Hello Marzipan

Rosette Cluster Headband Giveaway Winner!!

2010-03-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

Congrats Jessica from A Few Of My Favorite Things blog!!!

She said "Thanks so much for posting on Favorite Things Friday! These headbands are adorable!"

Okay, Jessica, I've already emailed your for your address!!

Thank you all who entered. Unfortunately, my body is starting to feel very pregnant, and my posts might become a little few and far between for now. Thanks for understanding. I'd still love to hear from anybody who has questions and/or comments!! - Becca

Braided Headband Tutorial

2010-03-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

By request, I am doing a braided headband tutorial. For this headband I used stretchy t shirt material. You can use cotton just at easily!! The stretch material just gives it extra "give" for better fit somtimes.

For this project you need:

Three strips of your chosen material about 14 inches long. It doesn't need to end up that long, but it gives a little room for mistakes and for finishing the ends.

Needle and thread

A few inches of matching ribbon

A hair elastic. The no-slip ones work great

Any embellishment you choose. Plain can be nice too!

I start out by sewing together the ends of my three strips. I pull them first so that they roll up..

To hold in place while I braid, I safety pin the end to a pillow or something nearby.

I start out braiding, and I stretch the strips as I go. That way when you're done, and it retains it's shape, it's a nice tight braid. Keep going, keeping your fingers right below what you just braided.

I braid until it's long enough to go from behind one ear lobe to the other on my head. Holding you braid firmly so it doest lose it's tightness, sew the end just like at the beginning. Now, I firmly tack with needle and thread, the hair elastic to both ends. Make sure its firm so it wont snap!!

To hide that area, I use a little bit of ribbon. I hot glued the end so it covers both elastic and the end of the braid, and wrap it around. tuck the edge of the ribbon under and hot glue that down. Do both ends and it's done!

Hope that makes sense??? For this one in the pic I did two braids and twisted them before sewing on my elastic. I added a navy blue ribbon bow with a little anchor charm. Nautical is HOT this summer!!

With it:

Without it:

There you have it, folks!! Anything you don't understand, let me know.

Also, while im here, what do you think of my new necklace??? I'm eventually going to add a chain intead of the ribbon I think...

Giveaway Reminder

2010-03-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

This post is to remind you that I still have another headband giveaway going until Sunday night/Monday morning!! I'll announce the winner Monday. Please feel free to comment on how I can improve, and/or any tutorials you would like to see!! Of course I will see what I can do within my means :) Thank you followers, and commenters!! Keep em coming!!

To the Knit Rosette Cluster Headband Giveaway

Have a blessed evening :)

"Hunky Pool Boy" Terry Cloth Romper Shorts

2010-03-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea for awhile, and I wanted to make Gabe something for the summer to wear on the patio or around the kiddie pool. I made the shorts from two brand new terry cloth towels I found super cheap at the second hand store. The pockets are leftover from my mens shirt to boys shirt refashion seen over here. The stenciling is freezer paper stenciling. Heres the short process in pictures:

I cut out my pieces using a pair of his shorts

I made my pockets and stenciled them

I sewed the pockets on first and then assembled the shorts

And done :)

Um, model much?

Now try to keep your hunky pool boy away from the girls this summer!!!

Little Cowboy Gun Holster Tutorial

2010-03-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Every little cowboy needs a holster for his six-shooter!! Over time you might learn that we are country loving people... We dress it, (mostly my hubby and son), we listen to it, we love rodeos, horses, farms, ranches, on and on!! In fact, we both grew up in the country. Especially me being from cattle country, I used to ride horses daily. So naturally we wanted to pass it on to our kids.

First B-day. I made the cowspot cake!!

So anyway, on to the tutorial! I started with some scraps of cow print cotton canvas. As you can see I had to sew two pieces together for it to be big enough... I laid his play gun ON A FOLD and traced the shape I wanted on the WRONG side of the fabric.

I unfolded it, and BEFORE sewing the sides, I hemmed the top and bottom. It's easier that way.

Next I sewed the sides together and turned it right side out to make sure the gun fit how I wanted.I wanted to make it really cowboy-ish so I added some fringe :)

To make the belt loops, I measred my belt and cut my strips accordingly so they would be big enought to slip on the belt. Just fold and iron like so, and hand sew the loops on tucking under the raw edges.

AND WALA!! He's ready to cowboy up!!!

I also made the vest, and the cowboy pants.... The tute for that is RIGHT HERE.

Mama's Got A New Diaper Bag!

2010-03-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

I made this bag last night and I really like it!! I'm not the best at making bags, and this one has no pockets, but that's okay... I rarely use pockets. I try to simplify what baby stuff I do take out. And now with Gabe pretty much a toddler, I mainly take diapers,wipes, my wallet and keys, sippy and snacks. So here's my new bag with a matching diaper/wipes case :)

Pleated sides....

DON'T forget to enter my headband giveaway Right Here....

The Winner Is... And Another GIVEAWAY

2010-03-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

*This Giveaway now closed*

My Braided Jersey Headband with Bow giveaway is now closed and we have a randomly chosen winner!!!

Congratulations, Erin!

ERIN said... "This is cute! I don't have alot of luck with headbands staying on so I would LOVE to try this one ;)"

Well, now you get to, and I hope it suits you! I will give you 24 hours to email me with your address, and after that I will contact you, and try to get it in the mail as promply as possible! Thank you for all who entered. I will have more coming up so keep on trying and entering!! In fact, lets start another one right now!!

This next giveaway is for a brown and red knit rosette cluster headband with bow. The headband is from Forever 21, and all the rosettes and the bow are hand sewn with a felt backing.

Rules are the same as last time :)

1. If you like it, leave me a comments saying so!!

2. If you really like it, leave me two.

3. Extra points if you become a follower!

4. You cannot win if you do not comment :)

Good luck!! Let me know what you think!! This giveaway will end Sunday night, so hurry and tell your friends!

Tender Rose Earrings

2010-03-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself when I saw these little rose buttons at Jo Anns!! I HAD to make earrings!! They are just so pretty. I was going to just cut the button shank off the back and put them on posts, but I decided to add some little green fabric leaves too (which I painted with fabric glue so they wouldn't fray). Here's how they turned out:

As you can tell Idon't wear makeup very much when I'm home!!

AND REMEMBER, ONLY A FEW MORE HOURS UNTIL I PICK THE WINNER OF MY HEADBAND GIVEAWAY!!! When I post the winner tonight, I will introduce another one up for a giveaway!! Tell your friends :)

Key Finder Cabinet Makeover

2010-03-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Slowly I'm making everything in my house look just how I want it!! It's been a slow process so far. In the past two and a half years I've gotten married, made a big move to be with my hubby, set up a small apartment for a six month stay, got pregnant, made another big move, had the baby, and now I'm setting up house again.... and pregnant again!! But at least this time we are here for a longer stay, and this time I can put time and effort into it!

All I know is back when we were first married, my hubby wanted somewhere to put our keys, so one day while out "things" shopping, I got this little black key cabinet for like 5 bucks. Nothing fancy, but it would do. WELL NOW, it was past time for a makeover!

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

Heres what did... I took the panel out from the door. It doubled as a picture frame, but I forgot a pic of that... I took the glass out and painted the backing in three coats of chalkboard paint. That way we could have a message board AND a key organizer!! Um, GREAT IDEA I said to myselft!! Then I painted the cabinet a meadow green, which took three coats of acrylic paint. I cut strips of my fabric choice to fit the sides and top, and mod podged those on. Then I did mod podge over the entire thing to kinda seal it all in. For an extra touch I mod podged a flower right inside the back of the cabinet too. How sweet :) Now I think that's better!!

Hope you all are enjoying your day, and are finding something inspiring to do!

Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways!!

2010-03-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

Disney, from Ruffles and Stuff is doing another quick giveaway!! Check it out and enter!!! GO HERE.

On the side, a note to remind you all of my giveaway that ends tomorrow night!!! All you need to do is comment to enter!! Go HERE!!! Thanks again to all my new followers and readers!! Whew!! Getting my name out there is hard work!! But worth it with all the sweet comments you've been leaving :) Keep em coming!!! - Becca

Show What You Believe Tee!!!

2010-03-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

I saw a stencil of a crown on something the other day, and I liked it... I began thinking about how I could put something like that on a Tee for my son without it looking like a girly princess crown, or a liquor advertisement lol... Here's what I can up with:

Some of my paint smudged thanks to busy baby hands:) I made the tee using my Basic Baseball Tee Pattern, and some red tag clearance stretch knit camo from Jo Anns.

To go along with the theme of the crown, I immediately thought of a Bible verse that would go right along with it. I chose Revelation 1:6 which says :

"...and He has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father--to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."

Some versions say "kings and priests" which is why I chose it... for my little king!!

Proudly wear what YOU believe!!! Hope this finds you all in hight spirits this lovely afternoon!!

"Don't Tell Small It Can't Do Big" Toddler Chair/Stepstool Makeover

2010-03-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

My great grandfather built this for my dad, and his siblings back in the 50's or 60's. My dad gave it to me to redo for my son:). It may have been in shabby condition, but it was still super sturdy! Here it was before:

My sweet hubs got to use his new sander, and sanded off the yellowing, thick varnish so I could repaint it.

I chose a pretty turquoise color, not too far off from what is was before.

I did two coats of acrylic paint and let it dry a couple hours. From cardstock, I cut different size orange and yellow circles for polka dots. Using mod podge I randomly places my dots and let them dry for a minute before going back over the whole chair with more mod podge. I ended up doing two coats of satin mod podge for durability.

Then I found this phrase in a magazine and knew right where it would go...

And now my little man can feel big on his new step stool. He needed a hand doing his very important morning and evening activities like brushin' teef!!

And it has a new permanent home next to his frog potty :)

Anthropoligie Copy Cat Earrings

2010-03-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

I saw these at Anthropologie, and really liked them!! I thought about how to recreate these myself without them costing QUITE as much ;)

I went to the store and brought home seed beads, embroidery floss, and that's it!! I started with a leaf shaped piece of felt, and started out on my earring making journey. I hot glued on loops of floss.....

And hand sewed on some beads...

I did want the same effect, but with my own touch. As a finishing touch, I added some of my Grandmother's old clip on earrings to the top... that is the jewels you see.

I had been wanting to find a use for them because the backs were broken on them. I sewed on a jump ring and added the earring post and I was ready to rock my new earrings! They are kinda bling.... alot more bling than Anthro's pair, but they'll do!!

Don't Forget About My Giveaway...

2010-03-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

Go and enter!!! FIND IT HERE!!

Spring Poppy Blossom Earrings...

2010-03-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

I LOVE poppy's. There are so pretty. In fact, I love all flowers, tender blossoms, vines, and so on!!! They are all just lovely and lady like.

SO in light of spring, I made these:

Would anybody care for a tutorial on spring blossom earrings???

Enjoy this beautiful spring day!!

Braided Jersey Headand WIth Bow GIVEAWAY!!

2010-03-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

*THIS GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED*

Okay, I finally did something, even though small, for my first giveaway!!! This braided headband is made from a thrifted Tee, and the bow is from my scrap fabric. Finished off with damask ribbon accents. Hand sewn, and some hot glue for durability. Who says hot glue isn't couture, right? It's neutral with a little pop of color. The bow is set back toward the ear a little bit more on purpose. This way, when the hair is worn up, the bow is right at the side of the head instead of sitting all " wonky" right on top! Maybe that's just my opinion??? Made to fit a wide range of heads, and yes, that is a brand new no slip elastic pony tail holder at the bottom for the adjustableness :) And I might also say that I HAVE NEVER been able to wear these kind of headbands. They slip right of my head. For some reason, this one does NOT do so, it stays right on... How nice...

The giveaway is going to last until Wednesday night, March 24th. Simple rules are as follows:

1. If you like it, leave me a comments saying so!!

2. If you really like it, leave me two.

3. Extra points if you become a follower!

4. You cannot win if you DO NOT comment!

Enticed yet?? Hope you like it!! Once the giveaway is over, and winner is chosen, I will contact you by email shorty thereafter (like my big fancy words?) for an address!! Have fun, and good luck! - Becca

PS. Sorry for the BAD modeling pics, I'm not a natural model, especially after a long day, and NO MAKEUP!!!

Bedside Tray From Broken Picture Frames

2010-03-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

I desperately needed a little tray on my nightstand so that my jewelry, phone etc, could be kept out of reach of baby hands! My son has a bad habit of stealing things off of it, and putting them in inappropriate places such as the toilet, his mouth, under the bed, and so on.

In our last move, some frames of mine were broken, and here's what I did with two of them.

The frame I used was a double 4 by 6 frame on a hinge. I just folded it up and wrapped it with ribbon. I chose black satin ribbon ( and ran out of it hence the last bit finished with grosgrain you will see in my pics), and about every 6 wraps I put a dab of hot glue to secure it. I did wrap it VERY tight, and hot glued the last big of ribbon in place securely on the side I chose to be the bottom.

Next I chose a nicely patterned fabric, and cut it to the size of my glass.

The glass and backing I used was from a 5 by 7 sized frame. I tacky glued the edges of the glass and smoothed my material onto it. I put tacky glue on the edges of cardboard backing and put that on the fabric side, sandwiching it in between, so the printed side of the fabic showed through the glass. I put a couple heavy books on it for one hour to dry... This is your tray bottom. To attach my two pieces together to form the tray, I used Gorilla glue. Make sure you read the instructions if your going to use it, though, because it foams alot, but is permanent! I put a thin line around the bottom my my frame piece and put it squarely onto the bottom piece. I put heavy books onto it for two hours to dry.

Now, for the "legs" of the tray I used little floral marbles that you see in fake flower arrangements or little indoor fountains. You can find them at any dollar store craft section. I glued two marbles together with hot glue on the flat sides, and then glued a "leg" to each corner like so:

As the finishing touch I added trim to hide the seam where we glued our two parts together.

And now you have an anything tray!! Even a little bathroom tray or a candle dish!!

Have fun using up some old or damaged frames! :) You could probably be alot more professional than I was too!!

Twine Wrapped Candle Holders....

2010-03-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

Such a great idea! I was gonna wrap these in thread, kinda like I did HERE but, then I saw this tutorial at Brown Paper Packages and wanted to do this instead!! Here's my outome!

Lovely..... What else can I wrap in twine???

Vintage Look Clock Makeover

2010-03-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Oh, yeah... didn't I tell you it was Mod Podge week on Hello Marzipan?? Actually, wasn't planned, I just went a little crazy with it. Today I'll show you how I took a 2 dollar Wal Mart clock, and made it my own...

For this project you will need:

Mod Podge

An old book to rip up

A paintbrush of some kind

Vintage (or new) trim

The old trusty glue gun

I started by ripping up my book pages into all different sizes. I tried not to leave any straight edges.

I blew the dust off my clock and wiped it down ( i'm NOT the best at dusting) and started applying my paper.

I painted on my Mod Podge with my brush about a medium thickness in about 4 inch increments. I put on my page pieces one at a time, going over it and smoothing it down as flat at possible to the clock with more Mod Podge.

If you have a book with thicker pages, you might have to use your fingers to form it and smooth it a little more. My clock had little rigdges in it so I had to use my nail to tuck it into each little crevice.

Use the brush to smooth it completely and move on until the whole clock is covered with no visible areas. Also, you might want to have a wet rag on hand to wipe any Mod Podge smears from the face of the clock. Go as far as you can to the face of the clock. Don't worry if you cant cover every bit in the front, because that is where our trim will come in later. let dry for fifteem minutes, and then go back adding a second coat of Mod Podge. Let dry.

Now, to finish, take your pick of trim and glue it around the face of the clock, covering those little areas you couldn't get with your page papers and giving it a finished appearance.... then you're done!!!

Enjoy your vintage look clock!!

Jersey Knit Rose Hairpin Tutorial

2010-03-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

I love doing these because they are so easy! I've used them alot... on T's and on this clutch:

Here's how to do them.

I cut my fabric in a 1 inch wide and 12 inch long strip. Pull the strip so that it rolls up into itself... I used jersey for this rose, but you could use regular T shirt material as long as it stretches!!

Now, hold one end, and stretching it as you go, wrap it fairly tight around your pointer and index fingers.

Tuck the end into the middle and place thumb on it to hold.

Take your needle with matching thread and start anchoring by doing invisible stictches wherever needed to hold it.

Keep going, secure the center, and for the last stitch, add your embellishment. I used a little pearl, but you could use any beads or buttons, etc...sorry I forgot a pic of that! Tie off the bottom securely. If you are gonna mount them on a hair clip like I did for this tutorial, then I recommend cutting a little cirle of felt and hot gluing it the bottom of your rose.

I put a thin bead of hot glue to the top of my big bobby pin and pressed my rose onto it.. I added two to each one of mine... and that's it!! Pretty:)

Fabric Mod Podge Lampshade Redo

2010-03-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to redo this lampshade for awhile.

I really couldn't decide what to do, but when I had this idea I JUST DID it... I didn't try it out first!! EEEK. Because of that, it turned out "OK". Not what I thought the final product would be, but I'm posting it anyway!! My projects don't turn out perfect every time, but I decided they should be put out there as well!! So here we go, for this project I used Gloss Mod Podge, about 1/4-1/2 yard of scrap fabric I wanted to use up, and home decor ribbon. I mixed the Mod Podge with a little water to thin it, cut my fabric in squares, and started slapping them on!

I used a little 1 inch paintbrush to apply them...I compelely wet the top of each square of fabric, kinda like paper mache! I just started at the top and worked my way down...

then I let it dry a couple hours. Now, I never went backover the top with plain Mod Podge, but it maybe a good idea. I geuss what I didn't like about it finished is that it looks wet even when dry... That's really it. For the finising touch I added some ribbon at the top and bottom with hot glue.

I think it would've been better using a darker fabric cut in circles. My hubby liked it, so I guess that's a plus!!!

This Is A Thank You!

2010-03-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all of your sweet comments!! Makes my day, really!! I'm still trying to get my name out there, and all of you are helping me!! And a special thank you to my followers!! If any of you have any questions, or comments, email me or comment me, and I will do my best to answer :) You have been awesome, keep it coming!!!

How To Draft A Basic A-Line Skirt Pattern

2010-03-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

For this maternity skirt, I actually drafted a very simple pattern using an old well-fitting skirt. I bought the material from Jo Ann's remnant bin for like three bucks and used the bottom half of an old stretch tank top for the waist band.

For this pattern, I cut along the fold so that both front and back panels would be cut at the same time. I laid my skirt on my fabric to cut out the general shap I wanted. I kept in mind that the skirt I was tracing was stretchy, so I did measure my fabric at the top to make sure it would fit me, as this fabric had NO stretch. I just took my measurment at the hips, and added three inches for ease.

I cut both panels, sewed seams up both sides and tried it on to make sure it was right...

Now for the waistband, I cut my waistband from an old shirt so that it already had seams :) I am a Cheater!! I cut it 9 inches long, so that halfed it would be about a 4 inch band.

Fold down the band so that the seams are on the inside.

Give the band a stretch to make sure that it will stretch to the length of the skirt body. I'm assuming you know this, but you want the waistband to be quite fitted so it doesn' slip down!! So naturally it willl be several inches smaller than the skirt body. Sew on your waistband, stretching as you go, until you make it around. To be sure that you stretch it the right amount to perfecty fit over the skirt body, you could match the side seams up from waistband to skirt body and stretch and pin all the way around. I am too impatient for that. Once the band is attached, push the seam down towards the bottom of the skirt and sew the seam down.

It will give a nice fnished look on the inside and the outside.

Then I hemmed it and tried it on, perfect fit!!!

There are so many great tute's on skirt making... i'm not very professional at it, so this is just a little "how I did it" post.

Romantic Looking Hurricane Candle Holder

2010-03-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

This was very easy and I LOVE the outcome!

All you need for this project is a glass hurricane, or vase wide enough to fit a votive candle in, a spool of your choice color of thread, and Mod Podge. On a piece of newspaper, I turned my vase upside down and spread a thin layer of Mod Podge on a couple inche section of the vase. I started radomly wrapping my thread around and around until it was the effect I wanted. Do the same thing for the next part until your whole vase has a layer. After you've gotten the effect and thickness of thread you want, cover another layer of Mod Podge over the entire vase smoothing out any clumps. Let it dry, then add your candle and light it!! PRETTY!!

Add your own inspiration to this project! Use a unique looking vase, or different colors of thread, etc.!!! Have fun and enjoy:)

Maternity Skirt

2010-03-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

I found a cute tutorial on a maternity skirt HERE and had to try it... On my skirt I did not use elastic in the waist band though... Here's how it turned out!!

Dont you love remnant bin fabric and old (too small...ahem) t's???

Total cost 1.50!! More refashions coming this week!!!

Felt Softie Book

2010-03-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

At almost14 months old this month, my son is really getting into reading. He'll sit on the floor, and spill out all his little cardboard baby books, turn the pages, and laugh!! Then he'll bring me a book, and sit there patiently while I read the 6 page book as slow and exciting as I can. This makes me happy, and I hope it continues!! After doing my Garden Playmat project,

I still had quite alot of felt scrap around, so I put them to use in this felt softie "Gabe Is" book. I love my son, and I wanted to put in his own little book what he is to me :

You'll have to pardon my shabby fabric paint/ freehand applique skills!!! Hope this post finds you well on a beautiful Sunday morning, that's it for now!

Go Check Out Someday Crafts!

2010-03-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

Today my necklace rack is being featured at Someday Crafts! I am honored. Thank you Someday Crafts, helping me get my name out there!

A New Necklace/ Recycling Idea All In One!

2010-03-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Last night I dissmantled a necklace I bought from Forever 21. For my stature, it was to much... AND ahem, I'm on the busty side, so too much necklace looks bad :) I took half of the chains off and the longest strand of pearls.

It looked much better just like that, but I decided to add some emerald jersey rosettes on the side, and matching earrings from the leftover chain/pearls.

It's nothing to flashy, but a litte more dressed up than I normally wear. I love looking at jewelry, and sometimes I enjoy making it, but wearing it is rare for me. So that's all I did, and If I can get a few comments on this post I will do a rosette necklace tutorial/ giveaway!! Yep, that's right, my first giveaway!!

And to cap this post off, I just got this monster print flannel from Jo Anns, and I made My son a monogramed toy sack (freezer paper stencil) and a changing pad from it. Notice the inside of the changing pad is a recylced plastic shower curtain, so it's wipeable. When my old one got moldy at the bottom, I salvaged the top 15 inches that was never touched by water, wiped it clean just in case, and used it. Wala!! Another way to repurpose and recycle!!!

Super Simple Shabby Chic Necklace Rack

2010-03-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

Really quick I'll share with you how I made my necklace holder. I needed one, because previously my jewelry had been hanging form tacks on a small cork board. HA! My hubby found this piece of white, distressed railing at the thrift store for 99 cents... He was going to use it for something, but the longer it sat around, the more I began to eye it... Then yesterday, I took it and made myself THIS:

Snooze ya lose!!! (actually he didn't mind :) AlI I did was measure accurately, and add pound in hangers to each end.

The jewelry hooks are just plain nickel plated brads with a small head so they don't slip off. Later on i'll probably add some kind of pretty stone, or pearl to cover the nail head.

And wala!! Your done!! Easy, simple, and totally shabby chic. And also, really quick, here is the earring holder I made from a cheap thrifted frame and some batting/material that I hot glued in. I didn't have mesh, or chicken wire which are popular for making these, but it works great!!!

Take care for now!! I'll be back.....

My Creations Of The Past...

2010-03-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

I have been crafting and sewing for alot longer than I've been blogging, so I am posting some favorite projects that I've done in the past!

Let's start with bag/purses:

A clutch from my grandmother that I recovered in jersey knit roses....

Another I covered in vintage wool ruffles!! This one I entered in Disney's "Ruffle Your Stuff" giveaway. Go take a peek HERE!

Same gray wool in this little makeup bag...

And a few from my line of diaper and wipe cases, which are up for sale at a little boutique here in town.

Here are some of my Favorite pieces of clothing:

A Christmas gift for the brother in law...

Diaper cover from an old T shirt

Yes, A matching skirt and baby pants form my hubbies old shirt!

And my pattern for a sweet little halter style toddler top :)

And for some departing pics, some random favorite things:

Bow headband

Linen and cotton flower headband

T shirt scrap rosette headband, very roaring 20's

Capelet remade from a sweater

Hope you like them!! I sure had fun making and using them!! :)

DIY Ruffled Candle Holder From Dollar Store Materials~

2010-03-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

It was time to switch out the holiday/winter candles and bring out the fresh, spring/summer ones!! That includes the holders! I've been wanting to do this project for awhile, and it's a great scrap buster!! Also, I found the styrafoam forms at the dollar store. They have alot of styles, but I went with the tapered circle. Next time I'll do a square one!

For this project you'll need:

A Glue gun

Floral styrafoam forms

Plenty of your scrap fabric, in whatever color, or mix of colors you want

It's a slightly legnthy project due to the fact that half of it is spend cutting! Begin by cutting your fabric in cirles. Mine ended up not so perfect, and not all the same size (I freehanded). That will actually give it dimention!! But I didn't cut them larger than 2 inches in diameter. I used three different fabrics in the white family for texture, and I love the linen throughout it.

Start placing your cirles on by folding the circle in half and placing a drop of glue in the center on the fold. Go all the way around leaving 1/4 space between each center of each cirle. You want the edges to stick up, thus creating the start of your "ruffling" effect. Go all the way around, and you will have this:

Starting another row by lifting the eges and gluing and tucking more cirles on. I only leave the first row 1/4 inch spaces, but as I go along I tuck them in closer togther to build more ruffle.

Keep going until all the stryrofoam is covered. Don't do the top and bottom. If you wish you could cut some fabric to cover the top if you will have exposed edges you don't want to see. But in the end, the bottom will not be seen...

This technique I used for The "truffle mirror" as my hubby calls it!! I does look like truffled chocolate!! (the mirror was 99 cents at the thrift store)

Hope I made sense!!! Let me know If I didn't. Have a great day!!

Easy Peezy Pretty Car Air Freshener ~

2010-03-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

We had been saving for quite awhile, and this year were able to start looking for a newer car. My old 95 Camry has been a great car, but it was time to move on. Ive had it since I was about 17, and it has been across the country numerous times. Now that we are starting a family, we realized we needed a newer car, more relible, with less miles, etc.... A couple days into looking we found an awesome 1999 Subaru Outback and knew this is what we needed! So now I'm all set to be a REAL mom in my Subaru Wagon, woooohoo!! Anyway, while taking it on our first road trip, I realized I needed to put something in it to make it ~~MINE~~ ours. Since i'll be driving it almost all the time, because the hubby has his truck, I went ahead and made a pretty little air freshener for it.

All I did was take some wool scraps, ( I used wool because I thought the scent would last longer in that fabric) and using a wide mouth mason jar (about 3 1/2 inches in diameter), I traced a circle and cut two of them for the sachet part.

I machine sewed them together leaving room for turning. After it was turned right side out, I filled it with lavender blossoms that had been dropped with an essentiol oil aromatherapy blend. Fill it up, sew the opening closed.

To make the flower part, I cut a bunch of 2 inch circles from my remaining wool, then folded each in half, and then half again.

Starting in the middle of my sachet, I starting sewing my "petals" on until I had the effect I wanted.

In the middle I hot glued some silver gray pearls in a cluster.

Don't mind the extra glue!! My glue gun went a litte crazy....To hang it, I cut 20 inches of ribbon and hot glued it in between the petals and the sachet.

To mak sure it would hang right I knotted the ribbon at the base where glued it on, if that makes any sense!

And now my car looks like my own, and smells good too! :)

You could use any fabric, and add any kind of beads, or buttons for the middle! Make it your own, or make several for different seasons. To refresh, just add acouple more drops of your choice of fragrance to a plastic baggie, and store the air freshener in it overnight!! make sure the oil or fragrance won't stain the fabric! Enjoy.

New Ideas With Tutorials Coming Soon!

2010-03-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

Right now I am away from home for the weekend, but driving to our destination, I started brainstorming. Now, both things I thought of were small projects, but practical!! So please stay tuned.... I'll give some clues. Ready?? One is for your car (possibly two things), and one is for something that almost every american has, or has had, or wants to get!! ( Some of those people are too young to get in my opinion :) Wow, I can't keep secrets... See you on Tuesday :)

"What are you lookin' at, ya hockey puck!"

2010-03-06T22:23:00.000-08:00

I need some real, honest opinion....

Tacky or cute??? It's been in my head for awhile, but transfering the image in my head onto the fabric wasn't so easy:

I kinda have been in a character phase...

Larry....

Bob...

And can't forget Snoop dog....

So, is Playskool going to sue me or laugh at me?? LOL

Bath Toy Organizer - With Tutorial!

2010-03-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

Raise your hand if your tired of showering with your children's toys covering the bathtub floor?? Raise your hand if your tired of trying to stack them in the shower corners to get them out of your way??? I raised my hand to both, so I decided to come up with my own bath toy organizer. I found this mesh fabric at the local second hand store half price for 50 cents!! I also scored a grab bag of bias tapes, some new, some homemade...2.99 for pretty large lot! Okay, I hope this makes sense. Here we go.

First step is to determine your size. I did mine 14 inches wide, and 24 inches long.

I cut two pocket, 10 inches long by 14 inches wide.

This was an easy project because I used bias tape to attach the pockets, and seal in the sides!! Cut 5 strips of bias tape, and make them 141/2 inches long. I added an extra 1/2 inch for a little hangover on the ends to make sure it all gets sewed in later. Sew it to the top and bottom of your top pocket, the top of your backing material, and to the top of your bottom pocket. Don't add the tape to the bottom of your bottom pocket just yet, set it aside!!

Now to attach pockets, pin the bottom of your top pocket in place. I did it so that the top of the pocket was about 1/4 of an inch down from the top of my backing.

Sew across, two seams for reassurance. Now attach the bottom of your bottom pocket to the backing by sandwiching the two pieces of material in between the final piece of bias tape you set aside.

It should look like this:

Now to seal in all the sides, grab another pack of bias tape... In any color you want!! I used what I had. Leave 4 inches at the top for your hangers, and begin sewing around...

Go all the way to the bottom tucking in the tape to make it looked finished and do the other side. Sew a loop at the top on both sides to hang it by.

Go grab some cheap suction hooks from the store, hang it up, fill it with toys and admire!!!

Women's Cardigan Refashion Change!!

2010-03-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

I decided to make it short sleeved for spring!! Here's an updated pic:

Womens Cardigan Refashion

2010-03-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

I love "over" things... aka sweaters, cardigans, hoodies, etc. Always have, but espeially now that i'm a "bigger" version of me after having Gabe, and now that we live in northern Washington where its chilly alot. A couple days ago I bought a cotton cardigan from my fav. second hand store. The style is hot these days, but it just looked frump on me... just ask my hubby. We both agreed I should do something with it!! It was this style to begin with:

Because I'm short, I just took off some length. I added a bottom band using some brown knit, and used the same material for the ruffles around the neckline. Then I added some thin elastic to the bottom half of the side seams to kinda ruch it little. I got that idea here. It's not the most fab refashion i've done, but at 11 o clock at night, it's what I came up with. I want to look for more ideas, and do another with a black one I have in my closet.

Quite uninspired compared to the awesome stuff i've seen out there :) That's it for now!

Little Gentleman's Bow Tie Tute...

2010-03-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

After I refashioned those dress slacks, for Gabe, I saved the bottom part of the legs for this project. I just thought that a little bow tie would be so cute for dressier occasions and church. My husband and I are big fans of "The Waltons". I alway eye the fashion from back in those days, (1930's) and love how classic it is! In every episode of the Waltons, where they put on thier Sunday best, the boys usually wear a bowtie. Even with just a simple cotton button up shirt, I think it looks so nice :) Call me old fashioned, it's okay!

First step is to determine your size.... For the look I wanted, I chose to do 41/2 inches by 51/2 inches. Cut two of your squares, sew them together rounding corners, and leave room for turning. Preferably leave it open for turning in the middle of the bowtie, that way it will be concealed with the middle part.

For the middle part, I cut my strip about 11/2 inches wide and four 1/2 inches long to be safe. Do the same thing, sew three sides together and leave one end open for turning. Iron both peices flat now, right side out.

Now for the neckband all I did was measure his neck... It was 9 inches... and I added 5 inches to that. So I cut my neckband strips 1 3/4 inches wide, and 14 inches long. Sew up three sides, leaving one end open, turn right side out, and press. I added about 2 inches of vecro to each end for attachment. Make sure it fits, and then find the middle of the strip and mark it. Now all I did was gather the bow tie part, and hand stitch the middle part to it, tucking the unfinished end under the finished end. Tack if firmly once you gotten it how you want it, or at least how you think your bowtie should look!

Sew it to the middle of your neckband, and your done!!! Now, put it on your little man, (or little girl if you wish, which is cute with a little ruffly skirt) and show off just how cute he is!

Basic Baseball Style Tee

2010-03-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

Gabe has this really cute pajama shirt that is a baseball style tee. I just think it's the cutest little thing on him. It's stretch knit, so it fits him a little snug, with still more room to grow. I've been looking for a basic tee pattern to use so that I could pick my own colors, mix and match, and stencil for something a little more original. All I did to draft my own pattern was trace the pieces from my favorite shirt, marking my seam allowance, etc. I used freezer paper to trace onto, because it's sturdy and I have ALOT of it!

I marked what piece was what for ease.

Here's my first try:

My seams could be neater but all in all wearable!

Men's Dress Pant Refashion

2010-03-01T09:50:00.000-08:00

Oh Boy. I got myself a little too advanced to fast!!! It sounded like such a great idea in the beginning :) I saw THIS tutorial and HAD to try it. Of course, I did not do well with reading the instrctions, I had to do it my way. Her's turned out SOOO much cuter, and they were done right lol. I found the pair of pants I wanted on the color of the day rack at the thrift store, so they were like 2 bucks....I used a pair of Gabe's pants for the pattern and cut cut cut away!! Took a little figuring out, and 3 broken machine needles later (I shoud learn when to quit :) and TADA!!!

I'm pretty sure these are like a 24-2T size... I kept the pleats in the front and the original zipper, so they look exra baggy on Gabe's little 13 month frame as of right now, including the length. They do slim down at the leg, so they are pretty modern and trendy.

I used the back waistand to thread some elastic through for a stretch back. I wasn't very smart about it, and the back pockets are cut off. There are alot of things I would do different next time. If there is a next time! Right now little man and I are heading out to ship some things i've done for a friend and her fourth baby to be,

and to get some more machine needles :) Next tutorial will be a little bowtie from the remaining pants!!

New Refashions

2010-02-27T21:12:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some shirt refashions for Gabe lately. They are easy, and I've totally been cheating using the existing buttons and collars! My hubby gave me an old collarless button up and an old Henley long sleeve tee. I created my own pattern using one of Gabe's old T shirts, and they've turned out great so far... Here are some pics... NO tutorial. But one day soon when I find a great shirt to redo for him, I will! However I will post some links to some great ones that I do envy... I really need some more skills and a serger lol!

The first shirt was exactly this style:

And turned into this:

I love it on him! Perfect for summer.

The second one was a thirfted item that was this style:

and I turned it into this:

I also saved the sleeves from this shirt to make some matching pants... Maybe like sleepwear for camping, etc..

And if your interested in trying one out for yourself here is some links to some cute one's I found.

Sweater Vest From Man's Sweater

Mens Shirt To Toddler Shirt

That's all for now... Stay tuned folks. I'll try to be LESS boring next time :)

YOU MUST...

2010-02-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

Go enter this giveaway by Made By Lex... such a pretty bag, and lovely pattern Messenger Bag Giveaway!

Toddler Sleeping Bag Mini Tutorial

2010-02-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks have been BUSY. I feel like I've completely abandoned this blog!! I made up the excuse that nobody acutaly looks at it anyway!! I mean, not that I know of. But , I still wanna do it anyway for myself. I saw this idea here: Happy Together In this post, she links to where she got the idea from also...

This summer we plan on camping at least once. I couldn't imagine Gabe without his very own sleeping bag! JoAnn's had a great sale on snuggle fleece, and while I was there getting fabric for the hubby and I's pj pants,

I saw the print I wanted for this project. My dimentions were exactly a yard. Using that yard of fleece as my pattern, I cut to the same size two old fleece throws i already had. All I did was sew all three pieces together leaving an area to turn. I did it so that my fleece print would end up on the outside, the ugly thick blanket would be hidden in between, and the soft thinner blanket would be on the inside. Nice and cuddly on a chilly summer night! After turning, I sewed around the outside perimeter about 1/2 inch in all the way around, and sewed one seam down where I wanted the bag to fold. Lastly, I added my strips of velcro instead of a zipper. WALA! There's probably a better way to do it but here's my version!!

Don't forget a little camp pillow!

Sleep tight, lil' camper...

Birthday Cow Pants!!

2010-01-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Gabe's first birthday is up and coming and every little cowboy needs some cow pants... with fringe!!!

I started by cutting out my pattern using a good fitting pair of Gabriel's jeans. I left two extra inches at the top for the elastic casing, and one inch at the bottom for the hem, and about 3/4 inch all around for seam allowance and room to grow.

Instead of cutting the outside edge of the pants on a fold, I had to cut it out because I needed to sew the fringe on the side. Now I had four total pattern pieces, two pieces per leg.

I cut my fringe so that it didn't interfere with the waistband or hem.

After sewing the outside of both legs with the fringe, I sewed the inside of the leg on both legs. While they were inside out I remembered to do the hem.

Next I assembled to pants by sewing the crotch. I "fake" serged using a zig zag stitch.

Finally, I made a casing for the elastic. Without stretching the elastic, I cut it to fit JUST around his waist perfectly to measure. And done!!!

He DID NOT want to model, so this is it for now :)

Toddler Girls Bubble Pillowcase Dress ~ So Cute

2010-01-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

I've had the pillowcase forever it seems... I don't have a girl, but I wanted to try my hand at a cute little dress anyway. I think I got the pillowcase at the thrift store pretty much brand new for 99 cents!! SCORE.

First thing I did was fold it in half (to make the arm holes even), and using a 2T sized shirt as a template, I cut the arm holes. Then I made a casing at the neckline, and added elastic for a ruched effect. I then added some yellow lace like bias tape for the arm holes, and added shoulder ties. I did another casing at the hemline for a brown and white polka dotted ribbon for a drawstring. When cinched a bit, it makes it a bubble dress!!! For the last touch I added a bow and buttons for accent. I wish I would have had a camera to do a full tutorial but I didn't!! I am so bummed because it was so easy, and turned out great!! Now who do I give it to??? Someone please have a girl!!!

The back...

The front...

The bottom... And again sorry for the poor quality pics...They do not do it justice! Soon i'll have a real camera :)

Bored As..............Just SO Bored

2010-01-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Well, today has been a day... I'm not in a good mood, and neither is Gabe. MAN!I just don't want to do anything!

He's teething. It seems to hit him really hard, and I DO feel sorry for him... and for me. Espcially when it makes him poop like 5 times a day!

I'm just tired, and understimulated. Tried sewing something but i'm just so uninspired today it didn't exactly turn out!! So I guess to try and havea little fun, I broke out the web cam and we played with it a little bit...

And now I just might go get something I'm NOT supposed to have on my diet...

~THE END~

Recycled Jersey Hoodie = New Pants For Gabe!!!

2010-01-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

Since Gabey was born, I haven't been able to fit in my old clothes... At least no pants, and probably half of my shirt. Just one of those things you dont bank on when you get pregnant is how much weight you'll actually gain, and how easy it'll be to lose it after the fact. And I haven't been working on losing weight nearly as hard as I need to for MY body. It takes ALOT of discipline and focus and work for me to lose serious lbs. That's no excuse however, and I'm doing something about it now before I get the next set of two pink lines!! ANYWAY, with all that said, most of the old T's and shirts and some pants I had went into my scraps pile to recycle... and most of them have already been made into something else!!! Some refashioned for me, but mostly clothes for Gabe. Today I decided to finally do something with a gray and black striped jersy short sleeved hoodie. And this time I did some more pants for him. Hopefully they can be worn util 24 months, because I made them big on purpose.

What I did was fold a pair of 18 month sized pants in half and placed the "non-crotch" side on the outsde fold of the hoodie, as you can see in the pic. That way you get one less seam to sew!! Do that on both sides so you get two pattern peices out of it. Then just cut around the pants giving yourself an 1/2 in seam allowance. I did more because I wanted a bigger size for him. For the rest of the pants follow this easy tutorial...

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1DANmGTnx38/SwI8iBJk06I/AAAAAAAABBw/oHYZwnQRivk/s1600/DSC02143.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.slipstitches.com/2009/11/baby-toddler-t-shirt-pants-tutorial.html&usg=__ju6iVFqMsohBFZsCoijQGmyiP8g=&h=1200&w=1600&sz=165&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=U2xwjY6s-chVhM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbaby%2Bpants%2Btutorial%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enUS360%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Wow, long link!

And here's the boy!

Jailbird baby! Sorry for the bad quality pic...

while we have no camera i'm using our camcorder for pictures :(

Man, I miss my real camera!!!

Pa-pa-pa-jamas!!!

2010-01-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

The most recent sewing project I have finished is fleece lounge pants for my hubby and Gabe. I always LOVE when Matt let's me make him something. He's kinda picky about clothes!! I went to Jo-Anns and got a great deal on fleece, and it took me a yard and a half to do both pants! I Guess total it was like 10 bucks and I have some left over!! It looks like camo print, but it's spurs and cowboys, and it says rodeo on it.

I didn't use a pattern, I just used a well fitting pair of pants that I folded in half and cut around leaving about a 1/2 in seam allowance... and plenty for the hem and waist band. For matt's waistband I used this http://www.scribd.com/doc/21335064/Fleece-Waistband-Tutorial tutorial. worked well!! On Gabe's I just did elastic. I did not take pics during the process but here another good tutorial on making pants...http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-sew-a-pair-of-kids-pants/2009/04/29/ I don't actually do MINE this way, I found a cheat. I'll post that a dfferent time.

My First Post!

2010-01-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to start this blog!! I am "cameraless" for awhile as ours JUST broke!! I'm bummed. But in the meantime, when I have a few minutes to myself I will start posting some of my old, but favorite projects that I already have pictures of!! Oh and by the way, Stay tuned for Gabriel's (my son) first Birthday party photos!! Woo hoo! That's all for now!! I'll be back :)