Yes Another Headband...

Okay, the inaugural post to welcome me back into the crafting blogger world had to be a headband tutorial... I will not apologize for this. I have and will probably always like headbands, even if I do not wear them as much as I did in my twenties.

Think NO Sew Scarf meets Handband Weaving (previous posts... from a long, long time ago) 

What started as a project to FINALLY cut up all those t-shirts sitting in a tub waiting to become a quilt... 

Quickly became an inspired opportunity to make an easy and super comfortable headband! 

We're rockin' it sweatband style! 

I'm a little rusty, but see if you can follow along. I would love to see what you create. 

You know you have old tees sitting around waiting to be renewed and upcycled! 

This is one of those projects that do not require fancy tools. I promise. They just make it go quicker. 

You can use any pair of sharp scissors and cut the bottom off a t-shirt. Cut straight across from armpit to armpit so you have a rectangle. 

Cut strings from seam to seam. Then cut the seams off. 

You'll end up with six strips. (or how every many you want)

Fun fact about t-shirt jersey:
it stretches and becomes a big soft and yarn-like when you give it a hard tug 

(hence the no need for tidy lines, once you pull it, it will roll into itself and edges will be hidden)

Pull on all six strips. 

Lay out as shown. 

Hopefully you can braid. If you can't, well... ask a friend to help you with this project (one who can braid). 

Imagine you are braiding... basically, the three strands on the right and the three strands on the left...

Then you cross the middle strands and keep going... I don't think you can mess this up. 

Gently tug, separate the strands as you go... do NOT pull too hard. 

You don't have to sew it at this point. You could tie it off with small rubber bands or maybe pin it. 

If you do have a sewing machine, just run through the ends. 

Overlap slightly and secure the ends together. 

With extra strips, you will wrap all that mess up. 

Tie off one end and leave some hanging out. You will tuck this into the wrapped part. Really there is not right or wrong way to do this. Play with it. You want the ends tied and tucked so it won't unravel. It also makes it sit nicely at the back of the head comfortably. 

And there you have it! 

Play around with colors... I guess you could chose to do a multi-colored one. That might look cool. (Do people still say cool?) 

I made a 5 strand one for Jovie because I didn't want it too wide on her small head. 

Here's that not so tiny baby now... 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you do get inspired let me know! It will keep me going. 

Happy Crafting 

Oh Christmas Tee

I won't even begin to apologize for the HUGE amount of time between posts... I know you all know that life happens and time slips away before we even realize it! Thank you for your continued support despite my lack of activity in the blog world.  I would like to quickly introduce our newest addition that has been taking up a bit of our time, but is well worth it...

Jovie Noelle 

(and yes, Crafty Kristy has already been busy making cutesy things for this little bundle. I think she'll be a little more excited to try on headbands than Jaxson has been!)

Moving on: Oh Christmas Tee

This is a quick and easy project that may inspire you... if it does in any way, please share your project with me. I would love to see and post them here! 

Jaxson needed a t-shirt for his "Christmas Around the World" dress up day. As usual, we can't just run into Wal-mart to pick up the supplies we need so it takes a little more patience and ingenuity on my part.  I sent the hubby out for a simple, plain white or red t-shirt. Of course he came back empty handed... again we're in Malaysia so we can't always find exactly what we are looking for.  I hated to use Jaxson's only white shirt, but sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! 

You'll need any plain t-shirt, fabric paint in an easy squirt bottle, freezer paper and scissors. (You may want a little helper as well!) You'll also need an assortment of buttons, sequins or really any fun doodads you can find around your house if you want a "decorated" tree. I also think just a plain green tree on a red background would look nice too. 

Use the freezer paper to measure out a size that will cover your t-shirt. I just folded the paper in half and free handed a the shape I wanted.  Of course if that makes you uncomfortable you can always trace and cut out the shape you want. With freezer paper the possibilities are endless. 

Check out this post on if you are interested...  

Simply iron on the "stencil" you've created shiny side down on low heat. 

It should instantly adhere to the surface.  

Insert a piece of cardboard inside the shirt before you begin painting. 

 Then go to town! The messier the better. Squeeze the puff paint in a back and forth motion until the area is well covered. 

Your little helper can do this too! 

Add your "decorations" to your tree. 

Ask another adult to help you so you have an extra set of hands to gently and evenly pull the freezer paper off while the paint is still wet.  

Ta-dah! An "Oh Christmas Tree... Christmas Tee" 

Don't forget to add a topper! We opted for a tiny gold bow. Use the paint as glue to hold it on. 

Merry Christmas! 

In case you missed them, here are a couple of other Christmas tutorials from years past:

NOEL

Scrapbook Trees