Make It Work #2 | Occasionally Crafty: Make It Work #2

Wednesday, February 27

Make It Work #2

Hey everyone! It's the end of the month, which means it's time for another Make it Work moment here at Occasionally Crafty. If you missed it last month, the idea is to upcycle, recycle or craft using those leftovers that are building up in your house. Make sure you are following us on Facebook, and you can join in the fun. Head over to our page and share a link to a make it work craft of yours and we'll share them all throughout the day!

Laura:  
The craft I decided to share with you today is something all of us with young kids could use. Do your kids have a hard time holding playing cards? Well all you need is a chip clip: 

Some cardstock, which all came from my scraps, and I used a little white paper to make a template.


Something to adhere the paper to the chip clip- I used my trusty dusty Xyron sticker maker, I love that thing.

And something to put their names on it-- I used sticker letters.


Add some playing cards and you have the perfect tool to help your kids hold those slippery cards while you play Go Fish, Old Maid, or whatever you love to play!


Valerie:
I decided to use this opportunity to finish one of those projects in my half-finished sewing pile.  See, last summer, we bought our daughter this cute denim skirt from Old Navy.   As soon as we got it home, I realized that it was a bit shorter on my long-legged daughter than I was comfortable with.  Modesty is important to me, both for myself and my family, so we decided to keep the skirt and pair it with some cute leggings.
Well, this year- it still fits great (with room to grow) around the waist, but is, of course, even shorter!  I decided to "make it work" by adding a sweet little ruffle to the bottom of the skirt.  By doing this, I've given us at least another year of use out of this skirt.
And yeah, I'm kind of a cheapskate when it comes to clothes.  I can't help it....
By the way- this would also be a cute way to upcycle a pair of too-short jeans....
This post is already getting long, so I'm not going to give a full tutorial.  I think I'll save that for another day.  But I promise it's really easy to do.  I used leftover fabric (that my sister mailed me from Korea!), a skirt that obviously we already had, and that's it.  It was also quick- about 30 minutes from start to finish.  Just in case you're dying to try it right now- a few quick steps in summary:
1.  Cut your fabric 1 1/2 times the circumference of the skirt bottom, with the width as long as you want it to go.  Mine was about 7 inches wide.
2.  Hem the long sides.
3.  Sew it into a tube, right sides together.
4.  Turn it right side out and sew a basting stitch at the top to gather the fabric into a ruffle.  Pull gathers until it fits around the outside of the skirt.
5. Pin the ruffled tube of the fabric on the outside of the skirt, then sew in place.
I kind of want one for myself.  Would that be weird? :)
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3 comments:

  1. Laura! Your idea to use a bag clip for a card holder is genious! My five year old and I play uno a lot and I have been thinking she could use a card holder like this. Thanks for the great idea! Valerie's skirt makes me want to learn how to sew... that is such a good idea too!

    I am not a big facebook fan but I sure would love to participate in your make it work moment.

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  2. Laura, totally loving this idea! I remember the days of playing 'Go Fish' with the kids and trying to help them hold the cards properly {so no one else could see them} Genius! PS I want a sticker maker, too!
    Valerie, the skirt is so adorable! It would have been a shame to just give it away, you are so clever. And I think it would be totally acceptable for you to make one for yourself {in your size, of course}. That material is gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing at Wicked Good Wednesdays last week!

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  3. I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEE this skirt!!
    It's cute and beautiful. Wonderful idea :)

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