Craft Wednesday! - Martha Effin Stewart - Braided Headband

Okay - I did this on a Wednesday. I found this great tutorial on a headband HERE

Here is my own tutorial through pictures :) My advice - MEASURE!!!! Otherwise your headband will be too tight and won't even fit your 3 year old niece.



Cut your fabric (any fabric, I used leftovers from my BOX project) into 6 equal strips that will fit MOSTLY around your head, or the intended wearers head.

Next clip the fabrics together at the end and braid them.
Tack the ends together so they don't come loose.

Then sew the ends together on both ends of the braids. Make sure they don't twist.


Cut an elastic in half and sandwich it between both ends of the braids. Sew in the elastic. Make sure not to twist the braids.
To create a nice finished look, cut a small piece of fabric and wrap it around the frayed ends. You can either sew it on or use fabric glue.


And done! Works great as a gift and a lovely hair accessory!

Martha Effing Stewart - Egg dying project

I found a couple of tutorials via Stumble! (love it, get it, you'll love it). I found this tutorial and used it with some friends to do our own Egg Dying Project!







We used some of Tyson's terrible ties for our project - so rummage through your closet and see if you can find any!

I am not an optimist

Most of you are probably thinking -"Yeah, no shit."
I have been a working realist for many years. I'm not sure when this attitude came upon me or if it has just been with me my entire life. I feel like I have tried to look at the bright side of things in most situations, but I seem to have lost my tact in that area.

But when I see a sinking ship - I'm going to call it a sinking ship.

I don't have a lot of trust or hope in other people. Some of you would be surprised to know this, seeing that I do work in the mental health field. I came to the conclusion long ago that people are going to make their own decisions NO MATTER WHAT. The only thing I can do is give them information and/or skills to make those decisions. Most of the kids that I have worked with over the past 6 years are not what I would describe as, "doing well." There are a few here and there that seem to have gotten there heads on straight, but majority still struggles everyday.

So why do I do what I do? The truth is, I don't know. I guess somewhere inside of me I hope that I make a difference. I hope that one day someone, somewhere is thinking about something I told them and make a good decision.

I read, Always Looking Up by Michael J Fox. I don't read a lot of books ever (something I've been meaning to change about myself). I found this book in an airport after being told by someone that I am obviously not an optimist. (Yeah, no shit.) I took me a few weeks to actually read this book, not that I'm a slow reader or that it was boring, but because I never seem to have the time to read and concentrate to actually read a book. Which is also probably why I have about 3 books I am reading at one time. ANYWAY - this book was really good. It opened my eyes into the world of someone with Parkinson's Disorder and how he has struggled to live a normal life. My respect for this man grew greatly. And it made me reflect upon myself and my realism. Most of the time my realism is helpful to people. Those that live in LALA world need someone like me. However, there are those incidents where people don't need realism, they need a hug from an optimist that will tell them it's going to be okay... even if it won't be.

What will my kid think?

I'm the biggest slacker....

Alright alright - it's been almost a year since I have posted. I apologize greatly. I could go on and on about the excuses I have but I won't. There are more important things to do!
Below is my first "Martha Effing Stewart" project. I plan to do more in the future!
I stole this from HERE

Supplies Needed:

• Cardboard box that is the size you want to make your box (I used left over diaper boxes that have been used as our previous toy boxes)
• Fabric (enough to cover the box- I used 1 yard and 4 inches of material)
• Box cutter or exacto knife
• Spray Adhesive (the original tutorial suggested Mod Podge, which I purchased first. However it was NOT adhesive at all, maybe I grabbed the wrong one, I don't know)
• Measuring Tape
• Pen
• Scissors

1. Decide which side will be the top of your box. Using the box cutter, cut off the top of the box, leaving the sides in tact. See picture below of what to cut off.

2. Take the remaining box apart, carefully. Place your fabric design side down, and lay your box flat on top of it.

3. Trace around the parts that will be exposed when the box is reassembled. (See below, the flaps that have arrows, those will not be shown, therefore put them up and don't trace them)





4. Once you have traced the box onto the fabric, draw a second line 1-2 inches outside of the existing line (this will be where you will cut). See below.





5. Reassemble the box, inside out (this way the color from the box doesn't show through). Glue it back together with the spray adhesive.

6. Once the box is assembled, you can now apply the fabric. Apply the fabric to the sides of the box first. Spray the adhesive first and smooth the fabric over the box.

7. Wrap the loose edges around into the box for a smooth finish. You can fill the inside with the extra fabric.