Super Easy Top Re-Do

Have I mentioned that I'm tall?

Pretty sure I have. But in case you didn't know... I'm 6'1". Yeah, not just kind of tall.

I have the same issues that every other tall girl has. I have trouble finding pants long enough, sleeves long enough, and most mid-length skirts end up looking like mini skirts on me.

Oh, and then there's my torso. The torso is a story within itself. My torso is WAY long. Like, almost too long for the rest of my body. Really, the length of my torso almost suggests my legs should be a few inches longer...which we all know I don't need...

I have to preface that because, due to my extreme lengths, I tend to have devastating results when items shrink up in the dryer. I need every inch of fabric my clothes can offer, and if any of it gets lost...I'm outta clothes.

Well, unfortunately it happened. A shirt I loved previously ended up in the dryer, and shrunk in the torso length. The cry of death for any of my tops.

The top had previously been one of those loose, boxy-fitting, v-neck shirts. It was a very silky and slinky knit, a peachy pink color, with light grey feathers printed here and there on it. After washing it, I felt like a little kid wearing it, because it was too short, but not intentionally short. Like I was a 5 year old wearing a 3T.

I just couldn't let the shirt go, so I thought about what I could do. Make it into a dress for one of the girls? No. Make it into a shirt-dress? No, it's too loose fitting in the sides for that. But wait... if I were to cut it, and make it intentionally short, then I might be onto something!

I thought about it, went back and forth, decided to scrap the idea in fear of looking too much like Bill S. Preston, Esquire.

But no, I couldn't let it go. The day before Thanksgiving, I made the cut. And the hem. And got one of the easiest, flub free refashions, I'd ever done. No regrets.

So here's what I did:

The shirt...after the wash, before the cut.

The pattern

 As seen below, I cut an arched line from left side to right side. Then I hemmed it, but you don't have to, if you use a top with a knit fabric.

Another variation could include making it a "hi-low" shirt with the arched cut in front, gradually descending into a reverse arch down in the back, so the front is cut high, and the back is cut low.

And here's how it looks all put together:

 These pictures are not the best quality...we are looking into getting a new camera since our camera broke...so these are with my phone, hopefully you get the picture.

Simple Gifts: Memory Game

For Christmas this year, we decided to hand make a lot of the gifts. Some were Simple and easy, yet very appreciated. Some were complicated and made me more angry making them, than I should have been in a happy season. 

Of the simple ones that left me feeling happy and crafty, I found particular joy in the ease of the Memory game.

I used 20 of the thin, unfinished wood sqaures from Michael's. I think they were 25 cents each. 

I also used paint, scraps of fabric from 10 different types of fabric, and mod-podge (I suggest using a matte, it's a little less tacky feeling). 

These are so easy, I feel silly even posting instructions... but I will, just to prove to you haw easy, and how possible it is for anyone to make a cute gift. 

1. Paint your squares front and back with desired color. (Easy enough, right?)

2. While paint is drying, cut out 2 squares of fabric from each of your ten different kinds of fabric. The squares should be slightly smaller than your wood squares, so there's a border around the fabric when you attach it to the wood. If you're concerned about finding ten different types of fabric, look through old clothes, or heck, you could even use scrapbook paper!

3. Apply a layer of Mod-Podge to the square. Add a layer of Mod-Podge to the back of your fabric piece and attach it to the square. Let it dry.

4. Once it is dry, apply mod-podge over entire square, front and back to finish it off. Repeat for all Squares.

I added a few more pairs after this, so not all is shown, but you get the idea. 

I printed out a fun design and covered a box I had, but since not everyone will have a perfect square box lying around, I didn't include this in the instructions!

Completely Simple, right? Now, stop telling me you're not crafty, and go make this for someone!

Dinosaur Party! RAWR!!!

Okay, I am SO not used to posting regularly! I've got to get my system back in order...

Anyways, March was my Little Man's 5th Birthday!! I couldn't believe it! It really doesn't seem possible that 5 years have already come and gone since I became a mother! Isn't he handsome?? ;)

Well, anyone that knows this energetic little tyke, knows that he LOVES dinosaurs! He loves that they run around screaming, so they naturally became his mascot. He begged me to let him be a dinosaur for Halloween. I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but we made it work, and he was the happiest kids alive. For his birthday this year, I let him pick his theme for the first time (last year we didn't have a big party because we had just moved, and before that he didn't really get what was going on), and he of course, picked a dinosaur theme.

Now, as a mother who likes to plan parties, I was a little disappointed because I thought, "Dinosaurs?? How do I make that cute??"

But soon my brain started tinkering, and I was finding ideas right and left, that left me thrilled to be putting on a dinosaur birthday, against my expectations!

We went with a grass green, and navy blue striped color scheme, with little tan accents here and there.

These were the invites. Super simple. I created the inside on my computer, had them printed off in 4x6's. Then I took regular 8.5x11 green paper, cut it in half, hamburger style, and placed the picture in the middle, folding each side over the picture for a 3-way fold. Then, I added a strip of teeth I cut out myself onto the top flap, and stuck the name labels that i also created on my computer on the front. Done.

 The decorations...I'll post a tutorial on the green polyhedrons soon. They're super easy and cheap!

Also, though you can't read it, The sign on the meat says "Carnivors", the sign on the veggies says "Herbivores", and the sign on the water says "Watering Hole".

 The Food: Fossil Cake, Jello Roll-ups, Dinosaur Eggs (Oreo truffles), Dinosaur Bones (breadsticks), Dinosaur Cake Pops, and fossil imprint cookies (not shown).

The Favors: Nests with Dino Eggs (jelly beans), and a little toy dinosaur

The Activities (The pictures will speak for themselves)

Super fun, and easy theme. Hope this helps you jump start your planning for your own little dinosaur lover!

Oh, Hi.

Sorry I've been gone so stinkin' long! But I'm very happy to say that we have a connection!!! We live kind of in  the sticks...pretty close to a bigger city, but far enough away from it (I guess 5 miles is super far??) that we don't have any options for internet. Our options included, get a mobile hot spot (poor internet quality and speed), maybe get AT&T (reliable internet, good price, but only offers to really extremely random locations; your neighbors could get it, but not necessarily you), or the dreaded local cable company who "doesn't have the technology" to only offer internet and not cable along with it (c'mon, we lived in a small Idaho town that was probably 1.5 miles in diameter who offered cable internet without cable!!), thus forcing you to pay what is already an insane amount for those two services, but couple it with the fact that it's AWFUL service! There were days where we wouldn't even get service!! I seriously hated it, plus, I prefer not to have TV, because if we pay for it, we feel like we have to get our money's worth out of it, so we watch it more than necessary. We've always chosen to not get cable, and I hated being forced to have it.

Until a week ago, I found a 4th option! Satellite internet! They come out here, and it's a WAY better price! And I don't have to get cable with it! Wahoo! So we are back online!

And don't you worry, I haven't been idle these last 6 months. I've got lots of stuff to show you.

Here's a look at what we've got coming up:

-LOTS and LOTS of refashions
-Gift Ideas for kids
-New fun recipes
-Birthday Parties (Yay!)
-New series
    -"Pinned it, Did it" reviews - trials of popular pinned projects from Pinterest, and my review
    -"Tipped Off" - Tips and Tricks for around the house, with kids, with projects, etc.
    -"Frugal and Fabulous", - my own personal secrets to saving money while crafting, gifting, decorating, dressing, and cooking wonderfully. I will open this up for submitted tips as well.

SOOOOooo...lots of great stuff. Stay tuned. Thanks for all of the support!

Love, Sarah

Halloween

I hope you all had a great Halloween. As you've probably noticed, I never posted the tutorials for the girls' princess dresses. I really expected to have them done sooner, so I could post the tutorials in time for Halloween. I grossly overestimated my free time with 3 kids!

But, I will write them up and post it next year. My goal is to have costumes done by the first week in October next year, so you'll have FIVE costumes to learn how to make next year! Yahoo!

Also, we're switching internet providers right now, hence no formatting in this post, as I am posting from my phone. My posting will probably be slower for a week or so, and less than beautiful in appearance.

I hope you had an awesome Halloween, can't wait for Thanksgiving now!

Feed Me Friday: Worm Burgers

Oh this grossed me out so bad when I saw it! Isn't it funny how during Halloween, we seek to eat stuff that makes us want to vomit looking at it??? I guess it's all part of being festive!

These, like the other posts, are ridiculously simple.

Worm Burgers:

You'll need:

hamburger buns
hotdogs
BBQ sauce
any other condiments you prefer (we didn't use anything special)

The concept behind this, is that you cut each hot dog in half, length wise. then you cut those halves in half again length wise.

Boil them for a few minutes, they will curl on their own. Drain water.

Cover them in BBQ sauce, and serve on hamburger buns. So easy.

You'll need 3-4 "worms" per hamburger bun set, so with each hot dog producing 4 worms, you can plan accordingly how much you need.

Breck the Dinosaur

Well, I'm ashamed to say I don't have a tutorial for this costume. The reason?? I honestly didn't know what I was doing the entire time. Making animal costumes is just something that's foreign to me, and without a pattern, I'm at a loss. I was lucky that it did turn out, but I just don't have a tutorial, and if you copied everything I did, you would be running around like a chicken with it's head cut off like I was while making this.

However, I will say, that if you want to make this exact costume, I can give you some tips.

First of all, get a pattern for pajama pants and a hooded jacket/anorak.

Once you've cut all your pieces out, you need to apply the knee pads and the tummy patch with an applique stitch. I just eyeballed how big I wanted mine.

For the spikes:

Next, cut out about 12 squares of fabric that are about 4"x4". Cut them each in half diagonally so you have 2 triangles for each square.

Cut pieces of felt (1 for each set of 2 triangles) in the exact shape of the triangles you just cut, just about 1/8 inch shorter per side.

Sew each triangle together, then turn inside out. insert felt triangle, and sew along edges of the triangle. Bottom of triangle does not need to be sewn. Do this for all 12 triangles.

Attach triangles along the center hood seam, the back seam (you may need to cut a line down the back to make your own seam), and down the tail.

Sew all the other pieces together, according to the instructions, leaving the bum seam of the pants open and unsewn for a tail.

Use similar concept for the bill of the hood as the spikes, just using a bill of a hat as your guide to the shape. when sewing the fabric together, add little white felt triangles on the edges of the inside, and sew the curved side of the bill together. when turned inside out, it will reveal teeth. Then put the felt inside the bill, and sew along the curved side again. Attach to the hood.

I just added googly eyes for the eyes with hot glue, velcro for closures, and white felt claws.

For the Tail:

Cut out tail shape. (I know real specific, huh?) But that's all I did, I just decided what shape I wanted the tail, cut out 2 of the shape, sewed the spikes (triangles) in the top seam, and sewed the rest together. When I turned it inside out, I stuffed it with poly-fill, and I sewed the end up.

I then placed it into the unsewn hem of the pants (the bum seam) and sewed it up.

Then, you just finish up your pants, put elastic in, or a tie, depending on your pattern and preference, and you're pretty much done!

Sorry these directions weren't more specific, with pictures and instructions, but like I said...you probably wouldn't have wanted to follow my exact lead with this costume. Just make it easy and get the pattern, and then you can copy my embellishments!

Luckily, Breck was thrilled with it, and he can now live out his life-long goal of becoming a dinosaur!! Rawrrrr!!!

Sneak Peak on 2011 Halloween Costumes

Not finished yet, but progress is being made.

Here's some sneak peaks at what I have in store for this year:

Three-year-old girl rite-of-passage

Crazy Boy's dream come true

And one not-even-begun-costume for our littlest princess ;)

Must keep going...must keep going...

Change of Pace - Just For Today

This post has nothing to do with projects or crafts...I just have some things on my mind that I've been thinking about.

I've been thinking a lot lately on how we treat one another. Especially how we treat one another online. With so many bloggers out there now, it seems as though the world of critics has vastly expanded. I mean, I get it, you put yourself out on the Internet, you make yourself vulnerable to criticism whether you ask for it or not, but does that give everyone else the go ahead to say what they please?

I used to think that celebrities were ok to criticize. I figured they knew what they were getting into when they got into the business they did, and that they were somehow immune to people making fun of them...or even that they were not real people. Well, the fact is, is that they are real people, a truth that their mothers can solemnly attest to. Is it alright for us to make fun of these people we've never met, know nothing about, and have no idea what they are individually struggling with? What does it accomplish to critique their clothing, their hair, etc.? Maybe it's just our own insecurity that we don't have the money and freedom to choose so many different kinds of fashions.

I don't care if I was the most successful actress out there, grossing the most per movie than anyone else. It would still hurt my feelings to see people dissect every outfit I wore, every sentence I uttered, every hair on my head. Especially if I had never met that person, and that person was just an everyday blogger/columnist who didn't know the first thing about me or my life. I would wonder, "what have I ever done to that person??"

Really, that's a great question, what have they ever done to us? You don't like a movie they were in?? Don't watch it! You don't like an outfit they chose?? No one's forcing you to think that it's cool! You don't agree with their political stance?? Don't listen to them, and turn the channel when they come on TV. It's simple.

Now, with the world-wide blogging craze, this need to critique everyone and everything has just spread like wild-fire! I have read several blogs that have talked about extremely rude comments left in their comment boxes. I have read blogs that criticize other bloggers. Some of them are just so mean-spirited, from showing off "Lame Ideas", stealing bloggers' pictures to showcase how lame an idea is, to calling people fat in their comment boxes, or even wannabes (do people still use that word, or am I just lame?). Even entire websites are now set up for the sole purpose of making fun of people, such as Awkward Family Photos, and People of Wal-mart.

I was really sent over the edge this last week when I saw a pin on Pinterest. It was one of those "funny" motivational posters, whose picture was a mother with her daughter. The caption was "Reincarnation". Underneath that, it said, "Welcome back Chris Farley, you've been missed." The poster suggested that the little baby girl in the picture was a replica of Chris Farley.

What upset me, was that this was actually some one's family photo. Some mother just wanted to get a picture with her daughter, someone who she cares deeply about, no doubt. She likely shared it with friends and family via Internet, and for some reason, somebody thought it would be a good idea to swipe the picture, and make fun of a precious little girl's appearance, just so they could have a laugh, and make others think they are just so hilarious.

Imagine if that was you. Imagine you took your child to get special pictures taken with him/her. Then, as you proudly send them off to family and friends, you find it's the newest joke spread over the whole face of the earth. That would be heartbreaking. You would yearn that someone, just one person, would stand up for you, and say "That's really rude", but to your disappointment you find that each new day, the picture circulates to a different part of the world, creating all new groups of people who are laughing...at your child's expense. It makes me sick thinking about how that would feel.

And what was accomplished?? What is accomplished by making fun of people? What is accomplished by letting everyone we know that we think someone else's outfit is ugly? What is accomplished by saying that someone is a bad actor/musician/photographer/seamstress? What is accomplished when we give into the sickening need to tell everyone that so and so is NOT pretty, and IS fat, and is NOT original, and does NOT have style??? NOTHING!!! We think it lifts us up to be able to critique others, but it really drags us down! It makes others critical of you, and it makes us uglier people on the inside when we care so much about what other people are doing.

Some people seem to believe that the Internet is this a place where they can say what they want to no consequence...but they're wrong. Hurt feelings are just as strong through computer screens as in person. The point is, that it's never ok to laugh at someone else's expense. If you're putting other people's style down so that it makes people think you are fashion savvy, then try focusing more on your own fashion than everyone else's. Are you trying to get people to think that you are funny? Then try making jokes that don't put others down.

I'm not trying to be all preachy, and I'm definitely not perfect, but it is something I've thought about lately. Maybe we can all at least just try to catch ourselves amid trash-talking and think of something more positive to talk about. Maybe we can be that one person who stands up for someone else who is being made fun of. Let's try harder to lift each other up, rather than drag each other down, because, as we say in my church,

"Charity Never Faileth".

Feed Me Friday: Icky Fingers

Last week's Feed Me Friday, I had featured bread stick bones and blood (pizza sauce). You may have noticed the pictures had another spooky treat next to them, which I am featuring today:

Icky Fingers.

Super easy. All you need are a couple packs of string cheese, depending on how much you want. I have even less than that pictured. You'll also need some blood (Pizza Sauce) and fingernails (almond slices). 

What you're going to do, is first, cut the string cheese pieces in half.

Next, carve two sets of three tiny divots in each one to resemble the wrinkled skin where your knuckles are.

Then, slash a shallow angle at the very tip on the finger downwards as a place for the fingernail.

Attach each finger nail by placing a dab of pizza sauce on the angled tip, and putting the almond sliver on top.

And there you have it, gross, nasty fingers, ready to eat!

Now tell me those don't look like the most appetizing of treats!!!

Thomas the Train Costume...Again, from Last Year

Here we go getting a tutorial written up for the Thomas Costume from last year! This was a fun little project, though by the end I wasn't having much fun, and sloppily finished it. I was totally sick by that point, so the finished project wasn't quite as polished as my normal, non-pregnant hormoned mind would stand for.

It was still pretty easy, and CHEAP! Here are the supplies you'll need:

-Box big enough to fit your little conductor into

-scissors/knife

-Paints (I used acryllic) Blue (I mixed Royal blue and white until I got the right "Thomas Blue"), Red, and Black

-Black paper

-One large paper plate

-6 smaller paper plates

-masking or painter's tape

-Black Sharpie

-2 empty toilet paper rolls

-1 inch thick elastic - about a yard, or suspenders

Step 1: First, find a box. Got a good one? Great...now cut off the bottom flaps, and securely tape the top side flaps in place. The picture show scissors, but a knife may be more useful.

Step 2. Using your knife, cut along where the red dotted lines are. You may want to trace it out first. For the front, trace around your bigger paper plate as pictured below for Thomas' head. If your box is flimsy, you may want to use some of your scrap cardboard to reinforce the newly cut sides from the inside, to thicken it up.

Step 3. Now use either your masking tape or painter's tape to seal off the cut edges. You will paint over these so that the edges looke more finished than that cut cardboard look. I'm pretty sure I skipped the round part though...yep, just checked, I did.

Step 4.

Paint the box according to the guide below. Blue on the outsides, except for the top and Thomas' head. Black on the inside.

Step 5. Now paint all the extras, starting with the red lines. Mask off a square wuth the line being about an inch or so thick, and paint it red. Use your plate as a guide for painting the red half-circle on the front. I wish I woudl have done that...mine was a little sloppy.

You can use the picture below for your number 1. Save it to your pictures, then print it out as (2) 8x10's. Cut the 1 out, and glue it in the middle of the square on each side.

Tape off and paint a red line in front for your bemper. Then cut out 2 circles (use a glass to trace) from black paper, and glue in designated areas.

Step 6. Using scrap cardboard, cut out and paint the funnel as pictured below. Fasten it to the top of Thomas' head area with glue.

Step 7. Thomas' face. Paint the backside of your big paper plate grey. Then you've got a couple of options. I just copied his face from a picture, and drew it on with a Sharpie, and painted the eyes white, then drew on the pupils and irises of the eyes. But you could also print out a picture of his face, cut it, and glue it to the plate.

Step 7. Carve a slot into a toilet paper roll as pictured. Paint it gold. You can either do the 2nd one exactly like the first, or you can elevate teh 2nd one on a gold popsicle stick kind of like Thomas has. Your choice.

Step 8. Paint all 6 smaller plates blue on both sides. These are your wheels. Once dry, Use Sharpie to draw designs on wheels as pictured below. This was another thing I did sloppy. Sad.

Step 9. Attach suspenders (or elastic, which is what I used) to each side of the head, where it meets the base in the front, and up to the top, about 6 inches apart. Look at the bottom picture for a guide.I used hot glue, but you could easily use a stapler.

Step 10. This costume will be very back heavy, so I put some rocks in a little baggie and glued it to the front, behind Thomas' head. You could sew a little black baggie, so it blends with the inside, and put a paper weight in there or something.

After that, You're Done!!! Now all you need is a little conducter's hat, and a bandana around the neck, and you're good to go!

Day of Mourning

This last week, something awful happened. My sewing machine died.

I knew this day was coming soon, I could see the signs for awhile now. After all, it was just a very basic Singer, that was purchased for me only for the purpose of getting the hang of sewing. But nothing could prepare me for the shock I felt when it finally gave it's last breath. I just stared at it blankly in disbelief. This can't be happening... not now...not at the beginning of my biggest sewing season! Disbelief was then replaced by remorse when I started reminiscing about how it was my first sewing machine, how I awkwardly began to try to sew on it (with hardly any previous experience), found my footing (no pun intended), and found my life's newest obsession.

I thought back to everything I had created on the blessed machine:

I started out small, helping a friend make this cushion cover for her rocking chair (my first REAL project on the machine)

I then gained confidence to do other simple things for our house like this...

...then this

...then eventually this

 Which gave me confidence to try out Halloween costumes like this...

...then eventually this

I started to get excited about making little odds and ends here and there, like this nursing cover

And I even got courageous enough to try making a smocked dress for Sienna...

...which led to this...

...and eventually this

In fact, I became so in love with sewing, that I started altering clothes to more fit my body and my style, something I had always dreamed of doing, even as a young girl...

...which led to me figuring out how to make clothes for myself...my ULTIMATE goal!!

All on my basic little Singer that tooted it's last toot this last week. So you can see my sadness, the end of a machine that used to intimidate me so much, that turned into a love of a skill I never knew I had, and ultimately, fulfilling a major dream I had my whole life. Now, of course I have dreams now beyond that, in being able to refine my skills and become a better seamstress, but I can't help but reminisce on the things I was able to pop out on that little machine.

Though I am feeling really ready to move onto a newer, more advanced machine, I'm grateful for the lessons I was able to learn on my simple little Singer.