The Boys' Ties

I made Josten and Breck matching ties. I used satin, though looking back, I would have used something a little thicker, and more forgiving! All you have to do for a man's tie is, take one of his ties, put it on the material, and cut it extra wide around the tie, so that each side around the tie is half the width of the prtion of the tie you are cutting at. Cut the ends with squared edges though, not pointy. Then, hem the ends just a bit. After that, fold both of the corners on either side, toward eachoher, making the pointy ends. Do this on both sides. Turn it inside out, so you pretty much just have the squared off end folded in half, and sew it together. then fold it back out, and it will be pointy! Then hem the length of the tie just a tad, and fold the two sides over to the middle. Iron them in place, so it makes it easier to see where they need to be. Then hand-stitch the sides together. Then you're done with that. The little boy's tie, I pretty much followed the same process, except for the length of the tie, I just measured where I wanted the tie to fall on him, then I added a little less than double to the length. After I finished all of the sewing, I cut a strip and hemmed it, and put velcrow on the ends. ( It is the circumfrance of his neck) I then, with the tie, tied a slipknot around the strip. There you go!

Gift Wrapping

I decided to get creative this year with gift wrapping, and make it through without having to buy too many boxes. I ended up recycling cereal boxes, granola bar boxes, etc. to use for the presents. I used the grocery bag bows that I wrote about previously, and I used brown grocery bags for some of the wrapping paper. It was pretty fun coming up with different things I could do to make the presents look nice, without buying everything for it. Granted, I did buy wrapping paper and ribbon, but it was fun to not have to depend on it. Here are some of the things I did:

I also used regular string, and scrap from scrapbook paper that I had lying around, as you can see above.

Gift Bows

I found this cute idea from another website. Such a good way to recycle those grocery bags that stack up. Here's the website for instructions:

Gift Toppers

Sienna's Apron

I had originally planned to have oven mits with this apron, but making oven mits for 6-month-old hands was more difficult than I had imagined, let alone, pointless. So I decided to forget the mits, and just do the apron, which was the main part anyway. I didn't use a pattern for this, I just kind of eye-balled the shape and size I wanted, then I folded the material in half, length-wise, and cut half of the shape, so when you opened it up, you have the full shape, and it is symetrical. Then I just hemmed the edges, cut a strip of the material for the top loop and sewed it on, and put lace on the top and bottom. I sewed it, but it could be hot-glued too. For the pocket, I cut out the shape I wanted at a bias, so it would contrast the material of the rest of the apron. Then I hand-stitched it on with embroidery floss for a neat effect. Then I put lace on the top. Last of all, I just got 2 pieces of ribbon, and sewed them to the sides for the ties. Not too hard!

Family Christmas Presents

I don't know how I got the idea for these, I guess my thoughts just kept evolving unutil it finally came to this. They are wall decorations, personalized to each family member's home. All they are, are wood boards, wood letters, scrapbook paper, ribbon, mod podge, and any other embellishments desired. I painted the boards, then mod podged a layer , then put the scrapbook paper on in the middle (cut down to size), then mod podged another layer, then put the picture on, then put ribbon on the sides of the paper, then mod podged the whole thing again. Then I painted the letters and mod podged them, then I glued them onto the sides of the boards. DONE!

Hair Bows

My friend Alyssa makes these super-cute bows for her daughter, and she kindly let me know how. So last night, I decided to try some out, along with a design for little clips I've been eagar to try as well. The bows are pretty easy, you just cut 3 or 4 pieces of ribbon, and glue them into circles (separate), and you glue them flat into the flower-like design. Then you can add ribbon on top, add a button, or whatever you wish. The clips are somewhat of the same concept. Here I have two circles, one glued on top of the other, then you loop the ribbon around the middle for a faux knot, then add it to a clip!

Breck's Blanket

So I'm pretty sure that there is no one left in the world that doesn't know how to make these, so I won't bother with instructions. If you don't know, you could probably just look at it and figure it out, and if not, just leave a comment and I'll post instructions. But anyway, I've known how to do this forever, but I've never made one. I always wanted one because they are super warm and super cuddly. So since Breck has outgrown most of his blankets, I decided to make him a big boy blanket, one that will grow with him for awhile, while insuring he stays warm during this spell of winter weather!

Christmas Cards

So I finally finished them. The daunting task of Christmas cards didn't seem so hard this year... probably becasue I only made them for family this year, and just sent Christmas letters and a picture to the rest, but hey, what's the difference between 15 cards and 60? Ummm, ok it's a huge difference, however, reducing the number greatly relieved some stress, so making cards this year didn't only sound like a good idea, but I actually enjoyed it as well. Here they are:

Sienna's Tutu

I was looking around on the internet, and figured out how to make this little tutu for Sienna. It's extremely easy. The only sewing you have to do is on the elastic. For this project you will need 3/4 to 1 inch thick elastic, enough to go around your little girl's waist snuggly, but not too tight. You will also need one to two spools (65 yards each) of tulle. You have to make sure each spool has enough, some craft stores sell them by 25 yards, but I know that the regular Wilton tulle spools come in 65 yards. The amount of tulle depends on how big your girl is, how thick you want the tutu, and how long you want the tutu. Sew the elastic together, overlapping one inch. I did 2 lines, going over each multiple times. Next, start by determining how long you want the tutu. If you want it to hang down 14 inches, then measure out strips of tulle that are twice as long, or 28 inches in this case. Once done cutting, tie in a square knot around elastic, making sure to keep it just a tiny bit loose so it doesn't stretch out the elastic too much. Keep tying until you have tied tulle around the entire circle of elastic. It's pretty simple. You can use different colors and alternate them. You can also tie ribbon in the mix for some embellishment. Get creative!

Cards Galore

Chaylia and I were making Christmas cards together the other day, and we were looking at different card ideas online. So I thought since it's definitely card-making season, I'd post some that I've done, so either you could get ideas, or think up ways to make them better for yourselves. Obviously, you would change the occasions to fit whatever, but hopefully it gets your imagination stirring! Here they are:

Since it's a party-ing time of year as well, I thought I'd post an invitation. This one was to Breck's first birthday.

Say "Thanks" for all those nice Christmas gifts!

I made this for Josten for Fathers' Day, when he was away at LTC. It's a good one for any military personnel.

This one is one of my favorites, though hand-stitching it took a long time, and was a bit of a pain.

Chrismas Ornaments

Chaylia and I made these little ornaments the other day and they were super fun! I think by looking at it, it's pretty self-explanitory, but I'll give directions, just in case. The background is cardbord, cut out in the shape of a star, I used a stencil to cut it out. Then, you peel off the top layer of the cardboard to reveal the crimped appearance. I photocopied a bunch of music of "Silent Night" , and used a smaller star to trace around for the middle. I brushed the cardboard and music with gold, and glued the music onto the cardboard. You can do whatever you want with the bows and loops, we did all sorts of things, as pictured below. Now just hang them on your tree!

Valance

Here is the valance I sewed for our kitchen. I am in the process of sewing matching seat cushions for our dining table chairs. This was amazingly simple. I cut 2 60" long pieces to desired width, sewed them together lengthwise, folded over the top for the loop, and sewed it. Then I hemmed the edges.

Shaggy Raggy Rug #2

Okay, this one was a lot quicker than rug #1. I used 7 1/2 yards of fabric for this one, same amount of rug canvas. I did the same cutting pattern. For this specific rug, I used 1 1/2 yards of the white, and 6 yards of the blue. Before tying anything on, I used a can of pumpkin to trace the size of the circles onto the rug canvas. I used a sharpie to trace it onto the canvas with, so that it was dark, and would stay. Then, after cutting the material, I first tied all the perimeters of the circles, then filled them in. After that, I tied all the blue row by row, around the circles. The tying pattern I used this time was different, which is why less fabric is needed. instead of tying them side by side, I tied them with a space between each one, alternanting which spaces were left empty on each row. I did the same amount of rows. I think it turned out just as nice as the first one, so i would suggest using the less fabric, you can't tell the difference.

Breck's Halloween Costume

Breck went as Captaqin Jack Sparrow this year for Halloween. There were 3 main things that I had to make myself, the rest of it could just use regular clothing. First I made the hair. I braided a lot of brown yarn for the dreadlocks, and beaded 4 beads at the end of 6 of them. I also beaded 4 beads on a shorter one that became the short dread that sticks out of the top of Jack's bandana. I put a charm on the end of that one. Then I hot glued all the dreads onto a previously fitted and tied bandana, where it would come out underneath. For the top of the head, I just cut unbraided yarn and glued it to the top front of the bandana, along with the short dread. the unbraided ones, I tucked into the center of the bandana, so it covered the top of Breck's head. Next was the vest. I used an unused dark blue recieving blanket of Breck's, and measured it across his shoulders. I cut it there, and cut another one the exact same size. I cut the 2nd one in half, length wise. I then cut a e restdiagonal line from the top of one of the halves to where it would hit on the chest. I did it to the next side after that. I then sewed the side together, leaving holes for the arms and neck. I trimmed up where the arms go, and left them unstiched for a rugged feel. I then too this rope-like string and hot glued it along the side of the middle, and gave the vest faux pockets with it. Then for the boots, we just used socks. we cut out the toe, and the heel, so it could strap around a black shoe, and then put felt along the top, so it wa sthe cuff of the boot. The rest was just a white oversized shirt, black slacks tucked into the boots, a neck-tie as a belt, and a plastic sword. Pretty easy!

Halloween Costumes

I just finished Sienna's Halloween costume, and am working on Brecks. Sienna will be a Lady Bug. It was a fairly simple project, one I suggest for anyone. All you need is red and black felt (1 sheet each), black pipe cleaners (2), a black onesy, 3 red buttons, thread, 1/2 yard of pre-quilted red fabric, black pantyhose (for babies or toddlers, depending on who you are making it for), and black knee-high adult nylons (you can get these in little balls for 33 cents each at Wal-Mart). First, you cut out wings from the quilted fabric. Cut 2 for each side, then sew them together except for the very top. Turn it inside out. Cut out 6 black circles 2-3 inches in diameter. Hot glue them to the outside of the wings. You can choose to stitch them on, which would be cute, but for time reasons, I opted to just glue them. Then, fold the tops of each of the wings inward so that the rough edge isn't showing. Sew them directly onto the onesy at the shoulder line. I then sewed the 3 red buttons on the front to put some cute detail on the front. Twirl the pipe cleaners one at a time around your finger 3 times to get the spiral look, and cut out 4 red circles from the red felt. Hot glue them together, leaving a space to slide the pipe cleaners in. Glue it shut. These too can be stitched together for a cute look, but once again, I just glued it. Then take one of the knee highs and cut off the toe and the top thick part. hot glue the ends together. Then, wrap the bottom of the pipe cleaners around the opposite end of the nylon band about an inch apart from eachother. You can cute a thin strip of the red felt and tie it into a bow and glue it in the middle if you like. Voila' ! You have a lady bug! Just pair with black stockings and black mary-janes and you're set to go!

Shaggy Raggy Rug

This is a project I started about 9 months ago. It didn't really take me that long, I just kept losing steam on it, and then regaining it for a couple of days, only to lose it again. Most of what made me lose steam was that I was trying to figure out what I was doing, and figuring it all out right, took a long time. So I firgure if I tell you how to do it, that will eliminate a lot of time for you! I got the idea when I was looking through a catalogue for nurseries, and I saw one that I just loved. The only thing I didn't love was the price, which was about 150 dollars. It was then that I figured that I could probably make it for much cheaper, and I was right! I do have to warn you that if you do not like redundant, tedious tasks, this project is not for you. I used 15 yards on material for this, and I figured out that it can be done with much less, which would take less time, and money. I am doing my second rug at the moment, and will let you know an exact amount later, when I finish it. You will need the fabric for this rug(I suggest the quilting solids), Rug canvas (sold at most craft stores, although JoAnn's just discontinued it), fabric scissors, and nimble fingers! First, I cut the canvas to be 100 x 70 squares. Then, comes the most boring part, in my opinion: the cutting. I laid the fabric out fully, then folded one edge (length wise) over about 5 inches. Then I would cut down that strip. I continued this with all the fabric until I had a ton of very long strips that were all 5 inches wide. Then, I took each long strip and cut them width wise about an inch thick each. The finished product once you're done cutting should be tons of little 1" x 5" strips.

After that I tied the fabric through the rug canvas. With this rug, I tied them side-by-side on each row of 70, on every other row. Thus, the actual rumber of tied rows are 50, and there are 70 in each row. You just continue to do that with each row until you are done! It's pretty simple, just tedious!