Easy rabbit basket to make

Bunny basket sewing for Easter

Repair spot on shirt for boy

THE PROBLEM: 

THE SOLUTION:

Beauntiful Button crafts

So here is my bountiful button breakfast...



and here is the before pic

Recycling work: How to convert a Hairband into a Brooch/clip

Dont we all just love rosettes. I believe that there is no better way to welcome spring than with flowers. So keeping in mind my theme for this month - Reinvention or Re purposed jewelry, I would now like to show you a quick way to whip up a rosette brooch/clip in less than 15 minutes (10 with practice :).
I have used an old hairband (pony tailer) that had gotten elongated because of use. It can no longer be used as a band but that is what makes it great for this project.
Hairband brooch/Clip

Materials required: 
- old hair band with elastic,
- a shank button (I have used a stone studded shank button that I have with me from my MG days),
- Some seed beads or micro beads
- Clear Glue
- sewing thread and needle
- A piece of felt
- A brooch pin/safety pin or a Barret (depending on whether you want to make a brooch or a hair clip) 

old swim suit into fashion

Add some pretty petals to your swim suit: DIY

Before:

Step One: Pick a plain suit. I bought this suit last year on the Gap Clearance rack for 6.98. At the time I was large and pregnant and hoped for a better slimmer summer the next year.

Repair old shirt with easy flower tutorial

In the summer I always want to put my daughter Eden in "easy outfits".... Hence, the embellished Onsie, it doesn't get easier than that!

To start I cut out circles of white Jersey Knit fabric (Doesn't fray!)

How to make Camera Strap

Tutorial

 

After seeing so many gorgeous camera straps out there, I decided that my boring black DSLR camera strap just had to have one!  

pompom fabric flowers

 

The Colla-Flower

Here are the 6 easy steps:

Tutorial: Flowers Make Me Melt

This is super simple and fun to make. 

Supplies-

• 
  
  
  A scrap of polyester fabric.  Look at the label on the end of the bolt.  It will tell you the fiber content of the material.  I only bought 100% polyester.  There was cotton/poly, but I didn't want to take the chances of starting a fire.  I like to shop the remnant section.  The fabric is usually marked down to half price because it was the end of the bolt.

how to make pinwheel parade

hey there! it's my turn for the block a palooza that quilt dad has put on. make sure you visit all the other bloggers who have already created a block!

with the weather we've been having it actually does feel like spring! (high 50's). the kiddos have been outside every day after school, and can i just say, what a difference it makes to get a little vitamin D in the system and some fresh air? once again dreaming of summer. but lets talk about spring first.
i named my block pinwheel parade because when i looked at the block i thought of spring and lots of kids having their own pinwheel blowing in the wind. so lot's of kids running around with pinwheels = a parade of pinwheels hence the name.
but enough talking lets start cutting

Flower embellished t-shirt refashion

two matching square neck t-shirts on clearance.

I cut one of them into about 1" wide strips and ruffled them for the flowers.

I used coordinating 1" wide satin ribbon I already had, and ruffled that for flowers.

How to make string of lights advent calendar pattern

Here it is, the string of lights advent calendar tutorial (and pattern!). I made the pdf pattern file all by myself for the first time, so if you have problems with it just email me and I’ll try to fix it. Otherwise, hurry up! because advent is almost over!

materials

green wool felt
multi-color felt scraps
60 feet green yarn
green embroidery thread
lightweight treats (gum balls, dum dums, love notes, tiny ornaments)

Sewing boy belt tutorial

My middle son is jumpy and crazy and skinny and tall–all of which make his pants fall down quite often (if he is wearing pants that is), so I thought I’d make a belt for him. In honor of Celebrate the Boy month at Made and Made by Rae I  drew up a pattern to share with all of you.

Twisted Felt Garland, Necklace, and Bracelet

The holidays are such a great time to do craft projects. With the weather getting colder and family and friends all around it's the perfect time to settle in and do something creative. The only problem is that with all the parties, cooking, and traveling it's sometimes hard to find the time to indulge in the crafty aspects of the holidays.

This project is the perfect antidote to the holiday time crunch. It's quick and easy and requires very little sewing. Best of all, using one simple technique, you can make a garland for holiday decorations as well as cute necklaces and bracelets for stocking stuffers!

These garlands, necklaces, and bracelets, are made from our gorgeous 100% wool felt. Felt is the perfect material for quick but stunning projects like this because it's so easy to work with and comes in the most vibrant saturated colors. The technique used is super simple, just cutting some evenly spaced cuts along long strips of felt and then pulling the ends through these cuts. It comes together to look so festive and fun, especially in candy cane inspired colors like these. The garland will add a bright, modern, holiday touch to any mantle or tree and I can imagine giving the necklaces and bracelets out as party favors at a holiday party to get all the guests looking festive.

In different colors this same technique could be used for all of the holidays around this time of year, in blues and whites they would make lovely Hanukkah decorations, and in black and white they would be a bold new years statement!

Happy Holidays! --Molly

Materials

To make one 6-yard long garland, and several bracelets and/or necklaces:

• 1/4 yard of Wool Felt by the yard in ecru or white (I will refer to this as white in the pattern)
• 1/4 yard of Wool Felt by the yard in a bright contrasting color (I used tomato, magenta, pink, and red)
• 100% cotton thread in color 1140
• Sew on Snaps (for the bracelets only)

Cutting the Strips

Using a rotary cutter, cut both colors of felt into 1-inch strips length-wise. You will have nine 1-inch by 72-inch strips. Try to do this carefully. There isn't much to this project so it's important that each step is done as neatly as possible.

Bracelet

Start out by making a bracelet, since it's the shortest and easiest piece and you won't waste too much felt if you make a mistake.

Cut a white and a colored strip to be 10-inches long and lay them down on top of each other so they match up exactly. Pin one of the short ends to keep them in place.

Starting 1-inch from the pinned end use your rotary cutter to make a 2-inch slice lengthwise across the middle of the strip (a 1/2-inch from either long side).

Then make two more 2-inch slices, each 1-inch from the previous cut. Your bracelet will now be a 10-inch strip with three 2-inch slits cut down the middle, each 1-inch apart.

Now it's time to start twisting! Take out the pin at the end of the strips. They should stay together alright without it. With the white felt facing up fold one of the ends into the nearest slit as shown above.

Pull the end through taught so that it forms a pretty "V" shape of the contrasting felt.

Now pull the end through the second slit in the same direction to form your next little "V".

Repeat this for the last slit.

Trim the ends of your bracelet so the felt strips are matching up (they will get slightly out of alignment because of the twisting.)

Hand sew the snaps onto each each end.

Garland and Necklaces

The garland and necklaces are put together using the exact same technique as the bracelets only on a longer scale. There are only a few differences to keep in mind:

• When cutting the slices into a longer strip only cut five slits at a time, twist them as instructed in the bracelet instructions and then cut then next five slits.
• Be sure to always fold the end through the slits in the exact same direction, with the white felt facing up and turning through the next slit in succession.
• You will have to trim the ends a little more when you're done twisting the strips because the longer the strips are in the beginning the more offset they will get by the end.

To make to a garland you will twist three separate 72-inch long strips, Strip A, B, and C, across their entire length.

Trim the ends of each strip to be a 1/2-inch from the first and last slits.

Then pin the top white strip to the bottom colored strip at the beginning and end of each strip to keep them in place. Place Strip A's end flush against Strip B's start. Make sure the "Vs" are going in the same direction.

Zig Zag stitch Strip A to Strip B together where they meet.

Repeat this to attach Strip B to Strip C and you're all done! The garland will be approximately 6-yards long.

For the Necklace:

Start with a 1-inch by 36-inch strip and cut and twist it just like the garland. 

Trim the ends to be 1/2-inch and zig zag stitch the beginning to the end, being careful not to twist it, in the same manner as the garland.

Happy Holiday Crafting

How to make Handprint Turkey Softie nd Tutorial

For me, the hand print turkey is the quintessential Thanksgiving kids craft and it is one of my favorites.  I thought it would be fun to have a more permanent version so I decided to make a softie version.  I'll be the first to say that the following tutorial is very spare (because I'm really supposed to be working on other things) but I had this on my mind and just had to make it!
You'll need:
*two layers of fabric large enough to accommodate your child's hand with at least one inch to spare all the way around
*a few pins
*disappearing fabric marker or pencil
*sewing machine & coordinating thread
*scissors
*poly-fil or other stuffing
*pencil with eraser for help with stuffing
*scraps of felt (wool preferable)for feathers, wings, eyes, beak, and wattle; I used red, orange, gold, yellow, and beige
*fabric glue, like Fabric-Tac

Basic Hat that's Beary Cute

Here's a great Variation on the Basic Hat that's fun and cute.  It's a snap to make your little cub adorable!
You will Need:

• A printed out version of the FreeFleece Fun Basic hat pattern PDF.
• A print out of the Bear Ears Pattern
• 1/3 yard fleece (you could actually make several from this)
• Thread (Preferable a contrasting color
• Contrasting fleece fabric

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1- Cut out the pattern

You can find direction on how to assemble the pattern (if needed)  Cut out both of the patterns.  For contrast I recommend cutting out the ear interior (the smaller piece) with a contrasting fabric. If you want the ear to have a dent make the top and bottom of the line on the interior ear  pieces on the right side of the fabric.

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Refashion a child's jeans into a skirt

Someone is growing at our house and her jeans have become to short!

Itty Bitty Poochie Bag

Trick-or-Treat, smell my sheets (sheets of Moda Layer cakes!). Itty bitty little versions of my Poochie Bag pattern. Fast and fun little bags to hold Halloween treats, sweets and goodies. Or maybe office goodies, thread, sewing notions, embroidery floss, seed packets, stickie note packages, etc. 

Using fabric ribbon for the handles, these little puppies sew up speedy fast. Well, faster then the regular sized Poochie Bags. Faster then knitting a bag this size. Way faster then cooking dinner.

how to make a fabric windsock garden lantern

Hung from a tree or a wrought iron plant hanger, this fairly simple project will make a charmingly mod windsock garden lantern. During the day, it will add interest & texture. At night, it gives off a soft, ambient light that glows like a firefly - a nice touch for a summer evening lazing outside.
Notes:
+ "Windsock" is used to refer to the shape & basic idea, not the application. I wouldn't personally leave it outside blowing in the wind.
+ All steps are explained but not all steps are shown. Please read the instructions carefully so you don't miss something. It looks long, but it's just like making a simple back-tab-top curtain + a drawstring bag in one.
+ I used a 3/8" seam allowance, except where noted.
+ The design shows 8 tabs, but there are really only 4 tabs! I didn't realize my misengineering ways until I was ready to thread the lights...so disregard those extra 4 if you see them!!!

My easy apron tutorial

I know you're probably saying to yourself, "Another apron tutorial? But there are already so many out there!" And I would say you're right, but none of them are mine so here you go, another to add to the the list!