luckypennymake

my kids have dirty fingernails, or i share my favorite stain treating tips

My kids have dirty fingernails.  And they aren't bathed everyday, and some weeks we're lucky if their hair is washed once.  They get messy; playing in the mud, smearing food in their hair (well, the four year old not so much anymore), painting or drawing on their legs, arms, faces. Child maintenance can be overwhelming, and I find a rinse in the sink or kiddie pool often suffices.  Especially because every single time I wash Ezra's hair he decides that is the night that his dinner would make a good conditioner.  So yes, along with a messy house, I have messy kids.  

And messy kids means messy me.  My kids stain their clothes and, unless they're wearing something special, I don't usually even bother to treat the stains.  Just wash and dry and oh well.  But I do like to have some clothes in my own closet that aren't kid marked.  And I've found a few great ways to pretreat the stains I most commonly acquire from the kidlets.  And, as with all stains, it is important to treat as soon as possible and before drying the item in the dryer.

Coffee or berry stains - So, the coffee stains are one of those that might not be inflicted upon me by my children.  But berry stains definitely are.  It seems inevitable that once a child of mine has strawberry juice running down face or arm, the only thing they want to do is grab my shirt.  And to be honest, I don't really mind, because I kind of like removing coffee/berry stains, the process kind of tickles me.  This is from the back of my beloved third Joy (although from memory):  Spread the stained item over a bowl and pour boiling water on it from a height of two feet until the stain is gone.  Yes, seriously, boiling water will remove those seemingly permanent coffee or berry stains.  If your bowl fills up before the stain is gone, simply (and carefully) swap for a new bowl and reuse the water from the first bowl.  

Blood:  Ladies, this is a great one even if you don't have kids.  You know why.  This is one I learned from my midwife and have added my own tips to. Pour hydrogen peroxide through the stain (from the underside (so the stain doesn't go through the fabric, but leaves from the same side it came in on, does that make sense?), let it bubble a bit, pour some more through if necessary.  It is sometimes necessary For really stubborn stains you can soak it in hydrogen peroxide.  And never again by the dinky little bottle, grab the big one.  A few of them.  And check out some other amazing things you can do with it.

Mud: This is the most tedious type of stain to get out, and the most frequently seen in this household.  Fortunately, I don't have to use this tip much because it's usually just the kids' clothes that get covered in mud, and those, I just let go. But, if you're got some mud stains you'd like to battle, here it is. Let it dry!  Otherwise it will smear.  Once it is dry scrape off as much as you can (I use a butter knife) then use a scrub brush, a bit of dishwashing liquid poured directly on the stain and enough water to rinse and rub/scrub the stain out.  Be careful, the scrubbing bit can fray the fibers of some types of cloth.

Oils/butter: Okay, so maybe I get these stains myself.  I do get a bit over zealous when eating buttery corn on the cob.  Massage dishwashing liquid into the stain and let sit for about ten minutes.  Rinse with warm water and repeat until the stain isn't visible; let air dry.  If the stain shows up again once the item is dry repeat the process.

I'm sure there are other great stain removal tips out there, what is your favorite? 

Felt Farm & Freezer Paper Tutorial

I've just released a new flannel board pattern, my luckypennymake felt farm (available in my pattern shop and on etsy.  Is it bad form to say I love these freaking animals?  I think they're so darn cute.  A few were drawn by my dad (the awesome horse, for instance) but the rest were me.  Thanks again, Dad!  Besides making the felt farm with the pattern, I kind of want to stencil all of the kids' clothing with them.  Fabric paint, here I come.

Anyway, in my pattern instructions I include tips for using freezer paper to make cutting out the items easier.  So I thought I would share a tutorial here, in case it helps anyone else.  

And hey, writing about freezer paper is fun.  Cause it is hard to overstate my love of freezer paper.  Seriously, love.  

I love using freezer paper stencils for painting fabrics.  There are lots of great tutorials for that (here's one) and Amy Karol's Bend the Rules with Fabric has a section on it.

But my favorite is using freezer paper to make templates for cutting out fabrics.  You can trace patterns onto freezer paper, iron it onto fabric, then cut out the pattern.  So easy.  But even better is printing patterns directly onto freezer paper, rather than tracing them on.  I do this whenever I make anything from my flannel board patterns.

I don't have the greatest printer, and I can't run the freezer paper through without some fiddling, or it will get jammed up.  I thought I would share my fiddling with you all, in case it helps.  

First, you need to cut your freezer paper to the right size.  This might be overstating the obvious, but if I'm cutting up a bunch of sheets, I like to use a dark piece of cardstock as a template so I can easily line up the edges without having to double check on the ruler.

Next, I do one of two things.  If I'm feeling a little lazy, I stack the freezer paper waxy-side down on top of another sheet of paper, slide that all into the printer and then pull out the regular sheet.  That gets the freezer paper all the way in without having the front edge curl up.  

This does jam occasionally, though, and sometimes what I'm printing gets cut off on the leading edge.

If I'm feeling a little less lazy, I take a piece of cardstock, put rolls of tape in each corner and stick the freezer paper on waxy-side down.  Then I run the whole thing through my printer.  I don't usually adjust my printer's paper settings, but for this I do, because it seems to help.  I set mine for photo paper (because I figure my printer will expect a thicker page if I do) and I haven't had a jam this way yet (knock on wood).  

After you print onto the freezer paper you can reuse the same cardstock-tape setup over and over for each sheet.  I haven't had the leading edge problem with this setup.  But, of course, all printers are different so you'll need to experiment with your own.

Then gently iron the item onto felt or your fabric with a not-too-hot iron.  If you are ironing onto acrylic felt be careful because it can melt.  I suggest putting a piece of fabric on top and ironing through that so you don't risk getting gunk on your iron.

Once I ironed a bunch of patterns to felt then didn't have time to cut them all out, when I went back to do it a few days later, some of the freezer paper had unstuck itself.  So now I do a few at a time, cut them, then do a few more.  But the stencils can usually be used more than once, so if you need to you can re-iron them on.

The freezer paper does unstick a bit as you cut, so I usually cut out details first (like the feet, face and tail of this pig) before moving onto the longer lines.  

And, if you are cutting out felt, good scissors make all of the difference.  I received these Gingher 5-inch knife-edge craft scissors for Christmas and they are the best for this.  Good sewing scissors work well, but can sometime make cutting out details more difficult.  And I've used a few different pairs of craft scissors that just didn't cut it (haha) especially with felt.

And a warning...freezer paper is called freezer paper... it is not the same as wax paper!

 

Artsy Cards Tutorial

Last week I made this set of notecards for one of my aunts.  I'm pretty thrilled with the way they turned out.  And they were super easy to make!  I used an old art history book of my brother's but when I get the chance I'm going to comb the thrift store for some cool books that don't have glossy pages, as I think that might look just a bit better.  I've also been saving some torn up picture books (favorites attacked by the littlest of the littles that I just couldn't part with) and may make some kids cards with those.  

I thought I would share my method, but I'll warn you, it is kind of a picture heavy tutorial because it is step-by-step and there are a lot of steps.  But, each step is quick and simple, so don't be daunted by the number of them!  

I started with the envelope, and dismantled one to make a pattern. I used a smallish one(mine ended up being 5.5"x4.125" folded), because of the size of the book pages.  I traced it onto a piece of cardstock and cut it out.  

I selected two images from the book that seemed to go together well (from the same artist when possible).

Then, I held the cardstock piece and the page up to the window to find the exact placement I wanted.  I had the cardstock on the underside of the page, so I was not tracing on the picture that would make up the outside of the envelope.  

I laid it all face down, traced and cut it out.

To fold up the flaps I used one of my quilting rulers as a straight edge.  You can use any sort of straight edge, but these rulers are really handy as you'll see later.

After folding the two small flaps in, I folded the bottom flap (the one without the point) then used the ruler to make sure the envelope was square and folded up the last flap.

Once I had all the folds I unfolded and added adhesive to the lower flap.  I used an adhesive roller like this, which made it really fast and easy.  But I also did one with glue, which you'll see below.

Before folding back up, I stuck a little piece of paper inside (the black cardstock) to make sure I didn't accidentally stick the flap to the main part of the envelope.  I used the black cardstock just for the photo, but normally I just used a little piece of the waste paper from cutting out the envelope.  In one case I had to leave that piece in and just made sure it was stuck down enough.

If you are going to use glue, I suggest painting it on and leaving something like wax paper inside the envelope until the glue dries fully.

Next I made a piece for the address on the front of the envelope.  I used cardstock and my nifty sticker maker, but you can use a regular address label.  I like the cardstock because it is thicker, and I thought an address label would be slightly transparent.

I again used my ruler to make sure I was placing the label part properly (and sometimes I was lazy and eye-balled it).  And the envelope was done!

For the cards I cut one out of a dark cardstock as my template, so that I didn't have to measure each and every card.  Mine is approximately 8"x5.25" which, when folded, makes a card about 4"x5.25"

For the card front I simply cut out the picture, clipped the corners with my handy photo corner punch (of course you can leave it square or use scissors for this).

Then I ran it through the cartridge for the big sticker maker I purchased (see this post about not needing to by the whole machine, just the cartridge).

Once you pull the piece out of the sticker maker, you need to make sure you rub HARD on the film before removing it.  This will remove any adhesive from the edges of your picture.  If you still have adhesive bits once you stick it on the card, I found that using the waxy white strip you removed the sticker from to rub those adhesive pieces off works well.

Stuck the new, big sticker on, and hey, presto!  the card was done.  In some cases I made the card a bit differently, but this is my favorite.  A little picture added to the back of the card is cute too.

And for fun, and because making these stickers can get a little addicting, I made coordinating ones that can be used for sticking down the flap of the envelope before mailing.  I did a few different styles, but the easiest was to use a giant punch (yes, I went a little overboard in Michael's scrapbooking department). 

Run the circles through the sticker maker, and, done!

I made seven of these for my aunt (one got gunky from glue though, and I had to toss it) and this one for the tutorial.  Each one, given all the supplies are to hand (and no kids are clamoring for your attention) takes only about fifteen minutes.  

My aunt loved these (although she did say she's not sure she wants to actually use them because they're too pretty) so it was a success!

easy-peasy t-shirt to yarn tutorial

Yesterday I promised an easy-peasy way to turn t-shirts into yarn, and here you go.  You can use any fabric really, you just want it to be a tube so you end up with one long piece of yarn rather than a zillion short ones.  So if you're starting with flat fabric simply sew the two selvage edges together so you have a tube (there's a zigzaggy way to cut flat fabric into a piece of yarn, let me know in the comments if you want a tutorial on that!).

If you have them, use a cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter.  If not, just scissors will work fine.  I actually cut several tshirts that way while sitting on the floor watching a movie.  

Starting at one side of the tshirt, cut upwards but don't complete the cut, stop about an inch from other edge.  Your cuts should be about an inch apart, but don't stress on it.  And don't worry about making your lines too straight (no need to draw lines even if you aren't using a ruler) because the resulting yarn is going to roll and stretch as you wind it and knit/crochet with it.  The tshirts I cut with scissors looked a lot messier than this but knit up fine.

Keep cutting in this manner until you get to the armholes, then just cut all the way through, lopping off the whole top part of the shirt.  I'm saving my shirt tops to use as dust rags, or I'll cut some up later for stuffing (I stuffed this bat with cut up tshirts).  If you are working with a longsleeve shirt you can use this method for turning the sleeves into yarn, but I don't think there is any easy-peasy way to use the armhole/neckhole area for yarn).

Now go back to the bottom edge of the tshirt and snip through one layer at the very top where all the pieces are still connected.

You'll have a piece that looks something like this (I draped it over my little ironing board* so the cuts can be seen clearly, which also helps with the next cutting step, a regular ironing board would work too).

Now for the fun part (and I got a little crazy with the picture, you can click on it to open a bigger version).  You're going to cut diagonally from one cut to the next, the arrows illustrate this.  When you've made all of the cuts, you'll have one loop remaining, and just snip through one layer again.

You'll end up with one long piece of yarn ready to be wound.  

Just for fun I measured my yarn; from a medium sized Old Navy tshirt I got 21 yards of yarn unstretched.  But it easily stretches to 1.5 times its size, so it works out to over 30 yards from just one tshirt.

"Hi, we used to be stained tshirts, now we're yarn.Aren't we great?"  (What, doesn't your yarn talk to you too?)

 This tutorial makes perfect sense to me, but then it came from my brain.  If anything is at all confusing, please ask for clarification in the comments or send me and e-mail at luckypennymake@gmail.com

* I saw these little ironing boards at fabric stores for years before I finally bought one.  If you sew kids clothes, hem pants or make shirts, get one.  Just watch out, your four year old might think it makes the perfect stepping stool.

 

Easy Wool Dryer Ball Tutorial

I used to have a few tennis balls to throw in the dryer with sheets or blankets to speed up the drying.  But, one by one, those balls were adopted as toys by the kidlets and subsequently lost.  So when I recently heard my aunt talking about wool dryer balls, I decided to make a few.  Now I just leave hem in the dryer all the time and I think it has nearly cut the drying time for normal loads of laundry in half.  

Because you want the wool to be tightly wound, these can take a lot of yarn (and a lot of time to wind).  I used scraps of felted wool (from a thrift store sweater) as a core to save time and yarn.  I made one of these in under 15 minutes (while being interrupted by Ezra a few times).  

- All you need to make one ball is a few scraps of felted wool, about 200 yards of 100% wool yarn (not labeled as machine washable or superwash), scissors, a yarn needle and a pillowcase (zippered preferrably).

- cut wool scraps that, when bundled, make a ball of about 2" in diameter

- begin by tightly wrapping the yarn around the scraps, you want the wool core to be compressed as much as possible.

- wrap the yarn in the other direction

- continue wrapping around the core to make a ball shape.

- when you've nearly run out of yarn (leave a tail of about 18") or have a ball about 3-1/2" in diameter (or 10-1/2" circumfrence) stop winding.

- thread your yarn needle and pull the tail through several different points on the ball, pulling as firmly as as you can without breaking the yarn

- Now you're ready to felt!  Simply drop your ball into a zippered pillowcase (or safety pin close a pillowcase) and run it through your wash cycle with jeans, blankets, or other heavy items.  You may have to run it more than once, you're done when the yarn has all fuzzed together (but because it is so tightly wound it will still be distinct strands).  If any bits of yarn have come loose and are hanging off you can simply trim them with scissors once the felting is complete.

I made three balls out of a dark brown yarn and have had no problems using those with my whites.  If you want some dryer balls, but don't want to make them, check out the listings on etsy for them.  If you want to lightly scent your laundry you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to one of the balls.  I'm thinking a few balls in a basket along with a little bottle of essential oil would make a nice housewarming gift, too.

 

Sewing How To: Top 10 Favorite Tips & Tricks

I have several sewing books that I love and pull out often to look at the pictures and dream about when I can make this or that.  But what I love best are the little tips and tricks in them (Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing is a great one for tips, by the way).  I've come up with my own top ten list that I live by.

10. Stitch along the raw edge of new fabric before washing it (you do wash all of your fabric before you sew with it, right?).  This is really fast and easy if you have a serger, but even if you don't give this a try with a zigzag stitch.  It'll keep you from ending up with that mass of tangled threads and wadded up fabric after the wash.

9.  Get a good seam ripper (the one that came with your machine probably doesn't qualify) and know how to use it.  I have two seam rippers by Clover and they are both great.  I slightly prefer the white handled one (easier to grip) to the brown, but either is fine.  If you don't know how to use a seam ripper properly, check out this tutorial from The Purl Bee.

8.  Don't follow directions.  I've noticed that some patterns, especially those that are marketed as "easy" have you doing stupid things when you sew.  If you know a better way, or even just want to try a different way, go for it!  And if it doesn't work out, well, you've got your seam ripper, right?

7.  Save time by not pinning your pattern to your fabric.  Use weights instead!  I like this especially for knits which can get distorted when pinned.  Weights can be anything, books, pieces of fruit, your daughter's rock collection, glass jars...

6.  Close elastic in kid's clothes with a diaper pin instead of stitching.  Leave an opening in the waistband casing so you can easily adjust the size later.  I suggest diaper pins because, although they're kind of big, they have a locking mechanism.  And you should be able to find some with the sewing notions at the fabric store.

5.  Try this ironing trick if you're turning and topstitching something, especially narrow somethings (like apron ties, shoulder straps, etc.). I do this all the time and it makes a huge difference, it will keep you from getting a wonky edge where the sewn edge kind of wobbles in and out.  After you've turned whatever it is, lay it on your ironing board with the seam facing you.  Iron the heck out of the seam.  

Once you've got that seam ironed flat, press the piece flat in the other direction, basically opening it up and ironing it the way you want it to look.  Iron the heck out of it again before topstitching along the egde.

4.  Take advantage of your sewing machine's adjustable stitch width even when you're just using a straight stitch.  For example, when applying bias tape, I line the outside edge of the tape up with some obvious point on my machine (outside edge of the foot, or a guide line on the foot perhaps) and then adjust the stitch width setting so the needle is almost at the edge of the fabric.  This makes it so much easier to make sure I'm feeding the bias tape and fabric in and getting a nice straight line of stitches where I want them.  

Use this trick when edgestitching also.  I like to line the edge of the fabric up with the center of my foot then just move the needle over a smidge.

3.  Use the little lint brush that came with your sewing machine.  Better yet, open up your sewing machine (including removing bobbin, etc.) and spray all the dust out with an air compressor.  This is easy if there happens to be an air compressor in your garage.  Not so sure if you should shlep your machine down to the air pump at the gas station.  But do what you can, lint is death to even stitches.  And sewing machines are lint-making machines, evidence in the close up pictures above.

2.  Use the right size needle for fabric you're working with.  Stitches come out more evenly, it is easier to sew a straight line, and (if your tension is set correctly) you won't get wonky tension between the upper and bobbin threads.  I usually use universal needles in size 80/12 for basic wovens, 70/10 for lightweight wovens and 90/14 for several layers of fabric or heavier wovens.  For basic knits I use 80/12 ballpoint needle.

And, my number one sewing tip...you've heard it often, if you're like me you ignored it for years, but take it to heart.  Stock up on those various size needles and...

1.  Change your needle frequently.  I used to read this in a book and ignore it, changing my needle only when I had to.  But, if you change your needle after every big project and every couple of little projects, you'll see the difference.    All of the benefits of using the right size needle apply here twice over. 

What is your favorite sewing tip or trick?

 

Crafting with the Girl: Baby Doll Diapers

On Friday, at the end of a long week with no mama crafting time, Junah told me that she needed another diaper for her Special Baby (Special Baby is actually the name of this particular doll, Junah isn't prone to naming things much) because like all babies, Special Baby had pooped in her diaper and needed a change.  

My inner crafter started thinking of all the cute doll diapers I could make with some fabric, bias tape, hook & loop tape.  They would be so darn cute.  But Special Baby would be sitting in that same diaper quite awhile if I were going to go that route.  

So instead we traced the one doll diaper we have, used a bit of flannel and some gripper snap snaps and within fifteen minutes Special Baby had a new diaper.  

I cut some flannel squares from the same fabric to supply the much needed wipes.  Junah has the techinque down quite well, I think, check out the one handed leg hold.  

The snaps are a bit tough for Junah to work on her own, so I'm still itching to make some better diapers, but seeing as Special Baby got about ten diaper changes in a row that afternoon (playing with baby dolls isn't big with Junah...maybe the real life brother doll has something to do with that) and none since, it isn't a high priority.  

But I did create a pdf of the diaper pattern (just the pattern piece, not any instructions--but really, it couldn't be simpler).  I made a few minor adjustments to make it better fit on either a 12" or an 18" doll.  All you need are a few items besides the fabric: gripper-snap pliers, a pencil with an eraser end, six little fabric squares (for reinforcing the snaps), six pokey snap pieces, two flat snap pieces, and two sticky-outy snap pieces (if my designations for the different parts of the snap aren't clear, please refer to the picture).

The eraser is key to not letting the gripper snapper make you crazy.  After you push the pokey snap piece through the fabric, use the eraser to jam the fabric all the way on my stabbing at the pokey pieces with the eraser.  I tried to take a picture to illustrate this but it came out blurry so I've hidden it here.

The pattern has markings for placing the snaps.  Just make sure that the four snap pieces on the bottom are all facing one direction and the two snap pieces on the top are facing the opposite direction.  Another somewhat blurry picture here.

And you'll end up with a cute little baby doll dipe, just like this:

 

Crafting with the Girl: Crafty Christmas Wrap

I added an important bit of information to yesterday's recipe.  

One of my favorite things about Christmas is wrapping gifts.  I know for some, this part of the season is a lot of work, and sometimes, when Christmas is very near and there are many presents still to be wrapped, it feels that way for me too.  But mostly it is a joy.  I get so excited as I go through bags of gifts to be wrapped, revisiting things I've made one last time, or finding something I had forgotten about. 

As I fold and cut and tape I think about the recipient untying and opening, finding what gift lies inside, think of their joy or laughter at something heartfelt or funny.  

I think that is why I spend so much time on the wrapping itself; I want it just so, the perfect presentation.

A few years ago I made cloth gift bags which were enjoyed along with the gifts.  A few are still under my parents' tree every year. 

In more recent years I've been using kraft paper to wrap all or some gifts.  I like kraft paper because it can be recycled (whereas most wrapping paper can't be) and because it makes the perfect canvas for decorations.  

This year Junah and I decorated some paper with tempera paints and the stamps I made.  

I love the way the presents look wrapped up with some regular old garden twine and a handmade gift tag.

And, of course, I'm loving the gift tags from Monkeys on the Roof.

This year I'm going to try to keep the wrapping paper out of the recycle bin to fold up and use again next year.  I'm sure it will iron well, don't you think?

Christmas Is Coming & Making Bias Tape

I'm finding it hard to believe that Christmas is just over a week away (I know, I say that every year).  But this year, with our house listed, sick kids and parents on and off for the last month, etc., we've not gotten any Christmas decorations out.  We bought a tree over the weekend but the poor thing has been languishing away unadorned.  Well, except for the ornaments and gift tags I got from Monkeys on the Roof (Junah keeps decorating and redecorating the tree with these).  

I've yet to make a single batch of candy, whereas I normally make at least one batch the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I'm hoping to have a chance to remedy this tonight.  I'm really missing the taste of Christmas, which this definitely is!

I have managed to finish a few presents.  The backpacks as previously reported, and three rock collecting skirts for the dear girl.  I love that she wears one almost everyday and know she'll be glad to get a few more.  The sky has been gray here a lot lately, which I normally love but isn't conducive to pictures.  But here are the first two skirts.  The third is my favorite, I think, made of some natural linen with white and pink toile bias tape and pockets (from pj shirt my sister let me have when I admired the fabric).

Obviously both skirts need a good ironing, which they will get after a good washing.  All of the fabric is stash fabric so it hasn't been washed in a while.    The brown skirt is a fine wale quilting weight cordrouy with pockets from a fat quarter.  The black skirt is made from all quilting weight wovens.  

I made the bias tape for the black skirt and the (not pictured) linen skirt.  I used packaged bias tape for the brown skirt.  I love to make bias tape because it matches perfectly, but man, prepackaged bias tape goes on so well.  I think it is something to do with the polyester content; it is just stiff enough to hold shape and I can get such a nice clean stitching line on it.

I couldn't find my bias tape makers when I needed them (of course) but improvisedwith a method that might actually work even better.  If you don't own bias tape makers try this first!  

Pin a long straight pin (I love these clover pins) to your ironing board.  Run the pin through the material of your ironing board twice, with a gap in between that matches 2 times the width you want your bias tape to be (I was making 1/2" tape so I have a 1" gap).  Cut a strip of material (on the bias for true bias tape, but I used the straight grain to conserve fabric since I wasn't using this tape to go around any curves) just shy of 4 times the width of your tape (so I cut my strip just shy of 2" wide).  

Fold the end of the tape in half and press to get a crease.  Unfold.  Fold either side into the crease and wedge the end under the gap of the pin.  Pull the tape through slowly (it'll fold beneath the pin) and press with your iron as it comes out.

Once you've finished fold the end in half again and run it through underneath the pin again, pressing as it comes out.

I have such short crafting periods (the length of one boy's nap, however long that ends up being) that I usually cut out pieces of fabric and make any bias tape I need during one nap and then sew during another.  I roll the tape up and pin it to store it after I've made it.

Speaking of bias tape, I've drooled a bit over Simplicity's Bias Tape Maker.  It gets good reviews but with a $65 price tag I think I'll be making my bias tape my way for awhile yet.

Magnet Dress-Up Doll Tutorial & A Christmas Freebie

I've been hard at work on a new set of dress up dolls.  These are based on my Matilda and Elliott felt doll patterns but are made for magnets.  This is a super easy craft project that will result in a great little stocking stuffer.  I was hoping to get the whole set ready before Christmas but it just isn't going to happen.  There are far too many unfinished (and some un-begun) gift projects I need to get back to.

So, instead, here is a little sneak preview of what's to come.  This single page is from my upcoming Ruby Doll pattern.  I crammed as much onto this single sheet as I could; you'll find the 7-1/2" doll herself, four items of clothing, two pairs of footwear, two hairstyles and Ruby's own doll complete with an outfit and hairstyle.

I had so much fun coloring the doll (I used the free program paint.net) that I ended up making two different sheets, with different colors.  

To make your own set you don't need much:

The easiest option is to pick up some printable magnet sheets (I got the Avery brand at the craft store, but Staples has their own brand too) and print the page directly onto it.  Then it is just a matter of using some sharp scissors (I found that the paper part tore a little when I used dull scissors).

You can also use adhesive magnetic sheets (craft store again).  Cut out the doll pieces and stick them on, then cut them out again.  But be careful when placing them, that adhesive is sticky and you can't reposition the paper once it is on.

I used 5" x 8" magnetic sheeting by The Magnet Source.  With that size sheet you'll need three sheets for the entire set.  If you're going this route, make sure you get the adhesive magnet sheets otherwise you'll have to glue on the pieces.

I didn't like the orangeyness (yes, that is a word) of the doll on the right so I've changed that a bit.

So, here are your free craft patterns!

The pdf, which includes the two colored versions as well as a black and white version you or your child can color (I'm thinking of a colored pencil set myself).

luckypennymake ruby doll pdf

Also, here is the jpg which can easily be colored using a paint program (like the one I mentioned, paint.net).

luckypennymake ruby doll jpg

There you go!  Have fun & Happy Holidays!  Let me know what you think either in the comments or e-mail me at luckypennymake@gmail.com.  And as always, I would love to see pictures of your creations on the luckypennymake flickr group!