30 Jul

Out & About {week 6}

Posted under SYTYC
By Missy

Did you guys notice anything different? If you’re reading through a reader you may want to click over. I got a totally rad new site design thanks to Joy at How Joyful Designs. Isn’t it awesome?! I love it!! What do you guys think?

So, did you guys have a great weekend? I spent mine cleaning out our shed and re-doing a dresser. I’ll show you the dresser once it’s finished. I’m pretty excited about it But here’s a before and after of our shed.

It was a pretty last minute decision to organize it. We were going to take the dresser out and I needed something that was in a box on the very bottom of the stack. That sort of lead to a complete overhaul. It makes my eye twitch a little bit less now

This week’s theme is another we’ve never done before…Out and About. I’m pretty excited about it. There’ some great stuff this week.

Remember that voting closes a day early this season, so make sure you have your vote in by Thursday night.

And if you want to craft along, remember there’s the I’m Crafty! Linky Party every Thursday as well.

Craft #1 – Giant Backyard Dominoes - ChiWei @ One Dog Woof

What does “Out and About” mean? For some reason, I thought of summer afternoons chilling casually (or sweating) with friends at a park or in someone’s backyard. So, for this challenge, I made a set of giant backyard dominoes to play at a BBQ or park with your friends. Oh, and I have to say, the fact that I have a lot of Puerto Rican friends contributed to this idea – we’ve actually played dominoes, not just stacked them up and knocked them down. I love the idea that this sometimes challenging and competitive game can be played on a large scale, with lots of interaction between players and onlookers! Plus, they’re easily portable so you can take them wherever you go.

I wanted to use plain cheap wood from a lumber store, so my husband went out and bought some 1x4s. He wanted me to note that he did not buy the cheapest wood available; he especially bought pine that had no knots and was therefore slightly more expensive. A 1×4 is actually 3.5 inches wide, so we cut each piece of pine to 3.5×7 pieces and then stained each piece.

When it came time to put on the dots, I was lost. And because I’m a last minute person, the stores were closed by the time I came to the conclusion that my little hole punch would not create the stencil I needed. So, in a burst of desperate creative-ness, I punched dots out of the edges of sheets of stamps, since they were white and adhesive! Then after using a template to mark where each dot would go, I just stuck on each dot in the correct combinations. Each piece was then sealed with clear coat polyurethane.

I really love how these dominoes turned out. We used a chestnut stain so the pieces are slightly red and show up well against the grass. I can’t wait to bust these out next time we have people over. Or, just throw them in a tote and take them to our next outdoor gathering!

Craft #2 – Little Scout Back Pack – Erin @ Erin’s Creative Energy

My kids and I love to take little adventures. We are, “Out and About,” all the time. We go on scavenger hunts, bird watches, alligator hunts and so many more explorations. We really needed a bag dedicated to all the little odds and ends that the kids wanted to bring on these adventures. Nature Field Guides, snacks, magnifying glass, bug spray, etc.

I really made the Little Scout Backpack from a pair of my husband’s old Army pants. It made it quite easy as there was very little sewing involved. The only additional things I needed to purchase was the hardware and the nylon straps.

I was able to piece and sew this together in two nights after the kids went to bed. If planned out perfectly, you could make two backpacks out of one pair of pants!

I love the number of pockets that this backpack has. I love the fact that I didn’t have to sew a single one of them! They were all a part of the pants. One pocket was for knee pads, there was a small lower pocket (which now has my husband’s old 4th ID patch and American Flag patch on it) and a cargo pocket. The inside of the pant leg makes up the main compartment.

Being made from a heavy duty fabric that is approved for use by our U.S. Military, I have a feeling that this Little Scout Backpack is going to be around for a long time. I can just imagine all the adventures it is going to go on with my kids. I also can’t wait to see what patches they will want to add to it over the years.

Craft #3 – 50′s Style Out & About Tote – Meg @ Mega Crafty

For this week’s challenge I created a tote bag that I can use for all my errands around town.

The front features graphics of 50′s style ladies and on the back I painted a fun retro inspired pattern.

Two of the graphics were my own design, the other three were downloaded from the Graphics Fairy (but I altered two of them to fit my “out and about doing errands” theme).

The black and white graphics were transferred to the bag using a technique I saw on How About Orange. Then I added a splash of color by hand painting them.

On the back of the tote I painted a bold graphic pattern using the same color pallet I used on the front.

The result is a versatile bag I can use while I’m out and about!

Craft #4 – Duct Tape Purse & Wallet – Megan @ The Crafty Conundrum

I really wanted to do something fun for this project, but didn’t want to spend a lot of money. Since usually when I go out I just have the diaper bag (an ugly, worn down backpack I had in high school), I thought I would “splurge” and make something snazzy for ME (on the off chance that I get to go out on my own -yipee!). And… since I only have one purse (because I’m cheap and just plain lazy) I made myself a second purse (with matching wallet/clutch).

I had some fun colored duct tape at home (courtesy of my mother who is downsizing -and that means her craft supplies too). So I made the purse with duct tape and lined with fabric. The handles are made with white ribbon. I am liking argyle now, so I prettied them up with some purple and teal argyle patterns and VOILA! A cute and fun purse that doesn’t break the budget. And it’s unique -bonus! I might have to go and get some other colors of tape and make a couple of different styles and patterns.

Craft #5 - Doll Carrier Backpack – Chrissy @ There are UFO’s under my stairs

My little girl is at a stage where every time we go anywhere she wants to bring her doll and a whole bunch of stuff to go with the doll, clothes, hair brush, a blanket, etc. And we all know what that means… I’m the one that ends up carrying the doll and trying to keep track of all the bits and pieces. I was looking at getting the American girl backpack for her birthday, but it is almost $50! I thought, “I could make that for a lot less.”

I used a fine wale corduroy for the body of the bag, and lined it with the bright pink polka dot cotton for a pop of color. The straps for both the doll and my daughter are piped in a matching pink. I decided to have the bag zip shut so I didn’t have to worry about losing the doll accessories, and the shoulder straps to hold the doll in the pocket snap shut so the doll won’t fall out either.

For half the price of buying the American Girl version I made a great backpack and doll clothes to go in it! I think my daughter is going to love it when she gets it for her birthday next week.

Trackback are closed
Comments (3)

- Amelia @ Night Garden
- July 30th, 2012
- QUOTE
The new blog design looks great! Simple, clean, and very modern. Love it!
- meegan
- July 30th, 2012
- QUOTE
LOVE the new site. The new logo/button is fantastic.

umm: my heart melted at the site of those dominos
- Lilia Sawyer
- August 2nd, 2012
- QUOTE
I love the dominoes but they don’t seem very “out and about” to me… :/ They’d be really fun to make for gifting to friends as a housewarming present.