American Flag Quilt Blocks

I have wanted to do a patriotic theme quilt for quite a while now.  I am not a true quilter...rather a novice at it.  But I found a simple and easy-to-follow flag pattern on Pinterest, and I have begun my small blocks.  They're not perfect!  Again, I am not a knowledgeable quilter...just learning.  But I love this patriotic theme!  Thanks for looking. 

God Bless America!  :)

Introducing the Yo-Yos I've Been Making!

I love fabric yo-yos!  I am completely obsessed!!  I have pinned so many ideas on Pinterest, and I am not quite sure what I'm doing, I think maybe a quilt, but I haven't gotten enough yet.  I am making them in colors that I like, and I'm working on it at night and Sundays when there isn't much else I can get done around my home.  I love old quilts and old handmade items,...I'm just super drawn to the old way of using up all that people had when they had very little.  And these are still completely handmade!  I love that when I complete this project, it will not have been machine-manufactured, and it will completely be the work of my hands.  Anyway, do you like these colors?  I am also going to add some orange...you'll see! :)

My First Dresden Plate

I have been obsessed with a Dresden plate quilt my mother-in-law has hanging on her wall for the last couple of years.  When she moved to her new log cabin, she chose to display this beautiful quilt in the main living area.  I wish I had a picture to show you!  It's lovely.  I believe it was made by someone in her family, but I can't remember exactly who at this time.  At Thanksgiving and Christmas (before my little baby was dog bitten on the face), I was researching the Dresden plate quilting on google and Pinterest and made several pins to help me figure out how to do it.  I thought it unique on the quilt to see the pointed fan looked, and was interested in learning how hard it would be to make.  After Christmas, when I took a month off from Etsy, I decided to order my templates and what-not.  Then I set to work.  This is the beginning of it. I have yet to applique it to a quilt block.  I don't think it's as particularly pretty as the Dresden plates my mother-in-law's quilt, but I was trying to make it special from my grandma's hand picked fabrics from many years ago.  And I am also still learning.  I will post more pictures later when I finish it.  This is as far as I got with taking care of my kiddos and the house before I had to re-open my Etsy shop.  :)

Hearts

Yesterday my kids had another snow day this winter!  We had to find some things to do so we worked on Valentine's Day projects.  Jayna decorated her school box; Carly made some wire and beaded hearts along with working on her personal progress project; and I made some paper hearts and heart softies.  I already had everything in my craft stash to make the hearts.  Most of the things we did came from ideas on Pinterest.  I am glad I had some extra time with my kiddos this week.  I love them and so making hearts and celebrating an upcoming holiday was fun!

Carly's First Quilt!

In our church, we have a program for our young women, ages 12-18, called "Personal Progress."  If you aren't familiar, here is a link to view:  https://www.lds.org/youth/article/introduction-personal-progress?lang=eng.  It's a great thing to get young girls involved in.  Carly's first value completed was knowledge.  So she could move on to her very first 10 hour project!  She decided she wanted to do a baby quilt.

I already had some fabrics on hand...cause you know, I am rich and collect stuff I don't need.  Right?!  Not!  I just have a hard time passing up adorable fabric when I'm buying yarn or scrapbook paper.  I'm an intermediate seamstress myself...all self-taught.  So I do browse the fabrics at the craft store when I go.  Anyway, I had purchased in the past some Berenstain Bears patterns because my children adore those books.  Well, that is exactly what pattern that Carly was drawn to in my stash.  So we next decided on a pattern.

We decided to go with a tutorial I had pinned on Pinterest.  You can view that awesome step-by-step tutorial here:  http://christaquilts.com/2012/07/19/diy-quilts-1-the-jolly-jellyroll-quilt-supply-list/.  It's a great for those who need some guidance, like myself!  :)  We just altered it a touch to our skill set and tool set...and voila!  Carly has a brand new baby quilt. 

Carly spent hours (13, to be exact!) cutting, machine sewing blocks, and then strips together; ironing; pinning; more sewing; and then learning a blind stitch by hand to do the binding around the edges.  She really was a fast learner, and at the beginning of each step, I showed her what to do, and let her go from there.  She did amazing on it!

She plans to keep this quilt as a keepsake for her very first baby.  Since it's primary colors and Berenstain Bears, it can be for a baby boy or girl.  And it also has a school theme to it.  She said she would like to keep all of the Berenstain Bears books we have as she gets older and moves into having her own family, to go along with her new quilt.  I told her to go for it!  I'm happy that she's interested.  So stay tuned for future sewing by Carly. 

A Handmade Christmas for the Kids

Typically every year I make a lot of my gifts for friends and family.  However, this year, with babysitting three days a week for 10 hours each day, and not having the down time we had last year after Brent's hip surgery, I found I was really too busy to get much done craft-wise outside of my Etsy shop orders for others.  So, I chose just one gift for each of my kids and went with that for a handmade Christmas.

The first is the fabric alphabet set I made for Shelby.  I had inherited a lot of scrap fabrics from my grandmother this past summer, and I really wanted to recycle it into some cute things for my family.  I researched some pins with tutorials about fabric alphabet sets on Pinterest, and I then did what was comfortable for me with a combination of steps from different tutorials.  Overall, I was really pleased with the outcome of my product, and my grandmother was impressed with the idea and wanted a set for herself!  :)

For Carly, I scrapbooked a page of pictures from Taylor Swift's concert that Carly and I attended earlier this year.  I also included her ticket from the concert, and an actual autograph from Taylor Swift addressed to Carly that a friend gave her for her birthday a few years ago.  (Before Taylor Swift became really popular around the country, she had stopped in my town...yes, just one mile away!...at a local grocery store to sign autographs and release her first cd.  Oh, how I wish I had known how famous she'd become...I would have been there myself!)  Carly now has the shadow box framed page on her wall to remember that special day we shared as mother and daughter.  :)

For Jayna, I had pinned some peg doll ideas because she really loved playing with a set I made identical to our family before Shelby was born.  So I pinned a few and when it came time to choose, I decided since she loves princesses so much, why not "the Princess and the Pea" to add to her collection of princess stories?  She didn't know the story yet so I ordered the book off of Amazon.com and set to work on the peg doll set.  Again, I used fabrics from my grandmother to "dress" the dolls and the "quilt" the mattresses.  Jayna has loved it so much and I'm really glad I didn't second guess my crafty abilities and went through with the plan.  I will make more for her in the near future!  Just pinned another set I'm sure she'll love....  ;)

When it came to Adam, well, boys are just harder to craft for, and there's not as much "cute-sy" stuff for them.  But when I saw this pin, I knew it was the gift for him.  http://www.meggipeg.com/2012/04/boy-bedroom-makeover-scout-blanket-with.html  I have so many extra patches that do not go directly on his uniform, and also some that Brent acquired as a Scout, so I have begun working on sewing them all to a blanket.  I have the trim almost all done along the edges as well.  While I haven't completed Adam's project to date, I did show it to him close to Christmas and he was happy with it.  I look forward to giving him something special and that accounts for time he has spent learning things with Scouts.  I also think it will be nice if he has sons that he can hand this down to them and they can add their Scout badges as well. 

I had about a week to work on my children's gifts for Christmas after I had completed my Etsy orders, so it wasn't much time to finish everything I wanted for them. 

Felt Nativity Set

Over the past few years I have really started collecting Nativity sets.  For a few years into our marriage, I didn't have any.  Then I started buying them after Christmas on sale, and friends even bought a couple of sets for me.  But with Shelby, my 1 year old, it was hard to let her handle any fragile sets or small pieces.  Yet I wanted her to have something for herself to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ along with the rest of us...something she could touch, feel, and play with as I talked to her about Christ.  Therefore, when I came along this pin: http://whatmadeleineloves.blogspot.com/2011/12/felt-nativity.html on Pinterest, I knew it was something I had to do for my baby girl.  Bonus:  I didn't have to buy a single thing to make it as I already had all of the supplies in my craft stash.  After a week or so in my spare time, I had it completed!  It was really fun!  And I will admit that although she didn't take the interest in it right away that I thought she would, she did like to carry around one piece at a time and she knew it was "hers."  I look forward to seeing how she interacts with it next year when she's a few months older and can understand a little more about our Savior's birth. 

Pocahontas Costume

Carly had a school assignment to study and educate others on a person in history - she chose Pocahontas.  For her school presentation, I wanted her to seem authentic, so I made her a Pocahontas costume to wear.  (Plus, being 10 years old and in women's clothing sizes, it's really hard to find a modest Indian costume!)  I bought all of the materials at JoAnn's.  The suede cloth already had the cut-outs and fringes, so basically all I did was take one of her basic form church dresses, and use it as a pattern to cut the dress for this costume.  Then I sewed the sides and shoulders together, and voila!  It was ready.  I also bought the Indian-looking trim at JoAnn's and sewed it along skirt bottom.  The feather band on her head came from the $1.00 spot at JoAnn's, and again, I only added the trim by sewing machine.  Her wig came from KMart on sale for $7.00 and the brown tights are from Target.  The turquoise around her neck were string of beads also from JoAnn's that I strung onto elastic cord for a quick necklace.  All in all, this was an easy project and I am pleased with the outcome of the look.  She looked great for the presentation at school!

Create with Me September Challenge

For September's challenge over at Create with Me, and in honor of National Sewing Month, we were asked to use our sewing machines and make a handbag based on this tutorial http://iammommahearmeroar.blogspot.com/2011/09/tohoku-tote.html. I chose version two because I like the cleaner lines, the pleat, and the smaller bow. I did use a stabilizer in the form of fusible interfacing on my purse. I chose the fabrics from JoAnn's. I really enjoyed making this project, have a cute new tote to show for it, and I've already bought and cut pattern pieces to make each of my kiddos a Halloween treat bag from this same pattern (I'll leave the bow off, though)!!! Stay tuned to see what those look like when I'm finished with them.

Easy Headband Tutorials

I've seen a couple of tutorials for fancy-shmancy little girl headbands...and I decided to try them out today since I already had everything on hand (and because I was up until 1 a.m. canning garden food last night...I deserve some craft time! ha!). I used the following tutorials if you are interested...and tweaked the vintage rosette one a little more to my daughter's "princess" style. http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2011/06/creative-guest-budget-beautiful-diy.html and this one: http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2011/06/creative-guest-budget-beautiful-diy.html I'm definitely going to make more of the frayed headbands...they are just too cute in person and you don't have to be all dressed up to "dress yourself up." Know what I'm saying? Thanks for looking!

Handmade Bonnet

Hello, all! I know it's been QUITE A WHILE since I've posted any crafts. I've been too busy to really sit and make any! But recently we had a celebration of Pioneer Day (http://lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/we-all-share-pioneer-legacy?lang=eng) at our church, and in the spirit of making it fun and accurate, I decided to make some bonnets for my girls to wear to the activity. I don't have any pictures of Carly's, but here is what I made for Jayna. I only had a toddler sized pattern to fit her head, so it looks small, but she "broke it in" so to speak and by the end of the evening it fit her head perfectly, keeping the sunshine out of her eyes. She actually loved wearing it, to my surprise; she usually doesn't like wearing whatever I've spent time making myself! The fabric I already had on hand, and the pattern is one from a yard sale I bought two years ago when she was still a baby. Thanks for looking!

Handmade Princess Crowns

These are some of what I made for the craft show I did last weekend. I sold about half of them -- my favorites are gone, and before I got to take pictures of them, too, dang it! Anyway, the ones pictured here are in my Etsy shop. They are $10 each. It might seem pricey, but I did everything by hand. Lots of sewing, ironing, pinning, embellishing, etc. And handmade in America! ;) These are great for birthday parties, tea parties, dress-up, or to make your little girl feel so special and beautiful...like a princess! ;) They best fit 3T and up and are adjustable with the ribbon ties in the back, so no sliding off or falling off the head as the little girl moves and plays. And they are totally comfortable, unlike the cheap plastic ones you can buy at the store. Thanks for looking!!!

Princess Birthday Crown

I recently tried my hand at another princess crown from scratch. This is my second one to date, and I think it turned out markedly cuter than the one I made for Carly's birthday. This one if for a little girl that I babysit occasionally. She just had her 4th birthday, and she's so spunky and full of life! So I knew I had to use some bright colors and a fun, whimsical pattern for her. I found the fabric at JoAnn's. The diamond accent trim along the bottom is also from JoAnn's. The yo-yo accents, frilly fringe, and ruffly border were all handmade by me. I super enjoy the end result of this crown so I am really looking forward to getting more time to make another. Thanks for looking!!!

It's All in the Details

Today's birthday celebration for Carly will be "all in the details." We decided since we are taking a Summer vacation this year, we won't be having all of the kids' really big parties with friends. Instead, we'll try to make them each feel unique at home with a smaller family celebration. So for Carly turning 9 this year, I wanted to make it big in an elegant, homemade kind of way. Does that even go together? Elegant and homemade??? Well, I tried to pull it off, and for the most part I think I did. For starters, I found this tutorial here: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/blog-post.html a couple of weeks ago and began making some flowers. I already had EVERYTHING on hand and didn't have to purchase a thing. Score! These I laid in the center of the table, kind of random, like a table runner. (The tablecloth I borrowed from a kind friend willing to share for Carly's celebration. Score!) I also altered an old tin watch box for Carly's gift from me -- a glass heart pendant and necklace. I think everything I used came from Hobby Lobby on that...except the purple gems were from Target, and the scalloped circle and #9 I cut with my Cricut using the Simply Sweet cartridge. But again...I already had all of that on hand...except for the necklace! That's new for Carly! :) So score there on keeping it cheap! To make the large tissue paper flowers (pom poms) hanging from the ceiling I used this YouTube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDAgjtScFpU. I think they add a nice touch to the room! And the tissue paper was cheap...I think I spent maybe $5 to make those. Score! To add a little detail to the dining chairs, I tied bows in netted tulle around the back tops and it did dress them up. The picture doesn't quite show it! But cheap...cause I have some left over and the chairs were dressy! Score! For the crown, my daughter loves purple so I used purple fabrics; purple felt; and Star Dust Stickles glitter glue. The lace came from Hobby Lobby. And I made those rosettes -- tutorials are on lots of different craft blogs for that. Anyway, all of it was really fun to make (ESPECIALLY THE CROWN)...spending nights while the kids were in bed, and I was watching my favorite t.v. shows. Carly will be home in a matter of minutes, and I can't wait to see her reaction to the way the dining room is set up...just for her!!! And a lot of it she can recycle and use to decorate her bedroom for an updated look. (PS - I am linking up to Lil Luna this week to share! I hope someone likes some of the ideas and can use them for baby showers, birthdays, parties, etc.)

***I'd like to add (after our homemade steak dinner with vegetables; Sprite with gummy worms in the glass [hey, my kids love that!]; and homemade strawberry cake with vanilla icing, that the family party turned out great. Carly even wore her crown all evening!