Ta da! Baby shoes.

My sister and I had a little shoe-making party the other night. She made a pair for her baby and I made a pair for a friend who is going to pop any day now. Stardust Shoes offers a relatively easy tutorial for these cuties. I'm not going to lay out all the steps because, well, it isn't my tutorial. :) We didn't have all the fancy materials she recommended, so we just used a heavy canvas for the soles and we interlined the soles with some lightweight flannel for extra coziness. We also didn't have the same fusible interfacing used in the tutorial, so we just used some medium weight double-sided fusible interfacing instead. I would recommend getting the lightweight stuff in the tutorial. But the shoes still turned out really cute!

We used my mom's workroom as our common sewing ground. Did I mention my mom has a professional drapery workroom? She's an amazing seamstress (a sample valence is behind me in this picture), and has had her work appear in multiple magazines, and my friend (her employee) even found something she made (or maybe my friend made it??) in an ad for Norwood Furniture. Anyway, a big sewing room like this comes in handy... Her scrap piles are my best friends.

Her tables are well-used :)

I decided to add some embellishment to my shoe and added a black velvet ribbon to the top part before it was assembled.

You really do have to be careful when sewing around all those curves, especially because it is such a small item you are sewing. A careful curve will result in a really nice toe and heel on your shoe.

We finished the seams with pinking shears, but if you have a serger nearby (or one not already threaded with khaki thread for tomorrow's drapery job) I would serge the edges for a more finished look. You would have to cut teeth into the curves so they won't bunch up and all that, but it would look great.

Here are my finished shoes! It was really fun to make, and didn't take a whole lot of fabric. I just purchased a quarter yard of this cute pink print and it barely made a dent in my find when I cut out the pieces. I could make a few more pairs out of that quarter yard!

I hope my friend likes the shoes!

Pretty Pillow

I found a set of 4 dinner napkins on clearance for $4-something at Target the other day and knew exactly what to do with them... since we don't use fabric napkins at this point in our lives :). I tossed them greedily into my cart thinking- They would make great pillows!

I also had some SUPER MEGA cute fabric I got at Hobby Lobby with every intention of making an apron but it was too cute for that. I didn't want people wiping their hands on the fabric. What cruelty. This would be a great applique though!

I chose this print, by Brother and Sister Design Studio. The napkins are 20x20, so I wanted my applique to be large and to have a large print on it as well. The fabric has little butterflies intermingled with the Japanese-style foliage, so I picked that motif to be my applique.

I eye-balled the butterfly on the fabric and tried to draw a large replica. Not bad! And here is where prep work is done and the assembly begins.

1. Trace your applique design onto the paper side of double-sided Heat-n-Bond type stuff. My design didn't matter which way I traced it because it was symetrical. Symmetry makes me smile.

2. Then iron the fusible stuff to your fabric. This is SUCH a COMPLICATED step. Just kidding, it is hard to mess this up :). I wanted to make sure I included some of those little butterflies to my big butterfly, so I did have to think about it a little bit.

3. Cut out the applique design. Leave the paper backing on after you cut it out :). I decided I wasn't going to embroider around the edge of the design so I did put Fray-Check on the edges at this point as well.

4. Position the applique design on the napkin wherever you think it looks best. Since my design is a butterfly, I wanted it to feel as though it was in flight or something existential like that. That is why it is crooked and in the corner.

It was also here that I noticed little spots on my only ironed napkin- what the??? All these Utah curse words went through my mind like "FRICK!" and "Oh Mylanta!" and "oh SNAP!!" I was bummed. I don't know what the spots were, I couldn't get them out with anything I tried. I didn't try ironing another napkin though... pure laziness. Oh well. Life is hard. Spots happen.

5. Peel off the paper backing and iron your applique design to the napkin.

6. I wanted my butterfly to have some antennae so I busted out my embroidery hoop and some brown embroidery floss. Brown? There are brown flowers. Matchy-matchy.

I just did a simple back-stitch and topped it off with a french knot. I thought it was perfect.

7. Get another napkin ready! It is time to make it a pillow. I liked the little edging on my napkins so I decided to sew the pieces wrong-sides together. Pin the napkins together so it doesn't scoot around on you and make you get acquainted with your seam ripper. I just sewed really close to the stitching already in the napkin.

Leave the bottom of your pillow open so you can stuff it with something. Please, may I suggest a pillow form you can buy at fabric stores all over. It will just look nicer and last longer than stuffing it with poly-fill craft stuffing. Blech. When you've wrestled your pillow form inside, blind-stitch it closed.

Since I was doing this during the munchkin's nap, I didn't have a pillow form. So I didn't close it. Obviously. Please, use your imagination for the next picture :)

Ta da!!

I was really pleased with the outcome, and I have two more napkins left over. I might do another pillow with two smaller butterflies flittering around on it, or maybe I'll applique the butterfly onto each napkin and then put them in frames. That would be pretty too. Anyway, I'll eventually put a picture of this in its stuffed form!

This was super fun. I hope you can re-purpose some napkins too!

Baby shoes

Picture from http://stardustshoes.blogspot.com/

I showed my sister this tutorial for cloth baby shoes, and she has been keeping me updated. Her first "practice" shoe took about an hour, and the second took 20 minutes. Unfortunately, she made two right shoes, so she'll have to try another :). I am thinking I'll try and make a pair, but try to alter the pattern so they look more like this:

From This Etsy Shop

If I ever get around to it, I'll let you know! My mind is a bit preoccupied with a nasty thrift store chair we got this week that is calling to me to be recovered. I am thinking of using Jessica Jones' Green Sprig pattern in her Modern Flora collection. Despite the fact that it doesn't match anything else in our apartment (yet) I am highly drawn to it. It makes me want to redecorate. Our Master Bedroom bedding and drapes are freebies from a project my mom did a long time ago that was going to be tossed. Since I didn't have bedding, I took it. My hubby doesn't love the purple/pink theme. Wonder why?

I'll post the pictures as this project progresses. Peachy!

Kid step-stool How To

My little girl is getting potty trained right now, and one of the steps involved is getting her to wash her hands after she uses her little toilet. Because the sink is too high up, I decided to get her a stool. The cheapest one I could find (remember, I'm cheap :)) had a Precious Moments graphic on it, and since that isn't exactly how I wanted to decorate, I decided to pull out my handy Mod Podge and give it a face lift.

1. Raid your paper stash and see if you have a piece you really like. I happened to find one that coordinated with the shower curtain really well. Good thing, because I wasn't about to go to the store with my munchkin to find a single piece of paper.

2. Trace the top of your stool onto the BACK SIDE of your paper. Trace as close as you can! This picture makes me laugh because I was trying to trace left-handed while I took the picture with my right hand. It feels so backward. Then cut out the traced image.

3. Set the paper aside for a second and give your stool a good rub-down with a super fine piece of sandpaper. I had a sandpaper block thingy, and it worked really well.

4. Wipe down your top and get it nice a dry, then apply a layer of Mod Podge. I was using the only size sponge brush I could find... give me a break. It did take forever though. After the Mod Podge is on, carefully place your cut-out paper on the Mod Podge and gently smooth out any bubbles. Keep an eye on it because it will try to bubble up as the paper gets moist.

5. To speed up the drying process, find the tiny bit of sun that reaches your apartment balcony and place the stool there. Or, just wait a while for it to dry.

6. Bring it back inside and let your 2-year old munchkin with a chocolate face have a go at the Mod Podging. I had a window open because it can be pretty potent and you don't want your kiddos to get high on fumes :). Just put a layer of Mod Podge on the top of the paper, being sure to keep your strokes in the same direction. It will be visible and just looks better that way. Then repeat when layer 1 is done drying.

7. When all the Mod Podge is dry, go ahead and admire your handiwork. And pat yourself on the back that you found good paper for the top.

8. Ignore the fact that the apartment has carpet in the bathrooms.

Now isn't that cute?And totally effective. Fun, easy, and it cost me $7-something. Oh yeah, baby.

I'M GONNA BE A HIT

I love Schlosser Designs. I am in a loving mood lately, seeing as Valentine's Day is coming up. But I especially love that Schlosser Designs is helping us show the love this holiday. Here is my dream valentine for all those people I love but am too cheap to by flowers and Sees Candies for.


Honestly, have you ever seen a valentine so clever and sweet? This image, straight from Erin's website, makes me love this holiday even more.
Even luckier, she has a FREE PDF for you do make this YOURSELF! Just some Hershey's Treasures, Avery mailing labels, a little sparkly stuff, and voila- you are going to be a hit.
I don't have a cute tin like this but hey, what about a decorative paper bag with cute ribbon and a card using her PDF designs... the possibilities are endless with this creative guru. Check her out. Seriously. You'll have a new crush.

Wow that was easy!

(Picture from http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/)

I was going through my mom's buttons yesterday trying to find something for my little one's dress (nothing matched, but I got some at the store later- no worries!), and I found some 1/2 inch Cover buttons. You know, those buttons you can cover with fabric. I knew just the creative craft to do with them, since I had a pack of thumbtacks at home just smaller than these buttons!

So, using the tutorial from How About Orange, I whipped out 10 of these babies in no time. I only had ten buttons in the pack, so that was what I was limited to. At the bottom her tutorial, she mentions that you can get flat-backed cover buttons at JCaroline Creative. And more than 10. :) This would have been my prefrence but hey, when the mom gives you free buttons, you don't complain. Thanks, mom.

I took some pictures, but my camera has been on the fritz lately- probably because I want it to do more than it actually can as a point-and-shoot. Ah, well. You'll have to settle for the lovely photography done by Jessica Jones herself.

Go out and buy a pack of tacks (I found a pack at WalMart for 88 cents or something like that) and get some cover buttons! Bulletin boards will never be the same again. Trust me.

And for the quilt-makers amongst us? Well, I'm not a quilt maker but whatever... all those quarter-sized scraps laying around? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!! Awesome. Nothing wasted.

I loved this little craft. Loved it. Please, I encourage you to fall in love as well.

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Bored? Sew something.

The other day I had nothing to do- the dishes were done, the laundry was done, the rooms were clean. It was amazing. My little girl just went down for a nap, so I had plenty of time on my hands! I just rummaged through my pile of "stuff to do" and ended up with enough fabric and time for a new dress/jumper for my little girl. All I need is buttons to hold the jumper up, and it's done! That would, of course, require a car... I ought to work on convincing the husband I need the car for a very, very important reason.

Crafting? Very important.

In fact, the husband was vying for my attention and wasn't getting it (so he was just being plain ANNOYING). He asked what he could do to get my attention and I told him to be crafty. He pulled out a sheet of paper, some scissors, and got cutting.

He ended up with a strange-looking folded piece of paper with a heart shape cut into it- kind of like a folded snowflake... and when I opened it up, it looked like a big pair of lips. Not bad, for a beginner.

So I gave in and sat next to him on the couch instead of craft-blog surfing.

I kept the paper :)