Baby Ball Toy

I can't remember where I first saw the idea for making these toys - but it's pretty simple.  You take 8 surfboard shaped pieces of fabric (mine were approximately 6" long but they could be any length depending on the size of ball you want to end of with), sew them together along the edges, and then cover the ends with fabric circles.

The original tutorial I looked at suggested using wool, but I made mine out of some t-shirt scraps (pink and navy/plum) and linen scraps (navy/green) from my reversible tote.

I sewed the edges together by hand using a blanket stitch for the pink and navy/green balls, and with my sewing machine for the navy/plum ball.  It was much faster using the machine, but sewing by hand is fun sometimes too.  For all three I had to sew the circles on by hand at the end.

I also added some loops of ribbon that I had on hand to two of the balls for some tactile interest and maybe a way for a baby to pull on or pick up the ball. 

I used fiberfill to stuff all of them until they were firm but not hard. 

Bookcase Makeover

I love books - and I love books with lovely covers.  But for the longest time I didn't have a lovely bookcase to put them on.  Since we're both book-lovers, my husband and I have "his and hers" bookcases.  

His is an old one that was his grandfather's - made of pretty dark wood that has some character to it.  Mine is from Target, made of particle board, and void of character.  

For a long time I'd lamented the ugliness of my bookshelf.  But I couldn't justify buying a new one.  We try not to spend money on furniture (almost everything we own was a given to us) and the bookcases that we did find in stores (that weren't as characterless as my current one) were way too expensive!

Thankfully I came across this post from Young House Love.  I never would've thought of redoing my bookshelf myself!

The first issue that needed to be addressed was how weak the bookcase was.  After being moved to 4 different locations and holding lots and lots of books, the shelves were warped and the whole thing was leaning to the side. 

We went to Home Depot and bought four 2" x 4" x 6' boards.  My husband nailed one board on each side of the bookcase and two boards on the back.  He strategically placed the nails so that they lined up with the shelves, thus reinforcing the shelves as well.  It worked wonderfully and made the bookcase very sturdy - no more swaying and bowing!

While at Home Depot we found 2 small containers of paint in the "oops paint" section.  They were only 50 cents each!  After lots of time spent painting and some spray-on lacquer we ended up with this:

And here's a close-up:

The whole project only cost us around $40 (much less than we would've paid for a new bookcase!).  I love having a custom-made bookcase that I know will last for years.  And I love how lovely my books look now!

Ready for a before and after?

Baby Bib

It's been a busy week getting ready to go away for a weekend fall retreat (can't wait!).  I haven't had any time to work on my current project so I thought I'd show you something I made this summer for a dear friend.... I'm typing as I scarf down my lunch.

My husband and I were given the honor of being asked to be godparents for a little lady that will be arriving sometime next month.  This is our first god-child and we are so excited to meet her and lavish her with love!  I wanted to make something special to give her momma at the baby shower.

I found a really cute tutorial for bibs made out of graphic t-shirts here.

Picture from alittletipsy.com

But I didn't have any cool graphic tees that I could use - so I changed things up a bit with the fabric, but basically followed the tutorial step by step.

I used a pinkish (salmon?) color for the front and a soft black t-shirt for the back.  I wasn't sure if the pink on the front would be absorbent enough but it's there for looks and the bib is reversible =)  It looked a little blah so I add a heart to the front.  I just opened up Word and searched the symbols until I found a heart that I liked.  Sewing the heart on was definitely the most time consuming part - not necessarily hard, just time consuming.  I used the steps for applique that I learned in Stitch by Stitch.

What do you think of the final product?

Can't wait to see her in it!

My current project

Currently I'm working on making this shirt bigger.  I really love it - but it's too small =(

More specifically, it's too tight.  Like spandex.  Ugh.  It's another thrift store find.  I loved the style of the neckline and couldn't pass it up, but I didn't try it on until I got home.  This is my new strategy - if it's cheap I buy it, I can always use the material!  And trying stuff on in thrift store dressing rooms is not my idea of a good time!

Making it bigger is going to be a lot harder than making my other shirts smaller.  I'll definitely take any advice that you have for me!

I do think I have an idea up my sleeve that might work out....  so far I've used my seam ripper a lot.

Stay tuned!

Tutorial: Refitting a t-shirt collar

I've mentioned a few times that my husband and I are big thrift store shoppers.  The prices are just unbeatable!  We especially like finding t-shirts at thrift stores because they can be so funny sometimes. 

One of our recent favorites had a picture of a cyclist and "Senior Olympics, To Participate is to Win" on the front.  So true and so funny.

The only problem with these t-shirts is that sometimes they just don't fit right.  Especially at the neck.  My husband does not like his collars to be stretched out and loose or super tight.  So I got to work trying to figure out a way to make them fit better.

Here are the steps that I use to make a too-snug collar looser:

1.  Turn shirt wrong-side-out and using a seam ripper, separate the collar from the shirt in the front.  Turn it right-side-out and it should look like this:

2.  Fold collar over so that the raw edges are touching.  It should look like this:

3.  Determine how much more room is needed in the front of the collar.  I typically need to add 1 inch for my husband.  With collar flipped down and raw edges touching, pull the middle front of the collar down 1 inch (or your predetermined distance) and pin it in place.  It will look like it does above, with extra shirt sticking out behind the collar.  Then pin the collar down on the sides as well, making a gradual slope to your center pin.  The collar should still be flipped down at this point.  If you want to try it on before sewing the collar in place use safety pins.

4.  Cut off the extra fabric that is sticking up above the raw edge of the collar (this will be 1 inch in the middle, sloping to smaller amounts on the side).

Super fuzzy picture, but you get the idea!

5.  Sew the collar in place (I used a 1/4" margin) using a straight stitch and then finish the raw edges with a zig-zag stitch or a serger.  Since all of the stitches will be on the inside of the shirt you can use any thread you have on hand - it doesn't have to match because it won't show.

Yup, this is a different shirt.  I was sewing a lot of them!

Warning:  I broke my needle by sewing over a safety pin!  This has never happened to me with straight pins before and it was a little scary!  Thankfully my machine came with extra needles.  I don't think I'll try sewing over safety pins again.

6.  Flip collar up and admire your work!

Murtle the Turtle

My niece's 4th birthday is coming up soon so I've been looking around blogland for something fun that I could make her.  She is a total animal lover (something we definitely have in common!) so I was really excited when I came across a tutorial for a stuffed fabric turtle on Make It and Love It.

After looking through my fabric stash I decided to use a fun blue and white pattern for the body and scraps from my tank top refashion for the legs, head, and tail.

Here are the pieces ready to be assembled:

Can you see how it's going to come together?

And here's Murtle, stuffed and ready to go!

How cute is that?  I love the sweet little "tattoos" on the tail and scattered around the legs and head.

View from above

Murtle was easier to make than Pippa and Rascal since there were less details to worry about.  If you are interested in making stuffed toys, Murtle would be a good one to start with.  Few pieces, simple constructions, and no hand-sewing of facial features.

Now I just hope that my sweet niece loves Murtle as much as I do!

Purple Throwback Shirt Refashion

I found this strange shirt at the Goodwill in Zelienople, PA earlier this summer.  It's definitely an odd one.  But I loved the purple plaid flannel and thought it looked like something I could improve with some simple changes. 

 I'm not really sure what style the designer was going for... puffy sleeves that cinched above the wrist, an elastic waist and then a flared bottom piece that had a slit in the middle.  Sort of an odd mix of the 70s and a peasant top.

The purple is much deeper in real life.  This picture is washed out.

The first thing to go was the elastic cuffed sleeves.  There is nothing flattering about a big poofy sleeve covering your arm!  I used my seam ripper to take the horrible elastic bands out, then ironed the sleeves flat.  Looking at it flattened out I realized how ridiculously wide the sleeves were.  So I turned the shirt inside-out and sewed a straight line (using a straight stitch) 1.5" in from the existing seam.  Then I cut off the extra fabric and serged the seam.  Ahhh... a thinner, less poofy sleeve.  I finished the sleeves off with a small 1/4" hem (shown below).

.

This is the real color of the shirt.  A nice autumn purple.

The biggest change by far happened around the waist.  Using my seam ripper I completely removed the bottom section, taking out a 1.5" band of elastic (ugly!!), lots of extra fabric that was used to cover the elastic, and a big round button from the front.  I ripped the seams out of the odd finished slit in the front middle of the shirt and then sewed the slit together and finished the edges.  Finally I sewed the bottom piece back on to the shirt.  Here's an up close look of where I sewed the slit shut.  Even though the fabric doesn't line up perfectly, it's still a huge improvement!!

I tried the shirt on and the only part that still looked goofy was up near my shoulders.  The actual sleeve started well past my shoulders, creating a big shoulder poof.  So I took the sleeves off of the mid section and reattached them about two inches closer to the neck line.  It made for a much smoother transition from my neck to shoulder, without a poof.

So here's the final product!  It was difficult to take a picture of the whole shirt (I ended up standing on my bed trying to get the whole thing in the picture) but hopefully you can see that my small changes made a big difference!  I think my shirt is ready to wear on the first cool day of the fall!

The sleeves are both the same size - this picture is a little funky.

Not the best picture, but no more poofs!

Tank Top Refashion

My mom is a big shopper - she always seems to have something new to wear.  And yet she is one of the wisest people I know when it comes to handling money.  Her secret?  Thrift stores.

I used to be so embarrassed as a kid when mom took me shopping with her at Goodwill.  But now I'm really grateful that she did!  She instilled in me a love of bargains and the understanding that I don't need/deserve brand new clothes any time I want them.

Now, the only problem with this scenario is that my mom always seems to find things that fit her perfectly and I... don't.  Especially shirts.  One of the things I'm really excited about with my new sewing skills is being able to change some thrifted items to make them fit me better.

My first attempt was with this tank top.  I loved the color, print, and especially the crocheted section at the top.

I also loved the length of the shirt.  But I didn't like how billowy it as.  The gathering at the chest was just horribly unflattering and the rest of it billowed out like I was wearing a pillowcase and standing over a fan.  Not so attractive.

 Basically it was just too big.  Here are the steps I used to make it fit (leaving out the trial and error and retries that happened along the way):

1.  Using my seam ripper I took the crocheted portion off of the cloth but kept the whole crocheted piece intact.  I also took off the binding around the neck line and arms holes and saved it to reattach later.

2.  I turned the non-crocheted portion in-side-out and folded it in half so that the side seams were lined up.  Then I took a well-fitting tank top (folded in half) and traced the shape onto my fabric using tracing chalk.

3.  I cut out my fabric, unfolded it, and stitched my new side-seams together using a straight stitch.

4.  After double checking to make sure that front and back of the shirt were even, I pinned the binding back onto the arm holes and neckline and sewed it on.

 5.  Then I serged down the length of the side seams to reinforce them.

6.  Finally I reattached the crotched portion on to the front and back using a "lace" stitch.

It sounds simple but I made a ton of mistakes along the way.  Poked holes in the binding fabric, got thread caught in my machine (multiple times), poked myself in the finger, etc.  But in the end it was totally worth it because I love the way it turned out!  It fits well now - no more pillow case blowing in the wind!

Recipe: Frozen Banana Bites

This is a really easy snack that I love to make when I've purchased too many bananas and need to use them up quickly.

It only takes two ingredients: Bananas and chocolate =)

1.  Peel bananas and slice.  Lay out on cookie sheet that is covered in wax paper.

2.  Melt chocolate (I use dark chocolate) in microwave in a small zip-lock bag for a short time (45 seconds).  Squeeze chocolate in bag to make sure it is fully melted.  Snip corner of bag.

3.  Squeeze bag and drizzle chocolate over bananas.

4.  Place cookie sheet in freezer until chocolate drizzle is frozen.  Remove from cookie sheet and put into freezer-safe storage container.

5.  Eat frozen whenever you want!  Yum!

Meet Pippa and Rascal

Nope, not Pippa Middleton =)

I am very blessed to have some awesome kiddos in my life.  At the top of my list are two nieces and three nephews (all under age 5!) that I adore.  They've got to be the cutest, smartest, funnest kids in the world.  But then again I am incredibly biased.

I also am blessed that some of my best friends are pregnant or recently had babies.  Babies everywhere indeed (anyone catch the reference to the crazy Nutrigrain commercial from a few years ago?).

So when I see tutorials for kids toys or baby clothes I swoon.  Everything seems to be cuter when it's small - and the fact that mini-sized crafts use up my mini-sized scraps of fabric makes it even harder to resist.

So here's a sneak peak at two Christmas gifts I made this summer.  Thankfully all the kids in my life are too young to use the internet so I'm not spoiling their surprises!

Rascal, Me, Pippa

Disney from Ruffles and Stuff created the pattern for these sweet stuffed toys and made it available online for free!  How awesome is that?  Here's a closer look:

Oh that raccoon, he's quite the Rascal.

Pippa is a foxy lady.

These little toys really tested my sewing skills!  The hardest part was hand-sewing on their facial features.  And then stitching their bottoms (no pun intended) closed after stuffing them.  But I'm hoping the little kids I give them to can see past their imperfections to the love that they were made with.

And just because I felt like they were my little friends after working on them for so long, here's one last look:

Patching Jeans

I bought my favorite pair of jeans last winter at Kohl's for $20.  They are Mudd brand and they are awesome.  Dark, soft denim, skinny leg, perfect for wearing when I ride my horse.   I've worn them almost every time I've ridden over the past year - hundreds of times.  But a couple weeks ago I noticed a problem - I had worn big holes along the inseam where they come in contact with the saddle.

Having never patched jeans before I wasn't too confident I would be able to do it.  So I wore them with the holes for another few rides - but the holes grew and it was time to stop wearing them in public.

Thankfully I had some strips of denim that my husband had cut off of the bottom of his jeans a while back (we are pretty short people) in my scrap stash.  Not sure what I was doing, I plunged in.

 

I turned the jeans inside-out and pinned a long strip of denim on each leg's inseam.  The hole doesn't look too big in the picture but the jeans were worn very thin surrounding the hole and I wanted the denim strip to cover all the thin spots.  I didn't worry about the denim strip overlapping any seams of the pants when I pinned it on.  I decided that I wanted even more coverage so I added more strips for a total of two on each inseam. 

Then I sewed around the perimeter of each strip using a zig-zag stitch.

The hardest part was figuring out how to access all the spots I needed to sew - it took a lot of reorienting my jeans on the machine and I stuck myself with quite a few pins, but all in all it wasn't too hard.  I just sort of winged it. Here's what it looked like when I was done sewing (and cutting off the excess denim over the seams).

Inside-out

The only difference on the outside is the stitches (you can see the darker blue denim through where the holes used to be)! Oh, and now you can't see through my pants =)

Right-side out

I read that you need a special needle to sew denim and was a little worried that I would break the needle that came in my machine but I didn't have any problems.  I was glad to not have to spend extra money on a new needle!  Originally I thought I might need to put another patch of t-shirt fabric over the denim so that I didn't get any rubs on my legs when riding, but I tested them out and they were really comfortable!  Success!  I wonder how many more hundreds of rides I can get out of these jeans...

T-shirt Refashion #2

This one was much more simple.  I made it from one of my husband's old t-shirts from college.  It only took a few simple steps:

1.  I laid a well-fitting tank top over the t-shirt (turned in-side out), matching up the bottom hems.

2.  I traced the outline of the tank-top onto the t-shirt in marking chalk.  Then I adjusted the neck-line in the front because I was going for more of a v-neck.

3.  I cut it out my new tank-top, hemmed around the arm holes and neck, and sewed it together along the sides and shoulders.

I really like the way this one fits.  It's a little more snug so it doesn't pillow on the sides.  Also the fabric is awesome because the t-shirt is very old and super soft.

 Here's a closer look at the neck-line.  It's more flattering than the original t-shirt was.

This whole project probably took me about 20 minutes.  Loved it.

T-shirt Refashion

I wish I had a picture of the t-shirt I started with for this project - maybe you can picture it in your mind:  It was a big (men's XXL), black, cotton t-shirt with white block letters on the front that said "HAMMER STRENGTH". No idea what that means! We got it from a thrift store when Greg was waiting for his heart transplant and was too swollen up to fit into his regular clothes.  But since neither of us was really into wearing the shirt post-transplant, I decided to try to do a t-shirt refashion with it.  I'd seen tons of people doing them online and thought it'd be fun to try.

I got my basic idea from a tutorial by Happy Together.  My computer is being funky right now so I can't link to the exact tutorial but her site is definitely worth looking at!

Here are my steps:
1.  I cut the t-shirt into two large pieces by first cutting off the sleeves and then cutting along each side.

2.  I laid one of my favorite, well fitting tank tops on top of the t-shirt (front side up) so that the bottom hems lines up.

3.  I used marking chalk to trace around the tank top leaving an extra 1inch wide margin everywhere for my seams later on.  I also added to the length a bit because I like a nice long shirt.

4.  Next I flipped the tank top over so I could trace around the back side of it with my marking chalk (adding my extra margins).

5.  I cut out both sides of the tank top and hemmed around the front and back of the neck and the arm holes.  This was the hardest part because I was trying to make an even, curved hem.  It didn't turn out as smooth as I had hoped but it was okay for a first attempt.

6.  Once the edges were hemmed, I pinned the two sides together so that the right sides were facing each other then sewed down the length of the sides and the top of the straps.

7.  Then I tried it on.  It wasn't exactly perfect so I had to make some minor tweaks, but it was pretty good.  Next I made ruffle strips from leftover t-shirt scraps - I used 5 pieces of t-shirt (one long centerpiece, 2 medium-length, 2 short length), each about 1 inch wide.  I used a basting stitch to ruffle them and then pinned them on the front with the longest strip in the middle and the shortest strips on the ends.

Can you see the Hammer Strength now on the inside of the shirt?

8.  Finally I sewed the middle of each ruffle strip onto the front of the shirt and viola!  All done!

If I made this again I would give it a little more shape at the waist because it sort of pillows out on the sides. It's not my favorite shirt but it's super comfy and is a big improvement over the original t-shirt it was made out of!

Here's another take on the embellished t-shirt if you're looking for more ideas (and a more professionally done tutorial!).