“Craft Alert!” Letter Opener

Home & Garden Completed Projects
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For the L-and-C Grab Bag Swap, I was trying to be flexible by making items that could be used for either L or C.

A Letter opener had popped into my mind early on, because so much of my mail is Lettuce Craft swap packages or Happy Mail. But I couldn’t initially think of a way to make it be a C also.

Then it hit me — I would crochet at the top! I had a nice stainless steel letter opener that was shaped like a big needle, with an elongated hole at the top. I grabbed some crochet thread, and crocheted all around. It looked… not great.

So I ripped it out and tried some different ways of crocheting the top. All failures! (Sorry, no pictures.)

Then I suddenly remembered some fun fabric I had in stash.

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The design elements were elongated like the letter opener, and there was even an office-supply vibe to it—perfect!

So I found some yarn that matched, and crocheted around the letter opener again with that. Then fussy-cut a couple of the fun phrases, stretched them over some stiff felt and stitched them in place. (The one on the back went kind of wonky in the process; oops!)

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Last, I decorated the end with a few little wool balls I had in stash. So festive!

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I like it, and imagine the recipient, @Bunny1kenobi, using it to open her incoming Happy Mail and ATCs.

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ACK! This is so clever and fun! Even without all the “L” and “C” considerations, it’s packed with charm and practicality!

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This is so cute and original! I love the fresh idea. That fabric is amazing too. With the wool balls it gives me fun circus vibes. :smiley:

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I love it!

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Thanks! This is actually one of my favorite things I’ve ever made, wonky or not. Maybe because of all the false starts; I don’t know. But I’m actually looking for another similar letter opener so I can make one for myself.

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I truly love this! Such a unique idea and a letter opener is something I will definitely use for all my happy mail and ATC requirements! It’s perfect!! So glad you had this stroke of genius and that I’m the lucky one profiting from it!! :blush:

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This is really fun and perfect for a “Happy Mailer.” :smile:

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I think this might be a first! How fun and original! You took a practical tool and made it fun!

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This is such a fun idea!

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This rocks so hard!

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I love these so much! So clever!

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What an adorable idea! I love the fact that it makes opening mail fun! The colors are great.

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I love it. I’ve been thinking about crocheting around the top of my over-the-ear headphones to make them extra fun. I think this just helped solidify that idea in my mind.

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This is so creative!

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This is so cute & neat & interesting!

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