Smile with Confidence

As we get older chances are that we get some more dental work done. Some of us end up with crowns and bridges. We all know how difficult they are to clean especially when we eat leafy food and seeds. There’s nothing more embarrassing than being seated around a table, with friends, enjoying spinach dip, salad or delicious sushi and food gets stuck between your teeth without noticing it. You continue your conversations oblivious to the pesky stuff “decorating” your mouth.

“Soft-picks®”, which are little cones that you can carry in your pocket or your purse, are ideal for rescuing you in these kinds of situations. That’s why I had the idea to do a case for them, which is flat, small and funky that I can carry everywhere and, best of all, it is made from recyclable material!

Let me guide you through the process:
Choose a colored piece of newspaper and write on top with a black marker. It doesn’t matter if it is legible or not, nobody is going to read it--what you want are the black marks to be a part of the design. It is a liberating stage.
Once you are happy with the design choose one or two acrylic colors mixed with a little water and paint the whole surface.
Iron interfacing on the back (any kind will do).
Print words from your computer, in this case I chose the word “smile” in four different languages and cut them apart. Cut letters from newspaper and shapes from colored papers with the help of punchers.
Iron on Vinyl on top, which is a sticky plastic that comes on a roll. I used the Therm O Web® brand. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Cut in strips 6 inches long and 2 inches wide.
With the help of a glass, mark and cut a rounded shape on one end and sew a small button on the other; as shown in the picture.
Fold 1 ½ inches up, from the straight end and sew each side with straight stitches. Put a drop of Fray Check® at the ends before cutting the thread tails.
Once sewn, fold again but this time 2 ½ inches up and crease
Congratulations, your funky case is done! Make sure you make more than one since your friends will love them too!
 



Paper and Fabric Birthday Bag

I've been invited to a birthday party and have been asked to make a bag to collect money for the birthday girl. So I whipped up this bag in an hour! Best of all I had all the materials at hand. Let me guide you through the process:
Cut a piece of fabric 12 inches by 8 inches. Mark with chalk or pen in the middle.
On a piece of plain copy paper, stamp a word. In this case I stamped "tesoro" which means "treasure" in Spanish. If you don't have an alphabet stamp you can write with a black marker or you can even print the word from the computer.
Cut the word out. From a magazine page, cut a rectangle slightly bigger.
With school glue paste it in the lower part of the right side of your fabric. Sew around it.
Cut two circles from felt and from another magazine page of contrasting color cut a smaller circle and choose a decorative button for the center.
It will look like this.
Sew it in place.
Choose a colorful ribbon and sew it all around the upper edge. Cut a piece 12 inches long and sew it in the middle, 2 1/2 inches from the top edge like shown in the picture.
With the help of a pin, hold the ribbon in one place. This way when you sew your bag around it doesn't get caught in the seams.
Sew around and a diagonal line on each corner, this helps the bag to stand better.
With a big eye needle pass the ribbon through a decorative button and make a knot at the end.
You have finished your bag and it's ready to give out as a lovely gift!