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DIY Health: Homemade Cough Drops

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I’ve been on the mend this week. I caught a nasty bug from the hubs. My throat has been on fire and so I’ve been living on throat lozenges. And while the kind I use are great, I’d love to try my hand at making some of my own.

I found this great recipe & tutorial for making cough drops. If they turn out well, I might add these to my holiday gift list.

What natural remedies do you use when you’re not feeling well?

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DIY Shop: HankWorks on Etsy

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There are so many local crafters and artists that live and work in the Asheville area. One of my goals here at The How-To Shop is to support these local makers by sharing them with the world and giving them a little bit of link love. This first maker is someone I’ve known for a few years now but who just recently started selling his wares.

Tony of HankWorks was a former coworker of mine. When both of our work situations took an unexpected turn, we were both able to turn these changes into something positive. Tony opened HankWorks to sell beautiful wooden items made from the last tree that his late father had reclaimed. Tony needed some advice on running his Etsy shop and he came to me. Tony became my first client and I realized I had the know-how to start my consulting business, Organized Chaos.

Take a minute and check out HankWorks. His handcrafted cutting boards, knife racks and wine bottles holders make the perfect holiday gifts.

Know someone local who makes beautiful handmade goods? Send their info to me – I’d love to feature their work on the blog!

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DIY Baby Find: DIY Plaster Milk Carton Houses | Paper & Stitch

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I’ve asked my friends and family this holiday season to make the effort to make presents this year, especially for the little one. Or, if they can’t make, at least buy locally/regionally. In our world mass-produced toys are the norm. The building blocks of young imaginations are being predetermined by massive corporations. This year, and for the years to come, I wish for the toys that my daughter plays with to be the simple building blocks of the worlds that she will create.

Today’s find is the inspiration behind the kind of toys I wish for my daughter to play with. Although this tute is for very heavy plaster houses, I plan on making a version sans plaster for my little one to play “house” with.

What are some creative ideas you’ve had when making toys for little ones? Simpler really is better for itty bitties with endless imaginations, it seems.

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Sweet Simple Stocking Stuffer_ Clay Magnets Homemade Holiday Gift Idea Exchange: Project #5 | Apartment Therapy

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This is such a sweet, simple handmade holiday gift idea. I absolutely love the clean, white shape of the magnets.

I have an epic list of holiday gift ideas that I’ll be working on this weekend. It will be first of many weekends spent banging out some (hopefully) sweet handmade gifts. I’ll post pictures as gifts are created.

What are your weekend plans? Handcrafting your holiday gifts yet? Or will you wait until the very last minute and just “do what you can”? (Like I’ve done oh-so-many years now.)

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DIY Find – How to Make Fabric Vases| Paper & Stitch

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Found this great tute when I was browsing on Pinterest searching for holiday gift ideas. Love the prints and love the idea of making your own super cute pots instead spending dough on the boring ones you find at the store.

http://www.papernstitchblog.com/2013/09/19/how-to-make-fabric-vases-a-new-fabric-store-in-la/

I also got lost looking at tons of other tutes, like:
–Hand Stamped Handkerchiefs
–DIY Plaster Milk Carton Houses
–Renter-Friendly Wall Art

Are you already thinking of holiday gift ideas? Got any awesome ones you wanna share? I’m so excited to get started working on them!

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For the love of…Block printing

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(From stolenmoments)

I can’t express how much I love block printing. It has to be my favorite form of art.

Now that’s not to say I don’t love painting or sewing or any other form of art. I do. What I mean to say is that it’s my favorite form of art that I can do well. The process pleases me and even does the final product.

Here are some of my favorite block printing finds.

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(from ohliterabbit)

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(also from ohliterabbit)

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(from nestahome)

What’s your favorite form of art? Do you have a preference that is different from what you’re good at making?

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How To: Turn a Baby’s Long-Sleeved Shirt into a Short-Sleeved Shirt

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Every time I look in my babe’s closet lately I have this urge within me to run straight to the cutest baby store and buy her some cute, over-priced t-shirts. She has a ton of winter shirts that still fit her but that are way too warm now for everyday wearing. So I take this consumerist urge and turn it into a sewing project!

Below, you’ll find my first ever tutorial of how to turn a long-sleeved shirt into a short-sleeved, making your favorite winter shirt into your favorite spring shirt. Hopefully, this will be easy to understand and read – I welcome any feedback!

Tools Needed:

  • Sewing Machine
  • Long-Sleeved Shirt
  • Short-Sleeved Shirt
  • Fabric Pen
  • Pins
  • Needle & Thread

Directions:

  1. Pick out a long-sleeved shirt that your baby is still able to wear, but that would look good as a spring t-shirt.
  2. Pick out a different t-shirt. This shirt should have sleeves at a length that you want the long-sleeved shirt to have.
  3. Place the short-sleeved shirt on top of the long-sleeved shirt.
  4. Using a fabric pen, draw a line on the sleeves of the long-sleeved shirt. Use the short-sleeved shirt as a guide for where you’d like the “new” shirt’s sleeves to be. Make sure to add an inch of extra sleeve to the length. You will need the extra fabric for hemming the sleeves.
  5. Cut the sleeves where you drew the line. Discard extra fabric.
  6. Turn shirt inside out. Fold half an inch of the sleeves two times. Pin the folded fabric with pins so that the fabric doesn’t fall out of place.
  7. Place one sleeve under the machine and slowly start the machine. Sew about half an inch away from the sleeve edge.
  8. Pull the back of the sleeve away from the machine. Work carefully to not sew the opposite side of the sleeve at the same time.
  9. Repeat with the second sleeve.
  10. Iron the edges of the sleeves for a cleaner sleeve line.
  11. For a less complicated, but more lengthy way of hemming the sleeves, you can also hand sew the sleeves.