This year we experimented with Rubber bands, Stickers and Rubber cement.
We had so much fun with it we kept boiling more eggs so we could keep trying different combinations
Happy Easter
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Baby shower invitations
My mom is hosting a baby shower for a family friend and she asked me to find an inexpensive printer for the invitations. I knew all along that she was secretly hoping I would make her something, which of course I did.
I came across the idea on the Pleated Poppy she got it from another blog but I really liked her variation.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Crochet Hook Roll-Up
My mom has taken up crochet. She’s adorable and carries a huge bag of yarn and needles with her everywhere she goes. When this bag came into my house, I took one look and my inner-organizer about had a heart attack. There were crochet hooks everywhere, strewn about in this cavernous bag. So I had to take action….enter the Crochet Hook Roll-Up!
Lucky for me, while perusing One Pretty Thing, I happened upon this tutorial from Fairy Face Designs. Perfect! I followed the tute pretty closely, so no need to go step-by-step here.
The only major addition to my roll was the flap. Having a flap will keep the hooks from inevitably sliding out of the pouch and back into the briny deep that is my mom’s crochet bag. No more mess!
Instead of making the hook pocket solid, I left out the middle section so that the hook sizes show in the “window”. I patted myself on the back for that bit of cleverness ;)
I loved the applique in the tutorial, so I did the same thing by cutting out a couple flowers from the print fabric and simply zig-zagging them on. One big flower shows when the pouch is rolled up, and there are two smaller flowers on the flap.
I did some stippling on the side pieces, just like the tute, which attaches the batting layer to the outside layer.
Instead of binding it with bias tape, I simply stitched it right-sides-together and turned it.
Doesn’t it look cute sticking out of that big ol’ bag? My mom loved it and has since crocheted me a collection of wash rags, which I love! It’s a win-win!
Lucky for me, while perusing One Pretty Thing, I happened upon this tutorial from Fairy Face Designs. Perfect! I followed the tute pretty closely, so no need to go step-by-step here.
The only major addition to my roll was the flap. Having a flap will keep the hooks from inevitably sliding out of the pouch and back into the briny deep that is my mom’s crochet bag. No more mess!
Instead of making the hook pocket solid, I left out the middle section so that the hook sizes show in the “window”. I patted myself on the back for that bit of cleverness ;)
I loved the applique in the tutorial, so I did the same thing by cutting out a couple flowers from the print fabric and simply zig-zagging them on. One big flower shows when the pouch is rolled up, and there are two smaller flowers on the flap.
I did some stippling on the side pieces, just like the tute, which attaches the batting layer to the outside layer.
Instead of binding it with bias tape, I simply stitched it right-sides-together and turned it.
Doesn’t it look cute sticking out of that big ol’ bag? My mom loved it and has since crocheted me a collection of wash rags, which I love! It’s a win-win!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Cool Boy’s Knee Patches
My 2-year old is hard on pants…big surprise there! So I did some blog searching and found an cool applique technique on Koala Brains and combined it with an idea from Make It Do. The final result is a Cookie-Cutter Reverse Applique Knee Patch! Awesome! And here’s how…
Dig out some cookie cutters in the shape(s) you want. My kid is big into guitars so these two cutters were perfect.
Lay the cutters over the knee holes…and then trace around them with a washable fabric pen.
Find a scrap of awesome fabric and cut squares slightly larger than the traced designs. The bigger the better so you don’t stitch off the side of the fabric, plus you’ll have more area to pin.
I added some light-weight fusible stabilizer to my patches. This will help keep the cotton patch from raveling so bad with each wash and gives the piece more body while you’re stitching.
Turn the pants inside-out, lay nice and flat, and place the patches, face down, over the spots. You might want to look underneath and make sure you are fully covering the design. Pin in just a few places, as you will be taking these pins out in just a bit.
Now turn the pants right-side out again and pin as much as you want. The pins underneath are there to hold the patch flat. When you’ve pinned enough, reach in and remove the underneath pins. *If you forget to do this, your sewing machine will hate you later…so don’t forget!!*
Ok, this is the trickiest part. Using your open arm machine (meaning, take off your tray if you have one), thread the pant leg on and start straight stitching around your pen line. You may have to start and stop many times, repositioning the pants, in order to get all the way around. Just remember to backstitch.
After straight stitching, I went back and did some funky zig-zagging to make it look messy and rock-star-ish… Same concept as before, just double check that you aren’t catching any other bit of pant in your stitching or you’ll have some ripping to do.
Here’s the front and back of the final product. Now it’s time to cut out the shapes!
Trim off the excess patch fabric. Don’t cut it too close to the stitching line, that way there is some ravel room. The interfacing should keep it from going too far, however.
Then trim out the denim on the front to reveal the patch. How cool is that!
So awesome! Cam loves them…he calls them his guitar pants.
Dig out some cookie cutters in the shape(s) you want. My kid is big into guitars so these two cutters were perfect.
Lay the cutters over the knee holes…and then trace around them with a washable fabric pen.
Find a scrap of awesome fabric and cut squares slightly larger than the traced designs. The bigger the better so you don’t stitch off the side of the fabric, plus you’ll have more area to pin.
I added some light-weight fusible stabilizer to my patches. This will help keep the cotton patch from raveling so bad with each wash and gives the piece more body while you’re stitching.
Turn the pants inside-out, lay nice and flat, and place the patches, face down, over the spots. You might want to look underneath and make sure you are fully covering the design. Pin in just a few places, as you will be taking these pins out in just a bit.
Now turn the pants right-side out again and pin as much as you want. The pins underneath are there to hold the patch flat. When you’ve pinned enough, reach in and remove the underneath pins. *If you forget to do this, your sewing machine will hate you later…so don’t forget!!*
Ok, this is the trickiest part. Using your open arm machine (meaning, take off your tray if you have one), thread the pant leg on and start straight stitching around your pen line. You may have to start and stop many times, repositioning the pants, in order to get all the way around. Just remember to backstitch.
After straight stitching, I went back and did some funky zig-zagging to make it look messy and rock-star-ish… Same concept as before, just double check that you aren’t catching any other bit of pant in your stitching or you’ll have some ripping to do.
Here’s the front and back of the final product. Now it’s time to cut out the shapes!
Trim off the excess patch fabric. Don’t cut it too close to the stitching line, that way there is some ravel room. The interfacing should keep it from going too far, however.
Then trim out the denim on the front to reveal the patch. How cool is that!
So awesome! Cam loves them…he calls them his guitar pants.
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