Thursday, March 31, 2011

Spotlight On... B is for Boy

I recently started a new occasional feature called "Spotlight On..." where I will be featuring a blog that I love that you may not know about. I'm very excited to introduce you to Erica from B is for Boy today.


Does she have the cutest blog header or what? Can you tell she has two little boys :) I was one of Erica's first blog followers, and I've loved watching her find her blog voice over the past several months. Things have really started to take off for her since the beginning of the year, and she has created some amazing and clever things, like her Fold-n-Go Bib tutorial...


Such a cute idea, with lots of pockets for the essentials. I also love her Shutter Pal tutorial...


Every mom needs one of these to get her kids to smile for the camera. So clever! She also has an adorable easy tote tutorial for making a little bag out of an old pair of jeans...


So cute! And not only is Erica extremely talented, she's also an absolute sweetheart :)


I'm thrilled to tell you that Erica will be guest posting here next week! Can't wait! Make sure you leave Erica some comment love and visit her over at B is for Boy. She's also in the process of opening an Etsy shop, so wish her luck. Thanks so much, Erica, for letting me feature your blog today!




Click here to see more "Spotlight On..." features.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Work In Progress: Central Park Baby Quilt

My brother and his wife are expecting a little girl in mid-June, and I decided that I am going to make a baby quilt as a shower gift for my sister-in-law. I chose Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda. I'm going to be using the Charm Pack Baby Quilt tutorial from Kristin over at wRIte iT DOwN, but I'm going to make mine slightly larger. The baby shower is in three and a half weeks, so I need to get moving on this. So far all I've managed to do is lay out the charm squares how I want them.


I don't have the fabric for the back or the binding yet. I need to order it pretty quickly, but I wanted opinions on binding color because I'm having trouble deciding. I'm thinking dark purple. What do you think?

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Point of View Features and Theme for April

Thanks to everyone who linked up their skirts at the Point of View skirt link party on Friday. It was so fun to see everyone's creations. I had a difficult time choosing just two to feature, but here they are...

The first is a paper bag skirt tutorial from Ellie at Homestitched. Isn't it adorable? Love the denim.


The second is a pleated skirt tutorial from Jenna at Sew Happy Geek. Love the buttons she added to the trim.


Ellie and Jenna, feel free to grab a Point of View feature button...



The Point of View theme for April is... SPRING! The next reveal and link party will be Friday, April 22nd. Be there, or be square:)

Monday, March 28, 2011

Kid Craft: Soda Bottle Beads

I love Family Fun magazine, but I hardly have time to read it, let alone actually do anything but dog-ear the pages of it. There are so many cute projects in the April issue, like thisthis and this.

I'm trying to make an effort to start doing more organized arts and crafts projects with my three year old. She loves to draw and make things. That girl can (and has) filled a 100 page drawing pad in two days. She also has a new found love of jewelry. I decided to surprise her with a little Family Fun project during my youngest's nap on Friday. We made our own beads out of plastic soda bottles.


She loved it. I loved it. This is a really neat project, and it doesn't take long to do at all. All we needed were two 20oz plastic soda bottles, Sharpies, a pencil, and some embroidery floss.



Unfortunately, the instructions for this project aren't up on Family Fun yet, and I don't feel right about posting them here before they are, but if they add them later I will definitely come back and update this post. If you want to try it now, there is a similar tutorial on Instructables. They call for pliers and a heat gun, but the magazine tutorial calls for tying string around the beads to hold them together and heat setting the beads in the oven. UPDATED 3/31/11: Here is the link to the instructions on Family Fun!


Once the beads were done, we added some store-bought plastic beads and strung them together with round cord elastic to make bracelets.




My daughter is very proud of her creations, and it was a fun way to spend a little alone time together on a Friday afternoon.




I'm linking up...

Friday, March 25, 2011

Point of View and The May Day Skirt Tutorial

Welcome to the first ever Point of View {a creative collaboration} reveal! The theme for March was skirts, and the members of Point of View definitely rose to the occasion. Without further ado, here are this month's skirt projects...


1. Amy from Ameroonie Designs
2. Michelle from A Little Tipsy
3. Camilla from Rosy Red Buttons
4. Gwen from Gwenny Penny (scroll down to find my tutorial for The May Day Skirt)
5. Stacy from Not JUST a Housewife
6. Jonie from Just Between Friends

Aren't they phenomenal? I love seeing each member's take on the skirt theme. You can check out each of the tutorials by visiting each of the blogs listed above, and scroll down here to see the tutorial for my skirt.

Do you have a skirt project, past or present, that you would like to share? Whether you made up your own design, used a pattern, used another blogger's tutorial, or refashioned an existing skirt, we would like to invite you to join the Point of View skirt link party over at Not JUST a Housewife. But before you do that, I'd like to introduce you to...


This is a simple skirt with a little something extra. See that thin purple line of fabric between the main fabric and the bottom band? Here's a closer look...


Isn't it pretty? I love that it adds a little extra interest and contrast to the skirt. This is the skirt that both of my girls will be wearing on Easter this year.


Want to make one? Here's the how-to...

Materials:
  • main fabric (about a 1/2 yd)
  • bottom band fabric (1/4 yard)
  • accent fabric (thin band of fabric between the main fabric and the bottom band of fabric)
  • 3/4" wide non-roll elastic
  • 2 safety pins
  • thread

Instructions:
  1. Start by determining the size of your skirt. You'll need to take two measurements.
    Measurement A: Measure from the waist to the knee, or whatever length you want your skirt to be. Measurement B: Measure your child around the waist. Make sure it's snug.

  2. It's time to cut your fabric. Cut a strip of your main fabric that is the entire width of your fabric (selvage to selvage... mine was about 42" after washing it and cutting off the edges) by your Measurement A. Once you have this strip cut, cut it in half so that you have two pieces that are your Measurement A by about 21". Next, cut your bottom band. Cut a strip of your bottom band fabric that is the entire width of your fabric (selvage to selvage) by 5.5". Once you have this strip cut, cut it in half so that you have two pieces that are 5.5" by about 21". Finally, cut a strip of your accent fabric that is the entire width of your fabric (selvage to selvage) by 1" tall. Once you have this strip cut, cut it in half so that you have two pieces that are 1" by about 21". All six of your pieces should be the same length. You should have two of each of these...


  3. Take your two main fabric pieces, place them right sides together, and sew down both short sides using a 1/2" seam allowance. Serge or zigzag stitch in both seams to prevent fraying.

  4. Take your two bottom band fabric pieces, place them right sides together, and sew down both short sides using a 1/2" seam allowance. Do not zigzag in the seam. Take your two accent fabric pieces, place them right sides together, and sew down both short sides using a 1/2" seam allowance. Do not zigzag in the seam. Press the seams open on both the bottom band and the accent fabric.


    Fold the bottom band and the accent fabric tube in half with wrong sides together. Press all the way around.


  5. Now it's time to assemble the skirt. Turn your main fabric tube right side out. Slip your accent fabric tube around the bottom of the main fabric tube, lining up the raw edges. Also line up your side seams.


    Baste (using a very long running stitch) all the way around about 1/8" from the raw edges.


  6. Slip your bottom band fabric tube over the bottom of the main fabric/accent fabric tube, lining up the raw edges. Also line up your side seams. Make sure you reset your machine to a shorter stitch length. Sew all the way around about 1/4" from the raw edges (the bottom). Serge or zigzag stitch all the way around the edge to prevent fraying.


  7. Flip your bottom band down, turn your skirt wrong side out, and press the seam toward the bottom of the skirt all the way around.


    Turn your skirt right side out.


    Topstitch all the way around your skirt about 1/8" down from the top of your bottom band.



  8. Now it's time for the waistband. Turn your skirt wrong side out. Fold over the top (waistband) of your main fabric 1". Press all the way around. Fold over again (another 1") and press again.


    Sew all the way around about 1/8" from the bottom of the waistband, leaving a 3" opening.


  9. Cut your elastic to length (Measurement B). Using a safety pin, pin one end of the elastic to your skirt near your 3" opening. Grab another safety pin, and attach the pin to the opposite end of your elastic. Use this pin to feed the elastic through the waistband casing, making sure it doesn't get twisted. Once you get the elastic all the way through, overlap the two ends of the elastic and zigzag stitch back and forth over the overlap several times.


  10. Close up the opening in the waistband casing, being careful not to sew through the elastic. Now turn that skirt right side out, and you're done!

OK, now you can run over to the Point of View skirt link party at Not JUST a Housewife:) I'll be featuring some of your skirts in a post next week. Hope to see you at the party!




I'm linking up...

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Quick T-Shirt Hem Headband

When I made the pieced jersey dress the other day, I had a couple t-shirt hem scraps that I thought might make cute headbands. I whipped this up really quickly last night...


Take a t-shirt hem, cut the loop open, wrap it around your child's head (make sure it's kind of snug), cut the strip of jersey to the length you need, overlap the ends by about 1/2", and zigzag stitch back and forth over the overlap.


Now it's time to embellish. I grabbed my Sizzix Big Kick die cutter, some felt scraps from my patchwork kite, and a small button. I cut out four flower shapes, layered them, and set a button on top. Sew the layers of felt and the button together.
Finally, sew the flower onto your headband by hand.


See how quick that was?


It matches the pieced jersey dress perfectly, but my youngest won't wear anything on her head, so this is for my oldest, who, incidentally, is very jealous that her sister got a new dress the other day and she did not. I think there's another pieced jersey dress in my future.

Don't forget... the first ever Point of View {a creative collaboration} reveal is tomorrow! Get those skirts ready!





I'm linking up...

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