Christmas Tree Skirt

'Tis the season!!

Or at least it will be.

I made this Christmas tree skirt to be a part of a silent auction basket for a good cause. It turned out much better than I thought... hence, no step-by-step pictures. Just this one, so cherish it.

Materials:

• 2 yards of red fleece
• 2 yards of white fleece
• Scissors
• Ribbon or string
• Hi-lighter
• Scrap of cardboard
• White felt
• Materials to decorate your snowmen (buttons, ribbon, etc)
• Sewing materials and thread
• Sewing machine and accompanying things

1. Keep your red fleece folded in half like it comes off the bolt, fold it in half so cut edges are together. And then again folding diagonal from the bottom to the top. (See, pictures would have come in handy, but I think you get the idea...).

2. Tie the hi-lighter to the string or ribbon, cut long enough to stretch the length of your fleece. Holding the end of the string/ribbon at the pointed end, draw an arch with the hi-lighter.

3. Cut along your arch. You should have a really big circle when you unfold it.

4. Do the same with your white fleece and set the pieces aside for a moment.

5. Design and decorate your appliques. They could be whatever you want. I did snowmen, but you could do trees or a nativity scene or big snow flakes.

6. Use a blanket stitch to attach your appliques to your red fleece. I also sewed some buttons to the fleece. Make sure that your keep everything at least 5 inches from the edge.

7. Once you are satisfied with all your decor, arrange the two pieces of fleece onto each other so they are lined up. Throw some pins it if it makes you feel better.

8. Cut a piece of cardboard to 5" x 1".

9. Using the piece of cardboard as a guide, cut slits around the entire edge through both pieces of fleece.

10. Then tie the corresponding ties together in a knot.

11. Sew two parallel lines from the edge to the direct center of the circle. I used red thread in the top spool and white thread in the bottom bobbin.

12. Cut between those to lines so you have a long slit that goes half way through the circle.

13. Then cut a 6" circle in the center of the circle and sew around the perimeter.

Now throw it around the base of your tree and cover it with presents!!

Steering Wheel Cover

It was almost a million degrees outside and after a long hot day of work at the hospital, the worst was coming out to my hot car and having to hold on to a hot steering wheel. Boo.

So I remembered a pin I had repinned not too many days ago and set out to prevent burns and driving with just my fingertips.

Materials:

•  Fabric (I loved this fabric so much from my last post)
•  Sewing machine and the rest
• Elastic or elastic string
• Safety pin
• Measuring tape
• Oh, and a car...

 1. To get your measurements, measure around the entire steering wheel and then around the wheel like how you hold it.

2. Cut your fabric like that with seam allowance. For example, my steering wheel dimensions were 48" x 4", so with seam allowances, I cut my fabric to 48.5" x 4.5". I had to sew a couple stripes together because my scrap was not long enough, but that might not happen to you.

3. Fold up and press half an inch on the long side.

 4. Ditto for the other side. This is when my hem gauge comes in handy. (You can also use your hem gauge to assess two-point discrimination for patients who have decreased sensation... but that's just the OT in me talking).

6. Sew it up! But stick close to the inside edges so that you have a pocket for your elastic.

7. Cut your elastic. Stretch it as much as it goes and cut that to your circumference length. And then thread it through one side. Cut another elastic and do the other side. Try to use a safety pin tied to the elastic for threading ease. And try not to swear as much as I did. It's not flattering... (Just kidding, threading elastic is fun...)



8. Stretch it onto your steering wheel and TADA!

You can cruise in style and with all your finger pads intact and blister-free!!

Checkbook Covers

Saw this on Pinterest and said to myself, "I have checks; everyone has checks". Even if you only use your checkbook once a month to pay rent like I do, there is no reason you have to put up with a boring bank-issued checkbook holder.

Introducing, the ruffled checkbook cover.

My favorite part: you can use your scraps or fat quarters (which I wish I had more of).

Materials:

• Your scraps and fat quarters. They can match, they can not match.
• Fusible (I used iron-on, but use what you have)
• Sewing machine and all that jazz
• Iron

1. Cut your fabrics:

•  Two 7"x7 1/2" pieces of fabric
• One 7"x7 1/2" fusible
• Two 7"x6" pieced of fabric (for the pockets)
• One 3" x 20" piece of fabric (for the ruffle)

 Love cutting small manageable rectangles. 

And I love my floral print fabric.

2. Heat up your iron. Fuse the fusible to one of the 7 x 7 1/2" pieces.

3. Iron the 6 x 7" pieces in half making them 3 x 7" pockets. Iron the 3 x 20" piece long ways too. 

 4. Sew along the edge of the ruffle piece so it's like a tube.

5. Using your iron, press along the seam.

6. Sew straight up the middle of the ruffle.

 7. Pull on the string to make it all ruffly (this was the hardest part for me for some reason).

A ruffly mess, no?

8. Place your ruffle along the edge of the piece of fabric with stabilizer, about 1 1/2" from the bottom. Stitch in place by doing one stitch above and one stitch below that middle line you did.

9. Trim excess ruffle off the end.

10. Sew along the folded edge of the pockets.

11.  Assemble your checkbook. It'll be inside out so stick with me. 

Do fabric without stabilizer and then pockets on the top and bottom, sewn folded edges facing each other. 

Place ruffled fused piece ruffle down on top. The fusible should be staring at you.

12. Pin it. Pin it real good. 

13. Sew the perimeter sticking real close to the edge. Leave a couple inches open though because you'll need to flip it right side out.

14. That being said... flip it right side out.

15. Sew again around the perimeter.

16. Fold it. 

Awesome right?!?!

To use it ( 'cause that's what you want to do right?), slip your checks into the pockets.

Now off with you! To the grocery store to hold up the express lane with your precise and perfect penmanship.

 

Love Quote Pillows

When your parents are celebrating their 25th anniversary, you are a starving college student and you love to craft...

Show them how much you love their love with some lovely love quote pillow cases they are sure to love!

Materials:

• Fabric. Canvas works best. About a yard-ish.
• Letter stencils
• Sewing machine and such
• Pillows (either 12" oe 14" square)
• Fabric markers
• Cardboard

1. Make 20" x 20" napkins, such as these.

2. Fit your pillow to your napkin by folding the sides and bottom corners to the center.

3. Hand stitch the corners together.



4. Slip out the pillow and slip in a piece of cardboard so that your fabric markers don't bleed through.

5. Stencil your favorite love quote (from a song, poems, vows...)

6. Throw that throw pillow back in the case and hand stitch the top flap down. You could add a button here if you'd like.

7. Fluff.

I love how personal you can make these and it didn't take me any time at all.

Ah, love.

Medication Management Kit

Hello! As a busy and productive occupational therapy student, my blogging days have been few and far between. But I am back. And keeping with the theme, this crafty craft is intended to challenge cognition, fine motor and general safety of some of our lovely elderly patients.

Some older individuals have difficulty managing all their medications: picking up tiny pills, organizing them into little containers correctly and taking the appropriate dosages at the appropriate times. This little kit is a way for patients to practice and improve the basic skills needed to safely manage their medications. (And I go to use my lable maker!!)


Materials:

• Medium -size tub for easy carrying
• Blank medicine bottles (if you smile nice at the Walgreen's pharmacist, they're free!)
• Paper, scissors, printer
• Contact paper
• Multiple colored beads
• Hole punch
• Binder ring
• Medication organizers

Instructions:

1. Develop fake lables of fake medications. Include the dosage; for example: take two capsules with breakfast daily. Make sure they will fit on your bottles.

2. Print lables and cut to size.

3. Cover the lables with contact paper in order to adhere the lables to the bottles.

4. Repeat with all your bottles. I had 7 medications and 1 vitamin.

5. Make "My Medication" cards. These cards have a variety of lists of the fake medications you just invented (you little phamacist, you.) The lists will vary in difficulty by having more or less medications listed or with some of the more complicated combinations.

6. Print, cut, and cover with contact paper. Then punch hole in the bottoms and bind together with the binder ring.

7. Divide the different colored beads into the medication bottles.

8. Organize your organizers!! I'm cheap so I bought 2 $.99 ones, so I had to add "AM" and "PM" to mine (call me cheap...)

9. Add the "Contents" to the back of your box. You don't want to lose anything!

And you are ready to help your clients learn and grow, making them a little bit safer at home... and happy!!

To use:

1. Present your patient with one of the "My Medications" cards, with the difficulty graded to the patient's abilities.

2. The patient will divide medications into the organizers.

Medications Managed!

Enjoy your Medication Managment Kit!!

TO GO!!