Welcome to the Craft Room—a cozy corner of our simple living blog where creativity meets purpose. Here, you’ll find a curated collection of sewing, paper crafts, and woodworking projects designed to inspire your hands and enrich your home.
Whether you’re stitching up reusable household items, crafting heartfelt gifts with paper, or building small wooden treasures, these projects blend timeless techniques with modern simplicity. Perfect for beginners and seasoned crafters alike, every tutorial emphasizes sustainable materials, practical outcomes, and the joy of creating something uniquely yours.
Let’s make crafting a part of your simple living journey—one project at a time. Ready to get started? Dive in and discover how crafting can add beauty, functionality, and fulfillment to your daily life!
The first time I made Phoebe a pillowcase dress I made it the traditional way and I thought it was pretty cute. It was a little hard to get the ribbon tied without the dress falling off but we eventually got it done. When Christian, who was then about 11, saw it he declared it “inappropiate”. …
So, what exactly do you need to make a traditional pillowcase dress? Fortunately, not much. Here’s the basic list… pillowcase ribbon sewing machine matching thread ric rac or other embellishments (optional) For some of the other variations you will need… 1/4″ elastic elastic thread bias tape (you can make your own, if you want) extra …
For our summer sew-along I thought we’d make some pillowcase dresses. Before you roll your eyes click off this post, hear me out. As I thought about projects that are fit the parameters that I want to keep for a summer sew along I believe that the pillowcase dress and variations of it will fit …
In the spirit of “keeping it real” I thought I’d share a fun, but failed, craft we did the other night. It all started when we were planning out a co-op class for our younger elementary students. We’re learning about Valentine’s Day this month and thought these bath fizzies would make a fun craft. Apparently …
In our last “lesson” we talked about how to read the outside of a pattern package. Now that we have that down and have picked our fabric it’s time to cut it out. When you open the package you will find some pattern pieces and some instructions. On the first page of the instructions there …
This spring I’ll be doing a lot of sewing for our drama group using commerical patterns. I thought this would be a good opportunity to teach Phoebe how to work with commercial patterns. As I began her instruction, I realized just how confusing commerical patterns can be for someone with limited or no knowlege of …
A couple of years ago, Josiah made silhouettes for Christmas gifts for Carl and I, grandparents, aunts and uncles. It was such a fun gift! I’ve always loved silhouettes. One of the classes I help teach at our homeschool co-op is for K-3rd grade. We combine them 2 hours and use some of the Five …
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we were putting together fun activities for Esther to do when no one is available to play with her. I’ve used alot of the same stuff I used with my older children, but Crystal from Money Saving Mom has been posting some things she has either made for or …
I hope you have enjoyed the Summer Sewing School. We have had a great time here, it ‘s been something that my children have looked forward to each week. This is our last lesson and if you have done all the projects you have learned some basic skills that will enable you to create all …
When we go to the library we always wind up with a huge stack of books. I’m sure it’s just because there are so many of us. All the children have their own cards and I guess I should have them each check out their own books, but then its a mess when we try …
Boy, these summer weeks are moving fast! I can’t believe that this is our 5th sewing class. Today we are making lined tote bags. Tote bags are great for the beginner sewer because you don’t have to be exact, you just have to be consistent. For this bag, we will be using a 1/4 inch …
Note: If you’re wondering how to sewing and not break your budget, I’ve written a guest post for Money Saving Mom titled Five Ways to Save Money on Sewing Supplies. There are some great ideas in the comments so be sure to read those also. In the hustle and bustle of getting ready for children’s …
I hope you guys had fun making your pincushions last week. We had a great time and everyone finished their project here at the house. So, now that we have your pins and needles all organized we’re going get on with another useful project. Making hotpads. There are a million and one ways to make …
I hope you had a great time last week making your needlebooks. We had 8 girls, a couple of moms and 7 boys who played Risk and Clue! We had a really great time. We didn’t quite finish the books, so the girls took them home to finish them. I can’t wait to see them. For …
Our first project for Summer Sewing School is to make a needlebook to keep all of your needles organized. Depending on how you design your needlebook you will learn how to sew on a button and how to sew a blanket stitch, a whip stitch, a running stitch and a back stitch. Supplies Needed: Two 9″ …
There are a few basic hand stitches that everyone should know. You will be amazed at how much you can do with these few stitches. If you are stitching an item that will not be washed you do not have to use real knots. Thread your needle with both ends of the thread so that you …
This week is preparation week for our Summer Sewing School. Since this class is geared toward non-sewers I wanted to give everyone time to get their supplies together. I’ll repost the supplies each week for the next week, so don’t think you have to have everything the first week. If your just starting here’s some …
Note: I’ve mentioned before that all my boys have various levels of sewing ability. They all have learned to at least sew a button and do some simple mending. So while most of the stories I draw on will be about Phoebe since she is by far the most proficient sewer, please remember that sewing …
This weekend our local homeschool group sponsored a graduation ceremony for any seniors who wanted to participate. This was the first time we have been able to go, it was very touching. There were 10 students participating, I personally knew all but 2. There was a video presentation for each student that each family put …
Phoebe and I have finally ironed out all the details for the Summer Sewing School. At least I hope we have. I wanted to be sure that the projects were, in fact, something that an elementary or jr high child could not only do but also enjoy doing. Phoebe helped me quite a bit with this. …