Bright Red Deco Mesh Christmas Wreath

Thanks to an impromptu craft day by two of my mommy friends, I actually got started on my Christmas crafts a little ahead of time.  Here's my first Christmas craft of the season -- a deco mesh Christmas wreath.

If you haven't made a deco mesh wreath, you should try.  They are easier then they look.   I started with a 16" wire wreath form and 12" wide sparkly red deco mesh roll, which I attached with pipe cleaners.  (You could also use floral wire but pipe cleaners are much easier on your fingers).  Then I added the red & white stripped 5" wide deco mesh.  I made loops out of green and white deco mesh before attaching them and then embellished the wreath with Christmas ornaments.  Lastly, I added fancy jingle bells hanging in the center to give that nice Christmas jingle every time the front opens up.

I'll be making another wreath for above my mantel -- I haven't decided if it's going to be deco mesh, burlap, or traditional ever greens.  Check back later in the season to see what I decided!


In case you are interested in making a deco mesh wreath -- here's some links to some great tutorials and videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JdTD9Vge60
http://www.clumsycrafter.com/2012/03/deco-mesh-wreath-tutorial/
http://www.bigbearswife.com/2013/09/halloween-deco-mesh-wreath-tutorial.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY2uHv0AxFM

A Northwoods Outfit: Cargo Shorts, Canoe Applique Shirt, and Bucket Hat Made With Michael Miller Plaid

While browsing on line fabric stores a few months ago I came I came across this madras plaid fabric and just fell in love with it.  (It's shore thing, by Michael Miller, and you can bye it here at fabric.com).  I thought it would be the perfect fabric for an outfit to make for my 3 year old for our North woods vacation in Wisconsin.

I used McCall'sM6495 to make the cargo shorts.  I made the reversible hat with the Scout Bucket Hat pattern from youcanmakethis.com

I found this canoe applique pattern  off Etsy from Applique Cafe, and then I added Landon's name to personalize the shirt.  I purchased the navy blue shirt from Target, Circo brand.

And here's pictures of my handsome little man showing of his new outfit in Gramma's back yard.

I also made a romper for Baby Austin out of this same fabric, but I'll have to save that for another blog post.

Helicopter, Airplanes, Trains, & Truck Crib Bedding For Baby Austin

This past Christmas my husband surprised me with some fabric he had picked out form our local quilt house so I could make a baby blanket for our soon-to-be baby Austin.  Once I got the blanket done, I decided I needed a matching sets.  I got that done and decided I needed a big and burp cloth.  And then after that decided why not have a matching bed skirt and coordinating pillow.  So when all was said and done I had a complete bed set.

I used cozy flannel fabrics by Blank Quilting -- Starlight, Moving & Shaking, and Airplanes.

For the sheets I used a tutorial from I Candy Handmade

I made the bed skirt using a tutorial from We Like To Learn As We Go.  Instead of one solid piece of fabric, I constructed panels consisting of one piece of airplane fabric two pieces of green fabric.

And here's the blanket that I posted about in an earlier blog post.

I thought it would be nice for Baby Austin to have a pillow.  I made it reversible so one side of the pillow has the air plane fabric, and the other side has the trains and truck fabric.

And with the left over fabric I made a quick burp cloth and big and used my embroidery machine for some added personalization.  For the burp cloth I used this tutorial and for the bib I used this tutorial

My next project for the bed set is going to remake the mobile by covering it with fabric and painting some helicopters, airplanes, and trains to hang from the mobile.  Hopefully I will get it done before Austin outgrows that mobile stage :)

All-Star Baseball 2 Page Scrapbook Layout Made With Cricut Sports Mania

Here's a layout from Landon's scrapbook.  Since I find baseball clothing on little babies just adorable I had Landon wear a baseball outfit for his 3 month pictures, and I found some stars and stripes baseball scrapbook paper that coordinated perfectly.

I used the Sports Mania cricut cartridge to cut out the "All Star" and "Play Ball" and the Plantin School cartrige for "our little" and "3 months".  And I cut the baseball and star embellishments out of scrapbook paper.  This was a very fast layout and only took less then 20 minutes to throw together.

Thanks for reading today's post!

DIY Infant Carrier Cover - Perfect for Shielding Baby

Here's an easy DIY sewing project I did for my little Austin -- an infant carrier cover.  These covers work great from shielding the baby from the bright sun/lights and even protects the babies from exposure to germs when out and about.  I followed this tutorial that I used over at the blog Make-It-Do.

I just fell in love with this Michael Miller fabric from the Elephant Walk line that I purchased from the Quilt Hause here in New Braunfels.  I used the "Zoology-dirt" fabric for the outside and "Dumb Dot" for the outside and for contrast on the outside.  If you are making this cover for a little girl, they have this same adorable fabric in pink and purple tones too!


And of course, I just couldn't help but add a picture to show off my adorable little baby.  Here is Austin enjoying a nap in his infant carrier with his nice hand-made cover.

DIY Baby Age Blocks for Photo Props

Here's a project I finished just in time for Austin's arrival -- age blocks.  These work great for photo props to document the baby's age.  And since Baby Austin is 1 month old today, I can show off how much he has grown and changed in the first month!

I can not take complete credit for this project.  My mom passed the idea on to me after seeing a present that my sister-in-law received as a shower gift (purchased from BB Blocks).  And I have to thank my dad for doing the cutting, sanding, beveling, and staining.  Complete instructions are located at the end of this blog post.

My Age Blocks Put to Use on Baby Austin:

Instructions for making your own photo blocks:

Supplies:  

• 4x4 piece of wood that is at least 15 in. long
• polyeurothane & sanding blocks
• For the lettering
• Cricut cutter and cutting mat
• multiple colors of adhesive-backed vinyl
• font cartridge (I used Cake Basics).
• transfer tape

Instructions:

• Step 1:  Starting with a wooden 4x4, cut the wood into two cubes (actual dimensions are ~3.5 in. x 3.5 in. x 3.5 in).  Then cut a rectangular piece that is 7" long (7 in x 3.5 in. x3.5 in).  Use a beveler or a sander to round the edges, and thoroughly sand all surfaces.
• Step 2: Apply two or three coats of polyurothane, sanding between each coat.  For best results, follow the application and sanding instructions on the polyurethane label.
• Step 3: While the polyurethane is drying, cut the letters and numbers out of the vinyl as described below.
• for the first cube: cut numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
• for the second cube: cut numbers 0, 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9
• for the rectangular cube: cut the following words: days, weeks, months, and years
• Step 4: Using the transfer tape, apply the words and numbers to the blocks.
• Step 5: Once the vinyl letters and numbers are in place, add two or three more coats of polyurethane, sanding lightly between coats.  This will protect the vinyl from getting scratched and scuffed.

Big Bro and Little Bro Appliqué Embroidery Shirts for My 2 Boys

Now that Baby Austin is almost a month old, I am starting to get into a normal routine and am starting to have more time for crafting and blogging.  And I am so excited to show off my two boys with today's project -- Big Bro T-shirt and matching Little Bro onesie.

I purchased the embroidery program on Etsy for $2.99 from JoyousEmbroidery and the gingham fabric came from Warehouse Fabrics.  I made big bro 5" x 7" for the toddler shirt and the lil bro 4" x 4" for the baby onesie.

And here's a picture of my two boys showing off their new shirts.  Landon is such a proud big brother and is so happy to introduce Baby Austin to everybody.  (I still need to work on the art of getting a toddler and a baby to both look at the camera at the same time)

Trains, Helicopter, Trucks, and Planes Baby Blanket Using Random Rectangle Pattern for New Baby Austin

I am so excited to finally be able to show off my two latest projects.

First -- the most important project -- we welcomed our new baby boy last week.  Austin Ryder was born on March 25 at a healthy 7 lbs 14 oz and 18 3/4 in long.  We are so blessed to have this new addition in our family!

Second -- here is the project I've slowly been working on over the last several weeks that I finished just in time for baby Austin's arrival.

The fabric is all cozy flannel from the Starlight Flannel collection by Blank Quilting.  I actually got the fabric as a Christmas present from my husband.  Didn't he do a great job picking it out!  To make the blanket extra cozy, I used a plush border.  For a personalized touch, I embroidered Austin's name in the upper right hand corner.

I got the random rectangle pattern idea from this blog:  Cluck Cluck Sew Blog 

Here is a view of the entire blanket.  It's finished size is about 43" x 50", which is just about crib sized.

And here is a view that shows the airplanes and helicopter fabric I used on the backing.

I still have enough fabric left to make a crib sheet, bibs, burp clothes, and pillow case.  So I better get working!

Homemade Hospital Gown

With 3 weeks to go before the baby comes, I am getting down to crunch time getting the nursery and rest of the house ready for baby's arrival.  Today I nocked one of the to-do items off the list -- making my own hospital gown.

Since I'm having a c-section and will be in the hospital for 5 days, I wanted something a little less frumpy then the standard boring hospital gowns, so I picked out some brown and pink fabric from Hobby Lobby, found a free pattern on line over at Lazy Girl Designs, and went to work.

I made a few modifications to the pattern.  Instead of normal hems I used double fold bias tape to add an extra pop of pink.  I skipped the pocket and hole for heart monitor cords since I don't plan on wearing this until after the c-section is over.  And I made a 2" x 90" sash in coordinating fabric to add a feminine touch.

And now that my hospital gown is done I can pack my hospital bag!  Until next time, have a Sew Scrappy Day.

Fire Truck Birthday Shirt Embroidered for Landon

Today I spent my birthday playing with my birthday present -- my new embroidery machine.  I wanted to try doing a combination of appliqué and embroidering on the embroidery machine, and thought a t-shirt for Landon's 3rd birthday would be the perfect opportunity.  So I searched the internet and found a reasonably priced design at Stitcheroo Designs that incorporated the number 3 into a flame with a firetruck.

Here is the T-shirt I made:

Here's a closer look at the design:

The embroidery machine program file can be purchased here.   (The purchase actually includes the design for numbers 1 - 6!)

I also found this tutorial from the blog Love from Texas that walked me step by step through the applique embroidery process.

Lesson learned from this project is that I need to use a little stiffer stabilizer (like a medium weight cutaway) in place of the tear away stabilizer that I used on this project.  This would clean up the puckering that I got at the bottom of the t-shirt.

Considering it was my first appliqué project on the embroidery machine, I am quite pleased with the results.  I can't wait to surprise Landon with this birthday surprise tomorrow morning.

Heart Shaped Wedding Vow Scrapbook Layout

Now that we are approaching our five year wedding anniversary, I am finally starting to make progress on my wedding scrapbook.  I am now up to the vows and exchange of rings.  And here is the 2-page layout I created.  I scrap-lifted this idea from Scrapbooks Etc. magazine.

The version from the magazine was only a 1 page layout for the wedding vows, but I quickly transposed it into a two page layout by mirroring the images and using the second page for the exchange of rings.  

All the paper came from Hobby Lobby and is either Paper Studio or My Mind's Eye.  I used one of the cricut wedding cartridges to cut the templates for the hearts, and the Plantinum Schoolbook cartridge for the blue lettering.

I hand-wrote our traditional wedding vows on strips in the bottom corner to make sure we always remembered exactly what we promised.

And I did the same with the priest's words during the exchange of rings.

So I hope you liked today's project.  I am making myself a promise to set time aside each week to do scrapbooking so I can start to get caught up.  So keep checking back for more scrapbook layouts.  And until next time, have a Sew Scrappy Day!

Little All Star Baseball Burp Clothes

As I was unpacking and organizing the baby stuff, I realized I needed more burp clothes.  So instead of going out and buying them, I decided to make my own.  So I googled ideas and came across this tutorial.

And this is what I came up with:

I used left over fabric from the baby blanket I made earlier (to see post go here).  For the backing I used terry cloth fabric I bought at Joann's to add extra softness and absorbency to the burp clothes.  I cut that fabric into 10" x 18" rectangles, then embroidered "Little All Star", added the vintage baseball accent fabric, and then sewed the front to the back.  

I can not wait for our new little all star to arrive (1 month away!) so that we can use these!  And they were so simple I plan on making a bunch more with my fabric scraps, and maybe even a couple of matching bibs.

Valentine's Day Tie Appliqué Shirt for Baby Boy

This weekend I welcomed the newest addition to my craft room -- a new embroidery machine.  My wonderful husband bought it as an early birthday present.  My birthday isn't until the end of the month, but he knew that with the baby coming I would have lots of opportunities to use it since I have been planning on working on burp clothes, bibs, and baby blankets.  So I spent the afternoon learning how to use the new machine.  And I even got an embroidery project done.

Here it is -- a Valentine's shirt with a tie appliqué for a baby boy.

I've been wanting to make a tie appliqué shirt, and decided to use the embroidery machine to make it a Valentine's themed shirt.  I found the template for the tie at the blog Crap I've Made.  I copied and pasted the template into a word document so I could make it a little bit bigger.

I used the embroidery machine to make the words "Be Mine" before cutting the tie shape.  Then I used paper back fusible webbing (also known as heat and bond) to adhere the tie onto the black shirt and used a zig zag stitch on my regular sewing machine to give the edges of the tie a finished look.  Here's a close up.

I think I still might add some suspenders and a few hearts to make it more festive, but considering I spent most of the day getting a feel of the new embroidery machine and figuring out how all the features worked, I am pretty happy with the product.

And here is my new addition to my craft room - the Brothers PE770.  I was very impressed with how easy it was to use.  I literally opened the box and was embroidering 20 minutes later.  

And with that, I'm going to get back to crafting.  I've got to finish dressing up this t-shirt.  Until next time, have a Sew Scrappy Day!

Personalized Wooden Heart Wall Hanging (Just Like Candy Hearts!)

I am starting to get in the Valentine's Day spirit and found a little time this week to make a wall hanging like one I found on Pinterest (here is the link to the original project).  And here is my version of the project, personalized for my family:

The entire project was under $10.  I hit a good sale at Hobby Lobby and bought the 7" wooden hearts for $1 a piece (50% off!), and I found the perfect red and white heart ribbon (the picture below shows a close up of the ribbon, as you can see in the close up below).  I painted each heart a different pastel color to emulate the look of candy hearts.  Then I added the names of each person in our family in red vinyl.  You could use scrapbook stickers to do this, but I used my Cricut and the Cricit Alphabet font cartridge to cut the letters out of vinyl so each name would fit perfectly onto the 5" wide heart.  Finally, I used hot glue to attach the ribbon to the wood hearts, and tied a bow on top.

I didn't want to give away the name we have picked out for the little baby boy we are expecting (which is due in only 2 months nows!) so I used the word baby as a place holder.  I did cut out the letters for the baby's real name and and tucked them away for next year.  The good thing about this vinyl is that it effortlessly peals off without marring the paint, so I can update that name easily when I get the decoration out for next year.

And here is a close up of the adorable heart patterned ribbon:

Well that is all for now!  Thanks for reading my post, and until next time be sure to have a Sew Scrappy Day!

Landon's First Baby Room -- Scrapbook Layout

Now that we are two months away from the new baby's arrival, I've been unpacking baby boxes and organizing the baby room, which has lead me to reminisce about Landon's baby room in our old house -- which lead to the perfect opportunity for a scrapbook layout.  So here it is:

The background paper is from My Mind's Eye, I used the New Arrivals and Tear Drop Cricut cartridges, and 3-D scrapbook stickers by Jolee's Boutique.

Here's a close up of his bedroom.  I made the polka-dot ceiling border and the "Landon" sign using my Cricut.

For the title, I used the Tear Drop cartridge.  The rocking chair is a sticker from Jolee's Boutique.  The train is actually the inside of the vinyl stickers that I cut out with the Cricut (using the New Arrival Cartridge) and used on the border in the actual bedroom.

And here are more of the vinyl stickers from the inside of the polka dot border in his bedroom.

This was the nightlight that I made for Landon.  I spray painted an acrylic block with a frosted glass finish, put white Christmas lights inside, applied the vinyl stickers from Upper Case Living, and added a bow.

And this was Landon sleeping in his crib when he was just a few weeks old, all cuddled up in the blanket hand-knit by his Gramma.  Can you believe the full head of dark read hair he was born with?  It is hard to believe that this is the same blond haired boy he is today!

That's all for today!  Until next time, have a Sew Scrappy Day!