Book Review: Let's Sew Together

Let's Sew Together by Rubyellen Bratcher. What a fun book! Blogging for Books has expanded to make available many different books and I was excited to get this book to review!  The book itself is colorful, fun and made for families to enjoy! The project range from quite simple (cutting a square piece of fabric for your child to imagine with!) to a bit more complicated (such as a doll house pillow.) All the projects encourage child interaction and many of them include your child drawing on the fabric. (How fun is that?) :)

The author starts out very basic with many tips and tricks and how to's to sewing - great for anyone who has no experience with using a machine or doing sewing crafts. The instructions seem very easy to follow (though I haven't done a project myself yet...Hopefully in a few years!) I love that the examples aren't perfect, it makes the projects feel attainable and that they don't have to turn out just so.

I also LOVE the side bars! Many of the projects have a side bar with book suggestions to read along with the project! There are also ways to use the project to further education... such as having writing prompts to write a fun story about the doll or robot craft. Great for homeschool or summer projects! I give this book two thumbs up!

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This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review by Blogging for Books. My opinions are my own.

Finished Object Friday: A Little "1"

It is very hard to believe, but one little sweetheart turned one a couple of weeks ago!! And believe it or not, I had a little time to sew something fun up! (I actually did most of the sewing while we were still staying with my parents. I had a lot more extra time then as well as crafty energy.)

What I didn't take the time for, unfortunately, was to get out my actual camera... You may have noticed that most of my blog posts recently have been with mobile pictures. It is just so much easier to post straight from my phone! (And I actually get blog posts up!).  But I still have pictures!

Here's the super fun outfit! The whole thing was so easy and fast to put together! So fun! Just a quick basic bow with a flower button to match the skirt, and a "1" ironed on with Heat 'n Bond. I used this tutorial for the skirt. 

Here are a few pictures from her birthday celebration showing the outfit in action:

First cupcake!! 

Yep, that was pretty good alright!! 

Opening presents: 

Of course, the paper is the best part! 

The skirt seems to look super long in these pictures, but it really isn't to her ankles. I did make it a tad long for her age so that she can hopefully wear it on into next spring. Here's a baby toes shot!! 

Such a sweetie!!! I'll be back tomorrow with more settling in. My mom came over for a little while today and helped me. It's wonderful to have someone to help me get in there and get something done! 

But now it's your turn to share what you have been up to!! :) Maybe you all have had more time than I have for fun fall projects. 

Finished Object... A quick scarf

...and I do mean quick! This little project took me maybe five minutes to do!

The hardest part was finding navy knit! I wanted a navy scarf to go with an outfit, but the main fabric shops in our area didn't have navy knit! (Hello? All they have to do is get on Pinterest to see how big the color navy is right now!) ;) So instead of finding navy fabric, I went to one of my favorite clothing shops and found a navy top! All I did was cut off the bottom and top to make a circular scarf!

Easy peasy!!! It's not perfect, but it sure is fun! And worked great for our mom/daughter night out at a concert! 

Now it's your turn to share!!! I'm a little late this week, but not quite as late as last month!! ;) Our summer is off to a busy start and I'm heading up our VBS starting in a little over a week! Yipes!! We are excited about it though... Should be a lot of fun!! 

Finished Object Friday: Little Apron

Ok... So FOF is only a couple of weeks late this month, but that's just how it goes sometimes... ;) Thank you all for your patience!

I actually made this little apron back in November for one of my little friends. I didn't share it intentionally because I had another one to make!! :) Piper got one too!!

I cut out the main part of both the aprons at the same time.  I just used a cheap child's apron I had bought for a pattern, basically just to get the proportions right. I've done this, I believe, on each of the little aprons I've made. I just rounded off the corners for these, invented a fun little pocket pattern and then used seam binding for the ties. They are both fully lined with the polka dot fabric. Super easy!

This little girl is such a joy. She has quite the personality! You aren't around her long before you have to giggle! She is a wonderful little helper too, and loves her baby sister so very much! It's hard to believe that she was this small not very long ago!


Ok, now it's your turn!! You've had two extra weeks to be "crafty" this month! ;)

Finished Object Friday - Another skirt

Well, I haven't done a whole lot of crafting recently. Our life has been very busy with so many other things! But I did sneak in a quick little skirt redo. There are so many amazing modest fashion blogs, I don't even try to compete! One friend from college has done some amazing things refashioning clothing - she is even finishing up a book on refashioning! These people inspire me to try something different and fun with my clothing!

Sooo... when I saw this skirt on the clearance rack of one of my favorite stores, I figured I could make it work:
 

(Not the best pictures, I know... sorry, but we were a little late for church... oops!) ;)

So, what did I do to it? Well, it was just a little big, you might say...

This picture also gives a close up of the pretty lace!

It is a very comfy skirt, and after simply taking in the elastic, it also fits great! I like the gathered look a little better with this anyway. So flow-y and feminine!

So have you been up to any little projects recently? Or maybe even a big project! We'd love to see!!

Finished Object Friday - Skirt Redo

Last Saturday, we went to a wedding... Friday night I still hadn't figured out what to wear! (Yes, closet full of clothes and NOTHING to wear...) So I did what any girl would do...first, in a panic, text a friend with some fashion know-how (Thanks, Brittany!!) ... then I remade a skirt I had on hand!  (well, maybe not every girl, but it reminded me of Kristina...) First the "after:"

I have had this skirt for years, and couldn't bear to let it go. It is such a classy print. Before I messed with it, it was a Talbot's wrap skirt that (ahem) was just a few sizes too small... Wrap skirts, in or not, are pretty annoying to wear, or maybe it's just me.... They never seem to lay right, and I'm always worrying about "gappage..."

SOoo... I cut off the top, made a new seam up the back and put elastic at the waist. (Cutting off the top was so much easier than trying to hem the skirt and lining - and it took care of the darts that hit at the wrong spot. And it shortened the skirt to a more "modern" length. It was much more comfy and less worrisome... Of course Saturday morning, I had to make a quick shopping trip to find a matching tie for hubby! Here we are in our "wedding guest finery!"

The wedding was very sweet! I'm so glad we were able to go! It was fun being able to catch up a little bit with friends! So glad Melissa (and all three of her littles!) were able to come!

(The smallest two "littles" aren't real visible in THIS picture... but they are there!)


So anyone else done some crazy last minute altering? Or maybe you've done something a little more relaxing...

Finished Object Friday - Mop Cover (And Tutorial!)

Whew. I don't know about you, but March has been a busy month for us! I've been so busy enjoying things, that I haven't taken much time to blog about them! It's pretty crazy when my last post was a Finished Object Friday post. Oh, well...

I had been wanting for a while to try to make a cover for my mop.

Here is a list of the supplies that I used:
Cotton fabric - One 6x12 inch piece
Terry Cloth - two 6x12 inch pieces
Velcro (just the soft "fuzzy" side)
Ribbon

Tools:
My Rotary cutter and Mat
Pins
Fabric Marker
Sewing machine!

Using the original mop cover, I figured out that my cutting ruler (6x12 inches) was just about the right size for a pattern. So I just cut each piece to that size.

 I actually cute two pieces of terry cloth and stitched them together with two seams down the middle. (That's where the pen came in handy - I just laid them flat on top of each other and after tracing two lines, just sewed straight down.)

I then sewed two strips of the velcro (both the fuzzy part) to the right side of the cotton "fun" fabric. This is what holds the cover to the mop. I tried just using terrycloth for a simple cover, but the terry cloth got really snagged in the barbs of my mop. I don't think it would have lasted through many uses!

Next, I was ready to make my "cover sandwich!" I made a loop out of fun ribbon for a little hanger for the pad. Layer with the terrycloth first, then the loop of ribbon (loop facing inside) and the cotton fabric with the right side and velcro facing down. Then sew around the perimeter leaving an opening to turn.

Clip the corners to help it lay flatter before turning right side out.

Pin opening closed and sew a top stitch around the outside.

And the good news - this doesn't just work for my Freedom mop - it also works for a Swiffer as well. (and hopefully many more mops similar!)

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you make a cover, I'd love to see how your's turns out! And let me know if you have any questions - I'm certainly no pro at sewing or at tutorial writing so I may have left something out! Or maybe you have some pointers for me! :)
So now it's your turn! What have you been crafting recently? I'm excited for you to share your projects!

Finished Object Friday

Happy New Year, All!! I guess you could say I took a little bloggy break. It wasn't really planned, but I have enjoyed having a lot of this week to focus on getting our home back in order. I've really enjoyed doing lots of "puttering" and I have most of our Christmas decor down, AND a lot of my Valentine/Winter decor up. I'll be sure to post some decor pictures, once I get everything done. :)

BUT... now I get to share some of my Christmas craftiness!! Can you guess what these are?

If you guessed pillowcases, you are correct!! Now with this stack, I did have a bit of help. Mom helped with some of the cutting out and a bit of sewing. (But I helped her with her Christmas crafts, so it was a fair trade!) :) Here they are with an actual pillow inside:

I think they turned out pretty fun... and from what I hear, each of the little recipients is enjoying them! These little gals below were the only ones I got to watch open them... all my other little people (cousins... adopted nieces and newphews...) live to far away!

Hmmm... she doesn't look to sure about this fabric thing... :)

 

Now we know what to expect... :)

 

Very excited about her patterns/colors!
It wasn't easy doing three different "pink" cases! I tried to fit them to their personalities! :)


I had a lot of fun picking fabrics. I think that the one that became my favorite, mainly because I think it turned out great for a pre-adolescent boy, is the solar system one! I just thought it was so cool!
(ETA: Oops!! Forgot to add the link to the tutorial I used! Great little tutorial - these were so easy and I love it that all the seams are enclosed! Find it here.) :)

So now you get to share some of your Christmas "craftiness!!" :) (If you had time to do any crafting. Was it just me, or did Christmas just zoom past?)

Finished Object Friday - Got it covered!

Yes, it's FOF week! (I guess I usually end up blogging in spurts, huh? I really had been working on last night's post for most of the week...) :) But we sure don't want to miss Finished Object Friday!!! heehee!

One of my friends had a birthday last week... ok. MOST of you know her... ;) She's the spray painting/home decorating queen! She's also is great with a camera. And what better to make a photographer than a fun camera strap? And what better style for an Alabama girl than houndstooth and red?

Roll Tide! (wait... I'm in Texas. Is it even legal to say that??)  ;)

One of her favorite features, it turns out (and mine too) is the lens cap pocket.

I think it would really come in handy, as I would always be laying that cap somewhere! :)

As for the specs... You probably guessed I used my ruffler again. :) Worked pretty well, even going through two layers of fabric. (I made a tube and then sewed down the center to hold it together before putting it through the ruffler.) I mainly used this tutorial for all the dimensions, and referenced a few others. I felt a little like I was in the dark, because I didn't have a strap to try it on - but thankfully it fit just fine! :)

So what have you been up to? Maybe something special for fall? I'm excited to see! Happy Friday!

Finished Object Friday - Ruffled Edition.

So you probably figured they were coming, right? Especially after my last post! Ruffles!!

A while back I fell in love with this scarf from Dear Lillie:

Source: dearlillie.com via Charity on Pinterest

However, I just used what I had on hand (a t-shirt I hardly ever wore...), so I didn't have a whole lot of material to work with (and another shirt would have been a slightly different color, unfortunately. So I improvised! I backed it with a fun black and white print that I had picked up in the remnants bin at Hobby Lobby. :)

About the ruffler. Yes, it really is handy and so fun to see straight fabric turning into ruffles. But... it only works for wider strips of fabric. The smaller ones were almost too narrow to feed into the mechanism. It took a little faniggling, but I did get it to work. (Side note: Isn't faniggling a word? I sure don't know how it's supposed to be spelled, but I use it a lot!)  :)

Anyway... I hope to take a couple more "styled up" pictures tomorrow. I'll update this post if I get them done... :) Until then, happy Friday and happy sharing!!

Adventure

Art flourishes where there is a sense of adventure.

~Alfred North Whitehead~

Adventure means different things to many people... One adventure for me is learning something new. (which is one reason I took up knitting... then spinning... and on the adventure goes!)

I am discovering some of the neat things that my my grandmother's sewing machine will do. Recently I've been trying out the ruffler - learning what works and what doesn't. It's fun to look through the old boxes of tools and read the vintage manual. Maybe you'll see some of the projects here soon. (and no that scrap of fabric isn't a hint - it's just my test scrap.)  :)

Finished Object Friday

I hope each of you has had a good week! Ours has been quite busy, but very fun. We had a wonderful relaxing 4th celebrating with friends. But enough of that... on to Finished Object Friday! 

A while back I bought a jumper that I really liked... however - it was a maternity jumper. After it sat in the closet for  a while, I pulled it out and decided I might as well be enjoying it now! So with a little tucking here and there... a little hemming and a ruffle, this is what I have now:

For reference (since I once again forgot to take a before... I got to excited to get it done...) here is a picture of a similar style jumper:

It has been a cool summer outfit - comfy and fun! :)

(For extra credit... can you guess where the "after" picture was taken? You might have an idea of why my week has been so full!) :)

Now it's your turn! I can't wait to see what you've been up to the past couple of weeks! :)

Finished Object Friday

Mom and I did some sewing last Saturday. I had been eying some fabric at Hobby Lobby for quite some time. When I finally decided to get it, the lady marked it 1/2 off!! So we decided to buy the rest of the bolt and make everyone matching skirts... then we did a little extra: (heehee!)


See? We all match!! It's all in the family! :)

I'm loving my skirt too!! So comfy - and simple, just one straight seam and hem and elastic at the top. Mom and I both worked on the skirts, and I did most of the tie work myself (using this tutorial - easy!) I have a feeling if there is a little boy in my future, he will be getting some bow ties! :)

(This is the guys' "I'm cool enough to wear a funky bow tie" look!) :)
That's our friend Andrew on the left.


Oh, and the guys were great sports and wore them into church.

When our pastor asked Mark about his tie, Mark said, "My wife made me do it."
Andrew's answer? "HIS wife made me do it!" heehee!! Thanks for putting up with us guys!!

So how about you? I can't wait to see your crafty projects!! :)

Finished Object Friday

First off - please remember those that were affected by the tornadoes in the last week! Quite a frightening experience! Those same storms were over us on Tuesday evening, but there wasn't the widespread damage as they have experienced. I certainly was relieved to hear from Brittany Wed. evening - they are all ok, but maybe still without power.
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Thanks all for the sweet comments on my Easter post. We had a wonderful day! But now it's time for Finished Object Friday! So here is my "object:"


Oh, wait... you've seen that picture before, haven't  you? Well, my sweater is my finished object! :)

I had my outfit together with a basic white jacket, but I wanted to find something a little more feminine/springy! After a bit of shopping (first online then at the store...) I figured I didn't want to pay $30.00 for what I wanted, and decided after looking at a few sweaters, "I can do this!" So I did!! (This sweater was my inspiration.) So I found this sweater on clearance:



Bought some fabric and cut out circles:

I bought a 1/4 of a yard and ironed it into thirds. Then cut the circles out (cutting three out at a time went soo fast! I ended up with more than I needed!) I then folded them into fourths before pinning them for placement. I used my sewing machine to sew them securely down - much faster than hand stitching! :) (Oh and the inside window of a paper cd sleeve was the perfect size circle!) :)

Here it is up close:


The whole project came together very fast with minimal frustration. (Although I did tack the collar down once while sewing a "petal." Out came the seam ripper!) :)  And I had my fun, fluttery, feminine cardigan for Easter morning! :) 

So now it's your turn to share! What fun projects have you had up your sleeve? :)

Finished Object Friday

Happy Friday, y'all!! It's been a busy week for me, how about you? My grandmother is safely back in Idaho, and we miss her already! As I said before, I've been spending every spare minute with my family. Blogging has been rather slow as you may have noticed (and I have some things I want to share....) :) and certainly crafting has been at a stand still - although my painting trigger finger has been REALLY itchy!! Maybe next week... :)  But for now, I'm sharing a FOF done by someone else!! :)



I've really been getting into the "hair flower" thing recently. I love adding a bit of color! :) Last week I didn't own quite what I wanted to wear, so I found some of my fabric and commissioned my sister!! I think Angie did a great job! :)
(I took these pictures on my phone... my camera is with my hubby at work... oops.. but I think they turned out pretty good for a phone!  :) Here is a fun "app" version of the flower:



I'm not quite sure what tutorial she used, maybe she'll add the link in the comments later! :) (Hint, hint...)
I can't wait to see what you've been up to! Link up below: