Blue Jean Purse - Before & After

My Little Man had a pair of jeans that never quite fit him right.  I put the jeans in the "donate" bag, but then realized that I could use upcycle them into something!   My niece's 4th birthday was coming up and I wanted to make her a new purse to tote around her stuff!


There are a lot of "Blue Jean Upcycle" tutorials out there, but I ended up using my own creativity to come up with her purse.  The best part:  I used all scrap material to line the purse and make the belt!  I added a removable ruffle flower brooch for some extra pizazz.  YAY for cheap!

Diaper Bag Makeover: Ruffle Style

I got a new toy last weekend:  A Ruffler Foot!  Ever since then, I've been day dreaming about everything I can add a ruffle to! Ruffles and ruffle flowers are turning up all over the place.

I recently received a free diaper bag from my employer's maternity program.  A very roomy and sturdy bag....Thank you very much, boss man!  The "Nurture" Program actually claimed that the generic look of the bag was a desired feature (I guess for the sake of those Dads out there)!  Well, it was my first ruffle victim:
 

I ruffled some "haute" pink knit and got out my glue gun.....and voila!  Extra girly diaper bag for my very own girly girl due any day now!

It is pretty pitiful how excited I get about crafty stuff.   Most women yearn for Jimmy Choo or Louis Vitton.  I yearn for craft stuff.  Ha!

Blanket For Baby Lucia

I finally finished another project!   My sweet friend, Almudena, was blessed with a baby girl in November of 2010.  Baby Lucia arrived earlier than expected and she is a complete miracle baby, overcoming challenge after challenge.  So here's a special blanket for a VERY special little girl!

I bought this fabric in late summer 2010 from Hancocks.  I just loved the soft colors and the little owl motif.  I bought the softest chenille that I could find as the backing.   This blanket is OHHHH...SOOO...SNUGGLY!

I thought I would try my hand at quilting around the motif, but 3 months of FOG got in the way.   :)  I realized that I need not be an over-achiever and just hurry up and make the blanket before Lucia is a teenager. 

I added Lucia's initials and made a ribbon flower brooch that can be put on her baby bag, a hat, a sweater....or whatever!

Welcome to the World, Baby Lucia!  You are a special little girl!

Teaching him to Give...

Acts 20:35 (New International Version, ©2010)

³⁵ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” 

It IS better to GIVE than to RECEIVE.  However, when you are two years old, this idea seems as delightful as eating a bowl full of broccoli.


My Little Man's daycare class adopted a less fortunate boy, named Dennis, age 2.  We are using this opportunity to take the focus off of the list of toys my son wants and focus on giving to another little boy.

Dennis loves Toy Story, just like my Little Man.  We got him little Woody and Buzz action figures for his present. As a mommy, I couldn't pass up making Dennis a blankie.

I don't know if Dennis is cold, or hungry, or has a blankie already.  I know that my son loves to cuddle under his fleece blankie.  It keeps him warm.  It helps him feel safe.  It is his blankie and he doesn't have to share it with anybody.  My prayer is that Dennis feels the warmth, love and peace under his blankie.  My Little Man helped me put Dennis' name on it and added a little airplane for an extra special touch.

Merry Christmas, Dennis.  Merry Christmas to you, too!

Double Duty Burp Clothes

A co-worker of mine was recently blessed with twin boys. I wanted to welcome Cole and Huxley in my own special way, so I got out the sewing machine. BTW, don't you just love those names?

While I was sewing these personalized burp clothes, I realized I wouldn't know what to do if I had twins! Do mommies of twins use separate burp clothes for each baby? Or is one kid's spit up co-mingled with the other kid's spit up? I don't know the answer to these questions, so I made each of the boys their own burp cloth.



My lovely friend Courtney made a few burp clothes like this for me when I had my little man. They were my favorite burp clothes, because they actually ABSORB spit up, spills and whatever else you need these handy clothes around for!



This burp cloth is made out of a Gerber heavy duty cloth diaper and some cotton fabric. It is ridiculously easy (and affordable) to make. I realized that sewing a straight line is a real challenge for me. Don't look too close at my seams! :)

God's Blessings to you!

Wrapping Up Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!  We had a terrific day celebrating all things 'Daddy'!  We had Daddy's favorite tacos for breakfast and watched golf/baseball all day long!  I'm very blessed to have a hubby that is a great partner for me and great father for our son!

When the boys were either napping or watching golf, I decided to sneak into the craft room for a quick project.   I have been thinking about making a towel wrap-around to wear when I get out of the shower.  I dug out one of my larger (and OLD) bath towels.   I found a maroon one that looked like it has seen better days!

Here's what you need for this project:
A Towel  (wide enough to wrap around you & long enough to cover your backside)
3/4" Elastic
3" of Velcro
Scrap Fabric that is at least the length of the towel.
Sewing Machine & Normal Sewing Supplies


Instructions:
Wrap the towel around you until it overlaps.  Decide how much you like for it to overlap and trim the rest off.  (I used pinking sheers to prevent raveling.) Take care not to cut off too much so that you have appropriate coverage below the waist.  Lay the towel flat and fold over a 2" hem on the top edge.  Do a quick straight-stitch and now have a casing for your elastic!

Measure your Elastic Band around your chest until it overlaps about 1.5"-2".  Shimmy the elastic band through the casing of your towel. Sew the casing shut at both ends, securing the elastic.
The scrap fabric is to cover the raw edge of the towel.  Simply fold over 1/4" seams in the fabric and press with a iron. Then fold the fabric in half length-wise around the raw edge of the towel.   Sew a straight-stitch down the edge as neatly as possible.  **Special Note:  My sewing machine does not like to sew on thick fabrics like this.  It will tug and pull on the fabric and cause it to stretch.  That is why my edging has wrinkles."

Affix the velcro tape to the overlapping top edge, and you are done!

Cute ways to embellish this wrap would be to:
Add some trim to the bottom of the towel.
Add your initial in matching fabric
Add shoulder straps using the scrap fabric or the trimming from the towel.

I can't wait to use my new wrap!  God's Blessings to you!

T-Shirt Blanket

Over the weekend, we did a little "New Year's" cleaning!  We bagged up some clothes and set them aside to donate!  My hubby was getting rid of quite a few school themed t-shirts (he's a teacher/coach)....and I wondered who would want t-shirts from schools they didn't go to?

Later that day, I was also really wanting to go to the fabric store to buy some fabric for a project, but I didn't have a project in mind....and I didn't really want to waste the money on a useless project.

SO!  I had an idea!  I decided to make a t-shirt blanket with the old t-shirts.  I simply cut four 19"x19" squares out two of my hubby's tees!  Then I sewed them together like a quilt using about a half inch seam.  I ran to the fabric store and bought 1 yard of fleece ($6).  I embroidered my son's name and appliqued a few footballs to the front.  Sewed the fleece to the back...and voila.  A very special blankey for my little guy to take to daddy's football games.

Tutu Shirt

IMG_6030, originally uploaded by kkersten02.

I have completed my first project on my new sewing machine. Thanks to Tara Norman for sharing the Tutu Shirt pattern with me.

This t-shirt is on it way to one of my best friend's daughters, Ms. Dylan. She is a red head firecracker who is really into tutu's and all things girly right now. I hope she has lots of fun twirling and swirling in this little shirt.

I actually made two of these shirts, but the other shirt is on it's way to my niece for Christmas!