No Sew Tablet (Book) Cover

It's been a year and a half since anyone posted here so I fully understand if this post is totally ignored. But I still wanted to share my latest creation.

For Christmas I got a new Kindle. While waiting for it's delivery, I spent days shopping online for the perfect case. I didn't like anything I saw in the Amazon marketplace but more than one that I loved on Etsy. But I also didn't want to shell out 1/3 the price of my device for a case. I began hunting tutorials and came across a few that I really liked (one in particular for it's wording alone) but I still wasn't satisfied with what I saw.

So....I decided to make my own.

Step #1: Pick the proper book. It needs to be similar in size to the device it will house...and it needs to have a decent title. You're going to appear to be reading this particular book for...well...possibly the rest of eternity so you might want to avoid titles like The 24 Hour Diet or The Beanie Baby Handbook. I went with Agatha Christie's Curtain. Can't go wrong with Hercule Poirot. I also pickeused out fabric to line the book with that compliments it's colors (I like a festive lining). Walmart has lots of beautiful fat quarters. I actually used a fat half but could have gotten away with a quarter easily.

 Step #2: Disembowel the book. This part actually a bit painful....for me and the book. You simply score along the edges of the inside cover with a pair of sharp scissors or an exacto knife (I really need a new one of those- this was more sawing than scoring). Yes, I kept the innards of this book. I plan on reading it. It's the least I could do after gutting it in such a fashion.

 Step #3: This is where I differ greatly from the tutorials I perused. I cut pieces of lightweight poster board to match the book size (the title page made a good template), then fusible quilt batting to match the poster board. I did use actual cardboard for the spine for extra stability.

 Step #4: Cut the fabric so that it will cover each piece and have plenty to wrap around. One of the faces needs to have enough fabric on one side to cover the entire front cover, spine, and a few inches onto the back cover. Fuse the quilt batting to the fabric with a hot iron.

 Step #5: None of the tutorials I saw inclued pockets. I love pockets. I know that the kindle itself should hold all the information I need without my packing around a bunch of paper slips, but darn it all- I wanted pockets. A bit of fusible interfacing and the finished edge of the fabric makes a lovely top seam for the pockets.

 Step #5: Glue the fabric to everything! Well, maybe not everything but it sure as heck felt like it. Basically you're wrapping the poster board like a present. A very sticky present. (Fabric glue works really well. I used clear Tacky Glue but if I were to do it again I think I'd go with something like Fabri-Tac). Remember that extra length for the front cover? Don't glue it down. We'll get to that in a minute.

 Step #5: Let everything dry. Clothes pins work great holding everything in place until it all sets up. Be careful not to glue you items to say, the table top, or a book you thought you could press them flat with, or another piece of paper, or your hands.

 Step #6: Attach elastic bands on all 4 corners of the back cover to hold your device. I laid my kindle down on the cover and decided where to place the first strap, then I used a piece of paper to make a template to be sure each corner had the same angle. This is when I added the pockets to the front cover but alas, I forgot to take a picture. You're also going to glue a piece of elastic to the inside cover to keep the case shut.

 Step #7: Glue the front cover in first laying the unfinished edge across the spine. Then add the covered spine (I added an elastic loop for a stylus incase I ever decide I want one), and the back cover.

 Step #8: Once it's all glued together I stacked The NIV Exhaustive Concordance and Miss Manners Guide for the Turn-of-the-Millennium to weight the entire thing down and left it over night. If you do not have the above mentioned titles, that dictionary you haven't used since the Internet became a household necessity will work just fine.

 Step #9: The next morning you can unstack the books and add the device of your choosing. (If you look very carefully at the right side of the spine you can see where I didn't leave quite enough fabric to cover the entire inside of the case. Oh well. You live, you learn....you craft, you learn even more.)

 Voila!!

Removing myself from the group

Figured this was the best way to get the message out, rather than comment on one of the posts.

I haven't blogged under GirlGoneGreat since my wedding almost 5 years ago.  I did start a new blog in '08 that I have been very active with: www.otherpiecesofme.com.  I also blog for FLOR's design blog, Musings, here: www.flor.com/blog.

I'm going to go ahead and remove myself from this blog, though I would love to keep in 'virtual' touch with all of you since you were my first blog friends.

Best to all!!

--Girl aka Coasting anon (over at my 'new' blog) aka Miriam (IRL)

Clothes pin Apron

 I realize no one's been here in nearly a year (maybe longer), but I feel guilty totally abandoning such a wonderful creative outlet.  So I thought I'd post my latest creation.  It's nothing supremely special, but I did make it all by myself & that qualifies it for Nudge-Nudge status.

I made a clothespin apron.  It's just a simple 2 (giant) pocket half apron made to hold the massive number of clothes pins I need to hang the 85,000 articles of clothing the FarmHands dirty each day.  I had one of those pin bags but it didn't stand up to years of use and was beginning to fall to pieces on me.

I emptied my scrap drawer and pulled out one of  the largest pieces of non-flannel fabric I had and stitched this up.  I had to to a bit of piecing together as I didn't have quite enough of any one fabric to make the waist band with.

 The above picture is the apron empty and hanging sweetly (Lilly May and Buddy Joe needed to get in on the act, too).  Below is it stuffed to the gills with clothes pins.

It almost makes me excited to do laundry tomorrow......almost.

anyone here?

So, I started a craft blog of sorts. But then I felt silly because I'm already part of this one, as um, quiet, as it has been here lately.  So here's what I've been crocheting:

The pattern is called "Spring Fling Beanie" by Busy Mom Designs.
It's super easy works up so much faster than blankets, and is fun to wear. Or give away.  The top one is for a 5 year old little girl who has just begun treatments at St. Jude, and the bottom is for my cousin's 1 year old little girl.

anyone still here?

So, I have posted these elsewhere.... but just because I can't stand how neglected this blog has been for a YEAR, here you go, if you are reading:

 

 "wild roses"

A good friend from way back makes something like this and then puts them on some really cute knit hats that she also makes.

Thankfully, this one looks cuter in my daughter's hair than on the table. 

Resurrection Eggs

I thought my 3 year old would like to do this this Easter, so rather than pay for some, I made my own using things I had around the house. (I did have to print the picture of the donkey, the praying hands, and the sword, and I used mailing tape as "lamination"). Different sources tell you to use different things, so I compiled my favorites and made my own.

Make your own Resurrection eggs

1.Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The people waved palm branches.
(Matthew 21:1-11)

Item -- Piece of palm branch or a donkey.

2. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
(Matthew 26:14-15)

Item -- 3 coins or plastic “silver” money

3. Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples.
(Matthew 26:26)
Item – bread

4. Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray to God.

(Matthew 26:36-39)

Item- praying hands

5. Soldiers came to take Jesus away. 

One of Jesus’ friends tried to protect him with a sword.

(Matthew 26:47-52)

Item- sword

6. Soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head.

(John 19:2)

Item -- Small thorny branch, or a large thorn all by itself.

7. Jesus carried his own cross.

(John 19:17)

 Item – toothpicks or Popsicle stick cut and glued in a cross form; or, a small plastic cross from a Christmas ornament or necklace.

8. Jesus was nailed to a cross and 

his side was pierced with a sword.

(John 19:18)

 Item -- 3 nails

9. They gave Jesus vinegar mixed 

with gall on a sponge to drink.

 (Matthew 27:34)

Item -- A small sponge

 10. After he died, they 

wrapped Jesus in a cloth.

(John 19:40) 

Item – cloth 

11. They placed a big rock in front of 

Jesus’ tomb where he was buried.

(Matthew 27:60)

Item -- A small rock

12. Jesus is alive!

(Matthew 28:6)

Item- empty egg

a variation on my usual...

The texture of this yarn made the border ruffle.
Hopefully it's not too frilly for a precious little boy!

attention sewers!

Please welcome my friend "southern barbie" to the blogosphere! Check out her sewing blog here.

Flock of Seagulls Butterflies

Almost 2 years ago, when Nudge-Nudge was brand new, Phinner made some really cool paper butterflies. A few days later she made another one just for my BabyGirl. By the way, Phin, that picture still hangs on BabyGirl's bedroom door!

A few weeks later QM (my mother) ordered the kit so she could make some for BabyGirl's room. She blew up the patterns on a copier so we'd have all different sizes.

Last summer she gave me the kit & I started making them. I got a bit obsessed & spent a few days cutting out scrap booking paper, but I never finished most of them. Today I was cleaning out some stuff in my room when I found the unfinished butterflies & decided they needed to be put together.

In the end I made 14 butterflies. One was used last summer as a gift tag on a wedding present. The other 13 will be hung from the girls' bedroom ceiling somehow. How exactly, has yet to be decided. I'm considering tacking them to thin satin ribbon & pinning it into the ceiling, but I doubt my husband will go for that. :) I'm also thinking about cutting a few thin branches from our woods & hanging them from that making a sort of mobile to hang from the light in their room.

One of my favorites is the tiny one I made with random scrap pieces from other butterflies. I hated to throw the scraps away, so I glued them all on a solid piece & then cut this out.

Here's another one that was collaged together with bits of tissue paper. I love the texture of it.

And one final "flutterby." I love this dark blue paper. It came in the kit, so I'm not sure what the name of it is, but it looks like a glossy mulberry paper to me. It also has a lot of texture, but the shine makes me think of new leather.

I'll post a picture when I get them all finished & hung up.

it's DONE, really!

I "finished" Bear's blanket just before Valentine's Day, but it looked like it needed something to finish it off around the edges. I let my daughter pick the color she wanted me to use for the trim, and she adimantly stated she wanted pink and not turquoise when I held them up. I had hoped for a deeper pink, but the selection at the superstore was limited.

Last night, I finally tried to do the pattern on the link that Needlefingers posted in her comment, but let's just say it looked even more crooked than the rest of the blanket... Couldn't get the scallops even for the life of me. I thought about repeating the pattern I used in the blanket, but really wanted to try something different. So I did something simple, and I like the result.

What's everyone else working on lately?

SpongeBob Squarepants Cake

I hadn't shared anything for awhile, so I thought I'd show you the cake I made for my grandson's eighth birthday. Pretzels for the arms and legs, half-doughnuts for the shoes, cookie monster plastic eyes that came with another set, I added a little icing to them. Icing covered pretzel nose, and marshmallow sleeves. The teeth are little squares of styrofoam, but, after my son heard me complaining because I couldn't find anything but styrofoam to use, he told me I could have used Chiclets!

my first wedding cakes

crochet experts, help?!

Does anyone have an easy border idea that would work when this is done? I want to frame it with a solid color, but the idea of adding a border intimidates me. I mean, I haven't ventured to any new patterns yet!

The accidental pillow

The day I made the taggies & Bitsy's diaper bag, I attempted to make her a doll blanket out of scrap fabric. I've never been good at patchwork & discovered early on that I didn't have enough material to make a blanket big enough to wrap up her babies. Then I had a brilliant idea for making a blanket binding that would make it just the right size...but since I am neither an engineer nor someone who can visualize a finished project easily, my brilliant idea turned the blanket into a boxy pillow.

In the end it won't matter. Bitsy's only 18 months old. She'd be thrilled if I gave her a paper sack full of fabric scraps for Christmas. A pillow of her very own might make her explode from excitement.

Monkey Cake

Here is the cake I made for my daughter's 3rd birthday.

Even more taggies & another diaper bag

I know I'm turning into a one trick pony around here, but I can't help myself. I love making these things. I think after the first of the year I may make a few & try to sell them on Etsy. These are actually for my Grandmother's two tea cup poodle puppies (they weigh in at 2 1/2 and 5 pounds each). She noticed they love to drag stuffed toys around by their tags & asked me to make them one. I found two different dog themed fabrics in my scrap basket, so each pup is getting their own.

The bag is Bitsy's Christmas gift. It's a baby doll diaper bag very similar to the one I made for her sister a year & a half ago. She's already tried to take it away from me, but I spirited it away to be wrapped.

election day blanket

I finished this baby blanket for my friend's newborn son yesterday, Election Day. Does the fact that it's crooked have any political significance? j/k

I really need to learn some more stitches, but I'm doing well to make something usable with the little crochet that I can do.

With fall here, perhaps some of you other "hookers" and "knitters" have projects to share?

mermaid cake continued

I just had to share a pic that showed what the cake looked like before it faded in the car.

So the main differences between the pattern from the site I listed in the previous post's comments and mine are that I used a 6" pan for the head instead of 8". And I used fondant for the scales instead of necco wafers. (I also used fondant for the waves, bubbles, flowers, facial features, etc. and that's brown sugar at teh bottom to look like sand).

Hannah's Mermaid cake

I kept waiting for my sis to post this herself, but since she hasn't yet, I have to share it with you.
She made my daughter a mermaid cake for her 3rd birthday.

monkeying around

I've begun planning for Juliana's Halloween costume. She's going to be Curious George and we're going to try to get Brett to be the Man in the Yellow Hat. I'm pretty cheap, so I've been thinking of cost-effective ways to turn Juliana into a monkey. I got her brown leggings (which she will wear under skirts in the fall anyway), and a brown shirt (also usable at other times besides the 1 day). Today I made her monkey ears out of felt and hair clips. I clipped them onto a headband so that they would be in front of our existing ears. I think I'm going to get some beige felt to put inside them too, but our little town didn't have any. She will also carry around a banana... I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a fake one. I bet they probably have one at Hobby Lobby or something. Anyhoo, here are the monkey ears (pardon J's bedhead... she just woke up. She'll be wearing loopy pigtails with her outfit.)