Pin-wrist

Does Pinterest overwhelm you?  It does me.  Anyway, I've been walking around aimlessly in my craft room with lots of ideas but no motivation to make anything because I know I will have to clean it all up.  That is what happens when I clean my craft room.  I don't want to mess it up. So, this next project is something I like to do because it makes me feel like I am making something but cleaning up at the same time.  Pincushions.

These slip over your finger or your wrist.  Cute, eh?  My grandma used to make these all the time only I didn't appreciate them until I actually started sewing.  And I didn't appreciate the scrap busting aspect either.  Or the upcycling aspect.  My grandma always says that the best crafters use what they have.  So when I make these, I like to pretend I am the most awesome crafter around.  Feel free to do the same.      

All you need is:

1. A glue gun.
2. Plastic caps.  For the finger pincushion, use a soda or water bottle cap.  For wrist pincushions, I use caps from the Simply Orange Juice bottles, but any larger caps will work. Am I the only one in love with the Simply Orange Juice packaging?  Yes?  Oh.    
3. Elastic.  I used a 3/8" width, but use what you have. You will need enough to wrap around your finger or wrist plus a couple of inches.  
4. Fabric scraps.  Start with a piece about 2" larger in diameter than your cap. You can trim it down if you feel like that is too much fabric.
5. Trim scraps.  Enough to wrap around your cap.  
6. Fiber fill.  I actually got mine from an item I ordered on the internet.  The seller used this as packing material.  Trust me when I say I am a pack rat.  I will bite my tongue here and not say how ridiculous using fiber fill for packing material is because it has proved very handy in my pursuits to be the most awesome crafter around.  I think my grandma would use cotton balls for hers when she didn't have fiber fill.  That grandma sure is a smart one, isn't she? 
7. A needle and thread.  I forgot to put this in the picture, so just humor me and pretend it's there.  I thought my picture was too cute not to share. 

For this post, I am making a wrist pincushion.  A pin-wrist, if I can be witty.  To make these, glue the edge of your elastic to the inside of your cap forming a loop.   I add some glue to the outside of the cap as well, just to make the elastic more secure.  The top of the cap is what will rest on your finger or wrist. And make sure you make a curry just before starting this project.  It will make your nails look awesome for pictures. 

Start with a small chunk of fiber fill and begin basting your fabric along the edge. As you baste, pull on your thread to make the edges start to gather.  This is will start the shape of the cushion.  As you form the cushion, keep adding fiber fill. You want it to look full, so add plenty of it. If you have too much fabric, you can trim here. It will basically look like a mushroom top.  When you are satisfied with it, knot and trim your thread.

When you complete your mushroom top, apply glue to the inside rim of your cap and place your cushion inside.  You may have to manipulate it a bit to squeeze it all in there.  This is a make-it-work moment. 

Once your cushion is secure, then glue your trim all the way around your cap, making sure conceal your cap.  I fold in the end slightly so I don't see a raw edge, but it is not necessary.

Slip it on your wrist - or finger - and marvel at how crafty you are. And then feel good about yourself that you got rid of some scraps and upcycled something cute - I really do love the Simply Orange packaging - into something cuter.

A is for Awesome. I mean, Anita. Well, OK. Awesome Anita.

Anita has a birthday this week so our mutual friend, Sharmee, and I have been trying to come up with some crafts worthy enough to give to her.  Anita is the awesomest, greenest crafter I know, so we challenged ourselves to use what we have and not buy anything new to create something she'd love.  With my Seester's ingenuity, I modified this lovely autumn wreath by Elise Blaha into a 'A'. And, I think I kind of love it. 

Anita loves anything blue, so I dug into my craftovers - my fabric scraps and ribbon scraps - and took out anything I had that was blue or would coordinate with blue.  I surprised myself with how much blue and green I actually have. Even my pinking shears were blue! A sign that this project was meant to be, no?

Then I stole two wire hangers from Mr. Bean and had him break away from his laptop for a few minutes to form a (huge) 'A'.  Another sign this project was meant to be.  I have an aversion to wire hangers a la Mommy Dearest so wire hangers are rare in the Pintobean household.   

I cut the scraps into strips about 7" long. Then I stopped to take a picture because they just looked so darn pretty piled up like that.  I contemplated stopping there and thought of ways I could convince Anita that it was some sort of art installation on my kitchen table but I was pretty sure Anita would have wanted me to use them, so I forged ahead. 

I basically just knotted the strips all along with wire hanger per Elise's instructions.  Simple as that. 

Pretty Awesome.  Just like Anita.  I love how it turned out.  I hope she likes it.  If she doesn't, I've already figured out how to turn it into a 'P'....