My little owlets {rice warmers}

I like to do a homemade gift for my kids each year for Christmas, but with just a week until Christmas, I still didn't have one made.  Plus, I didn't have the slightest idea what I should make.  Well, thank goodness for PINTEREST!

I saw the cutest little owls, and it linked to a GREAT tutorial!  The best part was that I didn't have to go to the store because I just used fabric scraps, and they came together really pretty quickly.  I absolutely LOVE how they turned out!

Oh, and another bonus--my 6-year old gets to take something to school to share with his class every Monday.  Guess what he picked on his first Monday back after Christmas--HIS OWL!  My kids have LOVED them and already used them a ton!

Don't you just love when a gift comes together like that!  Thank goodness for people sharing their great ideas!

Little Birdie Ornaments

I wanted to make some ornaments to hand out with Christmas goodies to friends and neighbors, and since I seem to have a thing for birds, I knew this Pinterest find was PERFECT!

You want to make some of your own?  They were actually pretty easy!  Grab some burlap & contrasting fabric scraps, pick some ribbon or jute, find a bird template online & get started!

It is pretty self explanatory, so my instructions will be simple:

1--Cut bird shaper out of 2 layers of burlap

2--Cut a wing out of contrasting fabric

3--Stamp Christmas words (joy, love, noel, wish) onto the wings.  I used a metal stamp set and just used regular ink and it worked just fine.

4--Sew wing onto one layer of bird.

5--Place birds right-sides together, inserting a little ribbon in-between the layers to act as the hanger.

Done and done!  Don't you just love easy little projects!

Merry Christmas!

Fall Burlap Banners

Happy Fall!  I keep waiting for life to slow down a bit, but it just isn't happening.  I am squeezing in some time for crafting.  The hard part just seems to be posting it to my blog.  But, here is a SIMPLE little project that I did recently:

They were super fun and super easy.  They are pretty self-explanatory, but here are some pictures of the steps along the way:

**I didn't show a pictures of this, but I made a triangle template out of a cereal box.  It made for quick fabric cutting and ensured all of my triangles were the same size and shape. (Well, the best you can get when you are working with burlap!)

Once my triangles were cut out, I printed out my letters, cut them out, and then traced them onto the burlap with a regular Sharpie marker.  I even used a brown marker to outline the letters that I painted white and orange and it turned out fine.

 Next, I simply painted in the letters with regular craft paint--nothing fancy.  I did find that it worked best to kind of blot the paint as I went to fill in the little squares.

Then I just decorated the triangles.  To make the circles, I just dipped the end of a sponge brush in paint and then dabbed it onto the burlap--re-dipping in the paint for each dot.  Easy.

Next, I just sewed on a strip of ribbon to connect all the triangle pieces.  I did overlap the corners just barely, and I used a zig-zag stitch.

Lastly, I sprayed them (especially the edges) with a clear sealer.  I am hoping this will keep them from fraying.

I had so much fun making these!  You should give it a try!

ONE {DIY Birthday Shirt}

My baby girl is turning ONE in a week!  I can hardly believe it.  Time has gone by WAY too fast.  But, I must say, I am getting excited to celebrate, and to start things off, I made her this little birthday shirt.  I am going to do a "Pinwheel" theme party--so here is what I came up with for the shirt:

 Do you want to make one?  Here's what I did:
--Grab a shirt (I used a cute little tank from Old Navy)
--Print out your number & then cut it out.  Pin the pattern to your fabric, and cut your fabric out.

 --Iron some double-sided Wonder-Under to the fabric.  **Make sure you read the instructions and iron the right side, or you may iron the paper onto your ironing board (not that I would make that mistake personally-haha).

--Cut the shape out now with the Wonder-Under

--Peel the other side of the Wonder-Under off your shape.  

 --Place onto your shirt into place and iron on.

 --Now you are ready to applique it on.  I used a small zig-zag stitch all around the 1.
--For the pinwheel, I used this great tutorial.  I used a 2" square of fabric.  This was SUCH A FUN TUTORIAL!  I made SEVERAL that I will use for the party.  So cute!

Then, to finish things off, I made this fun matching headband.  I am hoping she will leave it on longer than 2 minutes (She has discovered that she can pull bows/flowers/ headbands off her head).  I made the headband like I made THESE.

I am so excited for her big day!  Happy Birthday baby girl!

Super hero Capes = Super Hero Mom

Well, between a 2 week Spring Break, Easter, my Birthday (last year of 20's!!) I have been somewhat absent.  It's good to be back into a regular routine--yes, good to be back to the regular grind of life.  After seeing these great Super Hero Capes on Pinterest, I thought they'd make a great Easter Basket prize.  Well...I didn't quite get them done--until TODAY.  But actually, I decided it works out better this way because now I get all the credit (therefore becoming a Super Hero to my kids) instead of the Easter Bunny!

 My princess Halle, and my Superman Cole

My kids LOVE them.  They ran around the house today Saving the World and protecting me from "the bad guys."  I'm not sure what I would do without them.

Carrot Bags

Here is a repost of a fun Easter project from last year.  I hope you enjoy!

I got this idea from my mom a few years ago.  Check out these cute little carrot bags.  They can be used as decoration (I stuffed mine with some grocery bags), or they can be filled with candy and goodies and treats and can be given as little Easter gifts.  They come together really quick, so dig through your fabric and find some scraps of orange and green fabric.  I used some orange burlap and love how they turned out.  So fun!

 Here is a quick tutorial (but they are pretty self-explanatory).

--First make a pattern on cardstock, regular paper, or whatever you have on hand.  The above picture shows the dimensions I used for mine.  Then cut your fabric out (of course lining up the fabric fold with the "fold" side of your pattern.
--Unfold the two pieces and sew them together (right sides together).  Fold in half (right sides in) and sew along the side seam, starting at the tip of the carrot.
--Turn right side out.
--Cut strips at the top to make the leafy top.  I made mine about 1/2" wide, and I cut down about 1 1/2".
--Then use strips of your green fabric (again about 1/2" wide) to make ties for the top of the bag.
Simple.  I guess that is how I roll around here because let's be honest, my kids don't allow for many projects that take time and too much concentration!

Love Birds {TUTORIAL}

Okay, so I finally finished up a tutorial for these love birds.  Hopefully this will motivate you to go make some of your own!  Aren't they fun?

 

***Here is the link for the bird template that I used.  I did make it about 1/4" bigger (by just free-handing around the pattern) to allow for the seam.

I Pinned--I Did!

So if you are like me, your pins are piling up--there are SO MANY INCREDIBLE IDEAS OUT THERE!  Well, I have been trying to actually use my pins.  Here is one that I did and I am so glad!

 I got this great idea from Make it and Love it.  I'm sure you've been to her site, but if you haven't, you should.  It is fantastic.  Anyway, she posted a great tutorial for plastic storage bags and I thought, "hey, I could make those."  So I did.  Yay!  Love having specific storage places for toys.  It was fun to make different sizes.

They came together pretty well.  It's a great tutorial.  It seemed like it was a never-ending project, but that is because I took about a week in between each step.  But overall, I am happy with them.  Oh, and my kids love having their own special bags!

I {HEART} YOU

I am loving that I am actually getting some crafting done these days!  I guess now that Christmas is over I feel like I actually have time to do some crafts.  Hooray!

 Here is a quick little Valentines Day craft.  All that is needed: Scrapbook paper & a sewing machine.

 If you remember way back, I made these cute little cards.  Well, I decided to do the same thing only a little bigger--and then frame it without the glass.  Super easy.  I love the 3-D effect of having the different hearts folded out.

 Oh, and to add a little something something, I stitched "love" down at the bottom with my sewing machine.  I like the detail (even if it's kind of hard to see on the dark paper).

Love.  Love.  Love.  Gotta Love it!

Headband Flower Wraps

Don't you LOVE Pinterest!  I love the inspiration.  I love when I see something, actually make it, and it turns out great!  Love it.
Recently, I saw these cute Vintage Wrap-Knock-off Belts.  Well, I really wanted to make headbands for my daughter and niece.  So I used THIS fabulous tutorial, but just changed it up a bit to make a headband rather than a belt.

I first made a template out of a cereal box.  I brought in one side where I planned to add the elastic.  I made the template 2 1/4" wide, and then long enough to almost wrap around my daughter's head.   You'll need 2 pieces of fabric this size.

 I followed the tutorial I found on Pinterest, only, when sewing the two pieces right sides together, I added a small strip of elastic.

When They were done, this is how the elastic looked on the back:

I had a hard time choosing which was my favorite.  I really Loved how they turned out!

The best part is that my daughter actually leaves them in--which she doesn't do with bows or flowers.  Hooray!  I call that a victory.

Happy Sewing and Happy Pinning!

Pajama Pants {Make Your own Pattern-TUTORIAL}

I hope your Christmas was merry and bright.  Mine sure was.  Now I am just trying to get back into the regular swing of things.  I have a tradition to make Christmas Eve Pajama Pants for my kids each year.  They really are simple--and you can EASILY MAKE YOUR OWN PATTERN!  Here is a tutorial:

Supplies:
Flannel (or other fabric of your choice)
Thread
Pins
Sewing Machine

Step 1:  Take an existing pair of PJ pants that currently fit.  Fold them in half.  Fold your fabric into the center.  Place the folded pants on the fabric, with the straight side lined up with the fold of the fabric.  Pin in place.

 Step 2:   Don't cut along the folded side.  Cut the fabric.  Along the top and the bottom, add 1 1/2" for your hem and elastic casing.  Along the side opposite the fold, add 1/2" for the seam.  Make sure you stretch the elastic out before cutting around the top, otherwise the waist will be too small.

 Step 3:  Fold in the other side of your fabric to the center.  Take the piece you just cut out.  Line up the  folds and pin in place.  Then cut out the 2nd piece of fabric.  It is important to use the piece you cut out rather than the existing pants to assure your pant legs are exactly the same size.

Step 4:  Take each leg piece and fold right sides together.  Pin from the crotch down to the bottom.  Sew a 1/2" seam where you just pinned.  Repeat with other leg piece.

 Step 5:  Turn one of the pant legs right-side-out.  Then place that one inside the other pant legs so that right sides are together.  Pin the 2 pieces together around the crotch line.  Make sure your center seam lines up.  If your fabric is a little off up at the top, that is okay.  Sew using a 1/2" seam.

 Step 6:  Separate the pant legs.  Hem each leg.  First, fold up about 1/4" of fabric, and then fold again about 1".  Pin this in place and continue folding and pinning around the bottom of each leg.  Sew close to the edge so that your stitch will catch both folds.

 Step 7:  Sew your elastic casing.  This is done basically the same way you did the leg hems.  However, make sure you leave about an inch gap where you will feed your elastic through the casing.

 Step 8:  Measure your elastic.  Measure your elastic to fit comfortably.  The feed it through the casing. This is most easily done by pinning a safety pin on one side.  Insert that end into the casing.  Slide the safety pin around.  Once you get back to the opening,  Overlap the two elastic ends.  Zig-Zag stitch several times over the elastic (only sew the two elastic sides together--don't sew it to the PJ pants.

Step 9:  Sew over where your inch gap was.  And that's it!  You're done.

 Now for fun, you can add a little detail to your PJ shirts.  Love it!  Nothing like a comfy pair of jammies!

Leg Warmers

I hope you all had a great Halloween.  We had fun, but personally, I was excited to put away the Halloween decor and get the rest of my Thanksgiving decorations out!

Anyway, I thought I would share a few Halloween pictures of my kids--and the FANTASTIC (at least I thought so) leg warmers for my girlies.

 Halle wanted to be a ballerina.  Since it has decided to get COLD around here, I decided she needed the perfect accessory--leg warmers.  I cut off the arms of an old sweater that I never wear.  Love getting a use out of it!

 I had bought this spider costume a year ago when I was still pregnant and didn't know if I was having a boy or girl.  Well, while the costume is cute, I knew it needed something to make it look a little "girly."  I had just finished making these little leg warmers from THIS tutorial.  Once again, the perfect accessory!  I love how they turned out (and I love that they really did just take 10 minutes!).

 I am definitely going to be watching for cute little knee high socks to make more of these cute little things!