Craft Sewing: Make a Haramaki and Hide that Muffintop

Reuse old t-shirts to create that layered look with a home-made haramaki.

I have two sets of clothing in my dresser. The “before” babies clothing and the “after” babies clothing. I have whole drawer full of tiny t-shirts that used to skim the top of my cute low-rise jeans.

Now, those shirts mostly get shoved around while I look for long t-shirts that hide my muffintop, that special roll of extra skin and fat that still hangs around even though my youngest baby is already a toddler.

How to revive the life of those long-banished t-shirts? Make yourself a Haramaki! A haramaki is a japanese “belly-warmer” - but translate that into a cute, colorful way to create that layered look with a leg-warmer type garment made out of t-shirt material for your torso. PlanetJune has a great tutorial. Try cutting off the bottom of a different shirt that you might not wear much anymore; follow Domesticali’s simplified steps for an easy haramaki make-over for an old t-shirt. Not crafty? Try a Hip-T for that cute layered look without breaking out your sewing machine!

Hobonichi creates designer knit haramaki.

There are all these different benefits of wearing a haramaki - boosting circulation, relief for abdominal distress. Mostly, I’m just interested in their “muffintop” hiding abilities. They create a cute, coverup for that gap between the bottom of a cute, but too-short t-shirt and your low-rise jeans. Much cuter than some industrial strength Spanx exposed when you bend over!

First Photo by Domesticali.
Second Photo by Hobonichi.

Make Your Own Benetint

I love Benetint. As an asian girl with oily skin, I’ve always had trouble finding a blush that gives a natural pink glow that lasts more than an hour or that doesn’t wipe off easily on my white shirts or other pieces of clothing. Benetint offers the perfect solution. It’s a lovely cheek and lip stain that lasts all day and blends in naturally so that you actually look like that’s your natural color! It can be a bit expensive at $28 a bottle, but fortunately, it lasts a long time.

For those of you who are industrious but don’t have that $28 plus tax laying around, you can make your own Benetint at home! Luckily, it also requires less than five ingredients! You just some beet root, glycerine, a pot to boil it, and a bottle in which to keep it. Read the full instructions here by TimesOnline. The original recipe comes from The Ultimate Natural Beauty Book, by Kyle Cathie. Thanks to BusyWork for finding this great idea.

Recipe Summary:

“You need 45g of grated raw beetroot and 3 tablespoons of vegetable glycerine (which you can get for £3.90 for 100ml at Neal’s Yard Remedies; www.nealsyardremedies.com). Combine the two in a double-boiler and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool and then pour into a sterilised pot. Dab onto the apples of your cheeks, blending well, or use as a lip stain.”

Free Printable Labels by PoppyTalk

Free Printable Red Labels by PoppyTalk

I’m still in organizing mode, not that I’ve made much progress. But, I have been shredding documents going back to 2000 (I know! Who needs to keep paid bills that long!) and trying to organize and sort through the remaining documents and supplies in my crowded office. I will post a picture soon, but I can’t find the camera.

In the meantime, I’ve been organizing office supplies like cd label packs, address labels, and empty file folders into inexpensive, cardboard, white Ikea magazine holders on my bookcase. Of course, now I need labels! A row of blank, white magazine folders doesn’t really help in the organization process without an attractive labeling system.

Download a PDF of these gorgeous labels by PoppyTalk which can be easily printed on large label sheets (for instant stickiness) or onto nice cardstock to be trimmed and then taped or glued onto your chosen surface. Use them to organize and label file folders, magazine folders, containers, and more.

Image by Poppytalk.

Do-it-Yourself Gorgeous Paper Daisies

Fabulous Pink Flowers make the party.

I saw these lovely Pink Paper Daisies in a post by Making it Lovely. Makes me swoon to think of hanging them in the baby’s room or at a wedding or shower to create a lovely sky of flowers. The paper flowers are about $2 at Lunar Bazaar, but if you want to customize them for a special color or size, you can easily make these yourself. My favorite colors are blue and aqua, but pick any color paper to make these delightful, inexpensive decorations to bring color and interest to your home, shop, or party.

For an easy tutorial, check out Paper Source’s Paper Rosette Tutorial for step-by-step instructions.Try using premium colored tissue paper which comes in a vast array of colors to create large, airy flowers. Scrapbooking papers are another source of endless designs and colors and would look lovely strung in a row on a string or ribbon. Of course, this project only takes less than 5 items: Paper, tape or clue, string or ribbon, and a hole punch! Perfect!

Easy to make paper rosettes by Paper Source

Check out how Stemparties created a fabulous pink baby shower theme using these lovely flowers. Seriously? Her party decor is amazing, but a little over the top. Who has time to make all that stuff? She must not have small children. However, her party decor gives some great ideas.

Pink Party Flowers photo by Stemparties
White Paper Rosette photo by Paper Source.

Last Minute Printable Valentines

Love printable Valentine's Day cards by Bunny Cakes.

Don’t give up if you haven’t had a chance to get a card for your Valentine! Here are some gorgeous printable valentines from Bunny Cake. Her lovely designs make your home-made valentine classy and professional. Plus, you can do it all from your computer! Click here for the PDf file and instructions.

Adorable cards you can print for free.

Photos by Bunny Cakes.

Get Ready for Spring with these Home-made Sun Jars

Solar Powered Home Made Sun Jars

I know it’s still cold outside. I mean, Jeez. There WAS snow this week. But the days are starting to get longer and the sun is starting to shine to break through the gloomy Pacific Northwest sky. It makes me feel hopeful that spring and summer are just around the corner, and if you are anything like me, it might take a few months to organize and make enough of these to put around your deck or patio or even hang from the frence for those crisp nights when you WILL be sitting outside enjoying the beauty. Once again, this craft by Not Martha is a fave for me because it takes less than 5 items to make! Woohoo! This greatly increases the chances that I might actually make it!

Not Martha does a great job of breaking down the instructions for these Homemade Sun Jars based on the Sun Jar design by Tobias Wong. For your less than 5 items supply list, you’ll need a small Ikea glass jar, one solar garden light, glass frosting spray, and some Blue Tack. This great project will give you a solar-powered warm glow on your deck, porch or patio all summer-long. Save power! Make Home-made Sun Jars!

Photo by Not Martha.

Make Fairy Flower Lights

Make Fairy Flower Lights from Recycled Egg Cartons

This is an amazing repurposing craft! How adorable are these lights and you’ll be repurposing those egg cartons at the same time. This easy craft from Espirit Cabane has such a short suppply list (less than 5) that you probably already have lying around your house: egg cartons, scissors, a string of LED christmas lights, and a hole-punch (optional). What a creative way to repurpose egg cartons and make something lovely for your bedroom or to drape in your kid’s room for some twinkly fairy lights. Get the full instructions here.

Photo by Espirit Cabane.

Make Paper Hearts

Make paper hearts for a lovely display.

Here’s another great inexpensive idea for Valentine’s Day. Using pieces of paper that you might already have in your craft stash, you can easily make these paper hearts to decorate your space. Sweet and inexpensive. You only need pretty paper, scissors, and tape or glue. Go to Flip Flops and Applesauce for the complete instructions.

To display, punch a hole in the corner and string several along on a pretty ribbon or some string or yarn. Hang in front of your window, on your bulletin board, or on a cubicle wall for some love no matter where you are!

Photo by Flip Flops and Applesauce.

Easy Valentine’s Day Treat

Easy to make Valentine's Day recipe for all ages

Looking for an easy Valentine’s Day craft or project? This recipe from Make and Takes is a winner in my book. It includes less than five ingredients, doesn’t involve much cooking, and is a project that my preschool kids can do with me. All you’ll need is pretzels, chocolate to melt (white chocolate and milk chocolate), wax paper, toothpicks, and sprinkles. Use food coloring in the white chocolate to get that lovely pink or try mixing it with some blue, yellow, or green for some fun spring colors.

Simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Although most of these will probably get eaten by the kids as soon as they are done, you can save some to pack away in some little bags or little boxes to give away as an inexpensive teacher’s gift or a gift to any friend! Click here for the full recipe and how-to-do-it instructions.

Wrap it up for the perfect little V-Day gift for a teacher, friend, office mate, or neighbor.

Entertaining Your Kids with Paper Crafts

With the economy in a slump, I’ve got my eye on the budget very closely. All those trips to Target are getting nipped in the bud, but my preschool age sons are not interested in saving for a rainy day. How does one stay-at-home mom keep the kids busy without paying out a fortune for crafts, games, and toys?

Enter the world of paper craft. When I was a little kid, I had a paper doll book. These days, they have intricate paper origami and paper craft for everything imaginable. The other day, my four-year-old, Jonas, wanted to buy a Millenium Falcon he saw at the store that cost around $150. I promptly said, “No, maybe we can make one at home.” I kind of thought I would just print out a picture of it for him, but then my ever-helpful husband found a papercraft to create a suprisingly realistic version of the space craft.

Image by SF Movie Paper Craft

Of course, this is NOT a craft for young children and is really designed for a Star Wars loving adult with plenty of time to construct. But I did put one together for Jonas over a couple of evenings and he thought it was COOL! And it only cost me a few sheets of cardstock, printer ink, and some elbow grease. Download your own Millenium Falcon papercraft here. You can make a much simpler origami version by watching this video.

Again, my helpful husband also directed me to a few much simpler paper craft characters. Not quite the impact of the paper Millenium Falcon, but much easier to make with a couple of preschoolers tugging at you. Cubeecraft.com boasts quite an array of characters ranging from Spiderman, Super Mario, Darth Vader, and even Barack Obama. Try it.