Category Archives: Hand Crafts

A Little Flare

Candy Cups for Giving

Shared by my aunt, Amy, several years ago, Candy Cups have become a gift-giving standard for me. I’ve made them for Christmas and birthdays and with all sorts of candy.

They’re easy, inexpensive, and make gorgeous gifts for the hard-to-shop for. Think teachers, friend,s and anyone who likes candy. Sugar-free candy works, too!

Once all your supplies are gathered, it’ll take you about an hour to make one candy cup.

You’ll need:

Glass or Mug (I prefer clear, but any kind will work, the heavier the better!)
Candy with loose or twisted wrappers (example used approximately 40 oz. of peppermints)
Styrofoam ball (size depends on your glass or mug)
Filler for the cup – recycled paper or candy
Bamboo Skewer
Scissors
Hot Melt Glue
Greening Pins (also available at the hobby store with the floral accessories)
Ribbon
Cellophane

Push the bamboo skewer into the Styrofoam ball, all the way through the top. Put it in the glass to and push down until the ball is snug in the glass.

Snip off the excess skewer with your scissors. You can also use large fingernail clippers, a utility knife, or pruning shears.

With the skewer still in the glass, fill the bottom with candy. Ideas are like M&Ms, Hershey’s Kisses, or Peppermints (though you could really use any candy). Another option is shredded paper, but the candy on the ball will make the cup top-heavy, so having a heavier filler keeps it from tipping over and gives the gifted a sweet bonus.

Place a small dot of hot melt glue on either side of the rim of the cup. Gently press the styrofoam ball onto glue, holding in place until it sets. You don’t need much, just a touch for stability.

candies in twisted wrappers

greening pins

Use greening pins to add candy to ball by poking pins through the loose end near the twist of the candy wrapper. Depending on the candy, you can get two or three on each pin.

Start at the bottom and work your way up to the top, moving in a circular pattern.

First Round complete.

Second Round.

Third Round.

Fill in any holes with more candy & greening pins.

Final round complete, all the holes filled in.

Wrap in cellophane and embellish with a bow or ribbon. The cellophane is optional, but it provides insurance that your candy will get from point “A” to point “B” intact.

Gift it!

Variation with M&Ms and Coca-Cola glasses

Variations by Amy Maxey – toffee coffee & bubble gum soda glass.

Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches.

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

Smiling Santa Gift Bag

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I’ve been making these Santa bags for a lot of years now, but this is the first time I’ve ever shared a how-to for it.

Other similar bags I’ve made include Rudolph, Christmas kitties and Christmas trees. Change the basic bag to any color and add polka dots or stars for an easy birthday bag!

Smiling Santa is reusable, giftable, and darn cute. He’s fast to make with simple embroidered stitches and a button nose. If hand stitching isn’t your thing, fabric paint will work in a pinch!

You’ll need:

Smiling Santa reference
9″ x 12″ acrylic felt – 2 white, 1 red, 1 flesh
scissors
large needle
embroidery floss: white, red, blue & green
red button
ruler
optional: sewing machine
optional: rotary cutter

supplies

I use eco-friendly acrylic felt. It’s easy to find, cheap (20 cents a sheet) and sturdy.

Find the bottom of your bag and cut 1″ squares out of the opposite corners for each white sheet. This will create a faux gusset and allow your gift bag to stand up.

Cut the flesh-colored felt sheet down to 8″ x 5 1/2″. Fold in half and cut a gentle curve.

Open flesh-colored felt. Align 1″ from top of bag, centering so that each side has approximately 1/2″ of white felt showing.

Using the white embroidery floss, hand stitch a running stitch around the two sides and bottom of the face.

Add eye details with a straight stitch (eyebrows) and chain stitch (eyes).

Add button nose with red embroidery floss. Add mouth, also with red embroidery floss, using the chain stitch.

Pin two pieces of white felt together, face inside. Machine stitch 1/4″ seam on two sides and across the bottom.

Optional: hand stitch on the inside OR hand stitch on the outside using red embroidery floss.

Fold the open corners on the bottom together, matching outside seams. Fold seams in opposite directions to reduce bulk. Pin in place.

Machine stitch bag corners.

Turn bag right side out.

Fold 1″ down on top of bag, overlapping face. Pin, then straight stitch around. Stitch under side seam.

Finished stitching on the top of bag.

Cut two 12″ x 2″ strips from red felt.

Fold straps lengthwise. Straight stitch along the length with green embroidery floss.

Pin handle to outside of bag 2″ in from the sides.

Straight stitch snowflake or asterisk to hold handles in place. Repeat for the back of bag.

Stuff with goodies and gift it!

Feeling creative? Try your hand at a Christmas Tree!

Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches.

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

Crochet Granny Handbag

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Printable Pattern

From the Way Back Vault today, I have one of my old fabvorites.

The Crochet Granny Handbag dates back to September 29, 2003.

I don’t remember who received the original, but I’ve made several as gifts since then. It’s a quick and easy pattern and makes a sturdy little bag, especially when it includes the optional lining.

You’ll need

Small amount of 2 Worsted colors (listed as A & B). Shown are Red Heart Country Blue (A) and Windsor Blue (B).
I Hook
for optional lining: fabric, needle, thread, zipper
scissors
tapestry/yarn needle

(Note – all stitches after the first round are in the back loops except on the corners, when you crochet over the chain.)

Front/Back (make 2)

Round 1 – With Color A, ch 4, join with sl st. Ch 3 2 dc, ch 2 in ring. (3 dc, ch 2) 3 times, sl st into starting ch 3. Do not turn.

Round 2 – Ch 3, dc in BACK LOOPS to corner ch 2 sp (2 dc, ch 2 2dc in corner sp, dc in back loops across), rep to beg ch 3, join with sl st. Break off Color A. Do not turn.

Round 3 – Join Color B in any ch 2 sp. Ch 3, dc, ch 2, 2 dc, (dc in back loops across, 2 dc, ch 2 2 dc in corner sp) around, join with sl st in beg ch 3.

Round 4 – Join Color A, rep pattern of round 3.

A close up of the strap side, using single crochet to join.

Strap

Ch 120, hdc in 3rd ch from hook, hdc in each chain to end, finish off. Starting in the center stitch on one front/back square, join strap by sc through the back loops only of the strap and the square. Sc in first 25 st to join strap, continue sc st in back loop of front/back square across top of bag. Sc in last 25 st of strap from the 2nd ch in the corner of the square back to where you joined. Join with sl st. Sl st ends of strap then around to back loop on opposite side of strap, crochet around same as for opposite side.

Lining (optional)

For a sturdier bag, line with a scrap of coordinating (shown) or contrasting fabric of the same size. Hand-stitch inside the bag below the sc round (round 4).

To add a zipper, sew it to the lining before you stitch the lining in the bag, then stitch whip-stitch on the lining seam to inside of round 4.

Other Options

For a longer strap, or bigger bag, simply add stitches or rounds to suit your needs, taking into account how many stitches you will need to get the strap all the way around the bag. For more depth, make the strap two or even three rows wide before attaching to the granny squares.

As always, if you make any pattern or craft from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the Friends of sewhooked flickr group.

Happy crafting

This is part of my “Way Back Craft” series; patterns, crafts, tutorials and general crafty memories before the days of this craft blog.

Easy Big Foot Slippers

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Printable Pattern

My hubby is tall…very tall, almost six and a half feet tall. I adoringly refer to him as The Big Guy. I’m 5’5″, so I guess you can see what I’d call him that.

He has big feet, too.

He loves slippers and I spent years making slippers from traditional patterns for him, but they blew out on him like no one’s business. You just can’t put a big man in a pair of slippers made with one strand of yarn. They don’t last.

According to my original pattern, I designed the Big Foot Slippers back in 2000. I’ve since made a dozen or so pairs, altering here and there for smaller feet. These are easy to make and work up quickly because they’re made with three strands of yarn. I use acrylic worsted because it’s easy to wash and holds up well to the wear and tear of a big man wearing slippers!

3 colors of worsted weight acrylic yarn
“N” hook
yarn needle

Three yarns are held together throughout.

Round 1 – ch 6, join with sl st into ring, ch 3, 14 dc in ring

Round 2 – ch 3, 1 dc in join (1 dc, 2 dc around), join with sl st

Round 3 to 8 – ch 3, dc around, join with sl st

Round 9 to 14 – ch 3, dc around, don’t join, ch 3 turn (except last round). Note – You can add more or less rows here, depending on the size of the foot you’re crocheting for. To finish, whip stitch up the back using the outside loops only. Finish off.

Optional: Evenly sc around the slipper opening, join with a sl st, finish off.

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Blanket Stitched Christmas Stocking Ornament

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December is almost here and that means a couple of things for my family.

We eat too much, get to see family we haven’t seen for ages, and we craft. While crafting in itself is a daily thing for us, December crafting is different. We make ornaments for friends, family and ourselves. Just something about the cold weather, hot chocolate and waiting for Santa makes the crafting a little bit more special.

On that note, today’s craft is an old favorite of mine. It was originally designed to be an easy ornament to make during my kiddos’ elementary school days. I wanted something that was inexpensive, took few materials and would be easy to teach kids how to do.

This simple blanket stitched Christmas Stocking is all of these things. The knots might take a little adult assistance, but other than that, it’s a craft easy enough for anyone old enough to thread a needle!

Make it as is and you’ll have a 4″ stocking ornament. Enlarge for a larger stocking; personalize, decorate or embellish!

Supplies:

felt stocking pattern (free to print or save)
felt in two colors (I used red and sparkly white)
scissors
pattern
embroidery floss
needle with a large eye
ruler or ruler and rotary cutter

Cut pattern on the fold of red felt.
Cut a strip of white felt 1 ” wide by long enough to go across both sides of stocking (4″ shown).

Align white felt across top of red so that the tops are flush.

Attach the white felt by stitching across the bottom with a blanket stitch.
(How to blanket stitch from futuregirl.com)

Optional – personalize or decorate while the stocking is still open. I’ve left this one plain.

The back should look like this.

Fold stocking so white felt is outside. Pin in place.

Starting on the open side of stocking, stitch using a blanket stitch. You can hide the knot by starting under the white felt. Push the needle through the three layers of felt and then take another stitch through all four layers before beginning the blanket stitch.

Continue around all the way around.

This is what we have so far!

Continue blanket stitching around the top of the stocking, catching both the inside and outside layer in the stitch. Make sure to leave the stocking itself open.

Once you’ve made it all the way around, knot off the embroidery floss then make a loop about 1 1/2″ – 2″ long. Make a knot inside the stocking. Take a stitch and knot again.

The pattern is for a 3″ stocking, but it can easily be sized up or down depending on your needs.

Ta-Da!

Happy crafting!

Find my free patterns on Sewhooked & Fandom in Stitches.

♥ Jennifer O

Posts on this blog may contain affiliate links to help cover the cost of my website. I thank you for your generous support. ♥

Reconstruction: Pockety Hoody

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I’m a big thrift store shopper. Sometimes, I find great articles of clothing that are the perfect size for one of my kids, but I know they won’t wear it because of a design or picture that’s on it. They’re both really into black at the moment and I found a great black hoodie sweatshirt the perfect size for my son. The price? $1.25. Could I pass that by? NO WAY.

The drawback? It came with an embroidered image of The Grinch. Cute, yes, his style, absolutely not!

After having the sweatshirt linger in my “to do something with” pile for a while, it occurred to me that I have all kinds of odds and ends leftover from other projects that might update the shirt and make it ready to wear.

One Levi’s pocket and about ten minutes of stitching later, and the update is complete and the hoody has gone from “Absolutely not!” to “Cool, Mom!”

It’s more of an update than reconstruction, but you get the idea!

To update a logo sweatshirt, you’ll need the sweatshirt and one jean’s pocket. Use a heavy-duty seam ripper to remove the pocket, or, if you feel comfortable doing so, a razor blade. Just be careful if you do!

A sewing machine is pretty much a must for this project, but if you want to try it by hand, you’ll need a heavy duty needle and a bit of patience to sew through all the layers!

Smooth out your sweatshirt.

Remove jeans pocket, being careful not to tear the fabric or cut yourself.

Pin the pocket in place. You can go for a straight angle like I did here, or turn it a bit left or right for a more interesting look.

From the front, stitch carefully around the pocket using the existing stitching lines. Reinforce at the corners and top of the seams.

And you’re done! Super fast and easy update!

As always, if you make any pattern or craft from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the Friends of Sewhooked flickr group.

Happy crafting

Crafts: Cullen Crest Stenciled Tee

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I made this little gem of a shirt over the summer while waiting for Breaking Dawn to arrive. It’s based on the Cullen Family Crest, as shown by MTV over the summer.

I did take some artistic license to make this a stencil. It’s a complicated bit of cutting, but well worth the patience!

Note: Cutting with an Exacto Knife is dangerous. Please be very careful!

Supplies:

A t-shirt (or other item to be stenciled)
Freezer Paper with Cullen Crest Stencil
Foam Brush
Fabric Paint (I like Lumiere)
Exacto Cutting Tool
Cardboard or newspaper
Cutting Mat

In lieu of individual photos of the process, take a look at my how-to video for stenciling, which you may remember from this post. There are lots of ways to create a stencil. This is how I do it. I did not include glitter on the Cullen Crest T-shirt.

Text Directions:

Pre-wash t-shirt without fabric softener.
Print stencil onto freezer paper (matte side).
Carefully cut out with an exact-o knife. There are loads of fiddly bits, so take your time and be careful.
Set iron to medium.
Place cardboard or newspaper inside t-shirt.
Place stencil on t-shirt with a piece of blank paper on top (that keeps the tiny pieces in place) then carefully press with the iron.
Use the foam brush to gently paint on the fabric paint.
Allow a few minutes to dry, then carefully remove the stencil. For the tiny pieces, use a straight pin to help get them started for easier removal.
Finish drying according to manufacturer’s directions.

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post!

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also posted on craftster and cut out + keep

Crafty Goodness for the Holidays

Turn around, Granny!

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Printable Pattern

An, granny square! For years I loved to hate you. When I would try to make you, you were wonky, crooked and twisted. How could something so simple, so classic and so seemingly straight forward be so frustratingly difficult?

One day, a little bird whispered in my ear to turn the granny square after each row. Aha! That was the answer.

By turning on every row, the twisting disappeared. An added bonus is that the granny square does not have a “right” and a “wrong” side when it’s worked this way.

So turn, turn, turn and stay square, square, square!

Note: Yarn weight and hook size are up to you. Change colors at any row and make the square as small or large as you like.

With this method, you can make a Granny-ghan by continuing to crochet until you reach the desired size.

Chain 4, sl st to form loop

turn, sl stitch to the corner

Round 1 – ch 3 (ch 3 = dc throughout), 2dc, [ch 2, 3 dc], rep [ to ] 2 times, ch 2, join to the top of ch 3 with a sl st. TURN, sl st to ch 3 corner.

ch 3

Round 2 – Ch 3, 2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in ch2 space. [ch 1, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in ch 3 space], repeat [ to ] 2 times, ch 1, join to top of ch 3 with sl st. TURN, sl st in ch 1 space.

Round 3 – Ch 3, 2 dc, [ch 1, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in ch 2 space; ch 1, 3 dc in ch space], repeat [ to ] 2 times. Ch 1, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in ch 2 space, ch 1, join to top of ch 3 with sl st.

Finish as desired.

Granny Square close up