Appliqué Pillows

I finished another Christmas present tonight! Hopefully I'll be able to get them in the mail in time.

These fun "Kiss the Girl" pillows were inspired by some canvas art I saw on Pinterest. The link to that post is here. Since the recipient is a talented painter, I decided to sew them into pillows for her!

I had some snuggle flannel on hand that was perfect for two soft pillows. I printed a coloring book picture out, enlarged it until I got it big enough for what I wanted, and traced it onto the fabric (I had already ironed Heat N Bond onto some black and white scraps).

After I played with the layout, I ironed it all down. When you're making appliqué projects some iron-on backing doesn't require sewing, but I like the finished look of sewing it all down and the security of knowing it won't go anywhere.

I sewed around all of the edges of the design (why did I make the seaweed so curvy?!) first. This took longer than expected, but it was worth it in the end.

I pinned my tags in place and sewed around the outside edge, leaving right sides together. After I sewed almost all the way around the pillow (leaving an opening to stuff fluff into) I turned it right side out and sewed around the edge about 1/4 in. I like the distinct edge this gives the pillow, but you don't have to do this step.

I used an entire bag of fiber fill between the two pillows and sewed them both shut!

Now to get them to the post office!

Pillowcase Dresses Revisited

I loved the original pillowcase dress I made for the Mouse so much that I decided to make a few more. First there was the Mike dress for her cousin's monster-themed 1st birthday:

Then she got an Ernie dress for her birthday.

Then there was the butterfly dress for her friend.

Then came matching Minnie Mouse dresses for her and another friend.

I love how quickly these dresses come together and how long she can wear them since they adjust as she grows!

Sesame Street Birthday

Wow, it's been a while!  We've been a bit busy over here, with a new baby and the Mouse turning 2!  We had her birthday party this weekend, and it was a smashing success if I do say so myself.

The Mouse, like most toddlers, LOVES Sesame Street.  Bert and Ernie are her favorites, but she has a soft spot for anyone on "Sess Seet" as she calls it.

After scouring Pinterest for ideas for her party, I made this door sign:

These party favors were forgotten at home, and Daddy had to go get them.  Thank God for my super husband!

Some of this food was also forgotten (Daddy to the rescue again)!

This Texas Trash Dip was popular, as always (thanks again, Pinterest!) and disappeared despite Oscar's grumpy face watching over it.

The birthday girl was especially impressed with her cake, which took way longer than I anticipated, but was so worth it in the end!

 

All in all she had a wonderful day, and since we had her party at The Little Gym the cleanup was a breeze!

Cookie suckers

This recipe I found this recipe at allrecipes.com

 Fun cookie sucker

Here are my step by step pictures.

Original recipe makes 2 dozen cookies

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• assorted colors of paste food coloring
• 24 lollipop sticks

1. Directions

   In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms. Divide dough into fourths. Tint each with a different food color. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Working with each color, shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. For each cookie place 1 pink, 1 green, 1 blue and 1 orange ball together to make 1 large rainbow colored ball. Shape into a 12 inch long roll (like a snake); starting at one end, coil roll to make a 2 3/4 inch round cookie. Place cookies 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Carefully insert lollipop sticks into bottoms of cookie
4. Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.

I cut each color 

 I found that dipping the sticks into egg white before inserting into the cookie help to make the cookies stay on the sticks. 

Make sure you do not over bake and they will stay soft for days if wrapped after they cool. I wrapped them in small treat bags I purchased at Michael's.

Reversible table-runner and matching cloth napkins

Table-runners and napkins finished just in time for the silent auction to benefit 

http://www.newwayacademy.org/

This school is for children with learning differences. 

Ok I need these jeans to last 5 more weeks!!!!

Fixing jeans

My 9-year-old has holes in every pair of jeans he owns. As much as I love seeing him in fresh, new clothes, I couldn't justify buying him new jeans for school when summer is just around the corner. We live in AZ, so summer is never too far off!

I saw some different methods of patching jeans when looking around Pinterest, but decided to experiment on my own. I had to do this in secret, because when I asked my son if I could fix his jeans, he was VERY adamant that I leave them alone.

I stole a pair out of his drawer while he was at school (I figured if he hated them I could just buy one new pair).

I started by ripping out a section of the side seam about 10 inches long (5 inches above and below the holes). If you're going to hand sew your patches on, you don't have to do this, but I wanted to use the machine. I went into my stash of fabric and found something that would work for this pair of pants.

I free handed the star and guitar on the reverse side of the fabric with a sharpie. For a more precise look, you can print out the shape you want and make a pattern to trace. I then used the serger around the edges. (Use a zig zag stitch if you don't have a serger).

After pinning the patches in place, I zigzagged them to the pants. I used my server to close the side seams back up, and was done!

My 9 year old thought they were awesome and requested I do the other pairs of pants, too.

No need to purchase jeans till next school year. Yeah!!!

Char

Pillowcase Dress!

I made my first pillowcase dress! Hooray! Huzzah! Yippee!

Now it wasn't easy, but I also didn't follow all of the directions in this tutorial from Prudent Baby.

The dress came together really well until I tried to do the armholes. I sewed them and ripped them out 3 times before realizing that I wasn't going to get them to lay flat. I didn't use bias tape like the tutorial said to, however. I made my own. Next time I will get bias tape from the store and see if I can improve it!

I still think it turned out pretty cute, and the Mouse looks adorable in it!

Now to finish the matching bloomers!

Lisa

Shhh.

Can you keep a secret? You can't say a word to Sally, but I kind of, sort of, despise her.

Sigh. There, I said it. Publicly.

She's just not what she used to be.

She skips stitches.
She lets the bobbin get all wonky.
She doesn't even sew a straight line anymore.

She's being replaced very soon.

By whom? I don't know. I'm in the market.

Does anyone have any suggestions for her replacement?

Requirements:
Straight stitches
Consistent stitch length
Zig Zag capabilities

Help!

Knit Elf Hat

This hat was a two to three day project. Easy to knit and I found a free pattern on line. The first one turned out so cute, I decided to make more. 

Easter Bunny Footprint

The Mouse's little feet aren't so little anymore, so I'm trying to document them as much as possible. I made Valentine plaques for the grandparents last month so I decided to make Easter plaques as well.

They were easy to do and because I bought some extra plaques and new paint last month I had all of the supplies on hand. I found the style of bunny I wanted to do by doing a google search for Easter bunny footprint craft. This is the one we decided to copy.

The Mouse loves seeing these on the wall and wants to put her foot up to it every time we pass by!

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

Handprint Pillows

Need a good gift idea for someone with kids or someone who loves your kids? Consider a handprint pillow!

I made these for the grandmas, my sister-in-law, and my husband's grandpa. It's an easy project that can be customized for anyone!

Start by tracing the kids hands (or puppy's paw) onto cardboard or heavy paper. Use iron-on transfer (like heat 'n bond or wonder under) to trace the prints onto fabric, and top stitch them into place! I used a simple pillow case and a preform pillow for mine, but you could always make a closed case and stuff your own, too.

All of the recipients of these have loved them, and I've gotten requests from other relatives for some more!

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

Maternity Countdown Shirt

Baby #2 will be here before we know it, and I haven't been very good about taking pictures, but I have crafted up a remedy to that!

I've seen those cute maternity calendar shirts online, but didn't want to pay $30 for one. I found a few tutorials in how to make them (freezer paper stencils with paint, vinyl as a stencil, etc) but I didn't want to paint. I decided to put my cricut mini to work and try to cut fabric with it. The results were mixed. Some of the numbers came out great, but the fabric didn't lay flat all the way with a lot of them.

It took me all afternoon, but I finally got them all on the shirt! I had the shirt in my collection already, and used scrap fabric for the black and an old pillowcase for the white. It turned out pretty good and the best part was that it was FREE!

The hubs always likes to hear about projects that don't cost us anything!

Want to make your own? Block out a lot of time, have a dose of patience, and get to it!

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

A Pillow for the Pup

Tonks had an old dog bed that had a hideous red plaid cover. I hated it, and was excited when the zipper broke and I had a good excuse to replace it. I knew this fire hydrant fabric was perfect when I found it at the fabric store, and got some blue fleece to match it.

Tonks was a little confused, but she loves her new pillow, and I think it's much more attractive than the old one!

All I did was use the old cover to get the measurements, then frame the fleece with the fire hydrant fabric. I was going to make it a slip cover like a pillow sham cover, but I had a ridiculous thick zipper lying around, and used the opportunity to install my first zipper.

I dare say it turned out well!

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

Poof Pillow

I have completed another Pinterest project, hooray! Well, technically I completed this project in October, but I made anther one tonight for a friend of The Mouse, who is turning one next month.

Introducing, the poof pillow:

This pillow is perfect for little baby booties, Mama and Daddy heads, and adding a little flair to the living room floor. The Mouse loves to sit and bounce on hers, and looks very proud of herself when she successfully backs her little booty onto it. It also makes a great resting place when she wants to lean, and I plan on making a few more for the playroom in the new house.

The first one I made was a breeze because of this fabulous tutorial (And because I waited until Mom was visiting since I had never used piping and was a bit afraid of it). It was super easy and made me want to use piping on everything I make!

This second one had a snag. Literally, there was a hole in the fabric that I didn't notice until I had already cut out the top.

So what's a crafter to do when an ugly hole threatens to send her back to the fabric store because the pattern calls for one yard and uses almost all of that yard? Well this crafter covered it with an appliqué of the recipient's name! A little more work, but it turned out cute, and now her little sis won't be able to commandeer it later on.

Now don't you just want to run out and make some of these for yourself?

Happy crafting!

Lisa

Maxi Skirt!

Well I finally got back on the crafting train after a post-holiday hiatus. I needed something that would be quick, easy, and an almost guaranteed success. After struggling with a few holiday crafts, I almost felt like I had lost my crafting mojo. Anyone else ever have this happen?

Anyway, I was perusing Pinterest, and came across this maxi skirt tutorial and decided to give it a go.

My JoAnn is getting ready to move locations and hasn't had any new stock in two months (it's very sad to see the store so picked over, but alas, the new store will be worth it), so their knit selections were limited. Since I decided I can no longer pull off sparkly knits, I stuck with black and grey. Unfortunately, the only grey they had was a polyester knit, which was harder to work with (it's slippery), and has proven to snag a little easier. Oh well, for my first foray into skirt making, it came out just fine!

My advice if you want to make this: try it on as you go (the waist of mine ended up being way too big), and make the waistband longer so you can fold it over! I figure the waistband being big will be convenient as my waistline expands over the next 6 months or so. ;)

Happy Crafting!

Lisa