Gift Bows from Magazines

This is an awesome way to use those colored pages from your magazines. Make your own gift bows to decorate your packages.

Gift Bows Tutorial
.

OK, I'm Stuck for Ideas

I've used a bunch of T-shirts for cat beds and T-shirt yarn and, since I cut the T-shirts right under the armholes for both of these, I have a bunch of tops left over. Does anyone have any great ideas to make something out of these??? I'd be happy to give anyone who comes up with a useable idea one of my green bags! Just leave a comment with your idea and email me at debsstuff55 (at) yahoo (dot) com with your address.
.
I'm getting good ideas but no one seems to want my green bags. Please send your name and address if you've left a comment.

Scraps and a T-shirt Make a Cat Bed

One of my readers sent in an idea for making pet beds from pillowcases and fabric and yarn scraps. Since I didn't have any old pillowcases sitting around but did have some old T-shirts, I decided to use that instead. It also works well since you can use a hanger and hang it up in a convenient place. The first step is to sew the bottom of the shirt closed. Hang it up and start collecting scraps of fabric and yarn. When it is about halfway up to the underarms, cut right below the sleeves, turn the edges under and sew closed. That's it, you now have a bed pillow for your cat or small dog.

Here's my baby Sammi enjoying her new bed. I made one for each of my cats and will be making more for my daughter's cats and my sons' cats. After that I'll start making them to give to animal shelters.
.
Someone asked me how they washed since shelters wash the bedding frequently so I threw them in the wash and they went through just fine. came out all fluffy.

Make Money for Your Charity With Trash

I just found a company that will make donations to your charity for your trash! They collect certain items (cookie wrappers, juice pouches etc.) and turn them into other items. All of their products are 100 % recycled. You can buy their products at places like Walgreens, Office Max and Home depot. So check it out and look for their products at your local stores to support their recycling effort.

TerraCycle

.

Denim for Quilting

Last month I showed you my pile of denim that I was going to use in some projects, it wasn't a whole lot and didn't take up a lot of space in my craft room so after I wrote the article I put it away and forgot about it. Then my daughter came over with an armful of worn out jeans from my beautiful but very active grandsons. I was already in the process of working on a string quilt which I talked about on my charity blog and suddenly had an idea. I didn't have enough squares for what I was planning but had more than enough if I set them with denim squares in between. It isn't finished yet but when it is I'll post another picture.

My Favorite Ebay Seller Just Opened a New Store

I've talked before on my other blog about my favorite Ebay seller. One of the reasons (other than the fact she's a really nice person) that she's my favorite is that she sells a lot of stuff for me. She has recently started a new store called Toni's Craft Room. Please take a minute to check out her store, she has lots of great patterns and is adding more every day. Hmmmm, while your there don't forget to check out the knit and crochet books.

Blue Jeans Bags

Several of the contest entries talk about turning jeans into handbags or totes. Rather than pick and choose I'm going to post all of them so you can decide how you would like to do yours:
.
Karen O. says: "I cut the legs off just below the butt. I left enough of the legs to turn the edges under twice to keep the edges from fraying and sewed them shut. From the legs I cut off, I made two long handles so I could sling the bag over my shoulder. I used a length of cotton rope as a "belt" to tie the bag shut."
.
Turtle says: "Took an old pair of jeans (smile, they were too big for me!) and cut them so that the top area with pockets etc would be the inside sides of the bag. Then with some funky heavy duty fabric i made the outer lining and used the jeans to also make the strap. I used a heavy cardboard for the bottom with more of each fabric to cover it."
.
Deborah M says: "I cut the pockets out leaving 1 inch of fabric from the jeans still attached to the pockets around 3 sides. The part of the jeans that is on the inside of the pocket is cut out very close to the seams of the pocket. Then I take a long, wide strip from the pant leg to make the handle and base of the purse. I fold the strip in half and with fabric glue I glue the strap to the excess fabric of the pocket starting at the top of one side of a pocket all the way around leaving a good amount for the handle and then around to where I started...I attach the beginning and the end and then I do the other side making sure the pockets are even with each other and there you have it...a denim pocket purse."
.
ronsmysharona says: "Of course we use the old 60's trick of turning our favorite pair of worn out jeans into purses, but what to do with the legs? They make GREAT all-purpose bags for camping gear. My partner calls them 'ditty bags' and uses them for just about anything he wants to keep together but still portable. Just cut pant legs the length you want, sew the bottom, and put a drawstring casing around the top, put in drawstring and you're done! If you lost or tore your tent bag, cut the pant leg a little longer and it makes a great tent bag."