Craft Tuesday: Simple Stretch Bracelets

Bracelet making is probably something we all did when we were little. There are so many great bead options to make fun, fashionable bracelets that it really is worth while to make your own bracelets now! I was on the hunt for some fun, purple beaded bracelets. I hit up all the department stores and Target, and everything I found that I liked was going to cost me at least $30 to have a set. I moped, and then thought to myself, "Duh, you are a crafter. You should MAKE your bracelets!"

So I did.

My inspiration was a set of purple bracelets I saw at Dillard's, where one bracelet was $20. They were made out of very similar purple plastic beads that were "crystal cut." I went to JoAnn and bought a large bag of similar plastic beads (Urban Ice) for $5, a spool of 60' of stretch cord for $4, and a pack of 10 silver-plated beads for $5. After I used some 40% off coupons, I spent less than $10 at the store, and I still have beads and LOTS of cording left over.

So maybe this blog entry is less about teaching you HOW (which I do) and more about making you aware of the money-saving possibilities at your fingertips (which I did)!

 

To start, measure your wrist using a flexible tape measure or string. Mine was 6.5" around. Add on 4 inches (2" onto each side for tying knots). So my cord was cut to 10.5" long.

Next, use a binder clip or paper clip and clip off the end of the string, leaving the 2" excess. This clip will act as a bead stopper.

Place your string to the side and begin arranging your beads. I first laid mine out and separated them into different shapes and colors. My bag had quite a variety so I had lots of little piles. After you do that, it's time to start choosing your beads!

I am not a big fan of simple patterns like purple, pink, purple, pink, etc so this is how I did mine: I picked on bead to repeat, and did so every 3rd or 4th bead. Next to that bead I put a silver one, and then in between those I just filled in with a fun variety, making sure not to have two similar beads too close together. Simple to do and it looks a little less like Claire's jewelry.

If you are making a set (I made 3), then try to vary the sizes of beads you use by bracelet. I made one using the large beads, one using large & medium beads, and one bracelet using only the small beads. When they are stacked on my wrist they look so nice because of all the variety!

Once you have put on beads, carefully wrap the string around your wrist to make sure you have enough beads to wrap around your whole wrist. Now tie off the ends so that the beads wont come off. I suggest documenting the bead pattern you chose, whether it be with a picture or a sketch, because if your beads fall off for some reason you will want to be able to recreate it (sadly, this happened to me and I had not documented). Once you have tied off one end, move the clip to that end and tie the other, then remove the clip and tie a surgeon's knot to tie the bracelet together.

BeadingTimes.com

Clip the extra cord and try to tuck the knots inside a bead. You are finished! Enjoy wearing or gifting your creations! There are so many possibilities for this project, I hope you have fun beading :)

Foodie Friday: Sweet Popcorn Balls

These sticky-sweet popcorn popcorn balls are such a crowd-pleaser and are infinitely customizable. You can add anything your heart desires! This is a basic recipe that you can build off of (think chocolate chips, sprinkles, whole marshmallows, etc), so use your imagination, or just eat them as is, which is what we did, and they were sweet and fantastic. These are sure to be a hit at your next movie night!

This recipe makes about 15 tennis-ball size popcorn balls, which is a lot more than it sounds!


You will need:

• 2 large (2.75 oz) bags of microwave Kettlecorn popcorn (or plain)
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 2 tsp cold water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Pop popcorn and pour into a large mixing bowl, removing as many kernels as possible
2. In a saucepan, add corn syrup, butter, sugar, cold water, and marshmallows. Mix together, add cinnamon, and let come to a boil
3. Allow mixture to cool for 3 minutes. While mixture is sitting, prepare a surface to place formed popcorn balls such as a large piece of wax/freezer paper or a large cutting board
4. Pour sugar mixture over popcorn and stir with a large spoon or spatula to cover popcorn with sugar mixture
5. Grease your hands very well with vegetable shortening (I used Crisco), and use your hands to form popcorn balls, packing them tightly
6. Set completed popcorn balls on your prepared surface ensuring that the popcorn balls are not touching one another
7. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving

Foodie Friday: Stuffed Mushrooms

I looove stuffed mushrooms. They are fantastic. Such a wonderful, like appetizer to so many meals. They are great with pasta especially, and since I eat a lot of pasta I sure do have plenty of excuses for eating stuffed mushrooms!

This recipe was found at Baked Bree and made almost exactly. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

You will need:

• 12 white mushrooms
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbs breadcrumbs (plain or italian)
• 2 tbs parsley
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/8 cup (2 tbs) white wine
• 1/8 cup (2 tbs) grated parmesan
• 1 tbs olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Do not was your mushrooms off. If you need to wash them, wipe them with a slightly damp cloth. Excess moisture will make your mushrooms slimy
3. Remove the stems and slightly hollow out your mushroom, saving the bit you removed in a bowl to the side

4. Finely chop garlic and mushroom and mix together (if you have a food processor, run it through there)
5. Saute the mushroom and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to caramelize
6. Add white wine and let it cook out
7. Remove mushrooms from heat and set to the side
8. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, parmesan, thyme, and parsley

9. Add mushroom mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix well, adding salt & pepper if desired

10. Place mushroom caps on foil-lined pan and add filling. It is easiest to do this by filling an icing bag or a ziploc bag with the corner cut and squeezing it in
11. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of filling
12. Bake for 20 minutes, or until leaking water and hot all the way through
13. Garnish with more parsley and serve

Foodie Friday: Two-Bite Cheescakes

These delectable two-bite cheesecakes are sinfully easy (and fast) to make. You can have them from the oven to the table in less than hour. Perfect desserts for parties, or for small portions at home. It's much faster to make 12 two-bite cheesecakes then one large one after all! You can top them off with raspberry sauce (as pictured), chocolate shavings, strawberry slices, or just some whipped cream. Why not do a few of each?

This recipe makes 12 two-bite cheesecakes in a standard size muffin pan.

You will need:

• 1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 graham cracker crust, or 12 vanilla wafers

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line a muffin pan with paper liners
3. Place one vanilla wafer in the bottom of each lined cup as the crust, OR using a spoon loosen a pre-made graham cracker crust and repack about 1 1/2 tbs into the bottom of each lined cup (of course you can crush your own graham crackers too, but I happened to have a graham cracker crust sitting around waiting to be used)
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese until fluffy
5. Add eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat together until smooth (if your cream cheese has been beaten well, then this step shouldn't take too long)
6. Fill each lined cup about 2/3 full with the cream cheese mixture
7. Bake cheesecake for 15 minutes, or until it no longer jiggles
8. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving cheesecakes onto wire cooling rack. After cooling on the rack for 10 minutes, cover loosely and move to the refrigerator
9. Remove from liner and top with sauce, fruit, or whipped cream immediately before serving

Foodie Friday: Baked Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This recipe was my grandmother's. It's a very simple baked casserole that is perfect to make for dinner tonight, or to make and refrigerate for the next day! You can add whatever you like (cilantro, cayenne, corn, maybe even onions if you're not allergic like I am!) but as is this is a festive and delicious dinner. Serve with a side of taco salad and corn!

This recipe make 6 large servings.

You will need:

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups tortilla chips or tortillas1 16oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 4-oz can chopped green chiles
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup (8 oz) grated cheese
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

1.     Boil chicken breasts, reserving 1 cup broth

2.     In pot, mix broth, diced tomatoes (drained), spices, and green chiles over low heat

3.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

4.     Cover bottom of casserole dish with small amount of spiced mixture, then half of the chips/tortillas

5.     Layer half of the chicken over the chips

6.     Pour half the sauce over the chicken

7.     Sprinkle 4oz grated cheese on top

8.     Repeat steps 4-7 once

9.     Bake for 25-30 minutes and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving

Hint: Cover for the first 10 minutes of baking to prevent burnt cheese

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

These flourless, 3 ingredient cookies (4 if you include the Kiss) were the perfect thing for my cookie craving one day when I was running low on all purpose flour (why I had little flour and a whole bag of Hershey's Kisses I may never fully understand). It's incredibly easy to substitute the sugar with Splenda or another sugar replacement for a lower calorie count–about 50 calories less per cookie. Yup. I did the math.

This recipe makes approximately 18 cookies

You will need:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar (or Splenda)
• 1 egg
• 18 Hershey's Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Beat sugar, peanut butter, and egg until fully incorporated. Here's a helpful tip for measuring peanut butter. Use a 2 cup measuring cup and fill it with one cup of water. Add peanut butter until the water line moves up to 2 cups. Now you can scoop out your peanut butter without having a sticky measuring cup!
3. Roll your dough into 1" balls and place on ungreased baking sheet
4. Bake for 10 minutes
5. While cookies are baking, unwrap one Hershey Kiss per cookie and place to the side
6. After the cookies are taken out of the oven, promptly and gently press a kiss into each cookie
7. Let cool completely before eating. The kisses may remain melty and gooey (yum!) for several hours, so if you want cooled candy make sure you make the cookies at least 6 hours in advance.

Enjoy this delicious treat and try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Craft Tuesday: Three DIY Cloth Flowers

We're back this Craft Tuesday with a simple craft, well 3 simple crafts really. These cloth flowers can be used to embellish many things. One of them you will recognize from my cloth bookmarks! You can stick these flowers onto headbands, brooch pins, hair clips, book covers, aprons... the list is as long as your imagination is big!

You will need:

• Hot glue gun (or fast-drying fabric glue)
• Various fabrics

Two of these flowers can be made with any cloth scraps you have laying around, so we will start with those.

Flower #1: The Rolled Flower
Start by cutting one long strip of fabric (at least 30", the longer the strip, the bigger your flower), about 1/2" to 1" wide. On one end of the fabric strip tie a double knot. This knot will the center of your flower.

Now, with one hand (not your dominant hand) hold the knot and with the other hand begin twisting the fabric (the way you would twirl a lock of hair, so that is curls onto itself). As you twist the fabric, begin wrapping it around the knot with your other. It takes a bit of  doing and I had to kind of go back and forth using both hands for each task. As you are wrapping, place glue about every 1/2" or so to make sure the flower stays together. When your flower reaches the desired size, take the end of your fabric strip and glue it (unrolled) onto the bottom of the flower.

Finish the flower with a button of your choice in the center (sewn or glued). If you're placing this on a head band or a pin, glue the flower onto a felt circle a little bit smaller than the flower, and then glue the headband/pin onto the felt.

Flower #2: The Flower with Petals
You will need to cut out 8 circles of the same size. My circles were about 2 1/2" wide. However big you want your flower to be, that's how big you should make your circles. After all of your circles are cut out you can do one of two things: 1) You can leave the circles with smooth edges and your flower will look very uniform and smooth. 2) You can fold your flowers in half or in fourths and trim the edges a little to give them some interest (pictured top left). As you are attaching them later, you can refold them so that the edges do not line up and it gives the illusion of more petals.

Now that your petals are cut out, cut out a circle of felt in a similar color to your fabric (or the background it will be going on), making the circle about 1/2" smaller than your flower. Fold one of your petals twice, so it looks like a slice of pie, and glue it so it stays in that shape, and then glue it onto the felt circle, with the point in the center of the circle. Repeat this 3 times so that you have four petals glued onto the circle (pictured top right). Glue down three more petals in the same fashion on top of the bottom four, covering as many "seams" between the petals as you can (pictured bottom left). Next, take one circle and fold it in half. Pull the two corners in towards each other so that the half circle folds up just a little. Glue this petal down and then attach a button on top (sewn or glued). For this flower, I used an upholstery button so that I could cover it with a corresponding fabric. These buttons can be found in the upholstery section of most craft stores in several different sizes.

Flower #3: The Pleated Flower
This flower uses pleated ribbon that you will find at any fabric/craft store in the ribbon by the yard area. It comes in many different colors, but is typically a stiff cotton, although you can find some cotton-sateen ones once in a blue moon at a regular craft store (at least around me it's a rarity). This is probably the simplest of the flowers. Start with one long piece (about 2') and glue down a thin fold of fabric at one end. Now begin make a circle with the pleated ribbon, gluing every 1/2" or so to ensure the ribbon does not unwind. Continue in this manner until your flower is the size you want it to be. When your flower reaches the desired size, take the end of your ribbon and glue it onto the bottom of the flower.

If you are going to attach it to a headband, pin, etc, glue a circle of felt on the bottom. Finish your flower off with a button. I used an upholstery button covered in one of my fabric scraps. I love using upholstery buttons because they are customizable. These buttons can be found in the upholstery section of most craft stores in several different sizes.

Foodie Friday: Fast Potato Soup

 
Potato soup is delicious, warm, and such a great comfort food.  This recipe is fast and simple. There is no need to peel and slice potatoes, because it is made with one packet of Idahoan mashed potato mix! To make it even easier you can use the bacon bits you buy to put on salads. May not taste exactly the same, but it's pretty close!

This recipe makes 2-4 servings. Jason and I split one batch and had lunch. If you are serving it as a side with a sandwich or as an appetizer then this recipe will easily serve 4.

You will need:

• 1 packet Idahoan Buttery mashed potatoes (or regular, and you can add butter)
• 2 strips of bacon
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 + 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 chicken bullion cube
• 1/2 tablespoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• Salt & pepper
• Shredded cheddar cheese

1. Combine 1 cup water and 1/2 bullion cube in a medium saucepan over medium heat. If you don't have any bullion cubes, feel free to skip this step or use chicken broth, though the flavor won't be exactly the same
2. While chicken stock is cooking, begin making bacon in frying pan
3. Once the stock is complete, add milk
4. Next add parsley, sage, and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Chop cooked bacon strips into small pieces and add half to the milk mixture
6. Stir well until milk and seasonings are well mixed
7. Bring just to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scalding
8. Add one packet of mashed potato mix and stir in
9. Add warm water until desired consistency is reached (a little less than 1/2 cup)
10. Whisk until most of the potato clumps are gone
11. Serve immediately and garnish with cheddar cheese, parsley, and the remainder of the chopped bacon 

 Serve with some warm bread for dipping! Enjoy!

Foodie Friday: Simple Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes & Praline Icing

Jason and I were sitting around sewing one night. We had eaten an early dinner, so I wanted to make a cake. I had a Betty Crocker Classic Yellow cake mix, but that just didn't sound great. We wanted more than just yellow cake. So, I improvised and came up with this DELICIOUS, and super easy, apple cinnamon cake. It was perfect for our cozy night in, but I am pretty sure I am going to make it as loaves for gifts next fall.

This recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes, or 1 dozen cupcakes and two small loaves, or 2 large loaves (I think).

You will need:

• 1 Classic Yellow Cake mix, and the ingredients for which it calls (minus the oil)
• Applesauce (same amount of oil for which the cake recipe calls, probably 1/2 cup)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 peeled & diced apple (Gala)

1. Preheat oven as directed on your cake mix box (most likely 350)
2. Pour your cake mix and water/milk and eggs into large bowl
3. Add applesauce, cinnamon, and nutmeg to cake mix and beat together
4. Peel and dice apple and add to cake mix. Beat until incorporated
5. Pour your batter into your greased container(s) and bake as directed on box. Let cool completely before icing

Fresh out of the oven!

For the icing, you will need:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 3 tbs milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly
2. Allow to boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly, and then remove from heat
3. Whisk in vanilla
4. Whisk in powdered sugar in 3-4 parts. In order for sugar to fully incorporate, you may have to put your icing back over the lowest heat setting
5. Place cooled cake on serving plate and pour warm icing over. If you are icing multiple loaves, place loaves on wax paper before pouring icing. Serve immediately

Craft Tuesday: Felt Fortune Cookies

I found this ADORABLE idea on the Martha Stewart website and just had to try it. It is such a unique idea for Valentine's day, and it takes no time at all! This is perfect to make a bunch for that one special person, or one for a bunch of special people! You can stuff these with handwritten or printed "fortunes" or candies (Hershey's kisses fit perfectly).

You will need:

• Felt (one pre-cut sheet makes 2 cookies)
• Floral wire
• Scissors
• 4 1/2" circle to trace (or an adjustable circle cutter)
• Hot glue gun
• Stuffers (candy, fortunes, etc)

Start by cutting one 4 1/2" circle of felt for every cookie you want to make. Then, cut strips of felt that are about 4" long and 1/3" wide. Also cut floral wire in pieces that are a little smaller than your felt strips (so about 3.75").

Place the floral wire in the center of your circle, on the line where the fold will be. Place a line of hot glue over it, going a little over each end. Place your felt strip on top of the floral wire and allow glue to cool.

Next, fold your felt in half so that the felt strip covering the floral wire is on the inside and hidden. Now bend the two corners away from the curved side of the half circle, pinching them together to create the fortune cookie shape.

Fold up one of the cookie flaps and stuff your fortune cookie with fortunes, candy, etc. Fold your cookie back over and adjust. Now repeat until you have made all of your cookies!

See, that was pretty simple huh?

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Foodie Friday: Squash & Zucchini Parmesan

Every week I have a couple of friends over to watch a few of our favorite TV shows. I usually cook dinner as well, which can be a challenge because my best friend is a vegetarian, and everyone else sure loves their meat (we are from Texas, after all). This recipe was something I whipped up that everyone seemed to really enjoy. Even though not everyone liked squash or zucchini, they all seemed to love it served up as the classic Italian Parmesan dish. Best part is that it is pretty simple, especially if you use the pre-sliced, frozen veggies.

This recipe will make 4-6 servings.

You will need:

• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs (I always prefer Panko)
• 1 1/2 cups + 1 of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• Pasta of your choice (spaghetti or vermicelli are my favorites)

Before baked

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Wash and slice your squash and zucchini into 1/4" slices. Or, thaw your presliced squash and zucchini
3. Beat egg in a small bowl, and pour flour into a shallow bowl and breadcrumbs onto a small plate
4. Coat the bottom of a greased 9x13 or similar baking dish with a thin layer of sauce (about 1/2 cup)
5. Dip one piece of squash/zucchini into the flour and coat fully, then dip into the egg, and lastly coat with breadcrumbs
6. In a frying pan, heat up a little bit of oil and brown your squash piece on both sides (about 1 minute on each side)
7. Place this piece into the baking dish, and repeat until all of your squash and zucchini are breaded or your pan is full

   

   After baked

8. Coat the squash and zucchini with the remaining pasta sauce (about 1 cup), and then sprinkle grated parmesan on top
9. Baking uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling
10. While baking, boil your pasta and heat up the remaining sauce (feel free to make more or less than the recommended 1 cup)
11. Serve the baked squash over a bed of pasta and sauce

Craft Tuesday: Danish Heart Baskets

These beautiful heart baskets are simple to make and, even though they are a Danish Christmas tradition, they are now used for many different things. This year, I am making some to give as Valentine's Day presents! They are perfect to stuff with candy, cookies, or small presents. The baskets are so simple to make, it would be a great thing to make with children to give to their friends!

I made my baskets out of felt, but you can use paper too. Don't limit yourself to solid colors either! If you are doing paper, try different patterns of paper, or even something fun like an old map or sheet music.

You will need:

• Felt or paper
• Scissors
• Ruler

The first thing you need to do is cut your material. You will need two 9" x 3" strips for each heart.

After you cut your strips, fold each one in half and round the corners. Then, make three cuts from the folded end, up towards the open end. Leave about a 1.5" gap between the end of the felt and your cut. It's easiest to start with the middle cut, and then doing the outer two.

Once your pieces are cut, you can weave them together. It's simple! Take your first strip from one piece of your heart weave it in the strips of the other piece. Go around, then through, around then through. Weave each strip in this manner, alternating how you start. For example, for strips 1 and 3 you would start weaving buy going around, and for 2 and 4 you would start by going through. Hopefully that makes sense!

Now that you have finished weaving them, adjust them and make the pretty! Stuff them and give them as a gift, or hang them on a garland.

Happy crafting!

Foodie Friday: Nutella Cookies

I love Nutella, and the idea of Nutella cookies seems just delightful to me. I looked around for a recipe and just decided to try a really simple one I found on Pinterest. The modifications I did are totally optional, and I just did them to make the cookies stay soft, and not harden by the next day. So hopefully you like chocolate, because to me these cookies taste chocolatey and then have a bit of a hazelnut/Nutella after taste. Delicious!

This recipe makes 24 small cookies, or about 15 regular cookies.

You will need:

• 1 cup of Nutella (I used a whole 13oz tub)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp corn starch (opt, keeps your cookie soft)
• Chopped hazelnuts (opt, not pictured)
• Milk chocolate chips (opt, not pictured)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl
3. Beat in egg and Nutella, and any hazelnuts or chocolate chips
4. The mixture will be dry and crumbly. Dig in with your hands and create 1" balls of cookie dough. You can add 1 tbsp of water to make the dough easier to handle, but I didn't and mine turned out very well
5. Flatten the balls of cookie dough a little, making them thicker for softer cookies and thinner for crisper cookies
6. Bake 6-8 minutes, depending on your cookie size, on a greased pan
7. When you remove them they will still be a little gooey. Let set and cool for 5 minutes before moving from pan to cooling rack or plate
8. Serve (or eat them all yourself)

Craft Tuesday: T-Shirt Scarves

I have some old t-shirts that are super soft and wonderful colors, and I have had a very difficult time with the idea of parting with them. I was so excited to do this craft because it meant I could keep, and even wear, these wonderful t-shirts! No more trash bin for them. Hooray for repurposing!

This craft is super simple, and not too time consuming either. It cost me absolutely nothing because all you need in a pair of scissors and some old t-shirts. This is such a great no-sew scarf. Even kids can do this project, and if you use an adult size shirt for a kid's scarf you will be able to wrap it several times! If you want a big one for yourself, use an extra-large men's shirt. Heck, you could even buy a cheap shirt to make this with if you really wanted to. I love this craft!

You will need:

• 2 old shirts (colors that go well together preferably)
• Scissors

Start by laying your shirt out straight and cutting off the bottom hem.

Next, begin cutting your shirt in strips about half an inch thick. I got about 12 strips from each shirt and stopped, but I could have kept going for a fuller scarf. Once you have all your strips (which are really loops because you will not cut the seams on the edge) hold a side in each hand and stretch the loops out so that the fabric pulls and curls up on itself (see below).

I decided that I would mix the two different colors together in each scarf piece. Of course, you can also keep them separate and have one piece is that is all one color and one that is another. Whichever suits you best, but the rest of the direction are specific to how I did mine. They're easy to alter if you are doing a single color.

Next, remove two loops from each color and place to the side. I did two because my shirts had a seam on each side. If you shirt has one or no seams you only need one loop. Next, divide each color in half and mix it up with a half of the opposite color. Group any seams together because you will be covering them up next.

Now, take those 4 loops (or 2) you put to the side and cut one end so it becomes one long piece of fabric. Place the center of this strip of fabric at the base of the grouping of seams and wrap one end around it, then the other, until the seams are covered. Use one color of fabric for the knotting on one scarf, and the other color for the other scarf.

Knot these two ends back together, trim off all about about 1/2" of excess and tuck that into the wrapped cloth.

Now, repeat for all the seams, and wrap it around your neck however you like. I doubled both of mine and just pulled and fiddled with them until I got them just right. You can also try simply knotting them together and making one loose scarf. Lovely! So simple. I hope you enjoy making and wearing this scarf!