So much fun!

You know how some days you are just spinning your wheels and you feel like you are doing a million things all at once, and at the same time you feel like you aren't accomplishing a thing?  That is how I felt today.  I didn't really have too much going on, I was just trying to get caught up around the house, but it seemed like something was always pulling me away from one project I was in the middle of, only to start another.  I just have to laugh at days like this....I hate them, but I love them. Does that make sense? They are so much fun to me because it means that I am doing things for my family.  As weird as that sounds, I love doing things for people.  Of course there is the frustration of not getting my laundry done, or the front room vacuumed, but nothing beats my 16 month old wanting to snuggle on my lap while he sucks his finger and hugs his blankie! Days like this will be gone soon, and I don't want to miss a beat!

Bakers Twine Tutorial

 

I love the look of bakers twine!  It is such a simple way to dress up a package!  The only problem is, I am cheap, and I don't want to splurge on a whole entire spool of baker's twine for one color.  So here is a solution to my problem:   Make my own! 

It is SO easy, and it only takes about 5-10 minutes to make a lot!

Materials:

Spool of white cotton string.
Ruler
Colored markers
Tape
Scissors

 

Step 1:

Tape the end of the cotton string to the top of the ruler.

Step 2:

Wrap the ruler with the cotton string making sure to keep the string close together.

Step 3:
color stripes on the sting.

Step 4:

Wrap a package with your pretty baker's twine!

Last Minute Valentine's Idea

How many of you have put Valentine's off until the very last minute?  That is what has happened to me this year.  I had so many ideas of things I wanted to make,  and so little time.......such is life with 5 kiddos!  I had the following conversation with my 5 year old:

5 year old:"Hey Mom- Is our house not having Valentine's?"
Me: "Yes, we are having Valentine's at our house."
5 year old: "Well it doesn't look like it!"

Major Mom Fail!!!!!

So to make up for my son's disappointment, I had to do something.  We went to the dollar store, and he picked out some flutes that he thought would be "great to drink milk out of!"  (His words, not mine.)  While he was at school, I added a little bit of shirt paint and a little bit of tulle, and this is how they ended up:

 

Then I made some cupcakes.....what kid doesn't love cupcakes?  So here is my last ditch effort to have "Valentine's Day"  at our house!

Camera Woes......

If you have been reading this blog I would like to say thanks, and also apologize for the horrible pictures that I have been posting. YUCK!!! They are so fuzzy and hard to see sometimes! I have a point and shoot camera, and it is not the best thing for up close and detail work. (As you can see.) I would love to get a new camera one day.......hopefully sooner than later, and I am wondering if anyone knows what kind of camera would be good for close-up shots and normal everyday pictures? If you have a suggestion, feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks!

Carrie

Ric-Rac Flower Clip

I think it is time we post some cute stuff for girls! My oldest girl keeps asking me what I am going to "sew" for her. She will be surprised when she wakes up in the morning and sees what I made! This was fast, and easy! Hmm..... Maybe this will have to be from the Easter Bunny!

Materials:

Ric-Rac (I used about 18 inches)
felt
Needle and thread
Button
Bendy hair clip
Glue gun


Step 1:
Trace 2 circles on the felt and cut out. I used a small cup.


Step 2:

Start sewing your Ric-Rac on starting on the outside edge of the circle.


Over lap and drop it down a bit when you get to the starting point to start the next row.

Step 3:

Hot glue the end in place to keep from fraying and sew on your button.


Step 4:

Make a slit in the extra felt circle where you want to have the bottom of the clip come out, then hot glue the top part of the clip in place.


Step 5:

Hot glue the two felt pieces together, and you are done! This would also look great on a headband.

Team T-shirt

Yes, another late super bowl post. My two older boys have NY Giants t-shirts, and I couldn't leave my little guy out, so I ATTEMPTED to make him one. I say attempted because I failed. Like I said before, I am new at sewing, so I will share all of my successes and failures. This will go in the fail category.....oh well.

Step 1:

Trace your team logo onto the paper side of fusible adhesive. (This is where I failed. I tried to cheat and use some felt that was sticky on one side, and you peeled away the paper. I thought it would save me a step, but it just gummed up my machine, and made my thread not catch every stitch)

Cut out and iron onto T-shirt.

Step 2:

Straight stitch around the borders.
And now you are done! (Just make sure you use fusible adhesive and not the sticky felt like I did.)

Football Pillow Tutorial

I know the super bowl is over, and I am like a week and a half late posting this, but that is just the way life goes sometime. My 9 year old has been begging me to make him something ever since I bought my sewing machine. So here it is: A football pillow.


Step 1:

Grab a flashlight and a football. Project the football shadow onto one yard of fabric that is folded in quarters. (I made 2 footballs. 1/2 yard will be just fine for one pillow)

Trace and cut out.

(This was my hubby's idea! Doesn't he have cute toes?)

Step 2:

Round off the ends of the football. If you leave them pointy like the actual shape of the football you traced, you will have more of a weird pointy triangle shape instead of a nice curved end. I forgot to take a picture of this but I basically cut off about 4" from each tip and rounded it into the sides of the football.

Step 3:

Add the stripes and laces.

I used paper to make my own pattern for the stripes and then I traced it onto the paper side of some fusible adhesive. Iron on the fusible adhesive to the wrong side of your white fleece and then cut out your stripes and laces.


Peel the paper off and lay everything in place and iron on.


My stripes were about 2" wide and I just eyeballed the laces. Sorry my measurements are not more accurate, but I kind of did this flying by the seat of my pants. :)

*NOTE: Make sure you curve your stripes a tiny bit, otherwise they will look out of proportion.

Step 3:

Stitch the stripes and laces in place, and sew the two halves of the football together with the right sides of the fabric together. Make sure you leave a gap open to turn the pillow right side out.


When you use iron on adhesive, you need to stitch around to seal it, or else it will peel away from the fabric.

I used a zig-zag stitch because it is supposed to give a little more with stretchy fabrics like fleece.
(You can't see where I pinned in this picture because my camera is a piece of junk, but I left about a 4" gap to turn it right side out.)

Step 4:
Stuff and blind stitch shut.

(To find out how to blind stitch click here and scroll to the end of that tutorial.)
Now your boys will have a nice soft pillow to lay on while they watch the big game! (Next year! HA!)

I am still here!

I bet you are wondering if I gave up on this blogging thing.....NOPE! I have had one crazy week. Sick kids and a sick momma. Boo. I guess it is that time of year. February always seems to hit our family hard. I have a few posts coming soon, so stay tuned!