Tea. The classic wonder that makes life worth living. OK, so it may not be YOUR cup but odds are good that you know someone who enjoys it. Today’s clothespin craft was found over at Kojo Designs… a fun place to visit out there in blog land! She has lots of vintage sheet crafts (hmm… I have a few of those!) and Harry Potter stuff and… Just lots of fun.
Photo by KojoDesigns
I can totally see this being adapted to be a picture holder, or a Christmas card holder or….
Happy Clothespin Crafting!
I just recently found this huge list of uses of clothespins (other than for drying clothes on a line) over at Parent Hacks. Lots of great ideas!
My addition was an easy one that works really well if you happen to have an infant in the house. I would hang her little dresses/tops on the kid sized hangers and then use a plastic clothespin to attach the bottoms to the hanger, too. Made baby outfit selection daddy proof!
Do you have any ideas that weren’t mentioned on the list?
Caitlin from the profile from yesterday sent me this great project link where they use clothespins to make a chore chart!
The tutorial over at The Silhouette Blog is a LOT more fancy than I’d probably do… mainly because I’m way to cheap to buy one of those fancy machines. BUT, the idea is lovely and could easily be adapted using supplies on hand – embroidery thread to sew the words onto a strip of fabric, sharpee markers in different colors… AND, can’t you just see this with gussied up clothespins? Add a bit of paint, some buttons or… to the pins to make them pretty! Or, let your kids decorate their own pins (give them some ownership in the chore chart)… Have a household chart and an individual chart and heck – even one for mom and one for dad!
Here in south Texas, it is HOT and DRY. Which means, finding any flowers is far and few between. Everything is brown… Many cities and towns are under water rationing of varying degrees, so even ornamental stuff is stressed. Out here in the country, we’re not under water restrictions – yet, but it’s not like we water everything in site either. Just our newer native plants so that they have a chance to get established and trees and the grass around the house (fire break in case of forest fire)…
So, for today’s clothespin craft, I found this pretty and cheerful tutorial involving flowers. I found it on the blog, Maiden Jane, and she has quite a few tutorials on how to make bags and… I especially like her sweat shirt tote bag tutorial! These pins are probably not suitable to use out on the line, but it will still be a way to use extra pins that you have to make a quick gift for someone. These would be nice for chip bags or mail or…
Image copyright Creature Comforts
Imagine hanging out your socks using these clothespins! OK, no doubt that Ez, the lady at Creature Comforts who came up with this fun idea, had no intention of actually using them on clothes but… still, wouldn’t that brighten your day? :) For full instructions on how to make these, please head to her blog!
I love that she used simple crafting items like colored pencils and double sided tape on these easy projects! However, if you really are going to make pretty pins for your line, my only thought that instead of the tape, maybe the Modge Podge method might me more durable on the fabric version.
Would any of you actually consider making and using them? Would you use them if you got them as a gift? Would you consider giving them to other clothesline folks as a gift?
Me personally, I love how they all look, but the 3-D ones would eat up a lot of space in the clothespin bag. I’d probably be inclined to the flat fabric version… and then I think that they’d be a lot of fun! Why not make laundry a bit more fun while still being very functional?
Have a happy clothespins kind of day!
All work and no play makes Jane a very dull girl.
So, why not have a bit of fun with your clothespins? This is a great cheap game that can be made with supplies on hand and adapted in so many ways… contests for accuracy, clothespin HORSE (like basketball), a way to assign weekly chores (OK, not fun but at least random), and who knows what else.
El hada de papel has a super simple picture showing how to make this little gadget just in time for the summer “Momma, I’m bored” comments coming from the kiddos. (This blog is trilingual – so keep looking for the English part if you don’t speak Spanish or German.)
And, be on the lookout for more links to other clothespin crafts and games. I’ll be posting them as I find them. If you know of one, please let me know!
