Personalized Picture Bean Bags

If you haven't checked out Infarranty Creative, you have GOT TO!  She is great!  When she posted about the "Issac Bags" that she made her son I knew this was something I was going to have to do for my daughter.  So for her birthday I made 2 bean bags for each child as a party favor!

The only thing that I would add to her tutorial is that when I tried to feed the fabric through my printer it wouldn't recongize it and then it started curling at the end so I attached it to a plain sheet of paper with a very small piece of scotch tape, leaving a very small piece of tape on the fabric so it wouldn't interfere with printing.  Also, the fabric was a bit dusty after drying and when some of the "dust" came off it looks like some of my picture lost a bit of it's color but I liked the "worn" look that it ended up with.

Bandana Dress

This just might be the easiest dress I have ever made...Well, maybe that is because it is the only dress I have ever made, but still!  Thanks to Trey and Lucy for the super easy tutorial.  It may have taken me slightly longer than 15 minutes to crank out the first one but after that I was flyin'...

Here is one I made for a friend for a baby shower!

For the embroidery part I did go through 3 bandanas until I got the monogram to stitch correctly.  I wasn't using enough stabilizer so here is what FINALLY worked for me.  I used one layer of Sulky Totally Stable Iron-On Tear Away Stabilizer (same stuff I use on t-shirts) and then I hooped a heavyweight tear-away like Sulky Stiffy Stabilizer and used an adhesive spray Sulky Temporary Spray Adhesive to attach the bandana to the hooped stabilizer.  By the way I also purchased my font from AKDesigns Boutique...it's the #12 Bold font!

By the way, be warned that the 100% cotton bandanas will shrink up about 1-1.5" on each side after you wash them (and they get a lot softer than they are in the stores).  I think this dress cost be a total of like $2.15, can't beat it!

Grossgrain Ribbon Pearl Necklace

I'm not really into trendy jewelry but the grossgrain ribbon pearl necklaces are just too cute.  My crafty side says don't pay $20 for that necklace when you can make one...Sure enough, I did!

This took me a total of less than 10 minutes, so easy!

Supplies:
5/8" or 1" grossgrain ribbon (about 36 inches)
Black thread
Sewing Needle
Faux Pearl Necklace - cut the necklace to remove the pearls

1.  Pull about 24"+ of thread, doubled and tie knot at the end.

2.  Start the stitch through the center of the ribbon.

3.  String one pearl next.

4.  Mold the ribbon around the circumference of the pearl to find the approximate location of where the hole in the pearl will be placed on the ribbon.

5.  Stitch through the ribbon.

6.  Repeat steps 2-5 until you have enough pearls that you are happy with the length of the necklace.

Lettuce Edge Hem: Onesie to T-shirt in 5 minutes

Hello my name is Sara and I'm a Gymboree addict!  However, I buy everything on sale, dirt cheap at the end of the season in the size I think my little ones will be next year.  So last year when I bought the 2T onesie I guess I wasn't thinking that my daughter was going to be potty trained and how inconvenient a onesie might be on a two year old.  When I saw this tutorial at Helping Little Hands I knew what I needed to do.  Now I did practice this technique on a stained onesie before I attempted to change my daughter's shirt.  It is very easy and once you get the hang of how your machine will feeds, the zig zag stitch you will be good to go.  Plus sewing on knit was new to me!

I started with this...

And ended up with this...

First, lay your onesie flat and line up the Fiskars Clear Acrylic Quilting Ruler with the bottom of the onesie, just above the top of the legs.  Using the Fiskars Rotary Cutter  simply trim the bottom part of the onesie.  By the way I use my Fiskars 3-Piece Quilting Set almost everyday!  I think I bought it at Joann's with a coupon or something but it really makes cutting fabrics for projects much easier and helps me to make my lines straighter, which I need a lot of help with!

I would trim as close as possible to the top of the legs on the onesie if you want the shirt to be a decent length.  I probably cut mine a bit too short and would prefer that my daughter's shirt be a little longer but lesson learned for next time.  Also, remember you can alway trim off more later, you can't add it back!

Next set your sewing machine to the zig zag stitch with the widest stitch and the shortest length.  Line the fabric up like this...

I pulled the knit t-shirt from the front and the back to stretch it as far as it would go in order to make the lettuce edge hem as ruffly (is that a word?) as I could get it.  Just be careful to not pull too far from the backside as to pull your stitch.

Sew all the way around and this is what your lettuce edge hem will look like...

So easy, literally took me like less than 10 minutes, even with the trial run on the old onesie, and oh so cute!

Thank you Helping Little Hands for the idea!

Tried the lettuce edge hem?  Tell me about it!

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Works For Me Wednesday!

Old World Charm with a Modern Flare: YoYo Bows Hair Clips, Bookmarks, Brooch

I've always liked yo-yo's....no, not the one's on the string that you can "walk the dog"...(that's my brother's bag). The ones you see at craft shows on vests, quilts or other beautifully handmade items. I took this southern tradition and gave it a modern flare making hair bows for my girls.

All you will need is some fabric scrapes of fun girly colors (about 5.5" x 5.5"), Clover Round Extra Large Yo-Yo Maker

Cut the fabric just slightly larger than the yo-yo maker.  You will probably want to read the directions that come with the yo-yo maker for the particulars but here it is in a nut shell...Next you will need to "load" the fabric into the yo-yo maker, making sure you put the front "right" side of the fabric towards the plate and push the disk into place, lining up the notches on the plate with the lines on the disk.  When you do this you will hear a little poping noise at each notch.  Trim the excess fabric about 1/2" from the the edge of the yo-yo maker.

Start with the disk facing you, hold the seam folded into the disk and insert the needle into the concave part of the disk.

Flip the yo-yo maker around to see the exit of the needle.  Move to the edge of the "U" (you don't want to sew over the plastic, your stitch should be inside the "U".  Pull the thread all the way through, until tight.

Continue with these stitches all the way around and your very last stich will go through the same whole your first stitch started.

Remove the disk from the plate by pushing through the whole in the center of the plate.  Gently lift and remove the fabric from around the disk.  Take your thread and pull it away from the yo-yo and the material will gather around the round yo-yo, giving it the unique yo-yo look.  Pull the thread tight and knot it so the yo-yo will keep it's shape.

To finish off the yo-yo sew a button or two layered buttons over the yo-yo hole.  Attach an alligator clip on the back with hot glue for a hair clip; attach a pin on the back for a brooch; or attach a ribbon on the back for a book mark.

Such simple wimsy! 

Have you made yo-yo's before?  How else do you use them to decorate?

, thread, needle, button(s) and hair clip ribbon and/or brooch clip.