blankets for mr. thomas ...

can you believe how tiny my little thomas is still?  he has the cutest little chicken legs, if i do say so.
anyhow, i wanted to share a few blankets i sewed for the little guy.

this first quilt is my absolute favorite.  i love all the colors and the stripes!  the other side is a soft white minky fabric.  my friend jessica made a darling one for her little girl after she was inspired by a cute bib from modern thread.  one of these days i'll have to make jess post a tutorial when she's not so busy, because they really are cute and not too hard to make.

this yellow, black and white blanket i started originally for my little norah, i even bought the cutest pleated ruffle yellow trim for it.  well, it goes to show you how great i am at finishing sewing projects.  so, i finished it for mr. thomas.  it is also yellow on the other side.

it's also nice for taking pictures of the little peanut.

this last one i used an amy butler fabric i had lying around forever.  i made it small on purpose, it's the perfect size for car seats.  it's a soft off white minky fabric on the other side.

wow! i proud of myself for actually finishing a few sewing projects around here.  you'd seriously die if you saw my list of things i need to sew that i just haven't gotten around to doing... it's pretty sad.

an update ...

i'm starting to make a dent (well, a tiny one) in my fall to do list.

here are a few things we've managed to get done so far.

and, many are going to be checked off my list soon!

* decorate for halloween, check!
* go to gardner village to see the witches, check! (wow, was it packed, i forgot it's fall break for schools)
* make homemade chili for the first time, check! (although, i'm still on the search for a good recipe, any suggestions?)
* finish sewing norah's halloween costume, check! (i just made the cape, it has a hood too! the little dress i found at a thrift store a while back, making it an easy decision for me to do little red riding hood! she's going to be so cute! i'm thinking of doing a small white apron too? any thoughts?)

i'm just loving fall so far!


...and, p.s. thanks design mom for the mention on babble about my virtual halloween party post!

tie one on ...

i'd really love to make a tie for my almost three year old ezra. i think it would be fun to make him a cute one for easter.

the purl bee blog has a great tutorial to make your own. i might give it a try. and, you don't even need a sewing machine!

{via, my favorite things, via the purl bee}

ruffles...

i'm loving these ruffles added to this cardigan for a little flare!

tutorial on craft zine here.

{via oh hello friend}

mini me...

ok, so remember this cute headband i made months back for me inspired by this ruby sue headband?

well, last week i finally got around to starting on some little girl things... [it's about time, since she's going to here soon..] and, i made a mini-me version for baby girl.

i know it may be a little over the top to have feathers and all on a baby headband. but, i couldn't resist being twiners. now, i just need a little head to put it on.

and, here's a few others i made. i made poppies using what i learn in this tutorial i purchased from foundling.
you make the poppies by burning/singeing fabric. it was kind of scary at first, i'll admit.. i kept lighting the darn thing on fire. but, after you get the hang of it, it's kind of fun!

i'm all on board for fun girl things to make. there are so many cute things to make for girls vs. boys. i always had the hardest time finding fun things to make for z man. and with baby girl, there are endless possibilities..

oh, and p.s. props to all you who make and sell headbands... it's super hard work, and i'm not sure how many times i burnt myself with the glue gun. i think i'll stick to making jewelry.

ruffle collar...

how cute are these ruffled flower collars that katie of katie did sewed up for her girls easter dresses?

i may have to make one for my baby girl. maybe a onesie one?

katie posted a great tutorial on her blog on how to make these. click here.

{via layers of meaning}

rockin' baby...

these little recycled rocker tees turned baby gowns are just darling.
i'm dying to make one. my little girly is in desperate need of some clothes, i'm afraid she'll be naked forever because i don't have too many girl things yet. i better get crackin' i have less than two months before her arrival.

click here for tutorial and patterns on how to make these.

more pics of final product. click here.

{via ohdeedoh}
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and, p.s. thanks to all who came out and supported local crafters at the beehive bazaar!
it was a huge success! my estimates tell me i ended up selling over 80 pieces. so thanks again for all your support!

for the little ladies...

a little sneak peek of the new girl onesies i've been cooking up. i hope to get them all listed soon. i've just LOVED making girl ones, they are so much fun. i don't think these will be my last.
love the little heart belt buckle on the zebra print onesie!

check them out in my shop!

{ok... you talked me into it}

here's some of my onesies for sale now in my etsy shop.

i was surprised by all the interest i've gotten in the onesies i've made for my little z man. so here ya go! a fresh batch available now in my shop!

please let me know if you'd like to order one in a certain color etc..
i'll try to get some girl ones made up soon!

{domo origato mr. roboto}

this might be my favorite shirt i've made for z man yet...

too bad the picture didn't get the little antenna sticking out the top of the head. oh well.

thanks for all the nice comments about my baby onesies! i really appreciate it. i'll have to think more seriously about selling them as i never intended to. it's just been a fun thing for me to do for my baby and for friends babies. some of them do take a lot of time, so i'm not sure how worth it would be for a small profit after materials, but we'll see.. sometimes it's not all about the profit, right? i do enjoy making them. so, i'll let you know if i start selling them anytime soon.

here's a few more i've made for z man. i couldn't help but make a little "z" shirt for the guy.
hope your not sick of looking at all my onesies. i have a feeling there are more in the works, especially since i have a few that i still need to get done..

{rodeo onesie}

i've been working on all sorts of projects lately, so hopefully i can share them all soon. one is a gift, so i have to wait a bit to share. but, in the meantime, here's a new onesie i made for z man. it's so sad that he grows out of his other ones so often, i feel like i'm constantly making a new batch.

{the stockings were hung ...}

:: i finally had the chance to get our stockings made ::
:: i decided to stick with my recycled sweaters theme i've had going on latetly ::

:: i'm liking these because, 01- if i get sick of them next year or want a new color i can just make new ones, and 02- when we add to the family, i can whip up a new one! ::

:: so, do any of you have any fun stocking ideas to share? ::

{ beenie baby }

:: so last month i was looking for some cute little beenies for my little dude, but i didn't really want to spend $18 bucks a pop. so after seeing this, i thought i'd make a few beenies myself for the little dude out of old sweaters. [yes, i'm goin' green!] i was so pleased with how they turned out and now my little guy has plenty of hats to keep his little head warm this winter.. and at the rate his head has been growing, i can whip him up one in a few minutes anytime. nice! ::

:: the one my little z man is wearing in the picture at the top i made from the neck of a turtle neck sweater. it fit perfect with a little room to grow! ::

{ notebook tutorial roundup }

:: ok ali, this one's for you! ::

:: here's a little round up of tutorials i found of cute things you can do to dress up your notebooks, and if you know me you know i like making the ordinary... extraordinary ::

:: so here it goes ::

:: make a cute fabric covered notebook like the one above here ::

:: or make a cute notebook dressed up with fancy paper here ::

:: .. or make another cute reversible fabric covered notebook cover here [this one just might be my favorite] ::

:: and, last but not least, make a patchwork notebook cover here ::

:: to the fabric covers you could also make cute litle pockets to hold your pens right on your notebook, or to hold little ... well, notes! ::

Patchwork Oven Mitts

There is a cute patchwork oven mitt tutorial over on Linda Made Blog. Check it out here.

I know I need some new ones because I threw my old ones out a while ago because they were all crusty and gross and I haven't made any new ones... .. it's another one of those projects I've been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to it.

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

I like to look at things I have around the house and see what I can do to make them more unique or pleasing to the eye.

I've had this diaper bag sitting around my house the past four months... ya know the one everyone gets free from the hospital. I was about to donate it when I thought... huh, I think I can do something with this..

So here it was before...

.... and here it is now! Saved from the fate of the racks at the local thrift store.
..then I continued on with my thoughts and turned to my camera case..

Before

..and after

So, I know you'd all like to know how I did it? So would I really because I'm not sure if my method was the best way and it was kind of complicated...

but, this is kind of what I did in a nutshell and if you like to try it on your own... good luck... and sorry this probably doesn't make sense.

Materials
Fabric
Thin cardboard or cardstock
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
Heat N' Bond (Heavy duty for no sew) or Lite for if you are going to sew and reinforce. -- can find it at fabric store.

So, basically I took what I wanted to cover and I got a thin piece of cardboard and trace the general area onto card board or cardstock thick paper and cut it out.
Then, I layed out the fabric underneath the cardboard and cut out the fabric with about a 1/4 of extra fabric all around.
Then, I proceeded to iron down all the sides around the cardboard.
And then the fabric came out looking like the shape of the piece I wanted to cover.

Then I followed the directions on the Heat N' Bond package and applied the Heat N' bond to the fabric piece.
Then I continued to follow the directions and ironed it onto the area I wanted to cover.

For the camera bag... since it started to melt the plastic with the iron... opps... I ending up re-inforcing it by sewing it on around the edges. The Ultra Heat N' bond is designed to stay on without sewing (like I did on the bag)... so there you go all you non-sewers..

And there you have it.. let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to help you. Also, let me know if you try it! I'd love to see how yours turns out. That is why I share my tutorials. Just please be sure to read the copyright notice on the sidebar! Have fun!

Ponytail holders to make a headband?... why didn't I think of that?

So I was browsing around bloggerville yesterday and I came acrossed some great tutorials for how to make head bands over at Altered Cloth.
I've had the trim and regular black elastic to make my own headband out of the red trim above for, well months embarassed to say. But I just haven't gotten around to sewing it on.. not too hard. But then I saw this idea.. stood up from my computer ran and grabbed my red trim, two ponytail holders and my simplified version.. and a good one for you non-sewers.. some fabric glue.. and less than two minutes later.. Viola... a cute little headband. (which I'll admit now that the glue is dried I'll still sew a few re-inforcing lines) But, it was as simple as that.

Click here to get the tutorial for the headband made with ponytail holders and other tutorials for other ones like this...

Did you say Wal-Mart?

I'm just as surprised as you are about these new cute baby bedding sets from Wal-Mart. They are quite cute and stylish. .... and.. only $79.97 for a 4-piece set. Crazy.

I wish this print was around when I sewed my own baby bedding from House, Inc. Fabric to avoid paying $350 just for the 3 piece set.

You can check out the baby bedding I sewed for my little guy here in case you missed it. or I'll just post a picture below. I was pleased with how it turned out... but at $34.00 a yard.. it was still a little pricey. But with all the left over fabric I was able to make curtains, blanket and some other fun things like a lamp shade and fabric boards. .. and pillows.. still to come.. :)

Bags Bags..

I ordered this cute pattern to make these handbags by Amy Butler. So cute! I have big plans to actually make them one day... since I ordered it weeks ago... maybe months to be honest. But, I'll be sure to post when I do. For now check out her cute patterns here.

Little Pouch

I haven't had much time to make any new jewelry lately.. but, I did make some earrings for my sister-in-laws birthday and I came up with an idea to make a cute little pouch to give them to her in.
I thought it turned out nice... and it's a great way to store jewelry when you are on the go or going on vacation!