Eyeglass case Purse

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday.  She got 7 chapsticks.  She loves them all and has to wear all 7 at a time.  Anyway,  I decided she really needed a purse of some sort to put them in.  Since I am purse sort of gal I made one.

Supplies needed:

Eyeglass case (larger the better, I used a sunglass case)
spray adhesive
glue gun
ribbon mine was 3/8 inch a little wider would have been better I used what I had
flower or embellishment or nothing
fabric  can use 2 of the same or 2 different

This was a little more complicated than I thought it would be.  There are no set instructions as you just really have to adjust to make it work.  So here are some guidelines.

First take your eyeglass case and open it up.  Place it on the fabric that you would like on the outside.  Cut a square about 3 inches bigger than the case. 

Glue it on with spray adhesive.  Press the fabric to adhere to the case.  You will want to do this with the case closed so it will work when you open it.  When you have the main sections done work with all the corners or round ends and fold it into the inside of the case.

With hot glue, glue the edges in the inside of the case.  Cut off excess fabric. 

To the inside,  Cut a square of fabric larger that both sides.  I did this with hot glue it seems to work a little better.  Start with the middle part, put a line a glue and attach fabric then do each side trying your best to smooth it out and then do the edges.  Cut off excess. 

Place your handles with ribbon on the edge that opens.  I did mine on both sides so there are two handles.  The handles are about 8 inch long strips of ribbon.  Now that you have that done you will have raw edges on the edges.  Get your ribbon and hot glue over the top and bend it over on each side.  Glue in place.   Because we have added fabric to the case it will not shut all the way.  You can add a ribbon with velcro or just leave it.  I just left mine because what was going in it was not going to fall out.  I added a flower to the outside of the case to finish it off.

Have fun and enjoy your little purse.  You wouldn't have to add the handles and then you could have a clutch.  Which bring me to another idea entirely of itself.  I will show you later.

Pleated bags in shop

I just posted these cute bags in my etsy shop.  Don't forget the giveaway I am sponsoring is today.  Go here to get your name entered in on that giveaway.  If you don't win and want one let me know.  I custom make bags for $25 with $5 shipping.  I will be adding more to my etsy stop in the upcoming weeks.  Have a Happy Sunday.

Go and enter.

Onesie skirt

Remember the dress that I made of the onesie here. Well I had the bottom part of the onesie that I did not want to waste. I cut off what I needed and then went to town. 

The bottom of the onesie.  I measured a piece of fabric about 1.5 to 2 times the width of the onesie and put right sides together and sewed down the side.  Then I gathered the top and pinned it to the onesie.  I sewed around the top to secure it in place.

Here is the bottom of the onesie with the skirt attached.

This is the elastic. Have you noticed that wide elastic on top of skirts is apparently all the rage these days?  This is 1 1/2 inch wide elastic.  I cut off a piece and then sewed it on top of the skirt.

And there you have it.  A finished skirt with built in bloomers.  Convenient. 

Well, I couldn't stop there because now I had the middle part of the onesie that I shouldn't waste either.  So I made a headband.

Here is the middle part.

I shortened it a little by serging one side of it.  Then I put that seam so it would be covered and folded the piece into thirds towards the middle.  I pinned it and then zig zag around the middle.  I did the stitching in white but you could use a contrasting color if you wanted to.

Then I made three rosettes using torn fabric and hot glued them on.  That is the finished product.

All done.

Here they are together.  Just for you I am putting them in my etsy shop.  That way you don't have to make them.  It is really easy though.  And wasteless.  Happy Friday.  Don't forget to head over here for the giveaway that I am sponsoring tomorrow and all week next week

Car Seat Clippies...there is a video tutorial

Here is a video tutorial for some clippies that go on your car seat tent. You can find instructions to make a car seat tent here. This video will show you how to adjust your straps to add button holes to add clips into the button holes. Remember when you watch this that I am not an expert videographer by any means. You will find out when you watch this too. Anyway, with the clips for car seat tenst, I just like things to work in a few different ways if possible. This is my attempt to do just that. Hope you like it.


This is sad. You see I made a video for you to do this with since I am not great at tutorials and it got almost all the way uploaded and then it said "BIG FAT ERROR" really it just said error but that is what I saw.

So here it is:

Follow directions on cutting out the straps for your tent. Before you start any sewing make 2 button holes on end, the skinny end. Next put a piece of velco on the opposite end on the the button holes. With the other piece of fabric lay it down next to your button holed fabric. You are going to put your other piece of velcro on the opposite end of the where the velcro currently is. When you get that done, cut your button holes with a seam ripper. Then sew right sides together on the 2 long and 1 short side. Turn it right side out and then top stitch all around the four sides. Sew it on to your car seat tent as directed. Then run and get your daughter's hair bows or flowers or make two new ones to match. When you have them you slide them through the button holes. Voila! Multiple uses for hair bows or flowers. The more things that have more than one use the less stuff we have.

Sorry about the video. I will try to get it working later.

I was featured

I am so excited to post this.  I was featured here.  This is like a milestone.  Hurray!  Did you also notice the new design I have going on here?  I think it is hot.  The Girl Creative designed it.  She did such a great job and would really like to thank her so much for working with my pickyness.  You can find here here. 

I am working on a couple of projects that I will post soon.  I ran out of paint on one of them.  I am very excited about it because it will go in my new craft room that we are in the middle of finishing.  I have some very simple projects coming up.  Check back soon to see new things all the time.  Thanks for stopping by.

THe FInished Tryde Table

I finished the table from a few weeks ago over the weekend.  Two coats of black paint.  I really like it.  It was a much needed asset to my living room.  Hope you like it and it inspires you to build one too.

 Everyone can do these types of projects.  With a little willpower and some tools your can make your own too.   Linked up with http://asoftplace.net

Jewelry Holder

I can't figure out how to arrange my pictures.  Sorry. 

We all know that I can't pass up a good deal.  I got this at the thrift store I think for 1.50.  Normally I probably wouldn't have paid that much except I have been looking for one for a while now.  So I did it.  I was boring.  I am not sure what it was used for but now it has a specific use. 

I started out my spray painting it brown.  When that was dry, I didn't have what I wanted so I improvised and spray painted it a creamy white color.  After that was dry I just roughed up the edges with sand paper and hung some necklaces on it.  Fun and very easy.

Meal Swap

I have been meaning to post this for awhile now.  It is nothing crafty but really is a time saver.

I gathered 2 of my friends and decided to do a meal swap.  What this includes is you cook one night a week for your family and two other families.  It has to be a main course and a side dish.  For example, lasagna and french bread, soup and salad, hamburgers and fries.  You get the idea.  Then you deliver your meals.  In our group if the meal is already cooked we deliver about 5:30 or so.  If they have to cook the meal (put it in the oven) we try to do it an hour early or me, I like to do it when I get it done.  So last Wednesday I made lasagna and french bread.  I baked the bread Tuesday night and made the lasagna Wednesday morning.  When I had it all done I delivered it about 2 ish.  Now it doesn't usually take that long to make those items.  I had to run to the store and grab a few things. 

The thing I love about this:
1. I don't have to cook every night
2.  I get a variety of homemade meals
3.  I cook one night a week

This means that honestly I probably get healthier meals than I probably would cook myself, and I get more time to produce crafts.  I love it and so does my family.  Another added bonus is that I don't have a dirty kitchen all the time and my kids don't cry during the hour that I would normally cook dinner.

We only do Mon-Wed.  My sister does Mon-Thurs.  We decided not to do it on Fridays because that is typically date night or the night of a million activities.

Now you can get your craft on for longer hours with meal swap.  Grab your friends and try it.  Try to find families roughly the same size to make your meal prep easier.  Have fun and enjoy your non cooking nights.

Brooke

Shorts Refashion

I Got a pair of shorts at DI.  I knew exactly what I was going to do with them the minute I saw them.  They have some embroidery detail on the front and back pockets.

Frilly Socks

Apparently it is baby week here this week.  I am making some baby gifts and wanted to get them all done.  Sorry, Krissy if you already know what you are getting.  I may have surprises up my sleeve.

I remember when I was little more like 7ish, I had these sock that my mom thought were great and I did not think so.  Well, now that I am a mom, every girl should have frilly socks.  Right?  So today, I am going to shoe you how to make your own frilly socks for every girls dream.

Anyway,  I got some plain white socks at the dollar store (pack of 2)..  They are a nylon cotton blend.  Nothing fancy.  Then I went to the fabric store and got some  eyelet that already has it gathered.  I am not sure what that is called.

Now, I could have measured but I didn't want to come up short because the next step depends on how much you stretch your sock. 

Put your sewing machine on zig zag.  Place the eyelet under the sock top when it is folded down and pin the end in place.  Next, pull the sock up so it is not folded over.  Start to sew around the sock placing the eyelet along the sock as you stretch it.  You don't need to stretch it a ton just a little bit as you go along.  You want to stretch it some so you can pull it on your babies foot and it would be too tight on their leg.  Once you get all the way around the sock slightly overlap the eyelet and sew down the side and finish with fray check.  I did it this way because I was unsure of how much the stretch would be.  You could pre measure and then serge the seam together and then sew the eyelet on but doing so would limit your stretch on the sock.  Is everybody following me.  I am not sure I am.  Fold the sock back over and repeat on the other sock.  Fairly simple and cute as ever.

Onesie to Dress

This is so easy.  I just had an extra onesie.  I found a flower pattern on some material and cut out.  I sewed that in the center of the top and then cut off the onesie below it.  Then I found some fabric, sewed the sides together and gathered the top and then attached the onesie.  Be careful so the onesie doesn't stretch too much.  Then hem the bottom.  So easy, so cute.  Would make a great gift.

What to do with the bottom of the onesie?   I have plans for it to.  Just wait will post later in the week.

Diaper/ wipe holder changing pad

This totally needs a better name but I am not producing names right now. Anyway, it holds some diapers, diaper creme or baby powder, and a wipe holder ( like Huggies or Pampers).

I bought a vinyl tablecloth and a remnant for the front. I just cut out about how big I would like. Rounded the corners. I doubled the pocket part. I sewed the different pockets on and then flipped everything right sides together and sewed around all but left an opening to flip it right. Once it was flipped, I top-stitched around the whole piece. I then folded it up to see where the ribbon would go with velcro. I sewed the ribbon and velcro on. To fold it up, I flip the flannel side so it would be on top and fold in thirds. This is wipeable as well as machine washable. It will probably not hold up for an incredibly long amount of time because of the vinyl. So I would say machine wash sparingly.

Would you like the pattern? Would you like to buy one off my etsy shop? Let me know. Sorry, I am still getting the hang of tutorials. I will get better. I have several more in the works.

Scrapbook Magnet Board

This is an easy and fun project!
You need:
wood framed magnet board (I bought mine at Roberts with a 50% off coupon. It was about $15.)
paint
scrapbook paper
glass rocks
circle magnets
Mod Podge
glue (I used E6000, but hot glue would work, too)
sandpaper

For the magnet board:
1. Remove the metal sheet and paint the wood. Give it at least two coats.
2. Arrange the scrapbook paper around the frame until you like it.
3. Mod podge it on. Make sure to do a coat on top, too.
4. Sand the edges really good to give it a worn look.

For the magnets:
1. Use the glass rocks to trace circles onto your paper and cut them out.
2. Put a layer of Mod podge on the paper and attach to a glass rock.
3. Let them dry.
4. Glue magnets on the back.

Car Seat Blanket

Hey, I'm Kristine, Brooke's SIL, and I thought I'd share this car seat blanket I made recently. For me it was an inexpensive way to make our blue plaid car seat look more girly for the little one that will be here soon! Plus it's great for keeping her wrapped up and warm without worrying about the blanket falling off. And it can stay with the car seat so it's ready to go when we are, and really easy to clean. I had seen several similar blankets and wanted to make my own! I free-handed this pattern so I could be sure it would fit our car seat. I drew the pattern on several pieces of newspaper taped together. It's a clover shape, approx 54 inches in length and width. I had 1.5 yards of the pink fleece and 3 yards of the cotton (since it is 44" wide- I had to do some piecing; it would work great if you could find a cute home decor fabric that is 54" wide, then you wouldn't have to piece it), and I had plenty of fabric left over. After cutting out the shapes, I sewed the two pieces right sides together, leaving an opening to turn them. Then I stitched around the outside at about 5/8 ". I measured and traced lines onto the fabric to match the 5-point buckles on my car seat. Then I sewed rectangles around the lines with a buttonhole stitch, cut the slits open with a rotary cutter and then zigzag stitched around the slits to keep them from fraying. Pretty simple!

House plants

The semi ugly pot

my color

almost there

Tada Okay the ribbon is kind of wild

I have some houseplants that needed repotting. I like the nice expensive pots you know like the ceramic or the pretty glazed ones. Well, we all know I am thrifty. I buy the 2-3 dollar pot in the size I would like and then spray paint whatever color I choose. My outdoor pots I spray painted a copper color. What is so funny about this is that I have gotten a lot of compliments on my pots and everyone wants to know where I get them from. Ha! Ha!

Homemade Bisquick Mix

Homemade Bisquick Mix

Makes 7 cups

6 cups flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening (I used powdered shortening)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt three times in a large bowl (I didn't do that)
Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store mixture in airtight container in the fridge up to 4 months. Use it whenever recipe calls for bisquick.

My notes: I didn't want to have to store in the fridge so I used powdered shortening. When doing this you will have to use more water when you mix it up. We just had pancakes with it for breakfast and it was great.

To make pancakes or waffles:

2 cups of mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2-2 cups of milk

If you like your pancakes thinner use more milk. If not they will be thicker pancakes. I used 1 1/2 cups milk today and they were a little thicker. Easy and good. Probably less expensive too.

Tryde Side Table

A few weeks ago I came across Ana from Knock Off Wood. She is amazing. I instantly got the building bug.

Today while my kiddos were mostly napping I made a table. It is not perfect and it is really out of square but for a first timer I think it is great. It cost me under $20 to build. I still need to sand it and paint it. It is for my living room between my couches. Right now I currently have a plant there and piles of stuff. So hopefully it will look a little nicer when I have it all done. I will give a before and after of the space in upcoming posts. I am going to paint it black, rough up the edges a bit and polyurethane it. Will be so happy when it is all done. Pretty easy for beginners like me.

Ana is great because she gives you free plans to build knock off designer furniture. Check her out, if you haven't already.

Journal

The finished product

adding the name and the tags

tracing the outside of the notebook

finding the coordinating paper

Supplies needed:

composition book

scrapbook paper

modge podge

scissors

paint brush

embellishments

letters

What I did here is very simple. I took a compostion notebook three or four coordinating papers of my choosing. On the paper that I wanted as the base, I traced the outline of the book on the back and cut it out. I then got out the modge podge and paint brush and painted the glue on the back of my paper. I used tags and just cut them to the size that looked about right, not too big or small. I got my paper and traced the tags on them and cut out as well. I happen to have vellum sayings so I cut the ones out I wanted and glued them on the paper then onto the tags. I added my daughter's name on the bottom with stickers. Someday I will get a cricut. I tied a little piece of grosgrain ribbon through the hole in the tag and glued on. Cute and simple. I glued my tags on with modge podge and then put them under a heavy book. Hot glue might work even better.

Now I have a journal or baby book type thing that I can write stuff in and she can color or as she gets older use for her own journal.