playing doctor :) with stitches : P

One day i saw my daughter using these bizarre flame ribbons with  velcro, i think were part  of a mcdonalds happy meal toy, as bandages for her beloved puppy dolls : ) So as im still experiencing and learning  the  embroidery sewing machine my Sweet and Wonderful mother in law just gave me recently I thought id make some red cross bandages to add to her doctor/vet kit.

what you'll need: white felt like fabric, red thread, velcro
*if you have an embroidery machine here is the pattern  i made for 5 bandages in two sizes you'll use in a larger hoop.

I did not use a stabilizer so as you can see it skewed a little, but with the nature of the project i'm happy with it :)

So after you cut them apart (the longer is about 6.5 inches long- and be sure to have the cross in the middle!) you sew on some velcro at the ends and your little doctor in training is  ready to patch up some stuffy owies!

Or as we say in our house, "booboos happen" : D

one hot dog : ) or warm anyway

My daughter Katie LOVES dogs : ) unfortunately us having one right now is not a reality. She compromises by taking wonderful care of her 'puppies'. She is a fabulous caretaker of these stuffed animals. This includes washing, dressing, and bandageing their booboos : ) She is a major sweetie and I'm really looking forward to seeing her with her new baby sis in few months!

One night she asked for some clothes for her puppies I had a thought! About a year ago when I sorted through my husbands socks he had a lot of loners : P of which I thought we could use and make some sock puppets one rainy day. We haven't done that yet but I discovered a couple cuts will repurpose a wool sock into a really cute sweater for a little dog, real or play : )

I personally think it's cute enough for a real dog. If I had a little doggie, they'd be sporting one in this colder weather : D
NO SEW! folded to fit and the scrap turns into a mini cute beanie : )  Too Easy!!!!!

warm and cozy : )

A friend of mine is having her first baby, Yay! Got to love babies! and making stuff for them! They didnt find out the gender but she has suspicions it is a boy : P. And from her symptoms, based on my own  experience, I would guess she is having a boy too : ).  Im posting the gift I made for baby here to have a record of the project and to share the method which I personally have never seen made before, so to  me I was being original : D even as basic as it is.

What I did? I made a toddler size blanket and matching crib size (not sufficateable size) pillow with flannel and fleece.  I have never seen nor felt a blanket made out of these together But it is So soft and warm, but lightweight. I need to make one for my little girl (yes, we are havin another girl in January, Yay!).  A really great warmth factor for her November baby. Mommy and Daddy went with a bold green and dark brown in the 'nursery' so those colors were what I went for and I used the most gender neutral print I could find : )

So the process was simple. Cut the fabric,  sew the applique in place, right sides together sew the perimeter with enough left open to turn it out, opening was hand sewed (after pillow was stuffed), then I sewed on the outside (blanket only) two inches from the edge a simple stich border to prevent bunching later.  Lining up the blanket to sew the outside perimeter proved trickier than I anticipated, so beware!
The fleece has it's tendencies to stretch oddly.

And here it is, I love it, and I hope they do too! I know with mine the softer the blanket the cuddlier mommy and baby are!

kooky cake

My baby girl turned 2yrs old yesterday! And she loves the show Wow Wow Wubbzy : ) He is ultra cute, I have to admit : D Last year she loved Yo Gabba Gabba, and I'm already curious what it will be next year : ) . . . I made this cake for my special girl's special day. It was a lot easier than I was anticipating. This is the first time I've ever iced a cake and only my 2nd cake ever!!! : ) So if I can do it, anyone can!

I used a 13x9 inch pan for the cake and made the limbs and tail out of rice krispy treats. http://www.wubbzy.com/ has a printable template you could use of a Wubbzy with a curly tail. It is just cake but I thought it was too small and wasted too much cake so I drew my own templates.

To make the krispy parts I laid wax paper over the templates, and wearing gloves sprayed with cooking oil, I shaped the cereal. The limbs sat over night to be stiffer and I used wooden skewers broken into a couple inches (watch for splinters!) to attach them to the cake that was cut for the ears : )

The face I did freehand, and because I couldn't find black or even chocolate decorating icing I mixed blue, green, and red and used a butter knife : P

Katie, my daughter, is so sweet she even liked her cake : ) We had cake and then opened presents and after that she wanted to see "Wubbzy" again. It made this Momma's day : D

If you'd like to make this, here are the templates I used.

unfortunately, when I saved and printed it from here it was a little smaller than it is supposed to be Wubbzy's body is supposed to be 9inches wide. But they are still here for you : )

loveseat slipcover

Slowly I'm trying to make our space more to my taste and more of a home than a jumble of hand-me-down furniture and bachelor/bachelorette style. My style is very mutable but I find I always fall back on classically beautiful for inspiration, and neutrals really play a wonderful role as a base for ever changing taste in accessories. And the desire for a major neutral was the basis of this project. I feel so adolescent looking at the beautiful decor some inspirational, creative people have brought into their homes, and I feel privilaged to see them in blogs, books, or magazines. Honestly, I am still at the very beginnning of making a home out of anywhere we will be, which we dont know where that will be even a year from now : ). So I'm trying to make the most of what we have on little resources : D . Apartment life has its limitations and challenges. From lack of storage, no yard to take on major projects, and the inability to personalize even wall color are the frustrations of the expressive at heart.

Anyway, we have a loveseat that used to rest in my wonderful in-laws home. It's a nice couch but it is plaid and the coordinating options were very limited : ) Everytime I'd be in the home section of a store I'd see beautiful throw pillows and wish I could get, or better make some, but knew it'd be almost a waste because I had no place for them. So I did some research into slipcovers and for the price of them it would be less expensive and I'd be happier with one I made myself. I did some searching and this site gave me the confidence to go ahead and try:

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/sewing/slipcover.shtml

The article gave some basic tips that I didn't find on other sites.

Creating a Pattern

Taking the advice of things I read online I decided to make a basic drawing of the couch and from there create plain rectangular panel pieces with my measurements. This worked wonderfully as most of the pieces in the original upholstery were themselves rectangles.

I added an inch seam allowance on every side for a little insurance. I bought 13 yrds of a coffee colored corduroy and that was almost 2 yrds too much. With my 50% coupon from Jo-Anns I saved about $36 since the bolt was only 10 yrds and their coupons are for one cut. I love those coupons!!!! The cover cost about $70.

I didnt give the printed fabric, that I used instead of muslin, a letter but it was my first piece layed down in assembling inside out (so we'll call it 'base'). If you were interested about the pattern assembly:

Base side>A>F, then the same on the other side ..... pieces were held in place with safety pins
Base back>C, C>B, attaching the back panel to the couch arms was the hardest part

Base front>D

(E) When I measured for the 'roll' of the couch arms I measured the widest part and the longest part, added an inch to the width and length and cut my rectangle. Using paper I traced the indentation of the actual shape and cut it a little wider for a seam. With the constructed slipcover right side out, on the couch, I pinned the panels on with a folded under edge all the way around and sewed.

G,H, and I assembled the cushions. Which I recommend having patience when pinning and also sew each piece one after the other; I had difficulties when I tried to pin it all and sew at once. I chose to have one piece to wrap around 3 sides but if you choose to have 4 separate sides it may work well. My inserting side is 2 hemmed, overlapping pieces. It was a Very tight squeeze putting the cushion in. You may choose to use velcro, buttons, ties, or a zipper and have an opening that is wider than one side for easier inserting of your cushion. Keep in mind that will shorten one side of the other 3.

The Before

and yes, that is a blanket over the back : P in our last move we rid ourselves of the back cushions because we found it more comfortable without them : D

The After

To Come : )

I plan on having a second part to my couch makeover: Accessorizing : ) Orignally this blog was going to include it but I still need to pick a print : D and have some nicer weather to take my daughter out with me.

I hope this can inspire you the confidence to undertake a larger project yourself! And hopefully it helped you if you were like me wondering how to start!

Bit by bit we can make our space the place we want to sit!