SUPER EASY Satin Ribbon Lei or Necklace

I shall apologize up front. I'm a little distracted. My husband and I have planned a trip to Guatemala for Monday. Why Guatemala you ask? Well, the short version of the long story is that I was a missionary for my church for a year and a half in Guatemala (please don't ask how long ago...suffice it to say it was over 10 years ago). Apart from religious teachings, we also were service missionaries and taught health/welfare classes, helped in orphanages, taught first aid and English classes. So, 6 months ago when a friend asked if I wanted to go back and help the less fortunate in my old areas...I was very excited.

I still am excited and a little stressed, what with all the volcanic ash, tropical storms, and sinkholes (you have to see this picture). I've seen many pictures of the devastation that is over there and it's hard to concentrate on anything else. But I knew I had to come up with and idea for today, next Wednesday and the next one, too...because I'll just be flying back (and it's my birthday that day).

So, this week and the next couple weeks for me will be short and sweet.

O.K. I have a lot of 3 inch double sided satin ribbon left over from a couple of other projects. So this week and next week I will show you what I came up with to make use of the ribbon.

This week I'm going to show you how to make a SUPER EASY ribbon lei.  I've gotten a lot of requests for other leis because it's graduation time. But for those of you not as familiar with leis, you can give them for whatever reason, birthday's, weddings, etc. (not giving them to the people...you wear them as part of your attire). Of course the best leis are flower leis, but sometimes we can't get them, can't afford them, and they don't last a long time.  This lei I'm going to show is so pretty, it can be used over and over.

To make this lei you will need:

8 yards of 3-inch satin ribbon

1 yard of 5/8 inch satin ribbon (can match or contrast)

4 Beads  (I used beads from an old Hawaiian Kukui nut Lei I didn't want anymore, but you can use anything)

Sewing Machine

Large Safety Pin

Lit candle

First, cut the 8 yards of 3 inch ribbon in half. Then tuck the ends inside and pin together (see below).

Then, sew down one side making sure you sew to the ends. And then sew down the other side. By doing this, you are just making a casing for your 5/8 ribbon.

Now your casing is sewn. Next take the large safety pin and poke it into the end of the 5/8 ribbon and thread the ribbon through the casing. When you get it through, pull enough of the 5/8 ribbon out so you can tie a bow and make a knot.

Then thread your ribbon through your beads. One way to make this easier is to take scotch tape and tape up the ends creating your own aglet (yep, that's what they're called). Then thread it through and make another knot to keep it in it's place.

Repeat so there are two beads on each side. Tie a bow and hang...it is then that it's easiest to straighten it out.

Look what happens when you squish it all together.

If you would like this look it will take 3-3.5 times more ribbon (so about 24 yards).  This lei is really beautiful, and heavy. NOTE: Don't sew all 12 yards in one casing. It makes it too hard to thread the 5/8 ribbon through. Break it up into 3 sections of 4 yards. Or you can do 4 sections of 3 yards and put the beads in between.

Also, if you want to make this a necklace, just make it shorter. I think this would make a really pretty choker. I'll have to try that soon.

I made this one to take with me to Guatemala and give it to my host family mom. They may never get to Hawaii, but I can bring a little of the Aloha spirit to them.

Click here to see the tutorial on coin money leis.

Click here to see the tutorial on candy/toy leis.

A Case For Smiles

Just this week, my oldest daughter's good friend in school was diagnosed with leukemia (8 years old). She had an appointment on Tuesday with an allergy doctor because her allergies were bothering her. The doctor ran a routine blood test. That night they found themselves checked in to the hospital preparing for her first round of chemo. What a nightmare!

This has affected our home greatly. Constant thoughts and worries are about K and her family. Megan misses being with her friend everyday. And we're really going to miss her in the Fall during soccer season. She's an awesome goalie. She's hoping to still dress with the team and be the official Goal Money Can Shaker.

We've been drawing pictures and writing notes for her room. We've bought books and activities to keep her busy. But we also wanted to do something special to help cheer up her hospital room.

Recently the girls in our church (age 8-11) did a service project. I was introduced to a charity that really affected me immediately...now I know why. It's called A Case for Cancer. You can check them out at www.ConKerrcancer.org

It began with a mom who had a son battling cancer. To brighten his room, she made him pillowcases. It soon spread to making pillowcases for all the kids on the Oncology Unit at their hospital. It has now grown into an amazing charity nationwide with coordinators in almost every state. You can look here for the nearest director if you would like to help out.

After Megan and I received the first news about K, we went to the fabric store and picked out fabric to make a pillowcase. You can follow along with these directions and start making pillowcases for other kids that are sick and in the hospital. After seeing K and her mom's reaction, I'm anxious to make more. I'm thinking of making a bunch to let K hand out to her new friends at the hospital.

To make a pillow case you will need:

* 3/4 yard of fabric for the pillowcase body (I got a full yard for personal embellishment)

* 1/3 yard of coordinating fabric for the border of the pillowcase

(choose a cheery fabric suitable for children ages infant to teens, boys and girls. Use cotton or cotton flannel ONLY)

* thread

I use my mat and rotary cutter to cut the material to the appropriate sizes.

1. Cut the body of the case to 26 1/2" x 40 1/2"

2. Cut the border of the case to 10 1/2" x 40 1/2"

3. Fold the border in half lengthwise, with the wrong sides together (right side facing out) and press.

4. Place the right side of the border (still folded in half) on the right side of the body of the case. Stitch together using a 1/2" seam allowance along the raw, open edges. Then use a zig zag stitch to overcast the edge to prevent fraying.

5. Then place the right sides of the pillowcase together. Stitch down the side and across the bottom using a 1/2" seam allowance. Follow up with an overcast zig zag stitch.

6. Turn right side out and press.

*** Because I knew who this was going to, we wanted to make it extra special. We used our Wonder Under and material from the body of the case to add her name to the border. I did this before I sewed the border to the case. This gave me the ability to stitch around the applique. I followed the same steps that I used with the t-shirts. ***

We were able to spend some special time with K on Saturday afternoon when we delivered our care package. Her mom immediately put the pillowcase on her pillow. It brightened up her room. You can't see it, but that little sweetheart had a big smile on her face.

We love you Miss K! We're praying for you and know how brave you are! You're not afraid to defend the goal in soccer and we know you're not afraid to defend yourself in this fight. We're cheering for you!