Holly's Room

I have this dear friend who is having a sweet baby girl due next month.  She picked out the Penelope crib set from Pottery Barn for the theme and my mom and I couldn't help but ask, "Can we help you decorate the room?"  She couldn't wait to get started!  Yay!  So, I found this sweet little bird pattern on spoolsewing.com, printed it out, and RAN to Joann's to get started.  I let my friend come, too.  We picked out green and white polka dot, yellow and white stripe, light pink with bright pink and green dots, and pink madras fabrics.  We also picked up every variation they had of the little bird houses that were $1 each.  I cut out three birds from each fabric and had plenty left over.  I sewed up the little birdies, mixing the fabrics for four of the birds and matching the fabrics for eight of the birds. 

A couple of hints:  Pin!  Like a ton!  I pinned the bottom to the top sides at the same time and sewed starting at one end of the tail, going up to the point, and then back down to the other end of the tail.  Then, I cut the threads and pinned the head part together.  I started sewing from the point at the top of the bottom pieces, and sewed up to the point at the beak, pulled the thread and cut it.  Then, I started a new line at the same point.  That way, I could hold on to the threads as I started my seam and the tiny little beak didn't get eaten inside my sewing machine.  I sewed up and around to the fold, backstitched and cut.  The pattern doesn't say anything about clipping curves and corners, but I did and it helped the bird fill out much better.  Also, be sure to poke out the beak when turning it right side out. 

We stuffed the birds, using chopsticks and stir sticks.  We hand sewed buttons on the birds for eyes and then I sewed along the curve of the tail to stitch them shut, about 1/4 away from the end.  I did this on my machine to save time.  Then, we pulled the threads of the fabric to create a frayed tail feather look.  I experimented with folding in the tail and sewing, but it never lied flat.  I liked the frayed look much better.

Next, we had nine bird houses to paint.  We did them all in colors from the bed set plus a little lavender.  We put dots on some, stripes on others, vines on one, butterfly stickers on another, and had an overall fabulous time making a mess and laughing at each other's ability, or inability, to paint.

Then, we moved on to the flowers.  We were going to make pom pom flowers, but decided that we wanted something more delicate.  We found this flower tute with tiny little bubble flowers and got to cuttin' and wrapping.  We didn't have a Styrofoam ball, so we used a bouncy ball.  When twisting the ends of the tissue paper around the ball, start twisting at the end, not closest to the ball and twist slow or the tissue will rip.  We also put a few of the petals inside each other and hot glued them together to look like blossoms.

My mom's awesome friend, Lori, decluttered the forest in her backyard to supply us with the most amazing branches.  We sprayed them with bleach and dish soap and water to kill any creepy crawlies that might have still been lingering. 

Are you bored, yet?  No, excellent!  Let's keep going.  While at Joann's, I found an adorable little clothes hook with birdies on it, but it was missing a hook.  It was originally $20, on clearance for $8, but because it was missing a hook, I got it for $4!  My mom painted a little wooden flower embellishment white, pink, and green and we hot-glued it over the hole.  Done!

Lastly, while on a trip to the Goodwill (I love finding steals in there), we found a picture frame/memory board made by Hallmark for $9.98.  It was all dinged up and scratched in a few places and two of the buttons on the memory board portion were missing, so we convinced them to give it to us for $1.98.  We dismantled it, pulled the rest of the buttons out, and threw away the ribbon.  My mom took it outside and smacked it with a hammer, gauged it in a few places, and then I sanded some edges and the front in a few places.  Then, my mom rubbed some pink paint over the frame and then wiped it off.  Very shabby chic!  I replaced the old ribbon with some new bright pink and green striped ribbon.  I used some of the leftover fabric to create new fabric-covered buttons.  I marked new holes and punched through the mdf.  I looped some thread from the back of the MDF through the front, through the button hole, and through the MDF to the back again.  Because of the big hole, I couldn't tied my thread tight and make a small knot.  So, I pulled the thread tight and used packing tape to secure the threads on each side of the hole.  It worked great.  We reassembled the frame and it looked amazing.

Yesterday was the big decorating day, at last!  We decided we hated the current lampshade and I figured out a way to redo it.  We cut the linen off of the metal hoops on the top and bottom and pulled it off of the plastic lining that was on the inside of the lamp.  I took the last of the fabric scraps, cut it into 8 pieces and hot-glued them to the plastic liner, leaving a good-sized amount of overlap on the top and bottom of the liner.  Then, I hot-glued the small metal hoop to the inside rim of the liner.  I put a line of glue along the fabric about 1/2 inch above the rim.  I pulled the fabric taut and over the rim.  I pushed it against the liner until it cooled.  I continued with each piece of fabric all the way around the rim.  Then I trimmed off the excess fabric.  I did the same thing with the bottom rim.  The back wasn't pretty, but hey, it's the back.  We placed it on the birdhouse lamp base and voila! 

My dad (thanks Dad!) attached some beautiful branches to the wall in the corner with nails and wire.  We used hot glue to attach the flowers and stuffed birds to the tree branches.  We hung a few birdhouses and added some sweet touches to the hutch and shelf.  We hung up the frame/memory board, the little rack, a beautiful mirror, and a cute shelf in a collage.  We were done!  The room looks amazing!  Here are the pics for your viewing pleasure, but they just don't do the room justice.  Sometimes, pictures can't capture the real beauty of things.  Anyway, enjoy!

Bottom Line:

• fabric for birds, lampshade, and buttons-$6 at JoAnn Fabric with coupons
• wooden birdhouses-$1 each x 9=$9 at JoAnn Fabric
• button covers-$2.50 at JoAnn Fabric with coupon
• frame/memory board-$2 at Goodwill
• Birdie hook-$4 at JoAnn Fabric (60% off, plus 50% off that for damage)
•  Tissue paper-$5 at Target

 Grand Total=less than $30 for an

entire room makeover!

Bug's Swim Robe-Aarrgghh!

So, I fell in love with Dana's newest pattern-the beach robe and couldn't wait to get started on one for bug.  Target was having a sale on their towels (oh darn), so I bought two; one for now and one for later.  The color I fell in love with was this bright fiery orangish-red that I thought would look fabulous with the pirate fabric I used to make his wipes case.

I brought it home, cut it up and got to work.  Turns out that I suck at pattern placement because I didn't have enough for the tie.  Luckily, I had some white terry cloth left from some burp cloths I had made and used that.  I loved Dana's pic of the robe with the striped seersucker tie and thought that to add a little more color and flair (No, the bright flaming orange was NOT enough color or flair), I could use the pirate fabric on the tie, as well.  I cut two strips 27 1/2 inches long each, then sewed them together at the ends, right sides facing with a 1/4 inch seam, making my total length 54 inches.  I did the same thing with the white terry.  I pinned my terry strip and my fabric strip together, wrong sides facing, down the middle just to keep the two together while I pinned and sewed on the bias tape.  By the way, if anyone out there knows how to nicely sew bias tape around corners, I would greatly appreciate the advice!  I was going to make it long-sleeved, until of course I realized how very little towel I had left to work with and opted to go with short sleeves.  However, I liked the idea of the sleeves still being cuffed.  So, I drew a line one inch below the large-sized robe's short-sleeved line (That makes sense, right?), even though bug's robe is a medium and cut there.  Then I thought, why stop with a fabric lined hood and tie?  Why not line the cuffs with it, too?  And so, I did.  That was a whole lot of trial and error?  Why, you ask? I'm not sure, either.  I originally cut the sleeve fabric by measuring 2 1/2 inches up from the bottom of the sleeve pattern, drawing a straight line there and cutting.  But, and you'll love this, I cut the fabric so that it was right side up.  That's right, right?  Um, no!  Once you roll the cuff up, the fabric would be upside down!  Okay, take two!  Put the sleeve pattern on the fabric so that the fabric is upside down.  Great!  Ah crap!  If only I had remembered that it was supposed to be cut on the fold.  Take three!  Success!  Now, I took one fabric sleeve piece and pinned it right side out to the wrong side of the terry sleeve, lining up the bottom raw edges.  Before I pinned the top fabric edge, I folded it over about 3/8, so the raw top edge of the fabric would be sewn under.  I sewed straight across the bottom and straight across the top of the fabric, using a 3/8 in seam allowance on the bottom, as Dana's pattern calls for, and 1/4 in seam allowance on the top, catching the raw edge, sort of like hemming.  I knew the bottom seam would be encased in bias, so I didn't zigzag stitch it.  Then, I sewed the first sleeve on and it looked awesome.  I folded up the cuff to make sure I had figured correctly (maybe I should have done that before attaching to the robe? Nah!) and was relieved to discover I had.  Yay me!  Now, where did the other sleeve go?  Two days and no found sleeve later, I rummaged through my tiny terry scraps and found a piece that would work, mostly.  It's a tad bit short, but I think I can make it work!  That was until I sewed it on, zigzag stitched, trimmed the excess seam allowance, only to discover that I had sewn it inside out.  Awesome!  I ripped out the seam as carefully as a tired angry woman can at two in the morning when dealing with fuzzy, hide the thread terry cloth and began to repin.  It was a bit difficult fitting the too small sleeve in the armhole the first time.  Now with 1/2 in less to work with?  Oy!  Let's just say the robe will fit bug fine to age three...If I make it a tank robe!  But, for now on his tiny little arms in the perfect light on a foggy day with one eye closed and the other one squinted, it looks great!  I ran out of enough bias tape on one pack to do the whole robe, so I decided, in all my sewing wisdom, to just do the edge of the hood.  Wait, you might be saying!  I thought Dana's tute said to line the whole robe, sans the sleeves and the tie, at the same time, giving you a continuous professional line?  Yeah, it does, and if I had read the directions as carefully as I should have, apparently, I would have known that.  I didn't and so I don't have one continuous professional line.  Details!  It all came together pretty darn adorable, even with all my gross mishaps, and bug loves it.  He wants to wear it as soon as we put his suit one.  He doesn't quite grasp the whole, "It's to put on AFTER you get wet, baby," concept.  I love that it stays on and he stays warm, instead of hitting the floor 5 seconds after I wrap him up and watching him toddle all goosebumped and with a bluish hue around the yard.  He loves that it allows him plenty of wiggle room for such manly things as mowing the lawn.  He's very busy, my boy; too busy to be bothered being wrapped up like a burrito until he dries.  Thank you, Dana and your swim robe for making one momma happy and one boy warm!

Bottom Line:

• Towel-$4.00 at Target
• Bias Tape-$2.50 x 3=$7.50-40%(coupons!)=$4.50 at JoAnn Fabrics
• Fabric for linings-$1.50 at Walmart                                                                                                                   Grand Total=$10

Tatertots and Jello Silhouette Giveaway

Tatertots and Jello is having an awesome giveaway from Sihouette with lots of different entry options.  Yay!!!  Click on this link for all the details

Mother's Day outfits

Okay, my original plan for KCWC was matching outfits for bug and my niece for their Grammy for Mother's Day.  That is, it was, until I realized that Mother's Day was the day before KCWC starts.  I've lined up my projects for this week, but what about last week?  I sewed and painted and pinned like crazy to get their outfits done in time to get pics taken on Friday to avoid the rush (HA!) and have it wrapped and ready Sunday morning.  Good news: I did it.  Bad news: Bug screamed and tore at my neck the entire time we tried to get their photos taken.  He had an x-ray done two days before and he kept pointing to the studio lights and whining.  I would have been really sad if I hadn't been sooooo irritated!  Okay, it was still really sad.  My mom was still thrilled with their outfits and their picture, so I tag this project a success. 

I used the same tute as the last post for the suspenders for both kids.  I used this tute I found on I Am Momma to make a black and red Ric Rac Skirt. 

I took a white shirt in both kids' sizes and freezer stenciled, "I (heart) Grammy" on them with Tulip's Velveteen paints in black and red. 

They both wore red sneakers and black and white fedoras.  They looked fabulous!  I will upload photos ASAP...

Bottom line:

• Bug's white shirt-$3 from Ross
• My niece's white shirt-$3 from Walmart
• Velveteen paint in red and black-$5 from JoAnn's with coupon
• My niece's black skirt-$3 from Walmart
• Jumbo jumbo red ric rac-$5 from JoAnn's with coupon
• 4 Fashion clips-$10 from Walmart
• Red, black, and white fabric-$0.88 from Walmart

                     Total: $30 for TWO super-cute customized outfits for my amazing mom!!!

Matching Special Spring Outfits

My mom's close friend and her momma, our adopted Nonna, had a party this weekend to introduce their grandson, Finlay, to the family.  They're visiting from New Zealand for a couple weeks, so it was party time.  My momma did all of the decorating with Nonna for the party and has been working on it for a few weeks.  The theme was all black and white and yellow; very Springy!  While at Walmart, I found a beautiful black, white, and yellow floral fabric that I thought would be beautiful as a tablecloth.  I brought it home and my mom said they already had a tablecloth.  Hmmmm....well, I can't take it back, so now what?  There were only two yards, so an outfit for me was out.  I know, I'll make the babies outfits; yay!  That's way more fun than an outfit for me anyway.  So, Friday I downloaded all the tutes and Saturday I got to sewing. 

First, I made my little man some suspenders.  I followed this tute, but measuring from my son's pants in the front, over the shoulder to the pants in the back, I got 13 1/4 inches, so adding an inch and then 1/4 inch, my fabric straps needed to be 14 1/2 inches.  Bug is wearing size 12 months right now if that helps anyone with sizing.  I did what Ashley suggested and bought the dress clips.  At Walmart, they are $2.49 each and only come with gold clips.  At JoAnn's, they are $4.00 each, but come in silver, also.  So, it depends on what look you're going for.  The hardest part for me was tucking in the 1/4 of fabric and then wiggling in the elastic.  I found that it was easiest if I bent the elastic like a V and pushed it in, and then pulled the fabric over it.  I'm really bad about measuring things, so once I got one strap done, I used it to make the other strap the same length, both on the elastic end and the folded over end (that makes sense, right?).  Also, make sure that your clips are facing the right way before you sew or you'll be picking out some really stubborn seams.  Not that that happened to me or anything!  Once I tried the suspenders on bug to see where to sew the diamond in the back, I saw that because of their length, I would have been sewing on the elastic.  That didn't make any sense to me, so I just skipped that part.  Plus, now he can wear them either crossed or straight.

Next, I made the tie.  I followed this tutorial, but again made some changes.  Her tie was made for an older toddler and bug is such a shrimp that I thought I better scale it down or it will be hanging down to his knees.  In hindsight, I wish I had scaled down even more in length, not width.  Once I printed my pattern pieces and taped together parts A and B, I got out my ruler and lined it up with the outer edge, not the side marked FOLD.  I cut off an inch in width here and the same with part B.  Then, I cut an inch off in length of both patterns.  Having not put together this pattern before, I didn't realize that if I cut length off A and B, they wouldn't have the same width when I sewed them together.  That will make more sense later in the tutorial.  So, before you cut anything off, temporarily tape pattern A and B together end to end.  Make sure that when you cut either pattern, the two have the same width, this may mean that you adjust the outer edge's angle slightly down to the point.  I screwed this up, but it turned out okay in the end.  It's actually a pretty forgiving pattern.  Now, you need to lay pattern piece D on top of B and match up the points, and then E on top of A and match up the points.  Trim down D and E to match B and C in size.  These pieces will be attached to the ends of each tie piece later on, so they need to be the same size as the larger pieces.  I also changed the size of C, but wish I hadn't.  It made it difficult later on when trying to maneuver the finished tie into the know part, which is what C ends up being.  I also cut my elastic piece down to 12 inches and it ended up being too small, but 13 inches ended up being too big.  My suggestion would be to put your piece of elastic around the collar of your little one's shirt.  That will help you get a better idea of the right size.  For bug, wearing a size 12 mos, It should have been 12 1/2 inches with an overlap of 1/2 inch when sewn or tacked together.  If you try it on your little one and it doesn't fit right, you can always cut out a little piece and resew or clip and add a little piece and resew.  No one will ever know because it will be hiding under the shirt collar (thank goodness). 

Okay, so on to the dress!  I bought and downloaded the Summer Vacation dress and shortie pattern and tutorial from Made by Dana.  I was sooooo nervous about this because it requires you to shir(?) your own fabric.  On the pattern page linked above, there was a warning about Brother machines.  Shocker: I have a Brother machine!  The link in the tute has a great troubleshooting page which lists two issues you may have.  I had them both, identified them both, and fixed them both in less than an hour.  I will say, however, that I am a freaking genius so no promises on how long it may take someone else! (LOL)  I cut my yard of fabric in half width wise so that my fabric was 36 inches in width and 22 inches in length.    The tutorial said that 36 inches was enough to shir for a child whose chest was 20 inches in diameter.  My niece measured 19 1/2 inches, so I figured it'd be fine for her, too.  The first thing I did was fold over and iron the top edge 1/2 inch, and then 1/2 inch again to finish it off.  Then, I got to shirring, using my presser foot as a marker.  The tute said that you didn't need to tie a knot at the end of each row, but I found that I did need to.  When pulling the fabric taut to sew a row, the row above it came unraveled.  So, I tied the end of each row all the way down the remainder of 15 rows.  Then, I cut the white fabric to 8 inches in length and 36 inches wide.  Then, I ironed the white fabric in half so that it was 4 inches in length.  I lined up the bottom unfinished hem of the dress with the unfinished hem of the white fabric, right sides facing.  I sewed them together using a 1/2 inch seam.  Next, I ironed the seam open and top stitched right on top of the seam on the outside.  Then, I folded the dress in half lengthwise to match up raw edges all the way down.  I sewed a 1/2 inch seam all the way down, then cut off all excess threads.  Then, I ironed open the back seam.  I followed the tute for making four straps.  I eyeballed where I wanted the straps to go on the front of the dress, making sure they were the same distance away from each side of the dress and pinned.  Then, in the back, I pinned the two straps one inch away from the back seam on each side.  That way, there would be no pesky straps falling down when romping around in the grass.  In hindsight, I wish I would have made the dress quite a bit shorter.  It's fine for Spring, but a little long for Summer.

Lastly, something you can't see: bloomers to go under the dress.  Again, I turned to Dana at Made and followed her perfect diaper cover tute here.  Because I wanted something bigger than the pattern sizes shown, but small enough to not look bulky under her dress, I extended the pattern pieces one size.  that means I added 5/8 inch on both sides and pieces of the pattern.  I tried them on and they really were perfect!  My niece asked every single person who complemented her on her dress if they wanted to see her matching bloomers.  It was hilarious!  God bless 4 year olds!

So, there you have it; a compilation of various tutes to create an adorable matching ensemble for my favorite little people!  They look pretty freakin' adorable if I do say so myself!

These pics were after meltdown 3 by each munchkin-OY!!!!!

KCWC-kids clothes week challenge UPDATE

Oh my goodness, I'm a nerd!  Mother's Day is before KCWC, so there goes my plan!  I'll be workin' my booty off (I wish) to make outfits for Grammy's photo over the next couple days instead of next week.  Instead, I bought some adorable mermaid fabric at JoAnn's and will be working on making a shirred shortie using Made's pattern for my niece.  My sis was so in love with the dress I made, she asked me to make my niece another one, maybe using a lighter fabric.  I thought I'd try out the shortie variation.  We'll see how it goes!

KCWC-kids clothes week challenge

I just signed myself up to participate in the KCWC and I'm actually really excited.  Hopefully, I'll find some time between wipes cases and block sets to sew for fun-not that making things for my Etsy shop isn't fun.  I know exactly what I'm going to make.  I want bug and my niece to have matching suspenders and shirts for a Mother's Day pic for their Grammy.  I'll post pics when I'm there, but you'll have to wait another week!  Also, I finished my niece's toddler bedding set and will post pics shortly.  It turned out so adorable I can't stand it.  I just wish it hadn't taken me until a week before May to sew some flannel sheets-oy!

Fireman Diaper Cover

So, bug is having a photo shoot tomorrow and I thought how cute it would be to dress him in his favorite rain boots.  They're fireman rain boots and he LOVES them.  This isn't the kind of photo session he can be naked for.  So, I decided to make him a diaper cover and I remembered seeing an adorable fireman fabric at Wally Mart.  I have no idea how to make a diaper cover, so I scoured the crafty blogs and decided to use this one.  I'm feeling a bit skeptical because the pieces look ginormous!  We'll see what happens.  I wanted to give the diaper cover a more finished look, so I decided to use the colored bias tape.  In this case, we're using red.  If I do it right, I think it'll be adorable.  Here are the steps I took:

• print patterns
• cut pieces to right size (6-12 mos for bug)
• place on top of fabric and cut
• make unsure faces at the very large fabric pieces
• trim off a bit at legs and waist to allow for bias tape
• line up front and back pieces, pin, and sew together
• sew crotch pieces together
• iron down 1/4 on all raw edges
• pin bias tape on-1/2 in for legs, 1 in for waist
• rip stitches at seam because I forgot to leave an opening for the elastic
• thread elastic through with safety pin
• overlap elastic and zig-zag stitch
• stitch legs and waist opening closed
• convince bug to try it on for mommy

And here is the end result-Pretty cute, right?  I think I shall make several more and pair them with tanks for summer lounging in 110 degree weather!

More Chloe & Mieko

For whatever reason, the first set I took didn't load right, so here are some more pictures of the girl's shirt:

Chloe & Mieko tees for Japan

Well, I did it!  The shirts for Japan are DONE!  I'd like to say they are fabulous, but my sewing skills aren't quite up to snuff with Susan from Living With Punks.  By digging through what I already had, I spent about $2 on felt and $5 for a shirt.  My mom also wanted to participate, so she bought a shirt for $5, as well.  I had everything else in my craft stash; yay me!  I made the shirts by following Susan's tutorial (mostly), broken up into smaller tasks over three days.  I, however, tried to accomplish it all in one day.  I almost made it.  I would have finished them last night, too, if bug hadn't woken up screaming at 12:30 a.m. and taken an hour and a half to get back down.  At that point, I almost crawled into his crib next to him and said, "Shirts be damned, I'm exhausted!"  I promptly crawled in to my bed, instead.  I started fresh this morning and finished up the last bit in about 40 minutes.  Whew!  We decided to make two shirts; one for a boy and one for a girl.  I think I actually like the boy's version better.  I think it's the crooked hats.  My mom doesn't know how to use a sewing machine, but she was super helpful.  She fused all the pieces, sewed on the eyes, cheeks, and mouths.  I couldn't have finished them without her.  Thanks Mom!  Here are some pics of the completed shirts.  I hope the little boy and girl that get them won't judge too harshly.



whole shirt

up close

 




Bug modeling the shirts for Mommy



Good job Mommy and Grammy!





What?!  He'd have made a cute girl, too!



















Sewing Some Shirts & Sniffling Some Snot

Gross!  Really, you're gonna talk about that on your blog?  Yes, I am because, well, it's my blog!  I've been tuning in to Living With Punks this week and last to participate in the Chloe & Mieko Sew Along project for Japan.  I've bought and pilfered my fabric, dug through my felt stash, hunted for some similarish buttons, and purchased two shiny white tees.  I've decided to make one shirt for a boy and one for a girl.  I've been very excited about it, but have yet to find the time to make it up the stairs to the sewing machine.  Now that the materials are washed and the pattern printed, I can't stop hacking long enough to be productive (coughing, not computers).  Bug hasn't been feeling great either, and by the time I get him to bed, I'm toast!  I just hope that I can stop blowing my nose and covering my cough long enough to get a couple of stitches in.  I only have until Saturday to get the shirts stitched and linked up to Living With Punks!  Oy!  Here's to hoping for less snot and more stitches~

Argyle-ish Tee

I love all of the argyle shirts I'm seeing around.  Old Navy has several right now that are so dang cute, but they cost twelve bucks!  So, I said to myself, "Self, why buy a shirt for $12 when you can just snazz up one of bug's plain tees for free?"  And, so I did.  Here's what I did:

• raid bug's drawer for plain white tee
• scavenge through scrap bag for some kind of plaid and coordinating plain fabric
• drive to Joann's anyway to pick up some adorable fabric anyway ( I came home with 1/8 yd of cute blue plaid, a 9x12 piece of gray felt, and a 9x12 piece of light blue felt=$4)
• cut out several diamonds of all three fabrics and laid them out on the shirt in a pattern I liked
• attached diamonds to iron-on no-sew heat n bond, then cut heat n bond to size
• peeled paper off heat n bonded diamonds one at a time, so as not to screw up the pattern
• ironed all the diamonds on to the tee
• took a ruler and drew diagonal lines through the diamonds with a water soluble fabric pen
• used embroidery floss to stitch on lines
• pushed it over bug's head and took a thousand pictures

front

front (a little closer)

back