Ruffled Trees

I don't usually get too into decorating for holidays. I figure, no sooner do you put the decorations out but then it's time to put them away and get out new ones. But this year, I was feeling festive and decided we needed a few extra. I've seen a couple of variations on this cute ruffled tree here and here.

Both tutorials use a foam cone. I didn't have one and didn't feel like going to the store, so I dug into my plentiful stash of file folders. I work at a university and the ladies in the office call me whenever they have a box of file folders they're getting rid of. It's pretty amusing since I'm a research biologist to have the secretaries call me when they want to get rid of folders!

Anyway, I just rolled up a folder, ruffled my fabric and got out my glue gun. It was so easy and fun, I made 3.

A gift for a dog

Yesterday we went to visit a good friend's new dog, and of course, we had to bring a gift. I found this cute tutorial over at Laura Griffin Designs showing how to make a doggie bone.

Instead of ties on the ends, I braided some clothes-line rope and added it to each side. It was really tough to sew over the braids, so I'm sure it's not the sturdiest dog toy ever made.

Paddy grabbed it right away....

And by the time we left, she'd already chewed through the rope, and made it her own. What a cutie!

Fingerless Mittens Tutorial

With kids running around and always needing their noses wiped or help with toys, I find myself constantly taking my gloves on and off.  So I decided to make myself some fingerless mittens and thought I'd share.  They are super easy.....here we go.

I made mine with fleece and then embellished with some jersey scraps and buttons I had around.

First, I traced my hand, adding about 1/2 inch all the way around.

I outlined a pattern with marker.  You want to leave extra at the top of the finger and thumb part since it's going to get folded over and sewn.  I made one set just leaving the raw edges and though it looks okay, it doesn't hold up well over time. 

Fleece definitely has a right and wrong side and one way stretches more.  So make sure you figure out which side is the right side and how it stretches.

Fold the fleece in half and cut 2 pieces for each mitten.  Sorry about the pink background, taking photos at night is tough!

Fold the top of the finger portion and thumb portion 1/4 inch to the wrong side and sew with a wide zig zag so that the seam will stretch. 

If you want to embellish, do it now!  Make sure you do the mirror image halves of the set.

Put the front and back together (1 embellished piece with 1 plain piece) and sew as shown.  Don't sew across the top or the thumb piece for obvious reasons :)

There you have it!  A cute pair of fingerless mittens!

Make a pair for yourself....

And for your favorite photographer friend.  Figuring how to to trace your friends' hands without them getting suspicious is the trick. 

Let me know what you come up with!