11.30.2012

Burp cloths

This is one of the crafts that I have been super excited to show you.When I first starting having kids I was given the jellybean shaped burp cloths. I love them. So much cuter than the plain white cloth diapers. When I had my little girl I found some really cute fabric and sent it to my sister to sew them for me, because lets be honest. . . I can barely sew a straight line. :) That being said, when I had my second little boy I wanted to try to make a more masculine looking burp cloth. I figured a rectangle was as simple as it was going to get.
Now depending on how many burp cloths you want to make is how much fabric you will end up needing. A 1/2 yard of each color(side) will give you 4 burp cloths. Depending on the size you choose to cut out.
Step one: Cut out fabric in a rectangle.
Step two: Take one of the sides from one color, and one of the sides from the other color line them up and pin them together with the fronts of the fabric touching.
Step three: Sew around the edge leaving a gap to be able to turn the burp cloth right side out.
Step four: Clip edges, this will give you a perfect corner when you turn the burp cloth right side out.
Step five: Turn right side out.
Step six: Iron. Make sure to fold in the gap that you left open.
Step seven: Find a decorative stitch, or not if that is not your cup of tea. Stitch around the edge making sure you get the gap tacked down.
Step eight: Bask in your awesomeness!
I love these burp cloths. I have made so many of these. They are great baby shower gifts, and so so easy to throw together.
The burp cloths below I made for the Festival of Trees. If you notice, the inside is not the same flannel material. . .it is terry cloth instead. That wonderful idea came from my little sister who made me some burp cloths like this. It is all preference. I feel like both types soak up dribbles, and fountains alike. The burp cloths with the terry cloth did turn out a bit thicker, so like I said it is all preference. I love the purple and white mix. So pretty.

11.28.2012

Pizza Factory Bread Twists

 Umm, are you serious? That was the exact thought I had when I saw this on Pinterest. I love these. I had to try it out right away. 
Here is the link to the recipe
Here is my verdict: Amazing!!!!!
I made the dough from scratch instead of using rhodes dough, I think it definitely made it taste more authentic. I made the whole batch, but ended up freezing half the dough. It was too much for one dinner. I didn't have rosemary so I just omitted it, and it wasn't really missed. I could see how it would make it that much better though. I used wooden dowels that I had in my craft stuff that I had never used. They needed to be seasoned with oil or something because once you got to the bread on the stick it smelled a lot like wood. :/ The dough is really sticky, but still pretty good to work with. The bread twists were a huge kit with the kids, and we will have them many more times I am sure.

11.26.2012

Tutu making

Sorry for the break in posts. What a great holiday. I hope yours was just as wonderful. Now back to business.
I love making tutus. I made my first tutu 3 years ago for my little girl. I wanted to buy her one, but couldn't afford the boutique prices. That is when I turned to YouTube. The tutorial I found used ribbon instead of elastic, but I wanted something really durable. Tutus are seriously so easy. I made this tutu for my niece.
I started out by cutting multiple strips of tulle. I like to use the spools of tulle as opposed to the tulle by the yard. The length is completely up to you, as well as the colors.
Step one: Measure waist with elastic. You will want to make sure it is a snug fit. Once you add all the tulle the elastic will stretch out a little.
Step two: Sew elastic together. I used a zigzag stitch.
Step three: Stretch elastic over chair, this is just for ease of tying on the tulle.
Step four: Tie on tulle. I couldn't really get a picture of this step. Essentially you tie two knots. One knot like normal with the ends ending up horizontal. The second knot bring the ends up vertically instead of horizontally, this will make the tulle poof more.
Step five: Continue tying until all of the elastic is covered. Ta-da! You have a tutu!
I also made her a wand. I will post that tutorial soon.

11.12.2012

DIY notebooks

who knew that this. . .
 could become this. . .
I needed to come up with items to donate to sell at the Festival of Trees. Once I got started I could not help myself. These are A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E, and so easy to make.
I cut out scrapbook paper to fit the cover, and then added embellishments. I ended up using spray adhesive to attach the paper. I was worried that double stick tape wasn't going to hold tight. Make sure that you spray mist the scrapbook paper. .not the notebook otherwise the pages will stick together. I also covered the inside cover with card stock. .the conversion charts weren't cute. . .  :) It is really that easy. Plus if you don't want to make them you can just go buy them at the Festival of Trees. :)




11.10.2012

Wood cutouts

I struggle with what to put above my cupboards. I do not like a lot of clutter, and knick-knacks are not my thing. So when I found these letters I thought I would give them a shot.
I started by placing the 'O' face down on a piece of scrapbook paper, traced it, and then cut it out. Next I sanded the wood letters just to rub off any rough edges. Then I painted every side except the front. I painted my brown(it just looks like a shadow.) Once the letters were completely dry. I painted the front part of the letters, except for the 'O'. While the letters were drying I added the paper to the 'O'. I sprayed it with adhesive, and then put the paper on the wood. Then I took my modge podge and covered it pretty well. Make sure to get the edges so that they don't peel up. then I went back to the other letters and painted over them with a crackle paint. Note: when you use the crackle paint only do one coat. Just trust me on this one. :) After everything was dry I added a few ribbons to the 'O' and wholla.. done. The plants I added a little later. I got them at Ikea. Such a great find, and only $6!!!

11.09.2012

Wall art part 1

Confession #33 I based this whole bathroom off of this one scrapbook paper.
I couldn't resist. It is so cute. I wanted to paint the bathroom green, but my kids were set on blue. I just framed the 12x12 scrapbook paper and cut out the vinyl on my cricut.
I need some wall art to match the scrapbook paper picture, so I used some more of the same paper, just in a different way. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some wooden plaques, painted them, and then modge podged the scrapbook paper on them.
I think if i did it again, I would use more plaques, or find bigger ones. They are pretty small compared to the large wall they are on. Still a really fun project.

11.08.2012

Sign revamp

My sweet sister-in-law gave this sign to me about six years ago. I loved it. It matched our decor perfectly. It was proudly displayed in each of our houses(we moved around a lot.)

Well about three years ago my husband and I bought our first house, and were lucky enough to be able to paint, and buy all new furniture. Which sadly meant the sign would no longer match. Not wanting to stick the sign in the attic I revamped it. I had to take the letters off the old sign, and sand it down. Then I painted it, and cut out new letters.
I love how it turned out, and that I was able to, in a way, have the same sign that my sister gave me. :)

11.07.2012

Fall wreath

This wreath was a lot of fun to make. I made it last year and have gotten a lot of compliments on it. I wanted something different than I had ever seen before, and so I went with a square wreath. . it's actually more rectangle. I used some foam from the kitchen table box that we have just bought and used gorilla glue for foam. It took a little bit of patience, since the glue takes time to dry, but eventually it did, and I could start with the leaves.
I painted the foam black so that the white foam didn't stick out like a sore thumb, then I got leaves from the dollar store. I think I bought three packs just to be safe, and I think I ended up using just two. I used hot glue to glue the leaves on. Then I hung it on my door. Super easy. The one major flaw is that it is made out of super lightweight foam, so last year after a windy storm my wreath was in pieces. Lucky I had the foam glue, and glued it right back together. This year's weather has been super mild so I haven't had to worry about it too much. Well worth it though.
 




11.05.2012

Screen printing

This is probably the easiest, fastest, and most permanent way to make your own t-shirts.
Step 1: Cut out image on freezer paper. Make sure image is flipped.
Step 2: Iron on freezer paper to shirt.
Step 3: Place a piece of cardboard/paper/plastic bag in shirt. It keeps the surface flat, and makes sure that none of the paint bleeds through.
Step 4: Mix paint with paint medium to make paint permanent.
Step 5: Paint
Step 6: The hardest step for me. LET IT DRY!!! Seriously, let it dry all the way. It will turn out so much better, and you will be able to tell if there are any spots that you may have missed.
Step 7: Place towel over paint, and iron. The heat will set the paint.
Step 8: Remove freezer paper.

It is just that easy. This is just one way. It is my go to method, because of how it looks and how permanent it is. You can use puff paints, iron-on transfers, heat transfer vinyl. . the possibilities are endless.
Made for my sister

back of t-shirt

Announcing our last baby to extended fam

Announcing our last baby to our ward friends at Halloween

This years Halloween costume

*One shirt not shown is a Green Bay Packers shirt I made for my son. Sadly I never took a picture of it, and now it is a pajama shirt. It was so cool.

11.03.2012

Handmade cards

These are just a few cards that I made, back when I remembered to take a picture of the card after I made it. A few of the cards I used translucent paper. It is a lot of fun to work with and the ideas are endless, it is pretty pricey but if you find a coupon it is not too bad. I also used a lot of rubber stamps. I either used ink, or ink and embossing powder. More cards to come

11.02.2012

Too many pictures. . .

Are there really ever too many pictures?! For me, no. However when it comes to scrapbooking them too many pictures can become a problem. I came across this problem when I did my first digital scrapbook. My solution. . . a collage. I know that collages have been around for a million years, but I had never seen it done quite like this, and in a scrapbook. It definitely wasn't a time saver at all. It took me forever to fit all the pictures in the right way so that I didn't have any gaps. However it turns out great, and I use it in all my scrapbooks.