Sewing with my Granddaughter

I was beyond thrilled when my granddaughter showed an interest in sewing and asked for a sewing machine! And, of course, I couldn't wait until she visited so that we could begin a project together.

We decided on an apron and chef's hat for her American girl doll.  She picked fabrics from my stash, and we were ready to begin.

It was such fun to work with her, and our project turned out perfectly!

Pinterest provides many beginning ideas for children learning to use a machine ~ here and here.


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Super Hero Pillowcase

I had made each of the girls an outfit for their dolls ~ now I needed to find something special for my grandson........

Cole likes super heroes, so I had purchased this cute Marvel Comic fabric awhile ago, but I didn't have a plan for it.

My solution ~ a pillowcase with an appliquéd super hero!

Although it is a little more expensive, I always use organic fabric for pillowcases, especially for kids.

I used the burrito style pattern with French seams and added my appliqué....

...and it was finished in no time!
I hope he likes it!

I used the same technique when I made a Lego pillowcase for a friend.

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Anthropologie Apron Remake

Kendra had asked me if I could try to reproduce an apron that she had received for her wedding shower since it was no longer available for purchase.
Today I thought I would share my completed design.

This was the original apron from Anthropologie:

I made a pattern by tracing the original.    I added rows of ruffles (homemade and store bought), zig zag trim and two pockets for good measure, and my finished product:

Not quite the same, but I was pleased with the results.

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Cute Little Summer Tea Towels

Yes, another post about tea towels ~ so easy and fun to make!

My daughter Lori's wedding shower was quickly approaching ~ food was planned, and of course, Kendra had created many beautiful homemade decorations.  Now we needed a way to say "thank you" to each of our friends and family.  Kendra found an adorable idea on Pinterest, and we were set.
Our basket of appreciation:

The shower was a great success, but what to do with the left-over towels?  Add a free clip art to match the aqua edging, and I have new towels with our family's favorite ... ice cream!

I used this technique for the transfer.

Other tea towel ideas can be found here and here.

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An Appliqued "Home" Pillow DIY

I have been looking for a lumbar pillow to accent my brown leather sofa ~ without success!  My only solution was to create my own.  The process was extremely simple, and the results were just what I wanted!

Supplies for an 16" x 26" envelope backed pillow:

17" x 27" ~ 1 piece for front~ cotton fabric (I used Michael Miller's Soft White Cotton)
17" x 17 1/2" ~ 2 pieces for back ~ cotton fabric
1/4 yard piece of colored cotton ( I used black)
"Home" template 1
              template 2
Heat n Bond Ultrahold
16" x 26" pillow insert

Process:
Pillow front:
Print both sections of the "home" template
Trace the "home" template following the directions on the back of the Heat n Bond package
    The template is in reverse letter order.  Don't change!
    Since the script is on 2 separate pages, be careful to line up the letters evenly overlapping the "o"
       and the "m"

Iron the letters to the back of your colored cotton fabric, allow to cool, and cut out.
Peel off the paper liner.
Center the "home" on the 17" x 27" fabric piece, press until it securely attaches.
Using a zig zag or blanket stitch, sew around each letter.

Pillow back:
Turn under 1/2" along the width of one of the back pieces (17" side) Press.

Turn under an additional 1 1/2" and press.

Repeat for the remaining back piece.
Topstitch along the folded edges.

With right sides together, line up your two back pieces on top of the front piece overlapping the folded edges.

Pin, and sew a 1/2" seam around the entire rectangle ~ sew slowly and carefully where the fabrics overlap.

Clip corners, and turn right-side out.  I use a chop stick to push out the corners.

Press, and add your insert ~ and you have a beautiful new accent pillow!

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Wreath Season by Season - Spring 2015 Edition

Hi! Its been awhile since I've posted in our wreath series and since I finally got around to updating ours last week I thought I'd share my latest creation. 

I started with the same Styrofoam base, white and green yarn and a few sheets of felt.

 To make the flowers I cut one large circle out the felt for the base and then cute 5-6 smaller circles for the petals.  I simply folded the smaller ones in half and hot glued the inside and outside of the fold.  I (loosely) used this tutorial.  I repeated this with all each color of felt until there was nothing but scraps left.  And I used those scraps to make the inside of the each flower. 

I also cut out a few leaves to add in underneath the flowers.

Yay Spring!!


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Playroom Do Over Part 2

Hi and happy Friday!!  As promised, I'm following up part one of our playroom makeover with part two - crazy right: )  Taking on this side of the playroom (back towards Scott's gym and sliders) I faced the same issues - wood paneling and no continuity.  And I fixed it in the same way - with white paint and simplifying the decor!

Here is what the space looked like four years (pre move in):

 

 

And two years ago:

 



 

 

And now:

 



 

 

During the first makeover, two years ago, I wanted to use this part of the basement as a place where the girls could work on crafts or draw.  But that never happened and we already have a large art area upstairs for that.  So this space was mostly unused.  Fast forward two years, now both Layla and Hadley are super into dress-up and princesses and this is the most popular place in the whole house!

 

Before (two years ago):

 

 

 

Last year, I bought a bunch of large ceramic feather hooks from Anthropologie and just knew they would be perfect for hanging fancy dresses!  They were originally white so I painted them the same mint green I used throughout the playroom and hung them with 3M Velcro strips.

 

 

 

 

I made the glittery gold dots of scrapbook paper from Michaels and circle punch.  I also added a strip of the glitter paper to the front of a wood hanger to hang the little saying above. 



I also switched around the built-ins on the opposite wall.

Before (two years ago):

After:

Scott has amassed a large amount of this childhood toys that have been, until recently, stored away.  Since I now have a larger space for most of my craft supplies I decided to switch shelves and display his things on the large of the two built-ins. Just made more sense! 

Before (two years ago):

After:

So that's the new and improved playroom!  Hoping I'll stay in love with the colors and layout this time around and that the girls spend a lot of time down here enjoying it!

 

 

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Playroom Do Over Part 1

Hi there!  Almost exactly two years ago I was sharing photos of the basement playroom makeover I worked on for the girls.   And today, I'm sharing my redo of that and later this week and redo of this! 

I had been on the fence about keeping the wood paneling down there and finally decided that it just made it too dark/dreary.  So out came the white paint (and about three days of numbness in my right arm) and we suddenly had a brighter basement, made only brighter by the addition of the softest white carpeting ever and the removal of a small part of the staircase thanks to the ever-handy Scott.

Here's where we started (pre move in fours years ago):

That turned into this (two years ago):

And here we are today (and hopefully for a long long time):

This time around I wanted things a little simpler, cleaner and more pulled together color-wise.  And it started with making all the walls and floor (carpet) white.  Then painting all the frames above the couch a similar color, making the art gallery more cohesive.  And we donated of a bunch of neglected or outgrown toys making room for other things and just making room: )

 

The decision to carpet the stairs was a hard one, especially after all the effort I put into making them cute (here and here).  But in the end it felt safer for the girls, who run up and down them, to have the extra padding! The prints on the left are from here.

 

 

This little (big) arrow detail was something I just decided to do one day and all it took was a sample jar of mint green paint, painters tape and about an hour.  An easy, fast project that turned out way better than I expected!

 

 



 

 

You can see in the above photo where a portion of the wall at the bottom of the stairs was removed.  It was hollow and not load-bearing so Scott was able to do it himself.  I love how it lets in more natural light from upstairs and makes the space feel more open.

 

Hadley and Layla looove princesses so my mom made and framed this Disney princess cross stitch piece for them.  The light above it is an outdoor fixture that is pretty as well was super bright.

Another before and after for you - this one really shows how much lighter and brighter it is down here now!

Staircase wall two years ago:

Staircase wall now:

Pretty dramatic difference - right?!  We shifted the kitchen over since the wall it was up against before was gone and added a little counter for their checkout/cash register area.

 

 

I changed out most of the art for pieces that fit the new color scheme from Land of Nod (they have an ever-changed curated art section so most of these aren't available anymore) and Etsy.  I love how much less cluttered this wall is now. 

You can see above that I painted the mirror in the same mint green as the arrow and glued on little scrunched up balls of tissue paper in neon pink, green and white.  My mom made the cute star pillow.

My coffee table makeover was a complete accident.  I started painting the black coffee we already had (which is an old Ikea dining table cut down) and after coat number four I could tell the paint was going to too gloppy and thick so I started to scrape it off.  After I made a swipe I thought it looked kinda cool underneath so I made a heart and that was that!

 

Now for one last before and after.  The built-in bookshelves in this section of the basement also got a coat white paint and I also removed (and moved) a few of the shelves since the higher up ones didn't really serve a purpose since the girls couldn't reach them.

 

Built-ins two years ago:

 

 

 

Built-ins now:

 

 

Now instead of just being a display area for a bunch of random stuff, the shelves actually hold the girls' games and toys.  And I had two of my favorite photos from our trip to Disney made into engineer prints (Staples $7) and used those as the backdrop for the top shelf.   Love that the black and white here ties in with the coffee table: )

 



 

And there you have it!  Part one of the second basement playroom makeover.  I'll share photos of the other side of the room later this week.

 

Wall Light
Disney Princesses Cross Stitch Pattern
Chevron Couches - no longer available in coral
Coffee Table - A friend gave this to us when they moved and we didn't need a dining table so I cut the legs down - perfect square coffee table!

Owl Pillow - Target (no longer available)

Flower Pillows -I just added inserts!

All other pillows

Floor Poufs

Desk Lamp - Vintage

School desk and chair - Vintage

Art - Various Artists found via Land of Nod and Etsy

HOORAY Banner - Oh Joy for Target (no longer available)

Origami Butterflies

Paper Lanterns - Target

Magnet Letters - Homegoods

Play Kitchen - Craigslist

 

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