Crumms otherwise known as Summer Crafts

I think during the summer I usually do more crafts (when I'm not reading) as I'm usually inside in Air Conditioning.

I prefer to chillax in the A/C sewing, beading or whatever my muse decides to 'torture' me with. Usually it's something I don't have around the house that I need & cannot find in the store and the reason I call it 'torture'.

I AM NOT a summer person, I'm one of those people that misses taking a sweatshirt in the car in the summer because the air conditioner made it so cold. (when my mom got her Camry in the 90s we would have to do this) With the heat and humidity getting to be worse each year I usually don't go out, as with my allergies (even when I take my allergy meds, it's very difficult to breathe & well I seem to have backwards arthritis...all my pains hurt more during the hot weather. So unless I know I'm going to be somewhere 'colder' preferably the pool or beach, I try to do stuff that hopefully does not take too much movement and doesn't irritate me by making me feel sticky.

Here are some summer projects, I did

Sometime in 2006 or 2007 I started beading. Its therapeutic for me as I have anxiety so it helps me focus on something and tune other things out.

Everything I make is custom design even if its stock items.

I rarely make the same item more than once, usually when I do its when I have a bulk amount of something and I use it to try to help raise money to be able to donate more to my favorite charities.

I make Jewelry for myself, gifts for friends and family. I've even been commissioned in the past from co workers to design something for them, and even sold some of my custom in stock items to some of the people at the bank we go to. (Its a small bank, the same people are always there and frankly they are sort of like an extended family in a way)

I only asked if they would like to see because frankly if I was still in Girl Scouts or School and it was having a fund raiser they would be some of the people I would go to and ask if they'd purchase whatever it was.

Currently I've mostly been making Earrings but I do bracelets and anklets as well, however I don't make necklaces as often as I make chokers. Though usually when I do make a necklace I try to use some form of chain though this is not always possible when someone orders. I tell you it makes me be resourceful and quite creative!

The photos show a piece from my personal collection from my Summer surf line.

Also a quick how to make earrings. (and a 2nd pair from my personal collection)

This time I've got the one up on my Muse!! I beat'em to an idea. My computer chair's arm's be it the cooler months or the warmer always feels sticky but its the 'leather'.

I decided being as the chair is a hand me down (a very good one, new looking when i got it) I'd just make some quick 'sleeves' for it so my arm doesn't stick to the chair.

Because I hate my arms or legs to stick to plastic, vinyl and other types of sticky material of a chair especially in the summer I came up with the idea to make Chair sleeves. I did this from a worn sheet that mom was going to get rid of & I seem to be the master of re-purposing stuff... so I thought this way if something spills on them I can just throw them out & make new ones. Now I just need to get to making a seat cover. Hopefully it doesn't take me long to figure out how I want to do that,(it has) then sew it.

I do all my projects free hand as I'm not able to draw well, nor do I have the work space to make patterns (or use them) No matter how much I measure or how many times it doesn't work for me, I just see it as its better to come out bigger, than smaller, as then you cannot do anything about it)

This is my quick way of making chair sleeves

My Pieces I ripped from the top of a sheet literally that's how worn it was. Hey as I said I figured if they rip or something spills on them then I just wouldn't care. I have too many projects I want to do to fuss.

Each piece was from the end so I didn't have to sew the corners, I just put the end 'hood part' over the back part of the arm, & then sewed a hook & eyelet to it where the arm curves so it will stay on, the rest hangs loose.

Supplies

*Fabric New or re-purposed

I am upcycling a part of a used bed sheet as it makes it easier & a little less work.

I have a little over 24" Long x 8" wide just cut that top part of the sheet off , the doubled part that you pull up to your neck. (which I ended up cutting a bit off of)

*Fastners - Velcro, buttons, snaps, clasps, hook & eyelets or you can just sew it together (but beware this may make it rip easier. being as my fabric was already thin I doubled it.

*Sewing supplies. - Pins, Thread (whatever color and faster mentioned above

or you can use fabric or craft glue or a hot glue gun to adhear the fastners to the cloth.

This can also be done as a NO SEW project

This was my first sewing machine I got it from Amazing Savings for ..i think it was $5. (honestly I really do thing that was the price but I can't believe it) So this was my training machine even though I had used a real sewing machine in Home Economics, way back in Junior High School but that was the only time I used one!

I couldn't remember how to thread it and all that. Frankly, I still cannot 'thread' the bottom bobbin even though you just pull some of the string out.

This was not my ideal machine to use. First off, there's was nothing to hold it steady, it was too light to do anything but small work. Even the new one is still sort of small but not like the Rex was. The Rex was really only good for making sachet pouches or little items for gifts, or craft shows. (Frankly if You want to make some last minute items while at a craft show it would be good for that. Its certainly too small to be able to wrangle my patchwork and be able to add on to it.

I would prefer a normal size one, heck can an embroidery machine sew as well? Now THAT I would love, my only problem is lack of room to leave it out to use when needed.

The machine I have now, sadly stays in the box and rarely gets to come out and play because I just sew better than the machine (my stitches don't come out like the machine's do, some of the patches on my patch work are proof of that!)

Also with the machine you may sew faster, and straighter, sadly because there's nothing to really hold the fabric in place to keep a straight line, instead of what happens to me.. I get diagonal lines. Which is another reason I hand sew everything.

There's just things I can do hand sewing that I can't with the machine

Make your patchwork from scratch, you can even ask family members if they can send old shirts,patterns, and fabric pieces (varying sizes).

Be sure to use solid and patterned large and small pieces even strips of varying sizes. Use ones for holidays or make them for specific holidays.

My Patchwork now looks like this....

and I still have rows and Lots more fabric to add on plus shirts

You can see the original patchwork body pillow case i originally made, but being as the pillow itself seems distorted (I think from the time of purchase) I have decided to go back and add on (what I can) to make a very large blanket.

i now use my patchwork for a variety of things. Not just a sheet, but also a curtain to block out the sun in those spots where it catches you in the eye or glares on the television, I use it to sit on the rug in the living room with, my cat loves it, and I use it as a travel blanket which thank goodness I had it with me when I was staying over my aunt's house during a cold spell in the summer.

I will likely add some large pieces from used t-shirts that were mine, as well as pieces from some of my mother's pajama pants. She has one with frogs on it, another with Whales that would really be a nice addition to add more bold colors & designs.

So years ago when Waldenbooks was still around (her at least) they had what was calld 'bookthongs'. Book Thongs are a type of bookmark that i can only describe as 'jewelry for your book' They are usually much nicer looking than those paper ones, or like I use magnetic ones. book thongs stay in the book. They are weighted by the charms and beads. They stay better between the pages of the book. I've made one themed one for myself it's supposed to go with a Chinese dragon journal,as well as 2 other journals with a dragon on it. (that's the one with the red beads, Dragon and chines coin charms.

The blue colored one I made for my mother, and the other one is a gift for a friend that likes penguins. (The charm I was not sure what water creature it was but I'd kinda like to think it looks like an Orca whale.)

These are a little more difficult to make in a way. As ot all beads have the same size hole in them, so if you want to use a chord or twine you need to check all the beads you are buying to see if the chord will go through. If not I suggest using 'fishing line' not in the literal sense but the craft version is MONO FILAMENT (I have 8lb)

This is pretty much invisible so its a nice item to have around the house (think the Home alone movies). it looks as thought I will be using this to make a vampire and a Scorpio themed book thong for myself. (Might make more than one vampire one for a friend or 2.)

Another reason that its 'hard' to make is you need to make it to 'fit the book' So basically if you know that someone just reads those Romance Novels which are about 7 inches in height, you need to make them so that there's just another 2-3 inches coming out either end for the beads. otherwise if you make one for a larger paperback and put it in the smaller it won't look right.

Mom had that complaint. i wish there was a way I could make it adjustable but I have yet to figure that out so it can be done once the beads are on and won't interfere with anything.