Baby Nursery Intro

Since my last post, I've made lots of things such as duvet covers, pillows, topiary, etc., including Averi's nursery bedding (bumpers included :) and matching curtains/ruffled valance, but have yet to take pictures. I've just been too busy to post. I'm actually over her nursery decor now, ha (which is white and a light mauve with a ruffley, classy, dainty feel) and want to bring in some bold color. I change my mind a lot. Future plan: take pics and post! I have alot of friends who are preggers right now and searching for the perfect decor. That was me a year and a half ago. I searched and searched and was willing to pay for anything I fell in love with - my first (maybe only) girl HAD to have the perfect nursery. My prob was, I never found anything I liked. Everything was so over-used and over-done. I didn't want butterflies or flowers or winnie the pooh. I didn't want chocolate brown and pink. I wanted something original and special. So I gathered ideas and made my own stuff. I was pleased with how it turned out, but now my baby is getting to be a toddler and I just feel like upscaling. So I'm starting over. Only this time, I'll be sharing it online. Plus I never got to finish ALL the projects I had planned for her so this will be a good excuse to git-er-done.
Upcoming Tutes on Baby Nursery Decor:
-Baby Bumber Cover (easy peasy!)
-Ruffled Valance & Curtains (also surprisingly easy)
-Revamped Dresser (from brown to white)
-Painted Shelf & Decor
-Fitted Crib Sheet
-Crib Dust Ruffle
-Basket Liner (I already have a tute for that, but this one will be a bit diff cuz it has handles)

I already found the perf fabric at Hobby Lobby that brings in the bold color I want and ties in the 'morning mauve' color of her walls so it was a huge plus. I DON'T want to re-paint.
Excited to get started! I have many ideas, I just need to make time for them to come to life.

The walls look pretty light in this pic, but when in the room, you can see the color better

2011 Planner Cover

Do you have a 2011 planner yet?

My sister said she needed a new planner for xmas, so I went to the store to look for one and they were all so LAME! The fanciest one was plain black with a zipper around it. Inside this thick black planner was 12 sheets of paper - one for each month. pathetic. I've seen better ones out there, but not in my neck of the woods. slim pickins here.

So I decided to get her one that had the kind of stuff I would want in a planner: monthly & weekly calendar, to-do lists, address & contact pages, the works! It could be as boring as it wanted on the outside because I would fancy it up :)
With some patterned cotton fabric for the cover, felt for some cushion, jewels, tulle, and lace for charm (which is totally appropriate since her name is Lacey) and with the help of this rotary cutter and guide, I made a personality for that boring planner...

...and almost kept it for myself.
It even has a pocket on the inside! If she uses sticky notes as much as I do, then she'll appreciate this here pocket. Threw a pen in there too because sticky notes are useless without that, duh.

Tie some colorful tulle around a paperclip and it's great to use as a bookmark to take you straight to your schedule.

I'm definitely going to make myself one. And a few others as gifts if I have time. If I have the patience, I'll create a tutorial so you can make your own.

*Another fabulous feature is that you can take it off, wash it, and use it for the coming years. It's just a cover :) (I wouldn't put it in the dryer though in case it shrinks)

2-Way Radio Covers

This tutorial may not seem useful to many, but you can use this basic idea to make a rectangle cover for anything. My husband has some walkie-talkies and whenever we go camping or hiking, he brings them with us just in case we split up. He's VERY careful with his stuff and likes to keep everything in pretty-much-perfect condition. He sometimes thinks it's necessary to remind me not to scratch, drop, or throw things. HA! Last time we were out, I realized these little guys need covers to keep them from being scratched. (or dropped or thrown)

I used camouflage fabric and gray felt for the inner lining.

I just estimated how much fabric I would need by cutting out a square around the bottom

and did the same thing for all other sides.

Then I used the felt cutouts as patterns to cut out the same shapes from the camo fabric. Make sure to cut out two of everything since there are 2 radio's, duh!

Pay no attention to the bad sewing job. It was a bit too big, so I had to adjust it a couple times. (but all those seam lines give it extra security which is good.)

When sewing this, start by sewing the sides together first (inside out, of course), then sew the bottom square to it. It takes some maneuvering around the corners, but just go slow. Then turn it rightside in and see if the radio's fit. If it's too loose, you can turn it inside out again and sew a little closer in. It's easier to adjust if it's too big, rather than too small.

You will do this same concept with Camo fabric. Then simply slide the felt liner into the Camo cubby, fold the edges inward toward each other like in the picture, then pin in place.

I added a strap to lay over the top to keep it secure. I did this by cutting two rectangle piceces of Camo a couple inches long. I also added a layer of felt in the center to make it a little thicker. Sew around the edges, then pin the strap in place before sewing around the edge of the cover.
Sew around the edges and voila!

Oh, then add some velcrow. I added velcrow by hand stitching it on.

There you go. Two covers for 2-way radios.

My husband really likes them and that makes me happy.

Round Basket Liner Tutorial

It's easy to find a square basket liner tutorial, but for the life of me, I could not find a tutorial for a round basket liner. So I made one on a whim and hopefully this tutorial will you help you make your own. Obviously, you can mod this however you wish, but I was in the mood for a large bow and some simple lace.

My husband has been telling me to get rid of this broken basket for a few years now. It used to have 2 handles and all it's branches perfectly weaved, but ever since one handle broke off, the sticks have followed suit. My husband HATES this thing because every time him or the boys walk past it, it snags their clothing or scratches their leg. (I've never had a problem. jk)
So finally I decided it's time. If one more branch falls off, the whole thing will shatter into a wood pile and Jeremy will use it to start a campfire.
To start your liner, set the basket on top of your fabric and cut around the edges leaving a 1/2 inch for the seam. (or you can mark it, then cut)
Lay it down inside the bottom of the basket to make sure you have enough fabric around the edges for the seam. If you have too much, trim it down. (I had to trim mine a couple times)
I had to remove the lonely handle on mine. Once I cut through one branch, the rest came off pretty easily.
If you have uneven and sharp edges like mine, duck tape works great to even it out and smooth the edges. Since your fabric will hang over the edges, it doesn't matter what it looks like at this point. (if you like the ghetto look, you can quit after this step.)
Measure the length of one side of your basket. A measuring tape works great, but I just laid my fabric over the edge to get a feel for how much I would need lengthwise and depth-wise. (the kids ran off with my measuring tape and I was too lazy to chase them upstairs. Forgive me for not taking any measurements.)
Then I made a small snip with the scissors to mark how long I wanted it to drape over the sides. Make sure you add on at least 2 extra inches for the seam of where your drawstring will lay - depending on how thick you want it to be. You saw how big my bow is, so I needed to leave a big gap. Does that make sense?
Double up your fabric before cutting so both sides are even. Go ahead and cut your measurements (length & depth) or if you're like me, just wing it - but make sure you cut extra fabric for seams!

Once that is cut, fold it in half (hamburger style).

Then take your round piece and place it so it's half way on the edge of the bottom cut and half way off. (Sorry, this isn't a very good picture) Place it toward the left bottom edge, but leave a 1/2 inch for the seam like in the picture. Notice on the right side of the circle, there is also a 1/2 inch left for the seam (between the circle and the scissor blade). You're going to use the circle as a guide for measuring a diagonal cut upwards towards the top right hand corner. You can't really tell in the pic, but I folded over the top layer of fabric in a diagonal line and cut along that fold. Then cut through the rest of the layers so they all have the same diagonal.

Open up your fabric, and you should have 2 trapezoid looking pieces of fabric. Again, this is not a good pic, but notice how on both sides there is a diagonal cut.

Then sew down the edge of each diagonal side. Make sure the face of your fabric (on both pieces) is turned toward the inside (facing each other).

Then open up the bottom (smaller side) and pin your circle piece in place. There will be pleats throughout this when sewing, but that's okay. It doesn't have to be perfect, it's a laundry basket! Before sewing this, place it in your basket to make sure it fits. You might need to make some pinning adjustments.

Sew along the edge of the circle a 1/2 inch in, removing the pins.

Then open it up and lay it inside the basket to make sure you got your measurements correct.
Fold it evenly around the edges...
and see how on the sides, it comes to a point? Cut it!
Cut it so it is evenly round with the rest of the fabric.
Then fold the edges under and sew in place. Make sure you leave enough room for your ribbon or drawstring to go through. After seaming up the edges, I went back around and sewed on a thin piece of lace that I easily fluffed up with a Basting Stitch.
Then I sewed up a thick drawstring. More like a belt, actually. (I told you I was in the mood for a big bow!) I just cut a long strip of fabric, folded it in half with the faces touching, and sewed it all the way down. Then I folded it right-side-out with the Safety Pin Method.
Then I just cut a hole (you can sew a button hole or use no-fray glue around the hole) and weaved it all the way through, guiding the safety pin, until it came out the other end.
Check out the detail... (I just love this lace. It adds a sweet touch.)
Then fit the liner back inside your basket and tie your BIG fancy Bow.
All done.

That wasn't too hard, was it?

Shirts into Headbands

More than I love flower clips in my hair, I love headbands because they hold back my bangs. Bangs are cute, but they take patience. For the days I can't muster up enough patience for them, I throw on a headband. I used to have a wide variety, but some got lost, some borrowed, and some curiously snapped in half by the little hands of a three year old. I've got slim pickins' these days so I decided to make a few new ones... If you've got some tops laying around you never wear (Or a skirt, whatev.) and you like the print, why not use them for something you WILL use? (the fabric in the tutorial, I actually bought at Hobby Lobby with plans to use for another project, but I like it so much I decided to use a bit for this particular accessory. Can you blame me? It's too cute to NOT wear on your head.
I found this simple pattern on mmmcrafts.blogspot.com and used it as a guideline. [It's meant to be an interchangeable cover for a hard plastic headband, so cut it a little longer] First, You'll want to measure your head and make sure your fabric will be long enough. (Remember, there will be elastic meeting the ends together under your hairline). Fold your fabric in half and pin your pattern in place up against the edge of the fold like in the picture. (I left some extra room near the edge to make sure my elastic will be hidden) Then cut around the edges leaving about a half inch or so for the seam. You'll need to cut two of these. Open them up and make sure they are both the same size. You may need to do a little trimming around the edges. I like to get the cutting part out of the way and have them all ready for sewing...
Line up your fabric pieces facing each other and sew a tight seam down each side of the edges, leaving the ends open. (You'll connect it with elastic later) Make sure you double stitch (sew back & forth) when you get to each end. Then turn your headband inside out by pinning a safety pin in one side of the raw edge... ...and feed it down the center of the headband. It will scrunch up, but just fold the fabric over itself and keep feeding the pin through. Once the safety pin comes out the other end, pull the rest of the fabric rightside out. Make sure you don't tug on the safety pin too hard, it could rip your fabric.
Once your headband is turned out the right way... ...press it flat with an iron to make it easier for sewing around the edges.
Cut the appropriate length of elastic. [You can do this by safety pinning the elastic on, then try it on to see of it's too big or small. Adjust it to suit and pin in place so you can sew it on just right.] Once your elastic is in place, fold the raw edge of the fabric inside itself and double or triple stitch over the top of the edge like in the picture. Sewing the edges all the way around gives it a crisp, professional look. I love headbands Enjoy!