KraftyMum

Christmas Book Help

2011-11-30T11:41:00.001-08:00

I’m not even sure anyone even follows me anymore since I’ve been such a slacker but if you do I could sure use your help. I want to start doing a tradition I read about a while ago where the family wrapped up all their Christmas books and depending on how many they had they start opening one a night until Christmas Eve. I don’t want to just go buy a whole bunch of meaningless Christmas books. I would love them to be about the true meaning of Christmas, about giving rather than receiving, and about Christ. Here’s where I need your help.

What are your families favorite Christmas books?

Just leave a comment of your favorites and if you want why you love them!

Thanks a ton!

Turkey Pumpkins

2011-11-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you are a slacker of a mom and didn’t make the time to carve the pumpkins for Halloween?

you turn them into Turkey’s for Thanksgiving…..

Supplies:

Brown Cardstock

Feathers

Glue

Pumpkins

Yellow and red foam (or felt, paper, etc)

Wiggly Eyes

I’m not going to go into great details but you can wing it from my pictures!

Make the face on brown cardstock

Glue feathers to strips of brown cardstock

Glue the strips of feathers together fanning them out and the attach to pumpkin (I used hot glue for this part)

Then glue the head onto the stem of the pumpkin.

Now you have a Turkey Pumpkin!

Here are two of my Turkeys posing with our Turkey Pumpkins!!!

Seasonal Pillow Covers

2011-11-15T19:35:00.001-08:00

Just finished making these pillow covers. They turned out so cute and they were super easy to make.

I finished this fall/thanksgiving themed ones just in time! I love the off centered orange stripe (the orange is sparkly too, love the sparkles!!!)

I know these one’s are a little late for the holiday but they are ready for next year. The only thing I would change if I was to make these again would be to make the orange frame larger.

I had a hard time finding just the right ribbon to make these pillows covers look like presents. Then I found out that JoAnn’s sells a ribbon that looks like burlap without the rough feel of burlap. Then my other struggle was finding just the right green something to go in the center of the bow. I must admit I’m not entirely in love with what I used but they do still look cute!

Quilt and Fish Tail Towel Hanger

2011-11-02T19:35:00.001-07:00

I’ve got a gazillion projects either waiting to be finished or waiting to be recorded. I’ve been trying to get myself organized again since moving into our first home and sending our oldest daughter to Kindergarten. It’s been quite the struggle to manage schedules and I’ll admit I don’t like having to work my life around school now. It’s always been nice to just pick up and go whenever I wanted. The worst part is the schedule crunching is just beginning and I know it will only get crazier the older she gets and as her siblings join her. Life sure is crazy!

Anyways enough with my rant…

Here are some pictures of a couple of projects I just finished:

This is the baby quilt I made for my sister’s little girl who was born last January (this tells you how far behind I am)

This fish tail towel hanger came out of necessity when the kids hung on the original towel rod and it cam off the wall (thankfully not damaging the kids or the wall). This makes it so the kids (except the baby) can now hang their own towels after their bath.

Ocean Cave is done!!!!

2011-10-21T08:35:00.001-07:00

Sorry I’ve been absent on this blog for a while. I’ve had a hard time motivating myself to get any blogging done. I’ve still been creating but haven’t had the desire to blog about them. Hopefully, while I’m in the mood I’ll get my blog caught up on all that I’ve been doing.

To start off we have been building a bed for our son Christian’s new room. It was quite the project, fun but took a lot of juggling of time to get it done.

We finally finished it yesterday.

So while the kids had a sleepover in the living room

we set the bed up in his bedroom.

Climbing wall (we didn’t use the foot and hand holds from the other bunk bed because they hurt your feet to use if you’re not wearing shoes.

Shelf along side and empty space at the end for books and toys

Treasure Chest toy box inside cave

Shelving on the inside of cave.

Oooh La La Baby Legs

2011-06-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

I love Baby Legs.

I have been wanting to make some for my baby for a while and when my husband started getting rid of his dress socks because they looked like this:

I started snagging them before he could throw them away so I could make them into little leggings for her. This is how I did it:

I cut the foot portion off the sock like so:

Then I took some trim and pinned it to the cut edge of the sock and just started stitching it down. (because this trim was finished i just stitched wrong side to the right side of the sock)

When I got back around to where I started I connected the two ends together but lining right sides together and stitched so there was just enough trim to lay over the remainder of the sock (I hope that makes sense) Stitch that section down to the sock and then viola your done!!! They were so easy and fun I made another pair using wired ribbon. I used the wire to scrunch up one side and then stitched it the same as above and then removed the wire once it was all stitched down!

A New Favorite: Headband Trim

2011-06-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

I was strolling through my local WalMart craft area and I stumbled across this:

It’s a roll of Headband trim!!! The same stuff as the popular headbands for babies and children are made from except it’s in a roll with 2 yards of the trim. Maybe I’m behind the times and everyone else already knew about this stuff but it’s great.

From one roll I was able to make five headbands

and I had a small amount left over that I turned into a cute bracelet!

To make them I just wrapped the trim around my little girls head pulling it so it was a little snug and then cut it then finish it on your serger or sewing machine. Here’s how I finished them using my sewing machine:

One method I took a square of the same color of fabric and wrapped it around the end of the trim like so:

(If you don’t wrap the end the trim gets stuck in your feed dogs)

I used a ziz-zag stitch and went over the end a couple of times. Then I trimmed the extra fabric off and it’s done!!!

The other method I regular lined paper wrapped one the back side instead of the material. That way I could tear it free. I did this method because I didn’t have any pink fabric to match the pink trim. (The paper leaves little pieces between the threads that you have to get out with some tweezers, otherwise it works great)

These were so easy and so fun to make.

I foresee more projects to come using this trim!!!

Scrapwood and Screws

2011-06-07T12:06:00.001-07:00

Scrapwood and Screws

is a brand new blog a friend of mine started to show off the projects he has done and maybe help inspire us to turn “junk” into treasures.

I’m loving his very first post of a

Sandbox Excavator. To see how he made this

Sandbox Excavator head on over to

Scrapwood and Screws!!!

Canvas Brushless Art with Kids

2011-06-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

We had a blank wall in our hallway and I really wanted to do one large artwork to add some color unfortunately there was two problems.

First I didn’t want to fork over the $$$ for a large piece of artwork

and

Secondly I’m not much of an artist so I couldn’t paint one myself.

Voila!

Let My Kids Be The Artists!!!

Here’s how we made it:

I made the frame from scrap pieces of wood by cutting two long pieces and then two smaller pieces about half the size of the long ones. I also one more small piece that would fit snug between the two long pieces for more support. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the frame before I put the canvas over it)

I purchase a white twin size flat sheet at Wal-Mart for about $5. I cut it so the sheet was about 4 inches wider than the frame on all sides.

Then I let the kids have at it doing whatever they wanted. It didn’t turn out quite like I had hoped so a couple days later we had another go at it but will a little more direction to create an actual scenery.

I asked the kids what they wanted to make, then I squeezed out the paint to resemble the item, and they spread the paint out.

Flower TreeSun The big thing I would change here is I would make a light outline of the frame so that we could keep the bulk of our picture on the part of the fabric that will actually be seen. As you can tell we lost most of the flowers and rainbow in order to keep the tree with the handprint apples!!!

After the paint has dried just line up the frame where you want and wrap it around to the back of the frame and staple it in place. Be sure to pull tight. I recommend working on one end then move to the opposite end and then work on the sides.

It was definitely a five star ***** project in my book!!!

Fun, Easy, and Cheap!!!

Plus we can easily make another painting to change it up if we like.

I think the next one we make will have a beach theme to it!!!

All in one week…

2011-05-30T16:20:00.001-07:00

We woke up on the 18th of May to find this:

That afternoon we made this:

Then on the 21st of May we did this:

Teaching Sewing Lessons

2011-05-20T22:29:00.001-07:00

I’m going to start teaching sewing lessons and I just received this letter from my professor in the mail:

This sure gave me a confidence boost and I can’t wait to get started!!! You can find more information about my classes here Sewing Lessons FAQ's

Stringy Easter Wreath

2011-04-19T19:59:00.001-07:00

This is a messy but fun project. I recommend it for ages 5+.

Materials:

Elmer’s Glue (watered down a little bit)

1 long skinny balloon (I had to use 2 balloons as I wanted mine thicker but I would recommend if you can only using one) I found my balloons at a dollar store in an assortment bag

Yarn cut into strips I would recommend around 24 inches long.

Something to fill the wreath (I used Easter eggs)

Ribbon

Dip the yarn in the glue and squeeze off the excess. Wrap the yarn around the balloon in all directionsOnce the glue dries then pop the balloon and remove it from inside. Allow it to dry a little longer as some of the inside may be a bit wet still. Once dry fill whatever you want I used Easter eggs and tie a ribbon on.

Side note: Mine started to droop and looked more like an egg after a little while so I re did the ribbon to pull from about 4 inches on each side of the center so it wouldn’t droop anymore. Mine was pretty flexible but I bet if you did way more yarn it would probably be stiffer!

*I learned the use of string in glue from a magazine article a few years ago. I’m not sure which one but I think it might have been “Parenting”

St. Patrick’s Day Fun

2011-03-17T15:51:00.001-07:00

We made shirts yesterday. I made stamps out of craft foam in the shape of shamrocks and glued it to a piece of wood. They used the stamps and also a cookie cutter in 3 different shades of green paint to decorate their shirts!

Then today we made pots of gold out of little party favor buckets and St. Patrick’s Day stickers. I then bought the chocolate coins to put in the buckets. Quick, easy, fun, and not messy!

Introducing HanuChic

2011-03-16T21:55:00.001-07:00

I have a new shop called (Han-you-sheek). I’ve started a new adventure designing and making hats. I have two styles:

MiliB (newsboy - military)

LuBay (wide brimmed)

Swing on by to my new shop HanuChic!!!

Blessing Dress

2011-03-14T19:50:00.001-07:00

My sister that I made this wedding dress for asked me to do a blessing dress for her new little girl. I used the leftover material from making the wedding dress. It turned out so darling (other than it was a little big in her).

Baby Boy Gifts

2011-02-14T07:56:00.001-08:00

These are the gifts my sister and I made for our cousin’s little boy.

Front of the quilt:

My sister pieced the quilt together and I did the quilting and binding. I free motion quilted the quilt with stars. They were some pretty crazy looking stars.

The back of the quilt:

These are the cloth diapers with the same strip that id on the back of the quilt running down one side.

I also snagged a cute outfit that was a zip up sweater, bodysuit, and pants. I appliqued a star on the bodysuit out of the star fabric scraps from the quilt.

One wreath for….

2011-01-26T20:04:00.001-08:00

…the whole year.

Wouldn’t that be fabulous?

Well thanks to Linds over at That’s So Cuegly it’s now possible!!! This Year Round Wreath is going on my to-do list!

A review and Bunk Bed Renovation

2011-01-25T10:25:00.001-08:00

The Review…

I am excited for the opportunity to review a product from CSN Stores. I am not sure what I’m going to review as CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from modern dining room furniture to cute cookware to chic lighting pieces! It’s going to be fun to scour through all the selections and find something to review. So check back soon to see what I found and how I liked it!!!!

The Bunk Bed….

I can’t believe I never posted here about the log bunk beds that my dad and I made (mostly my dad) a couple of years ago for the kids. Here’s what it looked like until last a few weeks ago:

We were going to add a stairway to the side but then we changed our minds and decided to turn it into more of an indoor playground. So we added a rope ladder and a climbing wall. They are loving it!!!

It helps to ease the cabin fever and gets them some good exercise in when it’s too cold outside. Now all that’s missing is a slide LOL!!!

Rocky Rolls!!!

2010-12-18T16:34:00.001-08:00

Some of our favorite treats to eat during this time of year is Rocky Road and Cinnamon Santas (or bears) covered in chocolate.

This year we made Santas covered in both milk chocolate and white chocolate. We called them “Utah Santas” (this is where Santa will get snow on his boots) and “Florida Santas” (this is where Santa will get mud on his boots).

After finishing the Santas I was going to use the remainder of the chocolate to make Rocky Road, but upon searching I realized I didn’t have any of the mini marshmallows only the regular sized ones. So we rolled the regular sized marshmallows in the chocolate and then in the walnuts. It was messy but fun!!!

So instead of Rocky Road this year we are having “Rocky Rolls”!!!

It’s been a while….

2010-12-12T09:20:00.001-08:00

Sorry it’s been a while since I have posted anything. It’s been a crazy whirlwind of a ride over the last few weeks. I’ve been enjoying spending time with my family at the same time trying to overcome some medical problems. I developed a blood clot in my leg a few weeks ago and have been living on the couch. It was quite the scare, but I am doing much better now.

I haven’t been able to do much crafting but here is a little project I was able to finish:

I made my baby girl and my two little nieces all matching skirts from my sister’s old scrubs.

Aren’t these babes so cute….

A Learning Quilt

2010-11-08T11:43:00.001-08:00

Boy did I learn a lot putting this quilt together. I did a lot of firsts.

It was my first time working with a shape other than squares (and not an applique).

It was my first time doing free motion quilting.

And it was my first time binding a quilt.

My sister had the triangles left over from making a quilt for her little girl and she offered them to me to make a quilt. I didn’t want to make one just like her quilt so I started messing around with ideas. I came up with my pattern and once I started sewing I soon regretted my choice. It took forever to sew those little triangles all together. Not to mention trying to figure out how to add the cream into the design too. The free motion quilting was fun, just don’t look too close and you won’t notice how inconsistent my stitch length is, LOL!!!

Without any further ado here is the quilt….

I’m still here…

2010-11-03T20:02:00.001-07:00

just taking a little break to enjoy this cute little face

Our baby girl was born on October 20th and was only 5lbs 10oz. She spent 5 days in the NICU for respiratory distress, but she is home now and healthy as can be!!!

I have several projects I finished up just before she was born that I hope to get up soon, but first I need to get in a few more snuggles and catch up on school!

A Blanket and Barbequed Pizza

2010-10-16T20:39:00.001-07:00

Blanket

With the arrival of our baby girl fast approaching (tentatively planned for this coming Wednesday) I’ve been trying to finish up the blankets I planned to make her. Here’s the first one that is done:

I appliquéd the picture to a purple flannel. I tried to incorporate different textured fabrics for the appliqués. I used flannel, fleece, corduroy, some sort of cotton with flower embellishments, silk, and minky fabrics.

The border is the same as the back of the quilt. I just folded the back over to the front and then did a zig-zag stitch around the inner and outer edge of the border.

Barbequed Pizza

So my husband had this idea about a month ago that he wanted to try Barbequed Pizza. Not as in Pizza with BBQ sauce on it, as in cooking a pizza on the grill. Well I finally planned it into our meals for this week. It turned out great except for the crust cooked a little to fast and I had to move it onto tinfoil so it

Ta Da!!!

We are a crazy crew!!!

Blessing Dress Update

2010-10-12T13:41:00.001-07:00

Remember the blessing dress I made about a month ago?

Here’s the picture of the sweet little girl wearing it!!! So cute! Thanks Rachele for sharing a picture with me!!!

Crochet Trim and Appliqué Bodysuits

2010-10-08T11:43:00.001-07:00

I so excited to get to announce my new product I have available in my etsy shop!!! I’ve been working on these over the last couple of weeks trying to come up with new fun designs that aren’t already out there. I know there are already a ton of people who offer appliqué bodysuits (onsies) on Etsy so you might be wondering what makes mine different. Well I’ve figured out a way to add crochet trim to those plain white bodysuits to give the onsie that little added flare!!!

So head on over and take a look at what I have, I still have a few more styles to list that I will hopefully get up later this evening, but I really need to study for a test that I have to take today.

After visiting I would love to hear what ones you liked most.

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the styles that I haven’t listed yet:

This set was inspired by my Cousin-In-Law who is expecting Twins, which is available in my etsy shop right now.

I am offering custom orders on almost everything I have or will have listed, just send me a message. I will also be offering plain white bodysuits with just the crochet trim and no appliqué.

And the winners are….

2010-10-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and entered into my flower giveaway!!! So without further ado the winners of the flower clips are:

#14: Jon and Reans said...

pink center. very cute.

and #8: Bobbie Mackey said...

definitely purple! great giveaway...thanks!

Congratulations Jon and Reans and Bobbie Mackey. Please send me an e-mail with your address and confirm the color of center you want for the flowers (silver, yellow, or purple) so I can mail them off to you!!!

Pot Racks/Kitchen Decor

2010-10-04T08:59:00.001-07:00

Don’t forget to swing by and enter my giveaway it ends today!!!

I’ve been contemplating on a better way to store my pots and pans since our kitchen is small and I don’t want to stack them in a cupboard. So I started looking into pot rack ideas here’s a few ideas I liked:

Decor Design

My husband didn’t like the valance idea because it blocked out what little light we do get from our window. He really liked this idea:

Decor Design

I really like this idea of using a coat rack especially since it incorporated a place for the lids too…

Cottage Living

however, I did not have a coat rack nor did I want to spend any money to get one. So I sort of incorporated all three ideas together in creating this…

I think they turned out great. I’m loving the brown and green colors too, which match our dishware set and I didn’t even have to go out and buy the paper I already had it in my stash.

I just cut up some scrap boards into 4.5” by 3.75” rectangles. I then attached the scrapbook paper to the board using Elmer’s glue. Yep, you read that right I did not use Mod Podge (ran out of this on my last project). The glue worked wonderfully, and I think it’s the best job I’ve ever done. Usually I get a little bit of bubbles or wrinkles but this time I didn’t have any of that on any of them. I also ran the edge of a spatula across the surface to help smooth out the paper and remove the bubbles.

Then I brushed up the sides with some brown acrylic paint and applied a top coat of Elmer’s glue to seal it. I then drilled a small hole about an inch from the bottom and screwed in the hanging thing (these were in a wall hanging kit we bought a few years ago). Total cost for this project was FREE since I already had everything I needed around my house!!!

I’m loving the look and functionality of my new kitchen decor!!!

100 Followers

2010-09-30T21:23:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to shout out a THANK YOU for helping me reach 100 followers!!! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a pair of these cute flowers!!!

Click HERE for details and to enter!!!

More Flowers and a Giveaway!!!

2010-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

At one point me and my 3 sisters were all pregnant with baby girls. Shayla was born in May and the rest of the baby girls will be born around October, November, and January. My oldest sister and I are due only a month a part and last week we got together to make some flower clips for our girls. Here’s some of the ones that I did. I actually did a couple that are for me (the big yellow and red one).

I also made these little flowers that I attached to small bobby pins.

That’s where the giveaway comes in. I’m giving away two pairs of these cute white and purple flowers with your choice of either yellow, silver, or purple center.

How to Enter:

For one entry leave a comment stating what choice of center you would like

For a second entry become a follower (if you already follow your already set) and leave a comment saying so

For a third entry refer a friend and have him/her leave a comment with your name in it!!!

And just to spice things up I will give away another two pairs if I reach 150 followers!!!

Giveaway will close Monday, October 4th at 11:59pm!

Winners will be chosen by Random.org.
Good luck everyone!!!

Jack O’ Lantern Curtain

2010-09-21T20:59:00.001-07:00

My inspiration for this curtain came from my Hubby. He put together a fun romantic evening a couple of weeks ago, including decorations and dessert. He made candle lanterns out of cardboard boxes and a curtain out of shredded paper. His curtain gave me the idea to make one that wouldn’t get torn up by the kids and was festive for Halloween.

How To:

Materials

1 orange twin size flat sheet $4 at Walmart (or orange fabric)

Black paint

Green scrap fabric (optional)

Pumpkin face ideas (I found mine here)

Pole or string (whatever you want to use to hang the curtain with)

Directions

Measure the width of the entryway you want your curtain to hang in and round up to the nearest inch. Then measure out your sheet to that same size (I unstitched the seams in my sheet first). I just put a little snip in my sheet and then ripped the fabric straight down.

Now find your design for your face. You can draw it right on your fabric or cut it out of paper first. I cut it out of paper first so I could see how well I would like it and position it where I wanted.

If you did the paper then trace around the paper onto your fabric. I used a black marker.

Now paint the face in.

Now if you are going to use the green trim at the top you need a piece that is as wide as your orange fabric and double the width you would like the trim to end up being. My piece would up being 38” x 12”.

Once your paint has dried sew one edge of your green trim to the top edge of your orange fabric with right sides together. Then fold the other edge of your green fabric with at least a 1/4” fold and then fold the green fabric in half over the seam you just made. Now stitch the folded edge to the orange fabric meeting up the edge with the seam you made earlier. I did two stitches along this edge.

If you are not doing the green trim you just need to create a casing that will fit your pole or string. As you can see in the first picture I used a scrap piece of wood (the same one that my hubby used for his curtain).

Now at the bottom edge of your orange fabric make small cuts every 1”. Then tear the fabric into strips all the way up to the green trim or the casing you made.

Now your Jack O’ Lantern is ready to hang!!!

My two munchkins are loving the new look!!!

(I wish I had taken more pictures of the sewing portion, but I’ll probably be making another one [not a pumpkin though] and I’ll be sure to take more detailed pictures.)

Alphabet Photography Sign

2010-09-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

I made this Alphabet Photography sign as a wedding gift for my cousin. It says “Harris” with the classic “EST 2010” for the year they were married.

I had fun scouring my town and the mountain to find the pictures to take. Then I ran out of time to put it together at my house, so I had fun trying to use what I quickly packed with me to make it look nice. I also forgot my wall hanging kit at home (350 miles away) so then I had to decide how on earth were they going to hang it on the wall. I then came up with the idea of using some barbwire as the hanger; I just had to get my dad to help me attach it to the board!!!

How to:

I used a 7”x32”x1” scrap board that I had.

I took the pictures and then edited them to all have the same look (you can also find pictures online, but me being a photographer myself I wanted to use my own pictures).

I painted the board brown and then glued the scrapbook paper strip along the bottom.

Because my dad was all out of sandpaper I distressed my board using a metal/wood file and a wire brush.

I then evenly spaced out all my pictures and glued them down.

I used my sister’s vinyl cutting machine to cut out the “EST 2010” and placed it on the green scrapbook paper that I cut to the same size as the photographs. (FYI if you need any custom vinyl cut let me know as she just started her business called Got Vynl?)

Then I covered the entire board with mod podge to give it a protective coating.

My dad did wonders with the barb wire. He measured out a piece of barb wire and then made a loop at each end around a screw and then screwed it into the top of the board.

That was it!!!

Oh and just for fun here’s a picture of the newlyweds…

Blessing Dress

2010-09-16T19:14:00.001-07:00

After seeing the Baptismal dress I made a few months ago, a friend of mine asked me to make a blessing dress for her little baby girl. I can’t wait to see some pictures of this dress on her little princess!

(Not the best environment to take pictures, but I did all the finishing touches as we traveled this last weekend so I could drop it off to her instead of mailing it!)

I just love the ribbon running through the eyelet lace.

I also decided to make a matching headband with the scraps!!!

Fringe Scarf Tutorial

2010-08-27T08:16:00.001-07:00

Since our family pictures last year when my daughter used this fringe scarf that our photographer Ashley Mae had,

I’ve been wanting to make me one similar and here’s what I came up with:

Supplies:
Several different skeins of fuzzy/furry yarn ( I used 6)
Scissors
Directions:
Step 1: Cut 4 strands at about 48 inches of each of your yarn. Because I used 6 different types of yarn I had a total of 24 (48 inch) strands.
Step 2: Put all your strands together lining one end of each strand up and then tie it to something sturdy about 20 inches from the end ( I used my sliding glass door)

Step 3: Then divide your strands into 4 strand segments (mixing the different yarns together) putting a knot about 4 inches from the knot where you tied all your strands to the sturdy object.

You should now have as many segments of 4 strands as you had different types of yarn with each segment having a knot about 4 inches from the big knot.
Step 4: Do you remember making friendship bracelets? The same technique used to make friendship bracelets is what we are going to use to form sections of your strands that are all connected together.
Take and hold each strand separated by a finger in your non dominant hand except for the farthest left strand.

You’ll want to hold these strands tight.
Step 5: Now take the farthest left strand and loop it around your thumb and then loop it under the next strand going down on the right side of the strand and coming back up on the left side and through the loop your thumb is helping to create.

Here’s a little diagram that might help to demonstrate what I’m trying to say. (You can see my talent doesn’t lie in drawing on the computer)

Pull the loop down until you reach the knot in each strand. You want to do this looping stitch twice on each strand all the way across otherwise your scarf will start to twist.
Do three rows (each time you start with a new strand on the left that’s the start of a new row). This is what it should look like after your three rows:

Step 6: Then about 4 inches from your last row of stitches you want to do a knot again like we did in Step 3. Then repeat Steps 4-6 until you reach about 20 inches from the end of your strands. Now you can untie your scarf from the sturdy object.
Step 7: (Optional) I then finished my scarf off by tying a knot about 4 inches from the very end of each of my four strand sections (at both the beginning and end of my scarf).

Now your finished!!!

I was roasting by the time I finally got this picture right, but then again what do you expect when it’s 80 degrees outside, your wearing a sweater,a scarf and your 7 months pregnant; LOL!!!
I would love to hear if you give this a try and as always if you have any questions just leave a comment or send me an e-mail!!!

Waldorf Style Doll

2010-08-25T14:37:00.001-07:00

I think my daughter who will be turning 5 in 8 days would really like one of these:

However I can’t bring myself to pay $150.

I’m trying to decide if I want to give it a whirl and try to make one in just one week.

Here’s a couple of tutorials that I have found for the Waldorf Style Doll here and here and for making the Hair here.

What do you think?

**I just found this great photo tutorial for making the doll and this photo tutorial for making the hair on flickr**

Upcycled/Recycled T-Shirt Dresses

2010-08-24T11:44:00.001-07:00

I have been obsessed with making t-shirt dresses since the day I stumbled across Ashley’s blog Lil Blue Boo.

Ari now has 4 dresses with this one being the most recent one in which I used the t-shirt I recently purchased for her and just added the layered skirt. I also made the leggings (still trying to perfect my method) and have made long sleeves that I will attach once the cold weather comes.

Then I made this dress for our friends little girl who just turned 2.

I’m loving the added rosette embellishments.

I used the flat lock stitch for some of the seams.

Last but not least I made this fun and colorful dress for my Etsy shop.

Zipper Rosettes finally available

2010-08-19T10:47:00.001-07:00

My zipper Rosettes are finally in my etsy shop!!!

The blue one and the maroon one are on there now, the rest will be showing up throughout the next couple of days!

Oh, and if you don’t see one you like send me an e-mail and I’d be happy to do a custom one for you!

Kids Craft: Sea Shell Frames

2010-08-12T21:19:00.001-07:00

We had the opportunity to visit the beach while on vacation to Pennsylvania. We visited the Island Beach State Park in New Jersey. After Grandpa brought them over some nice sea shells they started collecting any and every little piece of a shell they found around our beach blanket.

Then today while visiting my sister at her In-laws house my daughter pointed out to me a picture frame that had little turritella shells lined around it and so we decided to use their shells from our trip (plus the leftovers that I had from another project) to decorate old frames we found at the DI (local thrift store). The purple one was $0.50 and the brown one was $0.75.

I armed my kiddos with paintbrushes and some cream acrylic paint. TIP: Dad’s old short sleeved dress shirts make for great painting aprons.

I helped some to make sure all the frame was covered.

Then we glued on the sea shells. I had the kids arrange the larger shells where they wanted them and then I used the hot glue gun to attach them. Then I spread Elmer's glue in the open places and the kids put the little one’s on wherever they wanted.

(They really were enjoying themselves they just didn’t like the picture taking)

I then removed the inner picture and we covered a cardboard square with fabric using Mod Podge. I let the kids spread the glue out and then we smoothed the fabric together. After the mod podge dried I then ironed the appliqué starfish and ship using Wonder Under.

I used my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot to do the vinyl saying “Remember what you were born to become.” This is located between the front door and living room window so as we leave the house we remember we were all born to become Kings or Queens and to act accordingly.

With the help of my kids I think this is our first decorating success, YEA!!!

Cupcake and Ice Cream Cone Onsies

2010-08-11T09:20:00.001-07:00

I made these cute little appliquéd onsies for my friend’s little girl.

Here’s the pattern for the appliqués. I included a little 1/2 inch square so you can check if it prints out at the same size as I used. Click on the picture to print a larger size.

I used Wonder Under to iron the shapes down. I started with the cup and cone first, ironed them on, and then stitched around the edge. Then I proceeded to layer the rest on (ironing it, then stitching it, then putting the next layer on). For the stem of the cherry I used green DMC floss and stitched it on by hand using a back stitch.

Ashley Mae Photography Giveaway

2010-08-10T20:29:00.001-07:00

My all time favorite photographer Ashley Mae is doing a giveaway for a photo session with her. She is an amazing photographer so head on over to her blog Ashley Mae Photography and enter to win a photo session with her.

These are some of the pics she did for us last year:

A little mending and a new purse!

2010-08-06T19:15:00.001-07:00

It has been quite a while since I got a post done. In between unpacking and vacation I have been working on a number of projects. I have spent the last few weeks trying to crank out some of the little tasks I need to get done, but have been procrastinating. I love to sew but I am not a huge fan of mending things. In fact most of my Capris/Bermuda shorts are just old jeans that got holes in the knees so I chopped them up and never bothered to finish the seam again.

Some of my mending was for my husband. He lost a button on his shorts, so I stole one from the back pocket and put it in the missing one’s place. Then another pair of his shorts had really small front pockets so he wouldn’t wear them. So I made an extension to the pocket and now he’s happy to have another pair of shorts to wear.

I’ve been wanting to make myself a new purse and just a couple of days after I packed my sewing machine up the idea came to me to use an old pair of pants that had these really cute zipper pockets in front and turn it into a purse. Turns out my idea wasn’t so unique as I quickly found a plethora of blogs with tutorials. So no tutorial on this but here’s how it turned out.

I added these cute little flowers and I got the D-rings from an old belt I never wear.

Mini Swing

2010-07-06T19:29:00.001-07:00

I was in the process of making a birdhouse when we received a call that we would be able to move into a new place that is closer to family about 5 months earlier than we had anticipated. So the birdhouse has been put on hold, but I wanted to make a little something to put by our little Anthony’s grave since we will be moving over 300 miles away. I thought about making a smaller birdhouse, but then came up with this cute little swing instead.

Even though we will be so far away from the place we laid his body to rest, we know he will always be with us!!!

My first paid sewing project…Baptismal Dress

2010-06-30T19:55:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine asked me a couple of months ago if I would be able to make a dress for an 8 year old little girl similar to the Baby Gap dress she had for her 3 year old.

They had been looking all over and couldn’t seem to find a cute all white dress. So I took a look at the dress and told her I could do it. I found a pattern and made the alterations so I could include the cute lace trimming throughout the dress and then added a little flower appliqué.

Here’s the dress. The part I liked the least (besides ironing) was doing the pleats along the bottom.

Here are the two dresses together. I had a lot of fun doing the flower appliqué and will probably be incorporating it into more of my projects!

Facebook Fan page

2010-06-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

I have a new Facebook Fan page. It’s going under my Etsy Store’s name of Click and Stitch. Head on over and become a fan. I’m not real good at making a lot of posts there but you’ll be able to see when I have new items available in my shop!!!

A “Twist” on Zipper Rosettes

2010-06-22T19:59:00.001-07:00

I got together with some of my friends today to make zipper rosettes. They are so much fun and easy to do. Then I started fiddling around and came up with this “TWIST” on the rosettes!!!

Materials:
Zipper
Hot Glue Gun
Felt
Instructions:
Undo your zipper completely cutting off the end so you can remove the zipper head. So it looks like this:

Then fold the excess fabric at one end over and glue it in place.

Fold the end tightly over and glue it in place onto a square of felt. The size of your felt with depend on how long your zipper is. It’s better to have too much felt then not enough.

Now twist the loose end of your zipper.

Twist it pretty tight and then start gluing it down to the felt.

You’ll keep twisting and putting some glue down to hold it in place rotating all the way around several times. When you get to the end just glue it down. Once your glue is cooled off and dry trim the excess felt away and then add some more glue where the zipper lays a little loose still.

Now you can attach it to whatever you want, just like the other zipper rosettes. I made two smaller ones and attached them to a headband.
This was my attempt at taking a picture of me wearing the headband, but then I gave up and convince my daughter to put it on and let me take a picture!!!

Patriotic Star Door Decor

2010-06-14T20:09:00.001-07:00

My door has been sitting empty of any decor since Christmas was taken down. So I decided to put something together that wouldn’t take much time and that I could do while chilling with the kids outside. I came up with this cute arrangement:

It’s styled after all those wreaths we saw around Christmas time with the scrap fabrics just tied around a wire. For mine I used a wire coat hanger. To make the even points I measured approximately how long my hanger was after undoing the twisty part at the top. Then I divided that number by 10 because that is how many bends I was going to need to make to get my 5 points. So say your wire measured at 42 inches. That means you need to make a mark every 4 inches for a bend (the extra 2 inches will just be worked in at the end as an overlap to connect the two ends together). You will want to alternate your bends back and forth in a zig-zag like method. Since my hanger had a natural curve in a sort of circle I did one bend inwards and one bend outwards. I really hope I’m making sense. Once you reach the end twist the two ends together. This is a little difficult and may require a pair of pliers and perhaps an extra set of hands.

Now just start forming your bends more distinctly so you have a more pronounced star look.

Gather up your scrap fabrics you want to use. I used 2 different red, 2 different white, and 1 blue. I tore my fabric into about 1 inch strips and then cut them into 3-4 inches long sections.

Once your strips are ready just start tying them in a knot around the star. I chose to pattern mine as red, white,blue (and then just alternated between the two different reds and whites).

The closer together you squish the tied fabrics the fuller your star will appear. After I had my star all done I took it out to display and decided that my star a little lonely and out of place.

So I gave her three little stars friends to hang out with.

To make the friends I sketched a star that was about 2-3 inches tall. I cut two stars of each of the three fabrics I chose (6 total stars). Then I just did a 1/4” stitch around the edges of two stars wrong sides together. To make the fray look on the stars I brushed my fingers over the edges.

I attached the stars using white pipe cleaners/chenille stems and hot glue. For the red and the white star I put a little bit of hot glue on the inner point and attached them to the middle pipe cleaner to help them lay how I wanted.

That’s it. It probably took me about 2 hours and most of that was spent sitting and tying all the little strips.

My door is happily decorated, for now…….

Re-Introduction to my Rock-A-Bye Duo and little plug for me….

2010-06-11T20:00:00.001-07:00

I made these two little quilts about 6 months ago and attempted at selling them individually on Etsy. I decided to give my Etsy a rest for a little while but now I’m back staring this Duo.

Here’s a few pictures of my Rock-A-Bye Crib and Doll size Quilts:

I have decided to combine the two together so one little one can have a quilt and a matching quilt for their doll or to drag around as a comfort “blankie”. Or even one for the baby and one for the nursery wall.

The Crib Size quilt is trimmed with my homemade chenille. It was also machine quilted including cloud shapes in the blue for the sky!!!

The Doll size quilt is ragged around all the design to create a fun texture throughout the quilt.

I am also selling photography prints in my Etsy shop. Like these ones:

So swing on over a take a look and then spread the word for me please!!!

Rainbows at Sunset

2010-06-07T20:21:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share these photos I took about 30 minutes ago!!! So grateful God grants us with so much beauty all around us everyday!!!

And the winner of the CSN Giveaway is….

2010-06-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

edmontonjb, you are our winner!!! I will be sending your information off to CSN and they should e-mail you your gift certificate within a few days!!! Congratulations!

Thanks everyone for your support. I foresee another giveaway when I reach 100 followers!!!

Baby Shower Sail Boats

2010-06-04T12:58:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine had a baby shower about a month ago. I had seen how people were presenting some simple gifts like receiving blankets as cute little flowers and wanted to do something like that except since she was having a boy I wanted it to be boyish. So I came up with these cute little sail boats:

Materials:

Receiving Blanket

Burp Cloth

Wash Cloths or Cotton Balls

1/4” x 12” Dowel

Baby Toy (Optional)

Shredded Paper Strips

Gift Bag

Instructions:

I made my own receiving blanket and burp cloths. The receiving blanket was 36” square and the burp cloths I think were 12” x 24” (I’m not 100% sure on the dimensions of the burp cloths).

Making the Boat:

1 & 2: Lay out your receiving blanket and then fold one corner of the receiving blanket to the opposite corner forming a triangle.

3. Grab another point and fold it over making a smaller triangle.

4 &5. Keep grabbing one point and folding it over.

6. Once you get it folded to the size you want your boat (I folded mine six times) then tape across the points that want to fold away from each other.

7. Push the middle point up into the center of the last fold you did to create a flat bottom. You may want to do a little taping along the side to keep it closed.

8. Sit your boat up and stick your dowel through off to the side that doesn’t have the folded point in the way. Now either use your wash cloths or some cotton balls to stuff inside the boat around the dowel to hold it in place.

Making the Flag:

1. Lay your burp cloth out.

2. Fold it in half

3. Fold one corner over to form the triangle.

4. Keep folding until you have the size you want for your flag (I made 4 folds including the folding in half in step 2). Then tape the corner to hold it together.

Putting Boat and Flag Together:

Slide your dowel up through the middle along the folded side. You will probably want to put a few strips of tape along both open sides especially on the bottom side, right next to where the dowel goes into the flag.

Plop a toy into the boat and now your ready for the packaging.

I made my own paper filling by taking two shades of blue construction paper and sending it through the CD slot on my paper shredder. It made the perfect little strips. After that I just scrunched the paper strips in my hands.

Now just get you a gift bag (I used one of my Scentsy delivery bags and it sure smelt good!!!). Layer the paper shreds on the bottom and then insert a sailboat or two. Tie the top with some ribbon and add a card and your ready to go!!!!

It’s about time for a new Ironing Board Cover…

2010-05-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Don’t you think it’s about time I made a new Ironing Board Cover?

This poor cover has seen it’s fare share of thrashing. In fact it was so bad that I have been using a towel between it and my fabric to protect my fabric from the the mess I made.

I finally made a new cover this weekend. I just used some fabric I had received from my Grandmother’s stash of fabric. It’s not super cute but it’ll work.

I took the old one off and used it for a pattern. I folded my fabric in half and cut it out twice so I could flip the cover over when one side gets looking bad or I have another Wonder Under mishap. I then put the original padding in-between both layers and surged the layers with wrong sides together. I also surged the original sting in so that I could use the string to pull it tight around the ironing board again.

To do this I just pinned the sting at one end and then lined it right at the raw edge of the fabric so it wouldn’t get struck by the needles. Be sure to lift up your cutter so you don’t cut your string. I just continued to hold it along the edge of the fabric as I fed both the fabric and the string through. I love it when I try something new and it works so well the first try!!!

Anyways, here it is. Not that cute but so much cleaner and no more fussing with the towel!

Lil Blue Boo Challenge

2010-05-29T09:00:00.001-07:00

Lil Blue Boo is hosting another challenge:

I have some particular knits I received from my mother’s stash that are so not cute in fact they just scream I’m from the early 90’s!!! I will be using them to try and make something go from ugly to cute or maybe the better phrase would be “That’s so Cuegly”!!!

Closed CSN Stores $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway

2010-05-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

I’m hosting a giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate from CSN Stores!!!

“CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from bar furniture to briefcases, cookware to cribs, and so much more!”

I went on and scoured their website and these are a few of the items that I just loved: **Photos courtesy of CSN Stores***

Amy Michelle Sweet Pea Tote Diaper Bag/Handbag

SEI Abstract Cherry Blossom Wall Sculpture

Edushape Pirate Bath Fun

Giveaway Info:

The winner will be sent a one-time-use $50 gift certificate for them to use as they wish on any of the CSN Stores 200+ websites. Giveaway will close Friday June 4th.

How to Enter:

1. Go to CSN Stores and look around and then come back and leave a comment about something you would love to get.

2. Become a follower of my blog! (leave another comment)

3. Spread the word….through your blog, facebook, twitter, etc!!! (be sure to leave another comment)

Frayed Fabric Bangles from Ribbon Spools

2010-05-24T08:56:00.001-07:00

I have several empty ribbon spools lying around my house. I didn’t want to throw them out without giving some thought on if I could recycle or reuse them.

So I came up with the idea to take off the cover, wrap some fabric around it and create these bangles:

Supplies:

Empty Ribbon Spools

Fabric

Hot glue gun

Scissors or rotary cutter

Tutorial:

Tear the front and back cover of the spool off so all you have left is the inner ring:

You’ll want to make sure you tear off all the little extra papers that are still around the edges.

For the smaller spools I used a strip of fabric that was half of an inch wide (1/2”) and for the wider spool I used a strip that was 1 inch wide (1”). The length of your strip will very depending on how much you overlap your fabric, but if you don’t have enough you can always add another strip to where you ended.

Adhere one end of your strip to the inside of your circle using hot glue.

Then start wrapping the fabric around at an angle. If you run out of fabric just cut another strip and start from the inside of your circle where you left off (be sure to adhere both ends with your hot glue).

And there you have it Frayed Fabric Bangles

*I did not treat mine with anything but I’m sure you could put a little Mod Podge over the fabric if you wanted

**FYI these are not water proof, they will probably ruin if they get really wet.

Boo Boo Buddies

2010-04-23T08:30:00.001-07:00

Aren’t these Boo Boo Buddies just so cute!!!

My wonderful friend Emily made them. This is what she said about them, “These little cuties are hot/cold rice packs. I didn't want to do just a square shape so the creative side of me came busting out. I seriously think that if I had a boo boo one of these would make me smile. PLUS my kids love using them as bean bags!”

I absolutely love the little owl. One more item I’m adding to my to do craft list!!!!

Thank you Emily for letting me share!

Chair recycled into a flower pot holder

2010-04-08T15:55:00.001-07:00

I have been seeing two dining table chairs on the side of the road, that I frequently travel, for the last 6 months. I’m not much of a trash picker, but I just couldn’t resist picking them up in hope of being able to use them for something. The one chair had no legs and the other chair had one leg broken and one connecting bar broken. As I was trying to straighten up the garage, I decided it was time to give the chairs a purpose or throw them away.

I came up with this idea (just pretend there are cute flowers in the pots and that the one pot is not broken!!!)

I had to put the legs back together on the one chair, it’s not perfect and wobbles but hey it’s for a plant so a little wobble won’t matter. Then I measured the top inner circumference of the pot and cut that size of circle out of the chair with legs. I still want to to a treatment to the chairs to prevent water damage.

I plan to plant some flowers or vines that will grow along the backs of the chairs!

Now I just have to wait for the weather to decide to be warm!!!

Along the Way

2010-03-23T07:55:00.001-07:00

Janet over at Along the Way hosted a couple of bracelet contests about a month ago. The first contest was for a kids size bracelet and the other one was for an adult size bracelet. My luck must have turned because I won not only one of the kids bracelets but one of the adult ones too!!!

Then to top it off when they came in the mail I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had included matching earrings with the adult bracelet!!!

Thank you Janet for hosting the contest. The bracelets and earrings are beautiful!!!

Get Well Bear

2010-03-21T12:57:00.001-07:00

I made this cute little get well sock bear for our friend and neighbor who recently had knee surgery.

I stuffed the ends of his arms and legs with some beads and used buttons for eyes this time. I typically embroider the eyes but I wasn’t worried about small children playing with this little guys so I used buttons.

Sorry I’ve been MIA

2010-03-09T19:50:00.001-08:00

It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to post. Things have been really crazy since I decided to go back to school and start up a photography business. So for the next couple of months things will be pretty sporadic on here as I try to catch up, make preparations for my sister’s wedding and hopefully pull good grades in my classes.

Here’s the link so you can swing on by my photography blog Marilyn C Photography!!!

My Wedding Dress

2010-03-09T19:49:00.001-08:00

As by request here are pictures of my wedding dress that I made seven years ago (fyi most of our wedding pictures were taken with a 35mm camera so sorry the first and last pictures aren’t too clear).

Up close look at the lace I put around the sleeves and the waist:

I also used some of the lace for my veil.

The rip that occurred when my husband tried to dip me and the heal of my shoe caught it. I did a quick hand stitching job before the reception and it has never been fixed.

Here we are a cute couple I must say!

I was featured

2010-02-19T15:07:00.001-08:00

I am so honored that Steph over at Somewhat Simple has chosen to feature my Grandma’s Specialty Tile on her Sidebar Spotlight!!!

and that Whitnee & Natalia over at Sew What featured my Sock Animals last month!

Thank you Somewhat Simple and Sew What!!!

Jute Flower Pot

2010-02-17T19:45:00.001-08:00

I’ve been wanting to do an idea I saw somewhere in blogland about wrapping a jar with jute and using it for a vase (I don’t remember where I saw it at). When I saw some Primrose flowers at Smith’s Marketplace and with spring fever running wild at my house I decided I would use that idea but use the jar for a pot instead of a vase.

Items I used:

Flowers, old glass jar (mine was a Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme 7-once jar), jute, hot glue gun with glue, and sea shells.

Here’s what I did:

First I planted my flowers.

Then, starting at the top I glued the first row of jute to the jar. I just kept on wrapping the jute around the jar adding a little bit of glue every couple of rows for stability until I had wrapped the jar as much as I wanted. Then I glued the sea shells centered onto the jute.

Tada, a quick, cheap way to bring some new life into my home (as long as I can keep them alive)!!!

Born to Party Dress

2010-02-09T15:32:00.001-08:00

I knew I wanted to submit another entry into Lil Blue Boo/Dharma Trading Design Challenge, so I decided to make Ari a dress. I purchase a couple of t-shirts at my local thrift store and had planned using the solid portions of the pink and red shirts, but as I contemplated the saying that was on the red shirt I decided to incorporate it into the dress.

“Born to Party Forced to Work”

For the basis of the dress I used the Lil Blue Boo Hoodie Pattern. I shortened the length of the top and then added a simple “A” line style skirt to the top.

For the stitching I used a technique I just learned called “Flat Lock” serging. I love the extra detail it gives to the dress. (notice the stitching at the sleeve and neckline)

After I put the dress together I then used freezer paper and fabric paint to stencil the hearts on.

Nautical Curtain Rod from PVC pipe and Foam Balls

2010-02-03T15:22:00.001-08:00

My husband and I have been married for almost 7 years and we have never had curtains, so when I found some sheer maroon fabric at a thrift store for only $2, I decided to make curtains and with curtains comes the need for a curtain rod. My husband was working on a project and had about 6 feet extra of 1/2 inch PVC pipe and I quickly snatched it up to see if it would be the right size. It was perfect!!! So my brain started turning and I came up with this:

Here’s how:

I dug out a hole into 2 foam balls and then glued them to the ends of the PVC pipe.

Then I tightly wound Jute around the PVC pipe putting a little bit of glue about every 6 inches.

Painted the balls a cream color and glued on seashells

Then I took some of my broken not so nice looking shells and I smashed them with a hammer inside a plastic baggy and filled in all the empty spaces between the shells.

I used 2 strips of Jute to make the hanging loops so I could hang them from these:

and Instead of cutting the tails off the loops I drilled small holes in some seashells and hung them from the Jute.

Finally my living room is looking a little more like “Home Sweet Home”.

Link Parties:

Messenger Bag turned Scripture Bag

2010-01-29T20:54:00.001-08:00

My Husband had a Messenger Bag like this that he wasn’t using anymore and asked me if I could make it into a cool Scripture Bag that he could take to church.

So he drew up some ideas of what he wanted in the bag and I figured out the best way to accomplish it with the least amount of cutting, unpicking, and stitching. Here it is:

Basically I cut down the middle of the original bag and then re-attached one of the side pockets to enclose the bag again. I then shortened and re-attached the front flap. Used some scraps from the strap and front cover to make a handle to attach to the top. Then attached buckles!!!

Voilà a messenger bag turned scripture bag!!!

Participating in:

Coastal Giveaway

2010-01-23T08:30:00.001-08:00

Kendall @ Finsse You Nest is doing a giveaway of some Coastal themed items. I am way excited as this is what my living room decor is. So swing on over and you could win this:

Shell Topiary

and this:

A bag of Jute balls

You have until Monday January 25th @ 10:00 am to enter so head on over to Finesse Your Nest.

LBB/Dharma Design Entry #1

2010-01-21T12:07:00.001-08:00

Here is my first entry for the Lil Blue Boo/Dharma Trading Design Challenge. I used the LBB Recycled T-Shirt Hoodie Pattern.

“Monster Truck Rally”

The line that goes across the front of the shirt was the source of inspiration for adding the Monster Truck Appliqués.

One of the changes I made to the pattern was I did the sleeves as two layers. I made them so I can detach the lower sleeve when it warms up. That way my son can wear it now and wear it through the summer.

I love this tunneling affect the pocket gave!!!

My Handsome model!!!

Krafty Moments Monday

2010-01-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

For my Krafty Moments Monday Feature I would like to introduce you to this cute little creature:

Isn’t he such a cutie. You can find him over at Childmade and see how to make this “Sock Seal Softie”.

Now join in on the fun and link up your latest Krafty Projects, anything you want, old or new!!!

Knock-Off Wood

2010-01-11T17:23:00.001-08:00

I tend to be just behind the trend so you guys may already know about this awesome blog but just in case there are some of you like me who tend to find out things later than everyone else I want to introduce you to Knock-Off Wood.

I heard of Knock-Off Wood from U create (a crafty blog that I follow).

Ana White creator of Knock-Off Wood provides you with the plans to make Knock-Off furniture similar to those found at Pottery Barn, Land of Nod, etc. (click on the pictures to go to plans)

I love these chairs

Love the Chalkboard doors

When I have an entryway

I have some scraps for this

How about this

An entire play town

Now I just need a woodshop, LOL!!!!

Dried Cherries are a new staple…

2010-01-09T12:09:00.001-08:00

On rare occasion I come up with a really good idea to implement in my attempts to cook something other than spaghetti everyday. Here’s one of those rare discoveries:

Dried Cherries have become a new staple at our house. Not only are they good to eat by themselves but they are also good with chocolate, salads, and pancakes.

The pancakes are yummy with just the cherries but super delicious if you add chocolate chips and the cherries to the pancakes. Sweet and tasty without the syrup!!!

I also added them to Rocky Road to make this great treat FABULOUS!!!

Ingredients:

Melting chocolate (I used a Gharadelli chocolate brick)

Marshmallows

Walnuts (chopped)

Dried Cherries

* Melt the chocolate according to package instructions,. Then add marshmallows, walnuts, and dried cherries to the melted chocolate. Butter a brownie dish and then spread mixture in the pan. Put in refridgerator for a little while to set the chocolate up. Then cut and serve.

Couch Tissue Box Cover

2010-01-05T14:00:00.001-08:00

I saw these Couch Tissue Box Covers online here and wanted to make one just like it for my husband but then decided to make one with some cute fabric for my first try. It turned out so cute. Not perfect on the first try but pretty good!!!

Here’s the tutorial so you can make one too!!!

Materials

1- Tissue Box 160ish count 2-ply (if you use a different size box you’ll need to adjust the size of the squares).

1- Fat Quarter (if using a material that’s print isn’t just random all directions then you will need to get 2 fat quarters or a 10” x 45” piece of fabric to make sure the print goes the same way).

1- Fat Quarter of a different color/pattern to make the pillows and ruffle.

1- 3ft long strip of Velcro (I used a 3/4” wide and cut it in half)

1- A little bit of stuffing

Directions

Cut:

1) 9” x 10 1/4” rectangle (top/front)

1) 4.5” x 10” rectangle (back)

2) 5 3/4” x 4.5” rectangle (sides)

or you could cut one rectangle that is 19” x 4.5” instead of having separate back and side pieces.

1) 4” x 46ish” strip (ruffle)

4) 3” x 3” squares (pillows)

2) (on the fold) Couch back pattern

Here’s everything you should have (if doing separate back and side pieces) except the pillows:

To start off sew the side pieces to the back piece with right sides together like this using a 1/2” seam allowance (skip this step if you made the 19”x 4.5” piece) :

Then sew the Couch back pieces together using a 1/4” seam allowance leaving an opening in the bottom.

Trim the corners and make slits in the curves. Then turn it right sides out.

Lay the couch back onto the back/side piece you just stitched together. Using a 1/4” seam allowance baste it in place except where you left the opening in the couch back piece (you still need to stuff the couch back piece but it’s easier to sew when it’s unstuffed).

Then take the top/front piece and sew a 4” long button hole centered about 2” from the 10” side.

Now center the 10” side of your t0p/front piece to your back/side piece right sides together. Start stitching on one side of the opening in the couch back piece. You will stitch around the top/front piece moving the back/side piece to wrap around the corners of the top/front piece until you reach the other 10” edge of the top/front piece. Once you’ve done one side repeat starting at the other end of your opening and doing the same. ** YOU SHOULD STILL HAVE AN OPENING SO YOU CAN STUFF THE COUCH BACK PIECE**

This video shows how to maneuver around the corner. I hope it helps. (I don’t do any talking in it and I knock the camera over once but this is the first time I’ve made a video and will hopefully do much better in the future).

Now stuff the couch back piece and then stitch it closed.

Fold the bottom edge of your couch over and stitch it to finish the edges. Now your couch is done if you have a 160 count tissue box. If you have a larger 230 count box then you can make the ruffle attachment so you can use the couch on either size of box.

Ruffle instructions:

Take your ruffle strip and fold it in half right sides together. Then baste stitch about 1/4” from raw edges. Pull one string on each end to gather the piece until it is about 28 1/2” long. Tie a little knot in the ends of the strings you were just pulling so the ruffle doesn’t come out. Now Stitch the two ends together forming a circle.

Now attach the hook portion (rough part) of your Velcro to the outer raw edge of your ruffle and attach the hook portion (soft part) to the inside bottom edge of your couch cover. **I started sewing the Velcro on and then trimmed the excess off once I got close to where I had started.**

Pillows

I then decided to add some pillows that matched the ruffles. Basically sew the 3” x 3” square pieces together with right sides together but leave an opening. Turn right sides out, stuff and hand stitch the opening closed.

Now you have a couch complete with ruffles and pillows!!!

** Can also be used as a couch for Barbie dolls just don’t make the button hole. My daughter loves the couch so I will probably make one to the scale to fit a matchbox for her dollhouse.**

I would love to see some pictures of the items you’ve made from my tutorials. Feel free to send me an e-mail or link up to my Krafty Moment Mondays which will be starting again on January 11th!!!

LBB & Dharma Trading Design Challenge

2010-01-01T17:38:00.001-08:00

I’m a huge fan of Lil Blue Boo and they have teamed up with Dharma Trading Co. for a Design Challenge Contest. I plan on entering into the contest and have already hit the drawing boards!!!

Here’s the challenge:

“Create a unique outfit for a girl or boy using a Lil Blue Boo pattern. Alterations to the patterns ARE allowed as well as additional coordinating clothing items and accessories! I want you to have as much creative room as you think you need!
Use at LEAST one of the following techniques in your creation: fabric dyeing, fabric painting, stenciling, fabric transfers, screen printing or other embellishments (including applique).”

**For more detailed information and rules click the button at the bottom of post**

One of my ideas I have brewing is going to be based after this cute hoodie pattern.

I am way excited as I love Lil Blue Boo style and have already implemented a couple of her ideas into a some of the dresses I’ve made for my daughter. This will be a fun new adventure. Come join me in the design fun!!!

I’m back and Last Minute Quilts

2009-12-29T13:41:00.001-08:00

I’m back from vacation. It was great to spend some time with family. I was so happy the everyone liked the gifts I made, although for next year I really need to start making them much earlier so I’m not stressed for time. My one brother-in-law and my sister’s fiancé both loved the marshmallow guns we made (my husband did most of the work on those). I wish I had taken some pictures of them playing with them.

The last few items I had to finish up before Christmas were three quilts. I made an I-Spy quilt for each of my kids and a patchwork quilt for my husband. Patchwork quilts aren’t to sew but they are quick and easy.

As I piled flannel bolt after flannel bolt into my cart I received all sorts of looks and then was questioned by the associate what I was making when I asked for only 1/4th of a yard of each. It was so fun to find the fabrics. Oh and if you plan to do this don’t forget to check the remnants racks for a good deal. I backed both quilts with two microplush throws (they were only $2.99 at JoAnn’s on Black Friday). I had enough of the microplush fabric left over to make matching pillowcases.

I used boyish printed flannels for my son’s quilt.

View Full Album

and I used girlish printed flannels for my daughter’s quilt.

View Full Album

Then for my husbands quilt, I just pieced the quilt blocks together and then printed off the letters and pinned them onto a strip of grey fleece. I then separated the letters (not actually cutting the letters out) and then pinned the letters and grey fleece onto the quilt. I then did a straight stitch around the letters following the lines on the printed paper. After I sewed them down I was able to remove the paper and trim the excess fleece close to the stitching. It was pretty easy!!!

Hope everyone has had a Wonderful Holiday Season!!!

Kitchen Tile for Grandma and Vacation

2009-12-22T15:34:00.001-08:00

How time has flown. I’ve been plugging away at my Christmas gifts trying to get them all done in time. Not much time left.

We’ve all seen these tiles with vinyl on them, but here’s a different little saying I came up with to give to my mom (sorry I ruined the surprise mom if you read this before Christmas).

I still need to go grab a display stand!

I will be gone on vacation and so I probably won’t be getting any posts up until sometime next week!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Scrolling Blog Buttons

2009-12-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

I received a question on how I got my scrolling blog buttons so here's the answer:

I found this tutorial over @ Jenieshell's Design Challenge. She has tons of other tutorials for designing your blog, so go on over and check her blog out!

The only suggestion I have for you when doing this is to open up a word or notepad document and insert all of the individual blog button html onto it first then highlight them all, copy them and insert them into the code for the scrolling blog buttons.

Enjoy your new trinket, I love mine. Oh and if you have a blog button I would love to add it to my list. Feel free to grab mine and leave me a comment so I can grab yours!!!

50 Followers!!! A little treat for you!!!

2009-12-17T11:55:00.001-08:00

To celebrate reaching 50 followers and thank all of my loyal readers I’m going to make available my tutorial for No-Sew Stockings!

These do hold up a fair amount of weight and would make for a fun family activity. If you can tie a knot you can make these!

Materials Needed:

An old stocking to use as a pattern

1 yd fleece material

½” matching ribbon

Hot Glue (optional)

Fold your fabric in half and place your old stocking on the fabric making sure you have around 3 inches of extra fabric all around the stocking. Cut the stocking out about 3 inches from your old stocking (pin the old stocking in place so it doesn’t move on you. Then cut the fringe from the edge to where the old stocking is (be careful not to cut the other stocking). Cut the fringe all the way around the sock except for at the top. Then make the ribbon lacing slots as shown in the picture below (each cut is about 1/2” apart). (you can click on the picture to see a larger version)

Once the sock is all cut out, follow these instructions (click on picture for larger image):

Thank you again to all of my readers!

Apron Redo and matching towels

2009-12-14T13:42:00.001-08:00

I bought this plain apron and figured I could make it a little more stylish.

At first I thought I would just add a little bit of trim to it but then I came across this Halter Apron by Heather Bailey and wanted to try to convert the apron into this style but I didn’t want to buy the pattern for just one apron so I decided I would try to wing it and this is what I came up with:

Here’s a brief overview of how I did it.

Materials:

Basic Apron

2 Fat Quarters

Solid cotton scrap about 64” x 4” that matches the fat quarters

Cut down the center of the top. Flipped the two pieces of the top so the armholes then became the neck line. Then did a little tapering to the outer edge of the top making it go smaller as you head to the top of the apron. (be sure to remove the side ties but leave the neck ties attached)

Then cut your fat quarter in 4” x 21-22” strips. You will need five. Three for the waist and ties and 2 for the ruffle on the bottom.

I sewed the three strips together and then attached the fat quarter strip and the solid strip to the top of the bottom portion of the apron so that the right side of the fat quarter strip was facing the right side of the apron and the right side of the solid strip was facing the wrong side of the apron. I sewed all the way around the strip except leave an opening at the top wide enough for the top portion of your apron to slide in. Turn the strips inside out and then press. Make sure to press the opening so that the edges are folded inside. Now slip the lower edge of the top of the apron into the opening and stitch the opening closed. I did a stitch from one end of the ties all the way across the top to the other edge of the tie.

Then trim up the bottom of the apron to the length you would like. Sew the other two strips of fat quarter together and then press it in half, right sides out. Do a basting stitch along the raw edge to use to gather the fabric. Pull one of the threads and gather the strip so it’s the same size as the bottom of the apron (make sure to do a rolled hem finish to the ends of the ruffle so you don’t have any raw edges showing). Then pin the ruffle lining up the raw edges on the right side of the apron. After stitching it in place and went back and did a zig-zag stitch to finish the edges. Press and your done!!

I used the remainder of the second fat quarter to make 2 matching towels. I got the towel idea from Sew 4 Home here.

***on a side note I didn’t wind up attaching the top of the the apron as I wasn’t sure how it would fit her so I left it off making it only a half apron instead of a full apron***

Not so plain anymore…shirt updo

2009-12-08T08:28:00.001-08:00

I decided to have a go at the freezer paper stenciling using bleach again. It worked great this time! The changes I did this time was that I used the bleach at nearly full strength allowing me to use less of it and preventing bleeding. You can find the tips I used here (scroll down until you see a cute little cement truck on a red shirt and that’s where the pdf is) from Hoppo Bumpo.

I just found a graphic I liked on the internet and then cut it out on my Cricut into the freezer paper. Then ironed one sheet of freezer paper on the inside of my shirt and then ironed the freezer paper with the design cut out onto the outside of the shirt. Then spritzed the bleach and watched it work it’s magic!!! (make sure you cover up the areas that you don’t want bleached really well)

(I’m trying really hard to suck in the post baby bump)

Made several other shirts but they are for Christmas gifts so I’ll show them off later!

Recycled T-Shirt Holiday Dress

2009-12-07T07:46:00.001-08:00

My inspiration for this dress came from Lil Blue Boo and this dress (interchangeable Santa hat, stocking and star).

Take 2 T-shirts of different colors and lay them on top of each other (this will make you two dresses).

I used this pattern here. (adjustments to pattern include that I made the measurements a little extra big to accommodate the extra seams with the stripes and added a armhole.)

The difference is that I made mine with more of an arm hole so that the dress would sit up higher. I just drew a 1/4th of a circle at the outside edge (not on the fold).

Then unfold the two shirts out and then cut across starting at the empire waist area and then evenly space the stripes down to the bottom. I did 5 stripes at 3.5” wide but yours may differ due to the size of dress.

I then staggered the two shirts making one like the one above and one like the one my daughter has on in the first picture. To sew them together I first sewed each tier together at the sides with right sides together so it made a complete circle. Then I started with the bottom tier and laid the wrong side of the upper tier onto of the right side of the lower tier (lining up the side seams) and then used a decorative stitch about 1/8 of and inch from the edge of the upper tier.

Looks like this:

Keep doing this until you have all of your tiers sewn together including the upper body portion sewn to the skirt portion.

Then I cut three 2” strips of each color of shirt making the strips long enough to go around the arm opening to create the strap. two of the strips you will use to make the straps and one you will use to finish the top of the front and back.

For covering the top of the front and back: Lay the right side of the strip to the wrong side of the top lining up the edges this time instead of overlapping. Do a 1/4th inch seam. Then fold over in half making sure that the other half lays over the seam you made. Leaving the edge showing use a decorative stitch to sew it down.

For the straps do the same basic thing as for the top except along the actual strap portion you will have to fold over that seam and lay the other half over.

I didn’t do anything to finish the bottom edge of the dress.

I don’t know if I’m making any sense so if you don’t understand something then let me know and I’ll try to clarify.

To make the interchangeable objects:

I used Wunder Under to adhere a small square of fabric to the center inside of the front of the dress. I then hand stitched a snap to it. Then I used felt to make the Santa hat, stocking and star. I made two pieced of each shape and stitched the opposite portion of the snap to one of the shapes and then used Wunder Under to adhere the two shapes together hiding the stitching of the snap.

I’m participating in:

Gift Extravaganza Winner

2009-12-05T06:56:00.001-08:00

The winner of the No-Sew Stocking kit is

Post #13

heather said...

I LOVE that apron pattern! And that turquoise scarf looks so cool!

Congratulations Heather!!! Email me with your mailing information by Monday the 7th at 8pm to get your prize! kraftymum03(at)gmail(dot)com

Thank you everyone for your participation and good luck to everyone on getting all your Holiday gifts made!!

**I started from comment 1 on day 1 and counted all the comments to yesterday's post and used Random.org to get the number.***

Holiday Gift Extravaganza: oTHeR HoLiDaY GiFTS & CRaFTs

2009-12-04T07:44:00.001-08:00

To finish up our Extravaganza Week here’s some ideas for Holiday Decor, Cards, Gift Bags, Pet gifts, etc.

**Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the Giveaway. You can also get a one time entry by spreading the word through e-mail, facebook or your blog!! If you are a follower be sure to leave a comment for another one time entry!!**

Nativity Scene Blocks

Dog Toy

Seasonal Word Blocks

Heritage Blocks

Cards

Gift Bag

Block Ornament

Glass Ornaments

Holiday Gift Extravaganza: GiFTS FoR HeR

2009-12-03T07:24:00.001-08:00

Now gifts for your sisters, mom, mother-in-law, or maybe even yourself!!!

**Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the Giveaway. You can also get one time entry by spreading the word through e-mail, facebook or your blog!! If you are a follower be sure to leave a comment for another one time entry!!**

Bags/Purse

Bookmark

Luggage Cover

Arm Warmers

For the Kitchen

Scarfs

Journal/Memory Book

Washer Necklaces and Bracelets

Holiday Gift Extravaganza: GiFTS FoR NeiGHBoRS

2009-12-02T08:09:00.001-08:00

Time to think about your neighbors and friends. Here’s some ideas!!! (click on the pictures to go to tutorials)

Joy Magnets

Christmas Card and Sucker

Gifts in a Jar

Cookies for Santa Plates

Dust Pan Cookies

Potpourri Bags

Holiday Gift Extravaganza: GiFTS FoR CHiLDReN (Updated)

2009-12-01T07:33:00.001-08:00

Here’s for Day #2: Gifts for Children!! (click on picture to go to tutorial)

Don’t forget to leave a comment to enter into the Giveaway!!!

Hooded Doll Blanket

Tie Onsies

These little guys are different in that only the top part of the tie is attached to the onsie making them more real looking!

Placemat Apron

Guitar Appliqué Shirt

Baby Legs from Socks

Crocheted Bracelet

Satin Wrapped Tutu

Alphabet Flashcards

These flashcards are made by taking pictures of things around your house that your child sees often.

Silk Flower Clips

Toy Tool Belt

Sock Animals

Daisy Chain Beanie

Lacing Cards

Faux Makeup

Purse Notebook

Bean Bags

Doll House

Holiday Gift Extravaganza: GiFTS FoR HiM (Updated)

2009-11-30T10:50:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the late start. To start of the Holiday Gift Extravaganza we will start with a list of homemade gift ideas for that guy in your life!!!

**Click on the picture to go to the website with the tutorial.**

Golf Club Cozy

These are made from old sweaters! Great for the gold enthusiast.

Suitcase Handle

This would be a great way for your guy to find his suitcases on family or business trips. Just use a more masculine fabric!

Puzzle Blocks

Have a guy who works in an office? These puzzle blocks would be great and you could use family pictures so then he can display his family at the same time he could have something to fiddle with while on a phone call!

Electronics Cozy

What guys doesn’t have electronics that could use a little extra protection. You can easily adapt this tutorial to a guys by using more masculine fabric.

A Tie

Not too exciting but here’s a tutorial for making a tie. You could probably recycle and old silk dress shirt.

Personalized Rubik’s Cube

This would be great for any guy who is into rubik’s cubes. It’s not necessarily one to be played with but you could put family pictures on it like the picture or you could use your guys favorite sports team logos or mascots to decorate the cube!

Custom T-Shirts

Using masking tape or freezer paper you could design your man a shirt.

Marshmallow Gun

Since the one in the picture doesn’t have instructions I will adjust these instructions to make the one in the picture!

Wrench Casing

Does he need a way to carry his tools around. Here’s an idea and could be adapted to screw drivers too!

Whistle Lanyard

Do this in his favorite sports team or if he’s a coach use the school’s colors!

Custom Notepads

This is a great project for the kids to do for dad!

Journal

**Don’t forget to leave a comment today so you can be entered into the giveaway! **

See this post here for more information about the giveaway.

DiNNeR FoR FouR

2009-11-26T08:15:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are spending Thanksgiving this year at home. I had fun trying to create a fun and special looking table!

I am so Thankful for all of you that follow my blog. For the support and inspiration I get from you to keep this blog going! Thank You!

Wooden Block projects

2009-11-25T17:05:00.001-08:00

I got together with some of my friends and we did a craft with wooden blocks for thanksgiving we got the idea from here.

I had some blocks leftover and my husband wanted to do a project and we came up with this tree:

We painted the blocks ( sizes range from 2 1/2” to 3 1/2”). Then we laid the blocks down on the table and printed out a tree outline from the computer, laid it over all the blocks and painted the tree outline onto the blocks. Then I used a stencil to add the star to the top (this required a lot of coats to cover up the green).

I cut out the vinyl letters using my Cricut and a program called Sure Cuts A Lot that allows me to cut using all the fonts on my computer.

As I was looking at it I thought it needed a little sparkle to it and since I didn’t have any super fine glitter I decided to use my bronzing powder and then use a clear gloss spray over the top to keep it on. It worked out great! Just a little shimmer.

I then used the two lonely blocks to make a snowman from which my inspiration came from these cute little S’mores snowmen.

Here he is with his crocheted hat and scarf!!!

The top block is 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” and the bottom block is 3'” x 2 1/2”. I painted the block white and then glued them together. I then went along the edges with a gold stamp pad:

I hand panted on his eyes and buttons and for his mouth I used the tip of the handle of a small paintbrush to make the circles. I used a 1/4” dowel for his nose and I just sanded at one end for a little while to get it to make the point like a carrot and then used a sharpie to make the lines. Then I sprayed it with a clear gloss spray paint.

It was fun to do these projects with my husband!

I had a question about where I purchased the blocks for my snowman and tree, I bought a 2.5" x 1.5" x 8' board at Home Depot and then my neighbor cut them to size. You could also have the associates at Home Depot cut them for you too. It was less than $2 for the board.

Holiday Gift Extravaganza Week and Giveaway

2009-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have really got to get to work on my Christmas gifts. I’m planning on doing all homemade gifts for everyone. I’ve got a pretty good start but need to get more focused. To help me gear up I will be posting November 30th through December 4th all of the gift ideas I have in my “Christmas Gift Ideas” bookmark. So mark your calendars and gear up for a whole bunch of ideas to come.

To top it off I will be doing a giveaway of one of my Stocking Kits (the regular size).

Here’s how to play:

For your first entry just come and visit every day and leave a comment. (5 possible entries)

For another entry become a follower and those of you who are already a follower you can do this one too. Just leave another comment saying that you are a follower. (1 time entry)

For a third entry post about my Extravaganza and giveaway on your blog and provide a link back to this post. If you don’t have a blog tell 10 of your family or friends about it on facebook, by e-mail, or however you want. After doing this come back and leave a comment saying that you spread the word. (1 time entry)

** Sorry this giveaway is limited to US Residents only.

***Comments on this post are not included in the contest. Only the comments left in the posts from November 30th to December 4th qualify.

****Giveaway will end at 9pm (MST) on December 4th and winner will be announced on December 5th. Winner will have until Monday December 7th at 8pm (MST) to e-mail me at kraftymum03(at)gmail(dot)com to claim prize or a new winner will be chosen.

Krafty Moments Monday and Blog Makeover!!

2009-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled about my blog makeover! I won the makeover from Jen~A~Roo Blogs and I think she did an awesome job. She was such a sweetheart and so willing to work with my craziness! I am showcasing her talents as my Krafty Moment Showoff!!!

Now head on over to Jen~A~Roo Blogs and check out her free backgrounds and headers and see what services she has to offer, but don’t forget to come back and link up your Krafty Moments.

You are awesome Jen and thank you a ton!!!

Don’t forget to grab a button to show that you are participating in Krafty Moments Monday!!!

Train Table

2009-11-21T18:03:00.001-08:00

My 2 year old son loves to destroy the train track on his train table almost as fast as I can build it. Well this was frustrating me and my 4 year old daughter. I decided I wanted to mount the track down to the table, but I didn’t want to ruin the originally table top, so I made a new top for my kids’ train table.

BEFORE: AFTER:

I went and purchased a large piece of particle board and had it cut to size. Then I spray painted the entire board brown and after it was dry I laid out the train tracks and took a picture of the table. Then I printed the picture off and drew the streets and parks in on the paper first.

When I got it how I liked it I then went to town painting everything on while the train tracks were still on the board. I then took the tracks off and applied several coats of varnish. After the varnish dried, I nailed the track down or glued where nails weren’t possible. The trees, benches, and buildings are not glued or nailed down.

Now, when my kids are old enough to build their own train track, I’ll just remove the little nails from the tracks and the new table top and they can play with the original one again.

ouR THaNKFuL TRee

2009-11-20T09:19:00.001-08:00

Yes, we have already set up our Christmas Tree. However I did it as a part of an idea to get us all more focused on what we are thankful for. The idea is we pull off one leaf and write what we are thankful for on it and tape it to our Thankful wall. The goal is to have all the leaves off by the day after Thanksgiving so we can make it into a Christmas Tree. The kids are loving it.

Wash mit turned baby toy...

2009-11-19T08:40:00.001-08:00

I would like you to meet my new friends…….

……..Catty and Leafy (my cute little neighbor kids helped me name them). They are the perfect companions for any baby!!!

The Leafy makes a crunchy noise.

and Catty rattles.

Here’s how I made them:

Go find one of these wish mitts in the Auto Washing or Home Cleaning part of a store.

Turn it inside out like this

Then remove the elastic band around the opening. Then cut down the center so that you can make sure the little stringy things lay to the inside when you sew up the side seam. So after cutting up the center now sew that up the side that you just cut but when you get towards the top you will want to curve around the top over to the other side making it look like a half circle.

Turn it inside out and stuff it full of batting. To make it rattle you will need a small plastic container (the small little bead containers about the size of a quarter work great) and some rocks and put it in about halfway.

Then stitch the opening closed.

I just did embroidery for the face and also cut about 12 of the little stringy things off the front to make the area where I put his face.

Now for the leaf. I cut 5 – 6 inch squares of a green flannel. I stacked them up and added between the 4th and 5th squares a cleaned out snack size chip bag (I only added one but I think 2 would probably make more noise).

Then I just sewed across all 5 layers together using the making your own chenille instructions. The only change was that I made the stitches as curvy lines and the distance between stitches around 1/2” to 3/4”.

Then I printed off a picture of a maple leaf so it was almost as big as my square and used it as my pattern to cut the leaf out. After cutting the leaf out I then went around the edges about 1/8” from the edge to keep the edges together. Then on the side with the 4 layers I cut down the center between each line making sure to only cut the top 3 layers. This give it the fuzzy look. I then used embroidery to create his face.

Sorry I don’t have a ton of pictures, I was going to make a second one and be more diligent at taking pictures but when I lost I was a little bummed out and didn’t get around to making another one. If have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me by leaving a comment on my blog or by e-mailing me at: kraftymum03 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thank you to those who voted for me last round.

Tutorial Poll

2009-11-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

I'm doing a poll to see what would be the best method to do my tutorials. I'm thinking about doing them as videos and wanted to get input from my viewers. Please do the poll on the right-hand side ---------->

If you choose "Other" please leave a comment explaining what your preference is.

Thanks!!!

Pom Pom Turkey

2009-11-18T09:10:00.001-08:00

All you need is a large pom-pom, one medium pom-pom, orange pipe cleaner (chenille stem), orange mini pom-pom, wiggly eyes, 3 feathers, and hot glue.

Glue the medium pom-pom onto the large pom-pom. Then glue the wiggly eyes and the mini pom-pom on the medium pom-pom. Then glue the 3 feathers to the backside of the large pom-pom.

Take about a 4 inch strip of pipecleaner and fold it to make three toes for the feet. Now glue the feet onto the bottom of the large pom-pom. A fun and quick little craft the kids can help with to dress up your Thanksgiving Table or you could even use these for place holders just have the piece of paper with the guest’s name rest on the feathers.

Dry Erase worksheets

2009-11-17T07:10:00.001-08:00

I made my own Dry Erase Worksheets so my daughter can learn to write her letters.

They have the Upper Case Letters on one side and the Lower Case Letters on the other side.

All I did was open a new document in a program called Gimp but you can use Photoshop or something similar. I made it 8.5 x 11 in size. Then I used digital scrapbook papers (star one) or papers I had that I scanned into my computer (flower one) as the border. I went on the internet and did a google search for the letter worksheets and pasted the picture in the center.

I printed the picture onto white cardstock paper. Then I used Glossy Laminating Sheets to cover them. You don’t have to use dry-erase markers as I found the Crayola Washable Markers worked great too.

I’m going to make another set but put her name on it.

No-Sew Stockings

2009-11-16T10:50:00.001-08:00

I just launched a new product in my Etsy Store. I am so excited to introduce to you my No-Sew Stocking Kits. I also have the stockings available already made.

They are really simple to make. If you can tie your own shoes you can make this stocking.

They come in two sizes:
Regular $10 (3 or more $8 a kit): finished size is approximately 9" wide by 16" long
Mini $6 (3 or more $5 a kit): finished size is approximately 4.5" wide by 8.5" long

Each kit includes:
2 pre-cut pieces of Holiday printed fleece
1 ribbon length of approximately 36"
1 ribbon length of approximately 12"
1 safety pin
Instructions Page.

The instructions include the directions for both styles.

You can purchase them at my Etsy Store or by emailing me at: krafymum03 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you email me I will send you an invoice through PayPal. Be sure to include how many you want and of which print you would like. Shipping will be calculated.

Prints I have available:

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Krafty Moments Monday

2009-11-16T07:08:00.001-08:00

Time for Krafty Moments Monday. Elsa @ Hagner San Jose shares this cute way to make your own gift packaging here.

Go on over and check it out but don’t forget to come back and share what you have been doing!!!!

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

2009-11-14T17:34:00.001-08:00

I'm going to be diving into the Christmas season by starting to post ideas I've found around the blog world and also the one's I'm thinking of doing. To start off I found this cute idea over at My Good Finds of these fun Family Blocks.

Notice the wires on the top to hold pictures. What a fun idea!

Share Parents update….

2009-11-12T16:03:00.001-08:00

Here’s all the blankets and diapers we made for Share Parents (you can find a little more information about them Share Parents here. Thanks everyone who helped out. They unfortunately had to use one of the diapers yesterday, but she said it made all the difference for the pictures they take to have the little baby in a cute diaper.

I lost but here’s my craft…

2009-11-10T12:19:00.001-08:00

As you may have noticed I am no longer in the competition for So You Think You’re Crafty. Since I didn’t get very many votes I’m not going to post a full blown tutorial but post about some of the tricks I learned while creating my front entrance ensemble.

First trick recycling toy containers:

How to get this: to look like this:

The picture was sort of painted on the container so I used lots of this to get it off:

The next trick I learned was if you are going to have something much taller than your basket coming out of your basket you need to put some weight in your basket. I used rocks, but on the really windy days that was enough so I then used a bunji cord to secure it to the pillars (if that’s what you would call them).

The last trick was that the weeds from the empty field next door make for great fillers (and pretend swords).

That’s it and thanks to everyone who voted for me.

(This is a picture w/o the FALL ornaments I made)

KraftyMum

Christmas Book Help

Turkey Pumpkins

Seasonal Pillow Covers

Quilt and Fish Tail Towel Hanger

Ocean Cave is done!!!!

Oooh La La Baby Legs

A New Favorite: Headband Trim

Scrapwood and Screws

Canvas Brushless Art with Kids

All in one week…

Teaching Sewing Lessons

Stringy Easter Wreath

St. Patrick’s Day Fun

Introducing HanuChic

Blessing Dress

Baby Boy Gifts

One wreath for….

A review and Bunk Bed Renovation

Rocky Rolls!!!

It’s been a while….

A Learning Quilt

I’m still here…

A Blanket and Barbequed Pizza

Blessing Dress Update

Crochet Trim and Appliqué Bodysuits

And the winners are….

Pot Racks/Kitchen Decor

100 Followers

More Flowers and a Giveaway!!!

Jack O’ Lantern Curtain

Alphabet Photography Sign

Blessing Dress

Fringe Scarf Tutorial

Waldorf Style Doll

Upcycled/Recycled T-Shirt Dresses

Zipper Rosettes finally available

Kids Craft: Sea Shell Frames

Cupcake and Ice Cream Cone Onsies

Ashley Mae Photography Giveaway

A little mending and a new purse!

Mini Swing

My first paid sewing project…Baptismal Dress

Facebook Fan page

A “Twist” on Zipper Rosettes

Patriotic Star Door Decor

Re-Introduction to my Rock-A-Bye Duo and little plug for me….

Rainbows at Sunset

And the winner of the CSN Giveaway is….

Baby Shower Sail Boats

It’s about time for a new Ironing Board Cover…

Lil Blue Boo Challenge

*Closed* CSN Stores $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway

I’m hosting a giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate from CSN Stores!!!

Amy Michelle Sweet Pea Tote Diaper Bag/Handbag

SEI Abstract Cherry Blossom Wall Sculpture

Edushape Pirate Bath Fun

Frayed Fabric Bangles from Ribbon Spools

Boo Boo Buddies

Chair recycled into a flower pot holder

Along the Way

Get Well Bear

Sorry I’ve been MIA

My Wedding Dress

I was featured

Jute Flower Pot

Born to Party Dress

Nautical Curtain Rod from PVC pipe and Foam Balls

Messenger Bag turned Scripture Bag

Coastal Giveaway

LBB/Dharma Design Entry #1

Krafty Moments Monday

Knock-Off Wood

Dried Cherries are a new staple…

Couch Tissue Box Cover

LBB & Dharma Trading Design Challenge

I’m a huge fan of Lil Blue Boo and they have teamed up with Dharma Trading Co. for a Design Challenge Contest. I plan on entering into the contest and have already hit the drawing boards!!!

Here’s the challenge:

I’m back and Last Minute Quilts

Kitchen Tile for Grandma and Vacation

Closed CSN Stores $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway