Felt Bow Tie Pasta

My child finds mysterious ways to inspire me. Example: One of my friends needed their daughter's Halloween costume shortened, in the midst of measuring and pinning and whatnot, she left her plastic pearl necklace here. Dom found it, and has been trying to feed it to me as Spaghetti for the past few days. 

So I was thinking

I need to make more stuff with many small parts so I can go crazy trying to round them all up constantly! This kid needs play pasta! 

It's an easy one, trust me. It's exactly like making real pasta shapes, except felt is less floppy and tear-able...So it's way less frustrating.  

You will need:

1 sheet of felt (mine's antique white)

Floss or thread to match

Pinking shears (zig zag edge scissors)

First, cut 2" wide strips with pinking shears. 

Cut the strips into 2x2" squares with regular straight scissors. 

Take one square and accordion fold it, so it looks like a "W" ... or "M" depending on where you're standing.   

If you get confused, you can just check out a piece of bow tie pasta, but here's what you should be looking at. 

Thread up your needle with 1/2 thickness of the floss (3 strands) Start in the middle crease...

... thread to the outside, then back all the way through to the other side...

...and through to the middle again. 

Like this. 

Knot the two ends together, pull tight and double knot. 

Taadaa!

One sheet of felt will make 20 pieces. Which is the perfect amount for a bowl of pasta. 

--CJ

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Super Easy Leg Warmers

 I dug one of my favorite old sweaters out of the basement the other day... 

I put it on and realized that it has totally lost its appeal. The poor thing is just stretched out, pilling, scratchy, and out of style. I wouldn't even bother sending it to the thrift store. It's perfect for chopping up though! I would feel weird about cutting up a perfectly good sweater for leg warmers, but this things really has outlived its goodness. So, away we go! 

This is possibly the easiest thing ever. Plus, I needed a pair since my only favorite black leggings are capri length, and I hate hate hate wearing socks.

Turn sweater inside out. 

Cut off sleeves.

Cut sleeves so they are even. 

Fold the edge under, pin and sew. 

You're done! 

Now my legs are warm! Mission accomplished! 

On a side note, my MOPS craft debut went pretty well! 

 Here are some of my favorite ladies working on their bows :) I'm excited to do some more craft work with the group, and hopefully teach them some new tricks! 

--CJ 

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Monkeys and MOPS

 Amidst the madness of this weekend, I forgot that I did actually make something. I fell victim to the cute How To Sew Your Own Sock Monkey  (By Craftpassion) pin on Pinterest. 

I'm not a monkey person. Monkeys freak me out in a big way, and as far as I know (according to Hollywood) they are going to take over the world someday. Not cool, Monkeys of the world, NOT cool! 

Sock monkeys, on the other hand, are OK. Mostly because they are not real... and if they took over the world, it wouldn't be so bad. I think I could take down a sock, no problem. 

...Anyway... 

I grabbed the only socks I could find that were cute, and not currently in circulation. (Dom's old 3-6 month old socks) The tutorial is great, and I think he came out pretty cute. So definitely check that out! 

Otherwise, I've been working on a craft for our local MOPS (Moms Of Pre-Schoolers) group. I'm heading up the craft department this season, and I'm excited! Also terrified! I'm a born follower, my heart jumps into my throat when I talk in front of more than 2 people at once, and I've never been in charge of anything before! I think this will be a great experience for me, to get wayyyy out of my comfort zone, and possibly become less awkward... We'll see about that last one. 

Our first mini craft is going to be felt bow name tags. I assembled probably twice as many "bow kits" than we actually need. I have scraps and felt fuzz and pin backs coming out of my ears!  Not to mention I have a wrist cramp from pattern punching card stock. Seriously, that stuff is tough! So hopefully, I can guide our ladies in making these guys tomorrow morning.  Wish me luck! 

That's all for now!

--CJ 

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