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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter Bunny treats

Life is definately CRAZY and CRAFTY this week!

Peighton has her dance recital this coming weekend, so that means:

Pictures
(which is a bit like herding cats.)

Dress rehearsals
(more herding cats)

And putting the short hair of a four year old into a bun
 (kind of like howling cats at this point.)

But I wanted to share a fun treat we made for Easter last weekend.

We put sugar cookie bunny ears onto a popsicle stick.
Then we made cupcakes and frosted them and stuck the cookie ears in and made an adorable bunny!
They were the hit of our Easter lunch on Saturday!

Peighton had a great time making them with me.



And they were quite yummy too!
The Peep things are nests with Peeps on top-those were quite wonderful as well.
You could say we had a crafty Easter around here.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Little Miss Giggles

Do you remember the "Little Miss" stories growing up?
I do.
And I still love them!
We've gotten a few of the books at Barnes and Noble-specifically Little Miss Naughty is our favorite...

I found a "Little Miss Giggles" adult sized shirt at a local thrift store and snatched it up!
I saw a dress for Peighton in it's future!

I love how it turned out!
So bright and fun and perfect for giggling!


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Yucky weather = A new bag!

Even though it's technically Spring, it sure doesn't seem like it!

Today's forecast:

Rain

Rain

And a little more RAIN.

Fabulous.

But that means I had time to finish a super cute bag!

Along with my roll of chalkboard fabric from this post there was also an adorable Amy Butler pattern tucked in there!

Quick sidenote....that chalkboard mat is going to come in very handy this afternoon when we can't be out drawing on the driveway!!!!


I seem to be loving large bags these days.
Maybe because I have to carry everyone's stuff. 
And I usually get handed MORE stuff when we are out and about.

Oh well...at least they are cute.

This one comes in two sizes....and I almost made the smaller one.
I was about to cut out the smaller size... and then remembered how I need a lot of room.
So, the bigger size won.


And look what happens when you reverse it:



It's like a whole new bag!!!!

Peighton told me she liked it so much she wanted
"One to match...only a little smaller Mommy."
Maybe she could carry some of her own stuff if it wasn't too small! ;-)


We're loving it.
Can't wait to try it out when we go on a picnic or to the park!


Monday, April 18, 2011

Chalk mat

We were in need of a quick birthday gift for a little friend of Peighton's.
I thought we were going to have a make a super quick Target run....but then I remembered...

 I had just gotten a package from HERE that contained a roll of chalkboard fabric!
Perfect birthday gift for a little 4 year old girl coming right up!



I didn't have time to take pictures of the process but I think I will-it was so easy and such a fun gift!
We wrapped it up and stuck in a box of chalk to get her started.
While I was at it I made Peighton one too.
We use it to practice letters while I am making dinner!

And I even found a really cute use for the small scraps of chalkbaord fabric that was left over!!!!
More on that later.



Thursday, April 14, 2011

Summer Sundress

We are always in need of dresses around here.

Why?

Because Princess Peighton will ONLY wear dresses and her mommy gets tired of seeing her in the same ones all the time!
And when I can whip one up in just a little time why not?
She loves to help pick out the colors and fabrics too so that makes it even more fun.

I saw THIS sweet summer sundress on You Can Make This (Love that site BTW!)

We thought it would make a great addition to our summer wardrobe!
I liked that it had no zippers, buttons, snaps, or any other type of closures too-that means it is quick to make and easy for little ones to get on and off by themselves.

Peighton helped me pick some fabrics out and she played Barbies while I threw this one together during Preston's morning nap!

It was super quick to put together.


And if you  notice, our dress is slightly different from the one pictured in the pattern.
That would be because my little designer-in-training rearranged the pieces of the dress and told me to do it that way!
HA!
Love her.
And I love that she has an opinion about it!

Great pattern-very geared toward beginning seamstresses.
I think the next one we make will be in knit.
We seem to love knit dresses around here!

And she also tells me that Nellie needs one (her American Girl).
Mommy will get right on that.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Why have I never made a pillowcase before???

Honestly.
Why have I not done this until now?

It was so easy.
And it's cute.
And took me about 15 minutes start to finish.

I ran into my Great Aunt in the fabric store.
She was buying a bunch of fabric to make new pillowcases in all sorts of fun prints.
Side note: A lot of my vintage patterns came from my Great Aunt! She's been sewing for a LONG time!

Anyway, I thought-I need to do that.  Like now.

So, today at nap time I went to my fabric closet.
I found a bunch of large scraps from the quilt and bedskirt I made for Peighton's room...I did her room TWO summers ago!
I knew I would find a use for them sometime so I saved them from lots of other projects and now I'm really glad I did!

It turned out to be a bit scrappy because none of my pieces were quite large enough but I like it that way.
Her quilt is very scrappy looking as well so it fits nicely.

There's no pillow in it yet because it's still nap time around here!


One side is a bit different from the other because I really was just using random scraps!
I didn't have enough of the big polka dots so I had to use some small ones too.



I was going to add some ruffles and rick rack and just general girlyness but then I thought she might not like to sleep on it so I left it a bit plain.
But it still turned out quite fabulous!



I think there may be a lot of cute pillowcases in my future!



Friday, April 8, 2011

She found a way to wear dresses 24/7...

We are off on another adventure in this crazy crafty life...but here's what we've been doing this week!
Enjoy!


I should have seen this one coming.

Peighton will only wear dresses.

Period.

Nothing else will do.

Occasionally I can persuade her to wear a pair of pants for certain things....but as soon as we get home she is off to her closet to find a dress.

Recently, she found some of my old nightgowns that my mom had saved from my childhood.

She LOVES them....but there are only two.

So, Peighton put in her request to "Make me some more."
I was pretty sure I could make that happen. ;-)

I came across THIS nightgown tutorial and it was perfect!
She made it in a size 4T and that's exactly what we needed.

It's super easy and quick to sew.
I used up some random princess knit for my first try on this one.

I love the ruffles on the sleeves.
I had to add a bit of pink to the bottom because I didn't have quite enough of the princess fabric.


It's cute....but the next one will be better.
Maybe a bit more like my "vintage" ones that are getting worn to death.
They are really cute-I should have taken a picture of those for this post!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Baby crib toy



The inspiration for this came from my favorite magazine, Stitch.  I liked the idea, but the one they made was quite girly, a flower, lady bug, etc. I thought I could boy it up a bit for Preston!  He is the kind of baby who likes to talk to himself, touch things, chew on his hands etc to put himself to sleep so I thought this was the perfect thing for him!

I made this entirely out of my scrap box.  I wish I had more of the fabric I did his bedding in though because it could have matched that! 

It really didn't take a lot of fabric.

Supplies:
large and small scraps of fabric
ribbon scraps

I started out by cutting 3 rectangles of fabric. Mine were 9" x 7".  I used some flannel and some quilting cotton to cary the textures.
I also cut 6 straps 10" x 3 1/2".

Then I used templates for my shapes from Homemade By Jill. I had used the elephant and the alligator before to make little tag animals and thought they would be the perfect size for this too!  She also had a car I used.  There was also a barn on there that I thought could be super cute, but I am going to use that for a different project!

So, I cut my shapes, and embellished them just a bit.  The elephants ear has some crinkly plastic in it, as well as a ribbon tail, the alligators feet are ribbon and the car's wheels are a different fabric than the car.  I used minky for the alligator too.  I tried to use different colors, textures, shapes and tags wherever possible.
See my picture below.
Had this not been for a baby I would have gone crazy with the embellishments but I didn't want a choking hazard!
Once I had all my shapes ready I stitched them down with a zig zag stitch.  I added a black ribbon "road" under the car too.


I stitched my blocks together, then pressed the seams. 


Next, I cut a piece for the back-I had a big chunk of yellow so that's what I used, love my scrap box!
I used my front piece laid on top of the yellow fabric to make the right size for the back.

I also sewed together my ties.  I ironed 1/2" along each of the long sides, then folded them in half and stitched down the open side.

Next, I put my ties in place.  A pair on each outer corner and one in the center. (See picture below).
I also added some more ribbon tags to the bottom of it.  Just one more  place to put a few fun textures for the baby!

Then, I put right sides together and pinned along the outer edge all the way around.
I stitched around the outer edge, leaving an opening for turning.


Then I turned it right side out, pressed it and topstitched the opening closed.

I love the way it turned out and the fact that it's not quite so girly as the one I originally saw!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

July Bag

I think I am really looking forward to Spring.

I seem to have made another bag that is super springy.

I saw THIS adorable bag pattern and just couldn't help but click "BUY."

It screams WARMER WEATHER, don't you think?

Here is how mine turned out:


It is a great size for a summer bag.
Lots of room for beach or picnic things.
I did a different type of flower on the pocket-I just didn't really care for the one that was included in the pattern.


I ADORE the braided handles and the little squares that attach them!


The inside of mine is a bight pink paisley with a few big pockets.

I do like this bag....now that it's done.
But I don't think I will ever be sewing with burlap again!!!
It was super scratchy and made me itch the whole time I was working with it.
You can't cut your piece out of the actual burlap because it won't hold it's shape.
So, that means you have to cut your pieces out of canvas, sew the canvas to a chunk of burlap, then cut around the canvas and THEN you can begin sewing it. 
Too many steps for me!!!!!

I do really like the shape and style of this bag.
If I make it again I will use some regular fabric and I know it'll be just as cute!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Teardrop bag

Oh Amy Butler Style Stitches....You had me at hello!

There are just such pretty pictures in this book.
I cannot stay away from it.

I am about to make some adorable "Mommy and Me" bags and I think I found the perfect one in this book.
There are two versions of "The Teardrop bag.'
One big.
One small.
Perfect.
I decided to try out the pattern today in some random fabrics and make sure I like the bag.
I made the bigger version and it turned out really cute.
I like the pleat in the middle and the unique shape of the bag.
Super cute.

I do like the bag but I think the handle is just too long for me.
Definately shortening it next time-great reason to try out a pattern before making the "real" thing!
I also left out some details on the sides.

This is a picture from here .
You can see there are extensions on the sides of the bag.

I did not like this at all from the pictures in the book.
Kind of reminded me of a saddle bag or something.
Like it should have been used on a horse.
Totally not for me.
So, I left it off.

And I like it much better.


So, I have a few changes to make.

Oh and I have to go fabric shopping too!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Skirt from STITCH

I think I've mentioned before how much I adore Stitch Magazine.

So many new and exciting projects in each issue.
Home Decor, clothing, kids stuff, baby stuff.
There is a project for everyone in there!

And I often find all kinds of other useful stuff too.

This skirt caught my eye immediately.
It's very "me."
I love skirts in the summertime.
So easy to wear and they make just about anybody look cute.

This one just looked fun and a bit different from all the others in my closet.
I did hesitate just a bit after I read the directions...it has a zipper....and I do not heart zippers.
But I decided to give it a try....again.
I've failed at many zippers over my short sewing career.

However....I may have turned a corner with my zipper installation.
This one turned out GREAT!
I really couldn't believe it.


The skirt is pretty cute too! ;-)