Barbie's Ball Gown

Did you know that Barbie outfits can be incredibly hard to sew...This was my first attempt. Of course, I used a slippery satin too. Even though the kids love it, I see it as an epic fail. At least it fits the doll and is wearable.....

Animal Print Poncho

Here is my latest creation. An soft faux animal printponcho lined in brown fleece for extra warmth. My daughter loves it, and wears it everyday :)

Diaper Cakes, My Version

I know there are a lot of you that do diaper cakes. Some can get very elaborate. They always look beautiful. I just like to do mine more simple. More focus on the diapers as a gift, rather then a cake decoration. I tie all of my diapers individually, and use no hot glue. Again, to make sure the diapers can be used.

Childrens' Birthday Apron

For a very long time now I have been making gifts for the parties my girls get invited too. Not only does it save money, but it saves the parents from from yet another Barbie doll their dog is only going to chew up. One of the staples I have had in the gift-giving department is an apron set. Even if the child is far beyond play kitchens, they are a great incentive to get them in the real kitchen. Not to mention, there are no little pieces for them to lose and you to step on in the middle of the night!!

{Sew Easy} Taggie Blanket

Ever wonder how to get one of these sewn up, its so very simple. Just find some ribbon and a small piece of fabric and start sewing. On this one I added some crinkle fabric inside. so I just took the two squares and finished the edges under, placed the crinkle fabric inside so you couldn't see it. I then took the ribbons and pinned it all together and sticking around the layers. Its that simple. This one was made for my dearest friend when she had her adorable #3. The nursery theme was ladybugs.

Bed "Basket"

A dear friend once gave my daughter this as a present. But after many washes it no longer could do its job. So my daughter has been bugging me for a new one. So on a lazy Sunday afternoon I told her to go in my fabric stash and find something she would want me to make it out of, and there became the monkeys. I, like most things I do, free handed the size of my square, and cut 2. Then I took a smaller peice to fashion the pockets out of...Finished to top of where the pocket was to open. Figured out how many pockets and size she would want and stiched a strong line on the pocket piece and the front piece fabrics. Once that was complete I took the front with pockets attached and back...pinning them right sides together. I chose to fill it with batting, so I then addes that layer to my pinned sqaure. I then continued to sew the bottom and two sides together. Turned it right side out the make sure I caught it all. Finised the edges on my top side, and began to attached an extra piece of coordinating fabric to the top. This is so that no matter how heavy the pockets go...the "basket" has a flat piece shoved far between mattresses so it cannot slide out due to weight. Its really just that simple.

Knit Fashion Scarf

This was way too easy to make, and I just adore it so much. I chose to make it plain to go with more things, but of course in my colors.
 All it is, is a long section of soft knit fabric with 2 ruffles attached at each end. I did use a pattern for this. It is a simplicity 2170. I cannot wait to get my hands on more knits and silky fabric and make them all.

Crock Pot French Toast

This is such a fun and easy meal. And when it comes to cooking those are 2 things that I must have. I make this more as a dinner. Its usually for those days when nothing is thawed out, but you have a million eggs to use up. Great to throw into the crock pot, but eat in a couple hours. Always a hit at my house. 
Here is what you need:

Fits in a medium or large slow cooker
* Bread, one loaf
* A dozen eggs
* 2 tsp vanilla
* 4 cups milk
* 2 tsp Cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:
Cut the bread pieces into 4s
In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients and pour over bread in the slow cooker
Cook on High for 2.5-3 hours

Bike Baskets

I saw this idea over on the "noodlehead" website and instantly feel in love. What a fun idea to make a cloth bike basket. My older daughter has wanted a new on for so long, but we can never seem to find on that isn't cheaply made plastic, or geared for a 4 year old. I used another bucket type pattern and revamped it a bit. Lined it with the thickest crafting interfacing to make sure it is as sturdy as possible.

You can attached it to the bike anyway you see fit. I bought industrial strength velcro for mine. The turned out so darn cute, that I may have just found my new birthday gift staple.

Precious Penguins

My oldest daughter was asking for some winter PJs, on a limb I made her a nightgown out of some cute winter penguin pattern. I used this pattern and I do have to admit it turned out darling on her. And at 9 years old she 'actually' wears it.


The only thing I did different is I used the same flannel fabric ( I had a TON) and lined it on the inside just to make it more snugly and warm.


I also used some extra fabric and made her an eye mask with it. Even filled it with rice so she can microwave it as a nice relaxing, and 'big girl' addition to her new PJ set.

Fun Plush Play Balls

With every baby shower that rolls around, these are one of my most favorite and simple gifts to make. Its just that one gift that they are sure to not get a lot of, and even if they do, the more the merrier.
I use a great and easy pattern I got off of a fabulous website I follow. It is the purl bee, http://www.purlbee.com/fabric-beach-balls/

I printed off her tutorial patterns and laminated them. That's how often I use them. Sometimes I even put in a little bell inside for a touch of a noise maker.

Girl Scout Fabric

Its a Girl Scout Miracle.....I stumbled upon some authentic girl scout fabric by designer Robert Kauffman at the craft store. As we all know, boy scouts has a ton of lines out. Yet Girl Scout fabric is a needle in a haystack. Of course I bought yards and yards of it.
First project with it. To make carry bags for the girls' books and items needed to bring to the troop meetings.

I free handed the pattern. Making it about a 14x14 tote. I used a plain fabric for the lining...a different color for each girl. I also chose to use the thick crafting interfacing as I wanted them to hold their shape and be able to handle a couple workbooks at a time. I used the same interfacing for the handles. You could get as fancy as you wanted adding pockets and snaps..but I just wanted a regular tote, and to not take away for the girl scout fabric in any way.

Random Quilt Patterns

I have a great friend that teases me, She calls me a fabric hoarder. I have bin after bin of fabrics that I adore far too much to cut into. That is, until she has eased me into it. So we took all my fabrics and went through it cutting long 5" stripes of them. We had tons and tons of stripes.


We then got to work. Between the 2 of us we made 5 little girl quilts out of them. Each one a little different in pattern as the other. One I chose to make was "cubes" where as my friend did hers like a hardwood floor.


This was a nerve racking project as we had no set plan, just sewed and waited to see what happened. Without having a real color scheme and thought out pattern, we made them look very cute.

Here is the first one I made. It was a non-measured twin size. To back it I bought a $5 twin flat sheet.  I was almost a perfect match size, only about 6 inches too short. That will not matter though, as the sheet is longer to tuck in, the quilt will not need to be tucked in. This is how it turned out...

Quiet City Mat Tutorial

I am forever making quite games or travel things for my kids. We tend to spend a lot of time in the car, or waiting for siblings to get down with soccer/dance class.
This is one of my favorites.

What you need:
City or fabric with lanes or roads
Interfacing
Batting
Binding
Coordinating fabricS for the back side and pocket.
Snaps or velcro optional.


Once you have found the perfect road fabric you are ready to sew.
I chose to do mine the size of a 1/2 yard, but into an exact square...the size is all about how large or small you want.

First take your back fabric and stitch the pocket on. Linethe pocket with lightweight interfacing, Top pocket with binding. If you want you can add a snap or velcro to keep it shut. I chose not to as I wanted it as soft as possible for toddler knees to crawl all over it. Even staying open we have never lost a car.

Once that is complete. Put the back fabric right sides together. Top with interfacing and a thin batting. Stitch all the way around. BE SURE to leave an opening so you can turn your project right side out. Once turned out, Iron and sew shut the opening. Once you are done with that, begin with the binding. Take it all the way around the edging. This will finish the project off and hid your open stitching.
Make a small handle and attach at the top. I used 3 layers of bias binding to make it strong but a small enough loop for little hands to either carry or pull out of a backpack.

Fold closed to your desire. I did a tri-fold across the one fold horizontally. Works perfect.