2: Assembly
Assembling the paper was really easy. First, I assembled all the parts: two colors of thread, a needle threader (preferably one of those cheap ones that are easy to disassemble), three needles, a small bit of ribbon, and safety pins (I added 2).There are a few parts that need to be glued to the paper: the cutting apparatus, the threader, the inserts for the thread sections (I used card stock here), and I also did the brads ahead of time to hide the back side of those. Jivvy had the most amazing idea for a thread cutter: part of the ripper from an aluminum foil box! Brilliant! Then you adhere the back and front together, for which I used double sided tape, and fold the matchbook into shape (also adhering along the way). I used my scoreboard to help with the folds, but I don’t see why you couldn’t do it by hand. Now, add your sewing materials and the rivets for the parts that close, glue the inside to the outside so it pulls out like an accordion, and viola! A really cute matchbox sewing kit. (Sorry about some of the poor quality photos, they were taken with the puffy bandage on).
Had I done the cutting by hand, I probably would have finished this in around an hour, including gathering the supplies. So it makes the perfect crafting hour post!
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