LadyBug Slippers Knitting Pattern

I always give my children a silly Christmas present every year just as a bit of fun, and this year I have knitted my 20 year old daughter a pair of LadyBug Slippers.

I found a free knitting pattern online you can download the PDF here...

The pattern says that you need fleece yarn, but because it's just a silly Christmas gift I didn't want to go to that expense, and I just used two strands of double knitting yarn. I knitted the 'adult medium slipper' working to the sizes in brackets and my slipper has turned out to be 22cm in length, but as the pattern says the slipper does stretch. I have size 7 feet and they fit me fine.

Another alteration I made was to the spots, instead of sewing some spots on my ladybirds, I knitted them some.

Using size UK 8 kneedles and single strand of black double knitting wool cast on 12 st and knit a row.
Row 2: K2 tog to end then cut the yarn and thread it through the remaining stitches. sew the knitted row ends together so that it makes a circle. I made 5 spots for each slipper.

I also made the ladybird some eyes. I thought that plastic eyes wouldn't be very comfortable on your feet, and besides I wanted to keep the cost to a minimum and I have lots of oddments of knitting wool.

With size UK 8 Knitting needles and white double knitting yarn cast on 20 stitches and knit 1 row.
Row 2: P2 Tog to end then cut the yarn and thread it through the remaining stitches. sew the knitted row ends together so that it makes a circle.

Pupils

With size UK 8 Knitting needles and black double knitting yarn cast on 12 stitches.
Row 2: K2 Tog to end then cut the yarn and thread it through the remaining stitches. sew the knitted row ends together so that it makes a circle. Sew the pupil in place on top of the white of eye.

To make antennae I cast on 16 stitches, and knitted 1 row quite tightly and then cast off. The knitted strip has a natural curve to it. Go with that curve and toll the one end of the antennae to make a small ball on the end. Tack into place and then sew the other end of the antennae on to the slipper.

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Paper Bag Craft Ideas for Kids

By Misha Anatolia

In an age when both the economy and the environment are compromised, learning how to reuse, repurpose, and recycle common objects is important. It can help save time, money, space, and even the world. Here are some fun paper bag craft ideas for kids.

Grocery bag gift totes:
You'll need:
Grocery bags
primer
oil paint
furniture wax
scissors
hole punch

Start by cutting off the top of the bag to make a new edge and get rid of the handles, if it has any. Prime inside and out in a thin layer and let dry. Mix furniture polish with a little bit of oil paint and, using a rag, paint the entire surface of the bag with this mixture. Let dry. Apply several layers until the bag has a texture and look you like. Decorate with paint. Punch holes in the top of the bag and thread through with yarn, raffia, or ribbon to make a decorative closure. This makes a gift bag suitable for any gift recipient. To make a child's gift bag, use a grocery-sized or lunch bag-sized bag in the same way, but skip primer and furniture polish. Just paint and decorate the outside.

Grocery bag vest:
You'll need:
Grocery bags
Scissors
crayons or paint
glue
construction paper

Cut arm holes and a head hole into a grocery bag so that it can be worn with the head through the bottom of the bag. Cut a line up the center of the bag until it meets the head hole. Trim up the top of the vest until it looks the way you want it to. Remove vest and decorate with crayon, paint, or cut-out shapes. This is a great craft for a rainy day and can result in a costume of any kind for restless kids. It could be a space suit, police vest, fairy princess costume, and anything else your kids can imagine.

Lunch bag puppet:
You'll need:
paper lunch bags
scissors
glue
paint
yarn
felt

Lay the paper bag flat so that the bottom of the bag is facing you, flattened against one side. This should make a little flap. Decorate the bottom of the bag with paint or felt cutouts to make the top of a face. Create the mouth inside the flap so that you can see inside the mouth when the flap is lifted. You'll want to leave a little lip or tongue peeking out from under the flap even when it is not lifted. Add yarn "hair" and dress the body of the bag with felt or painted clothing. When it is dry, place your hand into the bag so that your fingers are over the flap and your thumb is beneath it. Make your puppet talk by moving your hand and opening and closing the flap.

Paper bags can also be decorated or used as: Santa's toy bag, mail carrier bags, pillows, televisions, cat toys (just place open, on its side, and watch the cat attack), and anything else. The only limits lie in your imagination. If you can't think of anything, hand a bag to your child and see what they come up with.

Misha Anatolia writes about many topics including arts and crafts, events, and bridal showers. To see some fun ideas for bridal shower arts and crafts or for more bridal shower information, go to bridal-showers.org.

Note: You have permission to use this article freely in any publication as long as the resource box and byline are included as-is and any links are do follow when published.

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Crazy Daisy Jeans

Funk up a dull drab pair of jeans with a little bit of flower power. Great for kids jeans or hippie ladies jeans or a project for a teenager, you’re bound to be a trend-setter in funky daisy jeans. Quick and easy to do and not a great deal of artistic flare is needed.

To make daisy jeans you will need…
A pair of jeans (cheap jeans are ideal), thick bleach, artists paintbrushes, thick card, scraps of bright fabric (look in the patchwork box in your local haberdashery) and a needle and thread.

Lay the jeans out flat on a table. Move anything from the area that would be spoilt should it come into contact with the bleach.

Push some thick card up the inside of the right leg of the jeans. This creates a firm base and prevents bleach from seeping through to the fabric below.

Along the bottom hem and up the side seem of the leg to the knee draw 4 to 8 daisies with a biro. The flowers can be assorted sizes. Start off with an “O” shape at the centre and draw six petals or so coming off from the daisy middle. Just draw the flower heads – no stalks or leaves.

Once you are happy with the design go over the daisies with bleach. Pour some bleach onto a plate (thick bleach is best) and using a paint brush, brush the bleach over the biro lines.

You need to work quickly because not only will some brush bristles melt, but the bleach will also be bleaching and attacking the fabric of the jeans. Really you want all the daisies bleached to a similar colour.

Reapply bleach to areas you feel needs it.

When all the daisies have turned white, immerse the jeans into a bowl of water and rinse three or four times to get all of the bleach out. Do not put them into the washing machine because the bleach will perish the rubber seal of the washing machine. Leave the jeans to dry.

You can leave the jeans like this, or you can give each daisy a coloured centre.

Here’s how to colour centres…
Draw around a mug or something onto the back of some brightly coloured fabric. Cut out and with a needle and threads sew a row of running stitches around the outside of the fabric circle. Draw the running stitches up so that the raw edges are drawn in. Flatten the circle out, this is your daisy centre. Adjust the tightness of the “Drawing up” to make the centre bigger or smaller to fit each particular daisy. Sew or Wonderwed the daisy centre into place on the jeans. Use invisible stitching, hemming stitch would be good.

Feeling adventurous?

Try covering the jeans in daisies, the front and back. Or just across the seat of the jeans. The funky design possibilities are endless.

More of S. Roberts craft ideas can be found at http://busy-crafting.blogspot.com/. For Christmas crafts visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/ where you can also send a free letter to your child from Santa Claus. For Jewellery crafting, visit http://www.artclaysupplies.co.uk/ for beautiful home-made jewellery making projects.

LED Light up Bottle

By S. Roberts

You can find lots of unusual things in bottles, ships and messages, so why not fill a bottle with LED lights? What a bright idea! This attractive bottle is a great talking point; it makes a nice table decoration or a festive night-light, everyone will want one of these.

To make the LED light up bottle you will need... A clear glass bottle, a meter or so of tinsel, a loo roll or kitchen towel tube, glitter, PVA glue, and a set of 20 LED lights. You can get these ready made from with a battery compartment from the '99p Store' on your local high street. Tech confident people could make their own from individual components. DO NOT use mains fairy lights, this is a fire hazard!

First wash out the bottle and remove all the labels. Use a nice smelling detergent to rid the bottle of any lingering odours from its previous contents. Leave the bottle to drain and dry out completely.

Take the LED lights and the Tinsel, use a small amount of selotape and stick the wire directly behind the last LED bulb (the bulb furthest away from the battery compartment) to the end of the strip of tinsel.

Twist the string of lights and the tinsel loosely together and carefully push the lights and tinsel into the bottle until the battery compartment rests on the neck of the bottle.

The loo roll or kitchen towel tube will become a fancy bottle stopper that covers the battery compartment. Draw around the end of the tube onto a piece of card. A grocery box is great. Cut the disc out and push it into the end of the tube. Use a bit of selotape to hold it in place.

Cover the tube and end piece in PVA glue and sprinkle with glitter. Cover the cardboard completely so that it is no longer visible. Leave to dry.

Perch the battery compartment on top of the bottle and place the glitter bottle stopper over the top of it, so that it hides the batteries and part of the neck of the bottle.


S. Roberts write for www.santaspostbag.co.uk a free educational resource packed with creative things to do and make including traditional, religious & 21-century activities. Visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/christmas-fun-stuff.html for more fun stuff. SantasPostbag is in association with www.bigboystoyz.com Together keeping Christmas magical.