Sewing Your Own Drawstring Bag

You have probably seen those little fabric bags that have a piece of yarn or string going through the top, so that you can pull the string and the opening gets all bunched up and closed. These are called drawstring bags. If you have seen them for sale, chances are, they were pretty expensive, or they were holding something expensive. Well, now, you can make your own in 8 easy steps!

These are the 4 bags I have made using this technique. The green floral one was made differently, but similar to the ones you will be making. It is different in that the drawstrings come through a different way. They come through the sides and not the middle, but it works the same and is as easy to make as the others.

Materials:

• Two fabric squares of any size
• Thread
• Sewing needle
• String or yarn (enough to go all the way around the top of your squares twice)

Time Duration: About one (1) hour

No. of Steps: 8

How To Make It:

1. Make sure that your two fabric squares are about the same size. Don't worry about small differences, because none of the edges will show.
2. Turn the squares inside out (so the front of each square are facing each other). Thread your needle with enough but not too much thread. Decide which end of the squares you want to be the top (left open) and put the first knot on the corner of that end.
3. Sew away from the top (in the direction that leaves the top open) and go as far as you can with that thread. If you need to thread the needle again, that is okay and to be expected. Make sure you finish sewing in the very top corner opposite your first knot. Tie it off.
4. Cut a length of yarn or string that s long enough to go around the top of your fabric square twice with some left over. Flip down the rim of the bag so that the front of the fabric shows (a little less than an inch). Slip the yarn into the crevice that appears. If you don't have enough thread to go all the way around the bag with a bit left over, tie it off and rethread. Begin at the side you finished at, and sew through only one square at a time. Use the over-under stitch and go to about the middle of the next square. 
5. When you get there, cut a very small hole (for the yarn/string to go through) in the layer that is NOT flipped down (this hole goes to the side that is facing the front of the fabric). 
6. Put one OR both ends of string through the hole. If you only put one, cut another hole near the first (but not touching) and string the yarn/string through. 
7. Now, turn your bag inside out. Pull on the strings and close and open the bag until they are about the same length. Cut the strings to about 1 inch more than your desired length. Tie a triple/double-knot near the end of each string. If you have enough string, you can tie a knot through both strings at the hole/s (MAKE SURE THE BAG IS FULLY OPEN).
8. Make any other minor adjustments to your bag until it is exactly how you want it.

Now you have your own drawstring bag!!

How to make a nail design without messing up

Hey Art Drawerians! You have got RK here and today I want to tell you how you can create your own "stickers" for your fingernails.

You will need:

Nail polish

A plastic baggie or cling wrap

A dotting tool or a bobby pin

Paper plate (optional)

Procedure:

Lay out your plastic sandwich bag or cling wrap. Say you wanted to make a pink star. Poor out a little bit of nail polish onto your paper plate. If you do not have a paper plate just poor it onto the cling wrap or sandwich bag. Take your dotting tool or bobby pin and dip it into the small pool of nail polish and then on a spot of your cling wrap or sandwich bag create the star with the dotting tool or bobby pin. Wait an hour for it to dry come back, peel it off and put a clear coat onto your fingernail. Stick the star on and put a clear coat over the fingernail. Now you have a perfect star without messing up on your left hand. Enjoy!

(Pictures to come soon!)

Keep it Nurby! ~RK

MLP:FiM - Sewing a Parasprite

Have you ever seen My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? In the episode Swarm of the Century, these little bugs called Parasprites infest Ponyville. The bugs eat a lot and them spit up more bugs. I thought they were cute, so here is how you make one:

What You'll Need:

• Sewing needle 
• Thread
• Pins
• 4 colors of fabric (for the body(and color), wings and glisten in eye(white), eyes(green), and legs(black)
• Lots of stuffing (if you have enough, you will have extra)

How To Make It:

1. First, you need to print out or copy down the sewing patterns provided for you at the bottom of this post. Be sure they are the size you want.
2. Next, trace your body pattern onto your body fabric. Fold the fabric over so that you will be cutting two layers. Carefully cut around your pattern.
3. Use your eye pattern to make two eyes. You will have to flip one around so it looks right. Sew your eye onto the outside of ONE LAYER of fabric.
4. Then, you can cut out the glisten. You will have to adjust it to get it just right. Sew it onto your eyes wherever you like.
5. Cut out a small smile out of the black fabric. Since the smiles were so small, there was no use making a pattern. You can choose the exact size and shape of your mouth. When you do, sew it on your fabric with the eyes.
6. Next, cut out the legs. On the pattern, it is a rectangle with an oval inside it. Leave the rectangle around it. The oval is the part you will sew together. Sew it so that the inside it on the outside. Then, before you get completely finished sewing it, you need to turn it inside out (technically inside-in)
7. When you are happy with the shape of the parts, you need to turn the body over so the messy side with all the strings is facing you. Do the same with the other side, even though it has no strings. Sew around the edges. Not the over-under stitch, but the stitch where the thread goes up around the edges, forming a loop-looking stitch. You could do the over-under stitch, but the stuffing might get out a little bit. REMEMBER TO LEAVE ROOM IN THE VERY BOTTOM FOR TURNING IT RIGHT-SIDE OUT, STUFFING IT, AND ATTACHING THE LEGS. About an inch and a half space would do.
8. Them, you need to turn it right-side out. Even if it seems like the strings are coming loose, they aren't. If you need to, poke the edges from the inside with a pencil or something. Just to be sure it is all right-side out.
9. Next, you gotta STUFF IT! Just use any old stuffing or even cotton balls for this. Make sure you stuff it enough that when you close the gap, it will still be as firm as you want it, with no unfilled spaces.
10. Now, using those four legs you made, you gotta finish your body. Put a leg in at the beginning of where you want your legs to be. Then one at the very end, and put the other two evenly spaced between them. Sew them on, and while you are sewing these on (through both layers) you will also be closing the gap.
11. Next, using the wing patterns, cut out 8 large wings and 8 small wings. Sew the large wings together first, using the inside-out technique we have used many times earlier. When you are finished, attach one on one side on the back of the body, wherever you like it best. Then you can sew the little pattern in the middle of (that looks like a leaf).
12. Do the same for the other large wing, and try to attach it symmetrical to the first one.
13. Do almost the same with the small ones, except you don't do the leaf pattern (unless you want to).
14. Make any minor adjustments to make your Parasprite exactly how you want, and voila! You have finished your Parasprite! Now, to only come up with a name . . .

Good job!! I hope you enjoy your Parasprite. Also, with left over stuffing, fabric, and felt, you can make cute little friends for your Parasprite, like teensy boxes and spheres! 

Sewing Patterns:

Here is the MLP episode through YouTube.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0iMgyP1Qhc

Here is the MLP episode through DailyMotion.com:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20swarm%20of%20the%20century%20my%20little%20pony&source=video&cd=3&ved=0CE0QtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymotion.com%2Fvideo%2Fxjxayt_my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-episode-10-swarm-of-the-century-youtube_shortfilms&ei=6vmuTveyIYnWgQfCwoT8Dw&usg=AFQjCNGIZsu7olx2TYOqRiXoImzPVSVSXg

A Picture of the Parasprite:

NaNoWriMo

I am not doing so good. I have 2000 some words when I should have 6668 words. :( Tell me how you are doing!!

Doctor Who Contest Results *CONTEST NOW CLOSED*

Thank you to all who participated in the Doctor Who Creativity Contest! Everyone here behind the scenes of the Art Drawer really appreciated how creative your entries were. Every single one of us, technicians, writers, comedy writers, actors and more all enjoyed seeing the wonderful drawings and buildings. I am sure Doctor Who would, too.

The Results:

First up, we have KingofRandom with his really cool manga drawing!

(Text: Text Box:

"Today's Lecture: Time

Guest Speeker: The Doctor"

Chart: Time [arrow] Wibbly wobbly timey wimey"

"Zander Krasny")

We really liked the idea! Never would have thought of it! Thanks, KingofRandom!

Second, we have moonembrace! She has sent us two pictures of her creations. She made CRAYON TARDISES!!!!!!!! I was quite impressed with her creativity. She tells us the photo quality was bad, so she tells us these are crayon Tardises. Thanks!!

Those were our winners (Both tied for first place). Sorry for the wait, but creativity never ceases! If you are inspired by these winners and want to enter your own idea, feel free! The contest is still open, but our winners have already been chosen. Thanks!!

Random + Nurby,

CB and RK

Huffington Post Books

As you know, I am hoping to become a published author quite soon. And as you also know, I entered NaNoWriMo. Mom saw on Twitter that Huffington Post Books put out a Twitter feed asking if anyone who was participating in NaNoWriMo would be open to an interview about it. Mom said that her daughter was participating, so I wrote back to the woman that asked and I said yes, and I slipped in that I hope to be a published author soon. They might know some people who could do that for me. Could this me my big break? I doubt it, but I might get a quote in an article about NaNoWriMo! You might be able to see it sometime on the HuffPost Book section on their website. Not yet of course, probably not for a while. I will tell you exactly when and where when it is published. :)

Random + Writing,
CB

4 Month Anniversary

Yay! We have kept the Art Drawer going for 4 months so far. I hope we have a lot of great readers, nay, I know we do. You guys have stayed with us through thick and thin, through bad writing days and good writing days. And weird days. A heck of a lot of weird days. But that is beside the point. The point is, thanks. The point is, the Art Drawer is not only here for our enjoyment, but yours, too. And we hope you have enjoyed the Art Drawer so far, because there is a lot of it left! Because November is the 4th month of the Art Drawer, AND National Novel Writing Month, why don't you write some fan fiction of CB and RK's daily lives? You can leave them in the comments. You know, what you think we are like based on our posts. Thanks! Hahaha!

Random + Writing,
CB

www.NaNoWriMo.org

     Do any of you like to write? Well, November is the national novel writing month! Or NaNoWriMo for short. This is a national activity that encourages the art of literature.
     Every year, published and celebrated authors and even regular people are challenged to write 50,000 words or more by the end of November. It is a fictional book that was completely started and finished within the month of November.
     You can't have written any part of it or even outlined it. You can have an idea starting in your head, but try not to think too much about the plot, since many people outline books in their heads.
     If you want to sign up, it is free and it is a very trusted website. www.nanowrimo.org is the URL. Remember, when you are making your quick and easy account, click the button that says you are 13 and up, because this means the website is not violating the law that no personal information may be solicited from children 12 years and younger over the internet. It means you knowingly give your permission to have an account created.
     I entered a few days ago, and I have been waiting for three painstaking days to start writing, and today is November 1 so I began writing. I have 494 words of 50,000 so far. I might just make it. The goal is 1,667 words a day. In 30 days. Do you think I can do it? Do you think YOU can do it? Even if you aren't going to participate, do you think you WOULD be able to do it? Leave your answers in the comments!

Good luck and get writing!

     Every fictional novel has a main question, a question that decides the plot. What is yours?

Random + Writing + 50,000 words,
CB

Happy Halloween Art Drawerians!

Happy Halloween/ Harvest Day guys! I hop you had a great day today! Or I at least hope you had a better one then me! :D I literally got a handful of candy and thats it. Well I had fun at least....! I hope you guys had a great Harvest Day/ Halloween!

Keep it Nurby! ~RK

Happy Halloween!

A night, so scary and frightful, a night so sweet and fun!
No, this is not a poem, though, yes, I know, it sounds like one.

Hallow's Eve is upon us! The Headless Horseman reaps your fear,
And the Jack-O-Lantern stands outside your door.

Ghosts, mummies, Witches, zombies, pumpkins, animals galore!
What are YOU dressing up as? Any of these, or more?


Okay, I guess it was a poem. I hope you enjoyed my accidental awesomeness. Sorry I am being so theatrical right now. I am in my WRITING MOOD! NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow, but that is another post for another time.

Happy Halloween!

Boo!,
CB