Pinterest Challenge: No Sew Dress Up Wings

As you may or may not know the Fall Edition of the Pinterest Challenge is going on. I know I already did a post about the kids Halloween Costumes yesterday but as I got the idea for the wings from Pinterest I thought I would do this separate post as part of the challenge. So here is the inspiration photo...

And here is what I came up with...

These wings were fairly simple to make. Just a little time consuming that's all. You could easily use them as dress up clothes instead of a Halloween costume as well. It might make a great Christmas present for a special little person in your life. I pretty much followed the directions on Burda Style. Except I cut out individual felt feathers and used a glue gun to attach them to the wing. That way I had more control as to how they where shaped. I also glued on grosgrain ribbon for the ties because that is what I had on hand. I wanted to simplify the project as much as I could. The whole project took about 3 hours on and off and cost less than $5. Miss. S loves these wings so I'm sure we will get much more use out of them than just this Halloween.

If you want to see what others are doing for the Pinterest Challenge you can look here. Also The four ladies who started it all are Sherry, Katie, Ana and Erin. Sherry has me wanting to start on some Christmas crafts right now.

Water Color Monogrammed Note Cards

Back in February I blogged about what to do with Children's Art. We love doing art projects around our house. So I'm always looking for new things to do with Miss. S and different ways to display/use them. My cousin had a really fantastic idea about using your child's art as note cards. That suggestion spawned our Valentine's this year. Which has evolved once more into some monogrammed note cards that I will be using as some Thank You notes. With just a little bit of prep on my part S and I got to work today painting away some cards. All I did was use scotch tape to make an L on the front of a notecard. Then after we had painted the front we peeled off the scotch tape to have our home made monogram. Miss. S had so much fun with this. She thought is was magic. Her face just lit up when I peeled that tape off and she saw the L. It was a lot of fun. Minimal effort for a really great activity with your kiddo. Just make sure you use tape that peels off easily and wait until it is completely dry. Other wise the paper might peel up with it.

Pillow Case Skirt

A couple years ago when Miss. S was still a toddler I bought a darling embroidered vintage pillow case to make a pillow case dress. Well here I am two years later and I hadn't done anything with my cute pillow case. Let alone make a dress out of it. So I decided to do something about it just now. She's a bit too big for the dress I was planning but not too big for a skirt. I'll tell you what. This is the easiest skirt anyone could ever make. All you have to do is put in the waist band. That's it. You can find this type of pillow case at any flea market or antique mall across the country for around $5. It took me maybe a half hour to measure S, cut and sew it up. Pretty simple. She's now napping otherwise I would have had her model it for me. I was just too excited to get it on here.                                                                                                        

P.S. Is anyone else having issues getting their photos in the right spot with the new blogger? I am frustrated with it!

My Spin On A Pin

So a couple weekends ago Sherry from Young House Love and a few other bloggers did a Pinterest Challenge. Where they all worked over the weekend to put there own spin on something that they had pinned. I thought it was a great idea and wanted to do the same challenge. Except I was busy busy busy that weekend and did not have the time. So today I sat down and did it. This is what I had pinned...

Image Found Via KFD Designs

I've come across a couple tutorials on-line for Faux Zinc Letters. Like these from Anthropologie. I have always loved those letters but for $98 a pop it's just not a realistic purchase. I never even would have thought to do a faux version with paint. So when I saw the tutorial for it I got a little giddy. Out of all the tutorials that I found I thought the one over on KFD Designs was the best. So I went with that. We have a wedding gift to give so I grabbed a large cardboard C from Joann's on sale for $2.99 (C for the married couple's last name). And here is how it turned out...                                                         

                   

I love it. It turned out just as I hoped it would. Of coarse the one in the pin is better but I still love this one. Now I want to make a few more to live at my house. Possibly in the kitchen? We'll see. The entire project cost around $6 (don't worry we gave them something else also). $6 is much more reasonable than $98. Did I mention I love it?

Today I Took...

This long sleeve t-shirt and made it into a...

 Short sleeve T-Shirt

Using this tutorial.

Is it perfect? Heaven's no.

Do I care? Not a bit.

Will I do it again? You betcha.

This is perfect for those of us who live in San Antonio. Our winters are pretty short. So those long sleeves don't get that much wear before spring rolls around. This is a great way to stretch out their life a little bit. Especially since Miss. S grows like a weed. Who knows if they will fit her the next time winter rolls around. It's super easy and thrifty. That's always fun. 

P.S. I know these pictures are terrible. And I really should have ironed the shirt first. But I was in a hurry so this will have to do.

Simple Skirt Take Two

I'm calling this her "Polka Dot Party" skirt. I love it! I have decided that I might not ever purchase another shirt for her again. Why buy them when they are so easy to make? How easy? Easy enough that my 10 year old niece could make it. That's how easy. As you can see this time I went with the two-tiered simple skirt. It is just as easy as the single layer skirt. It didn't photograph very well but let me tell you it is pretty stinking cute. This is not the last you've seen of these skirts from me. I'm on a roll. And if you've been thinking about trying to make one these I say do it! You will love the end result.

The New Addition To The Collection

Here is this years masterpiece. There is a rainbow, some circles, there was a happy face until she thought it needed more pink, and one really wonky baby foot. He was really really squirmy so it didn't turn out like I had hoped, but oh well! That's all part of the fun. I think it is absolutely perfect!

My Favorite Tradition

I love celebrating Father's Day. Dad's work hard. They do so much and they deserve to feel special. Every year for Father's Day Miss. S has painted a special Father's Day painting for Denny. The first Father's Day she was only 9 months old so I helped out quite a bit. Each year she takes over a little more. This year she pretty much did the whole thing by herself. Well besides a little help from Mr. Z's foot (our son has some crazy feet!).

Out of any holiday tradition this is by far my favorite. S has so much fun painting with the "special" paints and she gets so excited to give Denny something she made with her own two hands. It is truly something special for everyone. Plus don't they look so cute all lined up like that? This years piece isn't in the above photo (Duh! Can't ruin the surprise!) but let me tell you she did a great job. She picked out everything from the canvas to the colors. It was so much fun!

If You Like It Then You Should've Put A Bird On It

I'd like to introduce you to the "Put A Bird On It" simple skirt. I decided I wasn't the only person in need of a new skirt. Miss. S definitely needed a new skirt (or two or three). When I saw this fabric on sale at Joann's I knew just what to do with it. I followed Dana's tutorial for a simple skirt. And that it was. Very simple. She timed herself making one and it only took her like 15 min. It took me about an hour. This marks several firsts for me. My first sewing project since the baby was born, my first skirt for S, and my first project (sewing or other) ever with a bird on it. It's kinda a right of passage among crafters right? The whole bird thing. Enough so that it inspired this super funny Portlandia video.
 
Makes me laugh every time. I got enough fabric to make 2 more skirts (different patterns of coarse). So I hope those will be done over the next couple days. It's hot out there! This girl needs more skirts!

                                          

Recycled T-Shirt Flower Brooch

I know. I know. I said this would be up by Saturday. What I really meant was Monday. Life is a little unpredictable right now. This week I'm working hard on getting this baby on a schedule. Then my blogging will be back to normal I promise.

So the tutorial. I had some fun with this one. In the picture I showed last week I had made a turquoise brooch. This time though I wanted to play around with pattern. So I went with a striped shirt that I got for $5 at Kohl's that I loved on the rack just not on me.

Materials

Old T-Shirt

Pin Back

Small square of felt

Rotary Cutter or Scissors

Cutting Mat

Needle and Thread

Glue Gun

Directions

1. Lay T-shirt flat on cutting board. Cut off bottom hem of shirt. Cut 2-3 1 inch wide strips from the bottom of your t-shirt. Cut out side seams.

2. Give the ends of your strips a good tug. This will make them curl up at the edges. The more you pull the more they curl.

3. While holding the strips taut cut into smaller sections. For this flower I did 4 inch sections. The knit is very light weight so if they were longer it might have looked a little limp. If your knit is heavier you can do them longer. For the turquoise flower I did 5 inches.

4. Create a base for your flower by crossing 6 "petals" to form a circle. Bring your needle and thread up through the bottom and back down to stitch in place.

5. This next part is a little tricky to explain. Working one by one take a petal and pinch it in half stitch to the center of the base. Work around the circle until you have desired fullness. Make sure to stitch each one individually as close to the center as possible. When you reach desired fullness pull on the ends again and fluff up a little.

6. Glue pin back to the back of your flower then glue felt square on top of that for added support.

7. Your done! Pin to a sweater or jacket and enjoy!

I've forgotten how time consuming even the simplest tutorial can be. Especially when you don't have a helper to take pictures with you. So I'm sorry this is so late in getting up here. Hopefully I explained myself well enough. If you do decide to make one for yourself and you have questions please drop me an e-mail!

DIY Accessories Round Up

I've been searching for fun, easy DIY accessories for a while now. Here are some of my favorites that I've found.

image found via Green Wedding Shoes

1. The most beautiful shoe clips out there. Shown above.

2. You would never guess what this bracelet is made out of. LOVE IT!

3. I'm dying to make this belt. Such a great way to add interest to your little black dress.

4. I've always been a fan of turquoise and I love braids. Therefore I love this necklace.

5. There is nothing more girlie than glittery bows. This headband would add a touch of whimsy to any outfit.

6. A perfect linen summer scarf. Light weight for warmer weather.

I'm trying to get the tutorial done for tomorrow so check back. If not tomorrow then Saturday for sure. I'm still trying to figure out how to manage my time with two kids. Bare with me!

Sneak Peek

I was inspired by the Emerson Made flower to create my own version. Right now I'm working on putting together a tutorial for this recycled T-Shirt Flower Brooch for later this week. I really like how it turned out and I'm excited to share it with you. So bright and cheerful. I don't know about you but I'm always looking for ways to reuse items I don't use anymore. I have loads of t-shirts that I donate every year but I always keep a few to use in different ways. Keep a look for this on Thursday or Friday.

Make Me Pretty May: Fabric Scrap Necklace

This was the perfect little project to get me back in the swing of things. It required no money, no trip to the store and very little time & effort. I have a nice big box full of fabric scraps that I raided and about an hour later I have a fun colorful springy necklace. I wish I had someone here who could take a picture of me wearing it but I don't and I generally don't like to take pictures of myself in a mirror. They never turn out good. So this will have to do. I used this tutorial by Rubyellen from Cakies. There is a great picture of it being worn with that tutorial. The one pictured is three strands I only did two because they seemed a lot fatter than the ones pictured. I think it still works though either way. It's a fun way to jazz up a t-shirt. I love how it feels really casual for everyday wear.

Here are a few more tutorials for braided fabric accessories.

Braided Fabric Headband #1

Braided Fabric Headband #2

Braided Fabric Bracelets

Make Me Pretty May

Photo Found on Emerson Made. I LOVE Big Flowers!

I'm making that the theme of this month. I'm in the in between stage after having a baby. The I have nothing that fits yet stage. The I feel really gross and flabby and fat stage. The I wish I could put my favorite pair of jeans on but I can't fit them up past my thigh stage. I know those of you who have had a baby know this stage (and if you don't we are no longer friends). A lot of you have just had a baby recently as well or are about to have a baby. Have I mentioned here that I had about 15 friends who were pregnant at the same time as me. I know... crazy. Don't you think we need something to make us feel pretty? I do. I think the best way to do that is through accessories. Really great statement accessories. Not only will they make you feel pretty and special but they will distract people from our wobbly bits. Keep the eyes away from our muffin tops and on our hair or neck or arms. So for Make Me Pretty May I'm going to be spending extra attention on great accessories. Starting with a simple DIY tomorrow. I can't wait to share it with you! If you have any great accessory ideas let me know!

Spring Garland How To

This is turning into the year of garlands. Why? Because they are cheap, easy and they pack a big punch. I loved my Valentine's Garland so much that I decided to try out a spring version. And it's... well... very springy. And colorful. And bright. But it's cute and Miss. S adores it! She keeps telling be how beautiful the flowers are. So I guess it works.

With the heart garland I cut out the hearts, glue gunned them together, then sewed them all in a row. Super easy. This one ended up being a little more complicated just because I didn't use the sewing machine. With all the different colors I didn't want the white thread to show. So I took crochet string that I had on hand and glue gunned them all together. Here's what I did.

1. Gather supplies. I used 8 pieces of different colored felt (They were 4 for a dollar), crochet string (any string will do), ribbon, a simple flower pattern (drawn by hand and far from perfect) scissors and a glue gun.

2. Cut out 4 flowers from each color (I ended up having to use more but this was a good starting out point) and 8 dots from both yellow and orange (again I ended up having to cut more). Depending on how long you want it you could use more or less, but I would suggest you measure first.

2. Start glueing them to the string. I didn't cut my string until the end. You will use 2 flowers to make each one. Put the back of the flower behind the string and dab glue gun across the string. Then place the top flower on top of the string. Sandwiching the string between the two sides (Hopefully the above picture will kind of show you what I'm trying to explain).

3. I then dabbed a little glue on each petal to make sure they stayed together and glued on

center dots.

4. Once complete I cut 2 lengths of ribbon about a foot long. Fold them in half and glue them to the end flowers to act as ties. Make sure to trim your string slightly shorter than the garland so that it doesn't hang out and show. Hang and enjoy!

Like I said I ended up using a little more than I anticipated. I cut out four more flowers out of different colors, 2 yellow dots and 2 orange dots. I didn't put the flowers in any particular order. They are just random. I don't have a fancy machine that cuts out all the pieces for me so this was all by hand. It does take some time to get everything cut out and glued together. I cut out everything yesterday and assembled today. All during nap time. It really didn't seem to hard. I watched some T.V. and the time went by really fast. I think it took me a total of four hours to make and the cost of felt. Everything else I had on hand. It will definitely add some Spring to your home and if you have little girls they will oh and ah over it.

Dresser Inspiration

If you have looked at my Pinterest Boards then you know that we will be giving two dressers a makeover sometime in the near future (hopefully). One we already have and one we are picking up this weekend that we found for $60 on Craigslist. The one in our bedroom no longer works for us and it seems a little juvenile. So we are going to give that one to the kiddos. It's been through a couple transformations already. It went from white with pastel stenciled butterflies, to a chocolate brown paint, to the dark stain it is now. I'm thinking we'll do something along the lines of these...

This one I found on Pinterest and couldn't find the original link to give credit. If you know where this originated please let me know so I can credit the photo.

This one I found on Rearranged Design. I like them both, but envision doing mine in different colors. Maybe yellow or green? I like the orange but I feel like orange is more of a boy color. I need something a little more gender neutral. I like the turquoise in the top image a lot. The dresser we have is shaped similarly to both of these. Tall, four drawers, with clean lines. I'm most excited about this one because I think you can take a lot more risks with kids furniture to make them fun and funky. You can be a lot more creative. It will be really fun.

I'm having a harder time with the one for our room. It is a low dresser with six drawers. Three on each side. It too has very clean lines. The problem is Denny and I often don't agree on things. So far we both really like this one...

Found on Three Men and a Lady. I love this. I think I love it though because of the whole room. Grey and yellow is one of my favorite color combos. I'm not sure this will have the same effect on the dresser we have. This is much more ornate which makes it much more interesting. I think if we painted the dresser we have all yellow it might just look plain. I don't know. I do love it though.

Anyway I can't wait to share the before and afters with you guys. I have no idea when that will be seeing as though with in a week we will have a newborn. Hopefully it will be sooner than later though.

Cloth Diaper Burp Cloths

When I had Miss. S I got a lot of burp cloths as gifts. A lot! This time around I got zero. Last night I was cleaning out her closet so we could have room for this little guy and I found 6 cloth diapers. Let's be honest cloth diapers make the best burp cloths. They are super absorbent. My sister had made Miss. S about 12 burp cloths when she was born by just simply trimming the ends in cute grosgrain ribbon. So I thought I'd do the same.

Simply was what I thought. Simply was not what I got. I believe that honesty is the best policy so I'll be quite frank with this one. Sometimes sewing projects aren't fun. Sometimes they fail. I guess they didn't fail. They turned out ok looking, but it was a pain to even get three done. I have three more to tackle tomorrow. Maybe it's because I'm a perfectionist and I had to make sure they were done oh so perfectly. I don't know. I just did not enjoy making these at all. I don't know how my sister managed to do 12. I'll finish the last three tomorrow, and I'm sure they will turn out cute enough. But will I have fun doing it. Probably not. My advice to you if you want to try these out is don't waist your time. You will just end up frustrated. Maybe my sister Aubrey has better advice than I do though. The ones she made turned out amazing. Sometimes things don't turn out as planned. Sometimes it's harder than you expect or they just don't look right. There is however always something to be learned along the way. I guess you can apply the same things to sewing as you do to life.

$7 Walmart Slipper Makeover

I've been thinking about the things I want to take to the hospital when we go have this baby. A robe, Comfy jammies and slippers were at the top of my list. The only slippers I had were these big fluffy purple things that are great for winter and cold temperatures, but I'm not going to lie they are kinda funny looking. So the other day I picked up a the most basic plain black pair of dearfoam slippers at Walmart for $7. The key word in the last sentence was plain. They needed some sprucing up. This morning I used the fabric pom pom tutorial from my Spring Craft Round Up (tutorial found here), made a couple of adjustments and this is what I came up with.

I love them!!! They are super easy too. Maybe a little time consuming to cut out all the pieces, but once that is done they were really a breeze to make. Instead of using circles I used a simple five petal flower silhouette. Other than that I used the tutorial pretty closely. I would have preferred to put them on shoe clips but I couldn't find them at my local craft stores and I didn't feel like waiting for them to come in the mail. There are plenty of Etsy shops that sell them. So I just removed the bow that was already on the slippers and then sewed them directly to the slipper. Couldn't you just imagine these on a cute pair of black pumps though. Maybe I'll do some shoe clips later on. In the meantime these are making me happy.

P.S. Excuse my feet. They are misshapen and swollen and dry. Not the most attractive feet to look at.

Getting Crafty Spring Edition

Back in December I did a holiday craft tutorial round up. I have been really enjoying our springy weather lately. It just makes me want to bring all that color & sunshine & warmth inside my house. So here is a round up of Spring craft tutorials. I've been saving them all up on my Pinterest page. So I'm sorry if this is a repeat for those of you who have already checked that out.

Image found via Sunshine and Carousels

1. The list wouldn't be complete without a couple garlands. I actually want to make this one for Miss. S's room. To hang above her bed. Over at Sunshine and Carousels they are doing Spring Fling for the entire month of March. Just in case you need a little more Spring Inspiration.

2. The second garland to make the list. This would be fun to do for Easter. It kinda reminds me of my Valentine's Garland but much more colorful.

3. Big Fabric Pom Poms. I'm thinking this would be fun to do for my entry way.

4. The smaller version of the above Pom Poms used as cupcake toppers. I love them. Hey Carrie don't we have a baby shower coming up? These would be adorable for that.

5. I've been wanting to make a yarn wreath for a while. Denny hates them, but I still might do it. I've seen them a lot around Christmas, but a Spring version is a nice change.

6. This cute rick rack pillow looks easy peasy & so dang cute. It could spruce up any room.

7. Quilted Vintage Sheet Placemats. I'm not much of a quilter but these are darling. Doesn't get much more springy than that.

Happy Spring! And Happy Crafting!

Another Favorite Blanket

When you are expecting a baby the most abundant gift people give you are clothes. I think a close second is blankets. When we were expecting Miss. S we got blankets of every size, texture, color you name it we got it. However we found that we were using the same ones over and over again. I already did a post on our favorite receiving blankets. Now it's on to another one of our favorites.

My friend Krista gave us a small car seat/stroller sized blanket when we had Miss. S. It is darling. It has a soft minky on one side and a mix of florals and textures on the other. It quickly became one of our favorites. It was so useful too. Perfect for going places with us whether in the car seat or stroller. Not too big and bulky. It was easy to grab and go. So recreating this blanket was one of the first things on my list when we found out we were expecting. And how fun that I got to make it totally different for a boy!

Besides receiving blankets this is the first blanket I have ever made on my own. Without the help of my Mom, sisters or friends. I used the blanket made by Krista as a guide for this one. First of all when I got the fabric in the mail that I ordered I about died. It was even better than I had hoped. I used 9 9.5" squares. Two of them being the same minky I used for the back and one chenille for the middle. The rest I tried to mix and match different patterns. I loved the chevron stripes so much I had to use it twice. It turned out just perfect. I love it so much. It took me about 4 hours from start to finish to make. I think it would have gone faster except I had never worked with chenille before and it was a little tricky getting it to line up correctly. For my first time though it went pretty smoothly and the results were just what I wanted. I'm a little anxious to try out another one. It was really fun to do.