Sunday

Christmas Crafts

Now that Christmas is over, I can share some things I made for gifts.
Gingerbread dress. It's a peasant style dress made from brown corduroy, with fun accents to make it gingerbread-like of course
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A Buttercup Bag. The interior matches the flower. Hope my sister-in-law likes it, it got great reviews on some of the crafting sites I visit.
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Lego sack/mat. It can be laid out flat (a circle) to play legos on, then just pull the drawstrings and it makes for easy clean-up. I made them for 2 of my nephews, and gave them some duplo's too.
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Halloween Costumes

I know it's almost 2 months late, but here are the Halloween costumes I made this year.
Tinkerbell
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Witch
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Dracula (my mom made the cape years ago for one of my brothers, I made the cumberbund)
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Lion
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44/52

Split-front Ruffle Dress



I am not a big fan of wearing ruffles, but my girls sure like them. I made this dress after seeing something similar in an advertisement. I couldn't find where it came from, so I made my own version.
The top part was a modification of the Junebug dress at Craftiness is not Optional. I had to enlarge the pattern first, because the free pattern is for a 2T size and my younger girl is bigger than that. I didn't do a separate flap in the front, but combined it on one side so there is only one off-set split with buttons. I also didn't bother putting elastic in the sleeves.

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For the bottom I made 2 a-line skirts (a bit wider than the bodice circumference so it would gather a little). The bottom one in purple the top in the bodice fabric. The purple one is longer than the top one so it will show all the way around. I put rows of 3 inch ruffles down the front of the purple skirt. For the top skirt I split the front (to show off the ruffles) and made sure the split corresponded to the one in the bodice. It was pretty easy to wing it, so I didn't patterns for the bottom.
Sorry I didn't take pictures during the creation and do a real tutorial.

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Tuesday

Airplane Party Printables

I like to make the printables for a party, but I know that not everyone else does. So, I'm giving you mine to use if you like. The above picture is what I made. I have taken out the 'airline' name to give you a blank picture to print. I used orange and blue colors because it's easy to find orange things this time of year and blue is a good complimentary color for it, but you can change the colors of any of the items to suit your needs.
Clicking on the photo will get you to the download, or CLICK HERE.

Update: A few people have asked about how to change the colors, so I made a list of tutorial links to help with that. 

Monday

Airplane Birthday Party for a 5 year old

My second child turned 5 last week. He loves airplanes (like his daddy, who is in the Air Force). So, we had an airplane themed party. I got lots of ideas around the internet, especially on Pinterest (love that site!). Here is what we did:
I decorated in blue and orange. There was a bunting made of paper airplanes (my hubby made them), balloon clouds, and a small backdrop of cloud fabric I had in my stash. I made signage for check-in, food court, restroom, and baggage claim. It was cute.

As the kids came, they colored some luggage tags (from Oriental Trading).

They played "find the planes in the clouds". We put some small toy planes in a box of packing peanuts and let the kids dig around for them. Then they played with the planes for a bit.


Put together and decorated some foam gliders (from Oriental Trading) and flew those for a bit. While they played I got things cleaned up for lunch, our in-flight meal.
In the lunch boxes was a sandwich (choice of turkey or ham), some orange slices and some chips. They also got some Sky Jello (recipe found here...except I used store bought Cool Whip instead of whipping my own cream). We had some little servings of Cheez-its, Goldfish crakcers, blue jelly beans, and blue chocolate covered pretzels. And there were water bottles with our little printed labels on them.

After lunch they played for a bit and then wanted cake and ice cream. I used a Wilton shaped pan for the airplane cake. I think it turned out pretty good (and tasty).After cake came presents and more playing. When it was time for the guests to go, we gave them a goody bag/box and a marshmallow propeller pop to go. The goody box had some aviator sunglasses, a paratrooper toy, bubbles, york peppermint pattie bites (blue and white), orange gummies, and a plane made of candy (found here). And they also got to take home their luggage tag and foam glider.

Everyone seemed to have lots of fun. Now on to the other 3 birthdays this fall (we have lots of fall birthdays in my family).

Tuesday

Halloween Treat Tag

free treat tag
As a cute and quick gift for some friends, in honor of Halloween, I am giving them a snack. I found some plastic pumpkin candy dishes at the dollar store and am filling them with a Halloween snack mix I found at Munchkin Munchies. I have also made the gift tag seen above, to go on them (I printed it on orange paper too). You can click on the photo to download it for yourself. It's cute and generic enough for all kinds of treats for Halloween.

Wednesday

Vintage Dress Pattern

I have a lot of vintage patterns (thanks to thrift stores). I decided that I would use one before my younger daughter out grows it. I found a fun fabric (kids can get away with all kinds of bold prints) and made this dress.
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The pattern also has a pair of pants with it, maybe I'll make some blue ones for her.

Sewing a Saree (sari)

I made a saree for my oldest daughter this summer. The blouse was pretty basic, nothing fancy. Because she is so young, I didn't even have to do darts or any shaping. The fabric is silky and frays a lot, so I put used french seams to keep things together and make it not itchy for her (and so I wouldn't have to line the whole thing).
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Then I pre-stitched the saree to make it easier for her to put on by herself. I put elastic in the back, and a hook closure for the side, then sewed down the pleats in the front for easy tucking.
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She is still getting used to wearing it, and prefers the salwars and lenghas. But I think she still likes the bright pink and gold, and how grown up she looks in it.

Thursday

Dancing Sign


My oldest takes ballet classes. The owner of the studio (and her teacher) is a friend of mine. So, when the end of the year came, I wanted to give her a little teacher gift. Well, it turned into a big teacher appreciation gift. I am so proud of how it turned out I thought I'd share it with everyone.
It is a 10x20 size 'photo'. I had to buy a collage frame and then just get rid of the multi-photo mat to frame it (there is a serious lack of 10x20 photo frames out there). Another idea for this photo would be to get it printed on canvas, or maybe decoupage it onto a canvas.
Clicking on the photo will take you to a download page if you want to have this for yourself.

Monday

Junk Drawer Purse



On Saturday I attended a 'make it take it' day at my church. I decided to make a 'Junk Drawer Purse'. It's a little place to put all those things that you want to have with you, but are so small they either get lost or buried in the bottom of your purse (or diaper bag in my case).
Here is a quick tutorial (sorry I didn't take photos during the making)
Supplies:
Outer fabric- 9.5in x 12in, and 8in x 2in for band
Inner contrasting fabric- 7.5in x 11in
6 snack sized plastic bags (I used Ziplock bags)
Staples (optional, but helpful)
Thread

To make:
Optional- Stack 3 plastic bags and staple together close to the bottom, so they don't shift while sewing. Repeat with the other 3 bags. The bags are quite slippery, so stapling just helps keep them in place and makes sewing easier.
Layer inner and outer fabrics with wrong sides together, matching centers.
Place 3 bags (stapled together) on top of inner fabric, along the center, and 3 bags on the opposite side. Take the fabric band and press under 1/4 inch on both long sides. Place this on top of the bags and fabric pieces, along the center. Stitch it together using a zigzag stitch along each long side. (see photo for reference)
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Now all that's left is to finish the outside edges. Press over 1/4 inch on the long sides. Press another 1/4 inch and stitch in place. Repeat with the short sides.

To create a closure, use either bottons and loops or snaps. Then fill and use as desired.

Matching Outfits

I usually avoid super matching outfits. But every so often I do make matching things for my kids. So here are some recent matching things I have made.
Bowties for my boys (using this tutorial from Prudent Baby)
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A circle skirt for my oldest (used this tutorial on Made for the math). I encased a thinner elastic band, instead of having it exposed like in the tutorial.
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A matching dress for my younger girl. This was my inspiration. I used an old simplicity pattern for the bodice, and did a circle skirt for the bottom. And let me take a moment to say how much I hate hemming a circle skirt! Totally takes away from the convenience of no seams. My husband of course suggested using duct tape or staples. Maybe next time.
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Sunday

Onesie Vest

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I made this cute onesie vest for my baby boy. I feel like I don't sew for the boys enough. It was super easy and quick to make. Anyway, you can find the tutorial at B is for Boy!
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Also, a quick shot of my younger daughter wearing the pillowcase dress from my last post.

Friday

Some Summer Fun

Summer is finally here. The kids got out of school a bit late because of snow make-up days. But, now that they are home all day, we are filling some of our days with crafting. Here are a few things I've done these past couple weeks.


Made a bubble container I saw HERE. We bought some big bubble wands at Target (in the dollar section), and needed to be able to fill up the trays. This is a great way to store homemade bubble solution while still being able to dispense it without too much mess. They can even refill little bubble bottles. I didn't know where to easily buy glycerin, so I used a recipe for bubble solution that uses liquid dish soap, water and corn syrup, because I already had those things on hand.
I made my own label to go on it. You can have my label to print if you want it (photo is clickable). It is about 3in high and 9in wide. I ran it through my Xyron sticker maker to attach it to my plastic jug. It could also be easily attached with clear tape.
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Made some cute hair bows and clips for a friends baby shower. I used various free tutorials I found around the web.
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Yoyo flowers: http://theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com/2010/04/yo-yo-clip-tutorial.html
Bows and Covered alligator clips: http://www.girlythingsbows.com/
Felt flowers: no tut, just layered some flower shapes and hot glued
Ribbon rosette: http://www.cuteasafox.com/2010/03/no-sew-ribbon-rosette-tutorial.html
Tiny felt flower (unseen in this photo, sorry): http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/03/baby-hair-accessories-wool-felt.html

A quick pillowcase dress I made for my younger daughter. I found this cute pillowcase at a local thrift store. After a thorough washing I used THIS tutorial.
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Sunday

Paisley Invitations

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I am slowly putting together stuff for my 10th anniversary party. It's only 10 months away. I've put together an invitation (as seen above). I will be printing http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhem on my home printer at 4 to a page. I am also sharing the blank paisley card with all of you, so you too can print a cute card with a colorful paisley border.

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You can find a PDF with 4 to a page HERE

Oh, and if you like the fake Hindi font, it's called Samarkan, and you can download it free from dafont

Saturday

Airplane Party Invitations

My son will be turning 5 in the fall and will be having an airplane themed birthday party. I've made some invitations that look like boarding passes (name and info have been changed, of course).
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I am sharing the blank template with you for free. If you want it, just click the photo. Also, you can get a personalized barcode from several free places online (if you want to add that to the invite, like in the example). It'd be cute if it said 'Ben is five' or something.