Friday, December 31, 2010

Water Bottle Holders

I wish I could think of a catchier name for these little things but alas I can’t think of one. But I’m open to suggestions…

We bought 5 of these at the Washington State Fair 5 years ago. Since then we have used them TONS! They have gone to fairs, festivals, camping, exploring, hiking… EVERYWHERE!!! Unfortunately we have lost or broke two of them and I decided it was about time to replace them.

Fortunately they are super easy to make!

Run to your local hardware store and pick up 7/8” rubber O-rings. Ours were 89 cents each.

Then cut lengths of ribbon at 34”. You can make them longer or shorter depending on what you want or who you are making them for. Make sure the ribbon is not wider than 3/4” and that is it soft but not silky.

bottle holders 01 After gathering all your supplies, attach the ring to the ribbon at both ends of the ribbon by folding it over just enough to sew on your machine. Just be sure you fold it the same direction on both sides. Secure with pins.

bottle holders 02Sew on your machine, or by hand, making sure that you go over it at least twice to be able to take the weight of the water bottle.

bottle holders 03Clip off the extra threads and put Fray-Check on the cut edges of the ribbon.

bottle holders 04Now you can just slip your water bottle onto the O-ring and take your water wherever you like!

bottle holders 05I made three new holders and I can’t wait to see how they hold up!

bottle holders 06

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Christmas Crafts

I started out with such lofty ambition but then reality got a hold of me. I did not get to do all the cool crafts I wanted to, but I did the ones that were most important to me and they turned out great!

Last January, my mom and I picked up this quilt panel at the shop in Cannon Beach.

Christmas quilt 05

I didn’t get it done until guests had already arrived at our annual Christmas open house (and only because my mom helped me take out all the tags and pins) but it turned out PERFECT! Not only do I love the vintage look and the colors, and it fits perfectly in the space I had for it on the kitchen wall, but it is probably the very first quilt I have ever done that has perfectly straight lines and no puckers or ripples in it at all!!!

Christmas quilt 01Christmas quilt 02I love every one of the squares!

Christmas quilt 03  

I even had the exact match of embroidery floss for the ties!

Christmas quilt 04

I have always wanted Christmas curtains for the kitchen and this year I finally made one… The retro print is just right for the kitchen decor and I love the little additions I made to it; like a lining and the red and green borders!

apron & curtain 03apron & curtain 02I had a bit of the fabric left over so I used the rest to make myself a Christmas apron… I even added a lining to the apron and pleats! I never do pleats, but I think it added a very nice touch!!!

apron & curtain 04apron & curtain 05apron & curtain 07I like the way it looks hanging in the kitchen… It matches my carousel canisters and measuring cups perfectly!

apron & curtain 01I also decided I needed a retro kitchen towel to hang on my stove. So I traced a cute Merry Christmas in a retro font and embroidered it on an old kitchen towel I found at a second hand store.

towel 01towel 02Like every year, I made Christmas ornaments for our families. This year I used eggs… I just love our homegrown brown eggs and they made really sweet little ornaments. Just don’t drop one! You can check out how I made them at The Backyard Farmwife

egg ornaments 12