Creatively Crafty Baby

Long time and Bippity Boppity Boo

2011-10-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

When I asked A earlier in the month what she wanted to be for Halloween I wasn't surprised when she said a princess. I WAS a little surprised when she said she wanted to be Cinderella. Mostly because everyone knows her favorite princess is sleeping beauty. ;) So I thought for sure we were making a sleeping beauty costume. But no, Cinderella. Which was fine because I had seen THIS and knew i could do it.

While the maker of this blog is amazing with her skills, where were some things about that dress I wasn't a fan of so we tweaked it a little. I used the knit for the whole thing because I felt like it was warmer and cuter. I also liked the white satin for the inset and made it a V. AND, I made the hip poofy things come together in the middle. All in all i LOVE it! :)

So Here is our little Cinderella. It really was too perfect for her with her long blonde hair and her great love of all things princess. she has been WAITING to wear this. She told everyone at the trunk or treat that she was "Cindalella."There was much twirling and prancing. We even found some "Glass" slippers.

For anyone still reading this blog, sorry about the lack of posts. I have not been on a crafting hiatus, but I have not had as much time for blogging. Couldn't let thins beauty go though! :)

Laundry Room Remodel

2011-05-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here is what our laundry room looked like pre-remodel... It was pretty crowded. Notice the laundry sorter crammed into that little space? I have been wanting to make it over for a while now but have lacked the motivation.

I found exactly what I wanted to make on
this awesome website!
But I had to tweak the plans to make it four baskets high and bigger to accommodate the larger baskets I wanted to use. I found this girls site a couple of years ago when it was knockonwood.com. But she has since moved on to better things! So I have had my eye on the sorter for a while and have had plenty of time to make it over in my head...

Long story short... We stacked our washer and dryer, moved the cabinet up against the ceiling... painted and distressed it... then built the sorter and painted and distressed that. And then we moved it all in again!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!

I'm not usually a pastel person but this yellow is so sunny and bright! (its actually a lot lighter than it is showing up in the pictures.) I might actually do some laundry now! ;)

A shout out to Jess at
Whimsical Treasures
for finding me these sweet chalkboard frames! The are so perfect! They are having a show soon so you should check them out! I love their stuff! Can you tell by all the exclamation marks?!!!!

Rapunzel Dress

2011-03-29T16:01:00.001-07:00

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair...
Our little princess with the long hair needed a Rapunzel dress to celebrate the release of tangled! So off to the machine I went!

First there was a trip to wal mart to get supplies. I needed a purple shirt and pink ribbon. Between that and the sweet purple fabric I picked up in LA a while ago we had the perfect dress. She loves it and has been princessing it up all day long!

Need an opinion...

2011-01-26T16:23:00.000-08:00

So this is a sampling of what my colors are in my room. I was going for a lighter blue here and it didnt work out like I thought. Should I repaint in a lighter blue or just get rid of the light blue and gold accents... Im torn... But its driving me crazy...
HELP!

naughty me

2011-01-25T19:37:00.001-08:00

Dear bloggers... I can not apologize for my absence because life happens and i am a self proclaimed lazy blogger. So you will have to forgive my absence. I have recovered my camera and hopefully in the next couple of days will have some goodness for you all! I was very busy before the holidays. Here is a hint about a couple of my projects...

The ghetto seamstresses bedskirt

2010-10-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

I have been working on pulling together my bedroom on and off for a long time now. Here is the latest piece of the puzzle. I needed a bed-skirt that was longer than usual. We have our bed up on blocks so we can store stuff under it. I looked online and extra-long bed-skirts were crazy expensive! So I hit up the local Wal-mart and grabbed a white bed-skirt and 6 yards of sheer blue fabric off the sale pile and took her home!

Then I cut the 6 yards straight up the fold, gathered it all with my gathering foot and sewed it right over the top of the white bed-skirt. It pools on the ground and the edge was finished anyway so I didn't even have to hem it! I love it and someday when we build our head and foot board it will finish it off perfectly!

(best part? You cant see all the crap we have under there anymore!)

Boys Room Remodel

2010-10-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to finish Kadens room for months. We switched up his room and James office so that when the time comes we will have enough room to stick a baby in there... Someday... not soon. :) Anyway. I had a hard time getting motivated to to anything about it after the switch. I was working on redoing three rooms. A little too ambitious I think. But I finally did it! It has taken a while to get everything finished, but Its ready. So here is a look!

First... the PLAID WALL! I love how it turned out. I am going to do a tutorial on my craft blog. I learned a lot while doing this! It isnt perfect but just dont look too close. It was a lot of fun and I have my friend Jen to thank for all her help with this one! Kaden picked out the colors for the walls and while I was a little skeptical i like how it turned out.

My Uncle works for a city and I asked him to keep an eye out for old signs they didnt need anymore and he came though like a champ! This combined with some hooks for his stuff and a project display board and we were golden!

I got the idea for this from THIS BLOG and it was the perfect solution for our latest dilemma. Kaden always brings home papers from school that he wants to keep and they end up all over the house. So now we put them here and when we are tired of them we chuck them or save them in a more permanent place.

I got Kaden this chair from IKEA a while ago. It had a plain canvas cover on it and while it is a GREAT little chair, it was kind of ugly. So I took an extra pillowcase and some black binding and recovered it. Super easy and fast!

In his old room we had these framed pictures of cars in blue frames so they got a paint job and some new home made art.

I just loved these round rungs from IKEA... again. Love that place! They were only a couple bucks each too!

Heres how things look looking at his bed.

And heres the view of the other wall. These were some galvanized buckets from... IKEA... :) I punched holes in the buckets and screwed them into the wall with anchors. He stores all sorts of treasures in them.

Week 3

2010-10-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Its recycle week! Im super excited about my craft! Go vote... can you tell which is mine? ;)
Here

Costume Week

2010-10-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

Its costume week! I'm working on the tutorial for the burlap pumpkins but for now go vote! Its hard to be anonymous this week... :)
VOTE HERE

Week One

2010-10-04T11:50:00.001-07:00

Week one of this round of
So You Think You're Crafty
has begun!
There are so many great crafts so shoot on over there and vote for your favorite one! Maybe it will be mine! hehehe

White Dress

2010-09-24T08:42:00.001-07:00

This would be my 4th of this nature...

My first one was BEAUTIFUL... made of a crepe satin and fitted perfectly. However... Being fitted perfectly didnt work out so well when I got pregnant and gained 70 LBS... gross I know...

My second one was a maternity dress... because I had high aspirations that I would immidiately lose all the weight and fit right back into my first dress. Sadly... I grew out of even the maternity dress and had to wear a MUMU! Some of you know what Im talking about...

So I came up with my third dress. It was a skirt with an elastic waist band and a long sleave top. Functional but not the most beautiful. It worked when I was pregnant and when I was not.

But I have been dreaming for a couple of years of making this... my 4th dress...

The perfect storm of my new serger, a trip ot the fashion district in LA (for some cheap knit because this is NOT cheap fabric) my new dress form, my new "SewU" book and a little motivation... And it has finally happened.

I LOVE IT!

It is so comfortable and also very beautiful, I think. It stretches... so even if heaven forbid... I gain weight... or if I get pregnant again, it will still fit!

Meet Mat

2010-09-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

What do you call someone who has no arms, no legs, and sits on the floor???

Mat! Hahahah!

(thanks Kyle)

So I would like you to meet Mat... She is my new custom dress form. I have been wanting ot make one for a long time and tried to make one a while ago but it just looked like a silver tube... I discovered that it takes some finesse to make it work.

I did most of it by myself and just had to have a neighbor come do the top back. There are lots of tutorials out there on how to make one. I discovered that using smaller strips and putting them on diagonally was the best way. Then once it was off and stuffed I put them on diagonally the other way for the second layer.

i LOVE her!

I have already made a dress using her... I will show you that another day.

Getting my groove back

2010-09-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

I think I am FINALLY getting my groove back. I have been in a bit of a crafting funk lately. But the last few days I have my motivation back and I have been having fun! I think you are going to LOVE my craft for next weeks comptition. :)

For now here is one of the other projects I did last night. Whipped this out in less than a half an hour. Super easy. I dont have a tutorial because I didnt take pictures along the way. But its pretty easy to figure out.

I saw a dress at Old Navy for Addy that I LOVED! I wish i could find a picture of it. It was a striped boat neck dress but I had already maxed out my budget at that point. So when I came home and saw this shirt in my closet... (But in yellow and grey... yes I had 2... :) I figured I would make her one.

I found a dress that was about the right length and used that as a template. Once the peices were cut out I just used my AWESOME serger and put it together. I LOVE IT!

Although... next time I think I will make a rounded neck... and I think it needs a little something... A rosette or something.

I am going to make more I think! I will see if I can get a tutorial together. But no promises at this point. =D

Addendum: Sooooo... I was cruising one of my favorite blogs and look what I found! Great minds think a like! She has a tutorial up if you want to make one simmiar to mine.

And Im In!

2010-09-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all my blog followers! I made it past the audition phase of the
"So You Think Youre Crafty"
competition!

In case you were wondering... this was my submission. I was trying to go low key since it is still the beginning. I really love all my necklaces and wanted a way to store them that would also double for decor in my newly made over room. I LOVE how it turned out. Although in some of the other shots you can tell the flaws in my painting job in the room! AHHH!

Replication is easy. I just used a scrap of 1X4, covered it in batting and some fabric of my choice with a staple gun, and then attached an antique door knob to it. Easy peasy! And cute. You could even use it just as decor without hanging anything on it.

A little info since I realized that I was kind of vague before. This is kind of like survivor for crafting. Every week there is a theme and the crafters submit something relating to that theme. Then people vote and the project with the least votes is kicked off the island so to speak. :)

Im really excited and I think it will be a lot of fun! If you follow this blog you will probably recognise my style in many things I submit, but it is supposed to be anonymous as much as possible so I wont be able to tell you which one is mine. The first week will begin September 25th. So be on the lookout to see which one is mine. I have a fun idea I am pretty excited about. I am trying to save some of my bigger ideas for later in the competition... provided I make it that far! =D So keep voting!

Taking a poll

2010-09-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

I need a little help. I am working on re-doing Mr. K's room. We switched rooms and he used to have a sports themed room, but now that he is bigger I want something he can grow into more. I am painting one wall in his room black and teal plaid as you can see below. I am SOOOO excited about it! (the big black rectangle is the curtains.) K Really wants black in his room, since that is his favorite color... so figure... and while I am all for it... I dont want his room to be as dark as a cave...

The accent colors are bright red and green. And I have some really cool old road signs courtesy of my Uncle for some of the other walls. The picture I created below of his bed and throw rugs is just about exactly the colors of his bed and rugs.
(his bed is a natural wood color not white. Not sure if I will keep it that way or not.)

My problem is that Im not sure what to paint the other three walls. I have been leaning toward grey. Let me know what you think... I have a poll going on the side and if you have another idea leave me a comment.

I will take pictures of the process of the plaid wall so you can see how I did it! Hopefully it works out as well in reality as it does in my head... HAHAH!

Dark Grey

Light Grey

Black with Grey stripe

The Inspiration

2010-09-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Did you know that it was national sewing month? Im sad to day that I did not... Man I suck! I have been thinking about doing this post for a long time so I figured this would be a great opportunity!

I grew up in sunny southern California in the OC. Im pretty sure I was one of the only people I knew who sewed. Sadly it seems to be a dieing art. So how in the world did a girl from the city get interested in sewing? Meet the inspiration! My mother.

Isnt she beautiful?!
(I stole this picture off her facebook.)

I cant even remember how long I have been sewing. But I do remember wanting barbie clothes and instead of going out and buying them, she showed me how to make some. (it might have been doll clothes now that I think about it) From there I was hooked. Sometimes I HATED the lessons she taught me. (Like the time she made me hem my skirt in 5th grade with a blind hem instead of letting me machine hem it!) But now I am so grateful for the wealth of knowledge she has given me.

Sometimes I think I drove her crazy inside because I dont like to follow the rules and I hate patterns. But she just let me forge ahead anyway. I love that I have the ability to make something beautiful out of a piece of yardage. Other girls had boring dresses for school dances, but I got to make unique and sometimes funky outfits instead. I was able to make the perfect blessing dress for my baby. The MOST comfortable maternity dress EVER. And there have been innumerable times where the gift she has given me has come in handy.

So thank you Mom! I just wanted you to know I think you are amazing and I dont take for granted the time you spent teaching me. I love you!

So You think You're Crafty??

2010-09-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

Im Auditioning for this blog contest! This is audition week and if i survive then every week during the contest I will come up with another craft and the readers have to vote on them. Pretty fun! I dont have the huge blog following that some of these ladies do so I need your votes!

take a look and be sure to vote! Can you figure out which is mine? I bet you can! But if you do dont give it away for others. It is supposed to be as anonymous as possible. :)

www.soyouthinkyourecrafty.com

Fabric Score!

2010-08-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

I spent last week visiting my family in California. One of the things I was most excited for was a trip to the garment district in LA. Even though I grew up less than an hour away and have visited countless times since, I have never been to this treasure trove!

Alas, by the time we fought traffic to get there they were closed down! BOO! But the FIDM store was open! I had 20 minutes to raid them before they closed. And raid them I did! sort of...

I got 26 yards of knit fabric for $26! Included in that is 10 yards of lightweight opaque white that I am going to use to make an awesome new temple dress! (I priced getting this kind of fabric a while ago and it was $20 a yard) I am unbelievably excited about this. I have no idea what I will do with most of this. But I'm sure I will figure it out!

(I was trying to grab knits that had prints since they are harder to come by here. I can get solids at joanns if I need to. :)

Bookie

2010-07-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Dirty little crafting secret... I am a pretty ghetto crafter/seamstress. That should be the name of my blog! HAHAH! Anyway. I dont use patterns very often unless they are super simple and easy. I dont do anything the hard way if there is an easier way. (with a few exceptions like blind seams which I think are a MUST in certain instances) And when I see something I like in a store (craft or other) I like that I have the talent to re-create it so I dont have to buy it. (Im admitting that all my ideas are not my own here! hahah! SHOCKER!)

My mother started me on this fulfilling road and I will forever be grateful to her! But that is for another blog post. The point is that I saw this book referenced on another blog and it looks like it is right up my alley. Simple, basic instructions to help you learn to work with knits. Since I recently got a serger I decided that I wanted this book! Lucky for me... I had a gift certificate for amazon so I went online and ordered it.

The whole point of this post would be that this is really out of character for me. I dont read how-to books... I just figure out how-to. (usually with much wailing and gnashing of teeth) But maybe I am growing... whadda ya think? ;)

Best part #2? I am going to be hitting the fashion district in LA next week on my trip home so I am going to look for some awesome knits to start playing with! SA-WEET!

Bedroom Makeover

2010-07-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my bedroom makeover for about a month now. I have been trying to accumulate stuff for longer though. I will be giving you sneak peaks into the final product as I go along. :)

I have always loved the quote by Thomas S. Monson. "Choose your love, love your choice." I believe it and I try to live by it. Once you make the choice of who you will love you have to keep making that choice every day. So I decided to add it to my room makeover. And I love how this turned out!

What do you think?

Repurposed

2010-07-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

So I love to make cute stuff. But I have to say I am not the best at looking at one thing and deciding that it would make a great "something else." But THESE GUYS are!!! If you subscribe to their blog, they will let you know when they have their boutiques. I LOVE them! I got the sconces for A's room from them, as well as my recipe box. The best part it they don't charge an arm and a leg.

Anyway... One of my friends makes bread boxes into "catch alls" for them. And I asked her to check and see if they had one on hand. They didn't. But when I was at DI recently I saw the bread box in my previous post, picked it and and decided to try my hand at making one myself. And I think it turned out pretty dang good! I LOVE IT!

I wanted it for my jewelry. My old box was TINY and i was in need of a new one. This cost me a total of $4! I already had the paint and sandpaper. All it took was two coats of paint, a razor blade to the writing on the glass and some sandpaper. You can do it too! Check out your local thrift store and find something to give new life to!

(You can kind of see what else I have been up to lately... more pictures later. I re-did my room! And if you are a thief don't get too excited... nothing in this box is real... sad huh?)

This dresser is next on my list... it has brown in its future!

What?

2010-07-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

What am I doing with this you ask??? You will have to wait and see... maybe tomorrow... If i get on the ball. But Im pretty excited about it!
(This is not the actual picture... I sadly forgot to take one. Mine is from 1985 and was a little worse of the wear than this one... but looks exactly like it otherwise.)

I apologize for the lack of blogging, but then not really... I have been having a lot of fun!

Whew...

2010-06-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

So... after much work last night I got all my images compressed and everything uploaded to ETSY. So the store is FINALLY up and running. Most things I can do custom orders for if you want or need them. Enjoy!

This is a newborn bow kit. Comes with Elmers clear school glue. I used this with Miss A and it works like a charm! Just get it wet when you want to take them off and the glue dissolves.

Whimsical Treasures

2010-06-13T17:22:00.001-07:00

There is a girl in my ward that is partner in a furniture re-purposing business. I LOVE their stuff! I got the sconces for A's room from them and they were soooo perfect! They were one of the vendors at the craft boutique and they have boutiques a couple times a year. They also have a blog thats fairly new. Check them out and be their fan!

http://whimsicaltreasuresdecor.blogspot.com

Boutique

2010-05-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

The boutique is finally over and it was a ton of fun! I have some things left over so i will be putting them up on my ETSY shop soon. Im still in recovery mode but have found myself working on a few projects here and there. Here is miss A looking a little raggedy but sporting her petti-tunic.

One corner of my area. I had car seat tents, tutus and ballerina bow holders and petti-tunics here. Saturday I added some super cute petti-onesies that I LOVE! I wish i had some baby girls to put them on! I will get some pictures of those later.

More bow holders, baby bracelets, crayon rolls, baby purses, Little boy and infant bow ties, wipe cases, scripture cover patterns, headbands and lots of flower clips.

I have an extra one of these blue and white pettis in toddler size. It will be on ETSY soon but if you want it you can let me know.

today is the day!

2010-04-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the boutique! So if you live in the area or near the area you need to check it out! 4-9 at 868 E Main St Jerome, Id. There will be 50 doorbuster prizes and lots of fun. There is a home decor vendor that is to DIE for! And there will be massages and jewelry and lots and lots of other great stuff. Tomorrow the doors open at 10.

Tooth Fairy Pillow

2010-04-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

My son lost his first tooth tonight and so I took the night off from the boutique prep and we made him a tooth fairy pillow... boy style of course... I got this fabric and loved it so i am so happy to have found a good use for some of it! He is super excited for tonight and full of questions about the logistics of it all...

Flyer

2010-03-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Facebook Fans

2010-03-30T12:23:00.001-07:00

Sooooooo... If you want to see sneak peaks of the items I am going to have for sale at the boutique... you need to make sure you are a fan of Mom on Craft

HERE

That is the ONLY place I am going to be showing them beforehand and the posts will be private so you have to be a fan to view them.... :) Its going to be awesome! So lets be friends!

Spring Boutique

2010-03-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Spring boutique is

April 23 and 24.

Invite your friends to become a fan of mine HERE on facebook for exclusive sneak peaks of the merchandise I will have there! It is going to be CRAZY awesome! Lots of vendors for home decor... dollar a minute massages and much much much more! There will be fliers and advertising floating all over the magic valley soon so watch out!

Ive been invited... and so are you!

2010-03-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

♥ Ive been invited to participate in the Spin Design Photographic Grand Opening! ♥

Come join the party; Whimsical Treasures Home Decor, Miche Bag, Scentsy Candles, Lucky Girl Jewelry, Magic Valley Sports Massage, Beauty Control, Gift Certificates, Door Prizes, Food, Drawings and more....... Great Mothers Day Gifts! Spread the word! YOUR NOT GONNA WANNA MISS THIS!

Of Course the best part is I will be there! I will have newborn pettiskirts, tutus and a bunch of other stuff! Come support our local businesses. More info to come!

Crayon Roll Kit

2010-03-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

Im going to be selling a kit for my crayon rolls. It comes with an 8 pack of crayons, and the fabric and ribbon you will need to make the roll, as well as the pattern and instructions. I will be taking orders through the next month and will ship everything out on the 22 of April. The inside will be rainbow like the one pictured here and the outside will be either red, blue or pink. You can send me a message or buy it on ETSY.

This is a super easy project. Even for a beginner. Perfect to throw into your purse or church bag. :)

Shop

2010-03-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

We're up and running! Check out my new ETSY shop. I dont have my patterns up yet. But both items that are for sale will have patterns available in a couple of days. They are PDF files and I feel like they are easy beginner level sewing. But if you dont want to make them yourself you can buy them
HERE

Scripture cover prototype...

2010-03-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

So here is the cutest prototype for my scripture cover pattern. It was a little big so i had to do two rows of stay stitching. I did one with just an off center ribbon running along the top and a plain one that i made the pattern off of. The plain one was the best fitting but the ugliest so i havent pictured it here. I will make a cute one to post when i put up my PDF pattern.

I am putting the final touches on it and am pretty happy with it. The snap closure for this one is under the flower. You can make them with handles too but I havent tried it yet. Maybe later. I'll let you know when we're up and running!

PDF pattern

2010-03-10T15:57:00.001-08:00

Im really excited! I just made my first PDF pattern. It is for a cover you can slip on your scriptures with a snap closure.Man! I just thought of something I should add! It is being tested and then i will have it for sale. :) So excited!

Dinky Babies

2010-03-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

My new favorite store is the Quilt Barn in Kimberly. I was there a couple of weeks ago and they had an example of these babies on display and my daughter fell in love. She was more than a little ticked off when we had to put them back and leave. So of course I got the pattern. :) Besides the pattern (which came with the hair and peach velour) I didnt have to buy one dang thing. Everything came out of my scraps. It was a pretty fun project and the my daughter LOVES them!

I looked to find a website and they do sell the pattern on etsy but it doesn't come with the pattern for the babies. That is separate. I definitely recommend this project if you have a little girl who loves babies and purses. It was fairly simple to make. A beginner could do it!

Some Finished Pettis

2010-02-17T19:19:00.001-08:00

pettiskirts

2010-02-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

So right now I am crazy busy making pettiskirts! I dont know if you all know what they are but they are adorable. I also have some ideas of variations on them that i think will be cute... We'll see how it goes. Pictures to come. But has anyone had any experience with a ruffler foot? I have one and it has been giving me nothing but trouble!

extended

2010-01-19T20:35:00.000-08:00

So Im not making the order until tomorrow so if you want a skirt you can still get one. Let me know. :) But I you will be looking at 4 weeks out until it will be done. I already have a bunch of orders to get done.

Pettiskirt

2010-01-18T20:20:00.001-08:00

So I have a friend who is opening a photography studio and she has ordered a bunch of pettiskirts from me. So I am ordering a bunch or nylon chiffon in different colors and since I am ordering alot of it I can get a discount. If you want to order a skirt from me, or just buy the knit chiffon let me know in the next day or so... so that I can get the right colors. :)

Heres my pricing. I have checked out a bunch of websites and I think its very competitive especially considering the quality and amount of "fluff" I use on the bottom of my skirts. Plus, I dont use the satin first layer that a lot use... i think its UGLY. Mine will be totally made from the nylon chiffon.

newborn (8 inches long)- 30
baby (11 inches) - 35
toddler (13 inches) - 40
little girl (14 inches long) - 40
extra long little girl (17 inches long) - 50
big girl (15 inches long) - 50
extra long big girl (19 inches long) - 55

If you want to just order the knit chiffon it would be 3.50 a yard

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-22T22:27:00.001-08:00

HERE

Check out this idea! One of my very creative friends had a super cute idea for her christmas tree. Its too late this year but if you are looking for ideas next year... this is a good one... I just love her!!!

AND... Her kids are super cute. :)

Gingerbread House

2009-12-21T23:23:00.000-08:00

On the (im not sure what) day of christmas I gave to two of my true loves... A gingerbread house...
it might be the fact that it is after midnight, but I think this is the best gingerbread house EVER! WOot Woot! A lazy boy recliner box and some crap from my craft stash and we we're in business! Thanks Grandma for the box! I think the kids will LOVE it!

I strung some fabric on a yarn string so they can move the curtains back and forth. I cant wait until morning!

Last minute present Idea!

2009-12-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

So in need of a last minute present idea? These are for us, but I thought they were a pretty easy and neat idea... yes... i said neat... hehehe... so...

CAR BLANKETS!

These are just one yard of fleece. Got it at wal mart for less than 3 bucks a yard... Tied the top and bottom. And you have a blanket small enough to fit under everyone's seat in case you are stranded in the cold... or if you just want to snuggle on a long drive. There have been many times I have thought these would come in handy... so now we have them! K also has a travel pillow... so you could throw those in too...

Christmas frillery

2009-12-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

First off.... This is the skirt for Addys Christmas outfit. Its called a Pettiskirt and I LOVE it! and she looks so cute in it! It was a lot of gathering but i figured out how to make my machine do most of it, So it wasnt bad. You can pretty much ONLY get the fabric for this bad boy online. I ordered some in cornflower blue and I am going to make a long dress for her that is along these lines. Pictures to come!

Second. My friend came this weekend and we repurposed an old bridesmaid top into a christmas dress for her little girl. Super cute! I cut the arm holes a little big but still cute!

My new craft desk

2009-12-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

I have been needing a new crafting and sewing area. My stuff has just gotten out of control and there is too much of it. So my poor husband has given up his closet in his man room. I took it over and got crazy organized. And the total cost was.... $40! Made the desk myself! A lot of the stuff I already had on hand. So I just needed to buy the wood, a few storage bins, and the light. I LOVE it!

I Have a lot of ribbon. This box was overflowing with spools of it. So I saw this idea somewhere to take large fat craft sticks which I got at the dollar store, and wind your ribbon on them. I still have 5 more spools to do but it has cut way back on the space I need!

The cricut isnt mine, although I think it looks GREAT there! :) I left a gap at the back so I can put all the cords through and if I am sewing something long it can fall back through and it wont end up so bulky. I also mounted a power strip under the desk so i can plug everything in right there.

The Christmas Wreath

2009-11-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is one of my latest projects. Pretty easy, once i got the hang of it. All you need is a wire hanger, Round ornaments, and a big bow! Shape the hanger into a circle, leaving the actual hanger part in tact since you use this to close it up and hang it. String the ornaments on. (Use all the same size) And close her back up. Tie the bow on and VIOLA! I LOVE this. Im going to hang it on my front door after thanksgiving. Or maybe sooner... hehe

Im still here!

2009-11-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

And still crafting... a lot! We have just been really busy lately. The next three posts are new and I even threw in a tutorial. It doesn't have pictures but if you are a sewer you should do fine. I also just finished a couple of projects that I will try to post later.

If you are looking for the car seat pattern, I haven't gotten ambitious enough to finish it yet... but its still in the works!

Tink and Peter

2009-11-09T08:52:00.001-08:00

Every year we try to do a family costume. It hasn't always worked out but this year it did and was so fun! We were the peter pan cast. I was Wendy (Kind of boring costume) My hubby was Hook. (bought that one) And the kids were peter and tink. I had a lot of fun making their costumes! We won the best family costume at the ward Halloween party!

Car Trash Bag (with photoless tutorial)

2009-11-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

Here are two of my latest projects.
A trash bag for the car. All you need is some fabric, a little ribbon and some boning(Found at any fabric store).
You can make this to be any size you want. But you want the back piece to be a flat rectangle, and the front to be about three inches wider depending on how big you want it.

Gather the bottom of your front peice. Then, with right sides together sew along the sides and bottom of your bag. This will give you the basic shape.

Next you want to fold down the top of your bag to create a sleeve for your boning. The boning will keep your bag open. You are only going to thread the boning through the front half of your bag, not the back half! After you thread your boning through, sew it in place on both ends so that it wont move around.

Finally sew some ribbon on the back so you can tie it around your head rest and you're done! I added a little accent fabric around the top of this one, but that isn't necessary.

I wish i had taken pictures of this along the way so you could better see how it was done. But I know that there are other tutorials out there for this that you might be able to find that are more detailed. I mostly just wanted to show you m y cute bag! Have fun!

Superhero Training Academy

2009-11-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

Note... the general basis for this party came from a friends party. There are several other blogs you can Google that also has instructions for the superhero training academy. Good luck and have fun if you are going to replicate!!!

For my sons birthday we created the S.T.A.! All his little superhero friends were invited. All in all I had 17 superheros on my hands... I would NOT recommend this many if you recreate this party... but it was a lot of fun! My camera funked out on me so I dont have pictures of ALL the activities but still... you will get the idea.

First, I made capes with their superhero initial on it. Initials were made of felt. Super glued on to the fabric. I cut out the shape of the cape and left the edges raw. Too much work to finish them. :) I used hot glue to put the initials on. Then I gathered the top and sewed a piece of ribbon across with a Velcro closure so that no one choked.

Next, Superhero masks! I found the pattern HERE. I cut them out of foam and then did some puffy paint work around the edges... not necessary, but i was having fun. :)

Then the belts. I bought some belting and did Velcro closures again. I cut out foam circles in white and the color of each superhero. Then mounted the white on to the colored and slapped on a foam letter of their initial.

Each Superhero had a bag when they got there that had their cape, mask and belt in it. THey got dressed when they arrived and then the training began!

Cross a Boiling Pit of Lava!
For this one they I had a kiddie pool ful of water with red food coloring in it. I used cinderblocks to prop up a board accross it and they had to cross the "Lava". Supprisingly, this was the second favorite activity!

Vaporize the Villain!
For this one I had about 40 helium balloons staked to the ground with forks all over the backyard. I drew faces on the balloons and then the kids had to pop them all.

Magnificent Muscles
I made a big dumbbell with two foam balls and a dowl and this was our picture station. They lifted it up and got to have their picture taken.

Leap buildings in a single bound!

We had 5 hay bales. Three were set up together and one on either side. (Pictures below) They had to use their superhero powers to get accross the bales somehow. This was the favorite activity. It lasted all night! They were jumping from bale to bale!My favorite picture of the whole party! Doesnt he look like he is ready to get the evil villains!?

Heres a picture where you can see how the belt was put together. The foam sticker letter is half torn off but you get the idea. :)

We even had superhero capes for the babies!

The Owl Dress

2009-08-24T13:50:00.001-07:00

Sigh! It is finished! I made this pattern and after two of these cute little dresses, I got it right! The purpose is twofold... One. Its my nieces birthday this weekend and i needed a birthday present for her, so now we have two matching owl dresses for her and A. Two. I have an idea I am calling paper patterns. I made a pattern for this dress. Which i am still working on. When its done you can get it from me with full color picture step by step directions. 0-12 months and is easily adaptable for older girls too... whew... And best part... i will email you the file and you can print the pattern off your computer... Sweet huh?

Car seat Cover

2009-08-21T10:36:00.001-07:00

I am thinking about selling my pattern for my car seat covers. It would be a lot of work initially to make the pattern well and create detailed instructions but I know quite a few people could make their own if they had the pattern. What do you think? I have a poll on the said of my blog so let me know!

Modified Pillowcase Dress Tutorial

2009-08-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

Now that my little girl is a little bigger, I am more excited about making clothes for her. Baby clothes are too tiny. I had some super cute Alexander Hamilton fabric that I was DYING to make into a dress for her.

Dirty secret about me... I HATE patterns. Mostly I just take clothes that fit my kids and use those as a guideline and make my own stuff. This is no exception. (I also never iron unless there is absolutely no other option!) I tried the normal pillowcase dress that I have seen everywhere, but my prototype looked like a potato sack. And i was not a fan of that look for my cute baby. So I came up with this. Same idea. Different details. Isnt it super cute!

Here is the basic Idea. You will have to make the details suited for your specific child. The secret is that however deep you make your arc on the bottom, that is how deep you need to make it on the neckline or it will look funny. Then I just added a big ruffle at the bottom. (Optional) and used the same fabric to bind the neckline and arms. Have fun!

Baby Leggings Tutorial

2009-08-19T13:35:00.001-07:00

Here is what my daughters little knees look like. She just started to crawl and she is getting rug burns on her knees. I feel so bad for her, but i really dont want to go out and buy multiple pairs of those cute baby legs. So i figured out a way to make little baby leggings out of old knit shirts. Works like a GEM! And they are cute!

So here we go! Find and old t-shirt or stretchy shirt of some kind. I have this old down east pink shirt that works.

Cut out a piece that works for your baby. You will just have to hold it up to your baby and rough out the measurements. You want to use the bottom of the shirt because it saves you a hem. :) You also want them to be snug so that they dont fall down.

When sewing on knit fabrics I always use this stitch, although you can use a zig zag if you dont have this one and it still works just fine.

I did these two ways this way is easiest, although if you want to do the side first and then hem the top it looks a little more finished. But its harder with the small sizes you are working with.

So... Hem the top first.

Then fold in half and sew up the side.

And here you go! I made these a little long because I like the scrunched up look. :)

Happy Stacker Ring Stacker

2009-08-19T13:27:00.001-07:00

So I LOVE Heather Bailey! I think she is cute and funky and has great ideas. I found a pattern for this Happy Stacker in a fabric store in Preston, UT. Which, by the way, if you live around there you HAVE to go there! They have the cutest unusual fabric. Anyway. I thought, wow... super cute! Easy project. WRONG!

Although it was fun and it is cute and I LOVE it! It was not the easiest project. There is hand sewing involved... which I Hate. And the rings are a little difficult. But! I did it and it is super cute! Addy loves it, although she doesnt really get the stacking part yet!

I have no idea where you can get her patterns, but i would try ETSY or go to her website and look up stores that carry her stuff. Have fun!

(If you make this... side note... I sewed a fabric covered piece of cardboard onto the bottom to keep the rings from falling straight off. She has the option in the pattern to use the last ring as the base, but I wanted to have more rings for her to stack.)

Apholstered Stools Tutorial

2009-08-18T08:09:00.001-07:00

So I was tooling some craft blogs and found this great idea! Although I added my own twist. We have these really plain stools for our bar. They were cheap and matched the cabinets. But not necessarily cute. Right? So Upholster them! Super easy.

You need a staple gun, scissors, fabric, plastic lining, and if you want (Which i do!) padding. I had all this stuff on hand except the plastic.

layer plastic, fabric, a layer of batting, padding, and your stool upside down. Here is the tricky part. You need to get the padding pressed down pretty tight. Here is where my five year old comes in handy. I had him stand in the middle of the stool. This did the job! :)

Now pull up the layers and staple. Do this all the way around and Viola!

Total cost! 1.29 for the plastic. (You can get this at any craft store. Even Wal Mart!)

I really like this! And since i have messy kids, the plastic makes them very cleanable! Perfect if you want your home to be beautiful but spill proof! When i do the third stool i will post more detailed pictures of the instructions. Good Luck!

Labels

2009-08-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

Sweet! I figured out how to get labels on my entries so you can search for specific stuff. Just look on the right side of the blog and you can link to what you are looking for.

Toy Box and Chore Chart

2009-08-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry Bloggers and Crafters! Its been a busy and fun summer so I havent had a lot of time for crafting. But I have gotten some stuff done. I entered some of my things into our local fair and got a first and two second place ribbons!

Well here are two great ideas I have had recently!

First up is this toy box. I got it at Joanns a while ago when we were doing foster care. It is a great box! But I am not really a fan of the fairies... so...

A little modge podge and some scrap book paper, and VIOLA! Super cute toy box for Addys room! It was really easy. I just finished the edges with ribbon. (again, modge podged.) Not the best picture of my baby, so you can check out my family blog to see how cute she really is!

Second, is Kadens chore chart. It was really simple and Kaden loved helping me make it. We decided to start to give him a small allowance because he loves money and we want to teach him about tithing and saving. So I came up with this. He has four chores he has to do every day except sunday. When he does the chore we move the magnet over for the day! He is really into it! He made the magnets (with adult supervision) and he decided what pictures we would use for each chore. I havent even had to tell him to make his bed! And he is so proud of himself. So an easy chart, made with things from my scrapbooking stash, and here you go! I would like to make more magnets later, but this was all I had in my stash. Total cost... nada! I had it all!

Headband Tutorial (how to make a baby headband)

2009-05-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

I am reposting this because i am finally getting around to posting the pictures for the step by step tutorial!

I love baby headbands! And they are sooo easy! Provided you have a sewing machine. :) SO here is a quick how-to for those of you who have been wanting to make some but weren't sure how to start. My absolute favorite... has turned out to be these lace headbands. AND, by coincidence, they are the easiest!

First, hit up a fabric store and find some stretchy lace. Ours is ALWAYS out of it... so i am guessing these are popular. All you need to do is measure out what you need. I recommend 13" for newborns. 15" for 3-6 months. And 17" for 6-9 months. However, if your baby has a larger or smaller head you might want to make adjustments. This is just a rough estimate. You want the headband to be snug. If it is too loose when they move their heads back and forth it will slip and end up off or over their eyes... :)

Now for the part that requires great skill and concentration! Pin the two ends together and sew, leaving about a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Ta-DA! You are done. Some people like to finish these off by encasing the raw edges in ribbon. I don't. But I am going to show you how to do it in my next headband... so just scroll down if you are into that.

I mostly use flowers in my little girls hair, so i love these headbands the best. You can just slip the flower clip right on to the lace and viola! If you are going to be using bows then you will probably need to do the ribbon encasement i talked about above.

OK! On to the nylon headband as pictured below! These are cute. Just not my absolute favorite.

And of course! I sell these if you cant or dont want to make them!
$2 for the lace and $3 for the nylon.

I usually get my nylon from Wal-Mart. They have these little round containers that hold a pair of knee-highs. They also come in the three colors I use most. White, brown and cream. So just pick up a pair. Next, cut the kneee high the appropriate length (see above measurements), making sure you cut the toe off.

Sew ends together, leaving 1/8" seam allowance.

Now you will want to encase what you just sewed in ribbon, so that the rough ends are not showing. These ends are a little messier and uglier. :) Take a peice of ribbon the appropriate color. You want it to be about 1 1/4 inch long and 3/8"wide.

Use a lighter to very lightly melt the ends of the ribbon to eliminate fraying.

Gather the headband together and pinch.

Use a dab of hot glue to secure one end of ribbon to the headband.

Wrap the rest of the ribbon around the nylon. Use a dab of hot glue to secure.

And you are done!

Happy headband making!

New Ballerina Bow and Clip Holders

2009-05-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

Made two new ballerinas this week! Both times the colors scared me a little... but i ended up LOVING them! This first one was a special order. And she had a GREAT idea. The center ribbon has slots for headbands! Just Slide them on in!

Polka Dotted

2009-05-18T14:38:00.001-07:00

My Favorite so far! These are high quality cotton lined with soft white cotton on the inside. Felt bottoms. And... new feature! Velcro closure!

Tiny Toes 2

2009-05-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

OK! I finally made some boy shoes! These are denim with felt bottoms. I lined them in this soft cotton plaid. The ones shown below are 0-3 months. Below are some white felt girl shoes.

Baby Wrap Carrier

2009-05-12T11:29:00.001-07:00

I have uploaded some pictures to show you how the baby wrap carrier works. I have tired several different baby slings and carriers. This... I CAN NOT live without! Keeps baby close and snuggled. It also distributes the weight through your hips, back and shoulders. Made of stretchy jersey knit fabric, this carrier is to die for!

Nursing Cover

2009-05-12T11:16:00.001-07:00

I made my nursing cover with adjustable D-Ring straps, stiff boning in the neck (So you can better see your little one), and birdseye cloth diapering in the bottom corner (forms a pocket) for a quick burp cloth, or a place to store an emergency binkys and breast pads.

I loved this when I was breastfeeding my daughter!

Tiny Toes

2009-05-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting some new shoes for Addy. But i really have NO desire to pay $12 for a pair of shoes for a baby. Or worse... i have seen some soft shoes similar to these for $28 at a baby store i went to this weekend. So i got looking and found a cute basic pattern for some felt shoes. After a trip to my fabric box i came up with some cute brown velour and pink ribbon... With some adjustments and embellishments... Viola!!! Fake baby Adidas. They looked cute without the tie. But Addy has a very unusual problem for a baby... one that Kaden never had. She has very skinny feet. So i needed a way to keep them on better. I thought about elastic in the back. But this seemed cuter!

Ballerina Bow Holder

2009-05-12T10:56:00.001-07:00

This little ballet dress is perfect for holding all our princesses bows and clips! I made this for my daughter and it has been invaluable! Simply clip the bows to the ribbons and create a fabulous ball gown.

Car Seat Cover

2009-05-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

Wipe Clutch

2009-05-12T10:18:00.000-07:00