The Next Craft

Guess what I'm crafting today? :)

The Next Craft

Mags: What are you crafting this weekend?

Tripod Lamp

I loved the look of the tripod lamp when I first saw it in Bored and Crafty.

When I chanced upon a bunch of spare E27s that Hubs got a while back, decisive action had to be taken. 

We have exactly four - 3 large and 1 mini tripods at home (told you we have multiples of everything). Since my aluminium tripod holds a chock load of memories (It was Daddy's first ever tripod, and it followed us wherever we went), it was chosen to be our living room's first floor lamp. 

I could stare at its weathered finishing all day long. :) 

Still sturdy after all those years of service. :)

The lovely extension rod locks.

After making a trip to the neighbourhood hardware store for suitable electrical parts, yours truly happily assembled the whole set up (properly, if I may add).

Instead of seeing light flood our living room, I heard a muted "pop".  

Upon inspection, I found that I had blown out the fuse of our 4-gang extension cord i.e. voltage overload. In my excitement, I had forgotten to check one minor (but crucial) detail - that wattage/voltage!

Good thing no other electrical equipment blew out and most importantly, it didn't start any fire.

Praise God that I live to see another day! :p

The look of the 1st attempt.

Not wanting to take any more chances, I skipped to IKEA to get a lamp system, rigged it (safely) to the tripod and voila! A working and safe floor lamp. :)

The completed lamp, without any blowouts.

Mags: A diffuser shade would be better, yes? :)

Swiffer Refills

I recently rediscovered the joys of swiffing (as opposed to sweeping and vacuuming) when I purchased a swiffer for less than RM10.

Note: Swiffer is the brand name for P&G's line of cleaning products, that incorporates the use of disposable cleaning cloths for its floor sweeper. KAO has its Magiclean floor sweeper, and 3M its Scotchbrite floor sweeper. I just stick to swiffer because its faster to pronounce.

However, the disposable sheets (those you load on the swiffer) were getting to me. Besides being less-environmentally-friendly (by creating more landfill waste), they will eventually eat a significant chunk of our household budget.

SWIFFER REFILLS

A Quick Tutorial

Things you will need:-

• Swiffer head (for measurement)
• Microfibre cloth

Got them all? Then here we go! :)

1) Measure the cloth against your swiffer head and ensure that you have at least 1 inch allowance all around.

Happily for me, the pack of microfibre cloth I got makes exactly for 3 refills per piece.
Now have 15 refills at my disposal (pun intended). :)

 2) Fold the cloth slightly more than 1/3 of the length of the swiffer head, then flip back about 1 inch of cloth.

3) Secure both ends with pins (or mini crocodile clips, whichever you prefer).

4) Using a blanket stitch, sew the exposed end shut (to reduce future fraying).

5) Follow with a running stitch below the blanket stitch. Repeat on the other side.

Time saving tip: Sew only running stitches on the side that came with blanket stitches

6) Turn the piece inside-out.

7) Ta-daa! Completed piece. :)

8) Slide one side of the swiffer's head into your newly-made pocket.

Snug as a bug

 9) Gently straighten the bottom piece, fold the ends of the cloth, and tuck the corners into the grip.

10) Ready to rock & roll! :)

Time for some serious cleaning!

Easy, right? :)


The best bits:-

• Turn the cloth inside out to double the life of your refills. 
• Use an old tooth brush, or a pet hair comb (those made of rubber) to remove hair from the used refills before you wash them.
• You can use your refills to mop your floor too... just dunk them in your floor wash (or vinegar rinse), squeeze out the excess water, load and mop!

If you are happier with a double-sided pocket refill for your swiffer, look up one crochet pattern here: http://cleaninginspiration.com/motivation/swiffer-sweeper-crochet-pattern/

Happy crafting, folks! :)

Shirt Cushion Cover

It has been a while, hasn't it?
Before I ramble further, this post will be done as briefly as possible (promise!).

Since I'm currently taking a break from work, I decided to (finally) complete my shirt cushion cover set, inspired by my fellow pinners in Pinterest. :)

The result:-

Lovingly hand-stitched from Hub's shirts that 'shrank'



They are a comfort to hug and smell heavenly (with my favourite fabric softener)! :)

As I made them, my fidgety crafty side decided on multiple (and larger) projects to do during the next few weeks.

Only after the excitement of completing the covers died down did I realise that I forgot to take photos of the process. Boo...

Mother-Daughter Summer Set

This set is for a lovely friend and her adorable daughter. n_n

100% Hand Stitched.
Materials: Cotton Fabric, T-Shirt Fabric & Acrylic Thread.

Project Start: 3 May 2012, 2.00 pm
Project End:  4 May 2012, 6.30 am

Girly Sun Dress

My first sun dress, specially made for a princess who will be turning ONE next month. :)

100% hand stitched.
Materials: Cotton Fabric & Multicoloured Acrylic Thread

Project Start: 1 May 2012, 2.00pm
Project End: 2 May 2012, 7.30pm

The Garden

Our backyard has a small plot of land filled with sand and stones. Using an old gift hamper basket, I started sifting 1/10 of the plot yesterday, with the above results.

Starting up my compost from kitchen scraps...they breakdown pretty easy. Updates on the garden will be given as I go along. :)