DIY Life

I am in desperate need of a kitchen apron. I have been cooking since I was 8 years old, and I have always absentmindedly wiped my hands on my clothing, even though there is always a dish towel nearby. Yup, I need an apron.

DIY Maven on Curbly has written a fabulous tutorial, complete with awesome pictures, teaching us how to turn large cloth napkins into a kitchen apron using a sewing machine. You'll need several yards of ribbon for tie strings and for the apron collar, and of course, some basic sewing skills.

This apron is perfect, not just for the kitchen, but also for gardening. The pockets in the apron could hold your kitchen gadgets, or your gardening tools. Of course, I always absentmindedly wipe my dirty hands on my clothes when I am gardening too.

Check your local thrift stores for some awesome napkins. Mine always seem to have the prettiest sets of fabric napkins on hand, and for the price they sell at (6 for $1.00), there are plenty available to make as gifts for my gardening and cooking friends.

A Dad and his grill are not soon parted -- in my family, at least. There seems to be something about a Dad and his grill. Is it the scent of the briquettes, the power of the gas flame, the charbroiled goodness?

Perhaps the bond between a Dad and his grill is one of life's unsolvable mysteries, but we do know that anything BBQ would make a great gift for Dad this Father's Day. If you can make it yourself, you've just trumped the masses.

Custom-painting a BBQ apron, mitts, and grill tools is an easy way to tell Dad you love him -- and his hobby -- and it is something you can do with the kids. You'll need a canvas apron, solid-colored oven mitts, and wood-handled BBQ tools, like a long-handled fork or spatula. Some fabric and acrylic paints round out the list.

You can paint anything that says, "I love you Dad," and makes the keepsake gifts something special for him. Happy painting!

There are so many dish towels out there with adorable prints. I collect Halloween-themed ones, but know lots of people that collect dish towels in general, or with unique prints. But what to do with them?

I happened upon this tutorial, and thought it would be the perfect thing to make for my twin two-year-old nieces, when helping their grandmother out in the kitchen.

The author of the tutorial says that the apron winds up fitting an eight to eleven year old, so if you are making these for toddlers, like me, you will need to make it shorter, and the neck hole a tad smaller.

For this project you'll only need one dish towel, one package of extra wide double fold bias tape, pins, thread, and ribbon or trim.

The project itself is pretty simple, (the hardest part is getting the bias tape right) and an experienced sewer can turn quite a few of these out in no time for gift giving.

Your little one will love this apron so much they will want one for every day of the week.

Wood workers are special people and that's why they deserve special gifts. Most of us wood workers are earthy types and hands on people who thrive on creating things of beauty and utility from nature's raw materials.

It's not hard to buy gifts for a wood worker but sometimes it's hard to buy just the right one. If your wood worker isn't giving any hints about what you might give them, I have some suggestions here that might make the endeavor a bit easier for you. I present to you my Holiday Gift Guide of Classic Gifts for Wood Workers.

Summer is officially over and it's time to pack up summer things and make room for fall and winter. I have lots of old beach towels that just aren't going to make it through another summer. Our local thrift store isn't interested in them because they can't sell them, and they cost the store time and money when they end up having to throw the towels out.

I'd really rather not throw these out, so I went looking for ways to re-purpose them. After the break I'll let you in on 10 uses for old beach towels. I'd love to hear your ideas too.

J. Caroline Creative has a basic apron pattern for you that is cute, easy, and best of all, free. It's not the easiest kind of apron to make (that would probably be a towel with a waistband tie stitched onto it), but it's close. Aprons like this one aren't only for cooking: they're useful for housework and crafting, too.

The pattern uses just a yard of fabric, plus some ribbon, d-rings, and a small piece of contrasting fabric for the optional front pocket. It would be a great beginning sewing project, particularly if you've become bored with making pillow covers. Using a gridded fabric like the one in the photo will help you line up all your elements evenly.

If you're more experienced, this apron could be a fast, inexpensive, and stylish housewarming gift, or just a low-stress project to use up stray bits of your fabric stash.

J. Caroline Creative also offers other tutorials on their site, and sells all the yummy fabrics you'll need to make them.

[ via Craftster. ]