Mom's are hard to get gifts for, especially one as old as mine (hehehe). That old bi**h can do anything, so if there is something she wants-well-she friggin makes it. Which leaves me without a damn gift for her! Not only that-if I make something she will totally check out my Handy-work all the while trying to be cool about it-which she isn't fooling anyone-and then be all like, "Well hon, you should do this" or "You should do that" to make it better or to do it right or....AGH!....OK, sorry. Mom-meltdown.
So, anyway. Mom-she sews, she crochets, she makes pretty cakes, and lots of other stuff and it stands to reason something crafty and helpful would be appreciated (even if it is critiqued). So I thought to myself, yeah, Mom's got a pin cushion....but does she have one for her finger-well HELL no! So there you go-I set out to make her a Pin Cushion Ring. So I gathered up my supplies: a lid from an empty 20 oz Coke bottle (don't judge-you'll see), some batting, some awesome scrap fabric (Heather Bailey), my trusty glue gun, a needle, thread and some elastic.
First things-drill 2 small holes in the lids (or get your husband to do it-like I did!) and thread the elastic through, fitting to your finger (or your husbands) and tying it in a knot. Trim the ends.
Cut a 3 1/2 inch circle from your fabric (I made a cardboard circle template since I was planning on making several rings-I scratched out my address. I don't want any nuts seeing where I live) and gather the edges
making a little pouch.
Fill the pouch with fiber fill (I recycled the fill from an old and ugly couch pillow that I hate but didn't want to throw out, because other than ugly, there wasn't anything wrong with it) and pull the gathers tight, then tie off the thread.
Put a very generous amount of hot glue (hopefully you were smart enough to plug this in when you first started so it will be nice and hot-if not-ask your mom to help you because you probably shouldn't be using hot glue or sharp needles). I held the top of the pin cushion, pinching it tightly to form a "nipple" on the bottom of the cushion, then shoved it into the cap. This really helped get the cushion down in there and into the glue.
I suppose you can then cover the cap with ribbon or fabric, using a little glue. I did try this, however I really didn't like the look of it and prefer the naked cap better.
I got thinking about bottle caps, and I realized what an incredible variety of colors are available! White or red from Coke, black from Coke Zero, lime from Dew, green from Sprite, orange or purple from Fanta, the list goes on! Have fun with it-I now have enough of these to put one on every finger....now I just have to figure out who the hell to give them to!
There are a lot of great decoupage mediums out there (Modge Podge is my favorite) however I find there are times that a) I am too lazy to go buy any, b) don't have money to buy any or c)..well screw it , 2 reasons are all I can come up with. So anyway, I have a recipe for making my own. It is really easy and super cheap, and most people have the 2 ingredients on hand anyway. So here it is....Elmers white glue and water, 50/50 solution. Really, and for truly, that is it. Mix it up and slap it on.
