Bags, Purses, and Clutches... Oh my!

I have developed an obsession with purses lately. I think it's from not having a purse of my own for 2 years. I have lots of purses but they are usually taken over by sippy cups, and snacks. Now that my kids are older and I don't have to pack the house for them, I have started carrying my own purses again.

If you follow my blog you have probably seen all of the Amy Butler fabric that I use. I'm pretty sure she is my favorite designer. Not just for her fabric, but she has great patterns too. I bought her Frenchy Bag pattern a year ago, in the hopes that someday I would be free of the diaper bag. That day has finally came. I bought this fabric from Joanns a month ago, because it looked so cute for Spring. It's a light weight cotton, but worked fine with a little interfacing for this project. I think I will also make another one with a heavy weight fabric for the Winter. I also made a little clutch out of the same fabric. I used a tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets, for a Kindle case. I just changed the measurements a little.

I can't take credit for the other bag in the photo. I bought that one from TJ Max for $20.00. I did make it better by making an insert for my camera. I have been looking at stylish camera bags for a while, but couldn't believe the price tag. So, when I found the tutorial from Little Blue Boo, I knew I had to try it. It was very simple if you are in need of a camera bag.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Here are the parties I will be linking to this week.

You know you're a mom when...

I thought I would take moment away from my normal sewing or craft projects to tell you about something I read the other day. The unthinkable happened a couple days ago, my Kindle battery died. :( I have had it since January and this is the first time I have had to charge it. I can't believe how long the battery life is. I was then forced to do something crazy and pick up an actual book. It felt so wrong, like I was cheating on my Kindle. :)

The book I picked was one that was given to me when I was pregnant called Life Lessons for  Busy Moms. It's kind of like a Chicken Soup book. I chose it because it seemed like an easy read to take outside while this kids played. I remember scanning through it while I was pregnant and didn't really relate to much. It's funny how life changes after becoming a mom. Something that stuck out to me was a list titled You know you're a mom when...

1. You plan your day according to when Sesame Street is on.
2. You have signed a check with a crayon.
3. You find Goldfish crackers in the glove box of your car.
4. You wipe other kids noses.
5. You have accidentally brushed your teeth with Desitin.
6. You have caught spit-up with your hand.
7. You leave for a date with your hubby with a diaper bag instead of a purse.
8. You have memorized the lineup of Saturday morning cartoons.
9. You have finally paid for all of your groceries and leaving when you realize your child has lost a shoe somewhere in the store.
10. You can recite Goodnight Moon and Green Eggs and Ham by heart.
11. You let your child sit in his dirty diaper until Oprah is over.
12. You have a fifteen minute conversation about your baby with a complete stranger at the grocery store.
13. You filled up your child's baby book before her first birthday, or tooth appeared.
14. You silently curse people if they call during nap time.
15. You forgot you mother in laws first name because you now refer to her as Grandma.
16. You arrange your travel plan based on McDonald's playland locations.
17. You are just as surprised when you sleep through the night as when your child does.
18. You consider the person who invented the sippy cup a genius.
19. You see a mom from your child's playgroup and know the child's name but not hers.
20. You consider it a major triumph if you shower by noon.
21. You justify every excessive crying spell with teething.
22. You pick up the phone and call your mother when your baby rolls over for the first time.
23. You have kept your favorite babysitter a secret from other mothers in your playgroup.
24. You have your pediatrician's phone number on speed dial.
25. You own the entire Baby Einstein DVD collection.
26. You find yourself humming the Rubber Duckie song in the shower.
27. You have dressed your child in whatever is on top of the laundry pile.
28. You cry at Johnson & Johnson commercials.
29. You would trade your whole life savings for one good night sleep.
30. You see your parents in a whole new light.
31. You consider parenting to be the best job in the world.

I have to say that I don't relate to all of these, but I related to enough to not be sure if I should laugh or cry. I do relate to the last one most of all. I'm blessed to be a stay at home mom, and wouldn't trade it for the world. I will admit some days are just harder than others.

I hope everyone has a great week. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Super T Shirt with Cape {Tutorial}

Now, for my second, Lets Hear It for the Boy, t shirt project. My original thought was to make a Superman shirt, but then I decided to personalize it. My sons name is Tristan, but everyone calls him T. So, it seemed fitting to make him a Super T shirt. 

Supplies:


Shirt: ($2.99 Hobby Lobby)


Knit Fabric: ($9.99 yd. at Joanns. I used two colors. You could use old t shirts if you have the right colors.)


Embroidery Floss: ( .39cents each I used two colors)


Embroidery Hoop: (Optional)


Velcro: ( $1.50 pack of 3 squares Hobby Lobby)


Personalized letter: ( I just freehanded a block letter and cut it out)


Coordinating thread, Scissors, and Sewing Machine

My first step was pinning the letter to my fabric and cutting it out. I cut the bottom fabric a little bigger than the letter pattern, and cut my top fabric the same size as the pattern. 

Next, I pinned and straight stitched around both letter layers. I have only used knits a few times, but I love that they don't fray. 

The next step is a fun little addition to the applique. It is optional, if you just want to sew it and leave it. I just thought it made the applique pop. For this step I used two embroidery floss colors, and my embroidery hoop to stabilize it while sewing. I got the floss idea from Dana over at MADE which you can find here.

To make the cape, I cut the knit the length and width of the shirt. To make it look more like a cape and not a square, I cut around the shoulders and neck. Again, using knit was nice for this project, because I didn't have to hem all around the cape. 

I wanted to be able to take the cape off for washing, so I used velcro. You could just sew it on if you prefer, I just found this easier. 

I decided to add a little floss to the bottom corners of the cape. I just thought it looked cute. 

I hope you enjoyed my last two boy projects. I hope to have more soon. Thanks for stopping by my blog. If you have any questions please leave them in my comments and I will try my best to help.

Batman T Shirt with Tie and Suspenders {Tutorial}

In my next two posts I will be sharing two fun boy t shirt ideas. If you are a regular follower you know I have only posted a few boy ideas, and that has always bothered me. My poor little guy doesn't get as much hand made stuff as my daughter. So, when I saw the Lets Hear It for the Boys contest over at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar, I was instantly motivated.

The first shirt I thought I would try was the Batman with a tie applique and suspenders. It's fun, different, and very simple. I have a tendency to use lots of pictures for my tutorials, so bare with me.

Supplies:

T shirt: (I used black from Hobby Lobby $2.99)

Batman Fabric: (1/2 yd - 1yd Joanns $8.99 yd I was able to get mine 30% off)

1 yd of ribbon: (I used coordinating grosgrain yellow)

D rings: ($1.99 4pk at Joanns)

Steam a Seam

Tie Pattern: (I have a printable pattern below for a size 2T. You can shrink it or make it larger with your printer.)

Coordinating Thread, Scissors, Iron, and Sewing Machine

After getting my tie pattern cut out I used the negative version to line up where I wanted to cut. As you can see in the above photo, I wanted to the bat and the word Batman to be on the tie. When I was happy with the placement I used my rotary cutter to cut it out.



When I had my tie cut out, I was ready to place it on my shirt. I also took my yard of ribbon and cut it in half for the suspenders. I did have to trim a little at the bottom the make it even with the shirt. I used Steam A Seam to hold the tie and ribbon in place for sewing. You can use the full sheets or the strips. I had both, but either would work for this project.

Before ironing on the ribbon, I placed my D rings under the ribbon. I then ironed on the ribbon and the tie.

Next, I cut strips of fabric to place over my ribbon. This is optional, you can just leave the ribbon. I just liked the idea of having the words Batman down the suspenders. I then folded the edges, placed Steam A Seam on them and ironed them on the ribbon.

My last step is to sew it all together. The Steam A Seam will hold it all together if you don't want to sew it, I just like the looks of the sewing. I used a straight stitch down the edges of the suspenders, and a zig zag stitch around the tie.

*Note: Be cautious of sewing around the D rings. I sewed up to the ring, stoped, then cut threads and started again. You will break a needle sewing over them.

Now you have a fun shirt, that I'm sure your little man will love. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. If you have any questions, please leave them in my comment. I will help any way I can.

Reverse Stencil Tutorial

I decided to try my hand at something new... art. I am no artist but I recently saw a reverse stencil on Homemade By Jill, and thought I would give it a try. The possibilities are endless with this project. At first I was going to use the bird from my Storybook Cricut cartridge, and cut it out in vinyl. Then I decided I liked the bird from Picnik better. There I go again with my love for Picnik. Since I couldn't print that with my vinyl, I did it the old fashioned way. I printed it off, cut it out, and taped it to my canvas. I know that doesn't sound very artistic, but it works.

You only need a few supplies for this project:
Canvas (Whatever size you want)
Foam brushes
Paint (you only need one if you don't mind a white background)
Mod Podge (Optional)

Since I am using to colors, I started by painting the whole canvas blue. Let it dry completely before your next step.



After your first round of paint dries. You are ready for the next step. I put the bird I used for my project above. If you are not familiar with Picnik, you can save it to your computer, and print it. I wanted the sides of my canvas to be the same as the bird, so I used painters tape all around the edges. I used painters tape to tape the bird, but the legs were a little trickier. I had to hold them down and paint over them slowly. You will get paint on your fingers, but acrylic paint comes off easily.

Next, I painted the over the bird in brown. Before it dried I peeled the bird off, and the painters tape around the edges. Now I have a cute little art piece, that was very simple to do.







A Few Living Room Upgrades

I am so excited to share a few little projects that I have been working on this past week. I'm getting ready to have people over for my kids 2nd birthday, and wanted to make a few changes to the house. I really haven't changed much since we moved into our house 6 years ago. We built it, so it was exactly how I wanted it. When the kids came along my world revolved around them and what they needed, and it showed in my house. When you have twins, it's double everything. My house was taken over for a couple of years. Things have gotten much better the past few months, so I thought it was time for some changes. I have started with my living room. I found some cute fabric at Joann's for 40% off. This was my first time at making curtains, so I went simple with tab tops. I'm very happy with how they turned out.

The next upgrade I made was to an old dresser that I have had for many years. It was mine as a child and has been in my attic for a while. I decided to fix it up a bit with a little love and a coat of paint.

I decided to go with the blue that was in my fabric. I found a good match in a Sherwin Williams paint called Watery. The dresser had been white for as long as I could remember, so it was a nice change.

When the dresser was done it looked a little alone on my entry way wall, so I decided to add some picture frames. I decided to try something new. I used 11x14 frames and cut poster board to fit. I then added a 4x6 photo to each frame. I used removable tape, so it would be easy to change them out. I think it turned out pretty cute.

I think it really brightened up my livingroom. My next upgrades will be to my kitchen and bedroom. I haven't told my husband yet but I would love to change the paint in my kitchen, but he hates to paint. For some reason he can take a car apart and put it back together, but he hates to paint. It doesn't make since.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.

Valentines by Picnik

I hope everyone is having a great Valentines day. I decided to make some last minute Valentines, for my husband, from the kids. I used the Picnik program. I love using this program, it is so user friendly. I use it more than my Photoshop for quick projects. I just thought I would share these with everyone. I will be back this week with a sewing project, and a few more additions to the upcoming birthday party.