Guest Blogger Bitter Princess' Pennant Craft

Today I have a very special guest blogger here to share a fun craft for the kids.  Bitter Princess is a fashion blogger, and happens to be my daughter.  When she was assigned the task of creating an online tutorial for making a decorative pennant banner for her pre-algebra class, she decided Simply The Good Life was the place to share it.


So, without further ado...The Bitter Princess.


As a fashion blogger, I don't usually do posts about crafts. However, fashion doesn't have to only mean your clothes. You can express your style in the way you decorate your home, or even a party. This pennant banner craft is a perfect opportunity to express yourself in your house!

Right Triangle Pennant Banner

Choose a space for your banner to be placed. Next, measure the distance across that space. I chose a window that is five feet across. Now choose your paper. If you want to color or draw on it, now is the time. Your paper should be square. If it is not square, or not the size you want, cut it to the proper size. I used construction paper that was 8 15/16 x 11 15/16. I folded one corner over to make a square, and cut off the extra bit. This also gives you a diagonal line to cut to make two right triangles.

Once you have your first pair of triangles, you can determine how many triangles you will need. The first step to figuring out how many triangles you need is knowing how long the hypotenuse of your triangle is. Remember, the hypotenuse of a right triangle is the longest side. The quick way to figure this out is to simply measure the hypotenuse. If you are using this craft as a way to get your kids to do some math, now is your chance! 

Pythagorean's Theorem states that a² + b² = c². Since you start with a square, instead of a rectangle, you can use special version of Pythagorean's Theorem; 2a² = c². This is because both legs of the triangle are the same length. As you can see in the picture above, my hypotenuse measured approximately 12 5/8 in. I say approximately because it's actually measured 12 10.24/16 in, but that doesn't make a very nice fraction. If the length of the hypotenuse you measured and the length of the hypotenuse you calculated don't quite match, you may not have cut exactly at the diagonal.

Now that you know the length of your hypotenuses, you can figure out how many triangles you need for the length of your space. Remember that my window if five feet, which is sixty inches. Simply divide the length of your space by the length of your hypotenuse to determine how many triangles will fit in your space. As you can see in the picture above, it will take approximately 4.746 triangles. I can round that up to five triangles because I want my banner to hang down, not straight across. You can choose how you want yours to hang.

Once you have all of your triangles cut out, lay them out end to end and put glue along the edge of each hypotenuse. Take a piece of string a little bigger than all of your triangles, and put it in the glue.

After the glue dries, hang up your banner!

-BitterPrincess









Halloween Costume Update: Round Eared Cap

I've finally completed  my daughter's Colonial American girl costume.  Here is the completed outfit.  One piece was particularly difficult to make; the round eared cap.  It's not that the actual project was difficult, just figuring out how to make it.  Overall, I'm happy with the end result.  Although, there were some hiccups along the way.  It's not quite as historically accurate as I'd like it to be, but this was a faster, more cost effective version.

Historically, women and girls wore these caps from the 1740's through the 1820's.  They were made of white linen, and obviously hand sewn.  There are historical patterns available, but I didn't want to spend the money on a pattern.  I looked at some pictures of finished caps, and a wonderfully helpful website with general instructions for making historical caps.

Mine, on the other hand, is made from an old white cotton pillow case.  It is mostly hand sewn.  I did use the machine to sew the draw strings.  I also machine sewed the casing for the draw strings, however my stitches were too close to the raw edge and it pulled out.  So, I ended up hand sewing that part, too.

I didn't follow any particular pattern.  I just took a few measurements of my daughter's head and cut pieces out of paper to try on her.  If I make another one in the future, I will definitely make it bigger.  What I thought would be the right size, ended up a little too small for her.  It would probably fit a 4-5 year old much better (she's 9).  

Here is my paper pattern with a 12 inch ruler for scale.  From top to bottom the pieces are the crown, ruffle, then band.  I cut two pieces of the ruffle.  If your fabric has a finished edge (selvedge), use that edge for the front edge of your ruffle. That eliminates the need to hem it.  I did not make a pattern for my drawstrings.  I simply cut two strips of fabric about 1/2 inch wide and 8-10 inches long.

Fold your drawstring pieces in half, lengthwise.  Stitch them shut.  Because they are so narrow, it is very difficult to turn them inside out.  My quick fix solution was to trim the raw edges, and seal them with clear nail polish.  I'm not sure how effective a solution this is for the long term, but it will at least get us through Halloween.

On to the crown...Because I didn't allow for extra room for a hem, I machine sewed my hem much too close to the raw edge and ended up having to hand sew it after it unraveled on me.  You can choose to either add an extra 1/4 inch or so to the bottom of your crown and machine sew the hem (or casing), or leave it as is and hand stitch it.  

Next, cut a small slit at the center of the casing.  Use needle & thread to wrap the hole like a button hole.  Use a safety pin to feed the drawstrings through the casing, letting the extra length hang out of the center hole.  

For the top of the crown, hand sew a running stitch for your gather.  I cut a piece of thread the same length as the length of the band.  That made it easy to fit the two pieces together.  Evenly distribute the gather and pin the two pieces together.  Be sure to include the drawstrings.  Whipstitch the crown and the band together using very small, close stitches.  After you have attached the two pieces, remove your gather thread.

Now for the ruffle...As I stated before, if you have a nice finished edge that you can use for the front of your ruffle, do it!  Since I made my cap out of a pillowcase, I had no nice edge.  I did not want to hem the front of the ruffle, so I again used clear nail polish to seal my freshly cut edge.  Attach the two ruffle pieces, end to end, with a couple of small stitches.  Next, cut another length of thread the same length as your band and gather the back edge of your ruffle.  Again, pin the two pieces together and use a small, close whipstitch to attach the ruffle to the band, removing the gather thread when you are done.

 

There you have it, a genuine fake Colonial America era historical-ish round eared cap!  I hope your hands and eyes don't hurt from all those whipstitches as much as mine do.  More importantly, I hope this tutorial helps make your project a little easier.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: So Much To Do...

 

You know the old saying..."So much to do; so little time."  That pretty well sums up how I feel these days.  We are up to our eyeballs with school.  There are projects to complete, lessons to do, and tests to take.  Many days we've found ourselves doing school up until time to start dinner.  After dinner is the battle of the shower.  Then, once I get the kids in bed, it's my time.  

Normally, I work on setting up the next day's lessons, and writing my posts.  However, right now I'm making a Halloween costume.  My daughter has decided to be a Colonial American girl.  After many hours searching the internet for patterns or even images of historical colonial fashion, I'm now making my own pattern based off of a couple of pictures of good reproductions.  There are a few historical patterns out there, but they cost more than I am willing to pay.

It's coming along nicely (after a couple of tries).  I'll post about it more once I get it complete, although I keep forgetting to take pictures as I finish each stage.  I'll start you off with a picture of my inspiration.  This is the best photo I've found of the type of outfit my daughter had in mind.  What do you think?  What will your kids be for Halloween?  Are you making or buying costumes?

Karissa

Grandparents Day is Tomorrow!

Grandma & Grandpa, Mamaw & Papaw, Nana & Pawpaw, Mimi & Pop Pop...no matter what your kids call them, grandparents are special.  Did you know that tomorrow, September 8th, is National Grandparents Day?  There's no need to panic, though, I have already done the searching for you and found some great last-minute ideas for showing your children's grandparents how special they are...even if you did forget about Grandparents Day.  I know that when it comes to last minute gifts, money can be an obstacle, so I've put together a list of DIY gifts you and your children can make together at home.

Before you break out the construction paper and glue, check out this list of activities from Huffington Post that show Grandma & Grandpa how much they mean to you.

About.com recently updated their annual list of handmade gifts for Grandparents Day including this adorable Goofy Grandkids photo book.

If you are looking for gifts the kids can make that their grandparents will actually like, then these 9 ideas from Mom.me are for you.  From pill boxes to ice cream, these moms know what grandparents want.

Sometimes, all grandparents need is a kind word to remind them that they are loved, and a picture is worth a thousand words.  The Babycenter blog lists 9 gift ideas, many of which include pictures of your little ones.

One thing that long distance grandparents miss more than anything else is hugging their grandkids.  Grandparents all around the world will love receiving this paper hug in the mail.

Sea Shell Picture Frame

As I mentioned in this week's Mid-week Morsel, Beach Fun, one of my family's favorite beach activities is shelling.  Any time we are on the beach at least one of us is bent over looking at shells.  In the last year, we have amassed quite a collection.  We also love watching the sunset.  I can't tell you how many pictures of sunsets we have saved on our computer and phones.  There is truly no better way to end the day than standing on the beach, watching a beautiful sunset with the ones you love.  This seashell picture frame DIY is a great way to preserve those treasured moments.

Start with any picture frame.  Repurpose an outdated one in your
 home, or pick up a cheap one from a yard sale.  The uglier the better.

If your frame is dark, like mine was, I recommend
 painting it a lighter color.  I found small can of peachy
 tan in my shed...perfect!

The picture turned out a little dark, but the next step
 is to coat the frame with glue (I used regular school
glue), and cover the frame with sand & a sprinkle of
glitter.  The glitter helps the sand sparkle like it does
in the sunshine.  I used sand from my yard, but you can
buy sand at craft stores or at home improvement stores.

Hot glue your shells around the frame.  I found it helpful
 to lay the shells around the frame to see how they would
fit and look before I started gluing.  Finally, add a picture
from your memorable event.  This sunset was on my
husband's birthday last year.

Decorating frames not only with shells, but any other object is a great way to enhance the memories you've captured on film...or in pixels.  It is also a great way to display collections.  Rocks, bottle caps, or any other small object can be used to decorate a frame.  What will you use?

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Using Paste Paper for Crafts

I love paper crafts.  Maybe it's the kid in me, but I have so much fun cutting, folding, gluing, and taping paper to create things.  It might also have something to do with my lack of ability when it comes to painting & drawing, but that's another story.  I didn't fully realize my love for paper crafts until I started making scrapbook baby books about 10 years ago.  It was great! I could create these unique works of art without having to draw or paint anything.  There were so many decorative papers to choose from.  Although, sometimes, even after spending an hour or more searching through all the different papers at the scrapbook supply store, I still couldn't find just the right style of paper to suit the page or craft I had in mind.  Now that I've discovered paste paper that will never be a problem again.  I'll just make the paper I want!

I've taken the papers I made last week and used them to create different types of paper crafts.  There are so many creative ways to use decorative papers.  These are just a few ideas to help spark your creativity.

Origami  Origami can be fun, relaxing, and even educational.  The fact that you can create wonderful creatures and objects with just a few simple folds amazes children.  What they don't know is that while they are busy folding and creasing, they are practicing laws and theories of geometry as well.  Maria Rainer from OnlineDegrees.org guest posted an article on Math Insider detailing some ways origami improves math skills.  I personally have used two fun origami math books from Scholastic's Teacher Express.  In fact, this whale comes from their 2nd-3rd grade book.  We also have the 4th-6th grade book.  They are great for summer learning, but are not free.  (Hint:  watch for them to go on sale during one of Scholastic's Dollar Deals sales.  That's what I did.)

Handmade Cards  In today's world of e-cards and Facebook posts, handwritten notes and cards are becoming more and more scarce...and more and more treasured by those who actually receive them.  Whether you want to send the cards yourself, or give them as a gift to someone you know who still takes the time to send cards, these handmade note cards are sure to be appreciated.  Simply make your paste paper on cardstock, then cut the sheet into cards.  Depending on the size of cards desired you should be able to cut 2-4 cards from each 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of cardstock.  I used rub on transfers to add the words and decoration to my cards, but you can also run the cards through your printer, or hand write a message inside.  Finish them off with either store bought envelopes, or make your own.

 

 

Personalized Notebooks  Even better than handmade notecards, is personalized notebooks.  Both children and adults who enjoy doodling, jotting down ideas, or journaling will absolutely love receiving a handmade personalized notebook.  They are very simple.  In a word processor, set your page to print two pages on one sheet of paper.  This can be done using either columns or in the page set up menu.  Use the underscore key to create blank lines on the page (unless you want a totally blank book for doodling.)  If you wish, add any sort of embellishment.  As you can see, I added a heart to each page.  Print as many pages as you wish.  Be sure to print on both sides of the paper.  I printed 5 sheets, which gives me 20 pages in the notebook.  Finally, crease all of your pages & cover down the middle and staple them together.  If you don't have a large enough stapler to reach the center of your notebook, you can simply sew a straight stitch down the center of your notebook.  If you have your children write over the summer, or homeschool, these notebooks are great for daily writing prompts.  You can even leave some blank space at the top of each page so that children can include a picture with their writing.

You may find that you have scraps of paper left over from your crafts.  Don't throw them away!  You can use them to create something new and wonderful as well.  Use larger pieces to create bookmarks.  Save all of your small pieces and make a mosaic picture from them.  The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you can make from your paste paper.  What will you make?

Karissa

Paste Paper Craft DIY

How many times have you wanted to do a paper craft, but couldn't find just the right paper?  Whether you scrapbook, make personalized cards, or do any other type of paper craft, finding just the right paper pattern can make or break the project.  I've discovered a simple and fun way to make your own patterned paper.  It's called paste paper.  It's a very simple concept.  Use colored paste to create patterns, designs, and pictures on paper.  Don't worry, you don't have to be Michelangelo to create really great paste paper.  I will be the first to tell you that when it comes to painting pictures, I have no artistic ability.  I do consider myself to be very creative, though.  Here's how to do it:

1.  Make your paste.  There are many different recipes online for making your own paste.  We tried a couple different ones. The one that worked best for us combined 3/4 cup of regular white flour with 2 cups cold water.  Stir them together in either a stainless steel pan or glass bowl.  Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then gradually bring it to a boil until the mixture thickens to about the consistency of pudding.  Note that if you plan to use powder paints, you should leave the mixture just a little thinner.  Pour the paste into a jar, and put it in the refrigerator to cool.

2.  Gather your tools.  Think outside the box.  Almost anything can be a tool for creating your design.  The kitchen is a great place to start your search.  We included a silicone basting brush, a lemon zester, a shot glass, a rubber grip jar opener, and forks in our tools.  Also consider objects like combs, sponges, textured fabrics like lace & netting, rubber stamps, and scrapbooking supplies.

3.  Get creative!  As one bookbinder stated, "Paste paper is essentially glorified finger painting."  Color your paste.  We put spoonfuls of paste in an egg carton, then added acrylic paint to it.  Now cover your paper with one or more colors. Experiment with different ways to apply the paste to the paper.  Using a paintbrush, sponge, and a spoon will all give you different looks.  Choose different tools to drag through the paste and reveal the white paper beneath.  You can also paint your paper with plain paint before adding your paste to reveal a color other than white.  Check out the sheet I made that reads, "Sadie's Book".  I painted the paper pink, added glitter to the wet paint & coated that with uncolored paste to seal in the glitter, then let it dry completely.  Next I used some scrapbooking letter stickers I had to add the title.  I covered the whole paper with black paste, and quickly removed the stickers to reveal sparkly pink letters.  Next, I dragged a scrapbooking decorative edge across the paper to create stripes.  Finally, I used the cap to a Sharpie to make circles on the stripes.

As I said before, I am in no way an artist.  However, with a little practice, or if you do have artistic ability, your paste papers can be absolutely stunning.  Here are a few pictures of paste papers created by true artists.  Click on any of the pictures to be taken to that artist's website.  

      

If your family decides to create your own paste papers, please post a picture on either my Facebook or Google+ page.  I'd love to see them!  And save your paper after you're done.  Next week's Mid-week Morsel has some great ideas for using your paste paper in craft projects!

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: 4th of July Crafts

Tomorrow is the 237th anniversary of our independence.  What a great reason to celebrate!  And children love to celebrate.  Waiting until dusk for the fireworks to start is so hard when you love to celebrate.  I've found a couple of websites that love to celebrate the 4th of July, too.  All Kids Network shares over 20 crafts kids can do to celebrate the 4th.  If you want more than crafts to help you celebrate, Enchanted Learning offers activity books, worksheets, and coloring pages in addition to crafts.  There's a whole lot of daylight between now and fireworks time, so break out your crafts supplies, warm up your printer, and get the party started.

Karissa

"Hand"made Father's Day Gifts

Father's Day is almost here, and like many Moms I find myself wondering what gift to give my husband.  He's a very practical kind of guy.  He doesn't need a lot of extras.  If he does need something, he buys it.  Naturally, my thoughts turned to handmade gifts.  Surely, there is something the kids and I can make for him.  After all, handmade gifts are always more special than anything store-bought.  After a few Google searches, and browsing a few Pinterest boards it hit me...we should make him a "hand"made gift; a gift made up of the kids' hands.  It's perfect!  The kids will only be this age and size once.  Next year they will be older and bigger.  As they continue to grow, this gift will become more and more special.  I've put together a list of ideas for budget friendly gifts created by children's hands you can make for the special father in your life.  I'll start the list off with our gift this year.   I put letter stickers on the cardstock (be careful not to press them on too hard), painted the kids' hands, and pressed them over top of the stickers.  Then I carefully peeled away the stickers to reveal the negative space letters.  Three $2.50 frames from our local dollar store, and mats made out of construction paper make this a fun and affordable gift.  (Oh, and if you don't have enough hands for each letter, consider painting a heart over the "a" instead of a third hand.)

Dad Handprint Wall Art

The Handprint Tree  

I Love You This Much Card

Handprint Wall Art

Quilted Handprints

Handprint Tie

Nested Handprint Art

Hands Down Card

What about you?  What are you giving for Father's Day this year?  Are you buying a gift or making one?  If you are making a gift, please share it with everyone in the comments below.

Karissa