It's Pinspired Friday! {T-Shirt Upcycle Nautical Necklace}

It's Pinspired Friday!

Today, I'm inspired by a pin I pinned about three weeks ago. If you've been following my blog for a while, you know I'm no stranger to crafts made with t-shirts. So far, I've made color block t-shirts, quilts out of t-shirts, and headbands made out of t-shirt strips. I love working with t-shirts because jersey is awesome - it doesn't require hemming unlike cotton, it comes in a billion different colors, and old t-shirts are cheaply and easily obtainable, and often make some pretty neat things.

My sister-in-law graciously gave me a huge bag of t-shirts for crafting, and in there was a few strips of shirts that had already been cut up, which got my wheels turning. I could have made another headband, but I decided to wait and see what else I could do with them.

Enter...

The Conqueror Necklace by Ashen Drift 

I positively love this necklace - especially the silver closure. It is unfortunately sold out - but I also knew I could possibly make something similar.

While my "clasp" isn't nearly as nice - it gets the job done. :) And it actually does look great on and it is ultra light... and can be made very cheaply!

 So do you want to make your own? Here's what you'll need.

Kind of a lame looking picture... sorry about that!

• Three strips of t-shirt, pulled. If you don't know how to make those, check out my headband tutorial - I am using the shirt strips that were already cut up in the bag but they were 26" long.
• 1 non-looped t-shirt piece, about 10" long.

I'm using all navy for this one as I made the white and blue necklace first to see if it could be done first and I didn't have any more white strips! :)

Start by taking one loop and twisting it. I used both hands, rotating in opposite ways and twisted it until it was a tight twist.

Using something like a counter or toe or a little helper, bend the twisted loop in the middle and slowly move it off so it automatically makes a chunky, shorter twist.

It'll look like this. Carefully set it aside (move it around too much before you make it into a necklace and it'll unravel) and pick up one of the other long loops.

Now you've got two chunky loops. Stay with me here for this next step... it's so easy but sort of hard to explain...

Take the third long loop and thread it through the loops at one end, making sure you get the middle of both.

Now take that same long loop and thread it through the other chunky loops on the other side.

Now it should look like this. Take your 10" unlooped piece and thread it through the two loops at the top.

It'll look like this. Now, knot it tightly and tie it in a bow. You might need to pull on that little strip to make it thin enough and long enough to make a small bow.

You're done! Try it on!

Fun, easy and cheap, and great for your spring outfits. Let me know how this works for you! Thanks for following along.

P.S. Have you liked Little Oak Creations on Facebook yet? Like us today to get the first look at projects, coupon codes, and get ahead of the game - I'll be hosting a giveaway soon! :)

P.P.S. (haha):
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Easter! 

Paper Heart Banner

Paper + Cricut + Sewing Machine = sweet and easy Valentine's Day banner!

I made this banner a few days ago so that I could add some color to my Valentine's Day vignette. I wanted to make something easy, cheap and cute - I already had all of the materials for this!

Want to make one? You'll need:

• Some fancy scrapbook paper in "Valentine's colors" - I think all of these came from one of those big paper "stacks" - I want to say it was stack #7.
• Cricut cutting machine, or a paper cutting machine of some sort (Silhouette, die cutter, etc) or a steady hand - if you're going to use a Cricut, I used the George and Basic Shapes cartridge, size 2 on "paper saver", and on my 6" Cricut.
• Thread and sewing machine

Get your paper ready to cut. I used three different colors, one is red with stripes, the other red with pink circles, and pink snake skin (ooo, fancy). Since they all came from the same stack, they matched pretty well.

Then, cut out four size 2/paper saver per piece of paper. If you're not using a Cricut, the hearts are about 2" wide.

Once you've got 12 hearts cut out, figure out the pattern you'd like them to hang in.

Before you start sewing, pull a fair amount of bobbin and top thread so you'll have a good tail to hang your banner from. I did not need to change my tension or anything when sewing the paper - I have a Singer Heavy Duty 4423 and my tension was set to "3" and thread width was "3" - which is a pretty normal tension, nothing high or low.

Then, just begin sewing and feeding the next heart as you go along! Simple! When you get to the last of your hearts, pull another fair amount of bobbin and thread to make another tail on this side of the banner.

That's it! Now you've got a super cute banner for Valentine's Day! You could use the same idea for other holidays too!

Add it to your holiday vignettes! :)

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!

I'm linking up to these linky parties!

It's Pinspired Friday! {Heating Pad - A DIY Gift for Guys! And a Pinterest Fail}

I had someone ask me recently... "How do you do it? It seems like most of your Pinterest projects always seem to come out good. Mine never do."

Let me start by saying... no, not all of my Pinterest projects come out good. Some are not even edible sometimes. But it's more fun to talk about the ones that do turn out okay. ;) I thought I would highlight that with one of my early Pinterest Fails - my Christmas lights covered in glitter.

If you've been on Pinterest for any length of time, you've probably seen this pin floating around.

Sorry, I couldn't find a source for this - the click through was blocked for spam. :(

It was so perfect. I had just thrown some old Christmas lights in a fill-a-bag church garage sale a few weeks before. So I figured I could wing it. Glue and glitter right!?

Erm. No. First, your hands and everything gets covered in glue and glitter. Second, I used the only glitter I had on hand, which you can't really tell from this picture but I might as well should of shredded tinfoil with my hands, the size of the glitter I used was far too large. If I was to attempt this again, I would use micro-glitter for better coverage.

So you see? Not all of my Pinterest attempts end in bliss. haha. :) The best thing you can do is accept and move on. Some days it just doesn't work out and some days there is just no creativity flowing. I actually did those lights last Christmas-time and I kept them around... they're awful but I might redo them someday.

So moving on... it's Friday so that only means one thing!

Ladies, are you forever searching for the perfect gift to give to a guy? Why are men so hard to buy for? I've got a solution. It's an easy craft and it's thoughtful.

I was first inspired by this pin last year when I was looking to make gifts for everyone.

From Elm Street Life: DIY Heating Pad

My original thought was for ladies, but then I thought - this could actually be a great gift for guys too! Sore necks, sore backs - these are perfect for guys as well, especially when you use a "manly" fabric.

Is mine as fancy as the original? Nope. But it's MANLY and that's all that matters. ;)
Let's gather your supplies. You'll need:
• A scrap of fabric. My end product is about 6"x19.5", so you'll need either two pieces of 6.5"x20" fabric or one piece of 13"x20" fabric so you can just fold it over. I recommend cotton as I don't know how other fabrics would do in the microwave.
• 2 cups of Rice

You'll also want:
• A sewing machine
• Scissors
• (Optional, but it makes life easier) A funnel.
• (Optional) Essential oils to make the rice smell nice. I left it out.

First, align your fabric. I'm simply folding over one side so it's one less side to sew, so if you think about it, I'm actually cutting a 13"x20" rectangle that has been folded into a 6.5"x20" rectangle.

Cut it out, and make sure the right sides are facing each other.
A good tip for a beginner sewer - for some reason I had the hardest time remembering "right side" and "wrong side" when I got back into sewing recently. Right side is the side of your fabric that is fancy and shows your pattern. Wrong side is the back of the fabric. You'll see the back of my fabric here is grey-ish. We call that the wrong side. Sometimes when reading a pattern you'll see "Wrong side facing out" - it's basically what you're looking at above.

 Line that baby up and give it a 1/4" or 5/8" seam allowance all the way around, but leave about a 2-3" inch opening on one side so we can fill it with rice. If you want, you can pin the pieces together so they don't scoot apart when you sew.

Always make sure to "back track" (use reverse) where your seams end so that it stays strong when you put pressure on that seam (to fill the heating pad, for example.) Take your fabric then and turn the entire thing inside out, making sure to poke out your corners so they're nice and pointy.

Fold your seam in and fill with rice. I used about 2 cups of rice, if you want it fuller, use more, but this was about the perfect amount to make easy seams later on. Sew your hole together by either hand stitching it closed or running a seam over that entire length. I ran a stitch over the entire length of that side because it was easier.

Now that your pouch is filled with rice and securely closed, move all of the rice to the middle of the pouch by holding the two sides up so all of the rice falls to the middle. Then, set the pouch on your table and "cut" the rice in half so it seems that even amounts of rice fall to the two sides. That's what the picture above is demonstrating. The rice is divided in half and rests on both sides.

Mark the middle with a pin and then stitch down the middle. Try to avoid hitting any rice as you sew, machines don't typically like that. Proceed to do the same thing two more times so that you end up with four separate pouches of rice and three seams.

And there it is! Your easy, finished product that will be much appreciated by your hardworking men. This warms up fast - Start with 30 seconds in the microwave and if it's not to your liking, proceed from there, but 30 seconds is about the right time for me (please don't burn yourself!!). I also microwave mine on a microwave safe plate so it doesn't get dirty from anything in the microwave. If you get a little bit of moisture on your pouch after microwaving, don't worry - it's normal. This tends to go away the more times you use the heating pad (as you're basically microwaving the moisture out of the rice.)

Thanks for following along! Let me know how this turned out for you! :) And as always, if you have any questions, please ask! I'll be happy to help.

Also... ***HAPPY NEW YEAR!*** Have a safe and happy new year's. I'll see you guys in 2013! ;)

It's Pinspired Friday! {DIY Paint Streak Ornaments}

Goooood morning! It's:

I've got a fun, easy craft for today! It's all started when I came upon this pin:

From A Yellow Bicycle: Pinterest Challenge: Painted Ornaments

And thought... hey! I've got some extra clear bulbs from other crafty projects, I've got some paint and the tree could use a new ornament or two. Surprisingly, I really was not trying to copy the original source's paint... but subconsciously picked pretty similar colors.

So gather your supplies. You'll need:
• Some acrylic craft paint.*
• A clear glass ornament. I read some comments and plastic is a no go.

* Probably a smart idea to use craft paint that was bought at about the same time. All of these were bought at separate times and that midnight color was a bit... chunky

 If you want your ornaments to look like the original... you may want to follow her tutorial. She drips the paint down the side where I give mine a good shake. ;)

Drip some paint into your bulb. Try to get some on the sides if you want more streaks and less all over color.

 I dripped that lighter purple on the side because I wanted a patch of it to show through. Now, a few tips:
• Shake your bulb over the sink and shake vigorously but don't go nuts - some paint might try to fly through the top and you don't want to smack your glass bulb against the sink and have it bust in your hand... that would be bad times.
• I recommend using some sort of paint with some sheen to it... the shimmer really makes the bulb here.
• I read in some comments that people were having a hard time with excess paint drying in the bulb - use an egg carton and let the excess drip out before capping it if you experience any problems. 
• Someone also had a neat idea - they put the paint in and took a straw to push the paint around! I bet that would be very cool looking.
• Some also reported that the paint just dripped off the sides and pooled in the bottom... I hope I don't have a Pinterest fail on my hands but all seems well!  

Grab a paper towel and set it down to try once you've got the colors you wanted and the entire inside is covered.

Wipe off any excess paint on the outside. Admire your handywork and smile at the easiest DIY ever. I love the gold-purple color almost better than the streaked/marbled look! :) And now, some obligatory tree shots. ;)

Did you enjoy this easy DIY? I'd love to see your creations or hear how this worked for you in the comments! Thanks for following along!