Inspiration Organization

Father's Day Gift Idea

2011-06-16T00:19:00.000-07:00

Can't go wrong with food for Father's Day. Here is a top ten list I created for my hubby and 10 coordinating candy bars for each item.

10 Things We Love About Dad…

1. You are our “lifesaver” and always there when we need you

2. You always make us feel special (Special Dark)

3. You know so much and always provide us with infinite wisdom. (Smarties)

4. You are a hard worker... and deserve a little break. (Fast Break)

5. Your “hugs” always make us feel better

6. You are always willing to “Take 5” and listen to us, with patience and love.

7. You’re fun, and happy and we love rushing to the door every day when you come home. (Jolly Rancher)

8. You can always make us “snicker” with your silly jokes.

9. Hands down, the best look’in Dad around (Big Hunk)

10. We love you to pieces and are grateful for everything you do for us! (Reese’s Pieces)

Car Seat Cover Ups

2010-10-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

I think these things have been around for a few years. I saw my first one over two years ago when I was visiting Utah. I had a friend that made them. But I noticed here in California no one had them. I think these car seat cover ups are wonderful. You know we all put the blankets over the top to keep baby asleep and its a pain to carry the seat. Now that solution is solved, plus keeps most people from touching that new baby with all the germs. So I found a pattern and made one for Melissa. Then I got requests from others to make them. The first pattern I bought was for personal use only, so I could only use it to make gifts. But, then I had some people ask me if I could make them one and they would pay me. So I found a pattern that let you sell what you made. Here is the first pattern here and then click here for the other pattern (the one you can sell what you made). I combined what I liked best about both for my own.
Here are some I have made the past couple of months as gifts.

Fun Father's Day Craft & Treat

2010-06-19T14:22:00.001-07:00

These brownies were a fun, kid-friendly way to wish dad a happy Father's Day. For instructions, visit http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/grate-gift-for-dad-888883/

Bow/Clip Holder

2010-02-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

A girl in our ward makes these and gives them as baby shower gifts. Ever since the first time I saw one she made I have wanted to make one for my daughter Mckynlee. Our ward actually made them for a super Saturday, but I had already bought the supplies for mine. She just gets a long board from Lowe's or Home Depot and cuts it down, but since I just wanted to make one I just went to Michael's and bought an unfinished wood plaque. So here's what you need:
A unfinished wood plaque (Michael's or Joann's, or of course if you want a bunch buy a big board from the home improvement store and cut it down)
-Paint (one for the base color and then another color for the polka dots)
-Ribbon (mine was 7/8 inch wide)
-stable gun
-drill
-A vinyl letter of your choice (I got mine from my wonderful friend Kyra, she has her own vinyl lettering business, check out her website here.)
Take your plaque or piece of wood and drill two holes at the top. Sand and paint your base color (I did several coats so the imperfections in the wood wouldn't show). Then paint on the polka dots. The girl that makes these uses vinyl, she has a cricut machine and just has it cut her dots. I found these cool sponge brushes in different size circle shapes at Walmart and I used those. Just dip them in the paint and then press where you want your polka dots. After your paint is dry apply your vinyl letter in the center. With the ribbon I just guessed the size. I threaded it through the holes and tied it in a bow until I got it to hang the length I want. As for the bottom ribbon I just cut those the length I thought I needed. My friend just has one ribbon hanging down from hers but my daughter has so many clips and bows I did three. After I cut them I light a match and run the edges through the flame to seal it, or you could use fray check, just do it so your ribbon doesn't fray. Then I officially tie the top one in a bow and staple gun the 3 other ribbons evenly apart on the bottom backside of the plaque and then your done and can hang all your bows. (I think it would be fun to make an adult version for all those adult clips I have to put in my hair).

Sweet Little Dress

2010-01-30T13:49:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to buy this pattern forever and finally did. I had bought fabric especially for it and it has just been sitting with my sewing stuff. I finally bought the pattern and made the dress for my daughter. I think it turned out so cute. You can find the pattern here at the Leila and Ben etsy shop. It's so easy to make and you can mix and match fabrics or use the same fabric for the whole dress. They have two patterns one that is 3 months -12 months and a 12 months - 5T. I bought the combo pack that had both patterns for just $12.

I decided I wanted to have a tie around the dress so I made my own tie (not included in the pattern)

Here is my little one with her new dress. I also made her a headband out of the coordinating fabric. I went the size smaller so it could fit as a long shirt too. It was so easy to make!

Doesn't it look cute paired with jeans? I used Heather Bailey fabric for her dress. I liked the dress so much I already have 3 more in the works that I'm making her.

Finnegan Fox

2010-01-30T13:44:00.001-08:00

I made these foxes to put in my boys stockings at Christmas. I find with sewing I'm always drawn to making things for my daughter, there are just more fun girly things to sew. So, I get excited when I find things here and there that are fun to sew for my boys. They love their foxes. Again they are patterns from Bit Of Whimsy Primms, click here to shop her patterns.

Bumble Bee Plushie

2010-01-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

Just another pattern I got from the bitofwhimsy etsy shop. I loved this one. I made this bumble Bee for my daughter to put in her stocking at Christmas. Click here to get the pattern.

B-Movie Monster

2010-01-30T13:33:00.000-08:00

Awhile back the Bitofwhimsy etsy shop was having a sale on all of their patterns, so I stocked up. This is the same shop where I got the Jo Doll pattern. My boys have been wanting me to make them something. So in the shop she had a stuffed monster pattern that I thought was so cute, so I had to get it. I made one for each of my boys. The picture above is the two monsters I made for them, so cute huh?! You can click here to shop her patterns.

Buttercup Bag

2010-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

So several months ago while looking at another craft blog I came across this bag. I thought it was so cute and what more the pattern is free! I had to make it. So I checked out the girls blog that created the pattern she has other cute patterns you can download for free also for your personal use. But, if you love making them so much and want to sell them you can also purchase the pattern for like $10 and it comes with permission to sell the bags you make. Click here to download your free copy of the pattern. It only takes a Fat Quarter to make the outer bag and handle and a little less than another fat quarter for the lining, so its super cheap to make. I just added the flower embellishment and attached it to the bag. The bag above I made for my friend Kate for a Christmas present. It's perfect to take out on a date with your hubby, or a night out with the girls!

I'm in my ward's Young Women Presidency and back in September we were putting together our Young Women In Excellence night. Our theme for the night was "'Purse'-suit of Excellence". This was right after I discovered this pattern. So my friend Katie, who was also in the presidency, and I got all our fabric scraps together and made enough purses for all our young women as a hand out after the program. The picture above is a close up of some of them.

Here are all 20 bags that we made. We stuffed them with tissue paper and used them to decorate the Relief Society Room for the big night.

We put a cute little quote inside and after the program the girls got to go up and pick a bag. They loved it! So if you're in Young Womens and looking for Young Women In Excellence ideas, this was so much fun.

Graditude in a Jar

2009-11-10T15:51:00.001-08:00

Celebrate Thanksgiving all month long with this fun idea I found here:

Pull out one scroll each day, read and then do the accompaning activity. Example: "I am thankful for seasons." Go on a walk with your family observing the beauty of the seasons.

Dinosaur Cake

2009-11-02T15:27:00.001-08:00

This cake was the talk of Luke's first birthday party and it was actually pretty easy to make. Below is a link to a step-by-step video on how to create this green dino out of two cake rounds.

How to make a dinosaur birthday cake

Hang Some Pics..

2009-11-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

This was one of my first projects when I moved into our house and thought I would share now that I have some new pics hung on it! I originally saw the idea in a model homw when we were looking at houses and I LOVED the idea!

I just used a couple curtain rods and rings that have clamps to hold drapes, they don't have to be huge! Easy to change the pics out and a fun way to display your favorite pics!!

Gospel ABC Book/Quiet Book

2009-09-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make a Quiet Book for my boys for sacrament meeting. I haven't quite got the motivation together to do it yet, but I did find a printable book that is very easy in the meantime! Instructions can be found here. It's really easy....just print out, add in some of your favorite pictures where applicable, then laminate. I found some colorful book rings at Walmart to hold the pages together. You could also stick the pages in page protectors and place in a 3 ring binder.

And for those who have their act together and want to make a real quiet book like my mom did when I was a kid, there are good instructions here

Shabby Rag Quilt

2009-09-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Shabby Rag Quilt

The first thing to do is plan the size of the quilt and the size of your blocks. Each square would have two pieces of fabric with an additional inch for a half-inch margin. The bigger the squares, the easier. 7x7 squares is a good size (in my opinion) I play around with different fabrics and designs until I come up with something I love.

Helpful (but not necessary) Supplies: a rotary blade cutter, a rotary mat, a rotary ruler, Small, sharp scissors (for making the fringe). You will need fabric and batting (I prefer the thinnest, natural cotton batting).

DO NOT wash the fabric before assembly. Instead, just iron the fabric and start cutting your squares. The batting squares go between your two layers of fabric. They should be smaller than your fabric by two times your intended seam allowance plus a half inch. So... if my fabric is 7x7 inches and my seam allowance is a half inch, then I want my batting to be 5.5x5.5 inches. Don't make your seam allowance any less than a half inch, or else you won't have anything to rag.

When your squares are ready, create a sandwich with two pieces of fabric as the bread and your batting as the filling. Try to put the batting someplace in the center. Top the sandwich with the second piece of fabric (right side of the fabric facing outward). Quilt each square by sewing an X across the sandwich from corner to corner.

Next you want to sew your squares together in strips. Refer to your pattern, place the proper squares together and sew one side together. I used a half inch seam allowance. Remember to have all of the seams facing the same direction. Once your strips are done, pin two strips together. After all of the strips are sewn together and your quilt begins to look like a real blanket, you want to sew the same seam allowance around the border of the entire quilt.

Next, make cuts in the seam allowances (all of them) every quarter inch, as close to the seam as possible without cutting it. When you are done cutting the frays, it is time to wash the quilt. The fringes should be nice and fluffy looking. The more you wash it, the softer and fluffier it gets.

Daily Spice Apron

2009-07-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

I made Heather Bailey's Daily Spice Apron for my little sis. It turned out cute and was pretty easy. You can find the pattern here.

Tag Rag

2009-06-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

This project is simple, yet time consuming (at least it was for me, a novice sewer).

1. Pick out two fabrics (one soft) and cut them into large squares roughly the size of a large burp cloth.

2. Cut different lengths of various ribbons, fold in half and sew, loops facing in, to the right side of one of the squares.

3. Now sew right sides together of both square so that when you turn in inside out, the ribbon loops are sticking out all sides.

4. Stitch around and edge and across the middle so that everything stays in place.

Last Minute Father's Day Gift

2009-06-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

This is a fun, easy, cheap Father's Day gift. You can buy a "D" and an "A" at any craft store (Michael's or Hobby Lobby). After I printed these out at Costco (luster finish) I put them in a three slot frame. I forgot to take a picture of the completed project before we took it to his dad's work, but you can get the idea from the pictures.

Beach Bag from a Beach Towel

2009-06-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

My very talented and creative friend Michelle, came up with this cute beach bag. Check out her blog for instructions: jolleyfam.blogspot.com

Twirly Skirts

2009-05-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

I loved this quick easy pattern... great for beginners. I got the fabric and pattern from quilthome.com. The fabric is by Joel Dewberry (Aviary Collection) and the pattern is by Pink Fig (The Girly Skirt by Chelsea Anderson). Happy Sewing!

Happy Stacker

2009-04-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

I saw this pattern on the Heather Bailey Store website and fell in love with it. I bought it to make for my daughter for Christmas but didn't get it done until recently. This is mine:

You don't have to do the ribbon embellishments, it does take more time, but I think it makes it cuter. You can easily use your scrap fabrics and have fun mixing and macthing them. You can get the pattern here or you can also get it at quilthome.com or even cheaper on Etsy.

Free Knit/Crochet Patterns!

2009-03-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

I have been on a bit of a crochet kick lately (I like to do it while I watch tv...I don't feel like I am wasting so much time then!). I found this great site that has hundreds of FREE patterns for knitting and crocheting (animals, hats,scarves, blankets, etc). Some of them look like something my grandma would make, but a lot of them are very cute as well! I figure if I start now, I can get a good start on some Christmas presents :>) The pattern finder is here

Nature in a Jar

2009-03-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have really enjoyed my apothecary jars (one from Tai Pan and the others from Walmart). In the past they have been filled with different candies... which looked cute, but somehow my little hands were dipping into it a little too often. I have been playing with other options and have settled on a nature assortment: moss balls and dried flowers. What do you put in your jars??

Xylophone Cake

2009-02-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Cake can only get better when you add twinkies and a lot of frosting to it! I originally saw the instructions for this cake in Woman's Day back in '03 I think? I can't find the article now, but the directions can be found online here. You can find a lot of other really fun cake ideas on their website as well, but the problem is that the diagrams for how to assemble the cakes are not available online. Fortunately this one was pretty basic, and it looked pretty much like this!
I did have to look quite a few places to find Jujubees (probably because they don't taste very good!), but Target does carry them.

Crochet Heart Garland

2009-02-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

This was a pretty fast project...it took maybe an hour or 2 while watching tv! You can find the instructions here

Valentine Hearts

2009-02-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

An oldie-but-goodie Valentine's craft! Materials needed:
-crayons
-pencil sharpener
-wax paper
-iron
-scissors
-tape or string

Start out by sharpening some crayons, and putting the shavings in piles

Lay a piece of wax paper on the table, and scatter the crayon shavings across it.

Put another piece of wax paper on top of the first piece (with the crayon shavings in the middle), and iron for a couple seconds on medium heat. If you don't want melted crayon all over your iron and ironing board, I would recommend putting a piece of newspaper under the bottom piece of wax paper, and another piece of newspaper on top of everything!

Once the wax paper and crayons are melted together, cut out hearts. You can use a template or just cut them out freehand. We taped them onto a window, but you can also punch a hole in the top of each heart and hang them by stings (or make a garland)

Baby Headbands Made with Tights

2009-02-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

Supplies:
1 Pair of little girls tights (18-24 months is a good size... I get mine in a three pack from Walmart in the infants dept.)
Hot Glue Gun (low heat is best)
Satin Ribbon (at least 3in. for each headband)
Silk flower
Small rhinestone
Alligator clip and grosgrain ribbon to cover it (Optional)
1. Cut off legs
2. Fold each end acordian style to make an "M," then put a dot of glue in each fold to secure.3. Bring ends together and secure with glue.4. Wrap ribbon around to completely cover the edges and run a line of glue along one end of the ribbon, place the other end of ribbon down and hold until cool.

5. Flip headband out6. Take silk flower apart and remove any plastic pieces. Reconsturct, with a circle of hot glue between each layer. Then glue the rhinestone in the center.
7. You can glue the flower directly onto the headband, or if you want your flowers and headbands interchangable, you can glue the flower onto a prepared alligator clip.

Posh Little Tootsies

2009-01-25T22:35:00.000-08:00

These are so stink'in cute... I had to share them. They are only one pair of many darling shoes for your little girlies from www.foxpawsshoes.com.

They are a bit of a splurge, but if ya love 'em and gotta have 'em... you can get $10 0ff and free shipping with this coupon code: foxpaws09.

Homemade baby Food

2009-01-21T15:44:00.000-08:00

If you want to save some serious moo-lah, you have to give this a try. Is was surprisingly easy to do.

Step 1: Peel fruits if necessary, by blanching them in boiling water for one minute, then soaking them in ice water for one minute, the skins should peel right off with your hands.

Step 2: Steam your fruit/veggies

Step 3: Puree in a blender, you can add excess liquid from steaming to thin out a little.**For carrots just add plain water, the steamed liquid contains nitrates.

Step 4: Pour into ice cube trays and freeze

Step 5: Pop out cubes and put into freezer bags. Grab one or two at meal time, microwave until melted, add baby cereal if desired.

Some foods I have have luck with: pears, plums, peaches, carrots, apricots.

Great Non-cooked baby foods:
-Mashed banana
-Mashed avocado
-Large jars of unsweetened all natural applesauce

This has saved me so much money considering a jar of baby food costs about 60 cents and I make a 45 cube batch with about $2 of baby carrots. Seriously worth it... and your baby is getting fresh, non-tampered baby made with love!

Cake fit for a Cap'n

2009-01-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

I made this cake for my son's pirate birthday party. Keep in mind, that cake decorating is most certainly not my forte. I had fun making it and my son couldn't keep his jolly roger fingers off of it during the process, so it may look a little roughed up. I used a pyrex bowl for the boat, and cut off the sides. The sails were made with wood skewers and card stock.

I got my inspiration from a cake on familyfun.com

Birdie Sling

2009-01-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

I made two of these for Christmas gifts. They are from an Amy Butler pattern I purchased from quilt home (my favorite fabric shop). It was pretty simple... I got away with only a few mistakes. I have plans to make one for myself in the near future.

Super Cute Headbands!

2008-12-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago I was at a Farmer's Market in SLC, and this girl had this booth set up and was selling these super cute headbands. They have small velcro pieces on the underside so they don't slide around your head. They are adjustable and can fit 18 months old to adult. They come in tons of different styles and several different thicknesses. I have three and love mine, they work great with long and short hair. You can go and check them out here http://www.pinkbench.com/.

Jo Doll Pattern

2008-12-22T23:59:00.001-08:00

I saw one of these that a friend made for her daughter and I really wanted to make one for mine. So I went here to the bitofwhimsy store on etsy and bought the pattern. The pattern is only $9 and she just emails you a pdf file. The nice thing is that they don't take much fabric and you can use your extra scraps you have laying around. I made my daughters and liked it so much I decided to make some for my nieces. If you check out her shop she has a lot of different cute patterns for other dolls too and other stuffed animals.

Stuffed Owl

2008-12-19T17:35:00.001-08:00

This is our beloved owl, Mr. Hoo. He was so simple to make so I wanted to share the pattern.
I used felt for the eyes and cut with pinking shears and I used safety eyes (from the doll section of your craft store) I recommend just cutting flat felt feet out instead of stuffing them. I also used felt for the nose. I sewed the wings right side together, leaving the top open, flipped them out and attached in the seam connecting the head and body. Have fun mixing textures and prints!!

Picture Ornaments

2008-12-06T21:21:00.002-08:00

I came across this idea and thought it was cute. Don't know how well it will save when it gets squished in a box all year with the rest of my ornaments, but a fun gift for the grandparents nonetheless! For directions click here.

Carseat Blankets

2008-12-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

One of our friends bought a pattern for a carseat blanket. So a few of us that had babies got together and made carseat blankets. The picture above is my daughter in hers. Once we figured out the pattern they were super easy. I love mine and use it all the time, especially with the weather getting cooler. Click here if you are interested in getting the pattern.

This week I made one for my friend for her baby shower. My daughter is modeling it above. She is having a little boy so I made her a boyish one, which was a bit easier because I didn't have to do a ruffle, I just edge-stitched the outside edge. My other friends that have boys also just cut the edges so it could have the frayed edge look. The second time around I made the belt/buckle openings a little smaller, I thought mine were too big. Anyways, I love mine and I think they make great baby gifts!

Hair Clips

2008-12-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

My daughter was born with a lot of hair and I hated covering it all with those big hairband bows (not that they aren't cute, but I liked seeing all of her hair). I had received a couple of these small bendy clippies and tried them out on her and loved them. Her hair was still too fine and soft to hold the alligator clips, but these ones worked perfect for her newborn hair. So, I decided to make some myself.

Here are some of the first ones I made. I thought they turned out good, and they look super cute in her hair.

I just picked up a few supplies from the craft store to get started. You can go to the scrapbook section and get the little flowers they have there or use the bundles of little flowers you can find at the flower section of the craft store and pull them off the stems. Then I got some sticker flower jewels from the scrapbook section, beads and I already had some buttons on hand to use to glue onto the middle of the flowers. Then I got some ribbon and of course the clips. ( I have to apologize for the following pics, my camera was not doing great at taking good pictures of these small items)

I had a hard time finding clips, I went to Target and Walmart and either they were too big or too small. But I ran into a girl that makes bows and she said she just buys hers off ebay. So I went to ebay and just put "30 mm clips" in the search section and found a lady that sold a pack of 50 for $4.99, which I thought was pretty good deal.

So then just measure and cut some ribbon that is long enough to fit around the clip.

Then hot glue the ribbon to the clips.

Then hot glue the petals to the top of the clip, I use two flowers for each clip.

Then hot glue whatever you want to use for the middle (jewel, small beads, or button) on top of the flower. And there you have it. Pretty much you can glue whatever you want to the clips bows or whatever. But they are so cute and work great for fine thin hair.

Knit Hat

2008-12-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

I think that these are the cutest hats ever!!! Check out the website: http://hatsbyash.blogspot.com/ You can customer order your own.

Clip Board Treats

2008-12-01T13:33:00.001-08:00

These are super easy, inexpensive and make great homemade gifts for teachers, neighbors, or friends. I used a mini clipboard from Office Max.

Directions:

1. Paint sides, back and metallic clip of the board (if desired).

2. Create a template for the clipboard by tracing the outline, then trimming around the clip.

3. Using your template, trace onto cardstock scrapbook paper.

4. Paint a thin layer of Modge Podge Matte on clipboard, quickly lay paper on top.

5. Paint a thin layer of Modge Podge Matte on top of paper.

6. Smooth wrinkles out with credit card.

7. Let dry. Antique Edges with coordinating paint.

8. Clip on your favorite Christmas treat in a clear bag and recipe on top.

9. Tie a few coordinating ribbons through hole in clip.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies

Ritz Crackers

Peanut Butter

Almond Bark, Milk Chocolate, or round chocolate melts

Colored Candy Sprinkles

1. Spread peanut butter between two crackers to make "sandwiches".

2. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Reduce heat and keep chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water.

3. Dip each cracker "sandwich" in chocolate, allowing excess to drain back into pot.

4. Place coated crackers on wax paper and add sprinkles. Allow coating to completely set, placing in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Initial Blocks

2008-11-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Supplies:

12 x 12 x 2 Block of wood or any size you prefer
12 x 12 Scrapbook paper (heavier works better)
Modge Podge (Matte)
Craft Paint
Sand paper
Wood Letter (mine is from Michaels)

Directions:

1. Sand rough edges of wood
2. paint sides and back of wood, let dry,paint letter
3. Paint a thin layer of Modge podge on front of wood
4. Quickly lay paper on top, paint a thin layer on top, then smooth wrinkles out with a credit card.
5. Using wood glue or podge podge, center letter on front
6. Once dry, use a piece of sponge to add a little paint to the edges of the paper
7. Sand edges of wood and letter to distress
8. Once dry, attach hardware to hang on the wall if desired.

Some other ideas:

Use smaller pieces to spell a child's name or word (love, joy, boo, home, etc.)

Use vinyl letters instead of wood.

FHE for the Monday after Halloween

2008-11-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

I know this is like a week late, but a friend told me about this idea and I loved it. She said that the Monday after Halloween she does a lesson on tithing and has her kids give 10% of their candy to the bishop to put in his office. I thought this was such a cute idea, especially if you have small kids. I know I struggling with things to teach my little ones for family home evening, because its hard to keep their attention. But, this last Monday I tried it and it was a success. They loved it. I just read a couple of scriptures on tithing and explained how Jesus and Heavenly Father bless us with everything we have and they only ask that we give 10% of our increase. I explained the things that tithing pays for. And told them that once they turn 8 they would be asked to pay tithing, so for practice we were going to count out 10% of their Candy to give to the bishop. My kids had so much fun, and had no objections to giving part of their candy away. I showed them what a small amount it was compared to the rest of their Halloween stash they had, but that's all Heavenly Father asks even though he gives us so much. It was definitely a successful FHE and I plan on doing it every year. And I'm sure the Bishop was grateful for the candy. (sorry for those who read my blog, because I posted this on there too, but I thought this would be something good to post on here too)

Simple Girlie Tank

2008-11-06T22:23:00.000-08:00

Directions:
1. Cut fabric from pattern shown above. If you are unsure of the size to make it, find a similar existing top, fold it in half then create your pattern.
2. Sew side seams together.
3. Starting at shoulder, finish the arm hole sides, press 1/4 inch,then sew until you reach other open end of shoulder, then press over 1/4 inch again and sew again.
4. Make ribbon casing along the neckline by sewing 1/4 inch, press then stitch at 1 inch.
5. Using safety pin slip ribbon through casings tie at one end.
6. Fray check ends of ribbons.
7. Hem Bottom.

Baby Peasant Blouse

2008-11-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

You never know exactly how bad the economy will get. I have been brushing up on my clothing construction skills, just in case there is a shortage of adorable little clothes. I found a great tutorial for this peasant blouse here. I had to make some adjustments to fit my baby and the elastic I had on hand was thinner than the sample, but I ended up with a wearable garment that is pretty cute (in my opinion)... but what wouldn't be on this little gal?? Next step, velvet gown from my draperies!

Fashionista Without a Cause

2008-11-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

Do you really need a reason to look fabulous? Your inner fashionista says absolutely not! This easy ensemble from Shabby Apple, gives color a chance to brighten your day and leave you feeling splendidly au courant. Shine on sister! Check out this vignette and other amazing fashion finds at shabbyapple.com

Pumpkin Carving Family Home Evening

2008-10-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Lesson: Because I am His child, I will serve God with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.

Scripture:(D&C 4:2). “Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.”

This pumpkin is going to help us remember how we can better serve God.

I can open my mind so I can learn about Heavenly Father and his plan for me to return to him.
(Cut the top of the pumpkin)

I can repent when I make a wrong choice.
(Clean out the inside)

I can keep my eyes open for opportunities to serve others.
(Cut the eyes out in shape of heart)

I can be a good friend to everyone and not turn up my nose to anyone.
(Cut a nose)

I can open my ears so I can listen and learn.
(Cut the ears)

I can open my mouth so I can share the gospel with the world.
(Cut the mouth)

I can follow the Saviors example and let my light shine in all that I say and do.
(Place a candle inside and light it)

Activity: It is no trick to treat others with kindness: Have small paper pumpkins cut. Family members can write acts of kindness they will do on each pumpkin.

Tutus That Defy Gravity

2008-10-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

I found an amazing tutu tutorial with a no-sew option. It was quick, easy, inexpensive and complimented Lyric's angel costume perfectly! For more info check out: http://tutusbowsandmore.com/pages/tutuinstructions.htm
Thanks Jenny!