Not Just Grannies

Baby Taggies and Baby Doll Taggies

2011-08-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

After a summer of lots of crafting and blogging, it is back to the grind! I am [trying to] focus long enough to get some straggling projects done. One of them is baby gifts, and, since most of them have yet to be delivered, here is a pic of one that is already at his home, just waiting to be used by a sweet baby boy.

Burp Cloth and wipey case

Taggie and boppy cover.

All of the above was made with my "stash" of fabric from Joann's 75% off out of business sale. (Can you believe instead of moving <1 mile down the road they completely liquidated all of the fabric to open anew? Their loss, my gain!) So glad I could foresee these baby projects in the future, because I LOVE all of this fabric. Love Love Love!
SO....while I'm sewing away during Sawyer's nap time, the big kids pick up scraps of ribbon and minky fabric from the floor and asked me to make their dolls taggies. How do you say "no" to that? So, about 20 minutes later, we had this...

I think Ranger has forgotten all about his, but a week later, Lucy is still taking her doll and taggie EVERYWHERE! And, while we're talking about Lucy, I want to also report that she found these hats in her toy box (crocheted 2 years ago) and she and bitty baby are both wearing them to sleep tonight! I love you Lucy! You will get plenty of handmade things from me in your lifetime!

Designing Dana's Header

2011-08-10T13:39:00.001-07:00

So, I am flying high right now! I entered a "Design my Header" contest for my favorite handmade blog, MADE. Out of 180 people and 309 entries, TWO of my headers were chosen to be in the top 35! No way! Here they are. Dana is showcasing her top 35 today and tomorrow and will narrow it down to the top 3! Even if I make it no further, I am pumped to have made it this far. Here they are, and here is the link to her post to see the rest. And, if you don't have her site bookmarked or followed, do so now! You won't regret it!

MADE 2, a photo by speech_chicky on Flickr.

I just love the sidewalk chalk font on the picnik site. Here I was able to use it in a very neat way. I LOVE the pink converse and red curb. Also, I am a sucker for pink converse since I had some as a child.

Made 4, a photo by speech_chicky on Flickr.

The inspiration for this picture was the super cool funky tattoo font that picnik has. I remembered reading this post about Dana's super crafty sisters, and I thought, "I wonder if I could find a photo of her super rad temporary tattoo artist sister to tattoo the made logo on." It took some searching, but here it is. I really thought this would make Dana and her sis smile and was floored that it made her top 35! OK, there's my bloggy joy for the day.

Thrifty Finds: Etched Vases

2011-08-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

My interview is up here. I had decided I would do this as my craft if I made "the cut". When I didn't, I decided I would do them anyway. There is a very COOL and CHEAP thrift store in the area that I scoured for plain glass vases. The guy gave me a deal: .75 for the big vases and .50 for the small ones. I took it. And, in about 5 minutes, made this.

Here's what I did. Using my Silhouette, I cut words out of vinyl and used the negative space and stuck them to the vases, making sure to seal the edges of the letters very tight. This was a little difficult since the surface is curved, but it helped to start in the middle. Some of the letters required pieces to be placed in the middle (like the middle of the "a").

Then I painted thick, even layers of etching cream on them. Silhouette sells this, but I used Armour Etch from Hobby Lobby ($9 for 3 oz. which will last FOREVER!) This stuff is potent and includes ammonia and other strong stuff, so use gloves and keep out of children's reach!

Then I washed the etching cream off after about 5 minutes and removed the vinyl.

And there ya have it! I also made some flower pens to put in it since we seem to ALWAYS be out of writing utensils around here. This is a cheap fun gift. I actually made another vase for a newlywed couple that turned out really neat. This is a great cheap gift for anyone!

Cash Register Doesn't Make Cut: Crafter Voted Off

2011-07-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here are the polls from this week.
Mine was the cash register. I am "going home."
Poll: Kids Can Do {week 6}
Other crafts were great this week, too. My personal favorite (besides mine) is the sash, because it is hard to sew for boys. Now, let me explain...

I LOVE this cash register. I worked on it most of the week and had a friend come and take photos with her DSLR camera. Then I threw random photos together very haphazardly and failed to properly present it. Both my friend the photographer and my husband called and said, "Why are your photos so small? Why do you have fewer photos than the others? And why didn't you get a close up of the cash register?" They weren't telling me anything I hadn't already asked myself. I NEVER expected to make it to the top 5 so I forgot that at that point the stringent 3 photo only rule had increased to 5 photos. And I don't know why I didn't make them large.

So, without further ado, I bring you, the CASH REGISTER!

BEFORE

AFTER

Chick Fil A buttons

Homeland Apron

Laminated Homeland Coupons and Scanner

Working the register

Chick Fil A apron and buttons

So there ya have it. I love this craft and there is actually a story behind how I found it. The original plan was to find an adding machine that printed receipt paper and I was going to build a drawer under it. Thanks to my husband's perseverence, we continued to go to thrift stores and not give up, and we actually found a real working cash register! Score Score Score!
BTW, thanks so much for voting and I am very thankful for the opportunity to finally participate in SYTYC. It was actually Season 1 of the contest that inspired me to start a craft blog. I still made a craft for next week's theme so stay tuned. It is cheap and quick and amazing!

Shout out to Whimsy Couture

2011-07-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

This week is pretty crazy on SYTYC. Theme is "Upcycled" and everyone did great! There are 5 left, with 2 WAY in the lead and the bottom 3 rotating in last place. I am very happy with my craft this week and at peace with "going home" should that happen. I LOVE my next week's craft and will showcase it on here even if I go home, so check back.

I wanted to give a shout out to one of our sponsors, Whimsy Couture, who will be giving 3 ebook patterns to the winner of this season's SYTYC. I was perusing her shop to make a list in case I won (insert laugh here....have you SEEN some of the ladies I am crafting against?). She happened to be having a 50% off sale that ended that evening, and I HAD to get this Mommy and me pillowcase garment pattern for me and Lucy. My girl LOVES to match mommy and this was too perfect. Lucy even helped me pick out the fabric, and said she wanted one part flowers and one part polka dots. I was a little nervous about finding fabric that didn't look too elementary, but I love how these turned out! Last week at Affair of the Heart, a big local craft fair, these were everywhere, for , like, $30 a piece! Whimsy Couture lets you sell all of their patterns in your shop. Hmmm. Enjoy. And, don't forget to vote for your favorite upcycled craft here. Polls close tomorrow at 9 pm.

Lucy and I's pillowcase garments. I made myself the smallest size and then made it even smaller since somehow I cut my width a little small. I will go a size up next time but still love how it turned out!

Lucy's pillowcase dress. How cute is this??

Too cute not to pose, again!

Lucy with her cousin and little bro at Kiddie Park.

Anthropologie Dutch Tote

2011-07-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

I made it another week! No way! Thanks for voting. Mine was the Anthro Double Dutch Tote. Did you guess? I took it to the library last week and felt so hip to have such an awesome handbag. The tutorial will be up early next week. The main part of the tutorial will be measurements for the wood handle and the pattern for the bag, which is one long piece. I doubled this piece to make it reversible, but it was easy, straight stitches. Love love love.

I was very excited about this week's theme. I NEVER sew anything for myself, so I decided I would make myself a knockoff designer handbag. When I saw this Double Dutch Bag on Anthropologie, I knew it was the project for me!

Tadahh!

This bag is roomy and beautiful! It requires a small amount of basic carpentry and beginner level sewing skills. It is completely customizable and, even better, completely reversible!

I made one side feminine and gorgeous and the other side more casual. You can use any fabric you so desire and even upcycle old clothes! I used linen, upholstery fabric, and upcycled clothing (an old floral skirt and a very used pair of men's jeans). The original Dutch bag uses scraps of dutch mail bags with wording on it, and I used freezer paper stencils and fabric paint to mimick that.

Did I mention that I LOVE THIS BAG?

Whizbang Firecracker Wreath Tutorial

2011-07-09T20:49:00.001-07:00

I made it another week! Thanks for Voting. Polls ended like this.
Poll: Dollar Store {week 3}

Picnik is being SLOW tonight, so I'm going to do my best to crank out this tutorial with not so edited pics. Better now with so so pics than a year from now, right? So here it is!

Starting with a wreath and garland from dollar tree,

I laid out the 36 coin wrappers and spray painted them with chrome, and saved about 10 of them which were spray painted with black. This was the bottom layer that will be the "writing" of the sounds. If you don't want sounds on them, you can skip this first step.

The black was just valspar flat paint and the silver was...haha..bumper chrome. My husband had it in the garage. You can use chrome colored spray paint...the bumper chrome worked just fine.

Spray paint them. You should probably do one coat on one side, then when it dries, do the other side, but I just did them both sides at once. Some of the paint did stick to the box, but since this was the bottom coat, I didn't worry about it too much.

I cut each coin wrapper right in the center, and cut about 270 degrees around the circle, leaving only a small space of connection. It is important that you cut on the non rolled side, see the next pic, of when you cut on the rolled side.

It comes apart. No bueno.

Then you fold it back

And apply the word

Using my Silhouette cutter, I cut onomotopea sounds from black vinyl in a size 30 point font with the following styles--pow-snap itc, pop, bang, zip-bauhaus 93, Zoom-Bernard MT condensed; snap-copperplate gothic bold, crack-gill sans ultra bold condensed, kaboom-impact. If you don't have a silhouette, you can use scrapbook letters or skip this step. You could possibly use vinyl through a cricut. But you will keep having to change cartridges and it will take forever, so you will have big time Silhouette envy :) Then you separate the negative space from positive space.

Using the Silhouette transfer sheet, I peeled each word from the backing,

And stuck it on the side of the firecracker.

Now do this a whole bunch of times. I had planned on doing sounds on every wrapper, but realized real fast that only about half of them would have words. I hadn't planned on using the negative space for some of them, but thought "Why not?" I love the dimension that it added.

Back to the cardboard.

I separated these out and painted the chrome ones red and blue. The black ones were painted chrome. Don't have a pic of the paint but it was valspar flat spray paint. You can use whatever you choose. I REALLY should have turned these as they dried, but I am impatient and did it all at once. Some didn't look so good.

And when those dried, I put a coat of this glitter spray on it. I thought it would give it a more refined touch. I got this glitter spray at Michael's.

Then I let that dry.

Then I peeled the vinyl off.

How cool does that look? I went into this project very blindly. I was getting excited here that my efforts weren't thwarted.

Then you do that a whole bunch more times.

Then you get a wreath from the dollar tree.

Spray that with bumper chrome (lol) and let that dry.

Then you cut little one inch pieces off of the garland. It will still stay intact..yay! Excuse these pics. It is naptime with my tripod :)

Then you put hot glue in one side (don't burn your fingers although I did)

And put one side of the garland piece through the wrapper to the glue

Then hot glue the other side

Then open the middle and pull the garland through.

Then trim it with scissors to the length you desire.

Then do it 35 more times and you have your firecrackers.

Say a prayer of Thanksgiving that your dollar tree project wasn't a total failure and take pics of your fun firecrackers.

Then get your chrome wreath, and position the firecrackers the way you want them, and hot glue them on.

From this to this, not bad, huh?

And you will have plenty left over to make these necklaces for the kids. They will LOVE them. I just crocheted the necklaces with chain 40 of red and blue yarn with an I hook, and attached the firecrackers through with a needle and yarn, but you can use any kind of necklace you choose.

I will post more pics later of the kids in these festive necklaces. So much fun! Let me know if you think you will make this. Thanks.

Tooth Fairy Tracking Chart

2011-07-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Tooth Fairy Tracking Chart was mine! Did you guess right? I am working on the tutorial now, and I have already had an expectant mommy ask me to make her one so she can track her kid's baby teeth. So much fun! Thanks for voting.

The Tooth Fairy is the toast of the "make-believe" town around here! I wanted to make a chart to help my kid track "progress" as each tooth was lost. Here I bring you, the "Tooth Fairy Tracking" Chart.

The backing is tin, and the teeth are magnets that move to the corresponding number (age) when the tooth falls out, along with a special magnetized "jewel" that the tooth fairy leaves behind.

Kids not old enough for the Tooth Fairy yet?? Ahhh! I bring you Option #2...Tracking your kid's baby teeth.

My kids love this and it makes the tooth fairy more magical than ever!

Tim Urban and the Halter to Toddler Dress

2011-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, the Halter to Toddler Dress was mine. Love Love Love.

One of my favorite American Idol Contestants from Season 9 is Tim Urban. I am Texas-biased, of course, but I liked this little cutie from Duncanville, TX who laughed every time judges criticized him. He was supposed to go home after the top 24 were announced, but due to an equivocation about another contestant having a previous record contract, they came to the airport and asked him to come back. He did, and made it to the top 7.

I am sort of like the Tim Urban of this season of SYTYC. Polls looked like this

Poll: Wild Card {week 1}

I am last. No big deal, it was fun to try and I still LOVE the dress. But Holly at Domestic Dork decided to leave, even though her rockin tickety tock clock kicked my toddler dress in the tail. It was no equivocation about a record contract. She felt like she needed to be "peace out" with the blogging world for awhile. You can read about it here. Farewell, Holly. You seem like a funny and fun mama and I wish I could have seen you compete more in the contest.

So I am back. I didn't pack my bags and go to the airport. I was just WAY DOWN in the polls and had a lot of work to do after returning from a relaxing weekend in Mexico...more about that later. I emailed Missy the day the craft was due and said "I think I'm toast in the contest...may not be motivated to finish my next craft", which was about 20% done, since it looked like I would be "going home" anyway. Then Missy e-mailed me back and said, "I would still do one."

So here I am. I am so happy to post pics of Lucy in the toddler dress and finish up the tutorial. This week's theme is "Make Believe". Go here and vote. I loved my halter and I love my craft this week, so even if I am last place again, I am OK with that.

Oh, and btw, Tim Urban was in Cancun the same time I was...at a neighboring resort. Along with Aaron Kelly, Ruben Studdard, and Corbin Bleu, to name a few. They had a concert and I had the opportunity to go, but my fellow travellers opted for a cozy night kids free. Could ya blame them? Farewell, Tim! Maybe next time.

Lucy got to wear her dress to church today. We can "come out" with the dress, since the polls have closed. Some of my church friends knew I was in Season 8 of SYTYC, but didn't know which one was mine :) Sawyer wanted in the picture, too.

Here's us with her dress and my dress that I made using a LBB Pieced Tunic Dress Pattern. Too bad you can't see my super cute pink heels that matched.

You Decide!

2011-06-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce that I am a contestant this season on "So You Think You're Crafty". So many tutorials that have helped me, now I get a chance to try! I have pondered the last few seasons, but it hasn't been a good time, but when is it ever a good time??? So excited to finally compete. Go here and vote for your favorite. Polls close on Friday!

Sand Art Brownie Mix

2011-06-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from my family's blog, which I thought would be appropriate to move on over here. They make great gifts!

I saw this in last year's "Taste of Home" and thought it would be the perfect project for my kids to work on with me as teacher Christmas gifts. We made 7 jars of this brownie mix, and of course one for us. One has to try the recipe out before we mass distribute it, right?

I got the jars from The Container Store for $4 each. The ingredients were about $20, and that makes 7 gifts. Not bad for a teacher gift, huh?

Despite my plan for the kids to work on these with me, they lost interest pretty quickly. We got enough involvement for each kid to take a picture "in action", and then it was pretty much time for Kevin and I to work like 60 finishing these out while the kids played.

Ta dah! The completed jars. I will decorate them and send a final pic. Homemade by Jill has some great ideas for decorating jars for Christmas.

Sand Art Brownie Mix (Taste of Home Dec/Jan 2009 Issue)
1 cup + 2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup vanilla or white chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

Additional ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
1 t vanilla extract

Sand art instructions:
in a small bowl, combine flour and salt. In a 1 qt glass conainter, layer the flour mixture, cocoa, sugar, brown sugar, chips, and nuts. Cover and store in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. Yield: 1 batch (4 cups total)

To prepare brownies: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add brownie mix, stir until blended.

Spread into greased 9-in square baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool on wire rack.

Sewing Inspiration I

2011-05-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

I have loved the posts that I have seen that are based on our heritage as it relates to sewing, so I decided to write my own! I have some amazing people in my life that have served as my inspiration for sewing!

Aunt Uarda was a professional seamstress, who sewed from 1950-1989 at a Woods Manufacturing Co. branch in Dublin, TX, with the headquarters were Waco, TX. Her starting pay was .75/hour which increased through the years to about $6/hour. She sewed clothing based on contracts that her company had. This American apparel ranged from making Army Raincoats (sewing on rubber...yikes!) and pants, both kids (Billy the Kid) and adults which also included different styles of blue jeans. Her contract also served Sidron of Dallas and Nardis of Dallas which were very expensive labels at that time. Later, Panhandle Slim took over and the factory made western apparrel. The jeans/pants contract came at a time when her kids were having hard times. That Christmas, she made each of her 6 grandchildren 4 pairs of jeans! She bought some of the fabric on her own and obtained some of the fabric pieces from scraps at the factory bins. She cut her patterns out at home, and went to the factory before and after hours to use the factory machines for personal use, per the company policy. When she brought the finished jeans home, her husband commented on how they looked "factory made", to which she replied, "They are!" She also made her daughter Jamie's wedding dress and her all of her granddaughters' bridesmaid's dresses. When the Dublin factory closed down in early 1980's, she bought the factory serger and is still using it!

Teacher Gifts using Silhouette

2011-05-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

I am in LOVE with my Silhouette cutter! I cut these vinyl letters out to make each teacher their own customized "stash" of their favorite candy! The canisters are stainless and plastic and very kid proof ($6/each at Big Lots). I used premium black vinyl and cut the vinyl in Cooper Black font. I also cut the kids' initials and year in a smaller size Cooper Black. Then I just followed the instructions using transfer paper and the scraper tool. Then tied a bow around it and filled it with their favorite candy! So fun, cheap, and beautiful!

Bezel Bracelet

2011-05-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

I do NOT do jewelry! Very intimidating and un-fun! But when my MOPS moms were requesting a jewelry item for the spring, I googled "cheap easy bracelet" and this tutorial came up from Anngela's Pretty Little Things. I was so happy to see a full stock of Hobby Lobby bracelets and we were able to embellish them using scrapbook paper and leftover photo squares from another project. I pretty much followed the tutorial step by step with the exception of using sun and moon glaze for the adhesive and top coat. The secret is to fill the entire bezel with glaze so that it has a glassy finish! Thanks, Anngela, for your tutorial which literally saved me on this one!

Toddler Elvis

2011-01-26T07:46:00.001-08:00

I had mulled over Sawyer's Halloween costume for awhile, and saw this white polyester at Joann's for $2/yard, and this all came together for about $10 and in 24 hours. I hadn't planned on using the embellishments until it was completed and didn't look quite blingy enough to be Vegas Elvis. After the embellishments, it looked absolutely perfect. Since I had no experience in designing whatsoever, I used Sawyer's clothes and traced a pattern in which I used some ugly polyester scrap fabric to make and tweak a template. It took half the night but was so worth it!

My proudest part of the costume is the "flare" on the legs and arms, which took 2 extra triangles of fabric per sleeve/leg. It took some tweaking but gives it so much more dimension. Designing was a blast! I wish I had more time!

My poor little Elvis was "All Shook Up" after the long photo shoot.

Serger!

2010-01-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

I am super excited that I bought a new used Craigslist serger! Hopefully I can crank out even more fun stuff.

Recycled Dress for LBB Challenge

2010-01-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of my first Sienna dress for the LBB & Dharma Trading Design Challenge.

I'm so glad I posted about it earlier...it really kept me on the ball with this project and I knew I couldn't back out. This dress was actually a blast to make and I love how it looks on Little Lu. I had the perfect amount of scraps left to make bitty baby a dress. How convenient, especially since Little Lu is 132 X more likely to wear it and wear it often if her miniature counterpart has one.

She has worn it twice already, once with leggings and once with warmers. Both not without TONS of compliments!

If you aren't thoroughly impressed yet, 1) you don't know my previous sewing skills, and 2) you haven't seen how truly HIDEOUS these shirts were to begin with. These .99 shirts at Goodwill had some potential, I thought. This is UPcycling in its greatest form, I think!

There are tons of things I like about this pattern. 1) It is very user friendly with lots of pics and descriptions. Trust me. I have tried store bought patterns. Simplicity does not always live up to it's name. I just don't know the "lingo" and I have a Master's degree :) Ashley from LBB has never followed store bought patterns either, and talks in language that we all understand. It is also accompanied by pictures of each step and little alterations along the way. There is even a troubleshooting section that was handy for me at times. Take that, Simplicity :) 2) I love love love the concept of using recycled shirts to make dresses. For one thing, they are cheap. I spent $3 on shirts for this dress, and had enough fabric to mess up/cut new parts AND make another dress. How many yards of cute clearance fabric can you get for $3? Also, these old shirts have stood the test of time. No worrying about the color fading or the fabric shrinking. Don't let that solid black collar fool you, it was the reverse side of a very worn t shirt collar.

I went round and round about my added decoration. I initially wanted to use fabric paint to make a freezer paper stencil. However, I have smeared the paint before when setting the design and was way too paranoid about doing that again. A friend suggested that I do her initial, and then I decided to give jewels a try. I actually did a reverse freezer paper stencil for this and it turned out great, I think. Ironically, I had not planned on doing a dress for Bitty Baby at this point and the little "L" was just a freezer paper stencil trial. When the doll's dress came together, I decided to use the little "L" for this one.

That's my first entry. Here is just a preview of my second. I like it just as much as the first since it's more the flavor of our Texas family. JD is a staple around here.

But that entry is for another day....Bitty baby's is in the works :)

Chipotle Baby Clothes

2010-01-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

I was so impressed with the LilBlueBoo Tutorial about making baby pants from a T-shirt. I found some old t-shirts with the purpose of upcycling them in this way. I decided to give it a try, and how convenient that one of my co workers is expecting her first in a few months, and her hubby is employed with Chipotle. I really didn't know where I would go with this, but after the pants were done, there was so much fabric left. I used the remaining big logo to make a bib. It was centered when I cut it, but somehow did not end up this way. And, while I was just going to include a plain white onsie, I thought, why not use Dana's freezer paper tutorial to paint the logo on there? It was actually SUPER easy! I am so glad I took these pics first b/c when I ironed the shirt to set the paint, it smeared a little! Oh well, they are still super cute!

Before pic of my freezer paper stencil...

This Will Knock Your Smocks Off!

2010-01-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

I feel like I need to change my blog title. I started out meaning to just keep the ball rolling with crochet, but instead, I've found myself at the sewing machine a lot more. Thanks in a large part to Ashley and Dana. I have actually made things from both of their tutorials and it's been lots of fun. Pictures on those later.

On the same note, I found While They Sleep through Dana's blog. Hannah is amazing also, as a mom of 3 little ones and has lots of stuff for moms to do "while they sleep (or tear up the living room" :). I found some smocks that she made using the mayfly's smock pattern and it looked easy enough. I decided to give it a try and made this smock.

So easy and cute! I got brave enough to try the heart and made my first ever applique. Guys, it was really super super easy.

I had thought the applique would negate the reversibility of the smock, but I think it looks just as cute reversed.

It was so easy and fun, that I made two more...one for my BF Sunny's daughter and also my niece, River. Hers is one sided with black flannel and a little heart pocket.

Lucy approved! I got her a precious gathered turtleneck and she wore it with that today...tons cuter! I didn't take a pic, though, so I'll have to post that later!

Reversed....(so hard with a two year old model!)

And, from the back...

Since I got all 3 yards of fabric on clearance for $8 total, this was a super cheap project too. I probably have enough fabric to make another baby one. Here I go...

Also (I have debated forever about even posting this part), I am going way out on a limb here and letting ya'll know that I'm participating in the LBB/Dharma Trading Design Challenge. I know! I'm super nervous, too! I wanted to just make my dress and see if it looked good before I posted, but I feel like if I blog about it, then I'll have to post no matter what! I was super excited about the .99 shirts I got at goodwill.

So far, this is what I have cut out.

But I haven't sewed anything yet! Keep your fingers crossed for me, K?

Santa Hats

2009-12-17T21:31:00.000-08:00

I've been dreaming about making these precious Santa hats for awhile now. So glad that I finally broke down and made them, and right in time for Christmas! I also made the pom pom loose and removable so that it can double as a cute winter hat when Santa is back at the North Pole and it's still chilly outside!

Lucy with her precious cap (and of course one for bitty baby!)

So glad I was also able to make one for beautiful baby Leanna. Her mama isn't used to these Christmas newborns, having 2 other spring babies. I was so excited to see her wearing it!

These were so easy and such a blast, that I am pondering making them next fall and selling them on etsy. One of the few things that can double for either boys or girls!

Frosty Blanket

2009-12-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

Lucy has been so nuts about Frosty lately that I made her this blanket. I did take lots of pictures and am pondering doing a tutorial on fleece blankets with make it yourself bias tape. I know this is not rocket science, but was so thankful that someone showed me how to make my own bias tape. Esp since I prefer the really large kind (more room for error) and the bigger it gets, the more expensive it is! Lucy is so excited about this blanket! I'll have to post a picture of her with it.

Scarfing Along

2009-12-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my dear friend Dallas and Joy's Hope, I was able to make these amazing scarves. It was a blast and really with Joy's tutorial, anyone can do it! I hope they serve well as stocking stuffers for the ladies in my family as well as the MOPS gift exchange :)

Starting 9 fat quarters from the fabric store, I cut and arranged them, like so...

Sewed them together..

And made 8 beautiful scarves!! Here is the "skinny" version, for fashion, followed by the "cozy" version, for warmth. I prefer cozy but probably b/c I'm not much of a fashionista and it's been 20 degrees outside!

And, as Julie says, anything looks cuter on a beautiful baby! So here's my Little Lu modeling them for me.

Circle To Square Baby Afghan

2009-11-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

I have been admiring this afghan from afar for about a year, way too intimidated to try it. However, my sweet nephew was born, and I had an excuse to try it. While it was a learning experience, I was eventually able to crank out these squares pretty quickly. I am excited about how it turned out and can't wait for my nephew to open it tomorrow night!!

The first square...this was a doozy at first. But later I was doing them pretty fast.

The squares without the finishing.

A close up of the finished squares.

Adding the pompoms and...done! I love how it looks!

Family Pics

2009-11-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

Wendilee took these family pics last night. I was super excited about how they turned out. I got the bright idea to do a few pics of the family with the kids wearing their caps. I hope they don't resent me for it one day. C'mon, Ranger and Sawyer are wearing Dallas Cowboy colors and Lucy has a matching cap for Bitty Baby, can we get any more modern with yarn?? Lol!

Toddler Girl Cap and matching doll cap

2009-11-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

Lucy was not too excited about the beautiful cap I made her. Then I made one for "Bitty Baby" and now she won't take either of them off. I'm very happy with how they turned out! So easy...probably would have taken a few hours from start to finish, and maybe even 2 hours or less had I not had mommy distractions.

Also, a special thanks to my amazing crochet mentor, Annie, who taught me how to effortlessly weave in new colors. I would NEVER have attempted color changes like this a few years ago. It does take practice, but also a knowledge of how to do it. I would not have been able to do this without her teaching. Enjoy!

More Cute Baby Caps

2009-11-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

I made matching caps for these precious twin girls. This was my first try at the pompom. How can anything not look good on these little cuties?

Taggie and Wipey Holder

2009-11-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

My mom has been making taggies for several years, and has made one for all 3 of my kiddos, which they love! I had been pretty intimidated by them. My friend Kelly made one for Sawyer using minky fabric and I was inspired to try it. This is the result. The wipey cover is super easy, and while I had made a few before, the tutorial that Jill gives are just the best. I found the pattern a little too big, but when I reduced it about 5% it was the perfect size! I got some minky blue fabric and made 2 boys wipey cases, too. So many pregger friends and way too many opportunities to make baby bling!

Blanket with Crocheted Edgings

2009-11-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

My friend Annie taught several of us how to make these, but this is my first time to try it! I am giving it to a dear friend who has just adopted a toddler girl internationally. It was pretty easy and I thought it turned out cute!

Baby Girl Sweater

2009-11-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

This sweater is from a pattern that is from a very old crochet book. I had just gotten into crocheting, and was very excited about it. Kevin's great aunt Uarda, who is as close as a grandma to him, gave me a book that she has owned for over 30 years and never put to use. Ironically, most of the patterns in it were more fashionable today than lots of patterns in the stores now. (While crocheting is not just for grannies, some of the patterns out there are, esp when it comes to garments).

This was my first big crochet undertaking. It was a beast, to say the least, and while I'm very proud of it, I would probably not start with something of this magnitude if I had it to do over again. Not only is the pattern a little difficult, but the skeins of yarn are so fine that it takes a lot of this stuff to get bulk. This project was made with Bernat baby yarn in pink. I chose it for it's sparkle. It was a great yarn, don't get me wrong. Now, I swear by Lion Brand Vanna's Choice baby yarn. It is bulkier, and it's so much easier to get traction with my projects. This sweater was made for Little Lu last year. It fit big, thank the Lord. My efforts get to be blessed for 2 winters!

I modified it a little last night! First of all, I added buttons. Little Lu cannot wear a jacket unless it is buttoned/zipped, etc. While she was happy to have this jacket secured with a tie on top last year, I have tried to get her to wear it this year. Every time she sees the open part, she says "oops!" and takes it off. Since the pattern did not call for buttons, I was at liberty to choose my own. I found these roses by JHB International. Sewing these on was another story. I am a crocheter not a seamstress. Don't know if the buttons will make it through a washing but I have a spare and know where to get more!

Second of all, the original pompoms were hand made. Since then, I have discovered pom pom makers by clover. They are so great and make full, beautiful pompoms! I hope Lucy can get a lot of wear out of the sweater now that it has buttons. I also hope to pass it on to a niece or grandaughter one day!

Froggie Blanket

2009-11-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

This is the Sawyer Lovin blanket that I crocheted while I was pregnant. To be quite honest, I was a tad disappointed to find out he was a boy since I had been poring over crochet patterns for baby blankets from the minute I was aware of his conception. It is hard to find a baby blanket, even in a boy pattern, that doesn't seem feminine. I thought this one served him well. This is made with Vanna's Choice Baby yarn and is actually a Vanna's Choice Baby Pattern. For those of you non-crocheters, Vanna does refer to the Vanna White! Who knew "Miss Beautiful Letter Turner" ("Letter Toucher" now, but "Turner" in the 80's you youngins!) on Wheel of Fortune is an avid crocheter! BTW, I am entering a contest that Michael's and Lion Brand Yarn is putting on and the winner gets to meet Vanna in LA and be in the WOF audience. Wish me luck :)

Elephant Doll

2009-11-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

This is a doll I made for Ranger, and it also from the Vanna's Choice Baby book. It was very difficult since it is the first non flat piece I made. Also, sewing the limbs on was very difficult. Don't look at it too closely. It's not perfect, but he snuggles with it every night and takes pride in the fact that I made it for him. That's the most important thing, right?

Sweet Boy Caps

2009-11-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

After the frustration of trying to follow patterns for crocheted baby caps, I came up with my own. These are the results. Sammy and Sawyer are 5 months apart and beautiful baby models.