Ear Bud Pouch

My kid needed earbuds this year for school, and I didn't want to just throw them in her backpack with everything else and have them get tangled or broken.  I went searching and found an adorable tutorial for a circle earbud pouch at Dog Under My Desk (link here).

I used fusible fleece inside, which I don't actually recommend because it was too thick to topstitch, but it's what I had around.

I made a Bapron!

I've made a few of them now, but I just loved these colors so I took a picture.  The bapron tutorial and pattern is available at here from Craftiness is Not Optional.

I just added a pocket (I like having them to catch crumbs) and I backed it with rip-stop nylon instead of flannel to give it some water resistance.  It fits well on my chubby 6 month old.  I bet it will fit for a while now as she starts to grow up more than out during the crawling age.

Nest Necklace

I saw these on Pinterest and I think they are so adorable.  These might be the perfect present that I've been looking for to give my sister-in-law and mother-in-law when they come to visit next month.The tutorial can be found on the Sarah Ortega Photography blog.

The best part is these pretty necklaces only take about 10 minutes to make.  I opted for leather strings instead of a silver chain because I like the natural look with the nests.  Which one is your favorite?

Fabric Roses

I saw a photo on pinterest and thought it was so cool, so I made one myself.  The idea comes from this tutorial on SnowyBliss.

They were very fun to make.  I chopped some small branches off my tree and found some in my yard after a huge hail storm we had recently.  Here's how it turned out.

I like the yellow ones best.  My husband likes the ones that match the bow around the basket.

I'm planning to make a matching table runner for my dining room soon and I'll put these on the table as a centerpiece.

Chenille Baby Blanket

I've been wanting to make a chenille baby blanket ever since I saw this tutorial, but

1) I don't have a little baby anymore, and
2) Sewing all those straight lines looks about as fun as playing leapfrog with a unicorn.

But I know someone that's having a baby girl soon and this will be a nice gift.  It turned out really cute.

I used basting spray to hold the fabric layers together while sewing.  It held the fabric beautifully, but the downside was that it really gummed up my new chenille cutting tool.  I love this tool, LOVE IT.  Cutting was so much easier with it, but I'll have to skip the basting spray next time.

Stuffed Owl

I saw this pattern online on the juicy bits blog back at Christmas time when I was looking for ornaments.  There's a printable pattern at the link.  I thought it would make a perfect tiny owl for a friend of mine's newborn.  It's the right size for tiny hands to hold.  It's only about 4 inches tall. 

I didn't have any ric rac in the right color, so I did a few decorative stitches instead.  I also embroidered the eyes on instead of using beads to make it safer for baby.  Very cute.  I just love owls.

Market Skirt

I found the cutest skirt tutorial on Dana Made It, and tried it out.

 

 I followed the Market Skirt Tutorial and it turned out great.  There are just a couple of things I changed.  Instead of gathering using the tension knob on your machine (my cheap-o machine can't do it) I used the embroidery floss method.  Use a wide zig zag stitch to sew over a piece of embroidery floss and then pull the floss to gather.

 And for the pockets, I changed a few things.  I cut out 4 of the pocket shapes (two for each pocket).  I sewed them together, leaving space to turn them right side out.  Then I turned them through the hole so all seams are hidden.  I don't have a serger, so I prefer to finish all the seams I can.  Then I put a piece of elastic inside near the top to make them gather.  I sewed a casing for the elastic, added a button, and sewed the pockets to the skirt.  I also made French seams and flat-felled seams inside the skirt to prevent fraying. And of course every skirt needs a matching hair accessory.

Baby Boy Outfit with Tie Applique

I love little tie appliques and I've seen a few online, but I couldn't find the exact shape I wanted.  I drew up this one, and you can use it too.  Here's the word file that includes a free tie applique pattern.  I attached it to the fabric with Steam A Seam II, and I zig zag stitched around the edge. 

The shoes are from a tutorial on michaelmillerfabrics.  When I sewed the elastic casing, instead of sewing it with the elastic already inside I threaded it through with a safety pin after sewing.  That's the only thing I changed.

The pants are from Made By Rae's free online pattern.

 I really love how the shoes turned out, but they were really a pain to sew.  There are some areas that are thick and hard to sew with interfacing and several layers of fabric.

Diaper Travel Pouch

I found the cutest tutorial on Noodle Head for a diaper pouch.  It can hold some travel wipes, a few diapers, and some diaper cream.

 

 The tutorial was really easy to follow and the whole thing took less than an hour.  I put a Target Up & Up diaper in there and one of my son's Sunbaby cloth diapers, just to see how it fits.  I think it's large enough to fit two Sunbaby diapers and a case of wipes.  It's perfect for the baby shower I'm going to next weekend.

Matching Easter Tie

It's not always as easy to find cute stuff to sew for boys, but I did find a great tie tutorial so my son's tie will match my daughter's Easter dress.  Yeah, yeah, I know the flowers might be a bit "girly," to quote my husband who is just glad I didn't also make him a matching tie, but I still think it'll be really cute.

I used the Little Boy's Tie tutorial on The Purl Bee.  I wasn't sure how long it needed to be, and after making it I realized it's about 6 inches too long for a toddler, so if you're making this for a toddler boy make sure to take 6 inches off the length of the skinnier end and it should be fine.

I made a few adjustments.  Instead of sew-in interfacing, I used the fusible kind since I had some around already.  I ironed it into place inside the tie before sewing the tie closed.  To make it safer for my 18-month-old boy, I made a cut where it will tie around the back of his neck, turned under the edges, and added Velcro, so he won't be strangled.  It's also a lot easier to tie it first and then put it on him with the Velcro than it is to get him to sit still while I tie it.

 

I'm so excited to have my kids be all matchy-matchy on Easter Sunday.

Easter Dress

I found a great tutorial for my daughter's Easter dress on Ucreate.

 

This was my first complicated piece of clothing, and this tutorial was a good one to start on.  It's fairly simple, no buttonholes, no fancy stuff, just a straight-forward dress.  I made the 5T size for my average sized almost 4-year-old daughter because I'd rather have it too big than too small.  It fits her just right and there's quite a bit of adjusting you can do with the button placement.

I changed just a few things- 

• The skirt hem is shorter (about 1 1/2 inches instead of 4-5) because I didn't have quite enough of the yellow accent fabric
• I used 3/4 inch buttons instead of larger fabric covered ones
• I did flat-felled seams instead of serged or zigzag seams inside the skirt.  It should make the skirt more durable and there won't be any fraying.
• I tacked the front of the sash to the dress just to keep it in place.

Also, check out the matching tie I made for my son.

Welcome Spring with Birds on a Branch

It's snowing outside right now, but spring should be right around the corner.  I found this idea on CraftyStylish, and I had to try it.  I have a bunch of birds and butterflies all around the house, so it fits right in.  It would make a great centerpiece for an Easter celebration.  It's sitting on my end table right now.  The nest is attached with a twisty tie, so I can take it off and have just the birds if I want to change it later.  The branch is sitting in a vase I made way back in High School.  I filled it up with beans that I had around, but you could also put this in a clear vase full of Easter candies and it would be really cute.

I had a hard time making the nest the way she did with yarn and glue, so I crocheted it instead.  I added a few Reeces candy eggs.

I'm glad I picked up these little birds at the after Christmas sales in Hobby Lobby.  They came in handy.  They are attached with wire so I can change their positions.

Freezer Paper Shirt Stencil

I followed this tutorial on the blog Just Another Day in Paradise to make a Chicks Dig Me T-Shirt.  I made it with a freezer paper stencil and Tulip Slick fabric paint.  I think the paint is supposed to be for a puff paint look, but it works well for this kind of design.  Since it's yellow on white, I also decided to paint in the words so they are easier to read.

I've made a couple of freezer paper stencil shirts before. 

Here's a flying pig that my daughter loved.  It was made with Tulip brand sparkle paint.

And here's a robot on a onesie for my son.

And a Trogdor shirt for my daughter.

Eco Friendly Mailing Envelope

I found this tutorial on Snickerdoodle for making your own recycled mailing envelopes, so for mailing my giveaway I made one.  I think it turned out cute (addresses are deleted in the photo).  The first try on fusing the plastic bags was a spectacular fail, but with a lower iron setting I got it to work on the 2nd try.

Car Roll Cozy

I've been looking for a better way to transport and store my son's Matchbox and Hotwheels cars and I found a really great tutorial.  I'm linking over to the tutorial on My Little Gems so you can make a Car Cozie too.

It rolls up nice and compact.  I think it will be easy to bring this to church, and hopefully it will entertain him enough during services so I can pay attention.

Travel Wetbag

I followed the tutorial on Lemon Squeezy Home for this travel wetbag.  It's great for storing a couple of cloth diapers or for soiled clothing or even swimsuits.  It's waterproof and washable.

Remember when I said I hated sewing PUL?  Well I still hate it.  I tried two different methods- baby powder and sewing over a plastic shopping bag, to keep the sticky side of the PUL from pulling in my machine.  I was only marginally successful.  Don't look too closely at the top stitching around the zipper because it's really really crooked.

This one is going to be a gift for my sister-in-law's baby girl.  

They cloth diaper too so I hope they will enjoy it.

I made another one for me because I liked the first one so much.

Valentines Day Wreath

I've seen a lot of baking cup or coffee filter decroations, and I thought a baking cup wreath would be perfect for Valentine's Day.

To make this wreath you will need:
-1 12-inch straw or Styrofoam wreath
-Red or pink ribbon-enough to cover the wreath
-100 cupcake papers in Valentine's colors
-Small wooden letters/shapes
-Pink acrylic craft paint
-hot glue gun
-breads, string, and a needle
-a paperclip

Wrap your ribbon around the wreath to cover all of the straw / styrofoam.  Then get out your cupcake baking cups.  Here are the cupcake baking cups I chose:  Cute huh?  I wish you could see the hearts in the wreath, but they're all covered.

Take the cups and fold them like this:

Then add a drop of hot glue on the end and start sticking them on your ribbon covered wreath.

Try to vary the direction of the cups as you go so you get nice even coverage.

Once you've covered it all, it's time for the beads and words.  I bought a variety bag of small wooden letters and shapes.  Pick out the word and hearts you want to use and paint the letters pink with your craft paint.  While they're drying, string your beads.  I used a piece of mono-filament string and sewed it onto the ribbon on the back of the wreath.  Then I strung the beads and attached the other end of the string with the needle.

 Flip your wreath over and, using hot glue, glue your word onto the beads.  I thought about using a piece of ribbon instead of a string of beads, but I like the look of beads better.  Then hot glue any wooden hearts you'd like to right onto your baking cups.

Lastly, I used a paperclip to make a loop to hang the wreath on my door.

Now hang up your pretty pretty wreath and admire it with your Valentine.

I'm linking up to Tatertots and Jello and Nesting Place.  They were my inspiration.

Tiered Skirt

 I saw a really cute tutorial for a tiered skirt on the Crap I've Made blog, so I tried it out.  I really like how it turned out and the tutorial was really easy to follow.

The only things that I changed were adding ric rac to the topstitching on the first tier and gathering a different way.  I hate trying to pull a bobbin thread to gather fabric.  It always breaks on me or is too tight in places.  I like this method better.

Cut a piece of embroidery floss that's long enough to go the entire length of the fabric you're gathering.  Then, using a large zigzag stitch, you sew it onto the fabric about 1/4 of an inch from the edge, being careful to not sew directly on the floss.  You want to trap it between the zigzags.  The floss fit perfectly into the gap on my machine's zigzag foot, so I didn't have to guide the floss at all.

After sewing the entire length, just pull on the embroidery floss to gather.  Once you sew the gathered fabric onto the next tier of the skirt, you can remove the string easily and you're done.

I decided to add a bow.