My First Quilt- a T-Shirt Quilt

I finally finished my first quilt! I used my husband's t-shirts to make a quilt for my little boy to have while he's gone. It made it easier for my husband to go through and get rid of some of his old t-shirts.

Each of the squares are 15x15. For a baby it's huge, but he will grow into it. I used sheer fusible backing for the t-shirts and there is no batting because it's hot here and I want the baby to be able to use it all the time. With the fusible backing on the t-shirts and the actual backing it is still plenty thick. I used painter's tape to make my sideways lines while quilting it, and each line is A Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Book apart. (You know you love my measuring methods!) I used a nice gray for the quilting after finding out that micro-filament is difficult to use.

Sleeveless Onsie from Adult T-Shirt

I found this cute idea for a shortall on Pinterest. It's by Heather of Feather's Flights and she made a great tutorial and pattern. Check her's out here. I had some ideas of how I wanted to change it, so here's what I did.

I didn't use her pattern, although I'm sure it would be easier (I haven't had ink in my printer for quite awhile now, it would have been easier but at least it makes me think creatively!). I used one the baby already had and traced it onto tissue paper. I made sure to add quite a bit of space on each side, because I wanted him to have room to grow and for my seam allowance. I also was planning on making a tank top, so there was extra space on the sides of the neck.

The onsie I was copying didn't have the extra piece that Heather had on hers, it was just the front and the back pieces, the same shape. After cutting out the pattern I pinned it to the front of the t-shirt and cut it out of the shirt.

Next I cut the neckline and just cut a little bit off of each side and then pin it back together and sew it.

The sides also need to be sewn, put the two pieces with outsides facing in together, then pin and sew the sides, starting under the arm hole.

The next thing is to hem the legs and arm holes. I did just a single fold under and stitched it.

Next it is time to figure out the snaps. I used snap tape and sewed it on by first pinning one side to the bottom, but with both outsides facing in. I stitched one side and then turned it over so insides were both inside and stitched it closed. For the bottom snaps I pinned them outsides facing in and just stitched it once. Now when they snap the tape isn't very visible.

I Alter My Underwear

This is another odd post, don't worry there won't be any pictures of my actual underwear, I took the picture from UwearUSA.com and showed you how I changed them.

As you know, I'm super cheap. When I saw a 10-pack of underwear on clearance at Wal-mart I grabbed them without looking too much at them. It turned out they were on clearance because the picture on the front was different than what was in the package, but I needed them. After awhile of hating them, I finally came up with a solution to make them work.

I took the two red lines and pinned them together. I sewed them, with a long straight stitch as I stretched it. (See my headband post, I did the same thing) I cut off the excess and they were done. It made them fit much better, more like the bikini cut I usually buy. This was easy and they make me feel good, especially for something so cheap.

Baby Playmat

This is going to be an unusual post. I am just going to tell you not to do this project, and I will tell you what was so terrible about it, so that you don't make the same mistakes I did. Hopefully it will give you ideas to do something like this but a billion times easier!

I found a playmat at a yardsale and got it for fifty cents. I didn't realize until I got it home that the bottom was torn up pretty badly and was not worth fixing. Being the crafty gal I am, I decided to make a new bottom for it.

I knew I wanted the bottom nice and cushy like a blanket, but I noticed that even crib sized batting was expensive so I decided a puff pillow would be neat and I had a pillow of fluff that could fill it for a tiny bit of the price.

This was at the time my sewing machine was broken, so most of the squares were hand sewn together and then whip stitched closed. I did get to use the machine for some of the squares, but when the squares are finished they all have to be whip stitched together. And that was the nightmare. I started this when I was pregnant, and did alot of the work when I was on bedrest, but it still wasn't finished until the baby was almost too big for it! It was very time consuming and very frustrating. Not to mention that I dreaded doing it, so a week at a time it would just sit until I would pick it up again the next week.

I also recovered the poles that went over the top. Those were fun and easy to sew, I just copied the originals. By this time my sewing machine was working, I wouldn't do these by hand, they get pulled on and eaten too much!

If I were to do it again I would do a few things differently. 1. Buy one already made, new at a store. 2. Find a Joann's coupon and just buy the batting. 3. Make it with an existing quilt. 4. Sew thick straps to go corner to corner and put blankets I already had over the straps.

Number four is my favorite idea, I wish I had done that! Well now you see a cute project that took FOR-EV-ER and know what not to do. Thanks for reading!

Coke Can Charm

Today I'm over at Arizona Mama showing off my latest repurposing craft, a Coke Can Necklace. Check it out Here!

Coke Can Bracelets

I'm over at Arizona Mama today showing off my newest obsession! I've made tons of these but this is the one that I wear! Go check it out and let me know what you think!

Turkey Pumpkin Idea

Have any pumpkins that didn't get carved for Halloween? Head over to Arizona Mama to see the tutorial on these Turkey Pumpkins.

Boo-ing: Round Two

Did everyone check out the My Memories Giveaway yet? I don't have any entries on it yet, go leave a comment!



Do you know what "Boo-ing" is? Most people that I talk to don't know what it is until I explain it, and then usually they remember hearing about it. It is a fun door-bell ditching activity to do around Halloween. You take a treat or gift of some sort and a print out (a poem with instructions and a picture to tape to the door, meaning "We've already been boo-ed, go spread the Halloween cheer with another neighbor!") Last year I made my own Boo-ing printable, so I could start it around our community, we get to start it Saturday!

Check out last year's post and grab the printable.

This year, I outlined a few containers you could make to put treats in for you neighbors on Arizona Mama. Go check out 3 Easy Boo-ing Ideas!

Repurposed Onsie

My son wore this onsie twice. It wasn't because he grew out of it this time!

Check out what I did with it at Arizona Mama!

Mod Podged Coasters

This is a super simple mod podge project. I found glass candle bases at an overstock store. I mod podged the paper to the underside, and let it show through. On the very bottom I did a very generous coat of the mod podge in case of any spills. I didn't do it for these ones, but a felt piece glued to the bottom would make a nice addition to the project, to further protect your tables.

How to Cut Jeans for Scraps

This post should be named How to make Redneck Thongs, but there will be more on that later.

I finally cleaned out my craft closet, again. It was bad. I had a ton of jeans I wanted to keep for the material but it was pointless to keep the entire jeans that were taking up tons of space. While cutting them up I found the best order to cut them and which cuts would yield the most useful material. I also found a great way to make redneck thongs for your next redneck party!

Who irons jeans? Not me... Usually. I think of the movie Cheaper by the Dozen.

Kate: [referring to Hank] He's not a doorknob.
Jake: He irons his jeans, Mom.
Kate: Yeah that's weird.

There were a few pairs of jeans that were wrinkled and folded in weird places so the first thing to do is iron the jeans that need it.


The first cut to make is at the bottom. Cut one inch on each side of the seams. Cut each side of the inside and outside seams on both pant legs.


Then cut the bottom hem off, leaving the seams intact. It should look like this after wards.


Turn the jeans inside out. This is the line you'll take for the first cuts.


Some of the jeans were serged so you could cut both sides of the seam at once, and others were sewn down so it was easier to make two cuts around the seam. (With scissors instead of the rotary.)


When you get towards the top of the jeans cut until you get to the eyelet on the pocket.


Keep cutting the backside of the same seam until you hit the next seam.


Next, go back to the pocket side of the seam where you left off and cut underneath the pocket, to the zipper and down to the crotch. You will cut across the inseam.


Next continue your cut on the backside by going up towards the waist. Cut until you get to the next seam.


Cut along the seam below the waist until you get to your other cut. The pant leg should come off now.

This is what you should have.


Now do the same thing for the other pant leg. After that you will get your final Redneck Thong.


Back to saving your jeans...
Take the open pant leg, and cut out the last seam.


You now have a pile of seams, some redneck thongs and a nice pile of usable jean scraps.



Now I tossed the thongs, and almost tossed the seams, but I tried weaving them together, and I might have a post about what I'm making with them later. But I'm not done yet, so it will be a few months. I'll also have the project I've been saving the jeans for, but that hasn't been finished either. If you must know why, cutting these jeans was the project I was working on while I was in labor with my baby boy. I went to the hospital fully dilated but at least my jeans were cut and put away!

My Purse(s)

First of all, I love reading Nice Girl Notes. It is always so entertaining to read! She is going to be having a link party so everyone can be nosy and see what kind of crap other people carry around in their bag. I have a crafty blog, so I'll show you the crafty side of my purse(s).

Purses? Plural? Yes, I switch almost weekly, sometime more sometimes less. It saves me from actually cleaning out my purse, I just put the stuff I need into a new one!

The two I have been back and forth in the last few weeks are these ones. Both of which I have sewn.


The first one I made pretty recently from an awesome goodwill find. I would have done a tutorial, but I never took any pictures for it.

It started off as a vest that kinda reminded me of a grandma. (no offense gramma!! i just wouldn't wear it) But it had a really cool design on the inside and was a great color. I took the pieces apart, used the front pocket pieces as the front and back and used the rest as strips for the sides and strap. Lots of seam ripping took place, which is why I will never sell this one.

The second one is a tote bag I made for school a few years ago. It was made from the flannel that my sister used to make pajama pants for me. I carried my binder in it for quite awhile. I just barely started using it again and I realize it's not as heavy duty as my vest purse. I'm a much better sewer now. If sewer is a word.

I took everything from both purses to show you, luckily there wasn't anything gross this time around, but I still feel that I need to explain what everything is.


Ok, let's start from the top, and work our way from left to right.

Massage Therapy Textbook- For homework I should be doing instead of crafting
My Laptop- When I'm not on it, it's usually open and on in my craft room or in my purse just waiting to be used, and yes it is very small, made just for my purse
My Wallet- My husband bought it for me when I was trying to get him to go after-christmas shopping (which is my favorite) he hoped that if he bought something for me my shopping hunger would be satisfied
My Great Big Book of Everything- You can read all about this amazing little notebook in my post here
Unopened Paycheck- It's a couple weeks old, don't you just love direct deposit?
Laptop Power Cord and Mouse- Power cord is self explanatory, but a mouse is Extremely important. I have been through about four mice in the past 6 months. First I abused the touchpad that is in the laptop so it didn't work, then I broke my regular mouse, then my dogs chewed my super fancy brand new mouse so I used an old one that also broke and now I'm using my husbands from his computer and he might kill me if I break this one.
Christmas Party Reminder Magnets- I made these for work they turned out super cute but I put the wrong date, so I had to redo them and the redone part falls off, so I took the bad-looking ones home so no one would see them. It also reminds me that I have to work on the actual invitations
Crumpled Old Receipts- You never know when you might need one of these, finding the right one is the problem
Rhino Caffe Menu- I'm doing a craft fair there on Saturday, and have those to tell people about it, and so that I had their address. That size of paper is alot easier to keep track of than a business card.
Random Business Cards- These are hiding under the computer cords. I have a few of these and never really use them. I always want to, but they get lost at the bottom of my bag.
Pens and Pencils- It doesn't matter how many I have in my bad it still takes too long to find one, so I stock up
Thumb Drive- Everyone has a different name for these things. What do you call them?
Coupons- I used to shop only with coupons, now I can't ever remember to use them
5 Gum- "I don't always chew gum, but when I do I prefer 5 gum."
Emery Boards- I can never have too many of these either, there's a few more in my wallet, I never know when I need one!

I feel exposed since I just broadcast my entire life to you from the bottom of my purse, but I hope you enjoyed being nosy!

Halloween Garland

This garland was a compilation of other cute crafts I had seen online. The tools you need are:
Toilet Paper Tubes
Scrap Halloween Fabric, cut into 3/4 inch thick strips, by 3-5 inches long
Yarn
Acrylic Paints

First you cut your toilet paper tubes in half. Then you paint them orange and add a black pumpkin face.

Next you will let them dry and start tying your fabric scraps onto the yarn. I made sure my strips of fabric were angled at the ends.

Tie strips for about 9 inches.

Punch Holes in your pumpkin, and thread the yarn through.

Keep tying strips for another 9 inches and add the next pumpkin. Do this until you run out of scraps.

Trim the edges of the yarn and hang for Halloween! Happy Haunting!


This is available at my etsy store click here to view. Thanks for looking!

Also Linking to:

Stolen Goods: Super Quick Tutorials

I don't need much direction when it comes to reading other people's tutorials. Usually. I see a picture or something in the store and try to copy it when I get home. So here are some pictures from the last few things I have done.


My (Super Quick) Pumpkin Jar Tutorial:
1. Mix food coloring with mod podge
2. Paint on jars
3. Cut out paper faces and mod podge
4. Let dry and add ribbon
5. Put candle inside and light :)


(Yes my craft room is constantly messy, fooled you right?!?)


My (Super Quick) Pennant tutorial:
1. Cut and Zig-Zag stitch Traingles
2. Sew to ribbon

Stuffed Toilet Paper Pumpkin

Last Year and years before I learned to make these cute pumpkins with a roll of toilet paper. Last year I also ran out of toilet paper in my house multiple times, and took apart the pumpkins to use the toilet paper.

This year I decided I didn't want to waste a whole roll of toilet paper, so I used just the tubes and crinkled toilet paper. I tried newspaper but I didn't like the way it looked.

First, you lay your square of fabric down. (Mine were t-shirts sleeves so I bunched them up and secured them with a rubber band.) Then you put your toilet paper tube in the center (I wanted small ones so I cut my toilet paper tube in half)


Next start crinkling your toilet paper, kind of fold it over and over. Place in around your tp tube and fold the cloth over it and stuff the cloth in the toilet paper tube.


When finished stuffing the pumpkin hot glue the fabric to the toilet paper tube.


Next, find something to use as a stem. I used a cardboard roll from aluminum foil. I painted it a darker brown and added leaves. All of these were also hot glued in.

15 Cent Notebooks

I don't think that I ever got a cute notebook or folder, unless I bought it myself. And the latest movie characters on a notebook was never worth my money. Now that I have to buy all of the school supplies, a 15 cent notebook is a good deal. I usually take a quick peek to see how much the cute ones cost, but a whole dollar more for the same thing?!? Forget it!

I don't have kids yet, but I'm a student still. I want cute school supplies too!! So I bought a bunch of the 15 cent notebooks and the equally cheap and ugly folders and took them home to decorate.

I used a little scrapbook paper and some mod podge. I made a folder for my stencils and a cute one to show if I had a little boy. Think about the possibilities! Magazine cut outs could make a collage of your child's favorite things, or you could print a Hannah Montana picture instead. Just be careful when using the mod podge you keep it away from the actual pages so that they don't get glued together or anything!


I made a rolled flower (click here for tutorial)for this notebook, and just glued that over the ugly words in the corner. (I've been fond of anything silvery or gray lately!)


If you don't want your kids making a mess of mod podge, use laminate paper instead. Have fun decorating!