Link Party #1

Hello everyone! Today I am having my first link party! I am going on a vacation. When I come back I will read through all the wonderful project that you all submit. I am sure you will really inspire me to get my creativity on after a relaxing holiday.

Post any project, and as many as you like! Just make sure they are up to date and not made before 1st of march 2012. You can also link to your own link parties!

And it would be great if you could either place my button or a link to this party at the end of your post :)

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Rice Bag Eye Mask

Earlier this week, I made some Hot/Cold Rice Bags. I love them. And so easy to make. So today I decided to make an eye mask. Check it out here and here.


I used the same process as my other rice bags up untill filling the bags. I filled the eye mask 2/3 full with rice (about 2 cups). Then I emptied the eye mask and put the rice in a container. I added a few drops of lavender essential oil, mixed it together and filled it back into the mask before sewing it shut.


Photos from this project:

And here is the final product, filled with lavender rice! In the microwave for 30 seconds works like a charm. NB! The fleece will not get cold in the freezer.

How to create a link party

Yesterday I posted about hot to create a Link Party Button? Well today I am going to tell you how to create a link party. The site I think I will be using in the future is inlinkz.

I saw a great YouTube Video, and it seams like an "easy" program too use. I can not wait until I actually get to try it out. When I have I will give another update on how it actually is!

Link Party Button

So today I figured I would do something fun. In the future I want to be able to host link parties. I just L-O-V-E them! There is so much inspiration to find here. So today I took the first step, I made a Link Party Button. I found it hard, I must admit, not knowing all this technical stuff, but I found a great tutorial here, but I could not get the code to work, so I found another great one here. I will not make my own tutorial at this time (just because it took me quite some time to figure it out) But I will promise to make one the next time a make a button. So this is my result!



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And I am really proud of my end result! I was thinking of giving up along the way but I did manage to figure it out! And that is a great feeling! Only took me probably 60-90 minutes to complete everything, including making the button, but I am positive that it will not take quite as long next time.

Hot/Cold Rice Bags

A while back my sister, A, dropped her iPhone in some water. After doing some quick research she found out that if you put the iPhone in rice in a sealed container it will draw out the moisture (this is why you can put some rice in a salt shaker). She was going to throw away the rice after, but I stopped her. No, not to have the rice for dinner, but to use it in a project. Today I finally got around to making two rice bags, using some scrap fabric i had on hand. I actually did not use a tutorial for this, since I find it very simple, so I will provide one for you here.

Materials:

• Fabric
• Sewing machine
• Thread machine fabric
• Rice

Steps

1. Cut out fabric to your desired size.
2. Pin around the fabric (leaving an opening of 1 inch / 2.5 cm).
3. Sew around all sides (minus the opening).

4. Cut off all corners. 

5. Turn it right side out.

6. Put a funnel into the opening, and fill about 3/4 full of rice.

7. Sew shut the opening.

8. You are now done!

9. Pop it in the microwave or freezer for a hot or cold rice bag.




The two I made are 10x10 cm and 11.5x11.5 cm, which is about 4x4 inches and 4.5x4.5 inches. I put them in the microwave one at a time at 10 sec full heat and found out mine will be microwaved 20 sec and 30 sec.

Paper Mache Letter

My first project is inspired by Challenge of the week over at The CSI Project. I knew I wanted to to decorate using the first letter in my sister, my dog and my own name (A, C, T), I also new I wanted to make something which would be free.

Inspiration found DIY Paper Mache Letters @ Green Zebra Crafts, paper mache letters. I always forgot to take photos when I was making them, so I do have some pictures missing. But the link has a very good tutorial, so check it out!

The first letter I did was C then T. I forgot to take pictures before I made these, but luckily I did have one more letters to complete.

I started by drawing a letter on cardboard. I cut it out and then traced it on to another piece of cardboard. I ended up having two pieces looking like this:

I then cut out long strips of cardboard in the same width. There is no right or wrong answer on how thick they should be, because it really depends on what thickness you want your letter to be.

I then started taping the strips to the side of the cardboard, in a 90 degree angle.

Woopsy Daisy, I forgot to take more pictures after this one. I continued around the sides. Then taped the top to sides closing it up. I then had all the letters complete.

I started by making a paste by mixing flour, water and a bit of salt. I would just say you have to experiment with adding a bit at a time. Then a had strips of newspaper and used the paste to attach it to the letters. I let it dry then put another layer on.

When everything was dry I painted the back and side a dark grey and the front a light grey.

It was more time consuming that what I though, but I loved the end result. Would I do it again? Yes probably some time in the future, but I would not be making multiple pieces at once.

Do you have done any similar projects using the letters of your family members? I would love to take a look, so paste a link in the comment box so I can check it out!