Gift Idea - Kid's Apron

My kids love helping in the kitchen.  What kid doesn't?  So, my mother sewed up these pretty little aprons for all the girls in the family one spring.  If you look at the picture closely, you can see she even made matching aprons for each of the girls' Bitty Babies.  They were all thrilled!

These are great ideas for being in the kitchen or getting into character when playing 'house', too.  My kids pull them out all the time.  Do a quick Google search for 'kid's apron patterns' and you will have several free patterns from which to choose.  Or, head over to Joann's during one of their sales and get a pattern for $2 or less.

**Patterns used - Simplicity 3802, Simplicity 4286, Simplicity 2626

Ladybug Applique Tutorial

Well, I've been able to get a few presents put together and finished.  This bag project took me much longer than expected. {Isn't that always the way it goes, though?}  I'm very pleased with the overall outcome even if it took more time.

You want to know where I got the idea, right?  About 6 or 7 years ago, one of my sisters made a bag for me and my oldest child.  I LOVE this bag!

I get complements every time I take it out.  Unfortunately, I've had a diaper bag slung over my shoulder instead of a purse for the majority of the past 8.5 years.  That will change soon enough, though, my friends.
This is the bag she made for my oldest.

Colorful and fun - just perfect for her!

Here's the secret behind these bags.  They are made out of placemats!  Yep.  Couldn't tell, could ya?  Such an easy project.

Now, I'm not going to give you a tutorial on the bag itself, since there is a perfectly good one right here at JCaroline Creative.  I will give you a short tutorial on how I did the ladybug on the front of one bag.

**Any embellishments will need to be done before sewing the bag together if you will be using the machine.**

What you need:

*Sewing supplies - scissors, thread, sewing machine, iron and ironing board, etc.
*2 Fabric colors (mine were red and black)
*Iron-on adhesive - I used Heat n Bond lite - follow the directions that come with whichever brand you get when ironing
*Ladybug printable pattern {I apologize.  I can't remember how to put it on my website, so you will have to get it off of MediaFire.  It's 11pm and I'm tired.}

1.  Download and print off the ladybug pattern on card stock.

2.  Cut out the pattern pieces and trace them on to the paper side of your iron-on adhesive.

3.  Iron the pieces on to the corresponding fabric colors on the wrong side of the fabric.  Don't worry about cutting out the individual pieces - you will do that in the next step.

 4.  Cut out each of the pieces of your ladybug.

 5.  Peel the paper backing off the fabric.

 The shiny side will now stick to whatever you are embellishing.

 6.  Do a dry run.  Place all the patten pieces on the front of the bag (shiny side down) making sure to leave room for seams.  Also, take the time now to make a mark down the wings with an air or water soluble marker, if so desired.

 7.  Leaving the head and body pieces in place, remove the wings carefully.  Iron down both the head and body.  Place the wings back on the body and head and iron in place.

 8.  Do a dry run with the spots.  You can always leave the line off and keep all the spots whole.  However, if you choose to have overhang, now is the time to trim the spots before ironing them down. Once you have them the way you like, iron them down.

 9.  Next is the process of satin stitching around all your pieces.  Each machine is different in settings and temperament with this stitch.  I highly recommend using some scrap material to get the setting the way you like - stitch length, stitch width are both factors.  When the stitches look the way you like on the scrap switch over to your project.
Stitch in this order - antenna (starting at the head and moving out), head, body

       all spots - notice I did not stitch all the way around the spots that were trimmed.  You don't want to have a doubled up stitch.

 Lastly, you will stitch down the wings.  Start right behind the head down the center of the wings flowing all the way around.  This will give you one long continuous stitching.

There you have it!  Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quickly.  The spots are more of a challenge, but can be done.  This gives such a nice finished look to your project.

Any one, young or 'old' would be please with such a gift!

A Little Sneak Peak

I thought I would give you all a little peak at one of the finished Christmas gifts.

I'm putting a pattern and short tutorial together for the ladybug and I'll share that with you tomorrow.

Did you all know there are only 37 days left 'til Christmas?!

What Now?

Halloween is over and my life is no longer consumed with costumes and candy - well, at least the costumes are out of the picture.

Pirate, Lanie (AG), Cinderella, Dora and Special Forces

The kids had a blast and everyone was pleased with the final costume.  (A huge relief for a stressed out momma.)  The candy haul was extreme this year, too.  We have some of the most wonderful and generous neighbors!  Although, I'm trying to decide if I need to remind the kids or the husband that trash goes in the trash can.  Hmmmm........

So, now I'm on to crafting and sewing whatever I want, right?  Definitely true - to an extent.  I have Christmas on the brain and that makes it hard to think of much else.  'What about Thanksgiving?', you ask?  I really enjoy Thanksgiving, but I don't feel the need to DO anything for that holiday.  Thanksgiving is just a great time of the year in which I know I get to spend a lot of special time with family.  Christmas is family time and stress time.

Now that you all know where my mind is, you know where this blog is headed for the next couple of months.  (Really - 53 days?!)  I've got some new ideas of my own and lots of ideas rounded up from other places I'm hoping to share with you during this time.  {If you are family, don't read this for the next month or so if want to be surprised.}

I've already started.  Here's a sneak peak at one Christmas project/gift idea I'll be sharing with you all very soon.

If you haven't yet, now is a good time to like This Too! on Facebook.  I'll be on there quite a bit adding little snippets and comments (or questions!) as the time goes by.  Feel free to post any of your own links, pictures, questions and comments, too.  Just please keep it craft related and G rated.  Maybe we can help each other make it to the end of the season with our crafts all wrapped and ready to give!

Kid's Reversible Water Bottle Cozy

I did this little tutorial up for Crystal over at Fussy Monkey Business last week.  Now posted here for you crafting pleasure.

What you need:
Fabric A:
1 piece - 6" x 2"
1 piece - 6" x 2 1/2"
2 pieces - 4 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Fabric B:
1 piece - 6" x 2"
1 piece - 6" x 2 1/2"

Elastic:
1 piece - 1" wide cut 2 1/2" long

Ball Point Sewing Machine Needle  (needed later on in the tutorial)

Seam Allowance is 1/4 inch unless otherwise stated.

You will also need your usual sewing notions, iron, sewing machine, pins, ect.

Let's get started.

First things first - if you decide to do some machine embroidery to decorate your bottle cosy, you might want to do that prior to cutting your fabric.  I think this was the second time I've actually used the embroidery setting on my machine, so I am nowhere good enough to use a small piece of fabric in the hoop.  If you are doing the decorating by hand, feel free to add it whenever it is easiest for you.

Here is mine.

Once you have your pieces cut, take the 6"x2" fabric pieces of both fabric A and fabric B and iron down 1/2" on both sides (lengthwise) of both fabrics.  (Ignore the stabilizing material you see below.)

Next, pin these pieces down in the middle of your 6" x 2 1/2" pieces of contrasting fabric.  (A to B and B to A)  Do a top stitch along both lengths right at the edge of your center fabric.  If you click on the picture below, you can see mine just at the edges.

Put right sides together and stitch along one length.  Then open and press the seam to one side.

Turn your fabric over and press the ends down about 1/4".  (This will make your job easier in a couple of steps.)

Now, put right sides together (again) and stitch down the other length and turn right side out.  Go ahead and press the seams and edges under really good at this point.

Okay.  Now grab those 2 pieces of 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" fabric.  Pin them right sides together and stitch down both lengths.

Turn this right side out,  press the seams and add a top stitch down the seams for a little decoration and to help it stay looking nice.

Now is the time to change your machine needle to a Ball Point Needle.  If you don't, you could end up with some really hairy looking stitching on your bobbin side.  Not Pretty!

Take your little piece of elastic and stick it in the middle of the little tube you just created.  Line it up with one end and place it in the middle.  Stitch this end closed making sure you stitch through the elastic.

Flip it around and do the same thing on the other end.  (The fabric will need to be scrunched down.)

Now, slip one end of your fabric covered elastic piece (until the seam is covered) and stitch it in place.  This is a lot of fabric to put through the machine, so take your time and work it through.  

 Once that is done, stitch the other end just like the first.  It's a tight fit, so once again, take your time.

And there you have it!  One bottle cozy to put on your little one's water for snack time or lunch.  Now no one will be able to say they don't know who that bottle belongs to!

And don't forget, we made it reversible!

Hope you all have enjoyed this.  If you have ANY questions, please feel free to email me.

Once again - Thank you, Crystal, for letting me crash your blog!  And to all you readers out there, come on over and have a look around This Too!.  I would love to have you!

The Original Scrapbox

Have you seen this before?  I stumbled upon The Original Scrapbox about 2 weeks ago, and I find myself going back to it time and time again to drool over all the products.  When you click on the link above, you will get to see a short video.  The Original Scrap Box is a scrapbooking storage system with fold out table and cabinets for the home.  (Yep, you read that right.  A table!).  It offers shelving, racks, carry totes, ribbon boxes and drawers.... I mean, could it get any better?!

It blows my mind!  Of course, I look at it and think how much cleaner my craft room would look.  I think this is the one ...



Although, this one looks really nice, too.



Both of those are The Workbox, just in different finishes.  See all the bins and pouches inside the cabinet?  It comes with 81 canvas totes in various sizes and 20 clear zippered pouches!  No extra buying.

Of course, in my mind, I would also 'need' this -

All the totes and pouches are included with this one as well.

There are other products available. Like this.

The CraftBox: Vanilla Raised Panel Craft Storage Furniture

Or this.

The EZ View: White Craft Desk Craft Storage Furniture

There's even a Sewing Box for those of us who sew.  And a Paper Tower for storing, you guessed it, paper.  Although, I think the Paper Tower would also work well for  storing a stash of material.  Or both- I'm equal opportunity.

There are several different accessories available, as well.

I'll give you one more piece of information... Shipping is FREE in the continental USA on several of the products.

Okay..... pick your chin up off your lap and wipe away the drool.  :)  One of these days I'll be posting a picture of my craft room all nicely organized featuring one of these amazing cabinets.  Until then, I'll keep going back to the site trying to decide which finish would look best in my home.

Infant Car Seat Canopy

Here is a copy of the guest post I did for Sawdust and Paperscraps.  I wanted to have a copy here so everyone could find it easily.  Enjoy!

This project all started when I stumbled across the site www.eletent.com while looking for baby gift ideas.  I have this awful, incurable disease that makes me think I can make just about anything I could buy.  This time was no exception.  Here is one of the covers I've been able to make and it really was easy!

What you will need:

Sewing machine

1 ½ yard of  main material (fabric A)

1 ½ yard of contrasting material (fabric B)

Sewable Velcro

Thread

Straight pins

Scissors

Water or air soluble fabric marker

Tape measurer

Straight edge

Embellishments (large buttons, ribbon, fabric for yoyo’s, ect.)

Not necessary, but nice to have:

Rotary mat

Rotary ruler

Rotary cutter

Serger and thread

Let’s get started.

Main Body of Project: 

Working with your main fabric (fabric A), first, lay it out in front of you and decide how you want the finished cover to look.  The cover will be roughly 34” wide x 42” long.  Does the material have a distinct pattern to it or does it not matter?  (Mine has a cute bird pattern to it and I wanted to make sure this was running vertical and straight.)

Lay the material wrong side up.  Now fold over one side (the length) 19 inches.  Smooth it all out and make sure it is straight.

At this point, we need to get our rectangle drawn out.  A straight edge is needed for this and a rotary ruler really comes in handy.  Measure 17” from the fold at the top of your material and several points down the length of the fabric making marks with your water/air soluble marker.  The total length will be 42”, so keep making your marks down your fabric until you get there.  Connect the dots once you have all your marks in place and make sure everything is square – top and bottom.

Now to make the rounded corners at the top and bottom. 

At the top, measure from the corner you drew back toward the fold 10” and make a mark.  From the same corner, measure down 10” and make a mark.  You will now free hand a rounded edge between these two marks.

The bottom needs a rounded edge as well.  It’s the same process, just a slight difference in the measurements.  From the bottom corner, measure back toward the fold 10” and make a mark.  Again, from the bottom corner, measure up 14” along the line you made and make a mark.  Now start free handing your curve to connect the marks you just made.

Pin along the lines you’ve drawn on your fabric to keep it from shifting while cutting.  Now cut and you should end up with this.

We’re now going to mark the locations of the straps.

Measure down 18 ½” along the fold and make a mark with your fabric pen.  From this mark, measure over 3” and 5 ½ “ marking each place.  Draw a line connecting these two marks.

Repeat on the other side of the fold.

Okay.  Remember that yard and a half of contrasting fabric (Fabric B)?  Now’s the time to get that out.  Lay it out just like you did the main fabric A:  wrong side up, fold over roughly 19” and smooth out.  We are going to use the piece we already measured and cut from Fabric A as our pattern for cutting Fabric B.  Line up the folds of both fabrics and smooth Fabric A (the pattern piece) over Fabric B.  Pin Fabric A in place.

Now cut.

Unpin everything and separate Fabric A from Fabric B. 

Lay Fabric B out on a flat surface wrong side up.  Lay Fabric A right side up on top of Fabric B making a sort of material sandwich.

Get your pins ready for this next step.  Starting in the center and working your way out to the edges you are going to pin and smooth, pin and smooth, and pin and smooth until you have used up every last pin you own.  (At least it ‘s going to feel like that by the end of this step.)  Ideally, your two pieces of material should match up perfectly.  Do a quick check around the edges just to make sure this is the case.  If not, re-pin in that area or, worst-case scenario, get the scissors out and do a little trimming.  Set this aside for a few minutes.

We are now moving on to the straps that will hold the cover in place on the car seat handle.

From your leftover fabric of both A and B, you will need to cut 2 – 3” x 7 ½” rectangles (giving you a total of 4 rectangles).  This is another time the Rotary tools will come in handy, but you can definitely get by without them.

Place one Fabric A and one Fabric B right sides together and stitch a ¼” seam around it leaving a small opening to turn.  Trim your corners and turn.  After you have turned the strap right side out, topstitch around the edges.  Make sure you close the turn opening as you go.

Next comes the Velcro.  I just eyeballed the length I needed by holding it across the end of each strap and then cutting.   You will need to decide at this point if you want to have the contrasting material showing or if you want the main fabric showing on the straps.  This is just a matter of personal preference.  Once you decide this, the Velcro can be attached to the straps. 

For some reason, having the ‘hook’ side on the top and the ‘loop’ side on the bottom makes more sense to me.  (Fabric A will be showing on mine with Fabric B on the inside.)  Once again there isn’t really a right or wrong on this.  **Do remember, though!  You have to have one on the front and one on the back for the straps to work right.** Play around with it a little and get a feel for how the straps will attach.  That should give you a better idea of how you want it to work.

Now to mark the straps for attaching them to the cover.  Here is a lovely hand drawn diagram to show you where to make your marks.  (Heavy sarcasm, but you get the idea.)

Do this on both front and back of both straps.

The top line on the straps will be your guide for placement on the cover.  Remember those lines we drew on the cover 18 ½” down the middle and 3” over?  Find both of those lines and match up the top line on each strap.  Pin the straps in place making sure they are both straight.  (Wonky straps just won’t do!) 

Now, sew the straps in place.

Finishing:

There are several ways one of these covers can be finished.  I chose to do a rolled hem on mine, but I realize not everyone has a serger available.

Here are a couple of other ideas. 

Use bias tape around the edge.  This will give a very polished look to the cover.  You can make your own or purchase some at a fabric store like Joann’s or Hobby Lobby.  If you choose to make your own, just remember to purchase enough fabric to accomplish this.

Another idea is to sew the cover right-sides-together leaving a hole for turning and then topstitching around the edges.  This would be a change at the beginning of the whole process, so one would have to make the decision early.

Embellishments:

This is always the most fun part of a project for me, and sometimes the most agonizing part as well.  Here are two examples of what I’ve done to give the straps a more finished look.

Fabric circle + fabric yoyo + large button

Simple grosgrain ribbon bow with button

Nothing too complicated, but both add a little something to finish it all off.

Whew!  I think that’s it!

Good luck! And if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.