onenightonly: softies

do you have one night only?

Like most crafters I have a day job too. After I’ve finished my chores, done dinner, tucked the Little One in her bed, ironed my work clothes for the next day and poured a glass of wine, I’m ready for some crafting action. But where to start? If you are like me, there are a million crafting projects in your head, tucked away in cupboards, inside your sewing box, poked into far flung corners of the house or in a knitting bag under the couch half finished. Not to mention the crafting books, magazines and blogs that you regularly read in precious spare moments to provide inspiration, new ways of doing things and connect with others across the world. And I’m a girl who wants instant gratification. I want to see the end product before I go to bed. I want projects I can finish in just one night. And so I began One Night Only to provide an inspired evening of crafting for one-nighters like me! Do you have a small project you would like to share? The only criteria are that it can be finished in just one night. Simply email me a photo or two (.jpg) with your contact or info (web or blog link), and I will add it as soon as I can. And together we can craft the world, one night at a time!

March 19, 2008

TUTORIAL: secret pocket easter egg

Made by: Kristin, SewMamaSew!
Craftspiration: holidays
Project: Secret Pocket Easter Egg
Method: sewing/softie
Difficulty: basic
Time: about 1 hour
Materials: About 0.25m x 2 fabrics, scissors, pins, sewing machine, needle and thread, softie stuffing
Hints: great for Easter egg hunts or add a secret pocket for a surprise Easter goodie! Download PDF pattern and instructions here.

Posted at 10:08 PM in sewing, softies, TUTORIAL | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 01, 2008

monkey business

Made by: craftjuice
Craftspiration: Sock and Glove, by Miyako Kanamori
Project: Marcus the Sock Monkey
Method: handsew or machine/handsew (I knitted the scarves as well)
Difficulty: not really hard
Time: about 2-3 hours per monkey
Cost: $7 for a pair of socks (1 pair = 1 monkey) plus some buttons and scrap wool (for the scarves) I already had in my sewing box
Hints: this fantastic book is in English (the original is a Japanese version) also has other great animal friends to make from socks and gloves including dogs, cats, elephants, piggys and birds!

Also check out this great link on Crafting Japanese for other friends!

I had a wonderful time making these two for my friend's kids - I chose very colourful socks which I think turned out really well, although the beautiful white and grey socks in the book make wonderful monkeys too! I've also seen some great variations in other books such as Plush You with fabulous Zombie Monkeys! I added some sashiko embroidery in contrasting embroidery thread on the tips of arms and tail for added durability and a dash of colour. The graduated colour thread looked great and added a bit more interest. I guess you could also embroider or appliqué other designs onto the monkeys to customise.

If you like working with socks or recycling that odd sock draw, you might also like to check out this book too...

Posted at 04:48 PM in softies | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

miss moo

Made by: craftjuice
Craftspiration: Sew Your Own
Project: Miss Moo
Method: handsew or machine/handsew
Difficulty: easy peasy
Time: about 2 hours
Cost: $10 for pattern + materials (I used some fabric scraps and felt)
Hints: you can also purchase a full Miss Buttons kit at Sew Your Own for $20 which includes all you need!

I have made a variety of these wonderful misses and misters from the Sew Your Own pattern for gifts and stocking fillers! Give each their own wonderful personality via themed fabric and hairstyles - check out the Sew Your Own gallery for inspiration! Make sure you upload your own pic when you're done!

Posted at 04:28 PM in softies | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

laptop cozy tutorial

For Valentine's Day this year, I made this laptop cozy for my geeky beloved! It was inspired by some handy work on Design*Sponge. It's super easy and will keep your laptop from scratches. It's also like clothes for your laptop (hmmm...how will I dress my laptop today) so you can make many themes and colour combinations. Here's how I did it...

ikea 'mammut' kiddie chair slip cover tutorial

I made this slip cover for Miss M's Ikea 'Mammut' kiddie chair - here's how I did it! The project takes about a leisurely 2 hours all up (less per chair if you make more than one at a time of course) and I would say is pretty easy - just straight sewing, careful pinning and a glass of wine. A great way to refresh the style of your playroom, or add more handy storage at the desk! You could also go a bit nuts and make other accessories to match...

one night on flickr