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Box o' Chocolates Shirt (With Tutorial!) Yay for Valentine's Day!! There is nothing better than a day that celebrates love, and when everything is pink! My mind has been possessed lately with the thought of boxes of chocolates. They sound so delicious, all the time. Probably subliminal Valentine's Day advertising. :o) I hope it works on husband's minds, too! Anyway, my chocolatey thoughts made it into the crafty area of my brain, and I thought that little brown buttons would make fun "chocolates", so I came up with this shirt: It started as a plain pink t-shirt from Target: To make one, you'll need an outline of a 3-d heart box. 1) Cut out the heart shape and use it as a pattern. 2) Then take your heart pattern and cut off the "3-d" edges so that it's just a regular heart shape, and use it to cut a heart out of your second fabric. 3) Then choose your buttons. 4) Set your machine to a zig-zag stitch and lower the teeth below the needle so that the fabric doesn't move as it sews.

Ta-da! 5th Birthday Cowboy Party Gift- Sherriff Vest. It is birthday central over here!! This weekend we were invited to a 5 yr old Cowboy Party. Baylor, the 5 year old, loves Toy Story and all things Cowboy. I decided to make him a Sheriff's Vest. I used a regular vest pattern from my daughter's pattern collection. I did change the pattern by putting points at the end rather then it be rounded. I appliqued a yellow star to symbolize he is the sheriff and added his initial with Puffy Paint.

To make it extra playful I added blue satin material. I didn't get any of the birthday boy in the vest but I did get my children trying it on.... My every willing model....She is such a great sport!! I feel a little wierd admitting this but this cost me $0, just my time. Note: He LOVED his gift and wore it the rest of the party. Tutorial: Easy No-Sew Flutter Cape With Armholes. I like to sew, but I'll be honest, I get excited when I see the words "No sew". And when I was trying to think of a design for this fleece and ribbon cape for my daughter, I thought it would be great if anyone could make it!

So.... 1) Cut out two pieces of fleece. One big enough to fit all the way around your child, with some flow-y room. Mine were about 36x17", and 56x7", which makes about a 2T size. 2) Then lay your longer piece on top of the first piece, and make pleats until they are the same length. 3) At the top, cut slits every couple of inches that are about half the width of your ribbon, through all the layers, then weave your ribbon in and out of each hole. 4) Try the cape on your little one, and cut large slits at about elbow height for armholes. 5) Cut two tiny holes right next to each other for your ties. Tutorial: Cheaters Guide to a Fancy Dress! Update: Embarrassing!! I just discovered (months after posting this) that Vanessa at V and Co. had posted almost the same exact tutorial an entire month earlier!

I'm a copy cat, and I didn't even know it! Anyway, go check out hers here, it's super cute! My mom bought this girls' size 12 skirt home from Goodwill for $.99 the other day because she thought I might be able to make something out of it. Thanks, mom! The skirt before: 1) I measured it up to another similarly styled dress that my daughter had, and cut off the excess. 2) Using the part that you cut off, cut two sections for straps, using another of your child's dress as a guide for length. 3) Fold the strap pieces over, right sides together, and pin. 4) Do the same with your dress piece, and sew down the pinned sides of all three pieces. 5) Using your machine's gathering stitch, sew along the top, bottom, and middle of the straps. 6) Turn dress inside out, and pin straps to the dress, being sure they are not too close or far apart. Tutorial: Hat and Scarf From Sweater. Something for the boys! Yay! I got this sweater vest at the Dollar Store several days ago (sweaters at the Dollar Store?

How random is that??) And I just knew it was dying to be a little beanie and scarf set! This would actually work best with a sleeved sweater (then you could just use sleeves for a scarf!) 1) Measure your child's head, and cut out a hat shape through both layers (I free-handed this, but if you had another beanie to trace around, that would be great!) 2) Lay the two scarf pieces right side together and pin the non-banded end. 3) Cut out your "face" shapes from felt or fleece. 4 ears, two big circles for eyes, and two slightly smaller circles for the pupils, and a little triangle nose. 4) Lay two of the ear shapes on top of the other two, and sew around the edges with your machine. 5) Pin the ears to the right side of the beanie, facing downward. 6) Sew the two hat pieces together, leaving the banded side open.

Ta-da! My goodness, I love that child. Take care! Making Her Clothes Last! (Part One) Children! They grow so fast! Unfortunately, the money tree can't always keep up, can it? I'm trying to alter some of Paige's clothing to be wearable longer. I love the instant gratification of projects like this. A little whack here, and a gather there, and you have a whole new article of clothing! And you've saved some money, too! I thought I would share a few of the ones I've done recently, to help inspire other moms who might be in the same boat. The first is this adorable little sweater. So I added fabric from the sleeve of this cardigan around the middle, and made a matching bow, then I stitched on some buttons to accent! This was a polo that was too small around Paige's cute little toddler pot-belly. (Notice my black tea lemonade making a surprise appearance in these photos.

Sometimes extending the wearability is as easy and picking up one of those onesie extenders. Another easy fix! Or sometimes it's as easy as snipping the attaching threads on cuffs, to make the sleeves longer. Getting Back at the Dryer.... We all know that our dryers eat socks. Not a big deal with easily replaceable white socks that my husband wears, but when they're my cute little polka-dotted ones, it makes me mad!! I have a huge collection of cute socks that I've been hoping to find the mates for. But after three years, I've given up. So I showed my dryer who was boss, and I made some cute gloves out of them! In case you have some single ladies in your sock drawer, here's how to make them! Sort through your socks and find the pretty ones. They don't have to match, just coordinate! Cut the tops off.... Get yourself some inexspensive gloves (Walmart sells a two-pack of these for $1.50, chances are you already have some though!)

And sew it on to the glove! Sew the rest of the sock pieces to each other in the same way, but with right sides facing each other. Add as many as you'd like, making sure that the last one you add has the sock band as the open end, to have a finished look. Then I added a couple of pom-poms! Tiny Tights to Knee-High Socks. So, I had two problems. The first, was that my daughter had outgrown some really cute tights, and they don't sell them anymore. Sad. The second, was that I was having major knee-high envy toward another mom at church who's girls always wore them! But I never see those socks in Paige's size, and I don't want to buy online and pay shipping! So ta-da! I bring you the Knee-High Socks From Too-Small Tights tutorial! (If you've already thought of this, please don't tell me, because it will break my heart!)

This is only a three step process, so it's fantastically easy! 1) Cut the legs off of your tiny tights at the top (lower, if they're for big girls) 2) Fold the top edge of the leg over once toward the inside, and lay some elastic on top(I used 1/2" wide), just below the very top of the fold. 3) Sew the elastic on* with a zig-zag stitch, keeping the top edge of the tights folded under as you go, and being careful not to stretch the elastic or the tights. ~Done! But.... Easy Ruffled T-shirt Scarf. Today was one of those rare, laid-back Sundays.

I was even in my Sunday school class before all my little students, which almost never happens! :o) And since we had no plans after church, I took the opportunity to make this little scarf that popped into my head as I was making lunch. I intended to make it for myself, but I didn't have quite enough material from these two old, ill-fitting shirts of mine, so I made one for Paige!

It was so easy. (yay for easy!) All you do is cut three strips, the same length, but each one a little wider. For Paige's, I made three 55" strips in 3", 4", and 5" widths. Then you lay them on top of each other. largest on bottom, smallest on top, and pin. Wind your bobbin loosely with elastic thread: Set your straight stitch to the longest length, and sew two rows, on either side of the middle strip, back-stitching at the beginning and end of each row.

Ruffly! :o) I can't believe how quick it was! I can't wait to find a larger t-shirt to make one for me! Making Her Clothes Last (Part Two: the Bottoms!) Here is the other half I promised! I love this post, because everything in it was SO EASY to do!! I wish that I had more outgrown clothes of hers to play around with! Here is the first one; this little overall dress that Paige wore all of one time. It's a size 12 months! And here's an obvious one: Cut-offs! Confession: I didn't actually do these. I don't have a "before" of this one, but it was a pair of lounge pants that were stained and worn at the knees. These little knit shorts were perfect to add fabric to, to make a skort! Sometimes all you need is a little lace to give you just a tad more length! Now if I could only remember to iron things before I photograph them :o) This one made my heart so happy! Here's a really easy one, for button-back dresses that are too short.

This little floral one.... And this one, from a little shirred-waist sundress! I seriously almost died when I had to cut into these jeans. I have to say, I think the shorts are even. cuter. (p.s. it's a size 12m, too!) The 20-Minute Skirt! I didn't really explain in the last tutorial how to add the elastic waistband if that's the kind you prefer, so yesterday I whipped up this little skirt to demonstrate! It actually only took me 15 minutes (and that's with taking photos as I went!) So needless to say, it's an easy one! Any level of sewer can do this! 1. You'll need to measure your hips and cut a length of fabric that is 1.5x that measurement. 2. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. And done! I live in skirts like this in the spring and summer, so I think I need one in every bright, springy fabric out there! (And they're even faster when you make them for little girls!) The best part is, you can wear them high-waisted, or regularly!

(I really need a new model.....) On a totally different note, I met one of my readers the other day! My family was shopping in our local thrift store, and she came up and said "hi". It was so nice to meet you, Eve! Double Apron Tutorial Day! It's Double Apron Day today at Ruffles and Stuff! The first apron tutorial is from my creative-style soulmate, Mellissa, of Frakers Acres! You may remember her as the "Ruffle Your Stuff" grand prize winner last month. She's all about cute, fun, and bright, and I can't get enough of that! She was gracious enough to consent to be a guest on my blog during "Celebrating MOM", so please give her a warm welcome for me! :o) Hello Everyone! Skill Level: begginer-intermediate Needed: *1/2 yard front fabric *1/2 yard back fabric *1/4 yard band fabric *2 extra wide double fold bias tape in complimentary colors *1/4 yard pocket fabric OR scraps from front and back fabrics Seam Allowance: 1/4 inch unless otherwise stated Fabric Choices: Cotton Calicos Preparation: Wash, dry, and iron all your fabric before using.

CUT. SEW. Snip around rounded edges to allow fabric to lay flat after being turned and ironed. Estimate the length of bias tape needed to sew a boarded and cut to size. Turn and iron flat. Tie bow. "Shirred and Shared Dress" Tutorial! For wearing: And sharing! And it's so very simple to make! 1. Grab one of daddy's shirts, and remove the pocket with a seam ripper. 2. 3. How many rows and how far apart is up to you! 4. 5. 6. 7. That's it! Paige loves hers, it's cute enough for dress-up times, and comfortable enough for play time! This is super comfy as a shirt-but do you see what I mean about my needing a belt with everything? (It also needs a few more rows of shirring, but that's for another day!) Obviously the "sharing" won't work for everyone (like mom's with newborns for example!)

I hope you enjoy it! Have a great weekend!! "Beachcomber" Dress Tutorial! Good morning, everyone! Well, I usually try to space out my guest posts as much as possible, but as the fates would have it, I'm doing two in a row this week! First the toy caterpillars for LuvintheMommyhood, and today, I am visiting Sachiko, of Tea Rose Home, sharing this tutorial that I came up with last week: The "Beachcomber" Dress Made entirely from white cotton jersey, with braided "rope" straps and belt. Cute. It reminds me so much of the beach we used to visit all the time when I was a little girl.

So grab your sunscreen and strappy sandals, and head over HERE for the tutorial! :o) I hope you enjoy it! Double Apron Day: Easy T-shirt Aprons! Welcome to the second half of "Double Apron Day"! This is something I thought up (probably along with countless others!) The other day, and I had so much fun making them! A t-shirt apron! No matter what you're style (or your mom's!) And for some of us.....we need all the help we can get making dinner preparation a little more exciting! These aprons are really quick and easy to make! As a rule, the larger the shirt, the better. So, let's get started! 1. 2. 3. 4. You should have two long snakes like this: 5. 6. All done! To add ruffles, like this one, cut a 3" strip that is 1.5 times the length of your apron skirt's hemline.

The thing that makes this Mother's Day present special/sentimental/funny/sweet is the t-shirt you use! You could go with atraditional, "mom" theme: sources: Or pick a shirt that represents one of mom's interests or hobbies: (I totally want that Perry Mason shirt!) Or go with the obvious-a cooking theme! (P.S. Check out Dana's Giveaway! Cozy Button Wrap with Disney from Ruffles and Stuff. DIY | Handmade | Craft | Ideas - CraftGossip.com.