Because July is my birthday month, I like to celebrate every day of it.
It’s super handy that right at the beginning is a National Holiday, complete with popsicles, parades and fireworks.
Which naturally leads to … crafting!
You’ve seen those super cute and or super pretty cake toppers on Pinterest and Etsy, of course? If you have a cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo, or Cricut, they are very easy to make yourself. I think it would be possible to do these by hand, but pretty tedious, so I’m going to leave that decision up to you if you don’t have a cutting device.
But if you do, I have a present for you – a free zip file that contains the most common formats so you can make your own.
Click the graphic to the left for the download (do it on your computer, not a mobile device) and then unzip the file and using your particular cutting machine software, upload the appropriate file.
My love for old T-shirts really knows no bounds. I’ve made pajama shorts and yarn from them, so when I saw this pin
I knew I had a project for this month’s Pinterest Challenge. The Pinterest Challenge is hosted by Erlene of My Pinterventures, and the goal is to inspire everyone to actual make some of those pins you’ve saved, instead of just pinning them.
Mr. SuzerSpace used to travel a lot for work, and he just about always brought home a T-shirt or two for me. When deciding on the best one for this t-shirt tote bag project, I went with this old and super wrinkly one, mainly because it had a pocket. We shop at Aldi, and you need a quarter for the shopping cart, so the pocket would come in handy.
Following the tutorial in the t-shirt tote bag pin, I cut off the arms, and because I’m short, I took a little off the length as well. A lot of bags scrape the ground when I walk, so since I was making a custom grocery t-shirt tote bag, I figured I’d customize the height as well.
I’ve been known to rewash a load of laundry just because it’s wrinkly from the dryer. And I have solemnly sworn to never buy linen clothes again.
So it’s not really surprising that I don’t do a lot of heat transfer vinyl projects. I bought my Silhouette Cameo mostly for working with paper. It came with a nice sample pack of adhesive vinyl, and I have had a great time decorating all the things in the house with that, and I’ve purchased more to keep those projects going.
But it didn’t come with any iron-on vinyl, and I resisted trying it out.
I did create some really fun stenciled T-shirts – one with scrap vinyl, and then a couple more using freezer paper stencils.
Of course, that’s not really ironing. And as it turns out, HTV vinyl isn’t really ironing either.
If you are like me, then you really don’t need a reason to craft.
But, if there is a holiday looming, it does kind of focus my interest. Even if it’s not a holiday I’m really going to celebrate. The flood of blog posts and Pinterest Pins gets my creative gears whirring and the next thing you know, I’m making something. On topic or not – doesn’t matter.
Father’s Day is also a good inspiration source, because for some reason, it’s harder to think of more masculine craft projects. So many of these work out great for birthday gifts or Christmas surprises for that great guy in your life.
Here are five ideas that I’ve pinned for later from the crop of Father’s Day ideas this year:
This tutorial for Candy Bar Wrappers doesn’t have to be used for just Father’s Day – this easily technique could be reused for just about any occasion.
It’s no secret that I like kid’s crafts, and this one even has a video for stepping through the process of making simple necktie cards.
For a similar idea, but with a lot more detail, this shirt card tutorial even features a front pocket. My dad required all shirts have that all important sunglass pocket!
Even if you aren’t a big paper crafter, it wouldn’t be too difficult to pull this project off. And if you had to “test” some of the pieces before you put them in this emergency stash box, I think Dad would approve 🙂 .
I’d be a really bad blogger and Etsy store owner if I didn’t include my own item – this knock out frame is easy to cut with a craft cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo or Cricut, but it can also be cut with an X-acto knife. Either fold it up like a card, or use the alternate setup to make a framed sign. A little bit of whatever you place behind it shows through, so you can make a one-of-a-kind personalized gift.
Pin this so you have a list of great craft projects for the next time you need a gift idea for a guy in your life.
This post will be linked up at some of these great locations.
This year May seemed longer than normal around SuzerSpace. I think it’s because I broke it near the middle with a trip to see family for Mother’s Day. So there’s “May before” and “May after” that weekend. And then Memorial Day ended up nearly a week before the end of the month, so there were a couple of odd days there where it was too late in the month to start something new, but too soon to start June project.
The weather this year was decidedly wet – record breaking, in fact. Keeping in mind we haven’t found a good solution for clearing out the gutters, and the fact that parts of our basement are just about always damp, we’ve survived quite well.
But it did interfere with our bike riding. I planted marigolds, but I’m holding off on moving my basil, oregano and garlic outdoors, for fear of them getting drowned.
June is looking interesting, though – we have some company coming, which usually forces us to actually do some of the items on our to-do lists, instead of just staring at them. Unfortunately, they are super ugly tasks, like pressure washing the porch and sanding and painting a bathroom ceiling.
And if the past is a predictor of the future, it’s going to get hot and humid soon, so we’ll need to bust out the blender and start working on frozen drink recipes. I’m also going to try my hand at some boozy sorbet – I’ll be sure to report my findings, but I imagine I’ll have to try it several times just to be sure I’ve got it right. For science 🙂 .
