It's a girl

My friend is having a girl and we threw her a baby shower to celebrate.  Since I have tons of girl things that I want to make and all the supplies but little motivation, I felt this baby shower would give me the kick in the pants I need to get 'er dun.

I found a really cute onesie on etsy that I wanted to recreate.  But when I bought the 6-9 month onesies, they were for my now 14 month old.  I am a total procrastinator but it doesn't stop me from still using them. 

I REALLY wanted to do a pink onesie with pink ruffles and so I dyed them in some RIT fabric dye.  Well, there's a first for everything and this one did NOT go well.  I seem to be overly confident on some things and this was one of them.  I didn't let the dye powder dissolve all the way before I put my fabric in so there are dark spots all over the 2 onesies I dyed.  Thank goodness I only did 2 because I was still able to use the other 3 from the package.  I did also throw in a strip of a blue shirt I don't wear anymore to see if it'd dye it pink or purple.  And that's what I used for the ruffles on this onesie.  It also had some dark spots but they aren't as noticeable. 

(I found a tutorial on fabric dying and would recommend it even though I screwed mine up.  It was still helpful to have more than just the directions on the box.)

Then I made a flower to go with it.  It's pretty basic.  I followed the tutorial here minus attaching it to a hat.  

This one I made with fabric scraps and it was pretty easy.  There's not a tutorial on how to make it but the idea came from this video and she gives you the basic instructions.

This one I also copied from one on etsy, I think from the same shop too.  Not too hard to figure out.  I just made sure to put fray check on it.

And the flower was found on this tutorial.  I think it's super cute.  My flower is smaller since it's for a little head.  I think I went .5 in smaller than the measurements the tutorial gives.

Easy burp cloths

Made some burps cloths for a friend.  They were so easy.  I found the tutorial here.  I found another tutorial that said to add batting in the middle.  Maybe next time I'll do that just to give it more absorbency.  But I'm pretty happy with the final result other than the awful lighting in the pictures.

Baby, look at those legs!

 Just finished another pair of baby legs!  These things are so nice to put on "sissy Q" now that she's moving around and it's getting a little cooler.  I know, it's still summer but we live in Minnesota so you have to take it while it's here.

Anyway, in the past, I have made my baby legs using a very simple method of cutting off the feet to knee high socks, folding the cut edge under to make a hem and whip stitching it.  Doesn't take long, but I kept seeing them with the cuff and I knew there was a way to do it if I could just find it.  I hate to admit this, but this whole time, I never googled it...

Until tonight.  I found a pair of cute socks in my pile of procrastinated projects, of course I had forgotten all about them.  I had seen another really cute way to hem the socks and thought I'd try that this time around.  I just couldn't remember where I saw the tutorial, so I googled it and lo and behold, not only did I find the one I was looking for but 3 more that show you how to put cuffs on.  So I ditched the original plan and made them with cuffs.

Some below are all the tutorials I've used to make this cute accessory.

Simple whip stitching method

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Ruffled edge- this is the method I ditched tonight but still want to make.  Consequently, I have no pictures.

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Attaching a cuff- I actually followed 2 pages for this

Little Birdie's Nest

Everything Your Mama Made

Wipe with style

One of my favorite things that I've made of all time is the wipes clutch.  When it was new to the baby world, I thought it was the cutest and most clever thing ever.  I figured out how to make it thanks to the help of a friend since they were selling for double digits and have made them for gifts and myself ever since. 

Since I'm not the best when it comes to tutorials, I did go out in search of one to post.  It is complete with a template and everything.  So not only did I provide the tutorial for you (here you go), but I tested it out.  Here's my finished product...

But it is different from how I normally make them and I'm not sure if I like it as much.  So I guess I will tell you how I do it, but this is not an official tutorial, it is best if you read the other page first and then what I say will make more sense.

So the things I do differently:

-First of all, I have used a few different kinds of fabric and have found that home decor fabric is my favorite.  It is more durable and there are cuter patterns, at least where I look.

-I trace the wipes container and use that template for my batting that way I don't have anything to trim anything.  

-I put batting on the top and the bottom of the container.

-The make a second template for my fabric by tracing around the container but making it between 1/4 to 1/2 larger than the other template.  This is so that the fabric will cover the edges.  

Side note: You could just use the template already provided in the tutorial for both the batting and the fabric.  I would just round the corners where the dotted line is and not cut on the fold of the fabric.  Instead cut 2 separate pieces of fabric.

-You glue only the edges of the fabric down exactly like the other tutorial tells you but of course, you continue all the way around since the fabric doesn't connect on the back part.

-When when you put the trim on, you put it all the way around as well- again because the fabric doesn't cover the back.  The picture shows the difference looking at the back.  Sorry about the bottom one.  The trim is coming undone and I haven't fixed it, not to mention the purples are 2 different colors (my bad for not taking a sample with me to the store when I ran out).

And the finished product...

Since purple trim on the above flap is darker than the bottom, I kept this one for myself.

Happy wiping!

Tutus!

Now that I have children, I am part of the cousin Christmas gift exchange.  We get to give to my cute little niece every year.  I decided to make a tutu for her.  A tutu is super easy to make and you really don't need a sewing machine even though I used one, or did I?  I might have just sewn it by hand.  Anyway, in preparing for this project, I read quite a few tutorials.  Here's a simple enough one on The Idea Room.  I bought tulle by the yard and found a great video tutorial that gives you a secret on cutting your tulle.  I used elastic and would recommend it over ribbon.  Make sure when you measure the waist to take about an inch or 2 off to find the measurement of your elastic band.

I needed to see how it was coming along half way through so I tried it on my boy.  It was so fun to watch him crawl around in that cute little thing.  It made me so excited for my little girl that was on her way!

And now it's finished!   If you want a fuller skirt, put more strips of tulle on.  If you want it puffy, make the strips shorter. 

When my girl was born, I whipped up a quick one for her newborn shots.  It really is that easy.

Something Blue

My sister got married last February.  Since I wasn't there for any of her showers or preparation, I decided it would be fun to throw her a Bachelorette Party.  We went with the theme of the old adage, "Something Old, Something New, etc."  Each of my sisters and I took a "Something" and got her a gift she could use on her honeymoon or shortly after that went along with it.  It ended up being really fun!

My "Something" was Blue!  I went a little overboard because I just couldn't filter all the ideas that were coming to me.  But I had 2 ideas that required the old crafty in me to come out.  And so I present them now.

My sister loves her hair accessories and I was already in baby hair accessory mode so I whip one up in adult size.  

It was really easy.  I followed a tutorial I found on Craftaholics Anonymous to form the petals.  The only difference between the tutorial and what I did is that I made more petals and put them together a little off-centered rather than having them all centered.  Then instead of using a brad to fasten, I sewed on little pearls.  It looks more delicate.  Note: Something I learned from singeing the petals is not to catch them on fire.  It's a lot harder to get rounded edges.  Also, on this one it didn't show up but on lighter fabric, it definitely shows that it's burnt.  If you like that look than great but I don't.  The same tutorial shows you how to make a nylon headband.  Instead, I just sewed on some softer elastic that I got at JoAnn.  

When I got married, someone gave us a journal.  I was not sure what to do with it until my hubby and I talked about making it a couple's journal.  We would use it to write about our spouse and our relationship.  I have a husband who loves to write and make up poems and claims to be an AWFUL verbal communicator.  So he was very excited to be able to express himself to me in a journal.  So I made one for the happy couple.

I copied the idea from another Little Birdie Secrets post.  Yes, I love them.  Here's what I did differently.  They tell you to modge podge the paper on.  MP and I have an "on again, off again" relationship and at the time we were off.  So after trying to modge podge it on, some of my paper wouldn't stay stuck.  So I took some clear packaging tape and taped it all up.  I would've used contact paper for a seamless finish but I didn't have any on hand.  Then I hot-glued the ribbon instead of sewing it.  I really like the sewed look but I have not gotten that far in my relationship with my sewing machine.  We'll start sewing paper eventually but I don't want to push it.

Bibs that are cute AND durable

When I was expecting my first, a boy, my awesome and talented sister offered to make me a bunch of bibs.  We picked out the material and she whipped them up.  They were really cute, of course because I picked out the fabric, but they were also durable and awesome because they had buttons.  Totally child proof!  My almost 20 month old still can't get his bib off.  

So, upon having a girl, I felt I NEEDED girl bibs.  I got the pattern from my sister and pulled out my new and rarely used sewing machine.  I bought it in hopes to someday learn how to sew.  And I had made 2 things on it prior to this project but both times I had a highly experienced seamstress sitting right next to me the whole time.  So I pulled my machine out and got to work.  It was crazy how easy it was to make these.  The hardest part was figuring out how to do a button hole but that didn't take too long and before I knew it, I had 6 bibs!

I don't have the pattern on here, but if you read this and want it, I'd be happy to figure out how to post it and give you a tutorial.  Otherwise, enjoy the pictures!