Pleated Top

I've had this little top pinned for some time and finally got around to making it.  It is really adorable and Chess loves it.  The tutorial is very easy to follow, as well.  I love her whole website.











-Alison

Book Shelf Re-do

I saw a bright green book shelf on the side of the road.  It was calling my name, so I had to pull over and put it in the back of my car.  Yes, I was that girl hauling someone else's junk away.



It was not the most quality bookshelf, but still very stable and in perfect condition.  It sat in my garage for awhile, annoying me, until I figured out what to do with it.



Most of the green paint peeled right off, except for on the shelves.  I had to figure out a way to hide those nasty shelves.  So first I spray painted the whole thing brown with two cans of spray paint.  Then I covered the shelves with fabric I bought at Hobby Lobby, and Mod podged it on!  It worked great!



The best part is, the fabric is rough, not slick, so books do not fall over very easily.  It looks nice and is functional.  And inexpensive.  All very important qualities to me.



-Alison

Pillowcase Dress

There are tutorials for these cute little pillowcase dresses everywhere online.  They are very simple to make, so they make a great beginner sewing project.



I got the pillowcase for this dress at an awesome thrift store for $0.25.  I already had the thread, ribbon, and rick-rack, so this was one cheap dress to make.



I've seen these on sale at boutiques for $25 or more!  No need spend that!



Go make your own!

-Alison

Brass Door Knobs

Since our house was built in the 90s, we have shiny, brass door knobs.  Or should I say, HAD.  My husband has been taking them off for me a few at a time and I have been spray painting them.



I set up my station out back.  I sprayed with a primer first, then used metallic spray paint in nickel for the finish.

Before:

After:

Freezer Paper Stenciling

I've done a few freezer paper stenciling projects before, and I really enjoy seeing the outcome.  I thought I'd share my most recent one.  I wanted to make a Rainbow Brite shirt for my daughter, so I googled Rainbow Brite and found and printed the image below.



I traced the image with a sharpie onto freezer paper (find it in a big roll near the tin foil), simplifying the design to make cutting easier.



The most tedious part is cutting out all the black parts with an exacto knife.  If you have a machine that cuts for you, that makes this project really simple, or just go with a less-detailed design.



Save all the white parts that might get removed in the process, then carefully place them all on your shirt, and iron them in place.

Paint with fabric paint.  I did about 3 coats, letting them dry in between.



And the funnest part in peeling off the freezer paper when it dries!



I love how she turned out!

Sweatshirt Dresses

From this:


To this:


I got some Hanes sweatshirts from the thrift store in new condition, and repurposed them into dresses for the girls.  I made my own pattern using clothes the girls fit into currently.  Chess is bigger, so she didn't get as full a skirt as Lera, which she didn't like.  But both girls enjoy wearing their comfy sweatshirt dresses!

christmas advent calendar

(project as seen on the Tombow USA blog  www.blog.tombowusa.com)
i have been far too absent from this blog... but a new year's goal for me will be to update my blogs more often. so, to start the year off right i'm showing off my banner advent calendar.
on each flag is an activity that the family can do during the christmas season. some are generic, just in case we have to work around it. for example, there are two service nights and two christmas parties. some are more specific, with a movie to watch or something special to eat.
i made a tab that folds down over each one, to which i attached a piece of fastener adhesive made by tombow (a kind of velcro). then i made 25 numbers, also with fasteners on the back. at the start of the season i went through my calendar to figure out what nights already had something planned, and when we could fit in the other activities.
each day we pulled off a number to see what the activity for that night would be.
i loved that it was part of my decor for the season and served a purpose as well.

Another Knit Dress

I love sewing with knit (stretchy) fabric. It is very forgiving when worn, so mistakes don't show up as easily. I recently saw this tutorial and had to try making my own playdate dress.



I love the way it turned out.



I have pretend not to like the clothes I make too much, or my daughter will refuse to wear them.



Am I the only one with this problem?

Comfy Dress

I made this soft dress from two old shirts. I used a shirt that fits my daughter for the pattern. She loves playing in dresses like this.



I used some of the extra fabric to make flowers to sew on by hand. My favorite thing about using old clothes to make "new" clothes is using the existing hems. I am horrible at sewing hems with knit. Also, it is a lot cheaper than buying new fabric. This dress cost less than a dollar to make!

Appliques and Freezer Paper Stenciling

I love finding a good deal on a plain shirt. I keep my eyes open at Wal-Mart and Target, especially, for those plain long or short-sleeved tees at the end of the season. I'll grab a bunch of them up for $1-$2 each. Then, let the fun begin!



I made this shirt for my three-year-old's birthday. We had a little bit of a strawberry theme going on. I just used old knit scraps from T-shirts in my scrap pile for the applique. I love using knit because it doesn't fray.



I found these swim trunks for my nephew and knew I had to make him a whale shirt to match. I used scrap fabrics here, too, and found a basic whale template online using google images.



I did a variety pack for a good friend's baby shower gift. I decided to try freezer paper stenciling for the first time. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I used Dana's tutorial and it was actually pretty fun to do. In case you're wondering, my friend loves George Washington, fall, and has a pet great Dane. I'm all about personalizing these things.

If you're thinking about applique or stenciling, you should go for it! It is easy, takes a relatively short time, and it makes clothing unique and fun. It is also great for covering up stains on shirts you already have - no need to throw those away!

Good luck on prettying up all your T-shirts.

Girl-a-fy my daughter's room

Nearly 11 months ago, we moved into our home in Texas. I’ve been ridiculously lazy at decorating. Case in point, over 8 months ago I purchased this frame from IKEA (along with the rest of the world, apparently. I keep seeing it pop up everywhere). But it is cute, yes?

After sitting in my room in shrink wrap for all of those months, I finally decided to do what I envisioned with it. A little spray paint, scrap fabric, ribbon and glue gun …. voila.

My 5-yr-old loves to display pictures in her room and her ever-changing collection now has a place above her nightstand. And she can easily slip the pictures in and out herself.

I made this project display board last year from an idea I found HERE, but during the move, the clothes pins fell off so I re-made them. This is also perfect for my daughter’s room because she loves to display her latest projects.

Baby/Toddler Leg Warmers

Ok, I know I have been seriously slacking on this blog ever sense El was born...13 1/2 months ago. I know I have no excuse, but I am still a mama in training. Anyways, the next several posts are the projects I have been working on in the past year. There's not too much, but I just felt like I should keep y'all up to date on what I have been up to and to also contribute to this blog.

I know we have all seen those adorable BabyLegg's they sell at the store and think "Oh what a cute idea" or "Oh no I remember wearing those when I was little with my stirrup pants or skin tight zippered ankle jeans (that may or may no have been stone washed) well, yes both of those thoughts have passed my mind when I saw them and I just couldn't bring myself to pay $8-$12 for an accessory my daughter would wear once and a while. So I went onto google and found a cute tutorial on how to make them. I was shocked to see who easy they were to make and busted out these in one night. I found these socks for $2-$.50 at Target in the clearance section. Now, to make boy ones, just check out the men's sock section.

Here is your tutorial link:
For little babes:
http://everythingyourmamamade.com/2008/01/21/make-your-own-baby-leg-warmers/
For older toddler's/kids:
http://giddy4paisley.blogspot.com/2009/04/baby-leggings-tutorial.html

Carseat Canopy

For a baby gift for my sister's I made them both car seat canopies for my new nieces. They both live in the bright sunny desert and I knew this would be perfect to keep the sun out of their little one's eyes. I made one for El and it was great for when you don't want strangers touching your baby, you just say, "oh sorry, the baby's asleep." I made this particular one for my sister's friend. It is reversible and has removable bows for washing.

Here is a tutorial on how to make car seat canopy. It's pretty easy:
http://just-because-i-am-me.blogspot.com/2010/02/car-seat-canopy-tutorial.html

Copycat Sundress

I don't know about most of you but I am awful at following patterns, but I love to sew and if I see something I just try to copy it the best I can. Anyways, I have been wanting to make El a cute summer light weight dress and this is what I came up with. So, most of you are probably wondering why I am posting this without a tutorial, and the reason why is that if you feel inspired by any adorable design and want to make it, go for it!

Front:

Back

Oversized Pool Bag

Alison was telling me the other day about making an over-sized pool bag that you could load your towels, toys, and lotions in and I thought it was a great idea (just like most of her ideas) so I went online and found a great tutorial for one. http://maidenjane.blogspot.com/2010/04/oversized-beach-tote-in-urban-green-and.html

OK, beginner sewers, this is easy peasy! YOU CAN DO IT!!! We have taken it to the pool and it fits all our stuff. I got the fabric at Hobby Lobby in the home dec section.

A Few Refashions

I have been thrifty lately (okay, I usually am). I have such a huge pile of clothes I don't want to get rid of, and fabric I have bought or been given over the years, I just can't justify buying new fabric. I have been making my girls some clothes out of old items, and I love getting something new for free!


Breezy summer shirt made from a men's button-up


Here is a close-up


Here is another one, showing the original buttons up the back.


Some old pajamas that got shrunk and stretched in weird places


They got made into some new pajamas for my two-year-old.


My old ironing board cover - nasty!


Covered it with some fabric my grandmother gave me. I've been wanting to do that a long time. Much better.