Kids Tent

This.

This collapsible tent is by far my favorite handmade gift of this holiday season.  Using the tutorial at Just Another Hangup, my husband and I whipped this up for our 2 year old daughter.  It was seriously so easy!  If anybody wants one of their own, I'd be happy to do one for you...I've added a listing in the shop HERE.  I am so in love!!

Luckily, she loved it just as much!  It was a great place for her to stash all her Christmas goodies yesterday; keeping everything safe from brothers and dogs.  And with a few twinkle lights added to it; perfectly magical for Christmas morning!

DIY Felt Christmas Tree

Guys.

This is seriously the easiest and cheapest gift you could ask for.

A felt Christmas tree.

Remember when I made this table cover play house for my kids?
It left me TONS of leftover felt.

So, with a few cookie cutters and free templates I printed off, I made a bunch of ornaments.

Here's what you need.

1 yard of felt.  

The good thing is that felt is so wide, that it comes folded in half.  So buying the 1 yard gives you enough to make 2 trees.

Scraps of felt and/or fabric

Velcro (loop side only)
Fabric glue or hot glue

Any embellishments you want!

Total cost to make 2 felt trees?  $7.00!!!!  

And that includes the velcro and new felt pieces for the ornaments!

It's pretty self explanatory.  If using fabric, you'll need some kind of stabilizer so it's not so flimsy.  I just used scraps of iron on stuff I had from an applique project I did ages ago.

So.  Grab some supplies, pull up your favorite Netflix show and knock out a few trees for some of your favorite littles.  I promise they'll love you for it!

Mr. Scarecrow

Want a quick, easy, FREE, kid-directed Halloween decoration?  

Meet Mr. Scarecrow

This guy seriously kept my 3 children entertained (happily!!) for well over an hour.

I simply took a pair of my hubby's old jeans and one of his flannel shirts; closed the pant legs off with rubber bands, did up all the buttons on the shirt, handed the littles a huge stack of newspaper and told them to get busy!  They had a blast crumpling all the newspaper and stuffing their dad's clothing with it.

They seriously had SO much fun and they love seeing him outside our front door every day.  At least one of them sits on his lap everyday, they tell him secrets on their way in the door and frequently rearrange his pumpkin head.  

(He may or may not have scared the dickens out of me a couple of times already.)

This was a Halloween tradition each year when I was little and I'm so glad I can pass it on to my children too.  What are some of your favorite Halloween traditions you are carrying on to your children?

New Craft Show Displays

Remember how I promised to show what my gussied up clips were for?  And how I mentioned that I've got several craft shows coming up this fall?  Well.  The first one is on Saturday and I just finished up two new displays for some of my items.

For my bibs, I took an old pallet and spruced it up with some chalk paint from Urban Oasis Decor and vinyl lettering from Little Dorn Designs.  As you can see, I'm using my clips to hang the bibs with.  There should be plenty of room to display the ridiculous amount of bibs I take to shows.

 The second display is just a simple frame made with planks of wood.  We strung some wire across the front, painted the whole thing with more fabulous chalk paint and added leftover bunting from my daughter's 1st birthday photo shoot.  It is perfect for displaying baby mittens using my washi pins like the ones I made here.

I'm almost ready for the show Saturday morning, and can't wait to show you a couple more things I've got up my sleeve for it!

Dress Up your Office Supplies

Okay.  So remember when I told you a few days ago about all the different craft shows I'm doing this season?  You can see all the events HERE.  Anyway.  The first event is this Saturday, so this week I am busy wrapping all the last minute details together for my display, and I am so excited to show you what I've been up to!

So here's a quick sneak peek at what we've got going on.  Everybody has seen these large binder clips and have probably used them at least one in their lifetime.  Pretty boring and plain but super useful.

I took these plain, large, clips - added a variety of cute washi tape and ended up with a ton of these adorable, dressed up clips!  Seriously.  Where was washi tape when I had a real grown up job with my own office filled with all the plain, boring supplies I could ever ask for?

Cute, right?  Stay tuned to find out what I'm using these cute clips for!  In the meantime, if you have a grown up job, are a student or anybody else with a need to use binder clips, take a few minutes and dress them up with some washi!  Your paperwork will definitely thank you!

Toddler Maxi Dress

I am always looking for sewing projects that involve something other than the stuff I'm typically sewing (ie baby accessories for the shop).  My favorite little person to sew for right now is my Jessalyn.  So, when I stumbled across a super cute maxi dress from Heidi & Finn, I couldn't resist!

I've blogged about my experience with Heidi & Finn patterns before...remember the sweet Red Poppy Dress I made this spring?  Well.  Just to remind you - I love their patterns.  They are affordable, adorable and super easy to follow.  In one afternoon and I had this cute little number:

(you can find her headband HERE)

I was a little worried about the length of the dress; I went back and forth trying to decide if I should shorten it up or leave it long.  I didn't want her tripping over it all the time.  I was just too in love with the idea of this sweet boho outfit that I couldn't bring myself to shorten it. Luckily, Jessa has had no problem with the longer length.  She managed a full day running around the aquarium without one trip or tumble.

It is the perfect summer dress for super hot Arizona summers (And autumn.  And spring.).  I think we'll be getting a great deal of use out of this adorable dress!

Have you tried Heidi & Finn patterns yet?  If not - go for it!  Oh.  And by the way?  This is in no way sponsored by Heidi & Finn.  I just really love their stuff.  A lot.  Happy sewing!!

Toddler's Reversible Headband

Last Thursday, it fully dawned on me that the next day was the 4th.  I also realized that I hadn't planned any festive clothing for them.  Luckily, everybody had *something* suitable to wear for the holiday.  However, my little miss needed a little something extra.

So...she and I quickly made a couple of 4th of July headbands.

Even though she refused to take a decent photo,

and even though you can see my icky closet in all it's messy glory,

you can also see a perfect shot of her headband.

(By the way?  Fully reversible.  

It has red and teal flowers against a white background on the other side.)

I modified a tutorial I found on the Riley Blake blog, which you can find HERE.

Since then, I've kind of become obsessed with headbands.

If you need a reversible headband for anything, you know where to come!
My Jessa and I have got you covered!
Perhaps we'll put a few in the shop in a few weeks.

Red Poppy Dress

When my husband goes out of town, I end up staying up WAY too late working on a variety of different sewing projects.  After all, what's a girl to do when the kids go to bed by 8:00?

The last time he went out of town, I made a very last minute decision to make a dress for my little girl.  So last minute, in fact, that I drug all 3 of my children to the fabric store with me to pick out the fabric.  Luckily, I found the perfect fabric within just a few minutes of walking into the store.

Have you all heard of Heidi & Finn?  I'm sure you have.  They're all over Pinterest and their Etsy shop is always hoppin'.  This is my first time sewing with one of their patterns and I will definitely be going back for more.  I started with their Colorblock Dress, and I absolutely love it.

The entire dress probably took me a grand total of 2 hours from start to finish.  That plus $10 worth of fabric? Totally worth it.

Seeing as I finished the dress long after my little gal went to sleep, I had to wait patiently for her to try it on.

And then I forgot to take a picture until after church, when she is overly tired, cranky, has graham crackers smeared all over her face and dress and is looking a bit rough.

That's okay.  She's still cute.  And I still love the dress.

The hubbs is going out of town again next month.

I think the Heidi & Finn Summer Maxi Dress will be the sewing project of choice.  I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, are there any other amazing pattern shops I need to be aware of??

**By the way.  I received nothing from Heidi & Finn for writing this post.  I bought the pattern on my own; I just really loved their pattern and shop and wanted to share.**

Homemade PJs

Have you entered to win the "Home Sweet Home" giveaway by Little Dorn Designs?
You can do so HERE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This year for Christmas, I made everybody new pajama pants rather than buying new jammies.  And let me tell you.  After whipping all of these out (with no pattern) so quickly, I doubt I will every buy pajama pants again.  They cost me less than $3.00 and an hour to make.

Using a combination of tutorials found here and here (thank you Pinterest!), I simply used pants my children currentlywear to make a "pattern".  And really it wasn't even a pattern; I just laid the old pants on top of my fabric and cut around them, making sure to leave extra room for PJ-comfyness and growing room. Probably not the most ideal method, but it worked.

For my daughter, I added a $5.00 t-shirt from Target to complete her pajamas.

I even made a pair for my sister.

Now.  Do you think any of my children would stand still in their new jammies for a photo?
Not a chance.
Not individually.
Not together.
So...just imagine 3 little ones (and a slightly larger auntie) all wearing their pjs.
I'm also happy to say that not only have all the jammies been worn several times since Christmas, they have even held up being washed that many times without falling apart.  Success!! ;)

What homemade gifts did you give for the holiday season?  Do you have any in mind for Valentine's Day?    

5 Minute Stocking Stuffer For Little Miss

My 14 month old LOVES necklaces.  She wears one every single day.  Most of the time, they're just strands of Mardi Gras beads from the dress up bin.  She does have a couple of "real" necklaces, but can a girl ever have too many accessories?

Chances are, you've already put 2 and 2 together and are 4 or 5 steps ahead of me.  But.  Just in case you're not?  This is seriously the quickest and easiest little gift idea for any little girl that likes her "bling".

Take a handful of large beads in any shape and/or color (I obviously used 8 here).

Grab a spool of super thin ribbon in any color you want.

Start stranding beads!

I put two knots between each of my beads in this necklace, just to keep the beads spaced. 

And literally 5 minutes later, my little one had a brand new necklace that she loves.

Another bonus?  When it gets all nasty from the chocolate chip cookies she was scarfing after lunch, just take it off and toss it in the wash.  Just be sure that you have seared the edges of the ribbon before doing so (in order to do that, just zip the raw ends of the ribbon through a flame of some sort; candle, lighter, match - whatever).  But...when that ribbon starts wearing out or getting too nasty, just cut it off and re-string your beads.  Easy, peasy!

I plan on making several more of these to stuff in her stocking for Christmas morning.

What do you think?  And what color combos would be your favorite?

Nordic Tree Garland

Last month, I saw a random clip art photo of a tree garland that I thought was cute.  

I had also been eyeing a lot of red and white Nordic print fabrics in a few different Etsy shops.  

So, I put the two together to make this:

Cute stuffed little Christmas trees made out of Nordic inspired cotton and strung by hemp on a piece of twine.  I love it! It was super easy and quick to throw together.  Did I bother to take photos of the process as I went?  Of course not.  That would have made too much sense!!

Once I decided what size and shape I wanted my trees to be, I just made a quick template (out of my most recent Pottery Barn catalog cover) and started cutting trees out of my fabric.  I purchased a set of 5 fat quarters from Christmas Jul, which gave me PLENTY of fabric (I actually have enough trees/fabric cut to make probably 5 or 6 sets of these garland).

Putting right sides together, I sewed along one edge, placed my hemp in the top corner piece for the loop and then sewed down the other side (when sewing with right sides together, the loop end of the hemp has to be placed inside the tree with the 2 ends sticking out the top.  Does that make sense?).  I did sew along the bottom side as well, but left about a 1" opening that allowed me to: 

a) flip the tree right side out  

b) put stuffing in my tree and 

c) place my tree trunk in to be sewn in.

After flipping all the trees right side out, I ironed them and stuffed them.  The little trunks? Absolutely no rhyme or reason to them at all.  No measuring or anything.  Just snipped a square of fabric, placed a tiny bit of stuffing in it and stuck in the bottom of my tree.  I then zipped across the bottom of my tree(s) again with my sewing machine to sew the trunk in place.  That's it!

A quick and easy project that can be done in one evening.

Halloween Bags

You may have noticed that the blog has been kind of  quiet as of late; that would be because I was super busy trying to get last minute costume orders done and in the mail; not to mention getting my own children's costumes ready in time for a big party this weekend.  Throw in there an unexpected sick day (or two), and there goes any and all time for blogging.  But.  I'm back.  And today?  I'm sharing the Trick or Treat bags I made with my kids.

Let me first say how excited I was when my son came to me and asked me if we could please make bags this year.  Yes!  Of course!!  And I immediately started making mental checklists and plans for these adorable Halloween bags for them.  That was my first mistake.

My son already knew exactly what he wanted.  (Which, I might add, was nothing I had even thought of).

He wanted to draw his own pictures on his bag.  AND he wanted to pick out his own fabric for this bag.

So, that's what we did.

 We went to Joanns and bought a few plain canvas bags, a set of fabric markers and the boys each picked out a Halloween fabric that they really wanted.  When we got home, I set everything out for them and let them have at it.  It kept them busy for quite a long time!

The spent so much time figuring out what they wanted to draw, what colors to use and how to make their bags just perfect.

 In the end, I ended up with 3, hand designed Trick or Treat bags for less than $15.00.  They're not the prettiest bags, but I love them because they are my children's very own bags.  So cute.  And something that we will hang onto forever.

OH!!  Our winners of The Great Paci Clip Giveaway!!

Congrats to:

Holly Mitowski

Laura Bustillo

Vicki Lesage

Ghost Costume

So, Halloween is right around the corner.  How did that happen?  Needless to say, I've been pretty busy with Halloween costumes; both for my own littles as well as a few others.  This year, I wanted to share some of our special costumes and show you how I put them together!


This week, I'm starting off with this cutey.  I love it.  The sparkly tutu, the mischievous little ghost face; everything!

The tutu is from our shop.  You can find that HERE.  The onesie I did with a freezer paper stencil. If, by some small miracle, you have never tried freezer paper stenciling before; here's a quick run down (it's super easy, by the way!).  Want to buy the entire outfit?  You can do that HERE.

What I did first was find a template on-line for the face.  The one I used is actually a jack-o-lantern template, but I think she makes a pretty cute ghost, too.  Once you have your template, use an Exact-O Knife (or other blade of some sort) to cut out all the negative space (ie all the black parts).

Then, take your freezer paper and put it waxy side down.  Tape your cut out temple on the non-waxy side of your paper and cut it out.  It will look something like this:

Once your freezer paper is all cut out, you will place it (again, waxy side down!) where you want it on your fabric (or in my case, my onesie).  Gently iron it down, NO STEAM, and it will stick nicely to your fabric.

 When you are done ironing, it will look something like this:

Then, grab a foam sponge brush, a bit of craft paint and a light piece of cardboard to place under your fabric (so the paint doesn't bleed through).  You are going to lightly paint over your stencil.  Be sure you get all the edges really well, and be careful to paint evenly.  You don't want globs of paint anywhere; especially along the edges of the stencil! 

Once you're happy with your paint job, walk away.  Do not immediately pull up your stencil; let it set for a few minutes.  Some people like to wait until the paint is 100% dry.  I prefer to let it be mostly dry.  I feel like the stencil pulls up better (and easier) if the paint isn't completely set.

Once your stencil is off, let it finish drying completely and then you're done!  Super quick and super easy!  This little ghost took me less than an hour; with interruptions of 3 children.  And then you have a cute t-shirt or onesie or whatever else you want to make.

Happy Hauntings!!

Felt Garland: A New Obsession

I've seen a few different felt garlands around Pinterest and Etsy, and decided that I wanted to make one for my daughter's upcoming 1st birthday.  I debated whether or not to cut the felt shapes out myself, but when I found an adorable little Etsy shop that had a ton of different shapes in an amazing variety of colors for super, duper cheap; I decided that route would be much easier.  And then, I decided that I needed not one but three different types of garland.  And to be perfectly honest, I will probably decide I need even more.

(Btw, the Etsy shop?  {Paper4u}. I got 3 different themed packages of felt shapes for less than $20.  Yes, they are in Latvia, but I still got my order in less than 3 weeks.  I highly recommend them should you want to make felt garland the super easy way!)

The first garland I put together was in brightly colored, whimsical hearts.

This one I plan on using for my daughter's birthday.  I also plan on using it for Valentine's Day decor.

  All you do is decide which order you want your shapes in and then sew them together!  I just sewed super slow and fed each individual shape as my machine was still running, which gave me the spacing I wanted between each heart.

This was super fun for my kids to help with as well; they enjoyed picking out which color to put on next (great practice for learning patterns!).

And fyi?  The foam boards I used to to store fabric (you can read about that here) are also perfect for storing garland.

 A total of $5.00 and 10 minutes later, I have a garland of hearts that I love.  Not too shabby!

After the hearts came plain circles for Halloween.

And as soon as I get caught up with my other projects, I'll also have a garland using these cute leaves for autumn/Thanksgiving.

So.   What occasion are you going to use as an excuse to make some super cute garland?

Tooth Fairy Pillow

Last night, my 5 year old discovered his first loose tooth. I am already struggling with the fact that he's getting ready to start Kindergarten in 3 weeks; I didn't need his first loose tooth on top of it!!  Anyway.  He was quite worried and obsessed about it last night; worried if it would hurt, worried if he could still eat, wondering if the Tooth Fairy was really real or just a story, and on and on and on.  Then at 5:30 this morning, it was the same conversation all over again.  I was trying to get out the door to work and left him with "Honey, you don't need to worry about it yet.  It will take a long time for your tooth to fall out.  It's okay".

Literally 10 minutes after I got to work this morning, my husband texted me telling me that Brychan's tooth had fallen out.  WHAT?!?! 

#1: I just found out last night it was loose!
#2: I missed it?!?
#3: My husband was still in bed when it happened, which means my son was all by himself when it happened.

So, I made a quick call to my son to get all the details, finished with work and hurried home.  As soon as we got home, we decided to make a tooth fairy pillow for him.

This is what we ended up with.

(Please excuse my cell phone photos!)

Here's how we did it!

First of all, I let him pick out his fabric from my ridiculous stash of extra fabric.  I then Googled a tooth pattern to print off and cut out.  I looked at so many different "teeth", but I think I ended up getting one from the Singer website.  Anyway.  I printed the picture, cut it out of white flannel and let my son decorate it the way he wanted (I just let him use permanent markers).  Obviously, there had to be blood; because that's what his real tooth looked like.  And then it needed a sweet smile.

Brychan then helped me sew the pillow together.  He chose some light blue minky and I cut 2 9" squares from it.  I sewed the tooth on the right side of one of my squares first; using a zig-zag stitch all the way around.  I left a little opening at the top for a pocket.

I then put the two right sides of the pillow fabric together and sewed all around the edges, leaving a small hole to a) turn it right side out and b) fill it with stuffing.

I then let him put all the stuffing in his pillow before I hand sewed the little opening up.

And there's my super happy boy with his new tooth fairy pillow!

When I first found out that Brychan had lost his tooth already, I was so sad that I didn't get a chance to order him a cute little tooth fairy pillow.  But now; I am so grateful that I didn't get that chance!  We had so much fun making his pillow together, he's proud of the fact that he made it, and he LOVES it.  He's been carrying it around with him all day.

Now if somebody could please just figure out how to make time stand still for a little while...