I promised details on the little white elephant I made for a white elephant party. It was actually really easy! I was making this little deer from the free pattern found here via happy together (from the book Palm-Size Softies), and thought I could just change it a little to make an elephant. I used the original body pieces but hand drew a simple trunk pattern and oversized ears. Instead of the deer tail I sewed on some tattered scraps to look like an elephant tail. Then I replaced the eyes with embroidered dots. So, next time you're not ...Continue Reading
snowy day hat pattern (free!)
Friday morning we woke up to a blanket of white snow. I'd been enjoying the snow-free weather, but then I remembered how pretty snow is. So pretty. I love the quiet that comes with it, too. To celebrate the first snow I made a hat from an old sweater. One of my goals for this new year is purge my closet so that it is full of only things I love. I liked this sweater when I got it, but it has a hole now, which I could fix...but I also washed it with a brand new sweatshirt and it has sweatshirt specks all over it. I could get them off, but I ...Continue Reading
BOY: suburban hipster
It's the second week at Project Run and Play and voting is open! Go vote! It's boy week at this week, which is nice because I have a boy! I didn't have to round up models and hope the outfit fit for this one. I made a hipster look with skinny cords and a skinny square tie.The best part is that in the inside of the lapel sport coat (which I made a little big, but I know it will fit in a few months) is a secret car playmat. (Which is where the "suburban" part comes, driving in the suburbs!) So when you're all dressed up at a boring event or ...Continue Reading
bloom, baby, bloom: sketchbook to runway
Well, not really runway. More like run and play. I passed the first round of Project Run and Play! Thanks for voting, if you did. Whew. This week is boy's week! I actually have one of those! No rounding up models this round, which makes life easier! Voting starts tomorrow! I thought it would be fun to show you my original sketch of the bloom, baby, bloom dress. I plan on making a tutorial for you soon, but until then, check out my drawing board: My notes are sorta silly reading them now. I made a note to buy "sorta stiff and really stiff" ...Continue Reading
lace ruffles slip/skirt tutorial
After making this short dress fixer slip, I found myself wearing it all the time! It's great to pair it with short dresses or long tunics or even skirts with big slits. All of those outfits I used to wear with one hand pulling my skirt down, are now carefree and extra cute, too. So I made another one, this time with an old skirt and lace ruffles. It sorta looks like a petticoat and instantly makes short dresses longer! You can even wear it as a stand-alone skirt. Materials:an old a-line skirt, or make a basic gathered skirt with a little ...Continue Reading
project run + play: week 1
Week one of Project Run and Play is finally here! I've been working behind the scenes for a little while and I really hate keeping secrets, so I am glad to be able to share what I've been working on! click here to go vote at pr+r!The theme for the first week was a remix of the Junebug dress from Jess at craftiness is not optional. Here's what I made: bloom, baby, bloom My main goal for this challenge was to make the dress look very different from the junebug dress while keeping it's main feature: the cute buttons! So I changed the silhouette, ...Continue Reading
white elephant
I accidentally took almost a week off blogging, I've missed you! I hope you had a really nice holiday weekend. I have lots to tell you!Last week we went to a white elephant gift exchange party. I had the hardest time thinking up what to bring. But (thanks to my facebook buddies) I decided to make a white elephant! You guys are so clever! The white elephant got some laughs and is actually pretty cute, although quirky. I made him really fast, but just love his little ears. We also brought two boxes of preparation H wipes(wrapped super cute ...Continue Reading
stamped wrapping paper + day 8
Today, I'm guest posting at emily k, sharing our 8th day of Christmas. It's a new tradition we started this year, go check it out! ................... Last week I shared this project at Sumo's Sweet Stuff. But if you missed it, there is still time to stamp some gifts!My favorite part of the holidays is wrapping presents! With a whole lot of craft supplies on hand, sometimes I get a little carried away. Today I'm sharing a simple way to add a special touch to any gift: hand stamped wrapping paper! All you need is a solid color paper (I'm using ...Continue Reading
new wool skirt
During my houndstooth obsession of 2009, I purchased this houndstooth wool on etsy. It's so super thick and has been taking up so much space on my fabric shelf. I thought about getting rid of it the other day. But instead I had a sudden burst of inspiration and 20 minutes later it was this, a wool skirt. It's so warm! I found these houndstooth tights at Target. Wool skirts and tights are a favorite winter combo. So warm and cozy! I used my tutorial for making a gathered paper bag skirt, just with yardage instead of a sheet. And I didn't ...Continue Reading
one yard plaid scarf
I shared this on kojo designs a few weeks ago. I wanted to repost it before Christmas in case you need a really quick and easy last minute gift for a BOY! One of my favorite things about having guys in my life is dressing them up as much as they will let me. Guy clothes are really so fun! I converted my husband to scarves this fall. I wrapped one around his neck and he said "Woah, my neck is so warm!" ...Woah, amazing! He sure has been missing out. This tutorial is for a scarf with just 1 yard of fabric. It's really the easiest kind of ...Continue Reading
little green stars
Lifestyle Crafts is at it again with their new line for the new year: Countdown! They sent me their new drink dies and alphabet dies to try out. As you can see, I had some fun. The very first thing I did was cut out letters to spell "Happy New Year 2012" and strung them all on a string! It will be so cute hanging on the wall or Christmas tree maybe. Then I used the drink punches to cut out circles and stars. That's not really what they are for, they really make cute little wine glass charm things. But instead I used the little stars for ...Continue Reading
