T-Shirt Upcycle - Braided Infinity Scarf

We're in the midst of yet another snowstorm. Welp, it's as good a time as any for a new scarf. Might as well make it a colorful and bright infinity scarf to cheer up those winter blues. Am I right, or am I right? 

Best part? This knotted cowl is made out of upcycled t-shirts Heck yes. Thrifty and fabulous. 

DIY Dish Towel Market Totes

In honor of our first CSA pick up (check out the yumminess here on Instagram) I wanted to make some simple bags to tote our goodies home. When we were at Ikea this weekend, I grabbed this 4-pack of cotton dish towels which were the perfect material for produce bags -- both absorbent and strong! I love when things just work out that way haha :) The bags turned out so cute, dontcha think??

With that one set of towels, I was able to make 2 large totes and 3 smaller drawstring bags... and I still have another towel left over (I just wasn't quite smitten with the pattern).

My First Dress Alteration

Okay, so I realize this isn't earth-shattering news or whatev but I am so proud of myself. I altered my very first piece of clothing! It's not like I don't love to sew, but I've always been too scared to make clothing for myself. The next best thing? Altering an existing garment into something much more wearable.

It was gorgeous this past weekend so I pulled out a dress I bought back in 2009 when I worked at American Eagle. It's been big and parachute-like for too long. After less than an hour, I had a dress that was much more flattering.

Vinyl Tablecloth Upcycle: Doggie Raincoat

Sometimes I just can't resist a pop of color. I saw the brightest summertime tablecloth at Homegoods last year and snagged it on clearance for less than $8. Unfortunately, I was a little blond and grabbed the wrong shape for our square table... womp womp. What's a girl to do with an oversized outdoor tablecloth? Well, a normal girl would probably throw it out but a crafty girl turns it into the cutest doggie raincoat ever! It was the perfect upcycle project for Week 5 at So You Think You're Crafty.

Quinn despises getting wet, so making a raincoat just for her has been on my to-do list for almost a year now. To make this sassy number for your favorite furbaby, you'll need some sewing essentials, and old coat that fits well, half a tablecloth, and a full afternoon.

A Pocketful of Posies Pillow

Thanks to all of you who voted at So You Think You're Crafty last week, I got second place! Week two is in full force right now so stop by and vote for your favorites! You might not know this about the competition, but whoever wins each round gives a tutorial of their project at SYTYC. Since I was not number one last week, I get to share my tutorial here at Spool and Spoon instead!

We are having one long winter over here so I was really excited to hear that the Week 1 theme was Spring. The competitors are supposed to interpret the theme in whatever way we want so I combined the florals, bright colored decor, and stash busting spring cleaning all into one. From a handful of rolled flowers, some gorgeous grey chambray and a bit of stuffing blossomed this "Pocketful of Posies" pillow.

Toms Sunglasses Pouch

I have a slight obsession with my Ray Ban Wayfarers. Over the summer my super wonderful husband bought me this matte blue pair and I treasure them. He also bought me my first pair of Toms, too! I'm a bit too smitten with that brand altogether; I'd buy every pair if I was allowed. This project combines both of those lovelies into one single accessory - a lined canvas pouch for your sunglasses.

DIY Woven Camera Strap

You may remember that when I first got my DSLR, I had these huge aspirations of making a ton of DIY camera accessories. Yeahhhh, about that. In the last 6 months all I made was my camera bag. It's a pretty sweet camera bag if I do say so myself but still, that was the only thing I managed to put together. After checking out Yellowcloth's tutorial for a braided baby headband, inspiration struck and I went off to plan my newest DIY: a woven camera strap! 

It took less than an hour to put together and I happened to have everything on hand already so it was pretty much free (from scratch, this would probably cost less than $10). Maybe it's boastful to talk about how much I love something that I made with my own two hands, but I can't help it! The Mr. has been teasing me because he keeps catching me admiring my handiwork, but again, I JUST CAN'T HELP IT! It's pretty and cushy and durable and just plain awesome. Read on to learn how to make one yourself!

Tutorial: Doggie Tutu and Puffy Bow

Once upon a time we welcomed our second "child," Quinn, into our lives. She's adorable and easygoing so I was looking forward to getting her into a Halloween costume this year. Even the neighborhood kids have expressed interest in Quinn getting dressed up... bwahaha.  I thought a simple tutu and Halloween bow would be perfect without being too over the top.

Embroidered Pillowcase by Anja of Cocalores

One of my favorite ladies, who hails from a land far far away (aka Germany), is stopping by as our guest blogger today. I absolutely adore Anja's inventive furniture makeovers, crafty projects, and pretty much all of the things she writes about. I hope you'll take a moment to stop by her blog and see what she's all about; I promise you won't be disappointed! Now, let's get this party started...

Hi everyone! My name is Anja and I'm so glad to be here today at Spool and Spoon. You can usually find me over at Cocalores, where I blog mostly about my creative endeavors (which include sewing, baking, and giving new life to old furniture) but also about anything that strikes my fancy. Jess writes one of my favorite blogs, and she is such a sweet and amazing person! (Well, I guess that's preaching to the choir because you as her readers already know this!)

Do you also like reading the About Me page first? Well, here is mine in a nutshell:

• My husband, dog, and job are my everything. Well, that and my creative side.
• I'm German, so you'll always find lots of entertaining mistakes and clichés.
• I'm a redhead, but my go-to accent color is pink. Not always easy to make it work.
• My vices include coffee, chocolate, ice-cream, and lots of DVDs. Preferably at the same time.

I like pillowcases. There's nothing like a cute pillowcase to change the look of the room. So I'm going to share with you an easy embroidery and sewing project!

Yes, there's pink, but you can choose any color ;-)

Purse to Camera Bag - A Tutorial

Ahhh, do you have any idea how much I love my camera? The only issue I have is that I'm way overprotective of it. I am so flipping paranoid that I refuse to bring it out of the house for fear it will get damaged or worst yet, stolen. My solution? A pretty, economical, functional, and undercover camera bag. 

You see, most camera bags are ridiculously expensive, not my taste at all, or so obviously carrying a very expensive piece of creative equipment. I wanted something that reflected my style, protected my beloved Canon, had room for accessories, but could easily pass for a classic handbag. I'm pretty sure that this bag hit all of the bases.

Shorts to Skirt Refashion

(Please don't judge me for the blurry pictures. It was late and my fancy-shmancy camera was charging so I had to use my phone instead.)

So remember when I mentioned that I had tons that I wanted to do and even more that I needed to do? Yeah, well, this little refashion was one of the latter. Even so, it's nice to have something crossed off of the list.

You see, my WBFF asked if I wouldn't mind fixing a pair of shorts that her mom accidentally bought. I say accidentally because if you took only a quick glance, you'd be positive that it was a loose skirt. Unfortunately for her, it was not and she was not happy with the idea of wearing a pair of frumpy shorts to a lively nighttime party next weekend.

Some BUNNY loves you!

Happy Easter, everyone! We're going to be seeing the in-laws later this afternoon and I cannot wait to see our nephew. Julian is a bit shy of 2 years old and such a little cutie. His parents are trying to limit his candy intake, so rather than a normal chocolate bunny, I decided it would be nice to make him a teeny tiny little stuffed animal.

It seems like those stuffed peep bunnies are all the rage but personally, I don't like to gift something that is so holiday-centric. It's like giving someone a stocking on Christmas... it's thoughtful, but what do you do with it for the next year?? I was toying with making my own pattern but figured I'd search around a bit to see if there were any cutesy bunnies hopping around on the web. I ended up finding this great tutorial on Revoluzzza for a super simple bunny (probably took me all of 20 minutes to do) and it was easily made without being too Eastery. 

As you'll see by the link, she used some really poppy prints, but since this was for the little guy, I wanted something a bit masculine. Luckily for me, the Mr. was going to trash some really hunky dress shirts and I was able to grab a great gray and white striped number.

Close up of the print: 

I honestly followed the tutorial pretty much exactly. The only difference was that I embroidered happy eyes and added a button nose on the white felt face. Rather than using a blanket stitch to hand-stitch the face to the body, I used a similar stitch on my machine.

Hopefully he loves it! I think it's oh so cute. What do you think?