quick T's for kiddos

I've been working on several projects for a craft boutique i'm hoping to be a part of in greeley this month. Here are a couple trial run ideas that were super easy and fun :)

here's t-shirt #1- the "tie"

supplies: onesie, cotton fabric, no-stich glue, scissors

Cut out the shape of a fat tie.i cut the "knot" out separately.

glue to shirt w/ this handy stuff

 if you're in a rush, you can leave it like this (and wear it as ben did last weekend) until you can top stitch around the edges.

here's design #2

I cut the little car, windows and wheels out of scrap material. The body of the car  is an old knit t-shirt of mine which is especially great to use because it won't fray like a cotton fabric would.

 I glued the pieces down then I (still need to) topstitch around the whole design

 here are a couple of burp cloths i made to match

Monogrammed Pillows

We celebrated my adorable twin niece and nephew's 1st birthday this week...they were actually born in december but my smart sister decided to celebrate on their 1/2 birthday- much less stressful and more energy to focus on the cuties.

SO, here's what i came up with to give them: Cuddly monogrammed pillows! And since i'm sure you're all DYING to know exactly how i did this (very easy) project, i'll give you some step by steps.

Supplies needed for one pillow:
-14 inch square pillow insert (you could just use some loose stuffing but i thought the insert gave it more structure)
-15 inches of Flannel- for the front
-15 inches of soft, bumpy fabric for the back
- approx. 10x10 strip of white flannel for the letter- this depends on how big you want your letter
- enough heat and bond to attach to your white flannel
-thread

1. First print out a letter from computer. i used regular ole Times New Roman in 600 size font in bold. I did add a bit more to the skinny parts of the letter so there would be a little more to sew on top of. Cut it out.

2. Attach the Heat and Bond to the white flannel- follow easy instructions on pkg.

(try to take a picture without your baby belly in it)

3. Next place your letter BACKWARDS on the paper backing side of the white flannel. (you might be able to see that i didn't follow this advice the first time...) Trace around your letter. Then cut it out.

4. Cut out "front" flannel into a nice 15x15 inch square. (if you're like me, it will take you cutting out one whole pillow before you remember you have a handy rotary cutter and plastic ruler in the basement just dying to get used) Calliope's pillow is sadly misshaped due to this brain lapse! :)

5. Remove paper backing from letter and iron it in the middle of your square

6. Sew around your letter to make it stand out and to further secure it.

7. Cut out the bumpy fabric into a 15x15 square

7. Round the edges of both the front and fabric fabric- i didn't do it scientifically at all- just kinda eye-balled it and it worked great. (this helps the points to not pucker and look weird)

8. Pin the 2 sides together (with the right sides inward) and sew a 1/4 inch hem. Leave a small opening to flip it right side out and to stuff your pillow in. ( Maybe 5 inches?)

9. Flip it around, stuff pillow and then slip stitch the opening. voila!

Here you can see the cozy back

Btw, "G" is for Gideon

and "C" for the lovely Calliope

And just because you're lucky, here's a picture of these adorable children from their birthday party....

linking to....

happy father's day

We were so excited to have Andrew here on Father's day- this was the only Sunday he has off this month so we were all very happy it landed on today!

Picnic in the Park

"Maddiecakes"

sweet little sophie was very happy to only eat chips and watermelon- since it was father's day and all, we decided to fore-go a battle :)

these kiddos love their daddy

Here are some highlights from Will's card to his dad (transcribed by me, of course)
"Happy Father's Day..Thank you for giving me popcorn last night. i love you all the way to Africa and then all the way to China. I'm thankful you have an IPOD touch...Remember to buy yourself 20 vegetables just for you..(???) Your best pal, Will"

I got this great idea from a blog and thought i'd share it here- it only took about 20 shots before i got 3 that were good enough to go into the 3-picture frame.  i should clarify, i got a good one from Will in 2 shots, the rest were spent on the silly girls! :)

hair clip project

 Both girls have hit the glamor stage- they love necklaces, bracelets, sunglasses, tutus, pigtails, and clips in their hair. We go through many clips a day as they'll fall out or the girls will want them changed out with outfits... :) Anyway, i saw some adorable felt hair clips at a super cute children's boutique in  ft.collins the other week and fell in love with their simplicity....unfortunately, i couldn't fall in love with paying $12 for 2 clips... So, for a little friend's birthday i experimented with making some of my own. They were pretty easy and lots of fun.

 

i bought 2 sizes of regular ole metal clips. (the blue circle clip used the small size)

 i made the little fabric flower first. (just a small strip of fabric, folded over length wise and then basted, pulled tight into a flower and then stitched to secure) Then cut a small strip of felt close to the shape of the clip, folded it over the top of the clip, sewed the flower onto felt, put a small amount of hot glue on the clip, pressed the felt down, and then sewed it to the clip in a couple spots. It's especially important to secure it at the bottom. there are small holes in the metal clip that i used to anchor the felt onto. You can see where i sewed a little better in the picture of the back of the circle clip. Then i just sewed a bit around the edges to make it look a little more finished.

Ta-da! :)