Not too long ago I spotted a really great fabric bracelet at a high end store.  Since I’m not a big jewelry wearer, I couldn’t bring myself to pay big bucks for a bracelet.  However, that bracelet popped into my mind this afternoon and it sparked a recon idea in my head.  I just gave it a whirl and while it’s nothing fancy, it’s a fun, quick project that’s perfect for a funky accessory.

The absolute simplicity of this project makes it a great summer project for a teen or pre-teen that’s trying out his or her sewing skills.  My 3-year-old daughter is begging me to make her one in ‘prettier colors’ as we speak.

Let’s get started!

Supplies:

Old t-shirts or any old piece of clothing made of knit or other stretchy fabric

Scissors

Sewing machine

So…get your t-shirt.

Cut strips of fabric, making sure the the stretch goes down the length of your strips.  You’ll want the bracelet to stretch a bit so you can easily get it on and off.

My wrist is child-like in size and measures just under 7 inches, so I made my strips about 8-8.5 inches long.  I made mine too wide to start with and ended up narrowing them to about 1 inch.  This is all very approximate.  That’s the beauty of the funky little bracelet–the more random and rough it is, the more fun it looks!  Despite the yard stick in my photos, I didn’t use it once.  Just freehanded the whole thing.  Fast and fun!

Now, simply fold the strips in half and sew, using a straight stretch stitch.

Now loosely gather the ends and stitch across them to secure them.  There’s no rhyme or reason to how I need this.  I just bunched them up and stitched across using a slightly longer stitch length to accommodate the thickness.

To close this bracelet up, you’ll want a wider, shorter strip of fabric that is something like this:

It should be wide enough to cover the end seams on the strips on both ends and long enough to overlap when wrapped loosely around the ends.  Like this:

After you’ve stitched one end into the wide strip (should look like photo above), tuck the other end of your bracelet into it and repeat.  Easy enough, right?  Here’s my bracelet:

To make it more your style, you can mix and match colors, thread on some random large beads, change up thread colors.  Just have fun!  Grab the kids and bust up that summer boredom!

So…here’s the tutorial.

Cut a pattern (here’s that gridded paper I love so much…in a peppermint stripe) that is a 11.25″ x 7.5″ rectangle.

Pin it to your fabric with one of the short ends on the fold.

Cut your fabric, open up the rectangle (should be 22.5″ x 7.5″) and finish your edges.

Now, with your wrong sides together, fold each of the short ends over 1″ and press.

Stitch near the the finished edge to create the casing for your drawstring.

Next, fold your bag in half–right sides together–with your casings matching up at the top. Stitch 1/8″ up the sides, stopping and reinforcing your seam just below the casings.

For my drawstring, I used 3/8″ grosgrain ribbon that I had on hand and cut two 19″ lengths. Insert a safety pin in one end and use the pin to feed the ribbon through one side of the casing. Repeat for the other side.

Knot the ends of your ribbons together on each side of the bag and, voila! You’re done!

What a lovely little package!

When we were at the Apple store buying my iPad, they had a decent selection of protective cases available, but if you guys know me by now, you know that I had to at least try to make my own before I gave in and bought one.  I quickly went through Plan A and Plan B before I was successful.  So, with you I share my Plan C.

It’s a very simple, quick project to put together.

It’s not so much a case as it is a sleeve.

It fits so snugly that there is no need for any type of closure.  Your iPad won’t be going anywhere.

It’s perfect to throw in your purse for protection against keys, lipsticks, Hot Wheels,  fruity snacks, and melted chocolate.  Please tell me your purse is like mine.  Please?

It’s made using a sturdy home decor fabric on the outside and a fantastically soft flannel on the inside.

It’s cushioned with a nice layer of foam so you don’t have to fret over every bump and booboo.

So, let’s get started.  You’ll need:

Paper to draw out your pattern (I use old wrapping paper with the 1″ grid on the back)

Exterior fabric (I used one from Amy Butler’s August Fields home decor line)

Interior fabric (I’m pampering my iPad with an Amy Butler flannel from her Love line)

Foam for cushion (I used automotive headliner that I got for 50 cents in Hancock’s bargain bin)

Sewing basics (scissors, thread, pins, serger, sewing machine

1.  Cut your pattern piece for your exterior & interior fabrics.  It will be 10.5″ x 8.5″.

2.  Cut your pattern piece for your foam.  It will be 9.5″ x 7.5″.

3.  Using your pattern pieces, cut 2 each of your exterior fabric, interior fabric and foam.

4.  Take one exterior piece and one interior piece and place them wrong sides together.  Serge one of your short ends without cutting the fabric.  Repeat with remaining 2 pieces.

5.  Open up your seam and place a piece of foam inside, leaving 1/4″ between top edge of foam and your seam, and 1/2″ space around the rest of the foam.

6.  Now close your “sandwich” keeping your seam flat and edges even.  Pin through all 3 layers.

7.  Serge 1/4″ around remaining 3 sides.

Repeat with your other exterior/interior/foam.  You should now have 2 “sandwiches”.

8.  Now we’re going to double-decker this thing.  Pin your two “sandwiches” together with your interior sides facing each other.

9.  Serge 1/8″ around 3 sides, leaving one short end open.  Then go back with your regular sewing machine and sew a seam just inside your serged seam to reinforce your sleeve.

You’re done!  Now, this is a tight squeeze, isn’t it?  I decided to make it that way because, A) makes the tutorial simpler and B) less junk to mess with when I want to get the iPad out of my purse.  However, if you want yours less tight you could expand the width of this case a half inch or so and throw a Velcro or button strap on it.

Let me know if you have any questions!

See, there’s a particular day each month *ahem* that makes me yearn for a good, heavy heating pad, but by the time my body reminds me that I want it….well, I’m just too crabby to sew.   This month, though, I’m prepared.

Gorgeous, right?  If only you could feel, smell and pet it.  It turns out that Amy Butler’s super-luxurious flannel + rice + lavender essential oils = heaven.  In case you were wondering.

I didn’t have the details for the heating pad worked out in my mind, but I find if I just start cutting fabric….it just all works out.  Usually.  This was one of those fortunate times and I’m thrilled that it only took my one shot to achieve the sectioned heating pad glory I was after.  I was nervous that I would fail at achieving the sectioned design that I was picturing in my mind, but I came up with a little trick that makes it super easy.

Ready to begin?  You know you want one!  I knocked this one out in under an hour while still in my pajamas this morning.

Cut two 19″ x 8″ rectangles of high quality flannel.  I bought 1/2 yard of this one and it’s enough to make 2 heating pads.

Serge (without cutting fabric) one of the short ends of each piece.  (I don’t like raw edges.)

Pin your pieces right sides together.

Serge 1/4″ along the two long sides and the other short end.  This short end will be the “bottom” of our project for tutorial purposes.

Then, on your open end (top) start sewing approximately 1″ from the side with a 1/4″ seam allowance.  Continue around the fabric until you return to the top edge and stop when you’re about 1″ into it again.  That makes very little sense, so here’s a pic:

Now you’re nice and reinforced.  We want this thing to be sturdy and never leak so much as a grain of rice!

Cut diagonally across all 4 corners without cutting into your seam.

Turn it right side out, make your corners nice and square, press it and topstitch along the edge.

Starting at the seamline at the bottom of your project, mark the pad into six 3″ sections using a chalk pencil.  My lines didn’t show up very clearly in the pictures, but you get the idea.

I think.

Put 4 1/2 cups of uncooked rice (or flax seed or whatever filler you prefer.  I like the weight of the rice. ) in a large zip baggie and throw in some of your favorite essential oils.  Shake!  Shake!  Shake!

Now, take 3/4 cup of your rice/oil mix and dump it into your heating pad.

My concern was how to contain the rice long enough to sew the barrier seam.  Hmmmmm…..A-HA!  A temporary barrier!  I pinned the rice back about 1/2″ away from my marked line leaving just enough room for the presser foot to pass by.

The problem with that was that it was a tad difficult doing it with the pad lying flat on the table (or my bed as you see in my pics. )  So…..I hung it from my ironing board using my iron to weight it down.  Work with gravity, baby.

Stitch it up and repeat for all 6 sections.

After filling your final section, sew your barrier seam near the top edge and then the folds in and zigzag the very edge.

That’s the toughest part…and it’s not even so tough.  And…you’re done!

You’re final product will measure 18″ x 7″ which is ideal for abdominal cramps, sore lower back or tense neck.

It rolls up nicely to tuck into a bedside drawer.

And I’m pretty sure that my next project will be a cute little drawstring bag in a coordinating fabric.  Perfect for storage and for gift-giving. I’ll keep you posted on that project. EDIT: Drawstring Bag Tutorial has been added!

Stick it in the microwave for around 2 minutes.  Of course, this time varies from one microwave to the next.  Just be very careful not to overheat (it will stink and can hurt ‘cha!).

Also….you can store it in your freezer for cold therapy on an injure knee, back, etc…

So…there you have it.  Now get busy!

This tutorial is for you mommies out there with a super-independent little one on your hands.  A little one that insists on doing everything by him- or herself, but just doesn’t realize the limitations that their age and size might bring.  Limitations such as not being able to reach the bathroom light switch during their mad dash to the potty while they’re saying to you, “No, Mommy!  I don’t need help!  I can do it all myself!”

Because Elliott is the epitome of Little Miss Independence, I had to come up with a way for her to reach the switch without moving her stool across the room in back in those 2.5 seconds she allows herself to make it to the bathroom.

Now, there are mass-produced versions of these light switch extensions available.  They work, but they are just not cute.  We just can’t have that, can we??

I decided to attempt making one from scratch.  I didn’t want to use wood because I’m a worrywart and I’d lose sleep at night thinking it was going to catch on fire.  Metal would be scary, too.  So…I bought a sheet of thin, flexible Plexiglas at Hobby Lobby.  I’ve never worked with the stuff before, so I’m sure there are better ways of dealing with it than what I did.  However, I got the end result I wanted and Elliott is very pleased with it…so no worries. (If you want to share helpful Plexiglas hints with your fellow readers and me, please leave a comment!  I would love to learn more about working with it.)

So…let’s get started.

You’ll need:

• A sheet of Plexiglas ($1.99 at Hobby Lobby)
• Mean scissors
• Craft knife/blade
• Sandpaper
• Marker
• Paintbrush
• Mod Podge or similar glue
• Pretty paper or fabric
• Embellishments

First, print out this template.

Then, place the template on a flat surface and lay your Plexiglass on top of it.  When you bring it home from the store, it will have a protective film on it. Leave it in place for now.

With a marker, trace the template onto your Plexi.

Carefully cut out your design.  (This is where I could use tips on using Plexiglass.  The stuff was cracking all around the edges.  Any suggestions on how to cut it and end up with nice clean edges?)  To cut out the inner circle, I used a craft knife to cut a slit through the center.  I had to cut from the top, then flip the Plexi over and go over it again.  Once it was sliced all the way through, I poked my scissors through and finished cutting out the circle.  Please, please use caution not to cut yourself.

Now remove the protective film.

Use sandpaper to smooth your edges and help round out the circles.  They don’t have to be perfect because they will be covered, but take the sharpest edges off.

Now, tear or cut strips of pretty paper or fabric.

Paint Mod Podge onto your Plexi a bit at a time and apply the paper/fabric until the entire thing is covered.

Wrapping the paper around makes for safe, smooth edges.

Apply stickers or any other embellishments, then give the entire surface a nice, full coat of Mod Podge.

Here is Elliott’s new freedom…er….extension.

She absolutely loves it!

Please be very careful in making and using this light switch extension.  It is not a toy and children should be supervised when they are using their light switch extension.  In case of breakage or damage that exposes bare Plexiglas, please dispose of the extension immediately to avoid injury.  Okay, thank you and goodbye.

Elliott’s third birthday is quickly approaching and for her party, she has requested an owl theme.  After scouring the internet and local party supply stores, I came up empty handed.  It seems that owls just haven’t made it into the world of mass-produces party goods.  What does that mean for this mom?  It means I’ve got to get my booty in gear and rack every crafty brain cell I have to pull this party off in style!

Party favors were my immediate concern because I knew there would be a good number of them to make.  Time to get busy!  I didn’t want to spend a fortune, so I went through my mental inventory of craft supplies I already have on hand and came up with felt.  I can do felt!  Since we will have both boys and girls attending her party, I wanted to do something for each gender.  So…the girls will be getting owl hair clips and the boys will be getting owl finger puppets!  Sounds great, but….where to begin??  I couldn’t find a template online, so with the guidance of my friend The Fabric Floozie, I created my own and will share it with you guys along with the step-by-step process of putting these owls together. (For more owl party ideas, look here.)

First, download and print the template here.

Second, gather your supplies:

• Felt
• Scissors
• Hot glue or fabric glue
• Needle
• Embroidery thread
• Alligator hair clip
• 3/8″ ribbon

Then, cut your owl pieces out of felt in your desired colors.  I’m doing quite a few, so I put all my pieces in little piles.

I began by tacking each of the pieces onto the body with a dab of glue.  I used just a dab of hot glue, but any fabric-friendly glue will do the trick.  I did this because I’m fumble-fingers and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold the tiny pieces in place long enough to stitch them on.

First, the wings.

Then the eye piece.

The little beak…

And some eyeballs.

The owls looked a bit untidy after I pieced them together, so I used some very pointy, very sharp scissors to trim and neaten up the edges.

Once you get your little guy just how you want it, get your embroidery thread and split it into 2 3-strand sections.

Start stitching around the edges of the wings and eye piece.

When you’re done sewing, your little owl should look something like this:

For the girl guests,  I lined an alligator clip with coordinating ribbon and attached the owl with hot glue.  For more details on this, check out my trusty hair clip tutorial.

I fixed the owl lengthwise rather and across the clip so that no matter which side a little girl’s hair is parted on, the owl will be upright.

I’d wear it.

Now, obviously the boys aren’t going to be into hair clips, so I took the two felt finger puppet pieces (see template) and stitched them together.  Then I attached a prepared owl with….you guessed it!  Hot glue.

I think he needs some little orange feet.  When I go to the store next, I’ll grab some orange embroidery floss and stitch some on.

Note:  Please use caution in giving this to small children as they could potentially become a choking hazard.  Be safe, be fun!

GIVEAWAY!  I made an extra hair clip and an extra finger puppet and I want to give them as a set to one of my readers.

To enter:  Leave a comment (only one, please!) telling me what themes you’ve done for children’s parties.  I love hearing how creative moms can be!  Enter by 5pm tomorrow (Saturday, January 2, 2010) to be eligible to win!

The winner is comment #11.  Congratulations, Amy!  Please contact me within 7 days to claim your prize.

I’m sure most of you with children have had Reindeer Food come home from school or daycare just before Christmas.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Reindeer Food, it’s a magical mixture of dry oatmeal and other special goodies that lure Rudolph and the gang to land at your house Christmas night.  The kiddos take it outside, sprinkle it in the yard and spend the rest of Christmas Eve evening anxiously awaiting the Big Guy’s arrival.

This year, I happened to have some empty spice bottles in my kitchen windowsill that I’d been saving for the right craft….and Reindeer Food came to mind.  I love finding ways to reduce, reuse & recycle, so let’s put these empty spice bottles–or whatever containers you can rescue from the landfill–good, festive use!  It’s a great craft to do with kiddos, but you might want to replace the hot glue that I used with a more kid-safe craft glue or school glue.

First, gather supplies.  I used my spice bottles, leftover wrapping paper, leftover gift tags and hot glue to decorate the bottles.  A measuring tape, ruler, pen, scissors and a sharp knife are the tools I used.  Please use caution with the scissors, knife and glue if the kids are involved.  And the wrapping paper.  Nobody likes a paper cut.  Ingredients for our particular Reindeer Food recipe are oatmeal, green sprinkles and red sprinkles.  You can substitute glitter or any other magical ingredients you have lying around your house.

Next, you’ll need to measure the length and circumference of your bottle.

On the back side of your wrapping paper, outline the size that you’ll need.  Ours were 3 3/4″ x 7″.

Cut the pretty paper to fit.

Make a thin line of glue up the length of the bottle.

Adhere one narrow end of your paper to the glue.

Wrap the paper snugly around the bottle and glue that end down.

Continue with any additional bottles you are decorating.

Now, I had this gorgeous chipboard gift tags from Target leftover and used them.  You can use curling ribbon, scrapbook paper….just whatever you have around the house.  The key thing is that you attach this cute little poem:

Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home.

I printed the poem very small and glued them to the backs of the tags.

Then I glued the tag ties around the neck of the bottle.

The sprinkle lids had holes that weren’t large enough to accomodate the oatmeal.

So I gouged them with a sharp knife.  Please, please use caution and don’t hurt yourself or others.  Pretty please.

Once you’ve thoroughly mutilated them…

You can start making the magical mixture!  The kids loved pouring in all the goodies and talking about where all they would sprinkle it to ensure a prompt and sure arrival from the reindeer crew.  Oatmeal first….

Then green sugar sprinkles…

And the red ones.

Put the lid on, give them each a good shake to mix up the magic and you’re all done!

Just before the kids get tucked in on Christmas Eve evening, take them out and let them sprinkle this all over the yard!

The other day I was out shopping with Elliott when I got this feeling in the pit of my stomach.  That feeling was the fear that maybe–just maybe–I had become one of those moms who didn’t work with or stimulate their second child as much as she did her first.

I couldn’t live with that fear festering inside me, so we rushed to a teaching supply store in search of preschool teaching tools.  I found little to nothing that suited what I had in mind.  As we roamed the aisles, I tried to think back to my school days and dug deep in the recesses of my scattered brain for hands-on learning tools that I might have enjoyed as a kid.  FELT BOARDS!!!  I had to find a felt board and fast!

I did find one in the store.  It was small, plain and expensive for what it was.  It just didn’t feel right.

So, I ran next door to the craft store and gathered supplies.  And…enter the felt board tutorial!

What I used:

• 1   20″x30″ foam board (like poster board, but…foam)
• A large section of felt (I bought 1 yard of 72″ wide felt and had enough for 2 boards)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Trim & decoration

Spread your felt out on a flat surface.  Place the foam board on top and trim felt about 4-5″ larger than your board in all directions.

Take one corner and fold it inward, securing with plenty of hot glue.

Repeat with remaining 3 corners and your board should look something like this:

On 2 opposite ends of your board, fold the felt over and glue.  Make sure to pull it tightly and evenly so that your finished product will look nice and tidy.

Repeat with remaining sides.  Remember…nice and snug.

Now it’s time to make it pretty.  Flip it over and decorate!  Elliott chose green rick rack.

And it just wouldn’t be right without some purple eyelash trim…right?

Finished product and my little satisfied customer…

And the letters?

I got our felt letters in the scrapbooking section of the craft store, but you can find all kinds of felt cutouts on Etsy, Ebay, teaching supply stores and your local craft store.  I plan to cut some of the more simple shapes by hand when I have more time.  Also…I thought little families of felt stick figures would be fun!  And maybe a little felt house, pets and a car!  Oh man, felt boards are fun for moms, too!

(Green alternative: rather than using foam board, use a good sturdy piece of cardboard from a leftover box if you have one available.  Use scraps of felt and trim that you have around the house or find at a garage sale.  Reduce, reuse, recycle!)

Anyhow, with permission from Creative Little Daisy I created a video demonstration of her brilliant DIY bias tape method. I use this method almost daily lately and I wanted to make sure that everyone else can use and love it like I do! So….drumroll……here it is!

(Bonus points if you can tell me how many times I almost start cracking up!)

Elliott is a tiny little thing.  She just turned 2, but can still fit in some 18 month stuff.  The size that I made for this halter top is plenty roomy, so if you want to copy the measurements exactly, it’s about 24 months to 2T.

So.  This is what we’re making (and pardon the photo quality, please.  Daylight was gone by the time I finished ).  It is finished in bias tape that ties behind the neck and the back has elastic for a really cute little fit.

This could easily be lengthened a bit to make a precious little sundress.  I plan to make one in the next few days and will post pictures of it here when it’s done.

The pattern piece for the front of the top is this shape:

When you cut your fabric, you’ll want it folded with the straight side of the pattern piece pinned along the fabric fold.

Across the bottom is 7.5″ (unfolds to 15″).

Across the bustline is 5.5″ (unfolds to 11″).

Across the neckline is 3″ (unfolds to 6″).

From top to bottom: 12″.

Keep in mind that these measurements fit a toddler who is 34″ tall and 25lbs.  Adjust to fit your child or email me with any questions.

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S0, since I have received a ton of emails for help with adjusting measurements, I thought I would add this little bit.  I hope that it is helpful!  Please let me know if the directions are not clear enough.  Thank you.

And now….back to our regularly scheduled programming:

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The back pattern piece is a simple rectangle.  In this case, 15″ x 10 1/4″.

Rather than using solid color, boring bias tape from the fabric store, I decided I wanted to make my own.  I found a really wonderful tutorial that makes the process very quick and easy.  I’m now a big fan of this blogger and her bias-tape brilliance!  I was thrilled at how my tape turned out!

**I have now added a video demonstrating this bias tape method!**

For this top I made 4 pieces:

1-  6″ piece (neckline)

1- 36″ piece (straps)

2- 29″ pieces (hem)

Now…getting started….

Grab your back halter fabric (the plain rectangle) and fold down one of the long edges 1/4″.  Press.  Fold again approximately 1″ and press.  Then sew along your fold to create your elastic casing.  These steps will look something like this:

Next, cute a piece of elastic that will fit your child.  You can measure across her back from armpit to armpit to get an idea.  Ours was approximately 10″.

Anchor one end of your elastic with a straight pin at one end of your casing.  Attach a safety pin to the other end of your elastic and use the pin to feed the elastic through the casing.

Secure both ends of the elastic by stitching vertically 1/4″ from the edges of the fabric.

Put the back halter piece aside.

Sandwich the top (neckline) edge of the front halter piece within a 6″ length of bias tape.  Stitch along the open edge of the bias tape, being sure to catch the underneath layer in your seam.  In my picture you will notice 2 lines of stitching.  Oops!  I let the underside of the bias tape get away from me and had to sew it again. 

You’ll use the same basic idea to attach the straps.  Start at the bottom of each underarm curve and attach your bias tape.  Sew down the entire length of the bias tape to close it and form the strap pieces.

Pin your front and back together at the side seams and sew 1/2″ seams.

You’re almost done!

Starting at one of the side seams, sew the bias tape along the hem of the top.  As you near the end, stop sewing and trim your bias tape to the proper length, leaving just a bit to overlap the beginning edge.

And you’re done!

Elliott modeled the top for me when it was done tonight.  She was just a little too excited about it, though, and couldn’t stop running around.  Forgive her for the quality of the pictures, please!

Now…please don’t hesitate to email and let me know if I need to be clearer on any details or provide more pictures.  If I’ve left anything out…well, I’m sure you all now how hard it is to keep a train of thought with a toddler running around!  Just let me know and I’ll be glad to help!

Have fun!

Oh!  And I have two requests:

1) If you make one, I would love it if you sent in a picture for me to post!

2) If you want to use this tutorial and sell what you make, that’s great!  Go for it because I love WAHMs!  Just please link back to me.