52 Reasons I LOVE You

I found this post on etsy on how to make a valentine gift for someone you love out of a deck of cards

http://papervinenz.blogspot.com/2012/01/52-reasons-i-love-you-cards-tutorial.html

      I am thinking of things I can put in a box and mail to my husband on Valentines day to make him smile because he'll be away at work. I'm not BIG into Valentines day because it's just a money making holiday and doesn't really mean much to me, but I figured it would be fun to do for him.

It turned out to be so thick that I have to tie a ribbon around it to get it to be somewhat flat! :) My cards don't look as good as the tutorial ones, but they'll work.

      The cards I used were just some old ones we HOPEFULLY won't miss. we have a few decks. They are blue and don't go with the colors I picked to do this with, oh well! :) I also made sure to do red glitter glue on each and every page in some way or another to tie it together. I used 4 different styles of papers.

I love my husband so much, I never imagined it would be so hard to find 52 worth while things to write down. It wasn't hard just ... head scratching.

I did a back for mine too. Hope he Likes it!

making a replacement seat for a doll stroller

      We bought a doll stroller from walmart for $10.00 or so for my daughter's birthday in October. in 2 months she managed to rip the fabric on it because she likes to sit in it herself. No surprise it broke! :) We figured it would happen sooner or later and it was only $10.00 so no big! Today, after weeks of her wanting me to fix it, I finally did. :) it took me about an hour start to finish and was pretty simple.

     I used a small piece of scrap for the whole thing that I bought at walmart for cheap months ago.  I lined the front parts of it with fusible fleece to add support in case she still wants to sit in it. :)  I cut the old one apart and traced it onto the new fabric and went from there.  I hated how the bottom of the seat would always come off and she would bring it to me multiple times a day to put it back on for her, so.... I added ties to keep it on this time.

    It's not the best sewing job i've ever done, but it works. I used what I had on hand and hurried up with it. I'm not concerned with tiny cosmetics on this one.

 

                                                         This makes for a happy girl again!

Diaper Bag for Mary

               My best friend is having a baby in a matter of weeks!  months and months ago, I promised I'd sew her a diaper bag, so as usual, I crammed a week of sewing time into a day and a half.  This pattern I used looks cute on the outside, but if I ever use it again, i'd change A LOT about it. http://www.etsy.com/listing/64227052/ultimate-diaper-bag-pattern-tutorial

First of all, the instructions are very spotty. There was a lot not spelled out that you are left to figure out on your own. I was annoyed with that because it took me longer to do, but other than that I had no problem figuring it out. The straps were super thick to sew through once you put the two sides together. I broke a few needles and think I ruined the motor on my sewing machine. The inside was VERY disappointing. I planned all these cute pockets using her dimensions and directions.

  

        She says there are 8 inside pockets. 4 of them are impossible to use unless you are a child reaching inside them. If I make it again, i'll do my own thing on the inside and have lots of pockets that are all big enough to use. I do like that I chose to use canvas for the bag. it's way sturdy and can stand up on it's own. it's a very big bag so I think all in all she'll love it.

   I did a little applique on the pockets and instead of using one large piece of fabric, I used scraps and cut other pieces to make it look way cuter and fit the dimensions still.

  I made a little bag for the inside of this bag to keep medicines and nail clippers and things too. I used a zipper I had on hand and it was metal so it is a bit tempormental.  It may just need to be broken in a little.

the back of the bag has an applique on it also.

 now to sit down and hand sew the binding on and I'm done!!! :) Hope she likes it!



Cookies for the Holidays!

       Ok, so i've been super lazy for the past few months! sorry!!! I have a good excuse though!

        Welcome Baby #2 to the family! :) I've been tired and sick for months and this last week I spent time making cookies. it's the first time I've had a desire to do anything in a LONG time.

Sugar cookies I had fun decorating. If only I liked to eat them!!! My daugher won't eat them because there is frosting on them and she doesn't like to get dirty. :)

  This is a recipe I got from my sister in law and they are soooo good! I was baking them with my daughter and counting how many cups of flour i was putting in the bowl. I sorta lost count and believe there is a cup missing. They turned out more flat than hers, but still taste awesome and are soft and moist. MMMMM..  There are milk choc chips in them and semi sweet chips AND white choc chips too!

These are my husband's FAVORITE cookies! Peanut butter cup cookies using a mini mufin tin. I got the recipe from Allrecipies.com http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peanut-butter-cup-cookies/detail.aspx   they are more moist than the back of the bag recipe.

I also made ginger cookies that are like ginger snaps only a soft version I found on pintrest. I NOW can't upload a picture of it because the file is messed up and i deleted it. anyway, they are awesome! I can't find the recipe either. I'm sorry.

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Visit this website and enter to win this giveaway! so many awesome prizes! http://laurawinslowphotography.com/blog/2011/11/21/10000-holiday-bloggie-bash-laura-winslow-photography/

Cutest Christmas Dress EVER!

         I, AGAIN, saw this outfit for sale on etsy for $60.00 plus shipping. I REALLY toyed with the idea of layawaying it and paying little over time for it becaue I couldn't find the fabric anywhere and I wasn't feeling very motivated at the time to sew it. I COULDN'T let myself spend that much on an outfit, and I know my husband would have not appreciated it much at all. What I decided to do was look on etsy for outfits being sold with this fabric and ask if they had extra they would be willing to sell. because it was last years print and hard to find, many people were not happy to share. LUCKILY I found two different people who were excelent to work with ! THANK YOU! I loved the design of this dress and the way the fabric was used. I WISH I could come up with cute things on my own like this. When it comes to fabric selection and putting different ones together I feel helpless.

   

http://www.etsy.com/listing/83241757/girls-dress-pattern-stripwork-jumper-pdf I purchased this pattern off of etsy and I was confident it would work for me. Scientific Seamstrisses patterns always work awesome! I love her patterns!  This pattern called for a ruffle on the bottom, but I wanted just a flat one, so I folded the fabric in half and zig zaged it together then sewed in on and topstitched. :) It worked perfect! :) I only used EVERY inch of the check fabric I had so in a few places I had to piece it together to make it long enough. Hopefully you can't tell. :)

         I had some jeans that were too small for her that I added a ruffle to for pants. She can wear tights to church. (I made the dress long enough to do that with)

       I absolutly love the bodice of this dress. It's a slip over the top version with no buttons or snaps to worry about and it uses a lining, underlining and front piece to it. PLUS interfacing for the button hole. I LOVE it. It's thick and yet flexible and soft and won't need ironing I'm hoping.

        The bodice is gathered to the skirt and it adds such a cute twirly feel. All that is missing here is the buttons. I am waiting for some red swirly mint buttons to come in the mail. :) There are bows on the way too. I can sew like crazy but to make cute bows is another thing I can't quite figure out.

          Last night I cut out keira's dress and then cut out and sewed two doll dresses for Her babies that look the same with my left over scraps. She loves them! This morning I sewed together her dress and pants in just a few hours.

I sure love my model! she loves the camera!

Mermaid or Under The Sea Birthday

a cheap, fun way to make a birthday special!

       I took streamers and taped them to the walls to look like water, then used green streamers to make seaweed. I cut out fish shapes, using a cookie cutter and taped them to the wall. I also found online a digital file you can buy of mermaids and underwater creatures. I just saved the picture advertising the file and blew them up in picasa. they were a LITTLE blurry , but it worked out fine! I then hung streamers from the light and made a mobile. cut out ciricles for the mermaids to get taped to and threaded them to the light. it took me all day, but it was worth it. :) I probably shouldn't say how I did that, but I can't find it in me to spend a fortune on a little party like this.

    I also made sugar cookies in fish shapes and put them on the blue table cloth and had some shredded green and blue paper on the center. I also sprinkled candy .. CHOCOLATE rocks found at walmart on the table.

Ok, so i'm not the greatest froster in the world! it's hard! :) i'm a sewer, remember!



This cake was made using mini muffin tin for the eyes, cupcakes for the claws, and my pyrex baking bowl for the body. I used licorice for the legs and arms and candy rocks for the gravel. I took cardboard and wrapped in in foil first, then taped the little paper cutout I got at Joann's for the water and then put wax paper over the whole thing. The eyeballs are ... what are those called? the minty chocolate things. ugh... sorry. I can't think right now. LONG DAY! I just realized that his eye looks bloodshot, gross! The reason I chose a crab instead of a mermaid cake, is because I don't know how often it's ever been done, and she has a thing for crabs lately! She loves them! Mermaids eat crab right? :)

    I even managed to find this wrapping paper at my grocery store of all places. I just came across it on accident.

      I found this clumsy Crab book at halmark a while ago, and bought it new off ebay for a fraction of the price. it has beautiful illustrations and has a cute, but simple story. My husband calls it predictable. I still think it's adorable! He learns that even though he has huge claws, they can be useful. The caleb the crab was found on amazon I think and it clicks like he is walking along something. she loves it!

      All in all, it was a great birthday and i'm happy my little girl had a fun day! :) I can't believe she is already 2!



Canning for the fist time

      
           On top of Sewing like mad these past few days and weeks, I have also been trying to can for the first time! When stuff gets ripe, you have no choice but to get the work done then! :) Phew! Too bad I don't get a paycheck for working this hard! I think in all honesty, I work harder being a stay at home mom than I ever did working full time getting paid. There is so much wasted time at work. I used to think, "I can't believe I'm here, I could be getting this, and this and this done at home." I feel pretty fulfilled at home sometimes!

Apple sauce is next! Yay!

          Canning makes me think of the pioneer women for some reason. I'm pretty grateful for Tiffany who helps me with stuff like this! I can't imagine being a woman back in the wagon days trying to take care of baking each day and cooking and killing chickens, collecting eggs, making candles, tending children, doing laundry, cleaning and canning on top of it all. I bet they did it all alone too because their farms were so far apart and husbands were out with the livestock or plough. I'm pretty happy to live in this day and age sometimes, but sometimes I wouldn't mind no tv and the NEED for internet and phones.

Wrap Shirt

This pattern can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74217086/wrap-top-shirt-twirl-dress-for-baby-girl or visit the shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Patchworkids?ref=seller_info

I love this pattern!!! I will make it time and time again. I can't wait to try new fabrics and try different combinations. I wanted a simple cute halloween/October shirt. The instructions were easy to follow and I love the way it came together. I really like the way the hem is done and the finishing work. Nothing complicated and it makes for clean lines. LOVE IT!!! The pattern has you put the ties on the other side, but because of shortage of bias tape, I had to improvise on the last inch of the top and I didn't want it to show. I hid it on the inside of the shirt. I also made my own ribbon for the outside because, again, I ran out. I like that most the time I can improvise. :) I do most of my sewing late at night and running to the store is out of the question. I have so many scraps anyway, that it's nice to use them up for things. :)

Wrap Skirt

             This skirt pattern is from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/47952850/wrap-twirl-skirt-ebook-pattern-sizes-4  or http://www.etsy.com/shop/Patchworkids?ref=seller_info 

I like how simple this skirt is to make. I would probably use a different fabric next time, something without nap or direction. also, I didn't have any bias tape, so I just used fabric I had that went with it to make my own. The fabric was not cotton, so it doesn't lay down very nice. This is not due to the pattern in any way, just my resources. It was a little confusing for me to figure out how it goes on a person because I don't have anyone this size here at my house. It is for my niece. This pattern would be easy to make a lining for too if you wanted it thicker or not see through. I like that you don't need to hem things because I hate hemming. all in all it was an easy skirt! I like it a lot! I only wish It came in my size! :) I also did something with the skirt as far as sizing. My niece is skinny like my daughter so I made a 5/6 in the waist and a 7/8 in length. I hope it works out! now, for a top!