Pajama Eaters – Downloadable Pattern

Sleeves, Necklines, Collars, and Dress Types I’ve recently ventured into drafting patterns starting from my basic bodice and skirt sloper. The fit issues are minimal, since the sloper is made skin tight. Design ease is added as you go along. I found these reference pictures useful for ideas on basic sleeves, necklines, collars, and dress types. These are from Vogue Sewing, circa 1982. Keep on rollin’ through our gifts! This Crayon Roll Holder is a great and useful gift for children! I noticed on our crayon roll that the inner fabric lining gets marked up quite a bit from the crayons going in and out. So this time instead of using interfacing on the lining piece I covered it with iron on vinyl. A Finger Knitting Door Curtain with Bells DIY For those of you who are my age, just tell me you never wanted one of those groovy beaded door curtains from the 70s. I know I did. Something about the clickety clack of those shiny, plastic beads jangling against one another beguiled me. I never had one, of course. And, like most things like that, I outgrew the desire to have one festoon my door. But, when I think of it now, that internalized yearning for one remains.

Repurpose: Tanks, skirts & t-shirts ... The heat is on in Chicago this year! And yes, I have summer clothes. But not enough of them (!) and... Painted Upholstery – The Process Revealed (Tutorial) *NOTE – There are other examples of painted upholstery (mostly from readers) on the Chairs page at the top of the blog. In addition, there are other upholstery painting methods on that page, if you are interested. I recently painted an upholstered chair and have been asked about the process. Below are before and after photos: And, here it is after 15 months. Still looking great!

2011 Holiday Tags Goody gumdrops, have I got a project for you today. I've been wanting to do something with adhesive magnetic sheets for awhile, but have been waiting for the right stamp/die combo to come my way. It did with Shape It Snowman. So, for any of you with pre-school to young elementary age kids in your life--whether your own or those that you borrow from time to time--here's a fun holiday project to make for them. What kid wouldn't love to dress up their own snowmen? And with a card and storage case thrown in, the adults will get a kick out of it as well.

25 Ways to Talk So Children Will Listen A major part of discipline is learning how to talk with children. The way you talk to your child teaches him how to talk to others. Here are some talking tips we have learned with our children: 1. Connect Before You Direct Before giving your child directions, squat to your child’s eye level and engage your child in eye-to-eye contact to get his attention.

DIY; Carpet Clutch Sometimes the best inspiration comes from those around you. I've been in a home redecorating mood lately. Getting ready for winter making our place cozy and warm and well lit to compensate for time change. This started with a good old fall cleaning and temporarily ended with the purchase of a new couch! A new couch which then brought on a spree of re-arranging, re-furnishing, shelf building, lamp hanging and so on. All of which has occupied the majority of my free time and creativity. Anthro-Inspired Mirror You all know we love a good Anthropologie knockoff around here – so a couple of days ago when I was browsing online I came across this mirror. Oh I definitely need that. Hold the presses – did that say $498??? Huh. We can do better than that. :)