girly skirt

One of my cute little nieces, Lainie, starts school next week. While I am here in Utah visiting, I wanted to make her a little something for her first day of school. I came up with this simple skirt...Oh my, I forgot how fun it is to make stuff for little girls...especially cute little girls who love cute things! And little miss Lainie Lou is quite the poser! She loves the camera.I'm staying with my parents while we are here in Utah on vacation. I LOVE being able to hit any number of quilt shops (there are at least three amazing ones) within a ten minute drive. It was SO much fun being able to touch and feel all the prints (rather than shopping online) and to match prints for the skirt. Aaaahhhh, I'll enjoy it for the few weeks I'm here! (And stock up for when I get home!)

fun with Harley Davidson

Okay, so these fabric prints are way outside the 'norm' of what I usually work with, but perfect for what I was trying to achieve.I never knew that Harley Davidson could be 'cute', but somehow I think I managed it. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that almost anything 'little' is cute. (okay, except for bugs..yuck! and a few other exceptions ;) This gift-set is for a family that goes to my church. They had a baby boy a few weeks ago. I betcha' can't guess what daddy drives...???Hopefully it'll be some fun and unique stuff that will make them smile, if nothing else!

FYI - If you get the bug to do a little Harley Davidson sewing for yourself, save yourself the headache of searching for non-existing HD fabric (I'm thinkin' it doesn't exist?) and drive yourself right over to your nearest Wally-World. I don't usually use sheets for sewing, but that was the best I could come up with and the most affordable. Add in a few coordinating prints, and you'll be good to go! - If you want to skip the sewing yourself all together, let me know, I've got some more material and would be happy to do a private listing at our etsy shop!

Recycled Shirt Hoodie

This is a milestone! I finally made something for my oldest son...and he loves it! I'm always making things for other people and to sell, but when Kyle asked me who this was for, he got so excited when I said HIM.

I used Lil Blue Boo's pattern and tutorial that you can get here.
It was actually really easy to make. I was able to get it cut out and sewn all in just one day. What's even better is that it is from old shirts that were in my thrift pile.
I guess it really is true that 'trash' can be made into 'treasure'! I can't wait to try variations on the pattern for other looks.

If you are a beginner sewer, this is totally a project for you. It was basic, the instructions and pictures are clear, and it is quick. All of which are a bonus!

Denim Bracelet Tutorial!

I am always so inspired by all the tutorials I see out in blogland. This tutorial is painfully simple, but something I came up with all on my own, (and I think it's pretty cute ;) so I thought I'd share!
So, It's kind of cute and cheezy and cool all at once! A fun little denim bracelet that can be worn with almost anything! The idea for the bracelet formulated after I had altered some denim pants into shorts. I had cut the seam off first and tossed it aside. Later I came back to it and thought...huh, that might make something kind of cute! So...on with the tutorial. (This is SUPER simple, and would be a fun project to do with your tweens or teens.)

Denim Bracelet Tutorial:

First you will need:
*an old pair of denim pants or shorts
*a good, sharp pair of scissors
*a button
*a ruler
*sewing machine

Step 1: Cut off a seam from your scrap denim. I like to turn the denim to the wrong side so that I can use the seam as my cutting guide. Cut just to the right of the folded/stitched seam.

Step 2: Determine how long you want your bracelet to be. I have found that most adult bracelets are somewhere between 7 to 8 inches long. I cut mine at 7.75" Cut seam to wrist size.
Step 3: Add a button hole to one edge of the cut piece. Make sure your button hole is large enough for your selected button.
Step 4: Add a button to the side of the denim that does not have the button hole.
Make your slit in the space you created your button hole, slip your button through the hole, and VOILA! You have yourself a cute, trendy little denim bracelet! Because of all the fun buttons available, and all the different widths of denim seams, the possibilities are endless! Here are just a few of the bracelets that I've made. I've already given a bunch of them away too. I wore mine one Sunday to church, and all the teenagers thought it was super cool, so I hooked them up!

I think the one frayed edge gives it that grunge charm that people pay so much for today. Kind of fun!

Eeeek....Yuck.... Double Yuck

Seeing this definitely ruined my day, and completely killed any creative thoughts I might have had for the day...Yes, this is MY GARAGE DOOR, and yes it was ALIVE. I'm still sick to my stomach thinking about it. I'll spare you the details, and I'm sorry if this just ruined your day, but on the brighter side...it didn't happen to you, so you can smile about that!

I'm heading off tomorrow morning for the weekend, so we'll see y'all on Monday!

I have a fun little tutorial planned for next week, so check back!

another book-purse!

I tend to fall in love with something, and then can't resist making lots. Here is another book-purse that I finished last night...Even after making three of these bags (here is the first one...) I still love the novelty of them. The idea is so original and such a conversation piece.

Just like the last one, this purse is for a friend of ours that just graduated from high-school. While the purses are adorable, and oh so much fun, realistically they aren't too practical. It shouldn't be used if there is a chance of rain...because the outside really is just a hard cover book, and it can only carry small things, like a thin wallet, lip gloss, cell phone and small ring of keys. As a mom, I could get away using it only on girls nights out, when I don't have to bring the kitchen sink in a diaper bag, but for these younger ladies who don't have so much junk...perfect!

If you'd like to make one of these super fun purses yourself, click on the link above for the first book-purse I made, and that will take you to the tutorial.

Happy crafting!!

Aprons

I was away last week at girls camp. (Church camp for young ladies, ages 12-17) Our theme for the week was 'Be All That You Can Be.' We went with the whole camo look to match our theme. Before heading off to camp, I wanted to make a little something special for the ladies who would be cooking our food the whole week. Making camo cute isn't too easy, but I gave it my best try...
Notice the 'bling' on the pockets? That was my favorite part of the above apron. My attempt to make it girly.
This apron was a little more simple, but the ruffles on the pocket and polka-dot straps helped to girlify it a bit!

And these are the two kitchen angels who cooked our YUMMY food for the week. They ROCKED the kitchen and made awesome food. Not an easy task when feeding 150 people three times a day. Thanks again ladies!

*FYI - the first apron is a pattern that I purchased a while back called 'Flirty Skirty'. The other one I just winged. I used a basic apron that I was given years ago to help size it correctly, but from there it was all me! It was SUPER SIMPLE.