Many of you have probably heard of the 101 things to complete in 1001 days.  Well, if not, it is a list of 101 things you would like to complete in 1001 days.  I have a list and love the challenge, even though at times I wonder why I started it.  I have anything between putting a light fixture up to sewing a shirt to starting graduate school.  One of the things on this list is make a bird case veil.  I don’t know why I added it to the list.  I guess because I think they are neat.  I found all the materials that I needed in my extra sewing material, so I made it today.  I used the tutorial by Hip Hostess, located here.  The tutorial was easy to use, simple and took barely any time at all.  I would definitely add a little comb to the back of it, if I was really going to wear it.

My mother in law, who I don’t have the stereotypical relationship with (I actually like her and thinks she is great), is not really a big jewelry person; however, she wears tons of brooches.  So for Christmas I made her a brooch keeper.  I found the tutorial online and made some versions to it to get the final result.  It was very frustrating to do, but definitely worth the end product.

Here it is!

To go along with the brooch keeper, we found a witch brooch to go in it.  Her favorite holiday is Halloween and every year she would dress up as a witch when my husband was going up!  (Plus, it is our little joke between each other.  She calls me “That Girl.” And Yes, we are messing with each other.)

My father in law is one of the hardest people to shop for.  He either has it all or gets it.  I think a few years ago, the hubby bought his dad a series of DVDs, which are yet to be open.  Therefore, we generally get him some food related item.  This year he is going to be blessed with salsa & chips night.  The basket includes five different types of salsa, a bag of chips and salsa bowls, that the local Mexican restaurant usually have.  Hopefully, he will enjoy!

Please excuse the background.  I was taking the picture while I was wrapping gifts!

Another gift basket that I created this Christmas was for a co-worker of mine and her boyfriend.  He is a teacher, but unemployed at the current moment and she is thinking about going back to school come January.  I made this basket to wish them good tiding for the holiday season and with the coming school year.

Contains:

1 back of notebook paper

2 spiral notebooks, one subject

post its

1 pack of 3X5  index cards

1 pack of 5×7 index cards (I think this was the size)

lip gloss

$5 Target gift card

box of crayons

2 small notebooks to take notes

Well this really isn’t a craft; however, a great family idea.  As I get older, which I am not old now, I realize that I do not like getting gifts that aren’t useful or practical.  I created this basket for my hubby’s best friend’s family.  It will allow them to be able to spend a family night together.  Their children are young almost three and a year and half, so we tried to get things they would be able to do.

In the basket:

2 pads of paper with crayons in a little notebook (bought via Etsy)

“Up” the movie

2 decks of playing cards

Play Doh kit

Barrel of Monkeys

I have always wanted to try this, but until now have I had the guts to do so.  I transformed a pair of my boot leg jeans into a pair of skinny leg jeans.  I wouldn’t necessarily say skinny jeans look great on me; however, I have learned that I can work with them to make a great outfit.  Below is a small tutorial on how to do it to your own pair of jeans!  I hope you enjoy!

Materials:

- Pins

- Disappearing Ink Marker

- Scissors

- Sewing Machine

Steps:

1. Put the jeans on inside out.

2. Sitting down, pin the jeans where you want the new hem line to be.

3.  Take off the jeans and place on a flat surface.

4. With disappearing ink marker, mark where the new hem line appears.

5. Using your sewing machine, sew a straight stitch on top of the marker line.

6. Now sew a zig zag stitch on the outside of the straight stitch.  This will decrease the chances of the jeans fraying.

7. Cut off an extra fabric.

Turn the jeans right side out and you are done!

Below are pictures of the step to help you complete this new project!

Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to improve my earring making/sculpting skills, plus come up with more ideas!  Below are some of my favorites from the past few weeks.

What do you think?

Since, I am short, I usually either have to pay someone or nag my mother in law or my mom to do it.  I can do it, but I REALLY REALLY hate hemming pants.  I found a place online that made hemming very simple and in three easy steps.  You can go to Cardigan Empire to find the tutorial.

Here are my results!

The fold in fabric is not as noticeable when you are wearing and standing in them!

While I’m at my sister’s, I am watching her children.  To help decrease their time of boredom and from them acting out, we did craft time today.  At the moment, my nephew is into catfish.  So I found the following craft at www.dltk-teach.com and decided it would  be not only perfect, but my sister already had all of the supplies!  It was a hit and he loved it!

While we are on the subject of hair clips, I completely forgot to post these small clips I made for a friend. It was her last night working night shift and I wanted to do something to say “farewell.”

1. Cut out two felt circles
2. Hand stitched two spirals in the “center” of each
3. Sew the leaf to the back of each flower
4. Hot glued it to the hair clip.

As you can tell, hot glue is becoming my friend more and more each day! Who knows what I will come up with next! (Especially when I will be out of town the next few days & won’t have any of my crafting supplies with me.)