quick braided fabric bracelet with snaps

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The original Bobaloo and I were making bracelets for Craft Hope last week and we came up with these little cuties to use up some of my fabric scraps.  Using snaps makes this project silly quick – it took me longer to type this up than to make the bracelet – but if you don’t have snaps, Velcro would work too.

 

 

supplies:

• three different fabric scraps, at least 16” long and 1 1/2” wide
• pinking shears or regular fabric scissors
• One set of snaps (I use KAM snaps and love them)
• snap pliers or press, or whatever you use to attach snaps 
• awl

 

1.  Cut one strip from each of three fabrics, 1 1/2” wide by 16” long, using pinking shears or regular scissors.

 

 

2. Stack the strips on top of each other, right sides all up, at one short end.  They don’t have to match perfectly – we’ll trim them up at the end.  Using your awl, poke a hole about 1/2” from the end of the strips. 

 

 

3. Attach one snap with the cap side up.

 

 

4. Braid the pieces of fabric (I had my cute little helper holding the snap end for me).  Try to keep the right sides of the fabric up – you may need to twist the strips a little to keep them facing the right direction.  Braid loosely for a wider bracelet, tightly for a narrower bracelet.

 

 

5. Once the bracelet is near the length you’d like it, stack the strips on top of each other just like you did at the beginning. 

 

 

6. Install the other snap with the cap on the wrong side of the bracelet. 

 

 

7. Using your pinking shears or scissors, trim the ends of the bracelet in a nice rounded shape.

 

 

8. Put that bracelet on the nearest kiddo or pack it up and send it off to Craft Hope!

 

If you make one, be sure to add it to the bobaloo! flickr pool – it’s about time we started using it, right?

Craft Hope: Crafting for Good

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Recently I came across a post about Craft Hope, an organization that encourages people to send handmade items to others in need.  They post a project every few months and give the details on what to make and where to send your finished products.  As I have craft supplies coming out of my ears, this totally caught my eye – what better way to use up all this extra stuff than to spread a little goodwill?

 

 

Craft Hope just recently released their 12th project – handmade bracelets for the orphans of Russia.  I had no idea how bad the conditions are for these kids – 60% of female orphans in Russia become prostitutes.  It’s terribly sad to think of all the love and affection these kids are missing out on.  You can read all about the situation on Craft Hope’s site here, but here’s a little excerpt:

 

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, it’s shaky orphan-care system also fell. Alcohol consumption increased 10 times the U.S. level. The instances of divorce also climbed, along with the HIV-infection rate, which is now one of the highest in the world. And, according to a 2007 UNICEF report, the annual number of children without parental care in Russian ‘has more than doubled over the last 10 years, despite falling birth rates.’ Currently, there are over 750,000 children in the orphanage system and hundreds of thousands more living in the streets.

 

See how just a little bit of handmade love would really be a bright spot for these kids?   

Want to participate, too?  If you need some ideas, here are some great bracelet tutorials that I’ve come across.  Some of these involve fabric because I have fabric scraps taking over my house and I’d love to use a few up.

 

 

Sailor’s Knot Bracelets from the Etsy Blog

Popsicle Stick Bracelets from Suzy’s Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

Survival Bracelets from Instructables (this one’s great for boys!)

Jersey Knit Bracelets from V and Co. 

Reversible Fabric Cuff Bracelet from the Creative Maven

Braided Fabric Bracelet from Everything Etsy

I’m excited about this one because I can easily make most of these while relaxing on the couch at night, and even Bridget (who is almost 4) can make a few simple beaded bracelets.  We’ve been trying to teach her about giving to others who are less fortunate and this will be a great lesson.

Go on over and like Craft Hope on Facebook so you can get the details, or visit their website and take a look around.  This project ends June 15th, so you have plenty of time to kick it middle-school style and make some friendship bracelets for some kiddos who’d love to have them!

 

PS: I ordered the Craft Hope book last month and it is full of simple, adorable projects along with information on where to send donations.  Most of the projects would be an awesome activity for a church group, MOPS group, or even a group of kiddos.

PPS: That link to the book is an affiliate link, so if you buy it I get a teeny tiny percentage.  Just thought I’d let you know.

A Sweet New Bag + That Awesome Blanket

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Last week I took a break from the stock-the-inventory-closet sewing and made myself this sweet new bag!





The pattern is from V and Co. and is super simple and fun to make.  There aren’t even pattern pieces – you just cut it all out with your rotary cutter and it sews up in no time!





This is a serious bag, not a dainty purse.  On Sunday it happily held my usual purse stuff, two kiddo jackets, an American Girl doll, a folder full of paper, my big camera, and a box of Rice Krispie treats (it was a party, what can I say?).  It’s that handy size for when your kids are too old to require a diaper bag but you still end up hauling around half your house.

You should also head on over to Vanessa’s blog – it’s full of fun sewing projects and loads of inspiration.  It’s definitely one of my faves.





I’m not the only one getting something new around here.  Remember the awesome chenille blanket I mentioned in last weekend’s Weekend Links?  I started one for the little guy!  Poor thing – being a second child to a busy mom means he hardly has any handmade stuff, so I’m excited to finish this up for him.





I’m following the tutorial from Aesthetic Nest that was linked to on Living With Punks.  So far it’s going surprisingly quickly given that I’m not a great quilter and it is A LOT of quilting.  You better believe I’ll be showing pictures of this one when it’s done.

What are you guys up to?  Any new fun projects?  Want to tempt me with another project for myself?

My Favorite iPad Apps

Tweet As I mentioned before, my super-amazing husband who spoils me rotten bought me an iPad for Christmas (sorry ladies, he doesn’t have any brothers).  I’m relatively new to the App Store but I thought I’d share the apps that have earned a spot on my main screen.



Organization
Todo.  This great app organizes all my to-do lists, both for business and home.  Each item can even have sub-lists, which is great for things like blog posts, which involve writing, picture editing, and searching for sources.  I even keep track of my short- and long-term business goals on Todo.

Calendar (this one came pre-installed).  This syncs with Google Calendar, which I use on my laptop at home (both also sync with my phone).  I found out randomly that if you enter a person’s birthday in their contact info it will show up on the calendar.  Handy, right? 

Evernote.  This is such a great app, and another one that syncs my laptop, iPad, and phone.  You can write notes, save pictures from your phone, and save documents in Evernote, and they’re available anywhere.  I’m using it a lot to keep track of stuff I want to post here, plus I just take pictures of business cards with my phone and save them instead of carrying a bunch around.  You can tag everything so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for.

Penultimate.  This app allows you to write in notebooks with your finger, then save the pages (you can even email them).  I use this for product idea sketches when I want to draw something out before I forget about it.



Social Media and News
FeeddlerRSS.  This is like Google Reader for your iPad.  I have the free version and it’s been great – the only downfall I’ve come across is you can’t add subscriptions from your iPad with the free version.  It syncs with Google Reader so my unread posts stay up to date no matter where I read them.

HootSuite.  I use TweetDeck at home, but the TweetDeck iPad app isn’t so great.  I’m really loving HootSuite so far but I must admit we’re still in the honeymoon phase.  For some reason I just CANNOT get it to hook up with my Facebook account, though, so I might be trying something new since I don’t have a Facebook app.

USA Today.  I’ve always loved USA Today because I like my news light and fluffy.  This app is a good way to make sure I don’t miss any important big news while still allowing me my celebrity gossip.



Home and Fun Stuff
Grocery IQ.  Seriously, this app has saved me SO MUCH TIME.  I am a detailed grocery list writer, sorting everything by aisle.  This app does it for me!  Plus, it has a favorites list so I can just go through and click all my normal stuff (like the gallons of coffee creamer I go through and the tons of peanut butter Bridget consumes) and add it straight to my list.

Pandora.  I’ve been using Pandora on my laptop for a while, then when I got my fancy phone with an unlimited data plan I started using it there.  The speaker on the iPad is surprisingly better than the one on my phone so I pretty much use this app whenever I want to pump up my jams.

ABC Player.  I can watch TV shows!  While I cut fabric!  And while I sew!  Although I have some crashing issues here and there, I love having such a portable way to watch TV.  I just downloaded the PBS app too so I’m hoping it’s as good.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you can even get a Netflix app (but I’m too cheap to pay the monthly fee for Netflix).

Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds.  Download them both, now.  Seriously.  Angry Birds has gotten a little too tough for me (I’m a quitter) so I’m hooked on Fruit Ninja.

Do you have any favorite apps for your phone or iPad?  Do you share your fancy electronic gadgets with your significant other or kids, or are you shamelessly selfish like me?