Halloween Costumes

(I apologize ahead of time for the terrible pictures. You deserve better.  I promise I will post better ones soon!)

I decided that since it is only one week from Halloween, I needed to figure out some costumes for my kiddos.  My amazing hubby kept them busy and out of my craft room  kitchen while I worked. 

Eight hours and a few minor frustrations later, and this is what I ended up with.

Peter Pan

  I made a shirt, pants, belt, hat, and sword for my lil' guy

.  I have a confession to make though. 

These aren't the pants I made.  These are some capri length leggings that were in my daughter's closet.  The pants turned out to be a little smaller than I had planned...long-story-short, I screwed up.  I stitched the wrong part, and trimmed it in hopes of salvaging it (fail).  I didn't buy enough fabric for screw ups, so, he will now be rockin' his sister's pants. 

You go B man. You can wear girls' pants if you want.

Tinkerbell

While I am happy with the final results, this fabric is no longer allowed near my sewing machine. 

She thinks this fabric is candy and tries to eat it. 

This makes for some frustrations for me and makes me want to say words that I shouldn't say.  With that being said, it fits my daughter and makes her twirl and jump and flit about like a cute little fairy. 

 I think that means she likes it. 

She doesn't see the imperfections and fristrations, she just loves that I made her a Tink costume! That's what it's all about after all.  For this I made a leotard, skirt, tutu, hair clip, and a "magic" wand.

Ashley over at Make It and Love It made these costumes for her adorable kiddos last year.  She put up fantastic tutorials for them here for Peter Pan and here for Tinkerbell.  I am a beginner when it comes to sewing, and if I can do this, anyone can!  Ashley makes her tutorials so easy to follow, and great for people like me who are learning to sew!  Thank you for the tutorials Ashley!

Today I am thankful for my couch...it has never felt so good as it does now! I'm worn out!

Tutorial-Basic Throw Pillow with Fabric Flowers

After making this pillow, I couldn't resist another.  I would have made more, but I ran out of filling!

So I just made this one last night. 

Want to make one? It's easy! Here's how:

Start with two pieces of fabric, whatever size you choose.  Mine were about 18x18.

Cut fusible fleece the same size as your fabric, and iron it to the wrong side of your fabric-following the packing instructions. (This is completely optional, but I have found that when using a flimsy cotton fabric, it makes the pillows noticeably sturdier and smoother. Being for a 4 year old with a 1 year old in the house, I need to make them as durable as possible!)

Place the fabric RIGHT sides together, and pin around all edges.

Using 1/4 to 1/2 inch seem alowance, stitch around the entire pillow,

leaving a 4-6 inch opening on one of the sides.

Remove the pins.  Reach in the opening, and pull it right side out.  Obviously the larger the hole you left, the easier this will be, but remember you will be hand-stitching this hole closed.

Once it is right side out, poke the corners out and smooth the pillow. 

Begin stuffing with poly-fil (or the stuffing from an old pillow) until it is as stuffed as you like.

Fold the fabric in a bit (the same amount your seem allowance was) .  At this point you can hold it closed with your fingers, or pin it closed to free both hands. I've done it both ways.  I ended up doing this one without the pins.

Thread a needle, and hand stitch closed.  I learned by using this tutorial how to do this.  It is super easy! Please don't be intimidated by this part. I promise, it really is easy.  On the last pillow I made, I caught the fusible fleese lining with my hand stitching, and it didn't look perfect. 

So, on this one, I made sure to just get the cotton fabric, and it looks so much neater and is almost impossible to find.

When your pillow is finished, sew or glue on your favorite fabric flowers, rosettes, buttons, or other embelishments.  Easy!  If you want it to be washable, I recommend using fabric glue if you don't want to sew them on.  (I glued these on.)

Today I am thankful for always having enough food on the table.

Another great tutorial put to use-Pillow with Ties

I felt like sewing today, so I grabbed some fabric scraps and made a throw pillow for my daughter's bare bed.  I need to make several more for her. This one made a big difference.

A while back, I used this tutorial from Make It and Love It to make these pillows. They looked great for about two days,

but after my one year old figured out that he would carry it around by the ties...this is how they look now.   :(   They are also a little thin, (because of the fabric) so they feel flimsy. Plus, I didn't stuff em enough. Live and learn.  I loved the design, so I needed to give it another whirl.

I wanted to make one for my daughter's bed, so I made a couple of changes to accomodate my kids dragging them around.  I sewed the part that ties down. To make it sturdier, I ironed some fusible fleece to the inside of the fabric. It has a lot more structure to it, and I am so happy with how it turned out. I also added an accent strip of fabric underneath the tie.

She loves it.  It really makes me want to make some more pillows for her bed!

Today I am thankful for the little things that make my kiddos happy.

Hooded towel

A good friend of mine's son is having his 3rd birthday party today.

(Happy Birthday Boston!)

So, I made him a hooded towel this afternoon.  I love hooded towels.  My daughter is 4 and still insists on using one, but the ones in the store are teeny and thin baby towels (so I made her 2 for her birthday).  I used a full sized towel with strips of fabric sewn on, and hand towel covered with coordinating fabric. Plenty of room in there for a big kid!

I added a nice little pleat in the middle on the top so it would wrap around nicely.

I had some blank greeting cards, so I printed "three 5 times in different fonts and colors and added some scrap fabric from making the towel in a 3 and sewed it down with a zig zag stitch. Easy. :)  I like how it turned out. Simple, but cute! If he was a girl, it would have a ruffle on it.  I can't resist the ruffle, people. I've tried.

I printed the inside as well...but forgot to put who it was from. Fail.  Ha!

Today I am thankful for healthy kiddos.

I love cute little pouches.

So, I have been sewing a LOT lately, and I am really starting to fall in love with it more and more each time I make something.  A couple of months ago I made these clutches and finally got around to making another one a few days ago.  I had been drooling on my laptop while cruising through browsing through The Pleated Poppy, and came across her zippered pouches and sunglasses cases.  I LOVE Lindsey's fabric choices and everything she comes up with. She is adorable and uber creative! (Her kids are pretty datgum cute, too!)  After making the clutches for our trip, I had the confidence to give it a whirl and figure out how to make a knock-off of her zippered pouch and sunnie case that I had fallen in love with.

Here is what I ended up with!

MMMMM ruffles. I love ruffles. We've covered that before though.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and give boxing the corners a try. It was fun, easy, and added some dimension and umph to my little clutch! I'm so glad I didn't chicken out and gave it a try.

I added a d-ring because, well I don't know why. But I added it.  I ended up making a little wristlet to match on a little clip so I can have it if I want to carry it on it's own, and can take it off if I use it as a little pouch inside of my purse to house little tonka trucks and cheerios. Yes, that's really what I carry in my purse.

The lining is also boxed (it would be silly otherwise) and matches the ruffles.

Sunglass case to match

I actually made this, and the clutch to match, but who cares...

They slide right in and are protected from tonka truck collisions.

I hope Lindsey doesn't mind me making something based on her creations! I just love her work!  She inspires me so much. 

Today I am thankful that my friend, Shellie, exposed me to sewing earlier this year!

Laptop Cover

We got a new laptop earlier this year and haven't wanted to spend the money on a new case.

We're cheap like that.

Or maybe it's because it's a jumbo laptop and the covers are expensive.  Or maybe it's having 2 kids and 1 job...

Anyways, we are taking our laptop on our roadtrip with us, and it had no case.

What's a girl to do?

Make one!

I few months ago I came across this one over at Crap I've Made. (I LOVE her blog name, btw. Hilarious. She must have a fabulous sense of humor!)

Her cover was adorable, but I knew I wanted mine a little different.  I did the front like hers, only moved the gathered strip down a bit.  There wasn't any improving on her design...it was too cute for improvement!

 I made my flower a bit different, as well.

I wanted the back to have a pocket for the charger and any usb cables I'd be taking along.  (Once a month, I take it and my Cricut...along with a million cables...to a craft day with friends)

I did the pocket like I did the little pockets here on my camera strap covers.

I also wanted a velcro closure instead of a zipper. 

I also wanted a soft minky for the lining.

Oh man is this stuff soft.  The lady at our little fabric store freaked me out about it, telling me it was nearly impossible to work with since it is so stretchy. 

But, it was cake. 

I. was. relieved.

The only minky they had was red at the fabric store, which inspired the color scheme for the whole thing, and I'm in love.

LOVE.  Damask, black, white, red...I love that combo.

My laptop does, too. She's happy in there!



Clutches

My husband and I are taking a road trip to VEGAS soon!

(and I do mean ROAD trip...we are going all the way there in one day. It's a 14 hour drive.)

That's not the point of this post, but I'm really excited about the trip.

This post is about 2 great tutorials that I put to use for the trip. 

I have been to Vegas 4 times, and the last time I went, I was an idiot and carried a purse. Purses are great...they hold wallets, cameras, phones, hand sanitizer, lotion, chap stick (diapers and wipes if you have small people living with you). But they are NOT great for lugging around for 27 miles of walking a day in 112 degree weather. Lesson learned.  Each morning I went through and weeded out unnecessary things, and by the last day, my purse only had about three things in it. And it still seemed to weigh 213 lbs by the time we got back to the hotel.

As soon as we chose our destination, I decided that I better figure out an alternative to the purse.

The solution: a cute little clutch with a wrist strap.

Perfect!

I made these a few weeks ago, and being the bad blogger I am these days, I am just now getting around to posting them.

The first one I made, I used this tutorial for a scrappy clutch from Christine over at From An Igloo. The girl has got mad sewing skills! She has so many cute things I want to make, but I don't quite have the confidence yet.

I had never worked with a zipper, or made anything really complicated before, but I was determined to get it done. If I can do it (and I did!) anyone can do it.

I added a little fabric rosette to it because, quite frankly, I am obsessed with anything that adds texture and interest. I am happy with how it turned out! So happy that I decided to make another clutch!

I used this tutorial for a gathered clutch from Noodlehead. This chick can make anything with a zipper.  Oh how I wish I could do that! Speaking of which, she has a super cute little drawstring backpack tutorial that I am dying to give a try...if my husband would ever wear out a pair of khakis. Sigh...maybe I'll just hit up a thrift store or clearance rack and get lucky.

I adore this little thing! It is a perfect size, and was SO cheap to make.  I used muslin, interfacing and fabric scraps I had left from a camera strap slipcover. All I had to buy was a zipper.

And guess what?  I couldn't resist a fabric rosette. And fabric covered buttons.

I. am. addicted.

Ruffles, flowers, gathers, buttons.

Someone stop me.

Better yet, don't.

 I like being addicted.

Go give these tutorials a try. You will love them! In fact, I'm going to go make another one. A.ddic.ted.

Today I am thankful that my husband and I get to take a week long road trip together! I am looking forward to being stuck in a car-just me and my love!

Quilt Update...IT'S DONE!

After finishing the front and back of my quilt, I wasn't able to even touch it until 2 days ago.  My daughter started pre-k, I'm helping my parents out while they remodel their kitchen...life is just busy for so many reasons.  I had it in the corner of my kitchen where I would see it everyday. Everytime I looked over there, I was dying to get it finished!  Saturday My hubby helped me lay it out and get it ready to baste.  While the kids were napping, I basted it, and got started quilting.  I LOVED quilting it...when my machine cooperated.  It kept skipping several stitches, and at one point the tension went whacko on me.  They quilting is SO far from perfect, it isn't even funny, but I feel so accomplished and proud that
I did it!

  I finished the quilting on Saturday and did the binding yesterday while the kids were napping.  Oddly, I really enjoyed doing the hand binding.  I am so anxious to buy the rest of the fabric for my daughter's quilt. I have been picking up fabric here and there that I love for hers. Hopefully I can start soon.  Life is getting busier though, so it may be a while before I can. :(

I want to say thank you to Care over at Obsessively Stitching for the easy and clear tutorials on making this quilt.  The gave me the confidence that I really can do this.  She has so many great projects and tutorials over there. Please go check her out!

Today I am thankful for my crazy busy life!  I wouldn't change a thing!

Quilt Update

I posted yesterday that I have decided to take on a quilt.

Yesterday's plans were to cut the fabric, and hopefully start putting the squares together.

I got them cut.

Pieced them together in rows of three.

Pieced the rows of three into blocks of 9. 

Cut those sets each into quarters.

...Spent what felt like YEARS trying to arrange them and figure out a layout that didn't have the same fabric touching each other.  I finally came to the conclustion that it was impossible with the way I had sewn the peices together, and called this good.  After spending 7 years aranging the peices, I labeled each one in the top left corner (1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and so on for row 1, piece 1...I was determined to make darn sure they didn't get out of order!)

I'll admit. This was the most difficult part thus far.  Making sure the fabrics are evenly distributed, not touching, cohesive. It was daunting! But worth it.

I was even able to cut the pieces for the strip in the back, and make the back.

This morning I sewed the front together, now all I need to do is add the border, and wait for my darning foot to arrive so I can QUILT it!

Woo hoo!

I have really ejoyed making this, and definitly encourage you to give it a try! Care's tutorials are amazing, and so easy to follow.  She even has some Q & As in there that answered a lot of my questions.

I just wish that I didn't have to wait for my quilting foot to get here before I can really do more! 

I started yesterday morning, just working here and there (and after the kids went to bed). I can't believe what I was able to accomplish.  I honestly thought this would take so much longer than it has so far. 

The quilting will take the most time (and patience) I'm sure.

It looks like fun though!

Today I am thankful for that ice cream pie.  Oh, my! Have I been enjoying that!