Custom Crafty Sewing

My cousins boy is the exact same age as my youngest boy (I think they are only an hour or so apart) and they both have crazy curls! :) Too fun! For her baby shower I made her a carseat blanket. Simply some minky sewn together, and some turtle applique, along with a couple of elastic loops to hook to the carseat so it doesn't fall out and get dirty. (the WORST thing to happen, especially during a snowy, dirty, Utah winter.) ;)

Well, a little while ago she asked for another one for her second boy (it made me so giddy when she said the first one was her oldest's *favorite*). :D  So I went looking for fabric, and with a request for some orange, here's what I came up with

I love this fabric!! :) (Riley Blake flannel - I think the line is "All Boy" or something?) 

I hope they like it too!

I added some stitching in the stars to hold the layers together.

I used flannel for the top and minky for the back (turquoise dimple dot).

I made one of these for Mabel for Christmas, but added a layer of batting in it. I do not recommend batting. It made it way too stiff to really be useful. I think I'll make her a new one... ;)

This is happily on it's way to the post office today! :)

(I always get anxious about making things for people. What if they hate it??? :/ but I like it, so if they don't I'll keep it and happily do it over.) ;)

I tested it out with Little M to check the size

Hum, I wonder what she thinks of it?!

"It's a winner!" ;)

I also took pictures of something else today... but those pictures will have to wait! ;) ;)

Made It: Otter Pop Wraps + Tutorial

I don't ever know if what I make is really modern, but I am going to link this up to Canoe Ridge Creations Sew Modern Monday anyway. ;)

This summer we LIVED off otter pops. I don't know, we never really ate them before, but this summer... I don't even know how many boxes we went through.

One thing I found though, was that for my two boys, they are TOO cold to hold while eating. At first we went through napkins faster than a 2 year old can say napkin (ok, that's probably pretty slow) but either way it was more than I wanted to waste just to insulate their little finger tips.

the answer??? Otter Pop Wraps! (Really? who's going to want to use this now? It's getting cold outside.) :) I really did make these months ago, and had planned on posting this then too, but, I didn't. I didn't ever take my boys outside to get cute pictures of them using theirs. So remember this for next summer!! :D

These are great! I like to pick the one that coordinates best with whatever color otter pop I'm eating, but my boys have their favorites. :)

Best part: no more wasting napkins. no more cold fingers. they are completely washable. reusible. styilish. and SUPER quick to whip together. plus a great scrap buster - I'm sure you have some scraps that are just the right size!

Otter Pop Wraps

Here's how:

Find two pieces of fabric that measure 6 in by 3 3/4 in.  (you could go as wide as 4 1/2 in if you want them for bigger hands, but that's probably the limit before their too wide. Also, I wouldn't go any smaller.) Be creative and use different fabrics for the different sizes, or you can even scrap a bunch of smaller pieces together to make the right size. 

I made a bunch of them all at the same time.

Cut two pieces of batting the same size, or more depending on how thick you want it. I like at least 2 layers of the high loft batting.

Layer one piece of batting (or more if you are using more batting) on the WRONG sides of the fabric pieces and baste (or don't. you actually don't have to baste anything. But you can if you want to).

Skip the basting and sandwich your pieces like this: 

one layer of batting

one layer of fabric - right side UP

one layer of fabric - WRONG side UP

(the two fabric pieces should be right sides together)

the rest of your batting pieces

(I only took a picture of the wrap I made with one layer of batting. But this shows how to put your fabric. Just image there is a layer of batting underneath this.)

Then pin through all the layers at the corners, and one in each side.

Starting near the middle of one of the long sides, stitch around the whole thing 1/4" from the edges. Make sure you are stitching based on the fabric edges and not the batting edges. Sometimes batting can squish out further than the fabric and you don't want to not sew the fabric.

LEAVE a ~2 inch opening on the first side, and backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching.

Trim your corners

Turn right sides out - you want to pull it from between the fabric layers. (obvious but I just have to write it as I think about it. :) )

Fold the opening edges in and then sew around the entire edge of your wrap, sewing the opening closed (sew it about 1/8" from the edge to make sure you catch the edges you folded under).

And you are finished!! :) Or you can quilt it. 

I quilted this one, but it seems to keep the fingers warmer when it's not quilted.

  

Enjoy!! :)

And hey, maybe it's not too late for this, because I was just thinking about how we eat WAY more ice cream in the winter than we do in the summer, so maybe there is someone out there that is the same way with otter pops. ;)

If you make these, hop on over to the flickr group and share your photos. :)

Made It: Hand Puppets for Humanitarian Aid

Last week at my church we started making these super cute puppets!! We didn't have time to finish them there so I brought them home and finished sewing them together. They were so super quick and turned out so cute! :) I want to keep them. ;) ... or just make more.

I love all the different animals, and they have such cute faces!

These are for a humanitarian aid project and will be going somewhere to some lucky children! How fun! I'm sure they will be loved and enjoyed! :)


Working on these made me wonder what else people need, and what other fun projects are needed and welcomed. I looked at the church's Humanitarian Aid site and found all sorts of things that they are looking for. Like bags, quilts, wall hangings, toys, etc. Then I had a great idea... I could make a bunch of small quilts and wall hangings and that would be such a fun way to use up my huge stash of fabric! It would also be a great way to try new things and techniques, but not have a huge commitment (as in doing wall hangings which don't have to be as large as a quilt). In my excitement I started this blog: from blank pages... to blank walls.
 The wall hangings will go to orphanages around the world to help brighten the bare walls. How neat would that be to have your works of art hanging on a child's wall. I love the idea! So the invitation is OPEN! I haven't started on anything yet (I want to finish up a couple projects that are almost finished first) but then I want to get started! Does anyone want to join me?! Hop on over to the blog to learn more about what is needed, what the guidelines are, and follow along! I would love to have some company, even if you don't want to contribute. I will keep you updated on this blog as to when I really get started with it, but will definitely update that blog as I go. :)

I already have my first wall hanging idea planned. I'll post a preview soon. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Monday!

Made It: Take-along car mats

IMG_2051, a photo by db By Design on Flickr.

Here are the take-along/travel car mats.  So far the boys love them! Hunter likes to drive on the roads and Jackson likes to put the car in and out of the pockets. I think as they get a little older they'll like them even more.

How to: 

CUT:

2 pieces of fabric and 1 piece of heavy weight interfacing 18" by 11"

1 piece of fabric 9" by 11", then fold in half hot dog style

one piece velcro 2" long

fabric or ribbon pieces for road:

  2 pieces: 1 1/4" by 14"

  3 pieces: 1 1/4" by 8 1/2"

Arrange the roads onto one of the main pieces of fabric. (On the yellow one I also sewed the roads to the interfacing at the same time.) I used a glue stick to hold the roads in place and then zigzagged all the way around them. The two longer roads will go an inch or sew under the pockets. I also did a straight stitch in yellow down the middle of all the roads to mimic the yellow line on real streets. 

Line up the pocket piece edges with the edges of the fabric that you just sewed your roads onto. Mark a line down the center, and a line on either side of it that is 2.5" away from the center line. Sew the pockets on over the drawn lines. (On the yellow one I free stitched numbers on the pockets BEFORE sewing it to the main fabric.) 

Next place the soft velcro piece next to the outer road (see picture). Again I used a glue stick to hold it in place until I sewed it. Sew it on. :)

Then sandwich everything together (your roads piece, interfacing, and the backing piece, all pieces right side out - how you want it to be finished. Then start to fold it up, turning the pockets in first. When you fold over the last fold, mark where the velcro is and glue the scratchy side of velcro where it meets the soft side so you know where to sew it on. Take that back piece off and sew the velcro on.

Now place the back piece on top of the roads piece, right sides together. If you haven't sewn the interfacing in yet, place it on top of the back piece, so it's on the outside of the sandwich. Now sew around the entire thing, leaving a 2" opening on one side, using a 1/2" seam allowance. Clip the corners and turn right side out.

Poke out the corners and flatten it nicely, sew around the entire mat close to the edges, sewing the opening closed. And you are finished! Enjoy!

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me. If you have a no-reply account, I'll answer your questions in the comments, so be sure to check back.

I'd love to see your pictures if you end up making this!! :) If you're on flickr, you can add your photos to my flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/fromblankpages/

Sharing at Skip to my Lou and Quiltstory!

Fab Finds: Stuff for Boys

In my last blogging adventure I've found quite a few different things. For one, a few different purses (which I really need a new one) AND some super fun stuff for boys. :) Let the sharing begin:

BOYS WALLET:
I found this one over at noodle-head. LOVE IT! :)

Then there is this super cute travel car mat! I've seen a few different versions of this, but I really love this. I also LOVE that it has pockets to store the cars in! Genius! :) You can buy this over at Handmade Therapy's etsy shop. :)

Links:

Boys wallet: http://www.noodle-head.com/2011/03/celebrate-boy-tutorial-basic-boys.html

Car Mat: http://www.etsy.com/listing/69107003/take-along-billy-car-rollup-and-play-mat?ref=em

Made It: Sometimes "someday" is closer than you think, plus a quick DIY thimble

I have been on a role. I posted some projects last week of some things I want to make someday. Well, I've already made two of them, plus another project I've been wanting to do for a while now.


First project checked off:
Stuffed Animal Net: I found the tutorial over at A Lemon Squeezy Home and it looked so easy I whipped one right up! And it really was easy. I didn't have the color of bias tape that I wanted to use, so I made my own with scraps of fabric I had lying around. It kind of made it a little... not as perfect, plus I think I stretched the fabric a little more than I ought to have while sewing it, but it looks good and I love having it! My boys seem to like it too! :)

Next project:
A needle book. I keep losing my embroidery needles in my pin cushion, and thus have been wanting one of these for a long time. My MIL gave me this cute book for Christmas,  Sew, So Cute!  and it had a pattern for one of these in it. I didn't make it quite as cute or ornamental as in the book, but using the basic instructions, came up with my own design. Super quick = a wonderful project! I put two layers of felt in it, which I think is silly now that I'm done since I can only find two of my needles. But I know I have more needles somewhere... Maybe one day I'll find them and get them put away in their new home. :)

 

And finally:
Hunter hasn't been napping as often lately and the other day was super bored so we decided to make these awesome Monster Pillows (found at Ruffles and Stuff). I let him use the scissors a little bit, and pick out the colors, but mostly he just wanted to play with the paper. I still need to sew it closed, and just printing the features out at normal size is too small, so I need to go back and enlarge them so they are more proportionate, but otherwise it's a super quick and fun project and I think the boys will have a lot of fun with it! Even though they're small. :)

On the note of the needle book, I wanted to share a quick project that I made up and LOVE! It is my new favorite Thimble! That's right, super easy and super lame, but let me tell you, it is way better, and way more comfortable, than those awful metal thimbles that don't fit on your fingers.

 Ugly, but sometimes beauty doesn't matter. The lady at the quilt store told me once that wool actually helps to add moisture back into your skin, unlike cotton. So the first step, get a scrap of wool. :) For protection I used some thick vinyl or fake leather or something. I don't even know exactly what it is. Anyway get two scraps of something thick that a needle won't go through. I sewed two layers together just for added protection. I folded that wool and figured out where I needed my pads to be and sewed them onto the wool. Then with the wool folded in half, sew the sides wide enough apart that your finger will fit in it.  And voila! You now have a ghetto an awesome, and comfortable new thimble! :)


Wow! It's so nice to get things done and out of the way. :) Now I'm working on finishing items for my shop that I started ages ago but never got around to finishing. I love tackling this big pile of unfinished business. ;) Of course that means that Mabel's quilt is on hold, but after burning myself with the iron, I don't feel like ironing right now, so I don't mind. :)

Jacks also wanted to say hi! :)

Links:

Stuffed Animal Net: http://alemonsqueezyhome.blogspot.com/2011/02/stuffed-animal-net-tutorial.html

Monster Pillow: http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2011/02/celebrating-boys_28.html