Mothers day Present

We are doing a little last minute picture collage for my mom for mothers day. It is going to include all the grandkids hopefully. Luckily for you guys, my mom does not check my blog. So here is a little preview of my daughters and their photo op :

Question: have you ever tried to get a mobile baby to hold still for 2 minutes while you take a picture.

or have you tried to get your 4 yr old to hold very still so that you can hurry and pose the said baby and take a snap shot of themThis is what we came up with. I hope you enjoyed our little preview. Oh and there will be 5 families pictures total. And so you guys don't think that I am a bad daughter we do have flowers and a book for her already I just thought this would be a great addition for her

How to Sew a Minky Baby Blanket with Satin Ruffle Binding

This baby blanket is super soft. I made it with zebra print minky fabric and fluffly baby pink minky. I also used satin fabric to create a boutique ruffle.

I finally gave in and bought a camera after I lost my last one. I just got in on Wednesday and have not had much time to play with it. It is a point and shoot olympus stylus 7030. So far it has been working really great. I had a camera similar to this one before so I already know the basics of it which makes it easier.
I have had this minky fabric for awhile and was saving it for a special project.  I just didn't know what it would be yet!

Yesterday I finally bought some satin fabric to do the ruffle. This blanket measures about 30x30 inches. So 30 inches of fabric made 2 blankets (minky measures about 60 wide).

To learn how to make this adorable quilt you can purchase the pattern at A Vision to Remember Shop

Or you can download the pattern for free HERE

How to Sew Fabric Baby Blocks from Scrap Fabrics

Do you have tons of scraps laying around? I know I do. Plus I am always looking for new things to sew for my baby. These baby blocks are a great toy, plus you don't even need a pattern for them.

I have tons of scraps of fabric. I am always looking for ways to use them up. One solution that I have found is to make baby blocks with them.

These blocks are stuffed with a mixture of batting and small fabric scraps (about 1 inch). They are a bit heavier than normal, but that is great for stacking.

My girls love them. They are constantly playing with them, even though they were made for baby shower gifts.

These blocks are super easy to make. All you do is cut out 6 squares of fabric (these blocks are 6 inches square) I have also done 4 inch ones and they were a great size also. I did a 9 inch square one and it was a bit big.

Then after you have cut them out, sew the squares together to form a block, with the right sides of the fabrics facing each other. I like to sew 3 pieces together in the shape of an L, then repeat with the other 3. Then sew them together. Make sure to leave a small opening so that you can turn the block right side out and then stuff the block with your choice of material.

Have a great day and Happy Sewing

Sweater Dress Upcycle for a Toddler from Womens Shirt

Today, I made my toddler a fun hooded upcycled sweater dress that she has not taken off yet. She is in love with it, and so am I. You all know how much I love to make my girlies clothes. I especially love making them clothes out of clothes that I would normally send to the thrift store.
This cute little little dress took me seriously about 15 minutes to make. That included coaxing her to try it on 4 different times.

This sweater had a deep V-neck. I had some extra knit fabric that I sewed into the V. I need to add something else at the top. Ruffles, maybe?
Look at how adorable she is.

She is so comfortable in this dress.

Here is the shirt before I started to sew it. I first had her try it on inside out. Then I pinned where it needed to be taken in (its those yellow dots around the armpit).

Then I just sewed along the pins, cut away the extra fabric. Then I added the knit fabric to the V-Neck.

Seriously. This project took me 15 minutes. Go take a look in your closet. I know there are clothes in there that you do not wear anymore that your kiddies would love to wear. Plus it is really easy on the pocket book.

Ribbon Skirt Tutorial for Girls

Today, I am really excited to be able to share with you a fun little skirt made with ribbon pieces sewn onto the fabric (creating a ribbon fabric) that I made for my daughter.

Isn't she just adorable?!?
This skirt can be as complicated or simple as you would like. All I did was copy a skirt that my daughter has. I made the waist band 4 inches wide.


It also has a cute little ruffle
The backside of the skirt
The skirt is even made of 2 layers.

Instructions for making the ribbon fabric:

1. Take the main body part of your skirt and randomly sew ribbon onto the fabric. I used a ton of scrap ribbon that I had from other projects. I sewed on 3 layers of ribbon. The top layer was random small pieces of ribbon that I used steam a seam (1/4 inch) and ironed them onto the fabric so that they would not move while I was sewing them.
2. The next layer of ribbon I sewed them all in a straight line horizontally.
3. The third and last layer of ribbon I sewed the ribbon all vertically onto the fabric.
4. Now between 80-90% of the fabric is covered with ribbon. You don't have to do this much ribbon. If you want, pin the ribbon onto the fabric in the pattern that you are wanting and then sew the ribbon that way.
5. Now trim off the extra ribbon that is hanging over the edge of the fabric.
6. Sew the skirt together following the directions for your favorite skirt pattern or follow the direction below:

Here is how to make your skirt for a little girl:

1. Measure the waist of whoever the dress will fit. My daughters is 21 inches.
2. Divide that number by 2, then add .5 (this is for your seam allowance so add what you need). So now I have 11 inches. This is how long you need your front "yoke" (that is the front part of the waistband)
3. Now take the other half of the number (21 in my case) which is 10.5 and add 1-2 inches. This is going to be for the back part of the yoke. You want this part to have a little bit of give so that the skirt can stretch over the bootie (or hindy). Then add your seam allowance again. So my new number for the back yoke is 13 inches.
4. Now decide how tall you want your waistband. I wanted mine 3 inches tall.
5. For the front yoke take your number and add .5 inches again for the seam allowance. My new number is 3.5
6. For the back yoke you need to add room for your elastic waistband. So you need to add 1 extra inch (I used 1/2 inch wide elastic). then add .5 for your seam allowance. My new number is 4.5
7. Now for the skirt part: take your first magic number (21 for me) and double it. So now I have 42.
8. Now for the height: I wanted to do 2 layers for the skirt and I wanted them to be about 4 inches tall. So to make it easier while sewing the ribbon onto the skirt I did 1 panel and sewed on all the ribbon and then cut that panel into the skirts. So my panel ended up being 10 inches tall (8 for both skirt layers plus .5 and plus .5 twice for the seam allowances)
9. For the ruffle you take your length for the skirt part and times it by3 it again (my number is 132)
10. I wanted my ruffle about 2 inches wide (so 2.5 for me)
11. Now for the cutting part: Cut out 2 front yokes (mine are 3.5x11 inches) and 1 back yoke (13x4.5). Cut your skirt piece (mine was 10x42), Cut your ruffle (I needed 132 inches of 2.5 inch wide strips of fabric so I cut 3 2.5 inch strips out of my fabric and then sewed them into one long strip), and cut a piece of elastic the same length as your waist measurement divided by 2 (in my case it is 10.5
12. Now sew the 2 front yokes together, turn then, then iron the piece flat.
13. Take your back yoke and finish the top edge, then turn it over .5 inches and sew it down to create the place for your elastic to be threaded through.
14. Now take your skirt piece and cut it into the correct sizes (I now have 2 42x4.5 inch pieces.
15. Sew along the 4.5 inch side to create a circle. Repeat with the 2 skirt piece
16. Lay the pieces so that the ribbon side is facing you and then sew around the top part of them (the 42 inch side).
17. Thread the elastic through the back yoke. Make sure to not loose it inside the yoke
18. Now sew the front and back yoke pieces together to form a circle. Make sure to sew the elastic while you are doing this.
19. Now sew the ruffle into a circle
20. Sew the yoke piece to the skirt piece. And then sew the ruffle piece onto the skirt.
21. Now you have a unique, adorable ribbon skirt.

How to make your own Fondant With Marshmallows

Today I want to share with you all how to make Fondant using ingredients from your panty {and the main ingredient being Marshmallows, so you know it will taste GOOD}.

Fondant is really easy to work with, but the real stuff is nasty...that is all that there is to it. It does not taste good.

Fondant Recipe:

{affiliate links below. Thanks for the support)

1 bag marshmallows
1 2 lb bag of powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut flavoring
1 tbsp water

Directions
melt the marshmallows, coconut flavoring, and water in the microwave. Then in a mixer (Bosch is my favorite) add the powdered sugar. Make sure to add it slowly. You want the fondant to be the texture of dough. A little on the sticky side.

I made some fondant in Arizona and I used about 1/2 of the bag, but in Idaho I use 3/4 of the bag.

This is the fondant all mixed up. After you have made the fondant put it in some press and seal or an airtight bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so that the sugars can all dissolve. Then you can start to work with it. If you have extra or need to wait awhile before using it, put it into the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Then when you are ready to use it put it in the microwave for a few seconds and you are ready to play again.

I like to use a fondant roller, fondant smoother, and detail tools for cutting and shape making

If you want to dye the fondant just knead the food coloring into it.

To make the butterfly shape I baked a cake in a 9x13 pan.  Then I cut a square off of it.  The end piece of the cake is what I used for the butterfly body.  The ears are pieces of fondant squared up.  

The possibilities are endless with fondant. I often make cupcakes and fondant when I am watching kids. It is just like play dough. Soft and pliable

For more information on fondant and other types of frosting go HERE  

How to: Make a Piggy Bank from a Formula Can

If you are like me, then every time you have a baby you end up with a bajillion formula cans.  This is a simple piggy bank that I made from a formula can for my daughters

Me and my 4 year old created this little wonder today. I have not thrown away any of the jars of formula from the baby. There are so many things that you could do with these cans.

Here is how we did it:

For the lid I cut out a circle a little bit smaller than the lid. Then I used my finger to "emboss" the outline of the lid. It was really simple, and then I had an outline for the lid.




Then I cut it out and hot glued it onto the lid (notice it is not perfect, but you will cover that up later. Then I cut out a small rectangular hole out of the lid with my exacto knife.
Then I measured the height of the can and cut the paper and hot glued it onto the can. It took 2 strips of paper to cover the entire can
Then we embellished the can with some flowers and some letters and some ribbon.


To finish off the lid, I hot glued ribbon around the outer edge of the lid. Tied a bow out of the same ribbon and glued it onto the lid. Embellished the lid with a couple of flowers and buttons.
And Voila! You have a fun little can for endless possibilities.

Childs PVC Indoor Tent Tutorial with Felt Accessory's

A few weeks ago when Fireflies and Jellybeans announced this felt house along I was super excited because my 3 year old was turning 4 very soon. So me and hubby decided that this would be her gift this year. She has really been into making tents, but they are always such a huge mess and then she refuses to clean it up so lots of tears and unhappy moments soon follow...

(This side has a "frame" and some small pockets below the frame. Soon she will have tic tac toe and other games that she will be able to play on the frame. I am thinking that I will also make a face with different facial features and hair for her to decorate. All of this will definitely take time but I think she will like it more if she has a part in making that "stuff"

The big girl had her birthday last Saturday. So all 5 weeks of the felt house party got squished into 1 very long day. Friday we planned the tent out, we purchased the materials, and we sewed the house after everyone went to sleep.
(This side is complete with a felt "chalkboard" I have made some letters that just need some velcro sewed onto them. The mailbox has a snap but it does not stay very well so here comes the velcro)
And the front of the house includes a little window and a door with a curtain that can be held back with velcro if she wants.
This is the bag that it all fits into. She had no idea what she was opening. But man does she love her house :)

We did a few things differently than most (that really should not surprise anyone. Do you think I follow a recipe when cooking?)

Instead of using a card table (I was really surprise to find that they were really spendy like close to $50 whole bucks...a little out of my price range. ) we used PVC pipe.

We decided on the pvc cause we could make it any size we wanted. I was thinking along the lines of the same size as a cardtable, but hubby would not hear it. So we made it 60x60x53.

Now you are wondering why we did not do it 60x60x60. Well, home decor fabric measures 54 wide so with a seam allowance it would be a pain to add an extra 6 - 8 inches depending on the seams so we went with 53. It worked out really great. Perfect for her to have LOTS of space. The only problem is that the rest of us have no space with the house up. Its a bit big for inside the house, but if we had a huge basement then it would not be problem. Or if there was no longer SNOW outside it would be awesome.

We used home dec fabric because it was cheaper and it holds up well without attracting everything to stick to it.  Plus this fabric was just so dang cute. I think it turned out adorable. And to tell you all the truth, felt attracts EVERYTHING. I sew a lot and I know all those strings would stick to the felt like no bodys business. So that is why we decided on the Home dec fabric. It is actually outdoor fabric, so it is really durable and will be great to take outside this summer.

Oh and that bag that holds it all in is perfect size for everything and is barely short enough to fit into my trunk. So this house is definitely park worthy







Fabrics can be found at: