For once, not a Pin-FAIL

For Father's Day, I loved the idea of making this picture collage.   For one, it seemed simple enough not to screw up.  And for two, it gave me an excuse to make a cool speech bubble with chalkboard paint!

First, cut the shape from a foam board (I salvaged the remaining rectangle for a general purpose chalkboard) and paint 3 coats.   This is after 1 coat:

They really enjoyed the chalkboard the next morning.  I may be creative and hang it on the wall like this blogger.

Then go outside and snap a few pics.   My favorite outtake, which is only an outtake because she wouldn't let me use it for the final product:

And VOILA...NAILED IT!

The easiest twirly skirt!

I love this circle skirt pattern.  I have attempted a twirly skirt, in particular this one that is supposed to be the most popular twirly skirt pattern on the web and the waist band ended up so thick and hard and bunched that it was not wearable by the intended child.   I figure since its so popular, it must have been user error on my part.  

But this circle skirt pattern, once you work out some simple math and draft up a pattern is hard to mess up, even by me!   I actually did the reversible version, since I didn't have any thick elastic like in the original   It's so quick, which I love.   Except when you sew your elastic casing before you turn the fabric right side out, in which case you spend 45 minutes becoming intimate with your seam ripper.   *ahem*  And trimming it with bias tape?   Brilliant!

So, reversible twirly skirt in some "vintage" Strawberry Shortcake fabric I've had forever.   Yes, I've had this since before the latest reboot of Strawberry Shortcake (in which she has much better hair) which is why I had a hard time selling my fashionistas on using the fabric because "ITS NOT THE RIGHT STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!".  No respect for the "vintage" there.   But apparently, I could have turned a fabric covered in loaves of bread into something fabulous with this pattern.

"It's so spinny!"

Win.  

Wonky is just another word for "Hand Made with Love"

Gifts!   I love making handmade gifts.  I find I think about the intended a lot while I am making it and it seems to connect me to people when we are all running in so many different directions these days.    Of course, that sentiment can backfire when a project goes on too long and I begin to curse the day I ever met that person or when a project becomes so wonky and haphazard that I wonder if the friendship will even survive the gift.

But I present to you, the cutest little owl set ever (just ignore the trapezoidal shape of the blanket.   (Remember, wonky = LOVE, dangit!).

I've been wanting to make a blanket with stuff applique'd onto it for awhile, but I learned I have little patience for creating the canvas.  Making the design on it was much more fun than the endless....vast...expanse...of white.   I gripe, and yet it's not even standard baby size.  I went with the ever popular "carseat blankie" size, which is just code for "I'm too lazy to make a full 36x36 square".

Blankie was free handed but inspired by this one on etsy, hat was a basic beanie with pom pom top and the owl rattle was from this pattern.

Next up, %^&@$^%#%$#%$#% super hero capes.

Apparently, my machine does not like faux satin because if I had a drink for every time my top thread bunched up and broke, I would be passed out cold under my sewing desk.    And I guess I am supposed to use some sort of different needle, because I kept getting "runs" in the fabric.

And my "decorative zig zag stitch" around the edge looks like it was done by that drunk right before she passed out cold.

But, alas, the reason why I do not sell my items, is because I look at this mess of satin and thread and think...."eh, kids will like it" and proceed to throw it in a gift bag anyway.    But I did have fond thoughts of the children and their mama while I was making it, so that counts for something, right?  In between curses and eleventythousand rethreads.

At least my kids approved.   Although they ordered a set in pink & purple, of course.

Taking on Big Doll, one remnant at a time!

I love when I can make something awesome for little to no money and time!

Take one pre-shirred, pre-hemmed .375yd fabric remnant for $0.75.   Cut into two pieces:

Throw two girls in a tub full of water:

Add one Dollar Tree hairband (from a pack of 5, so $0.20) and an existing black T-shirt:

And get one really happy matchy-matchy girl for less than $1 and 30 mins:

(I bought 2 of those remnants at $0.75 each, so I will be making another little girl happy eventually, but I need to find a Tshirt to use)

If only everyone was 18" tall

I'd have the whole world dressed in handmade clothes!   I love how quick and easy doll clothes are.  And there are so many free patterns online.    I had some cute left over disney fat quarters, so I made an ensemble for a friend's daughter's birthday gift.

First up, a reversible Wrap Skirt.   So fast and easy and it's cute on the dolls. I made three in about an hour. BTW, see that bodkin on the skirt below?  How did I sew pants and skirts and diapers all these years and never know there was a tool for threading elastic through a casing?    Sayonara safety pin, you have been replaced by a $4 upgrade.

Next up, cute knit Tshirt with applique.  One thing I learned form some of these doll clothes sites is that you can repurpose old clothes and save hems and such to save time.  I did this with a Tshirt in good condition, other than the mystery stain all over the front.

The ensemble needed more, so I stitched up a Mickey Ears hat (freehand, no pattern) and added a coordinating bow.   It still needed more, so I added a cute purse from the Tshirt fabric and ribbon.  

This shows the princess fabric on the reverse side. 

The patterns work for the Madame Alexander dolls, as well, which tend to run a bit thinner in the shoulders and hips.

I'm getting a strong desire to go to WDW...

I have 2 more Tshirts cut out and one skirt I am making from the cut off bottoms of a pair of my son's pants that I am hemming into shorts.   This is so fun.  

Two more pics...I found some strips already cut from years ago when my 6.5 yr old was a toddler and I was on a patchy/strippy skirt kick.   So I whipped 'em into shape, added a ruffle based on this easy technique and made a little 4 year old happy with her new "fancy skirt."

And two more Easiest Little Girl dresses.  Man, I love that pattern.  So quick & easy.  I have been on a bit of a sewing roll lately.    School starting in 2 weeks is going to be a major buzz kill.

More Sewing

So to update the pillow case nightgown post, here are the pics of the nighties in action.

Oh and after all that work making the waffle knit straps and then cutting then down and sewing them nice and flat, it still hung too low, so I snipped em and tied a knot.    She's happy, though, so I'm happy.    Regardless, I am not *in love* with the pillow case style dress, because its so hard to get a good fit across the top.

Which is why I fell in love with Nancy's Notion's Easiest Little Girl Dress.   I learned so much from that 5 min video.   I finally mastered Bias tape, I learned a quicker way to attach elastic and I learned that I TOTALLY NEED that bodkin and that hem edge sewing template.  Plus, this style of dress is just as cute & easy as the pillowcase dress, with a much more kid friendly top.  I also plan to make a few dresses for her Little Dresses for Africa project.

I bought the last bit of this kitty cat fabric, so it wasn't exactly long enough for two dresses, but it works as a dress for the little and a shirt for the big.   I need to go get more bias tape so I can finish the second one.

Here are my goofy girls, modeling the shirt length and the dress length...

Sewing makes me happy

I did most of my sewing when my oldest was a toddler and before the second became mobile.   I picked up crochet specifically because it was a more kid-friendly crafty venture.  Well, I tried knitting first and failed miserably at it.   But either way, crochet allows me to pick it up and put it down easily, I can do it in any room of the house, even outside while waiting for the school bus and watching a kid play bubbles in the yard.   But now that my kids are getting old enough to give me space to work with sharp objects and an iron, I am enjoying the venture back into sewing.

Little known fact, my first sewing project ever was a cloth diaper.   I will have to dig up some old pics of that bad boy!   Actually, it was the Honey Boy pattern that I taught myself to sew with.  Ahh...memories.

Anyway, back to today.  I made up 5 more of the gift card holders for my son's teachers.

He has some special needs, so I always appreciate any effort he puts into something like this, but he really worked hard drawing a picture for each individual teacher that we laminated and slid into the side of the pouch opposite the $tarbucks gift cards.

These are such a fun little project.  I have a bunch cut out, I might whip up a few more to have on hand for last minute gift ideas.    So quick and cute, too! Oh and I may have snagged one to use as my own little mini-wallet.

Next up, Pillow Case Dress PJs for the girls.  I had some cotton that I bought years ago thinking I'd make curtains, but it's so thin and sheer, I didn't think it would look good against a bright window.  So it seemed perfect to try my hand at pillow case dresses and use as lightweight nightgowns.

The hardest part was the ties.  Since I planned on washing these often, I decided to use fabric ties vs ribbon.   The woven one was fine, the knit one took forever to turn and my hands were both cramping.  

I tend to be a "cut-twice, curse often and measure after the fact" kinda sew-er.  So I was thrilled to see that the ties were actually the same size!

And then when I tried one on my older daughter (the one with the knitted waffle ties that took me sooo long to perfect) she hated them.  I was instructed to cut them off and add a button.   Well, I chopped and sewed to make straps (eyeballed, of course) that will hopefully please my uber-sensitive princess and the pea.

And finally, the one with the real ties.   Will hopefully get pics of both being modeled tomorrow night at bedtime!

And lest you think I have forgotten about my poor hooks, I have been crocheting up a storm.  A couple projects are gifts and cant be blogged yet, but I do have two My Little Pony:  Friendship is Magic hats to show for my school break crafting madness.  I present Rarity and Twilight Sparkle, complete with cutie marks....

And in play:

Yeah, they aren't great, but I have 4 more ponies to perfect my craft.