Happy Birthday Bunting Flag Banner

My fun sister-in-law Erin had told me that she wanted a Happy Birthday banner to hang above her fireplace. I decided that for her birthday I would get her one. I looked on Pinterest and Etsy but I just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. So, I decided to make one myself. I was really happy with how it turned out and I have actually made a few more since then. I posted them for sale on Etsy and I've made a few custom made ones as well. Here is the link to buy them. If you would like a custom one let me know. I would love to do it. Here is a custom one I made for someone. It turned out really cute. Sorry for the dark pictures. I wanted to get a picture before I shipped it but the lighting in our apartment was terrible.

To start, I used this template from Sweetly Scrapped Art. Then, I used a bold, size 300 font with the letters spelling "Happy Birthday."

The letters become the stencils. I first traced the letters onto the fabric I wanted and cut them out.


Then I sewed the letters onto the center of the triangles.

After I sewed the letters on, I cut two strings of jute. The "Happy banner should be on about 104" of jute. I folded each triangle over the jute and sewed underneath the jute. This makes each flag lay perfectly in place but still  movable on the string. The "Birthday" banner will be longer than the "Happy" banner by about  10-15." I forgot to take an exact measurement.  I then Tied a knot in the top of the two strings to hang them by. I leave an extra foot on each end to hang down because I think it looks cute. You could make your strings shorter and leave that part off. It depends on the look you are going for.

This is the one I  made for my sister in law. I figured it would work for my nieces and nephews birthdays.

Anyway, I hope this is pretty simple for you guys. Let me know if you have any questions. I hope this tutorial was simple enough.  I'd love to see the banners you make. 

It started with a Crib Bumper...

 

 

I know this post is pretty late but I haven't been able to find the time to blog lately. Jackson has been needing a lot of attention and when he's asleep I find a ton of other things that need to get done. On a good note though, Jackson is finally sleeping through the night!! He is 8 mo. old now and he's only been sleeping through the night for two weeks. I didn't want to do the cry it out method because it breaks my heart to just hear him cry but for my sanity I had to do it. I did it while Tyrone was on a work trip so that he wouldn't be exhausted at work. The first night I did it, I was pretty much in tears with Jackson. I have become such a baby ever since I became a mother. But seriously, it broke my heart. I just wanted to pick him up and hold him. The next night he did the same thing but I wasn't as emotional. Then, the third night, he just whined for a little bit and then he went back to sleep. Everyone kept telling me it would take three nights and they were right. I totally should have done it sooner. With the next one, I am not going to wait 8 months. That's a long time with no sleep! Oh, and did I tell you that Jackson doesn't really take naps during the day either? That's a whole different story. I won't go into that here. I am just so glad that he is a happy smiling boy.

Anyway, onto the bumpers... About a month and a half ago Jackson started rolling like crazy. He had been rolling for a while but then he started the crazy rolls where he was smacking into the sides of his crib and limbs were getting stuck out of the bars.One day I went in there and he was asleep on his stomach with both of his feet hanging out the bars. Seriously, overnight he got crazy. I started getting worried because we have a metal crib and his rolls weren't quite controlled yet. I didn't want him to get a concussion or something. So, I looked up some crib bumpers online and I didn't really like any of them. They were around $35 on average for simple bumpers and I found them to be kind of ugly. I decided I could just make some. I spent a couple nights finding different tutorials on how to make crib bumpers. I took little bits and pieces from different tutorials and I made my own crib bumpers. I was shocked with how good they turned out. It took me a couple days to make them and three trips to Joann's to get supplies. That's seriously the worst. But, they are done and I love them.


Here is how I made the bumpers:

 

This is the crib foam that I bought from Joann's.

You will need 1 1/4 yd of 2 different coordinating fabrics. Cut 11" strips and sew them together until you have an 11"x 160" strip. You may want to measure your crib to  make sure that your crib is 160" all the way around. 

I then, made the ties for the crib. You can use strips of ribbon but I wanted to make them with the matching fabric. I made my strips 1" wide, folded them over and sewed straight down. They were 1"x 24". I would recommend making them at least 2"x 24". 1" was hard to sew. But, they still turned out great. You will need to make 14 ties. You will want to melt the ends with a lighter so they don't fray.

Start pinning with the right sides facing out. You will pin your first ties just an inch from the edge. Pin ties across from each other every 26" approximately. It helps to pin the ends together in the middle so they don't get sew in somewhere. Start pinning your bias tape onto your two main fabrics. This process takes a long time. I felt like I pinned forever. I actually ran out of pins. I had to go to the store and buy another box of them. I've never used that many before!

Laid out on my floor it went from my front door almost to the  kitchen. There is no way I could have even laid this out in our old one bedroom apartment. It is really long!

I finally finished pinning. I stopped taking pictures after this. I stitched the bias tape on the top and then I stuffed the bumpers with the foam. Finally, I sewed bias tape around the last edge, and ta-da. Crib Bumpers!

You will need 4 packages of double fold bias tape. You need a total of 10 yards. 

Jackson gave me a fist bump to let me know he liked the bumpers.

After I had done the bumpers I decided that if I could make that then of course I could make a crib skirt and sheet to match. So, I made those as well. In all honesty, the crib skirt and sheet were really simple. It only took me a couple of hours to make those.

For the crib sheet I followed the tutorial from Fancy Napkin

The crib skirt was pretty easy you just  need to take measurements of your crib. My crib is 10" off the ground when it's at it's lowest setting. I wanted the crib to almost touch the ground at it's lowest setting. These were the  measurements I used. If your crib is up against a wall, you can just do a single long strip for the front of the crib and leave the back.

Two 53" x 11.5" panels for the long sides

Two 28" x 11.5" panels for the short sides

One 52" x 27" panel for the top- I used white because It's not going to be seen anyway.

 Sew the panels onto the white fabric. Sew with the right side of the fabric facing the white fabric. I then, just tucked each edge underneath and sewed straight lines.

I put the whole crib bedding up for sale on Etsy. If you would like one specially made let me know. I had a lot of fun making it.

My latest project is to make some black out curtains. I have leftover mustache fabric so I  figured why not. When I get it finished I will post pictures.

Baby Bibs

I have been wanting to make baby bibs for a while but I just haven't been brave enough to try it. I finally decided it was time when my husband's cousin was pregnant with a baby girl and I got invited to her baby shower. All of the tutorials online say to use chenille as the back fabric for the bibs but no matter what fabric store I went to, they did not have it. I have used the terry cloth from Joann's before for burp cloths but I think it's a little rough so I didn't want to use that. I went to another fabric store and asked the clerk what she would recommend and she showed me a more elastic, soft terry cloth. It was perfect. They were all sold out of white though so I got a sea foam green color and black. I think they turned out really cute. Once I got all of the supplies to make them, they were pretty simple.

Supplies needed:

• square of fabric 7 1/2" x 10 1/2" for top of bib
• square of fabric 8 1/2" x 11 1/2" for bottom of bib
• square of chenille 16" x 11 1/2" for bib backing (I couldn't find chenille so I used terry cloth. You could get creative here on the back fabric. Minky would probably be cute and soft as well.)
• lightweight fusible interfacing
• thread
• ribbon, ric rac, or trim of your choice (optional)
• rotary cutter/mat/ruler
• 2" piece of 1/2" velcro (I bought black to match the backing)
• pattern from Sew She Sews

 I followed the tutorial from Lots of Pink Here The bib pattern from this tutorial was too large for my liking though. I followed her tutorial but I used the pattern from Sew She Sews

I bought fat quarters for the top of the bib. They worked great and then I'm not left with a bunch of leftover fabric. You could probably make 3 or 4 bibs out of two fat quarters.  

 I skipped the ric rac step on mine because I realized that I didn't have thread the same color. Sad, I know. I had been to the store so many times for this project that I felt like I just needed to finish them. I totally bought the wrong interfacing and had to go back to the store for that already. I hate when that happens. I  think they turned out really cute without the ric rac and I'm excited to make some more.




 

Crocheted Hot Pads

A friend of mine gave me crocheted hot pads for Christmas last year and I have absolutely loved them. They are so cute and they are perfect for putting on the kitchen table underneath hot pans or dishes. I have been wanting to learn how to make them for quite some time now but my friend and I just haven't had the time to get together. Finally on Labor day I decided to go to Michael's and at least pick up the supplies. Once I got home, since Tyrone was still out of town I thought, I bet I could just teach myself. So, lo and behold I went to youtube. I have looked at multiple blogs but not knowing much about crocheting I didn't really understand much. I found a video on youtube that was perfect for me and my skill level. In order to be able to follow the video you do have to know how to do a basic crochet stitch. If you know how to do that, it's pretty simple to follow along.

What you will need: 
One ball of this sugar 'n cream yarn ( it will  make one hot pad.) Look for worsted weight, cotton yard if you can't find or don't like this brand. 
a size G crochet hook
1 tapestry needle to finish off the end of the hot pad 

They've got all sorts of fun colors at the store to choose from. It was really hard to pick. My hot pad turned out looking like it was made for Easter. I think I'll do some more neutral colors next time, but I'm pretty proud of it so I'm going to use it anyway.


Here are a few videos to start with if you are new to crocheting all together. Even if you have never done it before, I promise you it's possible. The main video skips some of these basics, so watch these first two videos if you need to and then go onto the hot pad tutorial.


This is a video on how to start your original chain. If you need help making your slip not, watch the final hot pad tutorial video. She goes through some things kind of fast but you can see how she does the knot.



Here is a good video tutorial for the single crochet stitch. You will use this after you finish your original chain.



Lastly, here is the video I watched to learn how to make the complete hot pad.



I hope you are able to follow along. Let me know if you try it and how yours turn out! Good luck!

4th of July table runner

Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. We always get up early, ride our bikes around town, watch the parade, BBQ and top it off at the end of the night with fireworks on the beach (while eating warm kettle corn.) I don't ever want to spend another 4th of July anywhere but here. This will be my 4th year spending it here and it never gets old.

As I was getting ready for the fourth, my sister in law had a birthday. She has spent the last few fourth of July's here with us and this year she is having her own fourth of July get together. So, I decided to make her something that she could use to celebrate with.

This was my first time making a table runner. I have been wanting to make one for a while but never really found a reason to, especially since I have a round kitchen table. I was very excited to find a good reason to attempt it. I used the tutorial from Count-on-me to figure out how to sew it all together.

I cut my strips 4in wide and I believe I made the table runner 15in in length when it was finished. This table runner is meant for a longer rectangle table. For the bias tape I used the tutorial from Smashed peas and carrots.I think she does an amazing job of teaching how to sew bias tape. It made it very easy to understand. I had to use two packages of Extra Wide Double Fold bias tape. I used red bias tape but depending on the color you want to stand out you could use dark blue or white as well.

Here is a picture of the finished product that I got from my sister in law. I was trying to get it finished and sent off so I forgot to take a final picture of it myself. This is the back side of the table runner. I put a patriotic print on it so that both sides could be used.

Here are some of the pre-cut pieces lying out. 

Burp cloths and onesie set

 

Just a few weeks ago I made some of these tie onesies. If you would like the tutorial to that here it is. Then, I decided that I wanted to try and make some cute and easy burp cloths that I had pinned on pinterest. After I had looked at the tutorial I thought, how cute would it be to make a matching set with the onesies. They turned out really cute. For the burp cloths, the only fabric you want to use is either cotton or flannel for the patterned fabric and then chenille for the back. Some of the fabric I used for the ties I couldn't use for the burp cloths but this blue one was flanel and it turned out really cute. I got the tutorial for the burp cloths from sewinsanity.

The great thing about these burp cloths and ties is that you they don't take much fabric. This is a great way to use up some of the leftover fabrics from other projects. I had this fabric left over from a blanket I made for Christmas last year. 

The dimensions for the burp cloths are 19.5" wide and 17" long. 

supplies: 

chenille (with a yard I can make about 12 burp cloths)

flanel or  cotton 

thread (whichever color you would like to be shown on the topstitch)

sewing machine

I used the rotary cutter and measured the dimensions with the green cutting board you can see in the back of the pictures. It was really simple. Make sure your fabrics are pre-washed though. One side will be chenille and the other will be either cotton or flannel. They will shrink differently and they won't look right after they go through the wash if they aren't washed ahead of time. 

Once you get your fabric cut place right sides together and pin. 

Sew around the edges at 1/4" leaving a 2.5" opening.

Turn fabric inside out using a tool of somesort to make sure the corners are poked out. 

Top stitch a little less than 1/4" around the top making sure the opening is tucked in flush with the rest of the burp cloth. I did a zig-zag stitch just to add character to it but you could do whatever stitch on top you would like.

No Sew- Neck Tie Onesies

Tyrone and I went to the doctor last week and we found out we are having a baby BOY!!! We couldn't be more excited! We would have been happy either way but we have been calling him Jackson for the last 4 months, so it's very fitting. We are going to name him Jackson Tyrone.

He's here and he finally fits into newborn clothing! He is such a little man.

So, now that I know what we are having, I want to go baby clothes shopping so bad! I want to buy everything! I have really had to control myself. So, instead of spending too much money on adorable clothes, I decided to make our Jackson a few little onesies for church.

You can get the template for the ties from Freetimefrolics. Most of the blogs I looked at didn't have templates and if they did, they were just pictures of ones they created on programs like paint. I tried to create a tie on paint and it turned out awful so I went back to looking for a template until I came across this one. It is perfect! 

Supplies needed:
Fabric for ties
Heat 'n Bond (I bought a yard but you only need a little bit)
Plain onesies (they can be whatever color you'd like)
Scissors
Iron

First cut out the template that you would like to use and cut out fabric big enough to cover the tie (as pictured above.) Then, cut out Heat 'n Bond big enough to cover your pieces of fabric (shown below.) I bought a yard of Heat 'n Bond from Joann's Fabrics for only $2.99. I was kind of scared to use it but it is really simple. There are even directions on the package if you get confused.
You will want to put the wrong side of the fabric and the rough side of Heat 'n Bond together. Then iron on the Heat 'n Bond to the fabric holding the iron down for 2 seconds until it's bonded.

Now trace the tie template onto the paper and cut the ties out.




















My ironing board matches the fabrics perfectly. I should cut out a section of it.... kidding.

Onto the last step. Peel off the paper from the back of the cut out ties. Place them on the onesies where you would like them to go. And lastly, iron it on holding the iron down on each section for the tie for 8 seconds until it completely bonds to the onesie. 

Voila! You have tie onesies. They were so simple. Some people sew around the outside of the ties either by hand or using a sewing machine. I got my sewing machine out with intentions to sew around the outside but after ironing the ties on they looked so clean that I didn't think they needed to be sewn on. I decided to leave them but if you would like to sew around the outside for looks or just to be sure it won't start coming undone you could do that as well. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Infinity Scarf

Isn't my niece the cutest!! I made her this infinity scarf for her birthday. She is so fashionable all the time! I need to take accessorizing lessons from her. I saw a tutorial on Pinterest for infinity scarfs and I got really excited because I think they are so adorable. The tutorial is from Fabricmartfabrics. I used a really soft knit fabric and it turned out really nice. I had a hard time giving it away. I think I'm going to have to make my own soon. Here she is the cutest 11 year old ever with her new scarf.

 

Don't mind the early morning picture of me in my pj's and no make up on but I wanted a picture with my niece.

Blankets

This year for Christmas I decided to make Tyrone's family homemade blankets. I thought of this around April of this year and started on the first one in July. But, by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I only had two of them done. So, I was a little scared. I am not a procrastinator and I usually have all of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. Since I had felt so behind I decided to do one a week up until Christmas and I was finished a week before we left for home. whew!! But they all turned out so unique and cute. This is the first one I made for my 7 year old nephew. I also made one for my 4 year old nephew but I forgot to take a picture of it.

I followed the tutorial from Pink Suede Shoes

These are the blankets I decided to make for the older niece and my in-laws. I got the tutorial for these blankets from This mamma makes stuff. Mine were on a larger scale but they turned out really cute and they are so soft. I think everyone liked their personalized blankets. I sure had a lot of fun making them and Tyrone had fun picking out all of the fabric for his family.

I have a good story about going to get the soft fabric for the back of the blankets. I thought that it would be a good idea to take a day trip to LA to get the fabric for a little bit cheaper. So, I planned out my work schedule so that I could have a day to drive up there, go shopping for the fabric and get back in time before I hit rush hour. So, I parked up in LA a little bit further away from the fabric district than I usually do. But, I figured I had a lot of time. So, I put enough change into the meter so that I could be there for an hour. Then, after I had looked around and got all the fabric that I needed, I headed back to my car. As soon as I could see my car I realized that the parking police were at my car writing me a ticket!! So, I ran over there while yelling, "That's my car!!" Needless to say, the guy just claimed that since it was already in the computer, he had to give me the ticket. I looked at the time and I was honestly a minute late! I was really angry and upset! I got in my car, looked at the ticket and it said $68!!!!! For that price, I could have just gotten the fabric locally and saved a bunch of time on the trip to LA. But, oh well. Sometimes things like that happen. It makes for a good story later.

Flag baby blanket

I really wanted to make a baby blanket after I got my sewing machine. I thought I would start with a baby one though because it would take less time and be easier to work with. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I even bought more fabric to make another one with animal print flags. I would recommend pre-washing and drying the fabrics though. I forgot to and so I can't dry mine because the fabrics will all shrink differently.

Here is the blanket.

What you will need:

2 yards white quilters fabric (or a white sheet)

 1 yard of fleece

fabric for the triangles

thread

I got the tutorial from aprettycoollife. She also has a link on how to make the bunting  flags and the bias tape, or you can buy it already cut at Joann's. 

The only thing is the tutorial doesn't show you how to bind the quilt with bias tape. I was completely clueless so I followed this really awesome tutorial that had 3 really short videos to go along with it. I  mean like 30 second videos that are a dream come true for a beginner like me but I can't remember the website and I can't find it anywhere. So, I guess you could find another Youtube video or something. I'll try to find it because I want to use it next time I make a quilt again.

Maxi Skirt

 

I finally got a sewing machine in March. I had been thinking about getting one for a while but I just didn't want to spend the money. So, Tyrone and I took a trip home and while we were there my mom told me that my aunt had a ton of fabric that was my grandmas before she passed away and she wanted people to come and pick up what they wanted. So I went over there and picked up a lot of fleece for baby blankets that my grandma had cut up to make into blankets. I thought that one day when I got a sewing machine it would be nice to make blankets from her fabric. So, I was talking to my aunt about it and she said, I didn't know you sewed. I told her that I had when I was younger but I didn't currently have a sewing machine. Then she said that my grandma had an antique sewing machine and then just an older table top one. My aunt said that all of my cousins had their own and that I could have this one. It is so awesome to have my grandma's sewing machine! I still need to take it to a sewing machine store because I can't figure out how to wind the bobbin with a spool of thread. It looks like it has the capabilities but I can't seem to figure it out. Here is the old beauty. 

When I first got this sewing machine I couldn't figure out how to wind the bobbin so I took it over to my friend Christi's house, and she couldn't figure it out, so then we called our friend Kay to come over and try it. All to no success. So I thought I was going to have to take it somewhere. Then, Christi's husband came home and asked if he could press the pedal of the sewing machine and I said sure, it's not like it works anyway, and then it threaded the bobbin. It took 3 girls and then a boy figured it out? How is that possible?

So, after I sewed a pillowcase for practice, my next project was this maxi skirt. I followed the tutorial from Elle Apparel. I was able to make it in just a few hours. I didn't end up using the elastic thread that it calls for and I ended up making my waist band too small the first time around, but it turned out good and I wore it to church today. I probably should have made it slightly longer if I'm going to wear heels with it, but it turned out great for my first skirt. 

After I made my skirt, Tyrone wanted to sew something on the sewing machine. That sounds just like a little kid, right? He stitched his name with blue thread onto yellow fabric. He's going to be the next fashion designer.