No-sew Bear Scout Den Flag

My mom is a cub scout den leader, specifically for the bears.  Awhile back the scouts decided to update their program.  My mom was reading the new materials, and there was some instruction about displaying the den flag at all den meetings.  Problem:  the den didn't have a flag.  So at the last pack meeting she asked her scouts what they wanted on a den flag.  They came up with a list of things.  They obviously thought there should be at least one bear.  And maybe some trees and grass.  They wanted the dominant colors to be yellow and navy blue, since those are the bear colors.  And one of the boys thought there should be something that was hot pink.  (They all drew sketches on a white board.  Some of them filled the flag with LOTS of stuff...)

After my mom got this list she came to me and asked me to make her a flag.  Being a busy graduate student, I decided that it sounded like a nice way to procrastinate.  But I didn't want to procrastinate too long, so I wanted to avoid pulling out the sewing machine.  Here is what I did.

First, we had to decide how to incorporate what the scouts wanted in a somewhat sophisticated and simple way.  We initially thought we would go with one bear head in the middle, with a couple of pine trees on either side.  So I got on the internet and started looking up clip art (coming up with your own designs takes time.  Unless you are a crazy good artist who can get their drawings right without needing a giant eraser. So use clip art!)

After looking at about 100 websites I found an awesome bear head.  Unfortunately, most of the bear images on google involve teddy bears, or bear heads attached to bear bodies.  We just wanted the head and some claws.  This image was perfect.  Especially for scouts. We decided that the hot pink element could be a fish jumping out of a river, and that we would write the troop number on the fish belly. 

Here is the draft I made in microsoft Publisher. I changed the page size to match the end flag size (28"x24"), and arranged and resized all the clip art until it looked right. Then, rescaling all of the separate components, including the text, by the same amount, I printed them all out on a transparency. I believe I reduced them all to 25% of their original size. In many programs there is a "rescale" option, so you don't even have to do any math.

A few months ago my church building decided that they didn't need their "antiquated" overhead projector anymore, and they put it in the foyer labeled "free". So I claimed it. 

I marked the outline of the flag on the projector glass using a dry erase marker. I rescaled this outline by the same amount as the clipart. Because I reduced everything to 25% of their original sizes, I did the same with the flag outline. Therefore, the rectangle on the glass was only 7x6", a very manageable size to draw. I then moved the projector away from the wall until the outline was 28x24", my target flag size. Since all of the clip art components had been printed at the same scale, I didn't need to move the projector anymore. I just taped felt to the wall and traced each component. Here is a picture of the fish outline. You can see the outline against the wall. I used blue painters tape to stick the felt to the wall, and used a white colored pencil to trace (if you are using light colored felt, a dark colored pencil should be used).

Here is the outline of the bear after I pulled it off the wall:

Since this is a felt flag, and it isn't going to be thrown in the washing machine, you can paint the felt with cheap acrylic paint. If you clearly trace the lines onto the felt, it is very easy to fill in the lines with color. For the bear, I primarily used black for outlining, but around the ears you can see some light brown highlights, and the teeth and claws were white. The tree has a few light green highlights on the top branched. The fish was a little bit different since the details were so fine. I ended up drawing the little eye and fins with a fine tipped sharpie. Note that the felt will soak up some of the paint, so you will have to apply a couple of coats of the lighter colors. After everything is painted and cut out, just hot glue them onto a bigger piece of felt! (Fabrics other than felt can be used, but depending on the fabric the flag will have much more drape. Felt is slightly stiff, so it doesn't fold and distort the awesome designs when it is hung.)

Here is the original clip art bear for reference. I ended up accidentally flipping my transparency backwards, which is why the felt bear is a mirror image of the clip art bear. In this case it turned out just fine, but if exact placement matters in one of your projects, be sure and check before you trace!

The flag is hanging on a stand made out of a few pieces of pvc pipe. There are several tutorials for making such a stand on pinterest. The loops are also made out of hot glue and felt. Later on, my mom added the bottom loops and used a plastic rod for displaying scout awards.

Overall, this was a very quick way to create a flag, without needing any sewing skills. An overhead projector is a great tool for enlargements, and I will post a few more projects where a projector definitely came in handy! (A more modern projector will work as well, but if it is ceiling mounted it will be much harder to get the sizing right.) 

Rapunzel Wig

This year my little sister wanted to dress up as Rapunzel.  Now her hair is pretty long, but Rapunzel requires a giant braid.  This is what I came up with:

I looked up several tutorials about making a wig.  Quite a few blogs have instructions for making a wig by cutting the legs off of a pair of tights.

Do NOT use this method.

At first, it looks great.  I hand stitched a bunch of yarn in rows onto the edge of the tights.  I put the tights on a wig stand to give it some shape, did some fancy braiding, made a nice straight part... and then I took it off the wig stand.  Tights don't really have much shape.  As soon as the styrofoam head was gone, the wig started to collapse.  So I hurried and put it on my own head, thinking that if I stuck a head back in it would go back to being smooth and round.  It didn't.  The tights stretched out, and all the yarn slid down the sides of my head until it looked like I had shaved the top of my head and put on a very thick sweatband.  Not attractive.  I tried to put in on my sister and sort of push the hair where I wanted it, but that didn't help at all.  Also, have you ever tried to put a pair of tights on your head?  Impossible.  Getting a pair of tights onto a small toddler would be even worse.  (Another note about the tights method:  tying a knot in the top of a pair of tights looks ridiculous.  Sort of like a melted pom pom.)

So, when making a wig, do NOT use tights as the base.

Got it?

Good.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), I only got one picture of the disaster wig:

This was after the wig fell apart and I undid the braid.

 So, the more effective method is to crochet a hat, using a smaller hook size than you usually would, resulting in a very tight stitch so that the hat stays hat-shaped even when there isn't a head inside.  There are many patterns for crochet hats online- just type "crochet beanie patterns" into google and choose one, preferably one that uses sc instead of dc.

After you have a hat that fits fairly snugly, you need some hair.  I used two skeins of Loops and Threads Impeccable, along with some lighter cream colored leftovers I had from another project- the two tones made an awesome highlight effect.

I measured my little sister's height- from the ankles, up the back, and all the way over her head to her eyebrows.  I then DOUBLED this length.  This is so you can fold each strand in half and tie it to the hat with a crochet hook.

When you have a nice strand length, find a big open area of floor and grab someone who can throw  accurately.  Hold the strands of yarn down with one hand, and toss the ball of yarn back and forth with the other hand until you have a pile of yarn all one length- hopefully they are all pretty close to the length you measured (it is okay if they are slightly too long.  You can even up the ends after you are done braiding).  Grab each end of the pile and cut through all the loops.

If you are careful about stacking and cutting the yarn, hopefully it won't get tangled.  Well, some of it WILL get tangled.  It is pretty much unavoidable.  The above picture may or may not have been taking after several hours of untangling.  I blame it on the tights that didn't work.

Now you have to attach all the hair to the hat.  Choose a straight column of stitches for the part.  Stick a crochet hook through one half of the stitch, then through a few strands of yarn.  Pull the ends through the loop to make a nice knot.  Do the same on the other half of the stitch to make a straight part line.  You might want to add a few rows on each side- you need a lot of yarn to make a thick enough layer to cover the hat.

Continue the part line up almost to the center of the hat.

I put a few stitches around in sort of a semi circle so that the back would be covered.  In this picture you can also see that I added an extra layer next to the part.

Then I put the remaining strands along the front edge of the hat on each side of the part.

Flip the hat over, smooth the strands out, and pull everything into a ponytail.  I tied a piece of yarn around all the strands, and covered it with a piece of ribbon later.  A wig stand is very helpful.

To keep the strands from shifting around, I tacked the strands down with some additional strands of yarn.  I threaded a yarn needle and then ran a piece of yarn through the center of about an inch of the top layer of hair.  Then I stuck the needle into the hat.  Do this around the entire wig- I did three rows.  This keeps the hair smooth, but because the stitches are running through the strands it is not very noticeable.

I would take it off the stand and try it on before continuing sometime during the stitching, just in case the yarn starts sliding around or there are any spots that need some extra layers.

After that comes the fun part- braiding and decorating.  I got some flowers from Michaels, pulled them off the stems, then hot glued them to the braid.  Flowers can cover up any stitches that might be showing.

The wig looks great.  We do have to help my sister get it on and off, but I think that it will work just fine on Halloween.  It will definitely keep her ears warm!

Office Makeover Part 3: DIY Office Decor

Even with new curtains and wall coloring, the office still needed a bit more.  First, I tried my hand at some abstract wall art.  I looked into getting a few canvases, but considering that canvases are made out of fabric and wood, they are terribly overpriced.  Instead, I found two rectangular pieces of styrofoam, stretched some muslin around them, and secured the fabric with a layer of duct tape.  Then I started mixing acrylics and outlined some random shapes, referencing a few "real" abstract art pieces as I went:

Eventually I ended up with this:

And here it is on the wall!

Next, I wanted a pencil holder, but those cheap, boring black compartment things at office stores are not very appealing.  But the pencil holder on this blog did:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-turn-a-p-78646

Does anyone EVER reference real phone books anymore?!  I sure don't.  I think it was put to good use:

The instructions on the blog were very straightforward.  The only change I made was to cut out petal shapes from cardstock and attach them to the bottom with duct tape.  

Obviously, the problem with this pencil holder is that it doesn't store paperclips and such very well.  So of course I had to find yet another DIY project to solve that problem!  I found this post for a triangular wall caddy:

http://www.brit.co/triangular-wall-caddy/

Here is my version:

These colors really tied the office together, since I used the same paints for the curtains and the wall art.  And it holds so much stuff!  These instructions were very good, though I did connect the triangles with duct tape before sticking them on the wall with a couple of command strips.  I also recently finished a cross stitch that matched the color scheme, so I figured that I might as well hang it up too. 

That is it for DIY projects.  The only other improvement that I found helpful was to rearrange the tables.  Having two tables line each wall made the office feel very boxy.  I traded in the original tables for a couple of smaller ones that I arranged in an L-shape.  I still have plenty of working space, but less space to build stacks, which is always a good thing! 

Here are some before and after shots:

I consider this project a success!  The office space is definitely more inviting.  It is a place that I want to work in.  It is incredible what a little color and some table rearranging will do!

Office Makeover Part 2: DIY Striped Curtains

After I finished "painting" the wall, I decided that the windows also needed some serious help.  The office originally had these disgusting army green colored window coverings.  They were covered in spots of paint and a thick layer of dirt.  To top off their ineffectiveness, the only way to adjust them was to untie a rope and pulley system from the wall and start yanking to see if you could get anything to happen.  About the only thing this was good for was creating dust clouds.  Here are the lovely original window shades:

With a bit of hard core screwdriver twisting, this roll of plastic coated canvas has now been thrown into the hallway.  Somehow, I don't think anyone is going to wander by and claim them...

As a replacement, I made myself some striped curtains.  My favorite resource was the following blog post:
http://justagirlandherblog.com/diy-painted-striped-curtains-tutorial/

I too used craft smart paint (only $0.50 at Michaels during sales!).  I used 20 ounces of citron colored paint for both curtains.  I did mix in a bit of textile medium, but since I am not planning to wash these it wasn't really necessary.

Instead of using curtains, I bought a couple of white flat twin sized sheets from Walmart.  Most flat sheets have a 3 inch wide hem on the top.  If you rip the seams on either side of this hem and resew the edges to leave an opening, you have curtains for $4 each!

Each of my stripes was about 9.25" wide.  Blue painters tape worked great- there wasn't any bleeding.  Reminder:  account for the width of the tape when measuring the stripes!

 

I used a foam brush to apply the paint instead of a roller.  Rollers tend to splatter, and I rather like the look of the brush strokes through the curtains when the light shines behind them. 

Curtain hardware is expensive.  There are very few tension rods that would span a 100" wide window, and they aren't cheap either.  Instead of doing traditional curtain hanging, I reappropriated a couple of the screws from the old blinds and tied about 10 lengths of fishing line between them.  Fishing line is about $2.50.  I wrapped a piece of duct tape around the bundle of lines and threaded them through the resewn hems of the sheets. No, it doesn't look as classy as a curtain rod would, but it is a decent looking window covering that can block out the sun when necessary!

For added support I suck a command hook in the center of the line, mainly to prevent the curtains from sliding towards the center:

And here it is!  Finished curtains!  A HUGE improvement over the previous canvas thing, don't you think?

Office Makeover Part 1: Wall

This semester I have officially become a grad student.  As part of this change, I have acquired an office.  It is only slightly bigger than a closet, but it is MINE.  Most importantly, it has a door, and thankfully I was one of the lucky few who got a window.  I am really enjoying the natural light, not to mention the view.

The previous office occupant didn't do much to improve the stark white closet appearance of the office space.  And by "much" I mean "nothing".  I get the feeling that she rarely used the space, due to the copious amounts of dust I had to clean up.  Here are some pictures I took the first time I walked into the office:

See what I mean?  I wouldn't be very happy working in this kind of environment.  Also, for perspective, the one time I had a meeting with the previous occupant, her office chair took up that whole space in front of the computer.  I attended the meeting from a chair in the hallway.  Classy, right?

Clearly, something had to be done.  This post includes details on how I created an office space that I enjoy being in for less than $50.

First, let's start with adding some color to a wall.  I thought about painting an accent wall (yes, the department does allow painting).  However, painting is kind of messy, and would require transportation of too much equipment across campus.  Also, it is rather permanent.  If I ever wanted to change the color of the wall (which is a likely possibility given that I have 5 years of school left), I would have to prime AND paint, and who wants to do that?

The budget-friendly painting alternative I found was to starch a piece of fabric to one of the walls.  Because I wanted to avoid seams on the wall, and because buying a single cut of fabric large enough to cover the wall would be extremely expensive at a place like Joann's, I went to Walmart and bought a king size flat sheet for about $15.  It wasn't quite big enough to reach the ceiling, but that isn't an issue.  It covered enough of the wall to add some color.  (Plus, there is a super annoying pipe sticking out of the wall that I didn't want to work around, so that is where the sheet ends :) )

Here are the primary blog posts that I used for instruction.  The first one is my favorite:
http://www.howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-wallpaper-using-fabric.html
http://kristendirmeier.blogspot.com/2008/09/purple.html

I ran into a few problems doing this.  First, my wall is bigger than a door.  I couldn't starch the whole thing, line up the sheet, and get it on straight before the starch dried.  I was doing this project alone (I don't think that another person would have been able to fit in that office), so I didn't have anyone to help hold the sheet up.  Therefore, on my first attempt I relied a little bit too heavily on the topcoat, hoping that if I put enough starch on the front surface of the sheet it would soak through and stick to the wall.  I will tell you right now that this is probably NOT the best idea.  It sort of worked...at least it looked pretty good when the sheet was wet:

That afternoon I went home with that self-satisfied successful DIY feeling.  But the next day I came back to discover that most of the wall hadn't really stuck to the wall and had dried in some pretty terrible looking wrinkles:

Clearly, there was a reason for putting a significant layer of starch directly onto the wall.  So much for taking the seemingly simpler route.

For the redo, I misted half of the sheet with water and peeled it off the wall.  (Yes, it does pull off nicely when damp, and doesn't affect the paint underneath).  I then quickly slopped a liberal amount of starch directly onto the wall.  I smoothed the sheet as fast as possible.  I still had to restarch a few spots, but it worked out pretty well.  I then repeated the process on the other side, though I had to tape up the still-wet first side to keep it from pulling off.

So, here are my tips that I would follow if I were to repeat this project:

-If you are covering a large space on your own, line the fabric up how you want it and secure it with tape or pins.  Then fold half of it back and tape it.  That way you can spread starch on the wall without crawling underneath the fabric or pulling the sheet up and ruining any previous work.  After the starch is on grab the taped back half and stick it to the wall.  It should still be lined up.

-I didn't experience any fabric shrinkage.  If you would like you can cut the fabric before sticking it on the wall.  It would be easier that way, but you also have to have good alignment skills to get it back up perfectly in place.

-For this project I had to make about 3 batches of starch.  Of course, I basically did the project twice.  To get a king sized sheet on the wall it would probably take about 2 batches.  (The recipe is in the first link).

-Finally, I would NOT put a layer of starch on top of the fabric like the second blog post instructs.  Maybe it was because I did it twice, but I ended up with white splotches all over the wall (hopefully you can sort of see them.  Maybe?):

Unless you are using a heavier fabric, the layer against the wall should be plenty to hold the fabric in place.  I think that I will attempt to bring some dish soap and a toothbrush up to campus one of these days to see if I can get the worst spots out.  I'm not sure why the starch dried clear in the other blog post...

Regardless of how imperfect it may be, it really helped the office space to look better:

The clean up for this project was super easy.  Starch and water don't stain, so I didn't have to worry about getting drips on the carpet- they just wipe up.  And the only things I had to bring to campus were a couple of mason jars full of starch, a foam brush, and a plastic rectangle for smoothing.  Nice, huh?

There are a couple more office makeover blog posts if you are interested in the finished product.  Make sure to leave any questions or comments below! :)