Hair bows galore!!!

Have you seen all the cute hair bow holders floating around blogland? Oh the possibilities!!! They are so cute. I thought this would be great gift for my beautiful niece and adorn it with hair bows!!! Her birthday was a few days ago, but I went ahead and gave it to her early. I think she really liked it ;) And these hair bows! Oh, they are so easy to make. Once I got started making these bows, it was really hard to stop! I didn't realize how fun it is!

I was not so lucky as others out there who found frames for $1 at thrift stores, but mine was on sale! I got it at Michael's for $10; it was 50% off. Not too bad. So with the help of my dad, I spray painted the frame with this cute turquoise spray paint.

Using the matte board that came with the frame, I cut out some batting about 2 inches longer on each side and then hot glued it around the edges.

I cut the fabric a little longer than the batting. Then I laid the board on top of the fabric and hot clued it on all sides. Then I measured the ribbons and decided on the placement and hot glued them as well. Then added the back of the frame and I was done!!! Easy peasy!

After the frame was done, I proceeded to make these cute bows. My sister gave me some ribbon for Christmas so I put it to good use! I used this tutorial to line the clips with ribbon. Most of the bows were made by making four or six loops (two or three on each side) making sure to hold it securely in the center. To secure the bow, tie the center with thick string. Cut a coordinating ribbon big enough to wrap around the center. Place a dab of glue in the center on the back of the bow and put the end of the ribbon on it. Add another dab of glue and wrap the ribbon around, making sure to cover the string holding the loops together. Then place some glue on top of the clip and press and hold the bow on it for a few seconds.

These are fabric flowers that are great if you have scrapes. They are left over from this post. I am just now finding out a use for them!!! Adorn them with a cute button and you have a cute, unique bow.

Then there are these cute little barrettes. Here is an easy and quick tutorial. I think these are very cute. Something great to do while watching TV or during long car rides!

I can't wait to make some more cute hair bows. I have two little girls birthdays coming up in March and April!!! I should be able to get a lot done between now and then!

Add all the cute bows to accessorize!

T-shirt refashion into girls skirt

This is super easy to make and super cute! I can't wait to see this on my niece (I know I always say that, but I really can't wait). My mom gave me a trash bag full (seriously, a full trash bag!) of t-shirts. So I have a lot of refashioning to do!

I love working with t-shirts because it doesn't fray; makes my life so much easier.

Start out measuring the little princess, waist and length from waist to knee. Add an inch to the length (my elastic was 3/4" and I added 1/4" for seam allowance), and measure from the bottom of the shirt up. This way you can use the original hem for the bottom of the skirt. Cut straight across the shirt.

Turn the shirt inside out. Fold and pin the cut edge an inch, don't worry about the cut edge, it won't fray. Sew around the skirt leaving a two inch gap for threading elastic through. Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic and thread it through. Make sure the other end does not get pulled into the tube!

Overlap the elastic about an inch and pin it in place. Stitch the opening closed and sew from top to bottom of elastic to hold it in place. I also sewed from top to bottom on each side so the elastic won't twist.

That's it! Your done! I told you it was easy!

Now it's time for the fun part. You can leave the skirt as is or you can embellish it. Embellishing is always fun! I cut out another strip from the t-shirt, about 1 3/4" wide and 8" long.

This was my biggest flower. I cut the other two flowers smaller because I didn't want them all to be the same size. Now, adjust your sewing machine stitch length to the longest possible. Fold the strip in half and sew along the raw edges, do not back stitch. When you reach the end, make sure you leave some extra thread. Starting at one end, pull on one thread until the fabric starts to gather. Form the strip into a flower shape and attach to the skirt.

How cute is that!?!

You can also do frilly strips of fabric instead of flowers. The possibilities are endless! Now I have to go make some more!

My first purse!

And my first sewing project from scratch without a pattern! That's quite an accomplishment for me (having a strong type A personality!) But I did it. I started out taking pictures and had planned on doing a tutorial, but I left my camera at home (sewing things are at my parents) on day two. So no picture tutorial. I will try to explain the process without the pics. I debated whether to do this tutorial at all, but decided to go with it. There are two reasons: I hope that it might help someone out there and to help me next time I make a purse.

I know the long list of things to do looks intimidating, but trust me, it's pretty easy (I mean I did it!) This was fun to make and I am sure I will be making more.

Supplies: Three coordinating fabrics (I started out with 1 yard each so I am not sure how much was needed. I would say 1/2 yard each for main fabric and lining and 1/4 yard for remaining fabric.)
Medium weight interfacing
Coordinating button

Start out cutting out the lining fabric to the shape you want. I just eyed the angles and when it was all cut out, I rounded off the corners (or you can leave the corners angled). You can fold it in half to make sure it is symmetrical. Then take some wax paper and trace the outline on it so you will have it for next time!

Using a different fabric from the lining, cut out a piece for the inside pocket. I am not exactly sure how big mine was, probably 6x8 inches. Fold the top edge down 1/4" twice, ironing after each fold then sew. Fold and iron each side and bottom 1/4" working clockwise and then fold again. With the inside of the pocket facing up on your sewing machine, sew around the sides and bottom close to the edge (so when you are done, the fold should lay flat). Then pin the pocket on the lining and sew around the sides and bottom, close to the outside of the pocket. If you want, sew a divider from top to bottom.

Then cut out the front and back piece for the exterior. Cut the front piece into three symmetrical panels. Using the middle piece, cut out the middle panel on the third fabric. Sew the panels together to form the front of the purse.

Attach the interfacing to the outside pieces. (I used an iron-on interfacing. I found it really easy to use. You can also apply interfacing on the lining fabric if you wish). Center the front side (the paneled side) to the back side, right sides together. Trim the back side; it will be a little bigger than the front because of sewing the panels together. Pin the pieces together and sew the two sides and bottom together. Make sure you back stitch.

Sew on a coordinating button, centered on the outside front piece towards the top (this way you won't see the thread on the lining).

Use the outside as a template to trim the lining. Pin lining pieces, right sides together and sew sides and bottom.

Now, for the straps. My straps were about 24 inches. I cut out two stripes, 25 x 4. Iron on the interfacing if you want a sturdier strap. Fold strap in half with right sides together and sew the long side of the strap. Turn right side out and iron with seam on the side.

Turn lining right side out and place inside the outer pouch. Make sure side seams are lined up. Pin edges together. Decide on the placement of the straps. They will need to be placed inside the pouch between the two layers. Make sure the straps aren't twisted. (The ends of the straps should be sticking out at the top where you are about to sew.) Sew all the way around the top edge of the purse, leaving a 5 inch gap for turning. Make sure you back stitch over the straps to make it more durable.

Turn the purse right side out and tuck the lining in side. Fold over and iron the gap and pin in place.

Cut out a 3/4" x 4" strip. Fold the strip in half and iron. Next, unfold the strip and bring the edges to the center line and iron both edges. Then fold in half on the first ironed line (there should be no raw edges showing; trust me this is much easier than trying to turn it right side out!)

Line up the strip with the button and pin in place. Top-stitch around the top of the purse and then you are done!

I made a fabric flower to add to the front. (Unfortunately I made it after I took the pics, so that didn't make it)

Wow, I didn't know the tutorial would be so long!!! I hope it helps and someone finds it useful. Next time I will remember my camera!

Here's a look inside. The pocket is divided into two sections.




And the back view:


Good luck with yours!

Fabric Flower with Petals

As you will see in a few days, I have been busy making hair bows. This one I really like. I saw a purse in a sales magazine with this cute fabric flower on it. So I decided I would try to make it. It is a little more involved than the yo-yo flowers and other fabric flowers, but its worth it!

Start out by cutting out rectangles of your fabric. I cut out 1 1/4 x 3. I ended up cutting off some of the length and next time I will make it wider. It's all personal preference; whatever you choose can't be wrong. I started out with five strips, but I ended up needing two more.

Fold the fabric in half with the short sides together and sew around three sides, leaving the cut edges open for turning. Make sure you back-stitch so it won't unravel. Trim the edges.

Turn the petal right side out. Start a running stitch along the cut edge. The smaller your stitches the more gathered it will be.

Then continue to make the remaining petals and stitch them together like so:

When you get your desired amount of petals, stitch together the first and last petal. Trim any frays that you might have. Don't cut the thread yet.

At this point you can either sew or hot glue a button on, or add another fabric flower. I chose to add a yo-yo. With the remaining thread I attached the yo-yo. Then I hot glued the flower to a ribbon covered hair clip. That's it! I think it's adorable and I can't wait to see it in my niece's hair! I hope you enjoy and I hope it inspires you!

Aprons, matchy, matchy

I love how these turned out! They are for my sister-in-law and niece. I really hope they like them. My niece was not super excited about it, but she's only 3 1/2. I made it a little big so she will be able to grow into it. I can't wait to make some for my sis and her daughter.

The child's apron I finished first so there are several pictures of it. The adult one I finished last minute and therefore there are not very many pictures. But you can still get the idea.

And it's reversible, of course.

I added these cute little fabric flowers as an added embellishment. It's a pin so they can change sides, or wear it with something else.

Disclaimer: I am not a photographer. I really wish I knew all about lighting and everything else there is to know, but I don't. Maybe one day. So I do apologize for these next pictures. These are the only two that are clear. The tree in the background kept making the pictures blurry. I don't know what I did different with these, but it worked. They are not exactly pose-ready for the picture, but I had to take what I could get! There were still lots of other presents to open!

Still Slacking...

I am still slacking. I have been very busy with different crafts and thankfully lots of January birthdays! So not much has slowed down since the holidays. A few things have changed since the last post. We are now in the process of buying a house. It is a foreclosure and we are getting a great deal on it. We found out about it a few days after we moved into the rental! So, still living out of boxes. Thankfully, both of our parents are in town so we can mooch off of them for supper and we don't have to eat out every night. No way am I unpacking all the kitchen stuff just to pack it back up in a few weeks! Hopefully, when we get moved into our new house I will be more diligent.

Now that Christmas is over I can share some of the things I was making for gifts! Remember this lovely fabric? (And now they have a brown and teal! I am trying to figure out how to incorporate it in our new house!)

It's now a new addition to the in-laws lake house. I made some reversible placemats and cloth napkins.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to finish everything. I have to make six more placemats and napkins and a table runner. Hopefully, I will get these done before my MIL's birthday! I also made this luscious dish towel. I can't wait to make some more of these for my house! It's a great way to use up some scrapes.

These are super easy to make. I sewed each section together sewing right sides together. On the wrong side, iron down the seam, separating the fabric. Then sew one long side, right side together. Iron the side that was sewn. Fold over and iron and pin the remaining three sides. Topstich the remaining sides and the side already sewn. Your done! So simple and very cute!

More to come, hopefully soon! Take care and stay warm!