Easy Fleece Scarf for Kids to Make

Making a fleece scarf is soooooo easy that even my 5 year old son could do it and it's pretty inexpensive as well. I have instilled a love of homemade gifts in my kids (both receiving and giving) and he wanted to make this scarf for one of his friends.

Just cut one length of the fleece from a 60" width bolt of fleece. Cut it to your desired width between 6"-12", obviously if you cut it smaller you can make more scarves from one yard of fabric and if you watch sales you get it for up to half off at JoAnn Fabrics, and if you really want to be thrifty, check the area for remnant where they sell small pieces (which might be all you need if you are just making one) for 50% off whatever the current price is, so if it's half off you will get another half off that price on a remnant.

I pre-cut the rectangle for my son and let him cut the fringe. He was very proud that he made "clothes" for his friend and has since used other scraps of fleece to make scarves for his stuffed animals.

#ad Review: ilikethatlamp Lampshade Kit

My Thoughts:

I had always wanted to try my hand at making a lampshade but never got around to doing it, in part because I wasn't exactly sure how to do it or how big of a project it would be. After completing one using the ilikethatlamp Lampshade kit, I would not hesitate to take on another DIY project like again.

I had read the reviews of this product before accepting to do a review on it (I was given it for free, bu no monetary compensation was received) and read about the issues with the glue, but I wanted to first say that my glue was exactly as I expected it to be and was sticky glue. I found that once you smeared the glue on with the orange stick they give you, if you let it sit for 10-15 seconds it will start to get tacky and will stick easily and securely compared to if you put the glue on and tried to stick the pieces together right away.

I followed the instructions just as they were written (except it said to use a natural fiber fabric and the fabric I liked wasn't a natural fiber and it worked just fine) and I was easily able to make a lampshade. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I was pretty happy to try out this project because I take pride in all my DIY projects and do a lot of them, but this was my first time making a lampshade and it was super easy to do. I love that I can tailor the look of my room to some fabric I purchase rather than have to be dependent on what is available on store shelves.

They come in a variety of sizes. This one was a 12"x12" lampshade kit, but there are 8 total different sizes to choose from. Below I will tell you just how easy it is to make your own.

Buy an ilikethatlamp Lampshade kit on Amazon!!!

When you buy the ilikethatlamp Lampshade Kit on Amazon, it comes with everything you pretty much need except the fabric and a pair of scissors

Cut out the size of fabric you need, allowing 1/2" edges around the perimeter. Start out by ironing your fabric so that it is nice and smooth. This will make it much easier to work with and look better.

Apply the adhesive styrene on one end and slowly work to apply the entire length.Firmly press the styrene down so that all of it is stuck to the fabric, Then trim your edges to make sure they are 1/2" on 3 edges and cut right up to the styrene on one of the short edges. Use the orange stick to smooth out any bubbles in the fabric.

Apply the glue to the short end with 1/2" of fabric. Spread the glue with the orange stick and allow it to sit for 10-15 seconds to get tacky. Then press down on top of the styrene.

Start with the top ring and clip it in to place with the lampshade drum surrounding it on the outside. Apply glue to the 1/2 fabric around the top. Spread the glue with the orange stick and allow it to sit for 10-15 seconds to get tacky. Then press down on top of the styrene over the ring. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes to make sure the fabric stays glued down over the ring.

Repeat the following step with the bottom ring. Allow it to sit with the clips on for 5- 10 miutes before removing clips. Let it dry completely before installing on your lamp.

Product Description from ilikethatlamp:


Our DIY Lampshade Kits include everything you need to make your own custom lampshade at home using your own fabric, so you can coordinate it with your home decor!

Customers love being able to choose the height and diameter of their finished shade, so it fits perfectlu on their existing floor or table lamp.

The detailed, illustrated instructions and pre-measured components in the kit makes creating a lampshade an easy, no-sew project that you can complete in just 1 hour!

Use your own fabric so your lampshade matches perfectly with your home decor! This kit takes all the guess-work out of making your own lampshade: everything is pre-measured so you get a perfect result the first time.

The Kit contains:
Adhesive styrene sheet
Molding stick
Lampshade glue
Top & bottom lampshade rings
Binder clips
Illustrated, step-by-step instructions


You'll also need:

Fabric 1 yard of Natural fiber fabric (light to medium weight cotton works best)

Cutting tool - scissors or a rotary cutter and mat An old paintbrush

I was sent the above product for the purpose of reviewing it on this blog. All thoughts, opinions and photographs belong to me. No monetary compensation was received.

DIY Dinosaur Felt Bow Tie

My son is a HUGE dinosaur fan, which you probably have been able to figure out if you have been reading my blog for a while. I tend to foster my kids' interests and since he loves dinosaurs we are all about dinosaurs here. Honestly, I never thought I would learn so much about dinosaurs beyond knowing the name of about a handful. I know I have Soooooo much more dinosaur stuff to learn, but in the meantime I will keep crafting dino things for and with my son.

I had made my son an Easy Felt Bow Tie a couple months ago, and I did the same basic things for this one, except I did NO SEWING at all for this one. I bought some Fabric-Tac and reading about it in some other tutorial and thought I would try it on a small project (this one) instead of embarking on the bigger project I had intended it for. This stuff is amazing. Not only does it dry super quick, but it is very strong and supposed to be able to be washed (I haven't used it on anything I need to wash yet). I have made my daughter some beautiful loopy hair bows with this as well.

You can read the post on the Easy Felt Bow Tie to see just how that was constructed, but basically you just glue where you would have sewn previously. And it worked so easily to embellish the tie to make it a dinosaur. Oh, I guess I did sew on the googly eye because I had sew-on ones and I wanted to make sure that in anything came off it wasn't the eye.

Try It Tuesday: Toddler Sized Poncho

Some day my son will be mad at me for having this picture of him in a pink and purple poncho, but my daughter would have been too big for it and I made it to give as a gift. The poncho pictured is how I gave it with the added pocket in the front and the purple collar, but below you can see what the poncho looks like if you just want to cut it out and do a no sew poncho.

Supplies needed - fleece and scissors and a measuring tool are all the basic supplies you need to make a no-sew poncho.

First I measured out to make a 24" square out of my fabric. I will later cut the edges, but it is easier if you cut down your fabric to square to begin with.

Using a bowl that fit on my toddler's head, I placed it in the center of my fleece and cut around it.

Here you can see how it drapes around him when left as a square, which you can certainly do. But I laid it down and rounded off the edges.

With some leftover fleece, I made a pocket for the front. Toddlers love pockets!!!! Of course, this you will have to sew on, but I wanted you to see it so you could see the measurements and how I cut it. The piece is folded here.

Try It Tuesday: T-Shirt Super Hero Cape

This is one of the presents that my 7 year old daughter made for her brother for Christmas. I have the kids each make 2 gifts for each other. They like to be crafty and love to see how happy people are when they give them a gift they took the time to make.

This is a no-sew project, just cutting. So, be sure you are using sharp scissors. If they are dulling, they may not cut through the fabric very well and will be frustrating for them. 

After she was done cutting I let her use the permanent markers to draw a design and write on the back. I like to let me kids do as much of the work as possible so that they really feel this is something they made and they are learning new skills in the process.

These are the instructions I gave my daughter on cutting up one her her dad's old t-shirts (t-shirts work great because the jersey material won't fray, so no sewing is needed.)

• Cut up the side seams and around the arm hold on both sides.
• Next cut from around the outside of the collar in the front from shoulder to shoulder.
• Finally, cut a diagonal line from about half way down (I put a dot there so she knew exactly where I meant) up to the collar on the backside. Do not cut through the collar. 
• Discard the leftover pieces.

This picture here you can see how she is starting her diagonal cut.

Depending upon the age of the child you may want to do all the cutting and let them do the decorating. This is a fun way to create your own custom costume and possibly make someone a gift.

12 Gifts of Christmas: Super Hero Cape

I wanted to make my son a cape for Christmas and I wanted it to be minimal sewing since it was just a costume. I had made my daughter one for Christmas when she was about the same age as him and she still uses it today but now has other longer capes.

If you didn't want to put a picture or emblem on the back you could easily make this a no-sew project.

I used felt and cut out a cape pattern, making sure to have a head hole area. Then to keep it no-sew I used sticky velcro to on the ends of the neck of the cape. Eventually I may handstitch this velcro on place, it depends upon how loved this cape becomes.

I took a picture of the cape on my sewing mat so that you can see the measurements I made the cape for a 3 year old.

To add the emblem on the back, I used pieces of craft felt that I cut out and pinned in to place and using simple straight stitches around the edges of the green and through the center lines of the H secured them in to place.

I stitched the H on to the green shield first, then stitched the shield on to the cape.

Here you can see how the velcro closure works around the neck/head area.