T Shirt Tuesday: T Shirt Totes

Hold onto your hats folks... this is the easiest project ever!

These cute T shirt totes have been all over the blog land for a while and I finally got around to making some... So here they are. We are talking 5 minutes worth of work and total cuteness.

Gather your supplies because this is a quick ride!

Old Shirt

Pins (completely optional)

Scissors or rotary cutter or both (unless you are a savage beast and can rip knit...)

Dinner plate (or sharp eyeballing it technique)

Sewing machine and thread

Step 1: Cut the sleeves off of your T shirt. I know what you are thinking... this looks a little, well, how do I say this... "redneck." Please don't be offended. I hemmed and hawed about what term to use here and then realized that this is part of who I am, where I'm from and what I am proud of. This is a style my brother Jim (love you...) is completely comfortable sporting, and I can show you how to jazz it up next week...

Step 2: Use the dinner plate as a guide to cut a large half circle out of the neck line. Eyeballers, this is your moment to shine! You can go ahead and "eyeball it." (I love to think I can eyeball it. I should attach several images of projects that prove that I have no eyeball ability whatsoever.)

Step 3: Pin the bottom of your shirt. "Turn your shirt inside out and pin the bottom together" silly. Oh and by the way, I may not be a great eyeballer, but I did a perfectly wonderful job of skipping this pinning nonsense on totes #2 and #3. (I know, so naughty and talented!)

Step 4: Sew the bottom seam. I gave it 2 good runs with my machine, just to be extra official...Enjoy your new super fabulous T Shirt Tote!

The one with the peace signs is Kiley's. She has big plans to take it with her to the Community Center and to sleepovers.

Come on, you know you want one... Take 5 minutes. Make one or ten!

I Had a Vision...

From across the thrift store, I spotted the most amazing print... My heart skipped a beat and I rushed in a not looking like I was rushing sort of way. (This was so other thrifters would not see my excitement and in turn rush to where I was rushing to get what I was wanting to get. Yes, I believe/ know this to be true...)

ONE PROBLEM...

There is enough skirt here for me and one of my kids.

Think, woman, think. Can I use this to make something fabulous?

I had a vision...

I snatched this baby up and took her home.

The skirt was made from 4 panels, so I removed 1 1/2 panels and created a new side seam.

Paired with a belt and a tank we have a new semi fabulous dress for $2.99! I am in love.

Now let's work on my photography skills...

Oh, and some actual, real live spring weather...

Did you know that "thrifters" is not a word in the blogger spell check? Seriously?!

It should be.

T Shirt Tuesday: Pretty Little Tank

To make today's "Pretty Little Tank" you will need : -tank top - narrow lace or trim - wide lace or trim - thread to match - sewing machine

First make a ruffle out of your narrow lace. There are many ways to do this...

I use the longest stitch length on my machine and sew all the middle. Pull the bottom thread to create a ruffle.

Pin your narrow ruffle to the middle of the wide lace.

Sew the ruffle to the lace. Find the middle of your tank and mark it so you know where to attach the lace. (I did this by folding the tank in half and matching up the straps.) Pin the lace to the middle of your tank.

Stitch to attach your embellishment to your tank.

Admire your work!

I am all about instant gratification projects and this was a snap.

Less than 30 minutes ... That's my kind of project!

Project Sweater Beautification: Part I

Inspired by Grosgrain's Embellish Knit Month, I started to play around with some sweater beautification of my own. Today I added some singed lace flowers to a silk cardigan. Just lovely...

Project Time:20 Minutes



Materials:

Plain Cardigan (Mine was 1.49 at Goodwill)

Lace (I have also used chiffon, tulle, etc to make this kind of flower in the past)

Candle or other heat source

Scissors

Needle

Thread

For each flower cut

2- 4 inch circles

2- 3inch circles

2- 2 inch circles

Hint: To speed up the cutting process and cut multiple circles of the same size at the same time, you can layer your lace.
Use a candle to singe the edges of the two largest circles. To do this hold the fabric about 2 inches away from the flame until the edges curl.

If your fabric starts on fire, you are too close... Some people use a tweezers for this part, but I am a risk taker...

Repeat this process with your two medium circles and your two small circles.

Stack your singed circles largest to smallest and give them a couple of basting stitches.

Next, arrange the flowers on your cardigan and pin them in place. TRY ON YOUR SWEATER. What looks good laying on your design table does not always look good on your bod! Trust me... I love the look of the four flower design pictured below, but I tried it on and felt like a double dork.

The final product only boasts two lovely lace flowers...

After attempting to wear this this afternoon, I realized that I am not a size small. (I think I already knew that, but I really wanted this to fit me. It is so pretty.) Any size smalls? Its up for grabs. FREEBIE!!!

Fit to Be Tied Towel

Wow, I love this towel! It was so simple and makes so much sense... Tate said, "Oooh it looks like an angel." It sure does my little man...



It took less than 15 minutes to make and will prevent those little ones from pulling down the kitchen towel every time you turn around!

Find out how to make this beauty by visiting Trey and Lucy! The lovely Tanya will show you how to make this and everything you never knew you wanted to make... :)

As for me, I am off to make more of these monsters so that I have an army of beautiful towels to look at. I might try a button hole or Velcro...

Embellish Me, Please: Pretty Towel Tutorial for You!

I mentioned in the quicky gift of bread post that my intentions were to make some pretty little towels to keep on hand for emergency gift giving situations.

Well, I got a jump start today when my sweet baby was taking nap. (OK he is six, so not a baby, but he is my baby and he is sicker than sick. BOO. :( ) By jump start, I mean two towels. See...

As you can see, I thought I was going to be making a gross of towels...

I used the towels on the right and fabric from my stash you could use scraps. (Kiley recently became interested in fabric and sewing, so my scrap drawer is looking pretty sad...)

Cut strips of fabric that are as long as the width (plus an inch or two) of your towel and about 3 inches wide.


Fold the edge over and press. Sew.

Pin your fabric to your towel. I use a ruler to keep it even.

Sew the fabric strip to your towel. Make sure your edges are folded over the side of the towel and and tucked under...

The second towel is just ric rac sewn to a towel with a basic fabric flower pinned on.

I decided these two cuties would look great with the fun clothespin magnets I made.

Enjoy!

This old hat

I think it was a month ago that I posted pics of the first hat I made. It was a Where the Wild Things Are hat. Kind of cute, but very thin and a weak effort. I gave it another shot that same night and came up with this cutie.

This time I sewed two layers of fabric and added a ruffle, some trim, and a button. Oh what fun!
One problem. The pattern from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar was for a kid. I am an adult, so I modified it to fit an adult head and ended up with a hat that is too big. I guess I can give it another shot...
Note: in this lovely self portrait I am wearing my lovely blue bathrobe. It is my SSE (signature sewing ensemble...) PRETTY! (That is pretty as in not pretty...)

For the tutorial please visit the super awesome I am Momma Hear Me Roar post.

Ta Da!!!

I did it! Here's the first I am Momma Hear Me Roar inspired hat. It really was quite simple...once I sat down to do it. So simple, I had to round up more fleece and flannel.
Guess what I am doing tonight!? This hat was made for Tate, but he refused to model, so here is the lovely Kiley modeling the first hat.

.

I used fleece, a t shirt and some old dress socks to make this hat. It is only one layer, so it is not all that warm. More of a fall or spring hat really. My next hat will be double layers and lots of cute embellishments. I am pretty stoked. (Is that how you spell "stoked?" I bet typing stoked makes me a pretty big dork. I don't really care though because I am so excited about these hats...)

New paint color in the bathroom by the way... Sherwin Williams "Earthen Jug."

Note the "horn" on the left side of this picture is part of the charm of this hat. My top was a little bigger than my middle piece so I had to bunch it up a bit.

I had a dream, well nightmare...

I had a terrible dream that I used my fabric scissors to cut paper. I think this means it is time to get cracking on my never ending pile of things I want to work on. Today I will: finish my t shirt scarf. Hush... It is a secret project.

I will also attempt these very cool hats from I am Momma Hear Me Roar.

Please go visit. She is amazing and has tons of great tutorials for the hip little boy in your life. Rare Find~

~Wish me Luck~

Apron Love

I am in love with all of the beautiful aprons all over Bloggy world, and finally decided to give it a shot... Here is what I came up with.

It is a modified version of Amy Butler's apron from In Stitches.

I had a little problem attaching the waist band. It ended up looking lumpy. (Pleats are a new adventure for me. )

The ruffle had a small hole in it so I made a little flower to plop on top. Sweet, isn't it!?

Check out the tutorial at Ruffles and Stuff to learn how to make chiffon flowers.

This kind of reminds me of a person who doesn't know how to cut hair trying to trim her own bangs. They just keep getting shorter and shorter trying to even them out. My projects just keep getting bigger and bigger trying to cover up my mistakes! :)

Check out some "fabou" apron tutorials below!

I Have to Say's Dish Towel Apron

Creative Little Daisy's Craft Apron
50's Apron From Crafter.org

Twirly Skirt and Getting Over It...

I found the tutorial for this super cute skirt over at House on Hill Road. (Pretty sure I would love living this life!~ but am thankful of the life I have)




Kiley has a thing for owls. We went and picked out the fabric for this in April. I cut the skirt out the same day. AND there it sat for TWO MONTHS! (How embarrassing!)

In talking to my friend Jodi, I realized why there are so many things I want to do, but never do. I have a fear of making mistakes. I am afraid that I will try something and it won't work, it will look funny, or I won't love it... I tend to get the materials all ready for a project and then let it sit.



Guess what!? I went for it! I made plenty of mistakes on this project, but figured out how to fix them, cover them up or let them go!

For example:

OOPS! This did not lay flat, so I made some felt hearts to cover it with!