Monogram Tote Bag

I loved this project the instant I pinned it on Pinterest.  I made some, and then we had family in town, so we stocked up on bags and supplies for 9 people (including 2 middle schoolers who did their own bags and turned out great) and gathered around my craft table and all made these a few weeks ago.

Here are a couple good tutorials - here and here (this one gave me the courage to try colors)

Here's where I found some of the supplies for the adult bag:
Totes - 13.25"x13.25" (single @ Michael's) or a 3-pack at Wal-Mart or Michaels (it's cheaper at Wal-Mart, but if you have a coupon, it's cheaper at Michael's).  JoAnns has some, but I didn't like the shapes/sizes and most all have colors on them.
Doily - 10" - the design I liked was at Michael's.  They have some at JoAnns, but I didn't like the design as much

Then there's fabric paint, freezer paper, a brush and spray adhesive, but those should all be easier to find.  My spray adhesive is permanent and temporary - to make it temporary, you have to spray the doily and let it sit for 3-5 minutes before adhering it to the bag.

I found smaller bags at Michael's (only found one random pack floating around on the wrong shelf and couldn't find a spot for them, so I'm not sure if every store has them).  Anyway, this size is perfect for toddlers.  We were going to the birthday party for a 4 year old and after making the bag with her initial, I used it as the gift bag and wrapped the rest of her present in it.

Nautical Pillow

I'm in the process of switching my son's room to a Nautical theme.  Here's a cover I made for a throw pillow to go on his bed.

I like to make the envelope style of covers so that I can change them out when my decorating mood changes.  I've been using this tutorial for a few years.

I did do a few things to add detail:
     * I added piping around the edges - sewn onto the pillow front, then clipped the corners of the piping while sewing so that it would curve better...then sewed on the back pieces
     * I added a vertical stripe and an anchor applique by freezer paper stenciling it onto the fabric

I found this sailboat home dec fabric when I was in Portland a couple weeks ago at Fabric Depot.  It's a good thing I don't live in Portland - our fridge would be empty in order to buy all the cute fabric there.

Army Bunker Tent

This Army Bunker Tent came out awesome, but I had it in the works for almost a year...I just couldn't ever get excited about working on it since I knew it would be an intense project.  I saw the idea on Obsessively Stitching last year and knew it would be something I wanted to make for my son. 

It's made out of a twin sheet set from Wal-Mart (I don't know if they still carry the same one anymore...I bought mine a year ago when this tutorial came out - just in case they stopped carrying it by the time I got around to making it.)  The frame is out of PVC pipes - and my table scratches really easy, so I cut up a scrap of fleece and used that as a "table cloth" under the pipes.  And the best part...the fabric and pipes all fit into the pillowcase when you take it down.

Since everyone's table is different, the tutorial doesn't give dimensions, so that's what took me a year to get in the mood to make it.  I had to measure and fit it to my table, and I had a hard time with that, but now I'm happily done!

I basically copied everything Care did when she made this...the freezer paper stenciling on the pocket of the pillowcase and mini drawstring bag to keep the army men

...and the freezer paper stencil t-shirt. 

It was a bit tricky to make, but well worth it - my kids love playing in it.

Valentine's Pillow

I was on One Pretty Thing last week, browsing through the Valentine's Roundup posts and came across this idea at Dittle Dattle.  I pretty much stopped what I was doing and made it right then and there.  And the awesome thing is she made the design into an SVG file (here) that you can import into your Cricut if you have the SCAL software.  I don't know if you can use it other ways, but this worked for me and I was so happy that I didn't have to try and replicate it - all the hard work is done!! 

I didn't have silver fabric paint, so I used black - and I like how it turned out.  I'm not a fan of the bow, but it looked like it was missing something if I just did a band of the ribbon.  I may have to coax my mom to use her machine and embroider "love" on a ribbon for me like the example did.  But until then, I just keep fixing the bow since my husband thinks a pretty pillow is one to lean on - silly man.  Pretty pillows aren't for touching.  I thought my kids would be the ones destroying the bow, but I was wrong.

I didn't want to have to store a whole pillow in my valentine's box for the rest of the year, so I just made a removable pillow cover for one of my everyday couch pillows.  That way, I only have to store the cover - much easier!  I have always referred to this tutorial when making a removable pillow cover.  They are super simple to make, but it helped getting dimensions from someone.

freezer paper stenciling

It's always hard to think of something to do that's crafty for a guy. . . but I was able to come up with a couple freezer paper stencil ideas for my father-in-law and my brother-in-law.

This one was for my father-in-law's 60th birthday . . . I drew an abacus and cut it with my cricut on freezer paper.  The orange paint looks quite neon in the picture but I promise it wasn't that bright.

This one I made for my brother-in-law for Christmas.  It was tricky to draw a cassette tape and then try and make it not flat and boring.  I'm impatient, so instead of waiting for the paint to dry so I could do the next color, I used my blow dryer to speed up the dry time (worked great!!)

Name Bean Bags

My daughter and 2 of my nephews were all born within about a 3 week time period of eachother, so that means 3 birthday presents to figure out all at the same time.  I made these for my son a while back, and thought it would be fun for the 1 year olds. 

With my son's, I had upper case on one side and lower case on the other, but since I was doing 18 bean bags at once, I opted for just one side with a letter on it.  (Didn't want to get burnt out since the birthdays are only a few weeks before Christmas time as well).

And a fun part was that my 2 year old son was able to help fill them up with the beans.  He love that part!

They are about a 5 inches square, and I used my cricut to cut the letters out on freezer paper to be able to paint them on.  The hardest part for me was picking out the order for the fabric to go in.  And as you can see, 4 of the 6 letters in my daughters name are "E," so I guess it didn't really matter what order I tried to put the colors in since they will get mixed up anyway. 

This is a great way to use up fabric scraps - and all the beans in your pantry!

Captain America Muscle Tee

When I saw this idea from Cheri, I knew I had to make one. Only problem was, I couldn't find a plain t-shirt anywhere. Target only sells them with pockets on the front - why would they do that?

And Wal-Mart was only selling muscle tees, so I went for that look.
I tried her method of using plastic wrap to apply the paint - I don't know how she did it so good, cause it was an awful mess for me. I got red paint on the side (even though I had a wide buffer of freezer paper surrounding the paint area) and I couldn't get the same "vintage" look that she did, so I just opted for one single coat - making it look a bit worn. And my red paint seeped through a bit around the edges, but I think that adds to the "worn" look.

And since I got red paint on the side seam, I decided to print out letters on my cricut to cover it up. I actually liked it better with the words down the side.

Wet Bag

I found this idea to make a wet bag. It can be used to put a wet swimsuit in to bring home or when we are potty training and have an accident out of the house. I can put the wet items in this bag and then not get my diaper bag wet.
I made mine a square - finished size 9"x9" instead of the 9"x12" in the tutorial. I didn't have the waterproof fabric that she mentions, but I did have some of the clear plasticy vinyl. That was tricky to sew with, but using tissue paper between the machine and the vinyl helped.

My fabric seemed too plain and needed something else. I used freezer paper stenciling by cutting out the letters with my cricut and used fabric paint to put the words on the front. I also applique'd the yellow circle on the front with wonder under.

Toddler Toolbelt

We bought a "fixer-upper" house, so my husband has been fixing stuff and working with tools almost every day. Our son got some toy black and decker tools for christmas and already had some little tyke ones as well. So when he sees Daddy using tools, he grabs his and follows him around.

With his birthday coming up, I decided to make him a tool belt - and it didn't cost a penny! I used scrap fabric, an old skirt, and a belt of mine. I love how it turned out. I had to do a bit of tweaking with the measurements and redo some seams, but I think it's workable now.

So I used an old khaki skirt and a studded belt along with some fabric scraps.Here's the supplies:

Base fabric (canvas or other heavy weight fabric) - 2 pieces 10"x14"

Pocket - 1 piece 10"x14"

Hammer loop - 1 piece 2"x7"

Interfacing for loop - 1 piece 2"x7"

Belt - I used 8" off each end - but you may want to measure your kid first to make sure that length works - and just saved the middle of the belt for a future project. If you don't have a belt to use, you can make your own ties out of fabric and sew them into tubes. But I liked the "manly" look of a riveted belt.

Seam allowances 1/4"

Process:

1. Iron pocket in half lengthwise so it is 5"x14"

Optional step - I added brown bias tape to the top of the pocket to add detail, but that's not necessary

2. Line the raw edges of the pocket with the bottom of the base piece. Sew the bottom edge along the presser foot

3. Mark the lines for the pocket dividers at 4.75" and 9.25". Pin the sides in place so it doesn't move, and then sew along the pocket lines - making sure to backstitch at the top of the pocket so it is strongly attached.

4. Iron the interfacing to the hammer loop. Fold in half lengthwise with right sides together and sew along the long edge. Turn right side out, iron flat (and optional, topstitch along the seam)5. Fold the loop in half and attach it to either side - about an inch up from the bottom6. Sew the back canvas piece to the front piece along the top edge (with right sides together)

7. Open up the piece you just sewed and line the belt pieces along the inside of the seam (so that they are flush with the top of the toolbelt when it's finished). Pin belt pieces in place and sew along the edge.8. Flip the canvas back piece back over so that the right sides are together, and sew down both sides and along the bottom (leaving a 3" hole in the bottom to be able to turn it right side out. 9. Turn right side out, iron edges, and topstitch around the entire outer square.10. You could stop here, or go on to add detail as I did with freezer paper stenciling.

11. I used my cricut and cut out the words "Tools" and a hammer shape on freezer paper. Iron it to the tool belt at the desired locations.12. Using fabric paint, paint in the letters and the hammer shape. Once it's dry, peel off the freezer paper and viola! You're done. I think you're supposed to iron over the paint, with a top cloth to protect your iron and that would heat set the paint, but I always forget to do that.Here's a picture of my son wearing it before I added the paint. Luckily he's too young to remember I gave it to him for a picture and to check the length then took it away until his birthday. :)

Car Roll-up

So if you've ever made a crayon roll, this will be a cinch for you. The process is pretty much identical. If you haven't made a crayon roll, this will still be quite easy, but I would suggest making a crayon roll too. The crayon roll and my car notebook have been lifesavers at church or when we're in waiting rooms. It keeps my son calm. So I'm hoping this car roll/car cozy will do the same.

I saw the idea on Homemade by Jill. I used my cricut to cut the numbers out of freezer paper. I didn't have any felt for the road, so I used flannel - which meant I had to use wonder under to adhere the yellow road stripes since it's not as sturdy of a fabric. It was basically free for me to make since I used a pair of jeans and scrap fabric I already had on hand. I love thrifty projects!

I didn't topstitch around the edge because my fabrics were too thick. I used some "outerwear" fabric for the front (the red fabric) and it's pretty thick, so paired with the denim pockets, my machine wouldn't like me.

Trick-or-Treat Tote Bag

I love when I can make something and spend NOTHING on it. I made this trick-or-treat tote bag for my son using scraps. It only took a little over an hour - I made the whole thing during his nap. This post is loaded with pictures of the process . . . sorry for a lengthy post. First, I traced a tote bag that was the size I wanted it to be, but I added a little to the edges to account for seams. I also wanted a flat bottom to it so I could have the corners instead of a flat bag. I cut the same size pieces out of the lining fabric.

Sew the bottom seam on both the lining and the outer shell. Then using a 1.5" square template, cut the corners on each bottom edge of the lining and the shell.

Since I wanted a design on the front, this is where i added it. First, I cut the oval shape out of the fabric that had been fused to the wonder under. Then I ironed it to the front of the bag.

Next, I top stitched the edges with a decorative stitch.

Back to sewing the bag . . . sew the side seams on the outer shell and the lining (but leave a 3-4" hole in one side of the lining to turn the bag right side out later.)

Next, box the corners on the lining and the shell where you had previously cut the squares out from. Bring the side seam to the bottom seam and stitch. This is what gives you a flat bottom to the bag.

Sew the handles to the outer shell. You could make handles out of fabric, but I used the stuff that's used to make belts since I had that on hand and it was faster.

Now, with the outer shell turned right side out and the lining still inside out, put the shell piece inside the lining and line up and pin the tops together.

Stitch around the top edge of the bag.

Turn the bag right side out through the hole you left in the side seam of the lining.

Hand stitch the hole in the lining's side closed. Then, tuck the lining into the bag and iron the top edge flat. Top stitch around the edge to keep the lining flat and in place.

Next, I painted the "BOO!" onto the bag. I normally would have done this in the beginning, but I didn't want to wait for the paint to dry before putting the bag together. So I did it at the end. I used my Cricut to cut the letters out of Freezer paper, ironed it to the oval and then painted it with the fabric paint. Once that's dry, it's done.