Undies and Presents

Today was a crazy day, but a great day! After only 3 days of potty training, our 2 year old (Abram) is potty trained!!! Incredible! He didn't even have ONE accident today! The easiest kid ever. So, I made him some underwear out of old t-shirts using that*darn*kat's awesome pattern for Children's Undies.


I loved it. They turned out soooo cute and it was such an easy project! They fit nicely and do not have big gaps where the leg wholes are like the store bought ones tend to have on my kids. I will DEFINITELY be using this again for all of my children. Try it. You'll love it.

In other news, my youngest (Eli) turned 1 today. So sad. It's hard watching him grow up so fast. Even on the 4th child, it never ceases to amaze me how fast it goes by. Eli is so cute though. I made him a smash cake and he refused to get dirty. So, he didn't bother with his hands.

Cross-eyed and all. Adorable.

The $4.00 Fall Jacket

That's right! $4.00! I need to keep reminding myself that it only cost me $4.00 to make this jacket since the amount of time I put into it was bull. I used Alanna's old jacket as a pattern, but some how screwed up along the way and ended up with a jacket 3 sizes to big for her. So, the next morning, back at it. I had to pull the thing almost completely apart, re-cut it and re-sew it. Then it was done. It fits. Thank God. The $4.00, 4 hour jacket became the $4.00, 8 hour jacket. But... It was only $4.00.

I love that this jacket isn't restricting with buttons all the way down. It leaves lots of room to play and was, aside from my fiasco, easy to make. I'm debating a pattern for this one after I tweak it. We'll see.


I think I'm going to put a second button above the one that is already there. I don't like the way the corners won't stay folded down. Either that, or I'll put some sort of seam in it to hold it down the way I want to. Or maybe just tack it down with a quick stitch and add a cute flower? hmmm.



The fabric I used for the lining was leftover from a baby sling I made a few years ago. The arms are also lined. It's a cute little touch without being childish looking. And... it was in my stash... so no extra cash!

It's FALL!!!

Fall is my favorite time of year. Though, it would be better if it were not followed by Wisconsin winters... blah. But with that nasty thought aside, I love fall for so many reasons. Apple picking. Sweatshirts. Leaves. Acorns. chilly days. Sweaters. Hats. Pumpkins.

So, in keeping with the fall theme, I made a fun little decoration. ACORNS!!!


It's so darling! Isn't it?

I used the same technique I have used in the past to make felt strawberries. They are super simple. I did a search after making these and there is another tutorial online that you can find here. Equally as great.

Here's what we did...

My daughter and I went outside to pick acorns out of the back yard. We kept the tops and the nuts. But, this craft is just with the tops. I'm working on another project with the nuts.


Then I cut out my fabric in a circle that measures about 3 inches. I did so by tracing a childs cup.


I folded the circle in half and sewed a curved line to about the center. See how the seam next to the fold is curved? If you make it completely straight, your acorn will have a point at the bottom. This is an easy way to prevent that.


I did this a bunch of times.


Then I clipped next to the seam.


When you fold it right side out, you will have a sort of cone shape. Now put a long running stitch through the top with a hand needle.


With a small amount of stuffing, stuff your acorn. Try to stuff it pretty full so that it will have a nice round shape. Otherwise there will be a lot of creases at the top. I did some of both and the fuller ones look much better. Now pull the thread tight and tie it shut.


You should have this:


Next, glue on the top of your acorn with a hot glue gun.


Now make a whole bunch of them and you will have your own bowl of cuteness!

Feathery hair piece

Alanna is a girly girl to the max! "Hair pretties" are her favorite accessory and she is always asking for more. So, I decided to make her one. This is what I came up with.



I didn't take photos while I made it, but the process is easy to follow. Here is how I did it. First I took three pieces of ribbon, cut to 12" long (1/2" wide), and braided them. Using a glue gun, I simply wound it up into a disc. I did trim the braid down because the disc was getting to big. Just make it as big as you like. To finish the disc, I glued the ends to the back of the braided circle.

For the petals, I made them using V & Co.'s tutorial. I made it a bit different than the tutorial, however. I only cut the ribbon about 3" long and ended up trimming them before gluing them down. Just make them the length that looks best to you. I did not use two layers of petals and I did not glue the petals to a felt circle, though you could. I just glued them to my braided center.


My favorite clips are alligator clips. I covered it with the same pink ribbon I used for the braided center.


Then, I glued the flower to the clip and then glued the feathers behind the flower, shoving them between the flower and the clip. One thing to note, I made sure the feathers would lay against Alanna's head when she was wearing it. It just looks better than if they are sticking out all over the place.

Needless to say, Alanna LOVES the clip!!! She wears it even when it doesn't match her outfit... yikes. Maybe I need to make a variety of colors!

Sick, Sick, Sick

I know I have been MIA for so long now. Life has gotten in the way of the things I enjoy doing. This week, the flu has been circulating through our family of 6. Two are still healthy and one is sick for the second time in less than a week. yuck. But mostly I have been busting my tail to make ends meet since my husband has been out of a job since May. The crazy life.

I have some things I'm working on tonight, so check back shortly for more fun things.

Hemming Jeans Tutorial

Last spring a friend of mine asked me to hem some jeans for her son. It instantly brought back memories from when I was a child. I am pretty short and my jeans were always too long. The one time my grandmother hemmed my jeans, I felt like a total nerd. They were so ugly. I searched online to find tutorials for hemming jeans. I found tons of them. However, the problem with all of them is that the way the original hem is sewn on, it flips up and needs to be ironed all the time. So, this time, she asked me to just do a normal hem. But, I was determined to find a way that would look good and not need any maintenance. Here is what I came up with.

1. once you have pinned the appropriate length, fold the extra length inside the pant leg.

Then fold the original hem just beyond the new length as shown below.



2. Line the new length close, but not over, the original stitches. Start sewing as close to the edge as possible. Refer to the photo below. I went around this stitch 3 times.


3. Fold the extra length out.

Now trim this excess off, leaving about a 1/4 in.


4. Run a zig zag stitch around the raw edge (or use a serger if you are lucky enough to have one).


5. Run a strait stitch up the two side seams of the pants just to tack down your new hem.


When you are finished, this is what it should look like. It is not noticeable when the jeans are on and no ironing is needed. The best part, no nerdy hem on the bottom!