Free Printable Cupcake Topper - Stars

I made cupcakes for our BBQ tomorrow, and couldn't believe I couldn't find any free Memorial Day cupcake toppers. Figured this would work for 4th of July, too!
Just print out a whole page, and punch with a 2" hole punch. I plan on backing mine on a red star (cut by my friend cricut)

Image is a .bmp

We got a new laptop, I hope this works.  LMK if you can't use them, I'll revise.

Somebody stole the spotlight, and a giant zucchini

This is the first zucchini we harvested from our garden! One of the good things about living in the desert, is we have 2 non-traditional growing seasons. Still waiting for our peppers, eggplants and all melons to come in. Looking forwards to grilling this guy on sunday! We are having good friends over, lots of kids, jello shots, and a Slip-N-Slide! Should be so fun!

I made another version of this top, this time using a tee shirt from the dollar store, and some AMH Good Folks. I love it! First time I've ever made something twice. Somebody thought my bathroom photo shoot was about her. This was actually the best photo.

Just to give you a little perspective on the size of this thing! Huge!

Happy Long Weekend! -S

GIVEAWAY ENDS TOMORROW!

To promote my new blog address, I'm giving away a reversible tote bag! See a few posts back to get the low-down! Just become a follower, and leave a comment! It's that easy!

Giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight!

Thanks-S

Dollar Store Wreath Makeover: Version 1

The Dollar Tree near me just opened up, and they have some great stuff! I found this big wreath form, and immediately started brainstorming on what to do with it. I don't think I'll be able to settle on one way to keep it, so look for lots of different versions!

Plain wreath form 16" across

I used spray adhesive I had on hand from another project. You could also use hot glue.

I wrapped it roughly with 2 strips about 5 inches wide by 30 inches long.

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I wanted something summery, so I just used some fun lemon fabric from my stash to make a big floppy bow.

It took about 8 minutes, start to finish, and cost me just a buck!

Easy embellished T-shirt to skirt, a la Alabam Chanin

My mom and her husband came over the other night. I still have my "Spring" banner hanging on our front door, and she says, "You should probably change your banner". I said, "What? to 'Hell?' "

Because that's what we get here in phoenix: Winter, Spring and Hell. No Fall. And no Summer.

It goes from pretty nice and breezy to unbearable in about 90 seconds. We're not there yet, but I feel it coming.

Summer here is so undescribable. Imagine getting burns from your car seat buckles. Not being able to breathe the air in your car if you get into it after it's been sitting in a parking lot. I was pregnant last summer, and didn't want to wear anything but a mumu. I had two black dresses that I wore every single day. My summer wardrobe this year is sadly lacking, due to my physical state last summer. 

I decided to make myself something from a pile of ever-growing knits in my sewing room.

I'll start by saying I love dying. I lerve it! I may or may not have dyed underwear. For my hubs. (He wears them as often as they are clean!!!) I probably dye once a month or so. It's a good way to cover up preschool paint stains, sweet potato baby food stains, sweaty pit stains (read a few posts ago if you want the inside scoop on that!), coffee spots, etc. Dana at MADE has an awesome how-to on dying in your sink. It's really quite easy. Whenever I have my buckets of dye out, I go through the dressers and pull anything white. I recently pilfered several of the hubs Costco tees. One went in the black (still uncut!), one went in the pink ( a cute pair of gaucho sleep pants!tutorial to follow), and one went in the brown. I pulled out the brown one this morning, and got to work!

Tee as is.

Cut carefully around sleeves, and straight across the top.

Raid scrap stash for other fabrics you think will go well. I picked piece of pretty robin's egg blue knit from an old yucky tank top. Lay across t-shirt. Imagine a beautiful abstract pattern.

Starch is my secret knit weapon. Did you know if you spray the back of your top fabric, and then press it on, it will stick? I use this trick all of the time! It's like temporary adhesive! Awesome! I sprayed the back f the blue piece, and then ironed it onto my brown shirt. I find it's better to tap the iron. It you pull the iron back and forth, your knits go all wonky.

See? Nice and smooth.

Next draw your beautiful abstract design with water or air soluble marker.

Stitch the design. I always use a ball point needle when sewing knits. Another trick I've found to walk my machine around tight curves is to go in two stitch increments, lifting my presser foot and adjusting the entire garment every two stitches. Never pull knits. They will distort. This may sound tedious, but this whole piece took maybe 15 minutes.

CAREFULLY trim around your appliqued pieces.

Next I picked a pretty cotton that went with my design. Iadded a few more whirls and swoops, starched my cotton scraps to the underside of my brown shirt, and stitched using the same "two-stitch"method.

Carefully trim the brown away from inside these last areas, leaving a reverse applique.

Isn't it pretty? Very Alabama Chanin, if I do say so myself.

Next I made a casing to accomodate 1.5 in elastic. I like thicker elastic on adult garments. It looks more professional.Carefully thread in your elastic, being sure not to twist it. It's very noticeable on thick elastic!

Try on! have 5 year old take pics of you, which you then have to edit to high heaven.

Sheesh. Help these days.

Close up of applique/reverse applique.

Finished product! Total time: approx 1 hr. Total cost: about 2 bucks.

btw, I left this skirt on all day after the photo shoot! So comfy and cute!

And, just in time for the crafterhours: Skirt Week! I adore these gals, and am so excited! 

-S

Oy. On top of spaghetti...

Our lap-top got a virus. A bad one. An adult one. As in I'm happily typing along, and 'WHAM!" porno site! In your face naughtiness. Not okay. Sooooo Nooot Okay!

It went to the doctor today.  : (

I'll miss it, but do have a back-up. However, my back-up is missing a key. A vwel. Yup. The O. I have to push the little button under it. Srry if I miss a few.

Bear with me.
I do have a great tutorial for tomorrow. For now I leave you with a few pics. Of my missing letter. sigh.
Mmmmm, donuts.

images courtesy of google.

Wahoo! Win a tote-bag!

Howdy! I'd like to welcome you over from blueberry-kisses!
This new blog'o'mine will be my sounding board for all things crafty/sewy/non-crafty, non-sewy, etc.
Stay tuned for lots of fun projects- you name it, I've tried it!
-Soap-making
-Jewelry making
-Sewing (all sorts!)
-Cooking
-Not-folding laundry (no, seriously. I almost called this blog "I don't fold". It was a tie with "I don't pin")

My true love is sewing. I have lots of tutes filed away for your viewing pleasure. With 3 little girls at my house, most of them will be geared towards the x chromosome, but I'll try to remember the little guys out there, too!

To celebrate my new blog address, I'm giving away this tote bag. Yup, for free.

Rules:

1. You must be a follower to enter.
2. Leave a comment on this post to enter.
3. If you came over from BlueberryKisses, you can leave 2 comments.
4. If you've just joined now, welcome! Tell a friend!
5. I'll use random.org to chooses a winner. Giveaway ends friday 5/28 at midnight. (Open to US residents only)

Thanks for coming over! : )

-S

Tutorial: Reversible Tote Bag

This is by far the most popular item I sell in my etsy shop, or locally. It's functional, practical, cute, machine-washable, reversible, totally lovable! I call it the "Momma Tote". When I got back into sewing about a year and a half ago, I started in with bags made out of home-decor weight fabric. There is a local store near me that sells it for 3 bucks a yard!!! 3 bucks! Crazy! It is sturdy enough to hold a good shape with-out interfacing. Most big box craft stores carry it, (just not for the crazy price of 3/yard!)

Choose two corresponding fabrics, we will call them outer and inner. Cut 2 rectangles 16"x18" of each outer and inner. Cut 1 rectangle 8"x12" of outer and inner. These will be pockets. Cut one 4"x 44" length of outer and inner. This will be your strap.

Fold each pocket in half right sides together, and sew around three sides, leaving a spot for turning. Clip corners, turn and press.

Turned and pressed pockets.

Top stich along one shorter edge of pockets (merely decorative), and attach 3 sides to one side each of outer and inner. Be sure to stitch back and forth a few times along the top where it attaches, this area will see a lot of pressure.

Sew outer together, right sides facing. Repeat for inner. I used a 5/8" seam allowance.

Sew strap along one edge, with right sides together. Open up and press seam to one side. Press one side up by 1/2".

Press remaining side in 1/2" to meet other side.

Press the entire strap very well. Sew each side with a 1/4" top stitch.

Strap

Miter corners. Do this by popping open the bag with one hand, pressing the bottom flat. I measured 3.5" from side to side and marked. Sew back and forth along this line several times. I serged the edges after sewing. You can also just trim.

Serged edges.

At this point my assistant got a little fussy. I let her help. She's very demanding.

Turn outer bag right side out, and stuff into the inner bag, right sides together. Pin strap into place, with the right sides together. The strap will be inside the bag "chimichanga". That is where it belongs. Have faith. It will all come out the right way.

Stitch around the entire bag with a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a gap for turning.

Pull the whole bag out through the opening (I love this part!)

Stuff the inner bag back inside the outer bag.

Press and top stich 1/4" away from top edge. Congrats! Take it to the beach! Or the pool, if you live where I live...

Enjoy- Feel free to comment with any questions! -S

Play Nice

Birthday present number one:

meet birthday present number two:

Play Nice

Having fun together? I'm certainly enjoying this threesome. : ) -S

Tutorial: Ruffle Butt Bloomers

Problem #1: We cloth diaper at our house. Most of the time, anyways. I love those little dress and bloomer sets sold at warehouse stores, or even Target. However, I'm finding that those tiny bloomers don't accomodate Ruby's fluffy tushy.

Problem #2: We have beautiful granite tile counter tops. With a very rough edge. All of my shirts look like this. I refuse to spend more than 5 dollars on a shirt. I have seriously worn this shirt twice. Seriously.

Solution: Women's t-shirt to baby bloomers! With an awesome short-cut!

First, I cut out the holey part. (giggle, giggle) Cut across the top where you would like the top of the bloomers to be. Mine is about 7 inches from the bottom. I also pressed the top down about an inch. I always use spray starch when sewing knits. It make them a lot less slippery, bendy, and generally unruly.

Next I cut across the top in successive strips (omitting the pocket). I ended up with four 1" strips (picture shows two 2" strips, before I cut them in half.) Switch to a ball-point needle. Your regular needle will wreck knits. Trust me. A four pack is like 2.59. You will thank me.

I ruffled the strips with my sewing machine tension set to way loose, and thread length super long. (I love doing this!!)

I tacked down 3 of the strips on each side (not sure yet if I would use the fourth strip). I then stretched the ruffles to fit, while sewing them right across the gathering stitch with a zig-zag stitch)

Turn them back inside out, and sew the crotch together. DO NOT sew all the way down to the sleeve hem. You will use this little casing to thread the elastic through.

I used 1/4 in braided elastic in both the waistband, and the leg casing. Thread through, sewing the elastic securely together, then sewing the leg casings shut. Do the same with the waistband, finishing the opening where you inserted the elastic. Don't worry if it's not perfect, your baby won't care!

Enjoy the day. You could totally personalize these, with an applique of your choice. They took me about an hour, but I had all three kids at home today. And one had strep. Ugh. If I could've muscled through, I would say these are a 45 minute project. Even ommiting the ruffles would seriously shave down on the construction time. You could use some really cool shirts to give these some extra flair!

PS, I used the last ruffle to make this super cute flower headband! It took me less than 5 minutes!