Make Edible Sugar Skulls -written instructions at Dollar Store Crafts.

My son and I made these molded sugar skulls yesterday with a silicone ice cube mold that I got at the dollar store. It was very simple, and my 4 year-old had fun molding and unmolding sugar. After we were done, we just baked them for 10 minutes at 200° F, and they hardened.

I think they’d be a lot of fun to take to work and set next to the coffee maker on Halloween/Day of the Dead. But, I don’t go to work, so I’ll just settle for serving them to my sons next time they have a tea party.

Last week I told you about my Kickstarter.com project: Printing CROQ 12. I have to raise $2000 by August 20. I’m happy to report that so far, we’ve raised 37%! We still need help, though. There’s still $1253 to raise!

Pledge $5, Get an Issue = Just like Pre-Ordering!

I carefully crafted my prize list to tempt potential backers to get out their wallets and help! The best and easiest, I think, is to pledge $5. If you do, you get an issue of CROQ plus a free downloadable PDF Mini CROQ. You don’t even have to pay additional shipping! So basically, if you pledge now, it’s equivalent to pre-ordering the issue.

Pledge $10: Get both the PDF & the issue, plus international shipping if you are outside the USA, plus a mention (and a link) right here on the blog!

Pledge $25: Handmade vegan lip balm! I spent months developing my vegan lip balm formula. Did you know I used to be the #3 seller on Etsy back when I used to sell it? And this isn’t your run-of-the-mill boring flavored vegan lip balm (no peppermint here!). It could be flavored like pumpkin latte, candy corn, or even red velvet cake! Plus, all the above (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog).

Pledge $40: Up your pledge to $40 and I’ll let you vote on what flavor of lip balm I make! Plus, all the above (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog, vegan lip balm).

Pledge $50: Get all 11 back issues of CROQ. Plus, all the above (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog, vegan lip balm, vote for lip balm flavor).

Pledge $75: Get a Bag o’ Craft Fun: a pack of random crafty bits you can use to make your crafty masterpieces. I’ll scour my secret sources to bring you such goodies as beads, buttons, vintage jewelry and parts, ric rack, other notions, and who knows what else! Plus, all the above (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog, vegan lip balm, vote for lip balm flavor, 11 back issues of CROQ).

Pledge $100: Get 2 months of advertising on this site here (125×125 button ad). Plus, all the above (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog, vegan lip balm, vote for lip balm flavor, 11 back issues of CROQ, Bag o’ Craft Fun).

Pledge $200: We’ll donate 50 copies of CROQ 12 to libraries and zine libraries in your name. Plus, all the above (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog, vegan lip balm, vote for lip balm flavor, 11 back issues of CROQ, Bag o’ Craft Fun, 2 months of blog advertising).

Pledge $300 — Zinester’s Delight: Only one lucky pledger can claim this prize: an electric stapling machine. It will help you immensely if you have high-volume stapling to do! Plus, all the above (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog, vegan lip balm, vote for lip balm flavor, 11 back issues of CROQ, Bag o’ Craft Fun, 2 months of blog advertising, Donate 50 Copies to libraries).

And, the biggest, most awesome prize:

Pledge $500: And I will make you a custom crafted item tailored to your tastes and needs! I’ll send you a questionnaire and then personally make you something. Could be a backpack, bike bag, handbag, laptop case, custom altered t-shirt or hoodie, stuffed animal, themed sock moneky, jewelry, or something for your kid, pet, or significant other. Plus, all the above, except the stapling machine (PDF, Zine, mention on the blog, vegan lip balm, vote for lip balm flavor, 11 back issues of CROQ, Bag o’ Craft Fun, 2 months of blog advertising, Donate 50 Copies to libraries).

So what are you waiting for? You can at least pledge $5 and reserve your copy of CROQ 12 (with free shipping!)

Yes, I want to help print CROQ #12 and support indie publishing!

I recently made some cloth diapers. If you have explored making cloth diapers yourself, you know that the subject is deep and wide with tons of opinions and “I’m right” ways to do things and “don’t do THAT” advice. It took me weeks of research to even figure out HOW to make a cloth diaper because the info out there is so confusing. I find this whole scenario rather ridiculous because when I was a baby, my mom used a padded flat diaper that she folded to fit me, changing the fold to fit me as I grew. The cloth diapering scene is a crazy confusopoly, and when I’m confused and overwhelmed, I just can’t buy into any specific radical philosophy. I finally decided to jump in and try a free pattern and discover my own radical philosophy.

I used the free cloth diaper pattern from Ottubre for my first foray into sewing cloth diapers. Download the PDF here.

My Radical Cloth Diapering Philosophy

I’m going to tell you how I made the diaper in my next post, but before I do that, I want to talk about materials for making diapers. Again, this is an extremely confusing topic with lots of wild variation in advice, from “just use an old t-shirt” to “you MUST buy this special fabric that is $64 a yard.” After agonizing over my fabric choice, my frugality won over and I decided to just bust into my stash and see how it went. And I’m here to tell you: you CAN use scraps to make diapers. I mean, literal scraps. I sewed strips of off-cut fabric together to create a sheet of fabric large enough to make a diaper.

See here? I sewed several strips together to make a piece of flannel big enough to make a diaper.

The main thing that a diaper has to do is be absorbent. The other main thing it should do is stay on. The rest of the details are just preference.

Three different diaper inserts made of scrap fabric.

For cloth diaper inserts (which are sewn inside the diaper), I used small scraps sewn together to add absorbency. This is a great way to use up off-cuts! Let me tell you how to do it.

You need:

• Fabric scraps made of absorbent material like cotton flannel, terrycloth/old towels, or cotton batting
• Sewing stuff

Step 1: Cut two long rectangles of intact fabric. These will be the outer layers of fabric, and will keep the smaller scraps together. I used cotton flannel.

Step 2: Layer 4-6 layers of overlapping scrap fabric over the bottom rectangle. It doesn’t matter if parts of the scraps hang over the edge (as shown above). Just try to get pretty even layering across the whole rectangle. Place top fabric rectangle over the whole lot, and pin together if necessary.

Step 3: Sew around edge of rectangles with a straight stitch. It’s not necessary to zig-zag or serge the edges, but you can if you want. It’s going to be inside the diaper, never to be seen again.

Step 4: “Quilt” the insert, by sewing down its length one or two times to secure all the small scraps inside.

Step 5: Trim off any overhanging pieces.

Behold, your clever reuse of scraps that were destined for the trash (or worse, a bag of scraps in your stash).

Next time: How I made my cloth diapers.

p.s. Feel free to weigh in with your cloth diapering opinions and experiences here, including whether or not you think my scrap fabric inserts are crazy!

Additional Resources:

• Cloth Diapering 101 week at Simple Mom
• Frequently Asked Questions about Cloth Diapering at DiaperPin.com
• DiaperPages.com has quite a bit of info
• Sewing Your Own Cloth Diapers, a roundup at Diaper Jungle
• DiaperSewing.com – one of the “you must have these materials” sites (I’m sure this is a good thing once you really get into sewing cloth diapers)
• Free Diaper Patterns, a roundup at Zany Zebra