Second Saturday Project for Any Day!

Is anyone else excited to see OCC Shoebox projects pile up waiting for a packing party? We love it! Here is a link to clear instructions on a fun puzzle idea. Use greeting card pictures or any other kind of photo. Maybe your artist will draw their own?! A nice coat or two of sealer makes these puzzles last even longer!

We'll be making sewing kits at Lift! tomorrow in Greenville -join us if you can! (:

Sad Missing Second Saturdays

We've had a few inquiries about our missing second Saturday projects - we are sad we missed them and I (victoria) am the one responsible for not even leaving a note. We've had wicked (not the cool nifty type) technology issues on and off all summer. We are now pleased to say that they should all be behind us now (yay?) and we are ready to leap forward! ok, maybe step gingerly ... 
Look for something new and possibly exciting on Saturday September 13!

Second Saturday Giving

Today's project is brought to you by our area Carnegie Center (New Albany). They host a Family Fun Activity the second Saturday each month (what a great idea!) and we attend as many as we can. Today's project was a special pendant for Mother's Day, but we think this can be used for so many more occasions - event those wonderful shoeboxes!

Sparkle Girl started her pendant with 3 colors, but obviously any number of colors can be used. Here she shows how easily a rainbow shape is to make, but then she swirled up the colors to create a fingerprint pendant. 




Again, so many shapes are possible - free form or with tiny clay cutters. Be sure to follow any directions on packaging regarding thickness, baking times, etc. We used a bakeable clay, but air dry clays can achieve the same results after drying out.  

 When making the hole for ribbon or other attachment, be sure to make it large enough - most clays will shrink whether drying or baking. The tool in the photo looks small/thin because it is - but SG moved it around to open the hole. Also make sure to place hole well away from the edge to make a more secure hanging spot. 

 Finally time for more color! Once the pendant is cool or dry use a ribbon, yarn or other material and beads of adequate size to complete the piece.

With changes in colors, shapes and details we think these necklaces can be suitable for boys and girls of most ages. Smaller beads would be nice for bracelets and while we thought about key tags / key chain / bag hanger ideas, that might depend on the type of clay. Some finished items can be brittle.

tah-dah!


We hope you enjoy this project! 

We will be doing this project next week at Lift! gathering. Lift! is a minitry of prayer and comfort using shawls, blankets and the like to lift one another (: Lift! meets at Redeeming Vine Baptist Church (9265 Hwy 150, Greenville, IN next to Sav-A-Step) each third Thursday from 10am to 3pm. Join us on May 15! 

Second Saturday Giving: CLIPS!

Your calendar is correct, today is not Saturday! We missed Saturday even though we had our project lined up - no photographs and no fancy "pre-post-to-auto-post-later" then the whole weekend got away from us!
So, here we are on Monday posting for Second Saturday Giving! This one is so simple everyone can participate - but so nifty everyone will want several and even more to share!

We chose simple wood with metal springs from any ol' store and set to decorating. We used paint, decoupage, nail polish and permanent markers - but not every technique or tool on every clip.

Tips for decoupage: Cut a piece of tissue or wrapping paper bigger than the few (or several) clips you want to decorate. We stick with about 6 at a time. Put glue or decoupage base coat on one side of each clip then stick to the wrong side of paper. (You can cut strips *just* the right size for the clips if you choose, but then you miss the emery board fun). AFTER glue/ first coat dries: Use and emery board or small piece of sandpaper around the edges to remove extra paper. Do this over a trash can or work surface for easy cleanup.  Coat with clear varnish or decoupage mix another time or two with drying time in between.

For painting: We painted some over or under tissue paper or solid on the wood alone (the clip with black line pattern is painted gold, but hard to tell in photo), but only ever the flat "outside" parts. Obviously, you can paint and decorate as much or as little as you like (:

Glitter nail polish (which doesn't photograph fantastically) makes a sparkly top coat!
We added extra decor and details with beloved sharpies on a couple (though they will not be the last!). Permanent markers don't always like varnish (often makes them smear) so you may want to test your combination. 

Easy to make a mass in relatively little time, these are dandy for shoeboxes (all of them!) extra additions to other small gift giving (so simple to theme!) and useful for everyone in so many ways!

Enjoy!

Second Saturday Giving: Stitch at a Time

What a fun project for March - the Sparkle Girl's birthday month, woohoo!
Stitch at a Time sewing kit using some things you might have already! If you, your church or a group pack multiple shoeboxes or share gifts with numerous individuals through an organization, these are simple to make multiples - even as an assembly line for everyone to participate!

1) Gather ingredients: We used felt, needles, pins, thread and buttons plus a piece of fabric for a ribbon. There is no wrong way to assemble. The easiest method would be placing needles and pins in a small piece of felt then put all items in a small unbreakable container. We did a little something different!

 2) Measure an approximate square from the felt to fold over thread spool (this may make more sense after you see all the photos). We used two pieces of felt, the outer slightly larger. We cut two small holes near the spool ends (fairly centered in the felt) and ran the ribbon through one hole, spool then other hole. We may include more thread or a full size spool in our shoeboxes, but this makes for a nice "all in one" size.

3) Back view of square. Tie a gentle knot - don't pull too hard! 

 4) Fill with other ingredients! Note the pins and needles are through the felt more than once so they don't slip out too easily. We stitched on a variety of buttons with a single thread folded and knotted. Each button is knotted on, but we kept the thread running (see next photo) just to make stitching easier.
 5) Close up of button stitching.

 6) Wrap ribbon around and tie sewing kit shut! Makes a nice little gift as it is - especially if the outer cover has sparkles (:  Outside can be decorated if you wish. The fabric ribbon we used is more pink in person, but looks a little sad in this picture - leftover holiday ribbons would be festive! 

Several of these could be made for little money. A group could easily collect things or have members bring in different items then craft several in an afternoon. 

We didn't include scissors or snips in our kits because we always add school scissors to shoeboxes. If we make these for another organization or function we would include something for thread snipping.

We hope you enjoy this project for gift giving or maybe for your own handy use!

Second Saturday Giving: Bracelets and more

Colorful bracelets, necklaces or even long ties (combined strings) are simple additions to shoeboxes, care packages or really ANY gift! To keep things simple we'll use the word "yarn" from now on, but any type string or yarn will work. Keep in mind thicker yarn will produce thicker (heavier) finished product and length will depend on how much work you do.

Project

Choose a single color, multi color yarn/ string or a few strands to work together. Braiding is a simple way to combine or try finger crochet. You or someone you know may crochet with a hook. Finger crochet is the same but using fingers. Following are photos to help with the basic steps:

Make a slip knot in the end of yarn. A slip knot allows the loop to be adjusted with pulling. With a tail several inches long, make a bend in the yarn and twist. make another bend to pass partly through the loop but be careful not to pull through the end. Tighten gently - but not too tight!

Reach through the first loop and pull another loop (not too long, but you can adjust each). 

Snug up each "old loop" before making next loop.

Keep going until piece is as long as you want - bracelet, necklace or colorful tie for a gift or special item.

Here are a few finished using cotton, ribbon, wool. The last shows ribbon and wool held together. You can see we didn't snug the ribbon yarn much, we liked the open look.

One ball of yarn can make MANY many bracelets - or use scraps from other projects if you have them around! Plus these are so easy to store so you can make them all year round and save up for shoeboxes, valentine's day or any event you may need several gifts to share.

Shoebox Idea

Our family has purchased one plastic shoebox we will be using to pack in November. This shoebox is where we store the bracelets and other items we will be making or buying through the year. We will make small items for the boxes our church will send as well as other activities so when this box is full we will buy another and repeat/continue (: . 

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT PLASTIC SHOEBOXES:

We have sent paperboard boxes and purchased plastic boxes in the past. After being blessed to work in a processing center - especially in the "shoebox hospital" - I (victoria) realize that purchasing plastic is only a good idea if they are pliable plastic. I admit that I have purchased dollar boxes from those type stores in the past but will not again for the shoebox project. The plastic is brittle and breaks easily. Not only the "dollar store" boxes, but any brittle plastic were what we saw most in shoebox hospital. If a box is damaged badly or creates a danger (sharp plastic, anyone?) the contents are repackaged into a safe box. *the more you know*

Due to winter weather and related schedule issues we weren't able to plan a workshop for this project. But we would enjoy making this with anyone anytime! Check back here on the blog (or follow the star studio blog) for upcoming events/ dates of workshops or contact us about meeting for a cuppa sometime. Enjoy making to give!

Second Saturday Giving

Second Saturday Giving is our new regular topic sharing ideas for myriad giving opportunities such as Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, group gifts, school exchange projects, etc. We welcome feedback and input!*

Project: "Leftover Christmas" Did you have a project you made several of for holiday gifts? Washcloths, ornaments, jewelry, etc.? If you have additional ones you can start saving for the 2014 season. If you received a crafty kit for a gift you can use those supplies and skills for later projects that would be perfect for shoeboxes, nursing home visits, as well as other gift giving opportunities. Shown below are trivets made from pot holder loom and loops. This year we also plan to keep our eyes open for kits on sale to broaden our skills and try some new ideas. Often times kits come with all supplies save glue or something basic. 

Shoebox Idea: Save small bottles and remove labels (soak in soapy water, if needed) then fill with small (age group appropriate) shoebox treasures like beads, pencil erasers, nails, screws, fabric pins, hair pins, etc. The ones pictured obviously need some soaking!

Coming in February: A project with step-by-step instructions that will also be good for Valentine's Day gifts PLUS a live local workshop! Check back here for supply list and workshop details!

*this is a co-post with follow the star studio