Saturday, July 16, 2011

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Frilly Footwear!

(above) So...Did you have flip flops like this when you were in elementary or junior high?!  I have a bunch of these and LOVED making them!  So, when thinking of something fun and frilly for a special 2 year old little girl...these came to mind!  I took rubber flip flops from oldnavy and tied fabric strips (an inch wide and about 4 to 5 inches long) with a single knot on the straps!  I did a pattern with solids and a butterfly print...though, use a smaller print than I used because I feel like you can barely see the butterflies!  At the end, I trimmed them up to make them even and not droopy!  What to do with extra?!  I made this cute little matching hair bow!  I laid out the strips on my counter in a fan pattern and just tied them all together!  SO EASY!  My son totally thought they were for him and begged me to wear them!  HAHA!

OTHER FLIP FLOP IDEAS:  rhinestones along the straps with a big flower in the center, an initial them with a letter in the center and flowers, fabric, or stones on the sides, and you can also do tulle (like in a tutu, which I also make those and just realized I NEVER posted) on the straps just like the fabric.

And below, this is my next little shoe project I would like to take on!  Bedazzled Converse for my little diva! :)  Cute huh?!  Will post once I get to it...but she is still little and kind of waiting for fall when she will need close toed shoes!  BUT, figured I would post the idea if any of you want to try!


Frilly Footwear Creatingly Yours,

Natalie

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Taggie Tutorial

TAGGIE TUTORIAL

Ok so I posted an example taggie but here is a tutorial....well the best I can explain with pictures.


I got some very soft fleecy fabric and cut two pieces  11inches x 11 inches (You can really make it how big you want to)

Next, cut 8 pieces of soft satin ribon



Lay one piece of material face up on the table. Take a ribbon and fold it in half and pin it on top of the fabric so that the folded edge is towards the middle and the two cut ends are touching the end of the fabric. (This may seem wrong, but we’re building this blanket inside out, and it’ll all work out when we flip it later.) Be sure to put the pin at least an inch away from the edge of the fabric so that it won’t get in the way of your sewing. 







I did 8 pieces of ribbon but you can certainly use as many as you want.



Optional part:
Then, with your other piece of fabric I sewed a crunchy wal-mart bag to the inside of it.  (Babies love crunchy stuff) :)




Then,  lay the other piece of fabric face down on top of your pinned piece, aligning the edges. (The walmart bag will be on the outside while you sew.)  Secure with a few more pins. Take this to the sewing machine and sew around all four sides, about 1/2″ in from the edge, making sure you catch both ends of each ribbon as you go. However, be sure not to sew ALL the way around — leave a gap of about 2 inches open — so that you can flip the blanket inside out.  




Then, flip it inside out and sew the little 2 inch piece that was left.

There ya go!!










Another cute baby shower gift- PACIFIER HOLDER!!  So easy :)












Cute and Creative Accessory Organizers!

Having a little girl, I have been having so much making bows, clips, headbands, and flowers!   And if you have a little girl too, maybe you have wondered...WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THESE ACCESSORIES?!  Well....here are a few ideas.

Here is one I made for a friend's daughter for her birthday.  I used a wooden initial letter and bedazzled it :) LOL and attached some fun little bows.  You could paint the letters, cover them with scrapbook paper and modge podge, use vinyl, stickers, ANYTHING!
 Here is one my very good friend Jamie made my daughter!  She painted a wooden frame, removed the glass and covered the cardboard backing with fabric.  The flowers are attached to ribbons glued from the top of the fram to the bottom.  She used jeweled pins for headband hooks :)
 I found this headband hook in the hat rack section at Target, I painted it and added some pretty little things to jazz it up!  and VIOLA...headband hooks!  ALSO, I have seen fabric covered Oatmeal containers online...VERY CUTE TOO!
 This is another one my daughter has that my sister in law made!  She used a wooden plaque and little animals that matched the theme and attached long ribbons to the back for the clips! (Wow!  My little one sure has alot of accessories!)
If you don't feel like the craftiest...there are several stores that have prepainted letters, frames, plaques, etc that you could use to make something adorable for your little one!

Bow-Organizingly Yours,

Natalie

Friday, June 10, 2011

Great Baby Shower Gift

It's a TAGGIE!!!!

A mini security blanket with smooth satiny loopy tags all around. 
How cute is that???!!!!  Also, I sewed a wal-mart bag in the middle so its CRUNCHY too. 
This was just a practice one because I think it would be a lot better with the material in the middle being fleece instead of cotton. 
Of course, I totally forgot to take pictures as I went along.  When I make another one I will post step by step directions.  SOOO EASY.  I sewed it like I would sew a pillow from the inside out.  Does that make sense at all??? 
Stay tuned for tutorial.......











Sunday, June 5, 2011

OLDIES BUT GOODIES


 Remember when you were younger and you would have a Birthday and you could bring ANY treat that you wanted to share with the kids in your class?????  Wasn't that the best??  It was so much fun.  Well, I know these treats have been around forever but I have never made them.  Let me tell you it is the best way for a 2 year old to eat a cupcake.  They don't have to deal with the wrapper and then squeezing the cupcake and then it toppling over.  They can eat the WHOLE thing!!

It is cupcakes in ice cream cones!!





I am a big fan of cupcake mix in a box especially funfetti ;) So I just mixed up a box of cake mix by following the same directions for cupcakes and then instead of pouring them into cupcake tins you pour them into ice cream cones.  
One box mix makes 24 cones filled up about 3/4



Then bake it a little bit longer than it says for cupcakes about 24 min. 


AND

VOILA!!!




Put your favorite frosting and you have yourself a yummy cupcake :)


Friday, May 27, 2011

SILHOUETTE!!!

My wonderful, amazing, kind-hearted husband is soooo sneaky.  He will hear something I say that I want and he finds a way to write it down or remember it AND then he buys it for me for a special occasion.  He bought me a SILHOUETTE.  He is awesome....what more can I say.  For those of you that don't know what a sihouette is you crafters don't know what you are missing.  It is like a cricut on steriods...haha.  So basically it is an electronic cutting tool that you hook up to your computer instead of buying cartridges and it can cut, paper, vinyl, fabric, heat transfer paper, magnet sheets, etc. 

I love it!



So anyway I made a couple cards with it already AND made my first vinyl project for my mother in laws birthday.  What do you think???????????






Picture frame
Cardstock
Vinyl

The names are actually on the glass.  So easy and how cute is that??  She loved it, and said she had just the right spot ;)









Thursday, May 26, 2011

A few creative ways to give MONEY!

Money and Giftcards are always the perfect gift idea for birthdays, graduation, holidays...but if you are like me...you don't like just simply putting the money in the card!  Well...here are a few ideas of other ways to gift the green!

Graduation Cap!  SO simple and these special twins LOVED it!  I cut a 10 inch square out of posterboard (USE CARDBOARD INSTEAD!) and then a 4 inch strip (use posterboard for flexibility).  I COVERED the top of the hat and underneath with bills of all different values and then folded the bills over and around the ring.  Last, I made a tassel from yarn and hot glued it under a button on the top!  On the tassel where it says the graduation year, I instead hot glued a 2011 penny (FOR LUCK :) )  SO EASY (hardest part was all the little loops with tape!) AND THEY THOUGHT IT WAS SO COOL!  They were texting pics to friends like mad!  If you have any questions...just ask :)
 
 Tissue box Money Roll-I can't take credit for this one!  See the twins above?  This was all them!  My brother turned 11 in March and they taped a whole bunch of dollar bills together, rolled it up and put it in an empty tissue box!  When he opened his gift...one of the bills was sticking out and when he pulled it...it just kept coming!  HE WAS CRACKING UP and thought it was the coolest thing!

Also, I have read or seen a few other ideas:  Making a tie for father's day, a party hat for birthday, a money tree for a wedding (my hubby and I got one)...the possibilities are endless!

Cha-Ching-ingly YOURS,

Natalie

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Gooey Sticky FUN recipes

Here are some fun recipes for the kid in your life.........


Play-doh (my favorite recipe-I've tried a lot)


2 cups of flour

3 TBSP. of oil

1 tsp. of cream of tartar

2 cups of colored  boiling water
3/4 cup of salt

Dissolve salt in boiling water and stir in flour.  Then slowly add oil by continuing to stir.  After cool enough to handle knead for 5 min.  then store in an airtight container.


10 second water paint

Food coloring
water

yep!  That easy :)


Easy Finger paint

Food coloring
pudding

OR

shaving cream
food coloring


Slime

1/2 cup of white school glue
1/4-1/2 cup of liquid laundry starch
drop of food coloring

Stir glue into laundry starch one tablespoon at a time.  Let sit 5 min. then knead it with your hands until it sticks together.


ENJOY!


 

Friday, May 20, 2011

Pillowcase dress!

Well...this little dress has been an adventure!  You know when you see those ideas online and think...."OH I can do that?!"  Well...that is the story behind this adorable little thing.  I saw a pdf instruction guide of how to make a basically 4 seam dress.  Well I just couldn't resist.  I am a beginner at sewing but desperately want to be on a more advanced level and well...since practice makes perfect decided to take this one for my little girl!  So I began the great search for a cute pillowcase for my project.  NO LUCK!  I just couldn't find ANYTHING that I could picture turning into a dress that I would want to put her in. LOL.  SO, I went to hobby lobby...bought fabric off the bolt and said to myself "well...I will just sew my OWN pillowcase"  (Now, I KNOW...why didn't I also purchase a pattern for a cute little dress) but nope, I was determined to do this all on my own! 

So I came home, and got started!  Honestly, I think if I did it again, it would probably be better (there are a few mistakes and crooked seams) BUT, like most crafters and DIY know... doesn't always turn out perfect!  But, none the less, I am quite proud of myself for finishing it and it being wearable :) 

So, if you use a pillow case it is quite simple.  Cut off the closed part of the pillowcase to the desired lenth of the dress.  You are left with the bottom hem already done!  Fold the pillowcase in half and cut out the arm holes.  Hem and stitch.  Then, hem down the top and create a casing for your ribbon...sew and done!

When I  do it again OR make it for someone...Since I absolutely LOVE the calico prints at the fabric stores, I prefer to use that fabric for sewing rather than a pillowcase, I would buy a pattern.  There are a MILLION out there for this same style and walmart has some for $0.97!  That being said...this style of dress sells online ranging from 15-40 dollars and this cost me $3.00 in fabric and $1.00 in ribbon!  SOOOO.... a total bargain!
 And...I just LOVE making my daughter cute little hair accessories.  I had some scrap tulle from a tu-tu (stay tuned for Tu-Tu-torial) and made this little flower headband to match the dress (I will also explain in another post how to make this cute, fluffy little things :) )....

Sewingly Yours,
Natalie

PS...I wanted to attached the instructions I used from online but can't attach the document!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Easy and Adorable Infant Leg Warmers!

I absolutely LOVE leg warmers on my 5 month old baby girl! They are so cute and trendy and make diaper changes a sinch! Well...retail you could pay between $5 and $12 a pair! So...as I walked through Target one day I saw a pair of peace sign socks (I am a total hippie at heart so just had to have them) BUT, they were knee socks and was thinkings...when in the world would I wear these?! Then...LIGHTBULB! So, I bought these hip $2 socks, cut off the foot part, hemmed them and VIOLA! LEG WARMERS! Literally...a 5 minute project! My husband NEVER believes me when I say I need 5 minutes on my sewing machine BUT...this time I was done in a snap! 

Want to know what else works???  SCARFS!  1 scarf makes multiple leg warmers, just sew the sides of the scarf together!  Saw it on another blog and thought it was soooo cute!  may have to try that this winter for my little baby fashionista!

Baby Fashioningly Yours,

Natalie

Activity Book

As a past teacher I have TONS of stuff with page protectors and white board markers.  I have had students do letter searches, practice writing their name, games, coloring, etc.  So I thought that I would make something for my son to take on car rides or when we are out to eat at restaurants. 

Like I said you can use white board markers on page protectors but I don't exactly trust my little 2 year old to use markers yet. And, I found these AWESOME window crayons!  They were about $3 at Wal-mart.  Actually crayons work pretty good on page protectors but you have to press harder.









I made a sticker page







And, a handwriting name page...yes I know he's only 2 but hey never to early to see your name and start practicing it.  ;)




Also, since my son is SO into cars and race tracks I made a little track because I ALWAYS have matchox cars in my purse.






And, some coloring pages








To wipe it off I just used an old baby sock.  It worked great.






He loved it!

And really the things you can make for this little book are endless.  Have fun!!!





Wednesday, May 18, 2011

What to do with your Easter eggs??

So what do you do with your Easter eggs?? 

Save them for next year-sure

Throw them away- why not they were only like $1

But hey why not build a little matching lesson for your little one.  YEAH!!!!!

I took the eggs and wrote a letter on each one and then put them in a bucket for your kiddo to match.  You can even do upper case on one half and lower case on the other. 

*do not mind my chipped nailpolish...ewww











 

Monday, May 16, 2011

Rock Star Tee

I made a rock star t-shirt for my son because t-shirts were on sale at Hobby Lobby for $1.50 a couple of weeks ago.  How can you top that?!?  And, then some fabric from the scrap bin and I got a yard of wonder under even though I only need a bit.  Total cost of this t-shirt $2.50.  Totally worth it.  :)  (I already had the fabric paint and letter stamps)


I got the idea from this awesome blog Here.  She has step by step instructions.(Hers is cuter) ;)



 

WELCOME

Welcome to our blog!  We are just two scrappy, crafty, fun, stay at home moms with a WHOLE lot of ideas!  Enjoy our blog!