Crown Creating: Let the Summer Crafts Begin

Summer is officially here! It's that time of year when I can pretend to be a stay-at-home mom. It's just enough time for BB and I to have some fun together, but not so long that we drive each other nuts (I hope).  


OK, so I do technically have a few days of work left. But I decided to go ahead and bust out one of the summer projects I have been planning for us.... crown creating!


As you can tell from the pictures, BB had a lot of fun with this project. I asked her to draw the shape crown that she wanted. Then I cut that shape out of felt and sewed it together.

I got to use some of the fancy stitches on my sewing machine. You know, the ones that look cool on the newer high-tech machines but never actually get used.

BB chose the green felt among several colors I had laying around. I also let her rummage through my "stash" to pick out her embellishments.  She glued them on with fabric glue.

I even let her use my special fabric scissors to cut the ribbon. Daddy doesn't even get to use those ;)

This was a great project for us to do together. I can see us making a lot more magical crafts over the summer. I'm hoping to see lots more of that magical smile.

The J.Crew-ish Inspired Dress

I think I used a seam ripper more than a sewing machine for this dress. I almost gave up on it. And I am so glad that I didn't. I think I have a new favorite.

iPad Pillow

I love my iPad. And I love watching TV shows on my iPad in bed. I don't love holding it up with my hands. Yes, I have an iPad case that folds in different shapes and angles. But. It. Always. Falls. Down. grrrrrrr...

Then I saw a beautiful tablet stand from Taryn at from Pixels to Patchwork. I love what she did. She made a tablet stand that is attractive AND functional. She included a great tutorial to boot!

I immediately made one, making some modifications to her design to suit my needs as well as my fear of zippers (There, i SAID it!). This sweet little pillow has become a HUGE hit already. And I made it from stuff I already had laying around my stash pile! Score :)

Because I strayed some from Taryn's original plan, I am also including a tutorial. Here goes:

Easy Peasy Transformation: from Misses Skirt to Little Girls Dress

I love to recycle clothes. So much so that I am often the recipient of second-hand garb. Friends and coworkers give me so much. I like to think of myself as the pre-Goodwill.

Here is one skirt I received not too long ago. It's cute, but not quite my style. Of course BB immediately loved it because it has pink in it and it's all girly and flowy ;)

Warning: The following transformation is ridiculously simple. I whipped this baby out in about 15 minutes. This is a super-fun project that I highly recommend trying at home :)



Here's what I did:

Upcycled Sweater Skirt

Have you ever had an item of clothing that was occupying precious space in your closet for years even though you never wear it? I have been hanging onto a camel colored sweater dress for no apparent reason.

It had a hole in it, but I liked it so much that I just couldn't part with it. I'm not sure why I never thought of this before, but I turned it into a skirt.

This was such an easy idea. If you can sew knits, you can do this. And, while you may not have this exact sweater dress in the back of your closet, I like sharing these ideas because, well... who knows what you will come up with!

Some Minor Adjustments

I fell in love with this dress at first site. And, as many love stories go, it turns out this one could use just a few minor adjustments.  

The Liebster Award!

I have been nominated for The Liebster Award!

And, to be totally honest I had to do a little bit of research to learn exactly what that means.  The origins of The Leibster Award seem to go back to a German blog; liebster means dearest in German.

Bloggers nominate fellow bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. Once you receive the award, you must pay it forward.

A huge shout out to Lisa at One Red Shoe and Agy from Green Issues for nominating me :)

So here goes...