Sprucing up old binders

I still have a few plain old three ring binders from high school that are plain and ugly. Some of the white stuff on one is even wrinkled, making it look even uglier. So I decorated the outside with some scrapbook paper:

But the inside was still all plain and ugly, so I spruced that up too!!
I went and got some 30 cent file folders out of the clearance school stuff at Walmart,

cut off about a half inch from the bottom and punched some holes in those suckers,

 and then stuck them into the binder

The pack comes with three folders and the tabs are quite large so I cut them in half in order to be able to use six folders and still see all the tabs.

And then when I was all done, I had these pretty little colorful dots left in the hole punch. I don't know what I'll do with them yet. I could use them as a table decoration but I'm not quite sure for what occasion.

The Big Bangle Theory

If you have a baby and she/he is on WIC then you probably end up with a lot of Gerber formula cans in your trash. I still throw the cans away because I know at some point if I use them for anything, some kind of liquid will get in there and the can will rust, so I don't bother with it. But I do save the lids. I actually saw on a site a while back that you can cut out the middle of the lid and crochet around it and use it as a handle on a purse. Since I abuse my purses to no end, I don't crochet any because they'd probably only last a week. So I decided I'd just make some bangles with them. They end up a little on the large side, so this probably wont work if you have small hands. Mine are pretty average and they don't slip off.

You'll need some scissors, a lid, yarn and an appropriate sized hook.
First thing you want to do is poke a hole through the lid with a pair of scissors (being careful not to poke a hole through yourself) and start cutting around the circle.

 It doesn't have to be perfect. Unless you want it to be. I'm lazy, so mine's not.
Next attach the yarn to the lid however you see fit. I just tie mine on because I usually go over it and hide the ends and I like to know it's secure. You can also just hold the yarn in place with your finger and do a slip stitch (next step).

Then you're going to  take the hook underneath to the back of the rim of the lid, hook onto the yarn and pull it under the rim and up to the front. Yarn over and pull through the loop.
Now you have a loop on your hook and will continue to do this same process around the ring.

Hook goes under the lid to the back, and hooks onto the yarn. (please excuse my nasty looking old lady hands.)

Pull yarn under and to the front of ring.

 Yarn over.

 Pull through all loops.
Easy as eating pie! Do this all the way around the lid and then invisible FO and hide your tail.

On the blue one I used some tarn from an old sweater I had. If you use two yarns, keep them from twisting and you'll get an a,b pattern instead of the random chaos like mine.

Mustache Applique

If you don't already know, mustache is the new black. But in my quest for all things of the upper lip hair variety (at least in the form of crochet), I never really found an applique that I actually liked. So I did what should have been obvious from the get-go and made my own.

Can be used with any yarn. I think that's a worsted weight I used. I don't pay attention.
Here's the pattern for the large 'stache:
(ss= slip stitch)
- ch11
- sc in 2nd ch from hook and next 4 chs, ss1, hdc 2, dc 1, 6 tr in last ch wrapping around to underside of ch
- dc 1 in next ch, hdc 1, 2 hdc, hdc 1, sc 2, ss1
- Cut yarn and do the invisible FO
Make two, flip one around and sew the fat parts together at the edges.

And for the smaller 'stache:
- ch7
- sc in 2nd ch and next 2 chs, ss 1, hdc 1, 5 dc in last ch wrapping around to the underside of ch
- hdc next ch, 2 sc, ss 1
- Do the invisible FO
Make two, flip one around and sew fat parts together at the edges.

Place on whatever you feel like. I stuck one on a mug cozy I made for my husband.

Do whatever you want with the end result, just don't redistribute the pattern as your own.

Salutations

Hello!!
My name is Ainsley! I have a husband named Ben whose is in the Air Force, and together we have a beautiful little girl named Alexis (Lexi).
I'm starting this blog as a creative outlet. I will try to post everything from DIY crafts, and crochet patterns to photography, photoshop tuts and resources. Some will be my own, and some will be neat ideas I found on the internet and then (poorly) tried to duplicate.
I apologize in advance for anyone who doesn't get my sense of humor and will try to keep my sailors mouth to a minimum.
I'll probably put one of my crochet patterns up here later tonight. Or possibly maybe sometime tomorrow. Procraftstination at it's finest.