Merry Christmas!

 

The super cute half dozen and I wanted to take a second to wish you a Merry Christmas!  I truly hope you all have a happy holiday filled with family, friends, chocolate, lots and lots of eggnog, and light traffic with dry roads.

See you next week!

Old school

I’m 98% done with Christmas this year and have been for a month.  Don’t you just want to hit me now?  It feels sooo good but there are a few things left I really want to make.  Just a few small crafty things for special people on my list.  I can’t do all store bought or my soul will shrivel and die.   In case I don’t get them done I scrounged up a list of things from Etsy that are along the same lines as one  of the gifts on my list to make.

 

Pictures are linked to their item listings.  I don’t know these sellers or stores so I can’t recommend them, I picked items I liked and linked away willy nilly.  Enjoy!

I would show off my other gift idea but the other person reads my blog and will know it’s for them.   Dang you caring family members who listen to what I have to say twice!  It’s going to be so fun to make and I can’t wait to gift it, but first I have to get started.  I’m really bad at keeping presents a secret so I have to leave one clue or I’ll explode… it involves wood but not really.  I feel better now.

We’re off to take the kids to see Tangled.  All of 6 of them.  It will be Kennedy’s first theatre experience and I’m a little scared.  She loves movies and loves “Plincesses” but I’m not expecting much since she is 2.  Should be interesting…

Have a fantastic Friday and fun weekend!

Fake it till you make it

Sorry it’s been a while since my last post.  Jake and I are trying to work out a couple issues and my days are over before I even start them.  Newborns kind of put a damper on craft stuff.  Not that I’m complaining, there’s no where I need to be or want to be more right now that parked in a rocking chair every waking second with this handsome little man…

 

And his cheater quilt I made to bring him home in.  I love that it looks like a 100% handmade patchwork baby quilt- but it’s not.  I bought the patchwork fabric already patched by the yard.  Ingenious stuff.  Thank you Grandma’s Attic!

 

   

I added a bit of cotton batting and threw on some awesome grey Swiss dot fabric for backing.  I even quilted it a little.  I freehanded swirls in each corner of the patchwork to keep the sandwich together.  See, I quilted sort of.   

 

 

I have a couple other quilts and projects ready to make for the little tyke but for right now it’s boxed dinners and cheater quilts. 

I was going to look like super mom and wow the masses with all my tutorials, features, and scheduled posts I saved and stockpiled to share with you while I was occupied with mini me but the pre-baby computer crash put the kybosh to my master plan.  Here’s the revised post computer death plan.  If I put off my hygiene and bathroom breaks for another day I might be able to crank out a stocking stuffer idea or two to share soon.  Just keeping it real folks, because I have to now  ;).

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

I'm 7 lbs lighter...

7 lbs 12 oz. lighter give or take a couple other pounds. Jacob Asher was born at 3:32 in the morning on Monday the 15th. He has quite a bit of brown hair and the prettiest dark blue eyes. He's 20 3/4" of laid back sweet boy. Everyone is completely in love with him, especially his older brother who checks on him every 2 seconds and doesn't want to leave the house now.

I hear some squeaks so I'm off to go snuggle and ooh and ahh some more.

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

It finally happened. My home computer kicked the bucket Friday. It's no more. We backed up our system a couple months ago so I still have most of my pictures from August back but everything else (Halloween, projects, videos) are gone. It gave us some warning this spring with all the problems it was having so we did back it up. I'm choosing to look at the glass half full even though I've lost a lot of hard work and a bunch of stuff I had lined up. At least it died before the baby came so I don't have to cry over lost newborn pictures.

I'm off to mourn the loss and hope these contractions pick up. You might have to put up with chubby baby pictures instead of projects for the next week though... sigh.

Oh happy day!

Random.org has picked the winner for the giveaway!  Even if it’s not your lucky day today there’s still a great deal to be had and you can check it out here.

I have got to get off here and jump in the shower, just gave Jim a haircut and I’m itchy as all get out.  Couldn’t have him and his sasquatch hair roaming the neighborhood anymore.  Another 1/4” of growth and he would have been snatched up by the game officials and put back in his natural habitat.

Have a fantastic Thursday!

Don’t forget!

I almost forgot, today is the last day to enter the Giveaway for the Silhouette accessories bundle!  You have until Midnight tonight to enter so go here if you haven’t already.  Remember you don’t have to have a cutter to use it so it’s a great giveaway for everyone.

Good luck!

Nursing Pillow Woes

I’ve been meaning to make a nursing pillow for the last 5 months but just couldn’t commit.  I don’t usually nurse but really want to this time so spending $$ on one seems dumb when I have a ton of fabric just staring at me and the pillow might not see more than a month of use. The problem with making one is that I have a small chest and a long torso.  By the time I put a normal nursing pillow on and hold the baby he’s all the way down there and the food is all the way up here, so it’s just another big bulky thing around my waist.  As if I need more dead weight waist level postpartum and that’s the only kind I know how to make.  I’ve seen a few other alternatives but without trying them out on the spot I can’t be sure they work, and I’m pretty sure no one wants me opening packages in the middle of the isle of the store and giving them a test drive right then and there. Then it hit me- I don’t have time anymore to try to figure it out. 

I told my sister I needed to make one still and she got right with it and just got me one.  No messing around with her.  I have one now and can modify it if I need to when the baby gets here.  It’s a lot less pressure to make do and fix what you have than to start from scratch with no ideas and commitment issues!  I wanted it to look like I did something for myself so I made my pillow an extra cover last night.

 

 Trying to conserve fabric I cut it out facing the wrong way on accident.  Pretend I’m not an idiot and paid attention to the direction of the fabric before cutting- duh!

I’m still bound and determined to find a solution for those of us that don’t have anything to brag about on the top half and don’t want to sell our firstborn for a possible solution.  I’ll get around to that after baby gets here and I know how high I have to jack the little guy up ;).

 

Have a great Wednesday!  Off to churn out more baby stuff I probably don’t need but want anyway.

Tutorial- Embellished Burp Cloths

My most favorite thing to make for upcoming new babies are burp cloths. Really. It’s because they’re so fast to make, way cuter than the store bought versions, and I pull them out every time I burp my baby so they get maximum exposure. Literally, I go through a couple a day. Having tried a million different burp cloths made from every material under the sun and in every shape you can think of in the last 11 years these are what work best for me and my little spitters- a 9” x 17” knit 3 layered burp cloth made cute with a fabric panel or patch on the bottom front.

-Here’s how to make your own-

For a burp cloth with fabric along the bottom front you’ll need-

1 rectangle flannel 1o” x 18”

1 rectangle soft knit (cotton interlock or jersey- not ribbed) 10” x 18”

1 rectangle soft knit 10” x 13.5”

1 rectangle 10” x 5.5” of your favorite fabric print.

To make a solid white burp cloth with a patch at the bottom cut 1 layer flannel and 2 knit rectangles 10”x 18” and skip the fabric print.

First lay your fabric print right sides together on top of your 13.5” long piece of knit along the bottom edge and sew along the bottom using 1/2” seam. Press flat so it’s now your front piece that measures 10” x 18” like the other pieces.

If you want it embellished now’s the time to make it pretty before you move on. Add ribbon, ric rac, patches… whatever makes your heart pitter patter. If you’re making a solid burp cloth and want a patch on the front here’s where you add your patch to the right side of one of your knit pieces.

Continue… (said in a French accent).

Lay your pieces out so your flannel layer is on the very bottom, your solid knit piece is right side up on top the flannel, and your knit and fabric front piece is facing down on the very top like so.

Sew around the outside edge using 1/2” seam leaving a hole at the top about 3” wide for turning. Turn your fabrics right side out between the 2 knit layers so the flannel layer is on the inside.

Tuck the edge of your 3” gap towards the inside and pin. I didn’t pin mine so pretend I’m a pro and pin my stuff like I should. Do what I say, not what I do ;).

Sew around the outside edge of your burp cloth. I used my presser foot edge as a guide. When you get to your gap just sew along the edge and it will close it up for you as long as your seam along the outside is less than 1/2”.

That’s it!

Here’s a close up of the patch and reverse appliqué I did. Of course I had to use my new Silhouette heat transfer material, it’s too fun not to apply it everything I own. I used the yellow for the star and the white to make my own diamond patterned fabric for the number 1, to add stripes to the blue ribbon, and to write “little” on the green ribbon.

Here’s how you add the transfer to ribbon. I used grosgrain, satin, and twill with perfect results. You just cut out the design you want and the clear backing is a little tacky so it sticks to your ribbon making it really easy not to shift your design and screw it up.

Throw a pressing cloth over your ribbon and transfer and heat with your iron on the cotton setting (no steam) for 60 seconds or so. Great way to put whatever you want on ribbon without shelling out the big bucks for customized stuff.

If you want to get some heat transfer and other great stuff to try for yourself don’t forget to enter the giveaway here!

Have a fantastic Monday. I’m off to make more baby stuff. Not much time left!

Making new friends

We’re so hard up for friends out here in the sticks that my kids have resorted to playing with rocks. Rocks make the best toys. If you lose it you can always get another in 2 seconds and it’s really really hard to break them, not to mention they’re cheap ;). I figure if the kids are going to collect them and try to bring them into the house I should at least make them presentable.

All you need are a handful of clean rocks spray painted white and temporary tattoo paper. Yep, I tattooed rocks! I really stink at painting so the tattoo paper served as a decal which is perfect for the painting challenged like me. It’s a great easy craft to do with the kids and you can make them into whatever you want.

From this-

To this-

Each rock only took a few seconds to do. You just print any image you want- I chose some from my silhouette software because they are stinking adorable but any image you want to print will work, follow the directions for adhering them, cut them out with scissors, and then apply your new friend. I’m not sure how long they’ll last but that’s kind of the fun of it. When the tattoo wears off we’ll add a different image! I’m sure you could try to seal them if you really wanted them to last longer.

I don’t know what’s more fun- tattooing the rocks or telling everyone “I’m tattooing rocks today, what are you doing?”.

If you want to find out more about the tattoo paper and even win some for yourself go here!

Have a fantastic Friday!

Giveaway Day: Silhouette Accessories Bundle!

I promised you last week that I had an exciting giveaway to share and today is the day! I love giveaway days. I’ve had so much fun and really want one of you to have just as much fun as I have so go check it out.

If you love making stuff, I assume that’s why you’re here ;), or want to try your hand at it you won’t want to miss this.

~Read more about it and enter the Giveaway here~

A day on the streets

One of my favorite traditions here is the elementary school costume parade.  It’s so fun to watch all the classes line up and walk down Main St. dressed up and strutting their stuff.

   

These little girls didn’t really care about the kids or the costumes, they were just waiting for it to get over so we could walk around some more.  Walking is a luxury my hips can’t afford right now.  They weren’t too happy about that, but suckers help.

I gave in and bought the kids’ costumes and recycled a few of them.  I know it’s blasphemy especially since I also bought stuff to make their costumes this year but I just didn’t have it in me to actually pull them together.  What I do have in me is a big chubby baby that’s due any day now so I’m using that as an excuse.  All that orange stuff I posted a few days ago… next year my friends.  Next year I’ll have six handmade costumes to show off and no excuses!

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I’ll tell you what else I have, a bunch of stuff lined up! Finished stuff so no excuses ;).   I have all kinds of things to share over the next little bit and a giveaway that you won’t want to miss.  Yep, I said giveaway! It’s been a while since my last one.  I can’t wait… great stuff, so don’t forget to come back next week for new stuff!

See you soon and have a Happy Halloween.

High society or just high waisted?

What a weekend! My sister in law and brand new brother in law are wed and it was awesome. Not the 12 hours of driving or trying to get comfortable in a hotel bed that doesn’t have trenches worn into it though, but nothing a little cookie dough ice cream didn’t fix.

There are 12 nieces in the immediate family so to spare any little one from having a melt down by not being chosen as the flower girl we all made our girls dresses or skirts in her wedding colors so they all felt like they were flower girls. They turned out amazing. I have really talented sister in laws that I’ll have to brag about another day since I don’t have a picture to show you. Cody was kind enough to take pictures for me while I became a part of a marble bench for a few hours so all I have is this little gem.

Her colors were gray and orange, loved it by the way, so I decided to make Very Biased Skirts from No Big Dill. They were already gray so my pregnant brain didn’t have to think and exactly what I would wear myself if I could. I made her matching headbands to. Kennedy’s (or Frankenstein?) skirt is twisted but you can kind of see how it bustled in the back. Way cute.

What’s not so cute is Jeremy’s grandpa pants!?! Where did that high waist come from? I guess he felt left out since the skirts were kind of high. Or he was taking Kennedy’s lead from the hotel room-

It’s normally mom’s job to take the pictures and pull up the tights… this is why ;).

I still have costumes to start and Cody is gone all week so I have to get off here and get sewing. Have a fantastic Tuesday!

My mother’s curse

My mom always told each one of us that she hoped we had a child just like us some day.  Usually on those days that we were being 16 and snotty.  To be honest I always thought I really would have a child just like me.  I pictured my first son to be Cody’s clone and my first daughter to have really dark half curly hair and brown eyes. To be a little sarcastic and o.c.d and to have a really stubborn streak.  Of course she would love to draw and sew and ooh and ah over everything miniature ever made.

Each and every one of my kids has a trait from each of us but I was shocked to find out that not a single one would be a clone of either of us or that they would be so balanced.  I was shocked to see that they wouldn’t like all the things we like.  Sounds dumb to admit it now but they really are their own little persons.  When Ashlyn came out blue eyed and blond and completely calm I wondered who’s baby they gave me. 

Mine.

I caught her showing Mary her “sketch” book while they were supposed to be cleaning their room and telling her she wanted a sewing machine from Santa this year.  I thought it was a diary and I had no idea she even cared about sewing.  She’s never shown an extended interest in anything really.  She likes nail polish and hoarding and tomorrow she’ll like grilled cheese and sparkles.  I thought.  Be still my motherly heart.  Are those dress designs?

 

By golly they are!  I asked her if I could see them and she said she’s been working on them for a few months.  I almost teared up.

So of course I did what any good mother would do and bought this the second I found out.  Santa is a little excited.  Okay Santa is REALLY excited.

We’ll see how long it lasts but at least I know I didn’t push her to like what I like and we’re gonna have a ton of fun while the sewing bug has bitten.  I hope it’s a big bug ;).

Have a fantastic week, I won’t be back on until Monday.   One of Cody’s adorable sisters is getting married this weekend and I have to find my fanciest pregnancy tent and finish sewing up a few loose ends for the weekend.  See you Monday!

Making

I make more than skirts and people sometimes.  Today I’m working on a little of this- I can’t wait to show you what’s going to become of the cupcake liners and orange sheer fabric.   Holy smokes it’s going to be cute!  Unless it’s not and then I’ll never tell and hopefully you’ll forget I was going to show you ;).

 

I’ve also been working on some of these for gifts-

Baby towels in boy fabrics this time.  I’m starting to get a little baby hungry.

 

And a little of what I should be doing right now but I don’t want to-

A bigger project than I want to tackle today that has to be finished by next week.  It’s turning out pretty darn cute though so I’ll pick it back up tomorrow.  Or maybe Thursday.  I’ll definitely pick it back up by Saturday… maybe.  

I have about 12 dozen more things sketched up and ready to be made.  If there were only 48 hours in a day.  Then I could watch 24 more hours of t.v. and talk about all the projects I still have to finish ;).

What are you working on this week?

Trapeze skirt how-to

I get really bored really easily so I wanted to make something that was quick, easy, and wearable using my serger one Saturday night. One can only have so many napkins and receiving blankets so I decided to branch out. I wanted a knit skirt that didn’t require a pattern and could be made in under 1/2 hour. I mashed a few tips together and did my own thing and came up with this-

I made this baby in under 1/2 hour and that includes looking in my manual to figure out how to do a stinking rolled hem.

You don’t have to have a serger to make this (but use one if you have it). If you use your sewing machine just use a stretch stitch or a zig zag. *Make sure your fabric has some stretch to it. Mine doesn’t have a ton but enough that Ash could slip it over her hips without ripping out the stitching.*

~Here we go~

Making the waist band.

1. Measure your waist (or your child’s waist) and cut a strip of fabric your exact waist measurement long x 6” wide. For an adult I would make it 8” wide. Ashlyn’s waist measured 23 1/2 so I cut a strip 23 1/2” x 6”.

You want your skirt to stay up so don’t add a seam allowance. That’s what the stretch is for.

2. With right sides together serge or sew the short edges together, making a tube. Fold the tube towards the outside so the wrong sides are together and the raw edges meet together at the bottom. Set aside.

Making the skirt

1. I wanted the shortest side of the skirt to be no shorter than knee length so I measured Ashlyn from waist to knee and got 18”. Measure from your waist down to where ever you are comfortable with the shortest side falling, this is your length measurement. Take your length measurement and double it. Cut your fabric into a square the doubled measurement. My fabric cut was 36” square.

2. Mark the exact center of your square. Measure across your sewn waistband. Mine was 11” across after serging. Take 1” off that measurement, so that makes mine 10”. Center that measurement on the middle of your mark with a tape measure or ruler. I placed the 5” mark right on the dot and marked the ends and drew a line from 0” to 10”.

3. Cut your line making a slit in the square. Not a big gaping hole, a slit!

Finish line

1. Grab your waistband and slip it inside the slit with right sides together, matching the raw edges of your waistband to the raw edge of the slit in your skirt and pin all around.

2. Sew around the inside.

3. The hem- you can leave it raw, do a rolled hem, zig zag, or fold up the bottom edge and sew. I did a rolled edge on the serger and it made it kind of lettuce. I didn’t mean to do that but it still looks cute. Here’s what it looks like laying flat.

Ashlyn likes to hang her skirts on the floor.

That’s it! One rectangle, one square, one slit. You’re done! You’re welcome ;).

Have a fantastic Thursday and show me if you make some. mailto:some-dontlickthefloor@hotmail.com

Fun with Gum tutorial

Before I forget to bring it over here and in case you missed it I thought I should throw up the tutorial I did for Mique’s Funner in the Summer guest post in July. I think it would be a fun idea to make for the holidays coming up. A spider bag or a fun Christmas stocking shape would be so cute. Enjoy!

I have a craft drawer filled with kids craft stuff that they know they can use whenever they’d like but when that doesn’t work I like to get them reading a book. One fun way to help encourage them to read is with this little poem bookmark, a bag full of gumballs, and a new book. It works like a charm and it’s a great way to keep them reading over the summer.

 

To make your own treat bags and bookmarks just save the bookmark image and print it out and gather a few supplies.

 

For the treat bags you’ll need-
6” x 7” piece of fabric
2 1/2” x 2” piece of clear vinyl (look for small rolls in the remnant bin).
16” piece of ribbon
Tape

 

 

 

 

.

First fold and press the top edge of your fabric down 1/4” and then again 3/4”. If you don’t have a non-stick foot for your machine put a piece of tape on your presser foot and cut out any holes for the thread to go through. Tape your vinyl window to the wrong side of your fabric on the bottom left.

Sew around your vinyl trying not to catch your tape. Flip your fabric to the right side and snip out just the fabric square from inside your sewing lines being careful not to cut the vinyl underneath. You don’t need the tape anymore so you can take that off.

Fold your bag in half right sides together matching fold lines at the top and stitch along the bottom and side edge.

Turn your bag right side out. With the inside seam open fold the top edge towards the inside 1/4” and then 3/4” making a casing for your ribbon to go.

Sew around the edge of your casing on the inside of the bag as close to the edge as you can, completely closed.

Stretch the seam on the outside top open a little and clip 3 or 4 stitches.

Thread your ribbon through the hole with a safety pin and tie in a cute bow or knot the ends together and ta da! Now you have a cute little bag to fill with gumballs and tie on to your favorite book.

Have a fantastic Wednesday!