mother's day gift ideas that i love

here are some really cute craft ideas that would make wonderful Mother's Day gifts. Ooooooo so cute stuff!! this is why i love crafting *sigh*.

Sewing Machine Cover by Sparkle Power

Fingerprint Pendant by The Crafty Crow

The Flower Ring by V and Co

Sewn Stash Baskets by Purl Bee

i would love to have any one of these things...HINT HINT! hopefully my hubby is reading this :)

Back To The Basics: How to Make a Pillow

I decided to go back to the basics and show you how to make a pillow. Yeap thats right a pillow! There are a lot of new sewers out there who just want to learn the basics and create something simple but pretty. No refashioning and no complicated stuff just something nice for someone or even for yourself:)

Materials:
- two pieces of fabric any size you want the pillow
-poly-fil (you can buy this at any craft store)
- any color floss you would like (optional)
-embroidery needle (optional)
-sewing machine
-scissors
-needle (optional)
seam allowance : 1/4"

1. Optional: if you would like to embroider a name for this pillow, do this before you do anything else. I used a pencil to write what I wanted then I used all six strands of floss and did a basic backstitch. Here is a good tutorial how to do a backstitch.




2. Next, take your two pieces of fabric and have the pieces right sides facing.

3. Pin both pieces together that way your two fabric pieces stay together when you start sewing.

4. Now go ahead and sew around the pillow using a 1/4 seam allowance. Make sure to leave an opening.

5. Now turn your pillow right side out and stuff your pillow with the poly-fil.


6. You can either hand sew your pillow closed or using your sewing machine :) VIOLA!


I hope you enjoyed this back to the basics post. If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment. Don't be shy if you are new at sewing. I am still new at it and I learn something new all the time.

Creative Vibes To You,

Fairy Garden

Austin's friend, Miles, had a birthday two weeks ago and our family was trying really hard to think of something to make him. Between my family and Miles' we always give each other handmade things. It's this unspoken rule we have between us. The crafts that have been created have been amazing.

So since Miles has a new imaginary fairy friend in his life and she is really special to him, we decided to make him a fairy garden. A special place where his fairy friend can live.

This fairy garden was inspired by The Magic Onion blog where she tells you how to make all this cute fairy stuff :) It was such a great way to include my kids and husband in the crafting. We all had so much fun and gave each other a pat on the back on how well it turned out.

side note: I didn't take enough pictures of the process so sorry. I got caught up in making the garden and the last picture of the final project is through my phone :( so these pictures don't give it any justice.

The start of the project

Austin helping me get all the dirt in the pot

The construction of the house

The Fairy Garden included a house, a table, chair, a pond made out of coconut, and a clothing line (we put some of my fabric scraps on the clothing line). It has a real garden that we planted seeds and in this picture you can see them sprouting :) Oh and she has a bed in the house too!

The Easiest Little Hat

Bella hate hats, and she especially hated the one I made her wear.  It straped under her chin and was just a little too bg so when she turned her head one of her eyes was covered.  I know - Poor neglected child!  Well something had to be done (actually I just misplaced her hat so...=)

I had some white chenille yarn in my stash and had recently seen this post from The Sewing Dork or I decided to give it a go.  You have to understand the only thing I have ever crocheted was a rug and most things that I start with yard end up on the needle for a couple of years and then pulled out and rewrapped into a ball.  All that to say this is SO SIMPLE.

I modified the Sewing Dork's pattern a little for a faster result=)

Here's how it goes...

1.  Make a slip knot and chain 6 and then form a circle with the chain by making a slip stitch into your first chain.  This will be the tight center circle of your hat.

2. From here on out it is super simple.  Crochet two new double stitches into each existing stitch.  So you go from 6 stitches in the first circle to 12 in the next.  From here it is adding stitches by feel.  The weight of your material and the size of your stitches will determine how many stitches will be in each of the next circles. For the first few circles  I crochet two new double stitches into each existing stitch.  Then I start to do every other then ever 5...you will get the feel of it.

3.  Then I just keep going round and round until my piece covers the top of her head.  From the point I stop increasing.  Just crochet until the hat is long enough.  Ta-da.  It may sound complicated if you have never crocheted but it really easy!  I suggest finding a friend who can show you - Thanks Mrs. Carol! - or a good youtube video.

You can leave your hat as is or add some embellishments.  Tomorrow I will  introduce you to one of the coolest sewing tools ever that I used to embellish my niece's hat!  I know you can barely contain your excitement=)

A revised version of the tissue box toy

Remember this awesome toy that I raved about?  Well, my little munchkin showed it a little too much love=)  And tissue boxes aren't that sturdy anyway so I had to come up with a solution.

So I took this box that my husband saved from the trash and taped up the opening.

Then I flipped it over on its side and cut out an oval opening.

Then I covered it with stash fabric and hot glued it down. I cut the material in little tabs around the opening, put dabs of hot glue on ans pressed them under the rim.  Per usual I got more hot glue on my fingers than the box. grr!

This box is much sturdier!  In fact I accidentally stepped on it this morning and no damage done!

Make your life beautiful!

Puffy Pouch at Pink Penguin

Saw this tutorial at Pink Penguin and its definitely on my to do list.  It's super cute and a great purse for the spring :).    I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!  We are finally feeling better at my house!!

Fabric Travel High Chair

Inspired by This Mama Make Stuff, I made this nifty little portable high chair for Bella. It was pretty simple with only three rectangles to fit together. And while it isn't escape-proof (don't turn away from them or they may wiggle out- not that I would know=p) it is great to keep in the diaper bag for those times a high chair isn't around. It would make a great baby shower gift as well. The very easy to understand tutorial can be found here. The only thing I would suggest is making the strap that goes around the baby a little longer to accommodate chairs with wider backs.


Make your life beautiful!

The Best Baby Toy in the World

It doesn't get much easier than this. No sewing and in a matter of minutes you have an awesome toy that doesn't get old and has great practical value!

I have a cold right now and there is a tissue box next to the bed within arms reach of Bella. I often turn around and find her with the box between her feet and the tissues spread all around. So, I gave her her own tissue box. With cloth tissues. She will sit there for at least 20 minutes pulling the tissues out and handing them to me or putting them next to her. Then I just gather them all up and put them back in the box for round two! This is great because we use them as tissues as well - one less thing in our house that is disposable!

I gifted these to one of my nieces who loves to play with tissues and also for a sister who doesn't use disposable...well...anything=) Great for the environment, your wallet and a super easy gift!

Materials:
- 1 empty tissue box
- cloth for tissues - I used fun animal/fish/bug prints that I got for free and didn't see myself using for anything else. They are all hues of green and ended up looking really nice in the green striped tissue box. However, next time I might use flannel to make it a little softer for noses.
- pinking shears (or the willingness to hem each cloth)

1. Cut your cloth into squares (the size is completely up to you I just used a tissue as a rough guide)
2. Put into the tissue box

Told you it was easy=)

Make your life beautiful,

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words

The suitcase by Melissa W. (The Blogger)

The Pho-Tak by Nicole E. (The Sister)

The Vintage Fabric by Christina P. (The 89 year old Great Aunt)

The Apron by Katie R. (The Friend)

Finally Something for my Husband!

Sorry we were missing for a few days!  Both Les and I had sickness running rampant in our houses.  But we are back!  I can hear you all cheering... oh, no that's the radio...oh well.

My poor husband! He puts up with so much for my crafting obsession but rarely benefits.  Well today I rectified that.  He is outside most of the day and doesn't really like wearing a big ol' scarf around his neck.  So, I made him a fleece neck warmer.  It couldn't have been simpler (shh, don't tell him!)  It probably took close to 20 minutes, and that was while Bella was awake.  So here is is:

    1.  Cut a piece of fleece 22x20 (making sure the stretch is along the 22 inch length)


 
 
  2.  Fold cloth in half (right sides together) so it measures 10 x 22. Sew along the long edge to form a tube.

  3.  Turn the tube in on itself so the right sides are together.(this step is hard to explain in words and my  drawing is really bad.  You are basically taking the tube and making a tube half the size)
    4.  Sew around the circle leaving a opening to turn.  Only sew two layers together - not all four.  That would leave you with no hole for the head!

  5.  Turn and hand stitch opening closed.

Sorry that I didn't take step by step pictures.  If you have any questions let me know.

Tada!  That should hold him over for a few months=)

Make your life beautiful!

Granny slippers to 50's hot mamma slipper tutorial

A few weeks ago I saw a tutorial for granny-to-chic slippers at one of my favorite blogs Ruffles and Stuff. So yesterday I found these slippers...


at Target for $2.50! I liked them but didn't love them. So, with Disney's slippers as my inspiration, I transformed my own granny slippers into, what my husband calls...

50's hot mamma slippers!

The how-to is below. It is so simple and took less than an hour.

What you need:
1 pair of slippers
1 strip of material 14 x 1 1/4 ( I made a small cut and then ripped my material to get that frayed look)
tulle
needle and thread
coordinating button

1. Remove the bow that does not match at all.

2. Thread needle along one edge of the strip of material. Hold the end and pull to scrunch the edges and then curve to form a flower. *I'm sorry it's out of focus but it was hurry and post during nap time or never post at all=)*

3. Sew flower unto the slipper.

4. Cut two tulle circles -1 the size of the finished flower and 1 slightly smaller
5. Center the tulle on the flower and attach with needle and thread. The tulle is hard to see in the final picture but it adds depth and looks a lot better that just the flower.
6. Sew on button.
7. Enjoy cleaning and lounging around your house in fabulous slippers!

Make your life beautiful!