child's apron

this was fun to make. not only was it fun to envision my daughter playing with it- but i didn't have/ use a pattern. this particular project was strictly a 'use what you have' on hand project. i started with about a yard of this 'fan' fabric. i folded the fabric in half and i used my imagination and cut out my desired apron shape. (it ended up being approximately 8 x 15 inches. then i cut 2 rectangles, measuring approximately 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, as well as, 2 longer rectangles measuring 3 x 12 inches. i used this leftover cream fabric to trim it all. as this project was a 'use what you have', the trim fabric is heavier than the other, which is why it looks a little wonky.

Sock Monkey

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I decided to take a crack at making a Sock Monkey. Because every child needs a sock monkey! She's now almost a year old and she loves it. It was actually quite easy. And lots of fun! If you buy the classic Red Heel Socks- there are directions right in the bag. The directions were very easy to understand- I think I might attempt the elephant as well. That may be a good project for this Winter!

Mini Tutu

I recently attended a Birthday Party for my daughter's friend. Someone had given the Birthday girl a tutu that they had made. What a fabulous idea! I've seen them at craft fairs- but never thought much about it. But after seeing one again - I was quite inspired by my friend! So I set out to make one for my friend's daughter. It turned out great! I used 3 different colors of tulle- pink, brown & silver. I just pinned them onto a stretchy headband (what a great idea! my friend is such a genius!) and layered them until I was happy with the amount on the band. Then I stitched them all onto the band, using a simple zigzag stitch. Be sure to pull out ALL pins after you stitch them on!!! To cover the edge of the band- I used a yarn needle & wound yarn all along the band. This hides the stitch- the tulle edges & the headband. I also created a little initial of her name with a crown over and screen-printed it on a onesie. I topped it off by adding little rhinestones onto the crown. After all - every ballerina princess needs a leotard & sparkly crown! My friend was quite talented and used an embroidery machine and stitched an initial on the onesie she had made. It looked amazing! SO amazing that now I want an embroidery machine to make better pieces myself! I'm fairly positive my sewing machine does embroidery as well- I really should learn how to use it! I could be that much fancier!

Puzzle Bags

One of my most favorite ideas I ever had! I purchased several 'chunky puzzles' a couple years ago. And I needed a way to store them- without having a crazy mess. I decided to make drawstring bags and put a picture of the puzzle on the bag to 'show' which puzzle the pieces belong to. I LOVE THEM! They truly were one of the greatest ideas I have ever had! I used a jersey style fabric and made a simple hem to string the drawstring through. I used 1/2" twill tape for the drawstring- just tied them in knots on the edge and voila. A puzzle bag! They are almost their own toy on their own! My daughter loves to pull the pieces out of the bag and put them back into the bag. The bags are a few years old- and have had much use & abuse! But they are still in fabulous shape and I will get many more years of use out of them!

onesies...

While I was pregnant, I made my own onesies. I didn't make as many as I thought I would- as the bed rest cut my sewing time short. You'd think I would have nothing to do but time to sew on bed rest- but alas- I was put on 'full time laying down bed rest.' So that didn't allow me time to sew. Here is one of the onesies I made- I embroidered a lion on it. This is the first one I ever made... I admit... I got better at it as I made a few more and experimented with different fabrics. I really loved this fabric- but my natural store stopped carrying it. So I can't even look it up to figure out the kind!!!

Cards...

Almost 2 years ago I started making my own cards. I've gotten much more creative with it- by using the sewing machine. I'll have to add some pictures of those when I make a few more. But here are some that I've done. I realize as I'm looking at these- that I love using rub-on letters!

Tin Can ABC's

Quite possibly one of the best toys I've ever made. Not because it's fancy or ingeniously done... as you can see it's quite simply a container and juice lids! But because it is one of my daughter's favorite toys in the world! I wanted enough lids for the alphabet. Since that's 26 lids- I started saving juice lids when she was a newborn. She really started playing with it when she was around 8 months old... I just add the new letter/ lid to the stash as we get them. We are up to Letter R... Now she is 11 months and she LOVES transferring the lids to the container. I simply used an old oatmeal carton and cut a lid size hole in the top. She prefers to play with it without the lid for now... but it is one of most favorite toys! The best part is- it was basically free. I chose to purchase alphabet stickers (a target clearance find in the scrapbooking section) to affix to the lids- but you don't have to purchase anything. You can use what you have in the house.

Bean Bags

Bean bags are such a great toy. I made a set numbering 0-9 with bed sheets i found from Ikea. I LOVE this material because the colors are fantastic and they were 1.99 a set! I chose to double bag the beans... just for safety's sake- as Ikea's fabric is not top of the line. I used the flat sheet that came with the sheet set as the alternating color on the reverse side. I am quite happy with the re-purposing of this fabric! SO much fun!