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This is the same basic idea as the Clip Holder a couple posts ago. The only difference is I wanted it more square... and bigger. I put ribbons going both ways. I also stitched the corners with X's all the way through the cardboard. It would even look cute with little buttons or something at the intersections. This was a gift, but I definitely want to make one for myself too. I have just the place I want to put it. :)

Bath Salts

I made some home-made bath salts this year for Christmas presents. They turned out pretty good. I used a mango scent. I got the recipe mostly from this website: http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/bathbody/ss/basicbathsalts_2.htm I read a whole bunch of different recipes online and added the glycerin to it. (Apparently it is suppose to make your skin soft.

Here is the recipe I used:

3 Cups Epsom Salt

2 Cups Sea Salt

1/4 ounce Essential Oil

a little bit of glycerin (like a teaspoon or something)

food coloring

You just have to be careful not to add too much glycerin because it makes it clump. You don't have to do the food coloring, I just think it makes it pretty. The picture above is not mine, it is from the website previously mentioned. I thought it looks pretty to not color some and layer it. Or color it different colors.... maybe next time.

Clip Holder

It really is too bad I don't have a little girl.... I just love making girly things. :) Over Thanksgiving break I made these:

I got the idea from this website: http://theidearoom.blogspot.com/2009/07/girls-barettes-and-hair-bow-holder.html I kind of followed the directions for the most part. I used some hard cardboard instead of sheet metal. I also glued and duct taped the the back so it would be more secure. I liked these frames because they were more rectangular than square. Anyway... I thought they turned out pretty cute. :)

Crocheted Beanie

I know these pictures are lovely... but you don't get the full effect without it on. I used a pattern for this from a book I just bought. All the knitting and crocheting books were 40% off at JoAnn's a few weeks ago. I couldn't resist.

In the same book there are also some cute patterns for mens and a really cool one I am going to make for my 3 year old. This is the book.

Halloween

A couple months ago, we were at Walmart and I saw a pattern for a Vampire costume. I had it in my hand and then thought, "This is really just a cape and a bow tie... I bet I can do it myself." The shirt and pants were obviously not made by me.... but I think his cape and bow tie turned out pretty cute.

Little brother was going to just use an old costume, but he wouldn't leave the turtle head on. So one afternoon while the boys were sleeping I whipped this up. I think it turned out pretty good. He was a cute little spider. It would have been better if he had a black shirt, but I didn't want to go buy one. The best part about making this costume was I used fabric we already had so it didn't cost us one penny. I used fleece so I could leave the edges raw.
I also made a cat costume for me and a Zorro costume for my husband. I forgot to take pictures so I will take some and post them soon.

And the Winner is....

...EVERYONE!! haha... I was planning on making some for all of you anyway... and your comments were just so funny and flattering. :) Chelsea, Jen, and Desi; just email me your addresses so I can send you yours. Laura and Rachel I will just bring them by your house soon. I guess it pays to leave a comment. Remember that next time.

Ballet Skirt

This is the present that I made for my 3 year old's little friend. It turned out so cute!! The original idea I had was much different. It changed as I went. This is much cuter than I had imagined it. I found the pattern for the rose online, but I kind of just made up the rest as I went. I also made a rose clip to match. (How do you like my model? I did make my 3 year old try it on for size... but I had to bribe him and I would never take a picture of it.)

Owl be home for Christmas

My sister-in-law is having a baby in a few weeks and all of my sisters and sister-in-laws went out to Olive Garden to celebrate. I found this cute little outfit at KMART and I wanted to make a hat to go with it. I found an idea for the pattern online and here is the result...

I think it turned out pretty cute! Since you can't exactly put bows in your little boys hair... I love hats. My three year old wants me to make him one... so I will. This hat was made for a baby, I wonder how it will look much larger....

I need a girl

So I have been working on the cutest present for my 3 year old's little friend, who happens to be a girl. I just finished it tonight. SO CUTE. I can't post pictures of it yet because we are giving it to her on Saturday... but as soon as we give it away, I will put the pictures up. I guess if I never have a girl my cute little nieces and friends girls will just have to benefit from my obsession. :)
Check back on Saturday... you will all be jealous this isn't for your little girl, or you. :)

Give Away

Like I have said in previous posts... I am completely obsessed with these flower hair things. I have started making them for little girls... the only problem is I have very few nieces.... and again, I have two boys. My 18 month old will leave them in his hair for a few minutes, but it is probably not a good idea to do that too much. He is already small for his age and I don't want to create any other problems. Here are some of the clips and headbands I have been making. I just bought some more fun supplies so I decided to do a give away.

Just leave a comment on this post and I will choose a winner on October 13 (2 weeks from today). I will post the winner here... and let's be honest. I will probably send more to other friends too. So leave a comment if you are interested. :) Also, if you don't have any little girls I can make and age appropriate one for an adult. For those of you who don't know me here is a tip... I will probably either pick the funniest comment, or the one that is most flattering to me. Good luck!

Joy School Projects

For those of you who don't know what a joy school is: A joy school is a preschool where the moms take turns teaching. This week was my week. I found these little tote bags for one dollar at Michael's and I thought it would be really cute to have them bring them to school each week so they have something to carry their papers and things home in.

I just realized that I spelled this little girls name wrong... it is an 'i' instead of a 'y'. I will have to fix that. :)

Our lesson was on the earth. So I showed them a picture of the earth and explained about land and water. We talked about different things that live on land and in water. So I made them these birds. I forgot how much fun plastic canvas is. It is easy and quick. I wouldn't decorate my house with plastic canvas stuff... but it is cute for kids.

Here is the underside.These birds are fun because you can squeeze the sides of their mouth and they open. My mom used to make these type of things and put a Hershey kiss in its mouth.
We decided to do a letter of the day. My mom had these cute patterns for magnets. Also plastic canvas. They are fun and the kids liked the.

I also painted these pots for them. We planted bulbs in there and hopefully they will grow.
All and all it was a good day. The kids didn't have a huge attention span for the lesson, but they enjoyed playing games and planting their plants. :)

Manly Aprons

When I told my mom that was making an apron for myself she told me about this girl in her ward who made aprons for her entire family (including her little boys). I laughed out loud and said, "Who would make aprons for their boys... that's weird." A few weeks later (after my apron was finished) we started a tradition of making a treat together on Sunday nights. I put on my apron and my 3 year said to me, "mommy... I want an apron too! With lots of pockets." I guess I didn't find it funny anymore for a little boy to have an apron. :) Besides, I think they look more like workman aprons than cooking ones!

Obsessed

I could make these all day long. I love making headbands and I am totally obsessed with these flowers. This one turned out a little smaller because it is made with cotton fabric and the other one was corduroy. There is a book I read about online that I want to buy called: Fun to Wear Fabric Flowers. As soon as we move I am getting it. :)

Flower Headband

I have been looking for a fabric flower pattern for a while. I finally found one that I thought was cute! These would be even cuter for a little girl on a smaller scale. Someday I will have a girl I can make these for...

Until then, I will make girly things for myself. (And other people's girls too)

Quilt

This one was a long time in coming. My friend Alexis and I went into Joanne's a few years ago (as we often did when we only had one kid and they were young). We were looking through the quilting books and saw a cool quilt. We both picked out some fabric and started on our quilts. We never finished. I have been working on it on and off for probably a little over 2 years, and now it is done!! The purpose of this quilt is to tie in all the random colors of our living room furniture. I think it turned out pretty cool. I was uncharacteristically anal about how the squares lined up so I did a lot of picking and redoing... but it was well worth the effort.

Lightning McQueen Towels

I made the boys some lightning McQueen Towels. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Apron

I have been wanting to make an apron for a long time. I love love love the flirty aprons, but I didn't want to spend 30 dollars on an apron, and I thought it would be fun to make. So finally this afternoon I went to Joanne's and found the cutest material. It also happened to be 30% off... so I couldn't pass it up. I put my boys down for their nap and went to work. I had it finished by the time they woke up. Yay!! I actually finished something! It is obviously not perfect... again, I don't follow patterns.... but I thought it turned out pretty cute. I just love the fabric. I have a little left over and I will definitely use it for something else.

I know this is a little different than the flirty aprons (they are round on the bottom), but when I bake with flour, I tent to get it everywhere. I wanted the apron to have some pretty good coverage. (And plenty of space to wipe my hands. It usually ends up on the back of my pants.)

Welcome

So I have decided to start a craft blog. Although I think that people can make amazing things following patterns.... me not so much. I could probably follow a pattern if my life depended on it, but frankly, I don't think that situation will ever happen. Instead, I love making up my own things. This is strictly with sewing. I follow patterns for cross stitching and crocheting, come on people, I'm not that creative. There you have it. I am not going to post how to make my inventions. If you like something you see, you can try to copy if you want. That is the fun in it anyway, to make something all on your own. Also, if you have any fun ideas for craft... please post them. What do you do with your free time? Happy crafting!