My Take: Kindle Case

A while ago, how long is a while anyhow, maybe close to a year ago even….my friend Holly asked me to make her a case for her Kindle. I pinned several ideas on Pinterest and let her see. She said she trusted me to just make something for her that would work. I have been borrowing my Grandma’s Kindle so I was able to check the measurements and see that it fits well. I decided to go with the tutorial for the kindle sleeve below that I found at Johnny In A Dress.

Johnny In A Dress’ Kindle Case

Since it is summer, I picked out some fun bright colors and followed the tutorial. I really like how it came out and it was pretty easy to make. The tutorial has you make to separate pouches and then connect them. I think I could also use our method of making gadget cozies and it would have worked out faster. I also used a hair tie for the elastic this time (following the tutorial) but it was very hard to sew over with my machine.

Finished case

It isn’t perfect but I’m pretty sure Holly will still love it. I liked being able to finally sew something simply because I had the time and I wanted to do it. Usually I”m sewing shop orders so this was a nice change of pace!

A peek inside!

And who knows…maybe we’ll make some more of these to add to the shop…if I get the urge to just sew something because I want to! I hope Holly does like it and will forgive my taking forever it get it done!

Our Take: Jolly Rancher Lollipops

A while back, I pinned this idea of Jolly Rancher Lollipops on Pinterest. I thought they would be a fun summer activity because they are phe-free, making them perfect for Little Monkey.

Pinterest Jolly Rancher Lollipops

The directions said to put the Jolly Ranchers on parchment paper and cook at 200 degrees for 5 minutes.

We put the Jolly Ranchers in sets of three onto the parchment paper.

Little Monkey unwrapped and selected the colors to go together for each lollipop.

Then we put them into the oven for 5 minutes at 200 degrees. Only problem, they didn’t melt. So we put them in longer. We ended up cooking them for about 12 minutes. As soon as they came out of the oven, we put the lollipop sticks into them.

Little Monkey pushed the lollipop sticks into the melted Jolly Rancher.

We probably could have cooked them a little bit longer but it worked out. I would also recommend using smaller lollipop sticks. We used these because we already had them on hand.

Little Monkey approved!

Little Monkey liked the project and it was quick and easy. Little Monkey was even more excited about the project when he found out that not only could he have the lollipops, but they are also phe free! Yay for a fun summer project for my little pku-er!

My Take: T-shirt to Workout Tank

Another idea I saw floating around on Pinterest and finally tried out myself: The T-shirt to Workout Tank

DIY Tank Top T-shirt Makeover

This morning I was trying to find something to wear to the gym and I decided to try this out real quick. It was quick too! Just a few cuts with the scissors and I turned an oversized t-shirt of Big Monkey’s into a workout tank for me. This project was FREE thanks to using a t-shirt from our stash of shirts! Since it was so quick and I was needing to finish getting the littles ready to go, I didn’t take any before or during photos. And the after photos were done on my phone by Little Monkey, after working out.

My Workout Tank

Back of the workout tank. The only problem I found with this workout tank was the knot in the back. It is fine, until you try and do sit ups!

Want to make your own? Check out Dollar, Sense & More for the tutorial!

My Take: Where We’re From

You’ve probably seen plenty of map crafts floating around the blogosphere and of course on Pinterest. I had spotted a few ideas I liked but hadn’t made any until a couple of weeks ago. My mom had a big birthday coming up and although she didn’t ask for any gifts, I wanted to make her something I knew she would love. How could I decide on the perfect gift you ask? I stalked her Pinterest boards and found a few ideas I really liked and thought I could make. I narrowed it down finally to the “Where We’re From” map people idea.

I took a look at a few blogs that had already made their own versions and decided the best way would be to get my hands on some real maps. I needed some Florida maps and a Massachusetts map. Seeing that we live in Florida, I figured those would be easy to come by. I was wrong.

I ended up first finding a Massachusetts map at a thrift store for 15cents. Next I found an old road atlas at another thrift store for 50cents. Since I needed multiple cities in Florida, I needed to get at least one more Florida map. I found out that our local driver’s license office has a AAA guy who gives out maps. Perfect! We stopped in there and were able to grab two Florida maps for free!

I hunted around the internet trying to find a template for cutting the little people out but kept coming up empty. I’m not much of an artist but I managed to draw some little people up and used them to trace out spots on the map to cut out. Each little person represents a different member of our family and the area of the map they are made up of includes the city that they were born in.

After lining the people up on a spare canvas I had on hand, I decided to paint the white canvas black so that the people would stand out better. Once the paint dried (two coats), I set up my people and used some Mod Podge to glue them into place. I decided to add our family’s name to the top and thanks to my Dad’s suggestion, the year we were established (Mom and Dad’s Anniversary Year). I used some vinyl and the Cricut to cut the letters and numbers out. Once they were applied to the canvas I added another layer of Mod Podge to fully seal the project.

My Take: Where We’re From

I love how it turned out and the birthday girl loved it too! It is a great personalized gift that you can make for many different occasions. I have another version swirling around in my head but I need to find some maps that are closer to street level to really make it work well. (I know I could just print the maps but I really love the idea of using the old maps and all the different colors and textures they come with.)

Our Take: Sponge Balls

I’d seen this idea on Pinterest and thought it could be fun to make with Little Monkey. This weekend he will be having two friends spend the night so I thought it would be the perfect time to try it out. We decided a test run was in order to make sure we had it figured out. I looked at two different tutorials and then we did what worked best for us. I did find 12 packs of sponges at Walgreens for $2.99. The scissors and twine we had on hand. I’m also thinking fishing line might work well but I couldn’t find any tonight.

Supplies for Sponge Balls

First we cut the sponges in half long ways and then in half again, making four pieces out of each sponge. One blog had used 16 pieces of sponge to make their ball and the other used just 8. I thought we’d try with 12 to start.

First try…..

When we went to tie the twine around them, it didn’t really work out very well. So we decided to back down to 8 pieces.

Second try…..

The next step is to take a little bit of twine and tie a super tight knot right around the center of the stack. Make a double knot (or heck even a triple knot if you want) and then check out your new sponge ball.

Finished and ready for testing!

You can move the sponge pieces around a little bit to make the ball shape a little better. We took the sponge ball out to the pool and filled it up with water. To show Little Monkey how it worked, we tossed it over to the deck where water came gushing out. Little Monkey thought it was great! I can’t wait to make more when the boys come over this weekend. I think we’ll play with them in the pool and see if we can make up some crazy games to play too!