Monthly Onesies for Alyssa

My best friend,(I know I talk about her all the time but I can't help it, she's my best friend) is doing monthly outfits for her baby girl and asked me to help out with the onesies so we can sew together even though we live 13 hours apart. I got January's done....

.....and since I had everything I needed to do February's as well, I went ahead and got that done too!

I adore monthly projects and these are turning out so cute!  I'm also loving that I get to sew for her little one since I can't be there to hold that sweet baby!

Family Names Scrabble Wall Hanging

A while ago, I came up with an idea for a fun wall hanging using a Scrabble Game and my family's names.  I made one for myself and hung it up on the wall.  My sister saw it for Thanksgiving and commented that it had turned out nice.  I had thought to make her one as a house warming gift when she moved to a new house earlier this year but then I never got around to it.  So when Christmas time came around I decided to make her one as a gift for her family.

While I was at it I figured I would make my best friend's family one as well.

They fit in a 11x14 frame or for the second one I used a 14x14 frame.  Just use a box cutter (also known as a razor blade or exacto knife) to cut the board down to the size of your frame. Then figure out your name layout.  Once you have that figured out, use hot glue to glue the tiles down.  Of course, you have to be aware of your letter limitations but in the 3 boards that I have made, I've only had to add to the existing game letters once, and that was for the one for my best friend's family and with  6 kids, they have a lot of names.  Also with hot glue sometimes the letters can pop off and you have to reglue them, so if you want to prevent that from happening you could use a bit of a stronger glue.  You can usually find a scrabble game at any store such as WalMart or Target for around $10 and you could also check thrift stores and yard sales to find them even cheaper.  Doing crafts with scrabble tiles is a popular thing but I like that this utilizes the scrabble board as well.  These are a lot of fun to give and very easy to make!

Homemade Christmas Presents

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!  I made quite a few Christmas gifts for my best friend's family this year.  She has 6 kids and I made something for all of them except one, the youngest, baby Alyssa. (I fell in love with an adorable sleeper at the store and got her that.) For her boys I made book bags.  I had made her oldest daughter a book bag last spring and I guess her boys have been wanting one for quite some time.  I made them all the same size but with little differences so they could all have a book bag that was their own.

For her daughter, Aiyana, I made some felt food toys and a personalized apron.  She loves to play cafe, bakery, etc all the time so I knew she would love some food toys.

I think these turned out pretty cute.  I think my favorite has to be Chandler's book bag (the black one with the bicycles.)  The apron turned out super cute as well and I think I need to make some for my little girls!  It was fun to make gifts for people but next year I think I need to start much much earlier.  I just barely got these ones in the mail in time!  They got there in time and were very well received, so it was a success!

Baby Girl Gift Set

I don't normally like to share pictures of projects that are gifts until after the recipient has received it but in this case the recipient wants a little peek so I get to make an exception but I still don't want to give the whole thing away so I'm just posting a little peek. This gift set is for my best friend's new baby girl and she has been very patiently waiting for me to get it done and I finally put it in the mail today!

It's pink and white and very very girly!  I for one am super happy with it and I'll share more pictures soon!

School Christmas Treats

I've been making quite a few Christmas treats for school lately.  First my daughter's last day of preschool until January was yesterday so I made some homemade hot cocoa mix for her to take to her teacher and all her teacher aides.  I used this Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix but also added marshmallows.

 For the teacher aides I did two servings in sandwich bags.  For her teacher I did 6 servings in a canning jar.  I made some fun bag toppers for the sandwich bags.  I also made a fun jar wrap and hang tag for the jarred mix.  It was a lot of fun to make this fun hybrid project.  I had bought this I Love Cocoa set last year and hadn't had a chance to use it yet and it turned out to be just perfect for this project!

Also later today I'm going to read a Christmas story in my son, Christopher's, 2nd grade class and I'm supposed to bring a treat for them to go a long with the story.  Well I'm reading them the story, "Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas" because it's about a little boy named Chris Kringle.  So, I made some chocolate dipped candy cane sticks to give to his class.

These were a fun quick project and I love how festive they are!  I wrapped them in plastic wrap that I tied with a little curling ribbon to protect the chocolate because they are going in the kids school stockings.  I'm looking forward to reading to his class and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun!

Christmas Card Garland Frame

I love Christmas cards! L O V E them! So every year I like to display any that I get and this year is no exception. So when I got my first Christmas card of the year, (Thanks, Becky!) I knew I should probably figure out how I wanted to display them.  If you are like me and I have a habit of hanging empty frames on the wall because you know you want them there but you don't know what to use it for...

  

...then I have a great solution (both for Christmas cards and use that empty frame!)  After browsing Pinterest, I decided to combine this and this, with my empty frame to make a Christmas Card Garland Frame. First gather your supplies:

- Frame - Ribbon (for Garland) - Clothes Pins - Buttons - Paper (for Clothes Pins) - Decor for Fame -

You Will Also need the Following that is not Pictured:  Paint, Modge Podge, Thumb Tacks, Hot Glue.

Now that you have all your supplies let's start with the clothes pins.  You will want to paint them a color(s) that match the paper you are using for them.  I'm using red and green acrylic paint but you could also use spray paint if you prefer.  Give all your clothes pins a coat of paint making sure the sides are well covered.

While the clothes pins are drying, it's time to get started on attaching the ribbon to the frame.  Start by choosing the corner you would like to start with. On the back of the frame secure the ribbon with thumb tacks or if the project is permanent you could use hot glue if you prefer.

Stretch the ribbon across the front of the frame (pull it tight!!) at an angle you like and secure other end to the back of the frame.  Cut the ribbon and secure again right on top of where you ended your last ribbon.

Stretch ribbon across front of frame at preferred angle (again pulling tight!) and secure to back of frame.  Repeat until your frame has as much ribbon as you would like. Now we just need to finish our clothes pins.  Cut your paper into stripes that are the same size as the front of your clothes pins and glue (I used homemade Modge Podge) the stripes to the front of your clothes pins.

After the glue has a chance to dry a bit take your buttons (or other bling, I used some pretty brads that I found and removed the prongs off the back of) and glue them on top of your clothes pins.

Now all that's left is to put it all together!  Add some pretty decor to your frame.  I used some coordinating ribbon to make a large bow but use your imagination and do whatever you like!  Then hang your Christmas cards on the ribbon using your clothes pins.

Now you can enjoy all your Christmas Cards for the remainder of the Holiday season! I know I will!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, I know these are bit late, but this time of year is crazy for me!  This year was especially crazy because I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my house and we had a total of 16 people (5 of which were children.)  For the last 3 years I have been making my girls (well at least Kaitlin) their Thanksgiving dresses and this year was no exception.

This year I used the same dress pattern but different fabrics. I seem to be steering away from the really matchy matchy. I like showcases the girls differences but still having them coordinate (at least for special events anyway.) I've had the fabric that I used for Isabella's dress (the blue one) sitting in my stash for a while and knew I wanted to use it for her Thanksgiving dress. So for Kaitlin's I simply went to the store and found some fabric I thought would look nice with Isabella's fabric. I think they turned out pretty cute but a little too 1970s perhaps? I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Now it's time to get ready for Christmas!

Happy Halloween

Well unlike the last few years I did not make my kids Halloween costumes this year.  We didn't even buy new costumes, we reused and borrowed everything we used this year!  However, I did put together this fun little tutu shirts for the girls to wear during the day today.

 

I bought the solid color shirts and the Halloween leggings at WalMart.  Then I embroidered a fun Halloween design on the shirts and added a fun tutu on the bottom.  They are bright, colorful, and a little crazy!  I like them but, more importantly, the girls love them!  I hope everyone is having a safe and fun Halloween!

Happy Birthday, Sierra!

My niece, Sierra, turns 1 year old today and I'm so sad that I couldn't be there to help her celebrate.  Since my sister's family moved to Wyoming, I definitely miss being close to them.  My sister told me that Sierra is really into cats and ducks right now and I already had some cat fabric on hand so I decided to make her a pair of pajamas and cute little plush kitty to snuggle. 

I made the pajama bottoms by sizing down a pattern I already had and then I added the cute little ruffle on the bottom out of some polka dot fabric.  The shirt is from WalMart and then I added a little kitty from the fabric as an applique.

The kitty plush is my own creation and I'm super proud of it!  I'm in the process of making a tutorial/pattern for it so look for that coming soon!  Happy Birthday Sierra!  We wish we could be there and I hope my adorable niece enjoys her 1st birthday!

Humble Beginnings

We all have to start somewhere right?  Well apparently even way back when I was first learning how to sew I was very bad at starting projects and never finishing them.  I've had a quilt that I started when I was 14/15 (I think? Mom do you know?)  that I have moved around with me for years and yet never finished.  Why?  I'm not really sure.  Maybe it's because I'm not much of a quilter (maybe doing this quilt is how I know that.)  Maybe it's because I'm just a really bad procrastinator.  Maybe it's because my aesthetic changed.  I know all those things are at least partially true.  However, I finally pulled it out and finished it!

I had a very good reason for doing so.  My husband's grandmother is in the hospital with colon cancer.  I really wanted to do something nice for her to help her be more comfortable.  Hospitals can be very cold and very sterile, and uncomfortable.  This quilt seemed like the perfect thing to give her.  It was already pieced and tied (like I said from more than 10 years ago) and all that need to be done was to finish the binding.  The whole thing is badly out of square and just getting a fold over binding done was definitely interesting but I did it and I'm happy to have this project finished!  I'm even more happy to be able to give a gift to a wonderful woman who has been there for my family for many years and I hope this quilt, that has a very humble beginning, will bring her great comfort!

Shirts for Jude

My friend, Randi, did me a favor and took pictures of my daughter, Isabella's, birthday party for me clear back in July.  I didn't have any money at the time so she agreed to work in trade and I finally got around to getting her trade project done for her!  Her little boy, Jude, turned 1 year old this month and Randi drew some very cute drawings and asked if I could make them into appliqued shirts.  I said sure thing and here are the results:

The pictures aren't great, sorry, I had to take them at night indoors because I was on a deadline.  We did a balloon, leaves, a quail and a tree.  I really think they turned out nice!

Boys, Boys, Boys

I've been making quite a few baby blankets lately for friends who have had babies but the funny thing is they are all boys!

First we have the May Giveaway Day blanket (yes, I'm aware that it is now October, luckily the winner, Amy, has been very patient with me and her baby wasn't due until October) she wanted something blue and green with a turtle applique.  I found this adorable blue and green dot fabric that I thought would be perfect.  I also made her an appliqued tie onesie as an extra little surprise for being so patient with me!

Next, I made a cute little trio baby set for a mommy friend from playgroup, Janae, that recently had a baby boy. I used this cute owl fabric and paired it with a fun blue,green,brown diagonal stripe. I made a blanket, burp cloth and appliqued an owl from the fabric onto a green hand dyed onesie.  I love owls and think this set turned out really cute!

I made this fun little dinosaur trio (blanket, appliqued onesie, and burp cloth) for a family member/friend of mine, Tarah, and her baby boy, Darren.   I had seen this fabric at JoAnns a while ago but didn't have a reason to buy it.  When I asked Tarah what theme and/or colors she liked and she said, dinosaurs, I knew I had to use this fabric.  I appliqued the letter D (for Darren) on the blanket and one the blue dinosaurs on a onesie.  The burp cloth is orange flannel with the dinosaur fabric for a binding.  I love this how bright, colorful and fun this set turned out!

I still have a couple more that I very much need to get finished but my time seems to be spread pretty thin lately.  Still it's been a lot of fun helping to welcome all the new little babies into the world!  

September Days Pillow Cover

A while ago I bought a scrap bag of fabrics from a fabric shop on etsy.  I had every intention of using them to make a quilt but alas I am not a quilter and it never came to be.  The bag had all these lovely orange and brown pieces that I thought would just make an adorable pillow cover.  So last night, without a plan I just sat down and started sewing.

 

It came together very nice but it still had something missing.  I had a big brown block in the middle and decided that a poem or quote about September would be an wonderful thing to put there.  After a quick search on the internet I found the poem "September" by Helen Hunt Jackson.  I couldn't fit the whole thing on my pillow so I just used a few lines and I also didn't use them in order either.  I used my sewing machine decorative stitch that does letters to stitch the words onto the fabric.  I didn't use spaces and I really loved the resulting effect.  I've found a typo, and it's definitely not the best for actually reading the poem, but I just love the way it looks!

Linking up to Celebrate Color at Stitched in Color!

Bird Stitches Block 9

So you remember way back in January when I stitched the block for the adorable Birdie Stitches by Little Miss Shabby?  Well as you know I haven't been very good about keeping up however I finally finished 3 more of them!  Block 2 & Block 3 that I actually stitched up way back in March but finally finished into pillow covers and the adorable Block 9 for September!

Just so cute!!  I had this dot fabric leftover from another project and it matched my other September project so I matched the floss colors to the fabric and went to stitching!  It looks so cute sitting on my couch!  Also here are the other two blocks finally all done as pillow covers.  Linking up to the Celebrate Color event at Stitched in Color.

 I also have plans to do the Easter block and the 4th of July block but that might not happen until next year.  I just love these blocks and have had some much fun stitching them!

A Little Autumn for September

Around here the temperature is still in the 90s but for me September is always when I really start craving all things Autumn.  I figure even if it doesn't really feel like Autumn outside that doesn't mean I can't bring Autumn inside.  I while ago, I fell in love with the vinyl crafts from a website called, Thoughts in Vinyl.  So I bought a couple of kits that she had options to make them for all the months of the year and got started.  I figure I can just buy the new ones every month so I can have these up all year round!

I'm using the Reversible Subway Art for on top of my coat rack that is by my front door and the 4 Sided Stacker Blocks on top of a tall skinny book shelf I have in a corner near my dining table. 

 

 Even though they both use vinyl, it is used in different ways.  With the Subway Art it's a vinyl stencil that you use craft paint with.  This one challenged my patience a little bit with the drying time required and in fact I had to order a new stencil for the Autumn side because I hurried it too much the first time and ended up having to redo it.  So I had to learn a lesson in patience, but if you are patient, the results are well worth it because it turns out amazing!  For the Stacker Blocks you apply the vinyl words on top of the background.  She suggests you use scrapbook papers for the backgrounds but I opted to just paint the backgrounds with craft paint because I wanted a simpler look.  I've been looking for something to put on top of that book shelf and these blocks are just perfect!  Because these kits use all the sides of the board and blocks, I also completed the August/Back to School sides of these crafts.  

I love monthly/seasonal decorating so I'm super excited to do both these projects every month until I have a full year set!  If you like monthly/seasonal crafts then go check out Thoughts in Vinyl for sure!