Canvassing

With very little time for crafting or sewing these days, I have to be very choosy with what I set out to make. Do I have the materials on hand? Can it be completed during nap time? Is it USEFUL? That last one is so important as my house is filling to the brim faster than an overflowing toilet. When I saw these canvas sacks on The Sleepy Time Gal, I knew they were the perfect project for me. I made five in one day and could have kept on going, but I forced myself to stop. It is July 4th after all and I should do something more...patriotic. Although, I did have visions of Betsy Ross as I was hand sewing the bottom flaps in....

I labeled mine a little differently -- I wanted the writing on the rims of the bins instead of the bottoms, and since I'm not very precise patient with paint, I used a fine-tip Sharpie marker. I traced some removable vinyl letters and added a "flourish" at the end. I like the retro look it created. Very Schoolhouse Rocks.

I left one bin blank for the girl and gave her some fabric markers to decorate it as she wished. After all, it is a blank canvas!

Tiny Clothes

Made some baby pants....

HAMMER TIME!!!

It wasn't long before the request for doll pants came in :)

To the Circus

I made my first online fabric purchase recently. Very exciting.... The To the Circus line on spoonflower was too cute to pass up, and with five different baby items to cut from one yard, it was just the thing to get me motivated for some new projects.

So far, I've made the book:




Two bibs, backed with terrycloth (ahem, an old towel):




And a lion stuffie, who is awaiting a little jingle bell for the inside and some more fluff.

High and Low Tech

Some recent projects I've been working on include:


Camera strap cover for mom's new DSLR. I thought the lens cap pocket was a nice touch. Pattern found here.


Kindle cover for me with the leftover fabric. Made the pattern up myself -- it's even lined and padded too!


Crocheted dish scrubbies. Made this pattern up as well.

Next post, some things for baby made with a wonderful fabric find on Spoonflower.

Petal Pillow

This happy little pillow was just the right sewing project for these chilly wet-weather days.



Made with a vintage sheet and all the scraps I could muster. Buttons came off a shirt that was destined for Goodwill (how is it you can never find two matching buttons when you need them?) Instructions were given via Lemon Tree Studio.

Felt Play Envelopes

These are adorable for slipping little love notes and drawings. With removable stamps, the possibilities are endless. (I know some little girlfriends who will be getting a set of these for the holidays!)

Tag

This was SO much fun to make, and I love how it turned out. I went tag crazy! But that's kind of the point, right? via pinterest, yay!

I made something off Pinterest!

These felt band-aids were just too cute and easy. I had the beige felt on hand and sewed on Velcro for the white pad (the scratchier of the two sides) so it could stick to stuffed animals. I didn't follow a tutorial, just cut a rounded rectangle out of the felt, a little larger than a normal-sized band-aid. I also reused an Altoids tin to keep them in.

The kid loves them, and has been carrying them all over the place and in the car. I was worried she might be a little too old for them (and made them with little brother in mind) but that's so not the case. I'm glad :)




Poor bear had "surgery." Imaginative play at its finest.

Gathering...

This week:

Grandmama so generously sent a changing pad cover that will surely be the pièce de résistance of the room. I've also received buckets of other items from friends as their babies have outgrown them. That will be another post to come!


I made a giraffe stuffie. I'm thinking he needs a mane and tail, maybe of felt? I know not where I got the pattern, moons ago....


Sewed some burp cloths (the backs of these bad boys are pieces cut from a t-shirt) tutorial c/o made by rae....


...and here we are at 21 weeks!

Floor Cushion

Instead of an expensive bean bag chair or a store-bought pouf, I decided to sew a floor cushion for the little (big) one. Hopefully it will get some use. :) I consulted a wonderful tutorial from Living with Punks for the construction.

The best part is the piping -- it was actually exciting to try my hand at something new, and it wasn't half as bad as I had feared! Dare I say I see a bolster pillow in my future???





Matches her comforter!

Give Pieces a Chance

I've been wanting to start a *real* quilt for a long time now. It's a very daunting undertaking, even if you've tried the basics, as I did in this child's quilt over a year ago. I obviously wasn't in any hurry to start another! After coming across this bookmarked tutorial, I was inspired all over again. I present to you, the beginnings of my Paper-Pieced String Quilt:

The "stash pile!" (Something new to me, since I've begun sewing in earnest this month.)



All sewn together on a 6" square of phone book paper. Looks crazy, now, I know....



After the strips are joined and trimmed, you simply tear away the paper along the "perforations." (Wait, American Bee Control? Damn, I might need that number someday!)



Looking better all cleaned up...



...and even better when four squares are joined!



I like this style for many reasons: it's not fussy with measurements, how the pieces match up, or even the colors you use; the bohemian, mismatch style will match anything; and it's quick to stitch up once you have all your strips cut. Now the question is, how many of these do I have to do???

To Hold

Cowboy art case (for a 3-year-old boy)




Checkbook and notepad case (for me!)




Plastic bag dispenser (SOLD!)

A Case for Art

I made these fold-up art cases for the cousins, who are traveling and love to draw. Perfect!









I followed this tutorial for the dimensions. Half the fun was picking out contrasting fabrics that I thought each child would like. What was not fun was being sent the wrong size Moleskin notebook from Amazon.... I found a close-in-size drawing pad from Target and used the Exacto knife to trim it to size. My thumb is still numb....

Fake Tree

The idea for this project came from Under the Table and Dreaming. I used painted balsa wood on ticking fabric stretched over a canvas. (I had a little helper for the painting.) After everything was glued down I thought, "It needs a star...." I tried to cut one out of the balsa wood, but it didn't work out. Lo and behold, like the shining star of Bethlehem, a piece of dried starfruit peeked its head out of my holiday potpourri bowl. Glue that sucker down!

For the Dogs

I had a request to make a pair of snow booties for a furry friend. Turns out the request was a joke, but I was up for the challenge. I used this tutorial, and after some sewing machine versus leather wrangling, I whipped up four of these.



The fleece was from a Dollar Store blanket, and the leather (pleather?) was a remnant from the craft store.

Here she is, kickin' it in the snow with her warm booties. They stayed on and, more importantly, her feet stayed warm and dry!