I'm Taking the Leap

This has been a long time coming but I'm FINALLY going to open up an Etsy shop. I have been toying with the idea for years and I always said oh yeah I'll do it eventually so I figured this was as good a time as any to actually do it. I decided against doing children's clothing for right now...it will give me something to work towards. I just don't have the time or space for what I would need to keep up with that. But I have a good long list of things that I will carry...what would you like to see on there? I'll keep you posted on my progress. Wish me luck!

New Placemats

We had a washing machine leak and it ruined my adorable Orla Kiely placemats (from when she had her Target collection) so to replace them I made these...


I'm no Orla Kiely but I'm happy with my new placemats! Now I just need to Scotch Guard them!

Kindle Cover

My mom got a Kindle for Christmas and she hadn't gotten a cover for it yet. So, for her birthday I knew what I was going to make her.

I'm happy to report that she loved it :) Happy Birthday Mom!

Manly Man Gift :)

I was trying to think of something to make my older brother for his birthday. He enjoys BBQing and with the summer fast approaching I wanted to do something involving that. So I decided to make him a few different BBQ dry rubs that he could use.


I hope he enjoys them. Happy Birthday Adam!
(I know this isn't exactly craft related but I wanted to share anyway!)

Little Girlie Dresses

I made these little dresses for my nieces 2nd Birthday.
This was the first one I made. I used a Lotta Jansdotter simple dress and bloomers pattern.


Then I made this one and I absolutely love it. I want a version of it for myself. The dress is linen and the ruffles and bloomers are made from cloth napkins that I had but never used.



I made this pattern myself. I've seen this style before for little girls and I love that it can be used as a dress now and as she grows it can be worn as a top with leggings or shorts. I made it out of a top that I had that I've never worn before.


I can't wait to see her in them!
Happy Birthday Emma!

A Little Something for Myself

A few weeks ago when I made the flower pillow I made an extra flower. I ended up using it in my hair and I've made a few more since then.



I made these today and they are my favorite! I made the back so that they could be more versatile and used with a hair clip or a pin. I plan on making more soon!

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. I have one "green" tip for you today. I love to repurpose and re-use things. Lately, I've been all about re-using fabric. In a few days I will post some little dresses I've made. One was created from some cloth napkins I had and another one was made from a shirt that I had but have never worn. Next time you clean out your closet see what you can re-use. You can even go to a thrift store and find something in a pattern or color you are drawn to. Just a little something to think about.
Happy Earth Day!

Thank You

I'm going to hold off on posting some of my recent things that I've made because they are all presents for other people and I don't want to spoil it. Instead, I am just going to say thank you. I have gotten so many emails, messages, and what not from people supporting me and really liking what I do...and even from a few people I don't even know! I'm blown away by the amount of people that have gravitated to my little blog to check out my hobby. It's awesome. I tend to pick apart the things that I do so it's nice to get other perspectives on it...especially positive ones:)I am excited to get more projects started...I haven't even accomplished a third of what I've been wanting to do (that's life right?) I have lots of clothing ideas roaming around in my head right now. I have even had multiple people ask if I have considered doing special orders for things...bring it on! It's exciting for me because I feel like I'm just barely getting back into the swing of things so if you guys like me now just wait :) haha just kidding. I'm excited to continue learning...there are a few new things for me that I can't wait to try. So, once again thank you for your kind words. Don't be afraid to comment on here. And I guess what it all boils down to is that it feels good to be liked...hey, I'm just being honest!

Ninja Turtle Birthday

Ok, so I did some few crafts for my sons birthday. Just a few and nothing too complicated.
Man Hole Covers:


This is just cardstock. I cut out the rectangles and used my cricut to cut out the letters. Since it's the sewer I rubbed some ink pads on them to make them look dirty.
Ooze:
Not sure how you can have a Ninja Turtle party without ooze :) I was surprised by how many ooze/slim recipes are out there. I used this recipe because it looked like the ooze from the movie:


It was really easy to make! I have left over glue so I think making more would be a good rainy day craft for sure!

Pinata:
I never thought I would attempt to make a pinata but there is just something that happens to a mom when their child asks them ever so sweetly to do something. :) It wasn't hard to do it just took up way to much time. The process was not pretty either...I ended up using cardboard taped together to make the pizza shape, then paper mache, and then the tissue paper for the decoration. It cost me next to nothing too because I already had most of the items. However, I would rather pay the full amount for one at the party store next time!

I was worried it wasn't sturdy enough and it turned out that the pinata was pretty indestructible!

Rice Crispy Treats:
Instead of cake Jack wanted rice crispy treats. Well, to be exact he wanted them green, on a stick, and decorated like the ninja turtles faces. He got 2 out of the 3 requests. You can go that extra mile if you want but there was no way I was even going to attempt that.


That's it. Like I said, just a few simple things.
When I searched for Ninja Turtle party ideas I was less then impressed by what I found so maybe this can help someone out!

Birthday Boy

It's my little man's birthday week and I have been consumed with birthday stuff. More specifically his pinata...more on that in another post.
Here is a pic of his birthday shirt...I've never made him a shirt just for his birthday before but with his daddy being gone on his birthday I wanted to do everything I could to make it extra special.

I just made a stencil and used fabric paint..nothing fancy. I considered doing an applique and all that but then I came back to reality...why do all that work for one day? He is happy with it and is excited to wear it and that's all that matters right?

Notebooks

Last week, while I was on my notebook kick, I made these...
For Jackson's teacher's:
I like to give them a little something for every holiday to show our appreciation. We were late on our Easter gifts so Jackson gave them their notebooks today and they LOVED them.




For myself:
You can never have enough notebooks :)


Like every other parent I try to write down all the hilarious/clever things my son says. I'm going to transfer everything into here because I think it happens to be pretty darn cute. (Oh and yes I admit it, I got the "journal of unforgettable quotes" quote from Paper Source's My Quotable Kid notebook.)


For a friend:


I got a little addicted to these little notebooks...can you tell?

I Need to Catch Up

I have project A.D.D. and I can't keep up! Too much to do...so little time! I have some finished projects that I have to take pictures of and post. I also have a few unfinished projects to finish. I'm also working on birthday crafts for the little man. So needless to say, lots of posts coming in the next few days. If I get around to it :)

Flower Pillow

I made a totally adorable pillow today...



However, my crappy camera can't seem to take decent pictures these days and my house has terrible lighting so this is all I have for now.
As you can see it has a white front and teal back. There are six mustard colored flowers with teal beads in the center.
I am going to make a matching pillow and use them on my bed with the ruffle pillows I made.
I'll try again with the pictures tomorrow. Maybe I can get some better ones outside in the sun. Wish me luck.

Magnets

I seem to never have enough magnets. Not sure why that is...but I changed my dire magnet situation yesterday. :)
So if you are craving a magnet surplus here is the how to info...
(I must add this is not my original idea, I have seen this done somewhere but I can't remember where)
You will need:
-flat glass marbles
-magnets
-paper
-pencil/pen
-scissors
-glue that dries clear (I used Tacky Glue)
I took pictures with my phone but once I got them on the computer most of them didn't turn out well. But you really shouldn't need pictures...it's pretty self explanatory,
Step 1- Lay out the marbles where you want them on the paper.
Step 2- Trace around the marble. Remember to not mix them up since all the marbles are different shapes. I did this to make it easier...

Step 3- Cut out the circles
Step 4- Glue the paper to the marble. Press hard to spread the glue evenly.
Step 5- Glue the magnet to the back of the marble.
Now your done. Can't get easier then that right?

Jammies

So, Jackson's grown out of most of his winter pajamas so instead of spending the money on new ones I decided to make him a few pairs of pants and just buy him a pack of white tees. I bought the fabric a week or two ago on sale at Joanns for $2/yd (It might have been $2.50 I don't remember exactly). I only needed 1 yard for each of the pants so around $6 is not too shabby. I let him pick 3 prints...he settled on fire trucks, dinosaurs, and Buzz Lightyear...

Giving his big boy jammies a thumbs up...

(please ignore those threads on the hem that I forgot to trim)

I Spy

Like any other parent I spend most of my days thinking up things to keep my son entertained. He loves I Spy and Where's Waldo books. I have passed those I Spy games at Target and have been tempted to buy them more then once. I remembered seeing this I Spy type game in a bottle done in various parenting magazines and websites so I thought I would give it a try today...
This DIY game was an A+ for me because he was also able to help me every step of the way which he's really into at this age.
We used rice (approx 4 cups)and divided it into baggies. Then I let him choose 4 colors of food coloring and we dyed the rice. We let it set for about 30 minutes and then put it on plates to make sure it was dry....

I put all the rice in a large bowl and let him mix...


We searched the house for small items to put inside the bottle...

We put all of our items in the bottle and then used a funnel to fill the bottle up with our rice and here is our finished product...

So far it has been a hit!

In an Attempt to Avoid Cleaning

Jackson loves notebooks. He prefers to draw in a notebook vs. just a normal piece of paper. I think he gets that from me...I'm totally that person that has like 20 notebooks stashed around the house filled with various lists and other ramblings.
Anyways, in an attempt to avoid cleaning I just made him this...



I've always wanted to try and make my own notebook but I thought it would be too complicated. I found instructions here
It was really simple and did not take much time at all. And of course I love that you can just use things you already have around the house. I used normal printer paper folded in half and two pieces of cardstock glued together for the cover.
I think it turned out adorable! I like how versatile this can be and would make a great homemade gift!