MIA

Well this is coming a lot sooner than I thought it would....

   I'm afraid it has come to the time that I have to end this blog.   I went out and got me a part-time job!  Which I am actually excited about. It will be a good thing to make a few extra dollars each week. However, balancing family, home and now a job is getting tricky and trying to fit in time to craft for the ol' blog just isn't realistic.  I need to be able to focus on my family on days that I'm not working. 

I'm sure I will still craft and try to improve my house through crafts but now it wont be possible to do them as often. 

 

Thank you to those who read and supported me while I was doing this blog.  Maybe someday I will have the time to pick it up again.  Or maybe I will still update this blog with crafts but it will only be everyonce in a while.  Only time will tell!  I will be leaving the website up so that if anyone is interested in past projects they are still up to refer to.

 

Love you all,

 

bye!

Summer Dress

If I haven't already meantioned this, I have 2 daughters. One is seven and the other is two with a brother inbetween them.   I have never been one to dress them matchy matchy.  I was thinking about this fact the other day and I decided I'm not against it.   I think its just the age difference that I never really thought about it. Plus,  I'm all for using the hand me downs for the younger girl. 

So Since I have tons of this awesome blue fabric I thought I'd make a little summer dress for my two year old that matched the skirt I made for the seven year old.

Once again I used another dress she had as a template for width and height.

This dress kind of reminded me of a pillowcase dress only I added a little section at the top and obviously its not made out of a pillowcase :)

I'm sorry I didn't write down my measurements!  I was just eyeballing it the whole time.  Same as the skirt I hemmed all the raw edges. Then using the older dress as a template I cut off half circles on the top corners.  I then, sewed a loose stitch across the top without going back and forth on the ends.  Pull on one of the strings and gather the fabric.  I measured from armpit to armpit on my daughter (which was around 6 inches) and gathered the fabric down to that measurement. Then stitch on the edges so that it will hold what you gathered.  I did the same to both pieces. 

Then with these pieces laying face to face I sewed up the sides.

Next I cut a piece out of the blue fabric.  I cut it out a little wider then needed then gathered it in around the top until the measurments where the same as the yellow top.  Pin the top to the bottom and sew together all the way around.

Iron seams flat and turn inside out you will end up with this:

Now for the straps.

  I cut out two strip of the blue fabric around 2 or 2 1/2 inches wide.  First iron the strip in half 

Then unfold and take one of the halfs and folding toward the center in half again.  Like below:

Now do the same for the otherside.

Now find your center point on the straps and sandwich the yellow fabric inbetween the straps. Starting at the middle of the armpit.  Pin in place around the armpit and keep the strap pinned in half all the way up the rest of the fabric.  Finally sew in place. Starting at one end of the strap all the way around to the other end.  I also did a zigzag stitch on the ends of the straps to keep them from fraying.  I really wanted to use the yellow fabric for this but ran out.  oh well!

Thats it!

I like the way it is now but I'm still thinking about adding a strip of gathered fabric around the bottom to give it a ruffled look.  We will see.

A Skirt for my Girl

One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to get over my fear of sewing clothes.  I don't know why but the thought of trying to sew clothes really freaks me out.  But there is sooo many really cute things out there that I'd love to make for my 2 cute girls or even for myself.  I have even bought a few patterns but while reading the directions I usually get lost and then just give up on it all together! 

Well this is the year that I get over it!! I have some cute fabric that I've been staring at for a while thinking it would make a cute dress or skirt for my girls.  Through the last few years I've seen many different patterns and I feel like I get the idea and figured instead of confusing myself with following patterns I just try and figure it out on my own.

So here is what I started with. 

And once again I started out thinking of making one thing and ended up with something slightly different. For my 7 year old I wanted to make a dress out of a white tee-shirt and then adding on this cute yellow and blue fabric.  Well by the end I decided I didn't like the shirt look and cut it off! So some these picture show the shirt attached.  Just ignore that please.  :)

I used a dress she has outgrown as a template.  I knew that I just needed to make it longer.

First I cut out two pieces at 12 inches in length and 23 inches in width.  This will be the main part of the skirt.  Since I don't have a serger I had to hem around all the raw edges.  This is the part I usually want to skip but I was determined to make a skirt that my daughter could wear for a long time with out it falling apart in the wash!

 

Next, Place the pieces face to face and sew together on the shorter sides.  Then, I sewed a loose stich all the way around the top making sure not to sew back and forth on the ends.  After that pull one of the threads and gather the fabric in the size of the waist. 

Next I cut a piece from the yellow fabric I needed it long enough to go all the way around the waist.  I also cut it about 4 or 5 inches wide then sewed it in half and turned inside out.  That way I could slip a elastic waistband through the center.

Once again ignore the T-shirt since I got rid of that part  but I wanted to show you how I also attached a flower on the waist band. I also sewed a button in the middle of the flower, to finish it off.

around the bottom of the skirt I sewed on a 5 in wide strip . Once again hemming all the raw edges and gathering the fabric in so that gave the skirt more character.

Pin then sew around bottom.  I also added a yellow strip of fabric to that I tried to gather the yellow part in a little more before sewing on.  That way it was more of a ruffle at the bottom. (sorry no pictures of that)

Here is the end results. 

I think it ended up being pretty cute and hopefully should last her through the summer!

I appoligize I thought I had taken more photos while I was making it but apparently I didn't.  So please don't hesitate to ask any questions!  THis is really a simple straight forward pattern.

More Red, White, and Blue

Another pillow that will work great during July but also could be up all summer.

  I love dual purpose things.

Here is what I did. Once again cut a 18 inch x 18 inch white piece of fabric. Then, I cut out 1 1/2 inch strips of fabric and sewed onto pillow at a diagonal.  Sewing along both edges.  Once again I was going for the frayed look and left the edges raw. I would suggest starting in the center of the pillow that way it will act as a guide and help keep all your pieces running in the right direction.  I left a little space between each strip and did this until the whole front piece was covered.

Oh and I also turned this into a pillow cover.  So I did the same steps for the back as the last pillow.

Just the strips by itself was OK but to add a little more pizazz to it.  I made three rosettes out of red fabric and attached them to the pillow. 

I was just going to sew them in place with a needle and thread but for whatever reason I couldn't find my needle! So I hot glued a safety pin to the back and pinned to pillow. 

I love how it turned out and how the red adds a nice pop of color.

And goes nicely with my other pillow!

Have a fun 4th of July!

Patriotic Pillow

Once again I'm pushing it close to the holiday with these.  I wanted to make some festive pillows for my couch for July.  Like I've mentioned before it's not official until I've got a pillow made up for my couches. 

This is what I came up with:

All I did was cut out an 18in x 18in pieces of white fabric.  I thought instead of sewing red and white strips together it might be fun to use red paint.  Thought it might give the pillow some texture...

So using 3 in strips of freezer paper I ironed it on and leaving alternating 3 in sections for painting red on.  I also used a foam paint brush to dab onto the fabric.  Once I was finished painting the red strips, simply pull off the paper and it gives you nice clean lines.  I didn't take pictures of this so if you need a visual look at my past projects that I did with stencils its the same concept.

Once the paint dried, I cut out a star with some blue fabric.  I have a cute mirror that is in the shape of a star that ended up being the perfect size so I used that as a template but you could find a star online and print it out on a piece of paper the size you want and use that as your template.

Also, I usually use heat n bond paper to iron on my shapes and applique them on.  This time though I just pinned it in place and used a straight stitch next to the edge all the way around the star.  I figured if the ends fray it will only add character, and in my opinion, make it cuter!

Then I also decided I wanted to make it into a slipcover and put it on a pillow form.  That way as the seasons change I can just switch out the slipcovers. Plus, (and the winning point) a slipcover is a lot easier to store then a ton of pillows! Major space saver!

So here is how to make your pillow into a slipcover.  Since my pillow front was 18 x 18. I cut two pieces at 12 in by 18 in.  That way you have around 4 or 5 inch over lap in the center.  So I guess if you are making different size pillow covers I'd just divide your width in half then add 5 inches to that amount and cut out two pieces in that size.  Wow I hope that makes sense!!

So here is a picture of one of the 12 in x 18 in pieces.  Then sew a 1/4 inch hem along one of the long sides.  Do the same to the other 12 x 18 piece.

Next, lay out the two pieces making sure they overlap in the center.  You will know if its overlapped enough when your measurement end up the same as your top piece. So for instance, I needed my bottom 18 x 18 just like the top piece.  Make sure it is layed out just the way you want it to look on your finished pillow.

Now, place your top piece on top of bottom fabric so they are face to face (right sides together). Then pin together all the way around.  Then just sew all the way around the edge, using a 1/4 to 1/2 inch seam.

After putting the pillow in it will look like this:

That's all there is folks!

I have another pillow to share with you I will post in a day or two, So check back!

Hope you're all having a fabulous summer so far!!

Gym Shirt for Practically Free

Hi, its Chelsea's cousin Alyson. She was sweet enough to let me guest blog again! I am really excited to share this idea. I don't quite dare say craft since it only involves a shirt and scissors.  Anyway, I, like most women, enjoy trying (key word) to appear somewhat fashionable while looking like a wet beaten dog at the gym.  But I am extremely cheap.  These two words don't always work out so well while shopping unless armed with major coupons and store cards you know darn well how to use. I am not this girl unfortunately.  So hello to a cheap girls workout clothes dream! The old sad T-shirt turned into a cute useable workout tank top.  I suggest using a t-shirt that is a bit baggy or even sneakily taking one from the back of your husbands closet. The style is meant to be loose.

Start with laying out your T-shirt on a flat surface.

 Next cut the sleeves, collar and bottom hem off of the shirt. Cut all seams off with pieces.

Since I started with a -neck i just followed the v and cut out a V on the back.  If you use a different neck line be sure to cut a V in the front and back.

Next, take the bottom seam that you cut of and cut the double seam part off so that there is no seam. I hope this makes sense.

 Next stretch the piece that has no seam really well.

 Take the back of the shirt and tie a knot towards the top around the two side pieces.

          wrap it all the way down tightly and tie another knot to secure it

          Cut the left over piece off

 The finished product front....

 and back.....

 I hope you enjoy this!!! Happy cutting!!!!

You win some, you lose some

This project I was SO excited about doing! Unfortunately it didn't go as planned.  I guess every project can't go perfectly.  Let me explain a little better.  When I was a kid my Mom made these cute little wooden houses. The details that were painted on are so cute and delicate looking.   It wasn't anything overly complicated though and since it's something I've looked at my whole life I thought "HEY I could make these!"  HA! easier said then done!

I decided it would be so fun to make it into a girls night project with my sisters. So I cut up a bunch of 2 x4's into little 4 to 6 inch houses.  Using 1x3's or 1x4's to cut out some chimneys and extra parts of the houses.  That's where I came across my first speed bump.  I didn't realise how hard it would be to us a saw on such small pieces!  I would not recommend it unless you have the right tools, otherwise you are at risk of loosing some fingers!

Well, with the help of my neighbor and sister's tools I had it all cut out.  Gathered up some paint and found the smallest paintbrush I could find for painting details and we all got to work.  I feel so bad I took a bunch of pictures while we all painted and now I can't find them! I put off posting about this long enough so it will have to do with out them.  Just envision a mess of paint and houses all over a big table.

After we decided on house colors and got the roof and base color on we quickly found out just how hard it is to paint details! My tiny paintbrush wasn't small enough and it was so hard to keep a steady hand to make perfect straight lines.  We worked on it for a few hours and I don't think any of us completed one house.  I left feeling completely defeated and in awe over my Mom's amazing art work on her houses from years before.

After a few weeks break from it I decided to try again and managed to make one house look not to bad.  Whatcha think?:

Then I let it go again a few weeks and yesterday decided enough was enough I was gonna give it my best go at it then if it didn't work out, forget it!

This time I let my kids paint on the left over houses.  They loved it! and it keep them busy for an hour or more. Perfect summer project :)

Well I'm not that happy with the results and am pretty embarrassed to show them to you but I figured there might be actual artists out there that could see these and and use this idea to make super cute houses.

 

Well sorry to make you suffer through this one I'll be back with something better soon!

Outdoor blanket made from drop cloth

So my sewing machine still isn't fixed. And how I miss it!

 Funny you don't realise how much you use something until its gone.  I can't wait any longer and wanted to share the project that I was working on when my sewing machine decided to stop. So it's not completely done but lets just pretend it is, OK? 

So I needed a blanket that I could use for photo sessions that was a little bit bigger.  The one that I've been using I liked but it was a little bit too small. So it dawned on me I still had a ton of drop cloth left and why not use that!  It's a good strong fabric that could be machine washed and I wouldn't mind if it got dirty or had to lay it out in the dirt. 

But if you don't need a blanket for photos this would also make a great picnic blanket!

So using my other blanket as a template for the width I cut it out adding a few more inches for the length.

I was left with this:

Then I cut some strips about 3.5 inches wide. 

Then sewed them all together to make one long strip.  Then I sewed it all the way around the big piece of fabric I cut out. 

 

After that I folded the top of my binding down a 1/4 of an inch then pinned it to the back of the blanket.

Like the picture below.  Since I was working with so much fabric it was much easier for me to pin the fabric down before sewing. (sometimes I'm lazy and don't like to pin)

Then sew as close to the edge as possible.  Do this all the way around.

About the time I got half way done is when my sewing machine stopped but you get the idea. Now it's ready for photo sessions or picnics (or will be soon) .  I keep thinking it would be cute to paint some stencil on it too, to maybe dress it up a little.  

That's it for now!  Hope you're having a happy Monday!