Reusable Lunch Sacks

I have a problem . . . I see a tutorial or idea that I like and I make it before my kids are at the age where they need it. The pink one is for my daughter who is only 8 months and has no need for a lunch sack any time soon. Does anyone else do that cause the project just seems that fun? I've made her the ABC's in a can too. Just too excited.
Anyway, back to the lunch sacks. I followed the tutorial from A Lemon Squeezy Home. It probably took me 3 times longer to cut out the fabric, lining, interfacing, and vinyl than it did to actually sew it.

This was my first time using iron-on vinyl. It worked better than I thought it would. (The tutorial calls for vinyl fabric or PUL - neither which I had on hand or could find at Jo-Anns, so I tried the iron on vinyl.)

I tried different techniques with the bias tape . . . the pink one was with the instructions in the tutorial. I don't like how it ended up. I'm not too used to bias tape, so that may have been the problem, but I tried it different on the blue one. I kept it folded together and sewed it on in one smooth motion all the way around. I found it easier to stretch it around the curves and corners this way. And it doesn't look baggy at the top. I may just unpick the pink one and re-do it. We'll see how my mood is tomorrow.

Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S

My Fabulous Mother-in-Law (and my father-in-law too) gave me the pattern for the Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress for my birthday. They also gave me the Birthday Party dress pattern as well!

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the neck has a "v" notch in the center and there are 2 pockets on the front. The pattern size I made was 6-12 months, but it's huge on my 8 month old, so I think it probably won't fit her till she's 1 . . . so I guess I'll just be making a few of these until then.

I've been wanting this pattern for a while . . . there are other variations to make from the pattern as well - a blouse and a three tiered dress too. This wasn't hard for me to make, but it was very time consuming. It took me 2 days of naps and one evening after the kids were in bed to make this, but it was well worth the time.

Birthday Banner

I made this banner last week . . . I used 2 different sized bowls to create the circles - the biggest bowl was about 6" wide and the other one was slightly smaller. I cut the letters out with my Cricut onto cardstock and then layered them all using a glue stick.

I also distressed the edges of the letters and the inner circle with brown ink to make them stand out a little better.

And then I used my crop-a-dile (just a fancy hole punch) to punch holes in the edges and tied them together with ribbon. We have an 8 foot opening between the living room and the kitchen, so I wanted it to be kindof big so it would span the whole opening.

Little Sailor Dress

I found a tutorial for this sailor dress. I had to modify it to fit my 8 month old, but the tutorial gives the instructions on how to modify it from her measurements. Just because I like to be different, I added piping along the pocket openings. I like the crisp line it gives to the pocket.It's a little big on her, so she should be able to wear it for a while . . . hopefully.

Daphne Dress Sew-a-long

My Mother-in-law got me the kit/instructions to make this "Daphne Dress" from Oh So Sassy . . . I'm so excited to make it . . . but then I opened up the instructions and they are very, very rustic. They are typed up but all the images are hand drawn and I've read it through several times and I'm still confused. I also got the Eliza Dress Pattern - and the same issue there. It's very confusing.

But guess what! I found a Sew-a-long on The Train to Crazy . . . Starting on Monday Aug 9th, she is doing a Daphne Dress sew-a-long. So I'm thrilled and hoping they have pictures to go along the way with clearer instructions. Or at least it may just be a support group to try and get the dress done.

Has anyone out there used one of their patterns before? Am I the only one that thinks they are quite "rustic"? And I'm not a beginning sewer. I make things with patterns or make my own patterns, so I'm shocked that I'm confused.

But I'm crossing my fingers that the sew-a-long will be helpful. And it couldn't have come at a better time. I just have to wait 1 more day to be able to start it. I fell in love with this dress once I saw it, so I'm dying to make it!

Smocked Knit Dress

I was at the dollar store yesterday and found these knit scarves that were originally from target and say they are for belts, scarves, or headband wraps . . . but I had a different idea for them.
After I washed and ironed them, I decided to make a smocked knit dress. I only needed 2 of the colors to get the length of the dress - and I only used half the pink and purple, so I can make a skirt for her later with them too.

I just sewed the purple to the pink and smocked the top with elastic thread and sewed up the side seam to make the full tube. They already came with the edges serged, so I decided not to make a hem. To finish it off, I just sewed on ribbon to tie at the shoulders.

I'll probably cut down the ribbon soon, but she wouldn't quit pulling at them long enough for me to measure and get good bows. So later, I guess. Next, I need a hair clippie to match. But I'd rather have hair on her head first - Im getting tired of only using headbands since she has no hair :)

Scripture Covers & Tote

I made covers for my scriptures - and a tote bag as well. I dont' have a tutorial - didn't take pictures along the way and don't really have a solid technique yet. I made both a little differently - still trying to find a good method. If you want to make one, just measure the book, add a little for the seam allowances and then add about 6 inches to the width so it covers over to the inside to make the flap. My problem is with the velcro closure - that makes it tricky trying to get a good technique. If I didn't do a closure, it would be very simple to make - but of course, I don't want to do anything the easy way :) By the time I figure out how I want to make it, I'll have a few sets - enough to match different outfits for church!

Next, I needed a tote bag, but didn't have an extra placemat, and the kids were taking naps, so I couldn't run to the store. But then I thought . . . "I have a ton of fabric and can measure one of my kitchen placemats to get the dimensions and make one from scratch." Since it wasn't a placemat with finished edges, I had to make a lining. So I basically made one of my placemat totes from this post. And then I paired it with this post's technique on making a bag with a lining.

The outside is black courderouy (hard to tell from the picture) and the lining is just extra cotton scraps I had left over from another project.