Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Homemade Stamps

For Camp this year, we are making dreidels with the kids in our Jerusalem-themed marketplace!
It's so much fun; I remember making these when I was their age!

To make these stamps, we hand-sawed blocks of wood about a half-an-inch to an inch thick. (I can't remember the size, but just find a nice wooden block about the size you would like your stamp to be!)  Of course, we sanded down the sides and edges, either with a piece of sand papers, or one of those sanding machines that my dad has.

We used wood glue to attached small drawer handles to the back of the blocks.  I did this in the afternoon, and it was good and solid by the morning, so it doesn't take too long to dry.  I have no idea where my dad got the handles, but they're cute and I'm sure you can find them at Michael's.

I wanted to leave the stamps with the nice wood color, but in the hands of little kids, that ink really stains the wood deep, so this year, I spray painted them all black.  I love black because it won't be changed at all by ink.

The rest is really easy; draw your design onto a piece of foam (make sure it fits onto your stamp!) and then cut it out and glue it on.  Don't fret about it having to go on upside down, or drawing it backwards; just be sure, after you draw and cut out your stamp, that you glue the side with the drawing lines still on it to the wooden block.

I loved this project! I even painted the stamp's image on top of the handle, as a cute touch! And it doesn't cost more than a few bucks.

If you have any tips or ways to improve this, comment below! ♥

Thursday, July 12, 2012

T-Shirt Project




This was a fun little project I did with an old T-Shirt I never wore.

I put on the shirt and put a tank top on top of it, then traced the tank top line with a piece of chalk. (I made the straps a little wider than the tank top's)  Then I cut the shirt along the lines in the front and back.
 This makes a decent cut top. I could have left it that way, but I decided to keep testing ideas.

Taking the left sleeve, I cut along the seam at the top.  (You can cut it further back for a longer braid)
Cut the length of the sleeve into three strips, and then braid them to the end.  Then sew the end of the braid to the strap left on the back. I bunched up the strap and sewed further down the back so that it would pull the shirt up on that side.
I didn't like how open the other side was, so I also sewed the hole up a bit at the bottom.

Now I love the way the shirt turned out!

You could try the braid on both sides, or make the thick side a little thinner and keep it from falling off your shoulder.

(Neat trick, if you don't want your straps showing, use a small safety pin to secure them under a tank top.)