beyoncé tote bag

Since Beyoncé's new song came out (if you haven't heard it yet, it is awesome but definitely not safe for work), I've jammed out to it approximately 475,691,002 times, give or take a play. I love the last lyric the most - so much so that I scribbled it out on a post-it & taped it to my computer screen at work. Then I took it a step further by printing it out & putting it on a tote bag! Now I can carry my Bey-spiration with me everywhere I go. I love Beyoncé. I love her courage, her ferocity, her boss-bitch attitude. Gah.

To make this fierce project, you'll need:

• Plain canvas tote bag
• Iron-on transfer paper
• An iron & ironing board
• A pillowcase or piece of fabric
• "Always Stay Gracious" design (don't freak, it'll print backwards!)

Print the iron-on transfer design onto a piece of transfer paper. While the ink is drying, heat up your iron for 5 minutes, & set to no steam/moisture on the highest heat setting. Iron your canvas bag to eliminate any wrinkles - you want it super smooth so the design goes on evenly. Put a pillowcase on your ironing board, then your canvas bag on top. Lay the transfer down on the bag, & iron in circles for about 2 minutes. You'll want to use as much pressure as possible, & get the edges real good. Peel the transfer paper away slowly, & let your bag cool. 

It's great to be back to blogging! I've missed you guys!

xoxo,
-m.e.

P.S. More Beyoncé-inspired crafting.

Amazon is an affiliate sponsor of WeCanMakeAnything - affiliate links used in this post!

hiatus!

Hey gang! I wanted to give you all a heads up that we're going to take the next week or so off from blogging - we're not leaving, don't fret! We're just taking a mini-hiatus. The time has come to regroup, reset, & do some general "spring cleaning" of sorts around the site. Sadly there's not enough time in the week to do clean-up on top of making awesome projects. Instead, we're putting our big-girl pants on & tackling things that've needed doing for some time now & putting the fun stuff aside (like crafting!) for a bit. Time off will be spent making big blog plans, setting goals, & getting serious about all kinds of stuff. Stay tuned, hugs & kisses - we'll see you soon enough!

xoxo,
-m.e. & Heather

P.S. I'm sad to take off right before Valentine's Day (boo) - look here & here for last year's projects!

trapper hat (+ pattern!)

This past weekend I had a moment of panic where I thought I'd have to change the name of the blog from "We Can Make Anything" to "We Can Make Almost Anything (except for trapper hats)." This project almost bested me, but after much frustration, cussing, & one broken sewing needle, I did it! I made a trapper hat! I knew it could be done, but my point of folly was trying to make one without a pattern. Not as simple as it sounds, not as easy as it looks. But I did it. Sorry not sorry, I'm a little bit proud of myself.

If you want to venture into the hat-making territory (it's on the more advanced side of sewing), I've made my successful pattern available below. Here are the materials I used to make this hat:

• Outer fabric
• Lining fabric (warm faux fur!)
• Small buckle
• Cotton strap to fit in buckle
• Sewing machine & notions
• Trapper hat pattern : page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | page 4 | page 5 (print the pages in portrait style at 100%)

Once the pattern was made, the hat came about fairly easily. Essentially the lining of the hat is sewn together piece-by-piece, & the outer fabric is sew the same. Then the two join at the edges, inside out. I left open the portion of the hat where the buckles go so I could turn the whole mess right-side out when I was finished. Then the buckles/straps were pinned in place, & the hat sewn shut. The ear flaps are similar (sewn together on three sides, then turned right-side out), & I pinned each flap to the outer fabric before I sewed piece A & B together. The front flap & ear flaps are mostly for looks - I hand-sewed them in place to keep them from, well, flapping.

Heather's a trooper for standing outside in the cold so I could photograph her. It was like 3º outside when we did these.
Chilly chilly brr brr!

xoxo, 

-m.e.

P.S. Beef up your winter wardrobe with a no-knit cowl!

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Hey! What's new with you?

Not to break the fourth wall or anything, but I'm writing this post on a Thursday evening. I'm drinking the biggest cup of mocha which is inevitably going to keep me up all night, & I'm wishing it were the weekend already. Not that I have any weekend plans per se, just that the piles of snow on the ground are begging to be traipsed through & I haven't had any time to do that yet. Speaking of adventures, I took this picture of our snowy city from the skyway system. The skyways are one of my favorite parts about Minneapolis. They're these walkways that connect from building to building, making it easy to stay inside & travel on foot! Half of my walk to work is inside this system, & I believe it is one of the concrete reasons why I don't hate the cold (yet). Anyway, I've only been able to travel through a portion of the skyway system, & I'm itching to go explore all of it. It's like a whole other city, in the sky! Any adventure plans for your weekend?

This week's links:

• Interesting read: The one question successful people can answer immediately (still working on my answer, success to follow)
• What are your thoughts on a Tinder-like app that helps you find friends?
• Everyone's getting pumped for the Super Bowl, but let's not forget the most important event of the month: the Puppy Bowl
• All of the thoughts an introvert has while attempting small talk
• The platypus is a weird animal, but this is one adorable rescue
• Loving these tribute David Bowie valentines
• Also mini marbled donuts?! So pretty!
• If you're sick of winter, make a beach terrarium for your desk!

xoxo, 

-m.e.

P.S. This is the first week I remembered to bring my reusable coffee sleeve to work with me every day! Whoo!

valentine's iphone wallpapers

It's the mushiest, gushiest time of the year folks! We keep Valentine's Day pretty low-key around here, but it's hard not to impulsively purchase every cute thing with a heart on it. Also the chocolate is a problem too. In lieu of indulging in all things heart-shaped, here are some Valentine's iPhone wallpapers for your phone!

 

To use these wallpapers, get on your phone & click the links below to open the wallpaper you want to use. Then press down on the image until you're prompted to save it. Save & set as wallpaper! 

• Hearts on hearts
• Je t'aime, mon amor
• Be mine, sweetheart

I can't believe I used the term "bae" in a semi-public setting (referencing wallpaper #3). I feel so old & out of touch.

xoxo, 

-m.e.

P.S. Print out some punny-funny Valentine's cards!