Hemming Jeans

I haven't felt the crafty bug lately. Instead, I've been putting off hemming or taking in jeans. With Olive on the way, I really should take the time to make a few things before she gets here. Making cute things is more fun than working on jeans.

Now that I can't use just the bella band to keep my pre-pregnancy jeans up I finally got around to hemming my maternity jeans. I've only had them for almost 2 months. :)

I hate sewing things like jeans. It can be so frustrating. I found a great tutorial on how to sew jeans the professional way and how to use a jean-a-ma-jig. I didn't buy a jean-a-ma-jig. I just found a "Hump Jumper" at my local sewing shop.

Pretty good for my first try, no? :)

Trying my hand at girly things

A few weeks ago my niece turned 6. I have been wanting to make her hair bows, barrettes or headbands. My good friend, Jess, blogged about making her baby some headbands and she gave me a quick tutorial. I think I did pretty good for my 1st time. :)

I also added sewed on some "bling" to the skirt I bought her.

The headbands

My niece

Handmade Ornaments

I wanted to try my hand at making Christmas ornaments this year. I used plain ceramic ornaments (on sale at Michaels for about 60 cents), scrapbook paper, pictures, stickers and mod podge. :)

Our little personalized Christmas tree.

I just love my new ornaments!

The back of the ornaments.

This year we have decided to give handmade and homemade gifts for Christmas.

Dan and I (yes, I'll be assisting) will be making/baking all kinds of yummy goodies.

I made each family an ornament.

This crafty project was easy, inexpensive and they turned out oh so fabulous.

Go out and make your own ornaments!

Holiday Card Craftiness

This year I wanted to make my own Holiday Cards. I made a little over 50 of them. And every single card is different. I'm happy with the way they turned out although I must say it was a lot of work!

I absolutely LOVED making them! I really didn't think I would love it as much as I did, but once I was done I found myself still thinking about making more and couldn't put the paper down. I just may have found my calling. :D

Snappy Toddler Dress

I made this cute little toddler dress for my cousin's little girl.

I used a cotton knit fabric and had never worked with it before. It was a little difficult to work with, but overall I was happy with the final product. I think it turned out cute!

and with a little long sleeve onesie underneath it's perfect for the cooler temps. :-)

Thank you to my friend, Kim, for posting the dress she made for her little girl and for being my inspiration when it comes to sewing projects. :-)

You can find the template and how-to by going to Prudent Baby.

When it came to using bias tape on the armholes I went to Sew Can Do and followed Cheryl's technique.

It was my cousin's daughter's 1st birthday and I made her a little card too.

And it was my first time making an envelope. I like!

Crafty Weekend

This weekend I was feeling crafty and needed to make a few things for my friend's daughter's birthday. I kept putting it off and finally just did it.

I made chalk!

You need toilet paper/paper towel tubes, duct tape, freezer paper and tempera paint in various colors.

And you need plaster of paris and water.

Mix water, color and plaster of paris to make pretty chalk colors.

Put liquid chalk into freezer paper-lined tubes and let sit for an hour.

Once they dry for an hour they can be removed from the tubes and then need to dry for 24 hours.

You can make your own chalk by following Martha Stewart's recipe & instructions.

I also made a washcloth puppy dog puppet. Pretty cute huh?

Puppy's ears go down.

Puppy's ears go up!

Make your own washcloth puppet by following Martha's How-To.

I found the hardest/longest part to be the hand embroidery. Good thing I took that class where I learned a few stitches or I would have been completely lost.

Note: Embroider face before you sew around the edge of the puppet. Pretty.freaking.hard to embroider the face when it's already sewn. haha

Sewing: Plastic Bag Organizer

I finally got around to making something! :)

My mom's plastic bag organizer (we made this one together)

And our plastic bag organizer (Hi Dan!)

Cute huh? :)

Overwhelmed Crafter

I bought a sewing machine!

And I bought Martha Stewart's Sewing & Fabric Crafts book & I think I've got most of my basic sewing tools as well as some fabric for certain projects!

But for some reason I can't get myself to start a project. I've got several projects bookmarked, but I'm so overwhelmed with sewing terms, tools, different threads, different needles etc. that I just can't get myself to start. Ugh! I'm scared.

And when I get overwhelmed and scared I turn to paper crafts. :)

I made this pretty Thank You card for my friend. :)

Stay tuned to see if I get the guts to start & finish a project.

Sewing Boot Camp (Week 4)

Last Tuesday was our last day at Sewing Boot Camp I.

Throughout the last 4 weeks we had so much fun learning new things (in addition to learning that I hate having to iron everything before you start to sew a stitch and burning myself often) and most importantly spending quality time together. :)

I love them!

We're thinking about taking a Knitting 101 class so you just may see a new project here soon.

Also, I have the new Martha Stewart Sewing book so once I get a sewing machine you could be seeing some projects here and there. :)

Sewing Boot Camp (Week 3)

We've started making our pajama pants!

You can barely see my back pocket in this picture.

We'll be done with them next Tuesday.

I'm really starting to enjoy sewing now. It's still a little nerve-racking (or nerve-wracking???) at times, but that's just because I strive to be a perfectionist (it's a fault of my mine that I'm trying to fix) and it sucks when my stitch goes all wonky. :D

Most of all I love spending time and learning to sew with my Mama. :)

Sewing Boot Camp (Week 2)

We made totes this week!

A close-up of our projects.

And a couple of poses. :)

Now if only we could remember all of the steps it took to get to the final product. :D

I need to study and have lots of practice before I make these as gifts. :)

Next week's project? Pajama Pants. I'm scared. :)

Sewing Boot Camp (Week 1)

My mom and I are learning to sew!

I bought classes for my mom for her birthday.

Every Tuesday evening for 4 weeks my mom and I will be taking a 2-hour class.

This was my little sewing machine.

Our 1st project was to make a pillow case cover. They turned out beautiful!

Success!

It's amazing how you are ironing, pinning, and sewing fabric and then all of sudden voila you've made something nice. So fun!

Next week's project? The tote. Stay tuned to see how we do!

Getting Crafty

For Christmas Dan bought me a lot of crafting tools. I'd been wanting to try my hand at crafting for awhile, but when I received the gifts I was a little overwhelmed with everything and didn't know where to start. This month I finally got the courage to start somewhere and I made some cards. They aren't the greatest, but perfection takes time. :) I really enjoy making them though. I find it very relaxing and so far my favorite technique is Dry Embossing.

Next month my mom & I will be taking a Sewing Boot Camp (4 classes). If my projects (pillow, tote & pajama pants) turn out okay, I'll be sharing what we make in class.

Here are some of my creations:

My mom's birthday card

(Flocked)

The envelope for my mom's card

(Dry embossed)

V-day card for my hubster

(Stamped, Dry Embossed & Flocked)