DIY - Pocketful of Joules

I Saw it on Pinterest: No Sew Blanket Scarf

So far in my Pinterest adventures, I’ve tackled a braided bun, made some fire starters, tried to unclog a sink drain, made a t-shirt bag and baked some crappy s’mores pockets.

Well, a few weeks ago I came across this pin for a No Sew Blanket Scarf and was intrigued. I love the blanket scarf I received in my last Fix but also really wanted a plaid version to add to my neck collection.

Well, I had planned to go by Joann’s to check out their pre-lit Christmas trees (and got one for 50% off, yay!) and while I was there I browsed through their flannel shirt fabric section. Just as promised in the pin, the fabric was $8.99 per yard and an online coupon took me less than 3 minutes to download to my phone.

It was probably the easiest DIY I’ve ever done in my life.

Pick fabric.
Cut the crooked edges into a straight line by following the print.
Throw the fabric in the laundry.
Pull it out and see that the edges have frayed adorably.

Put that warm fresh-from-the-dryer fabric around my neck and give it a little snuggle:

Isn’t it gorgeous?! I ended up buying 2 ½ yards of fabric for $22.48 and then saved $8.99 by using my online coupon (you can get them right off the Joann’s website and have it sent to your phone). So, the total for my new super soft blanket scarf was only $13.50!

I’ve seen similar blanket scarfs for sale for WAY more than my DIY steal. So I’m feeling pretty darn good about this project!

Have you made a DIY blanket scarf? Are you going to run out to the fabric store and make yourself one now?

I saw it on Pinterest: S’mores Pockets

So far in my Pinterest adventures, I’ve tackled a braided bun , made some fire starters and tried to unclog a sink drain and making a t-shirt bag.

You all know how much I love marshmallows and s’mores, so when I saw this pin’s recipe for how to make s’mores pie pops I pinned it on my ‘yummy foods’ page and promptly forgot about it. As you do, obviously.

A couple weeks ago I was looking through my old pins for inspiration and decided to finally try this recipe out at home. You really only need three things for this recipe: Pillsbury pie crusts, marshmallows and chocolate bars. Sounds pretty easy, right?

I didn’t follow the pin’s instructions exactly – Instead of using three chocolate pieces for each pocket, I used two. I also cut a normal sized marshmallow in half for each treat, instead of using mini marshmallows (because I didn’t have any small ones on hand). Other than that, I followed directions… but my little s’mores raviolis didn’t look as pretty as the ones on the baking website. Which probably surprises no one.

I baked my finished s’mores pies for 15 minutes at 375 degrees and here’s the finished product:

Looks pretty okay, I guess. But the proof is in the pudding. Or, I guess the s’mores. And there was one big problem. The marshmallow disappeared. In fact, if you look closely at the picture you can see that the little puff is practically empty.

I was warned in the original recipe that the marshmallow would melt, but I guess I expected some part to be left behind. I mean, these didn’t even taste like a marshmallow had been by to visit the chocolate AT ALL! Basically, the finished treat tasted like a bit of warm chocolate in a pie crust. Which isn’t bad… but it’s NOT s’mores.

I think I did pretty well in following the directions, but I won’t be making this again. I like my s’mores treats to taste like chocolate AND marshmallow, so I’ll be sticking to the old school version over a bonfire.

Do you have any yummy s’mores recipes I should try? Would you have been disappointed about the lack o’ marshmallow in the finished recipe?

I saw it on Pinterest: Making a T-Shirt Bag

So far in my Pinterest adventures, I’ve tackled a braided bun, made some fire starters and tried to unclog a sink drain.

For today’s post, I decided to follow this pin’s instructions to make an old t-shirt into a grocery bag without using my sewing machine. I like the idea of upcycling a t-shirt that was no longer being worn into something useful. Also, I know a lot of people don’t know how to sew, so I thought it would be fun to try a ‘no-sew’ version to show you all if it was actually easy to do!

Here’s the shirt I started with… super old cotton shirt from Loft. I know it looks kind of cute in this picture and you are wondering why I decided to cut it apart, but in real life it definitely looks like it’s been worn about 10,000 times.

Following the steps on the pin, I sliced off the neckline and sleeves.

Then, I used one of the black stripes for measuring and cut the hem in little strips.

To tie the fringe, I flipped the shirt inside out and then started at one side and just tied each pair of strips (one from the front and one from the back) into a knot. Then, I moved onto the next two strips. When I got to the end, I just flipped it around and tied each coupled knot to the one next to it. It sounds harder than it was.

I then stretched the handles out a little with my hands and flipped the shirt back to the right way (so the fringe lives inside, instead of being seen).

Super cute, right? And it really WAS as easy as it looked in the pin. Oh wait, you want to see how much this little bag can actually hold? Well, here….

Pretty darn useful, too!

I could see this as being a really good ‘keep busy’ summer project for a kid or teenager. It really isn’t hard at all, as long as you are careful not to slice a finger open with the scissors. I think this could be a great use for those ‘brand’ t-shirts that we end up getting for free! The best part is that you keep a few in your trunk for groceries and just throw them in the washing machine when they get a little icky!

Have you tried making a bag from an old t-shirt? Did it work well for you?