Kindle Cover

I'm linking up with Table for Four's monthly PINspired feature today! I just finished sewing a Kindle cover for a birthday present and now I'm ready to make one for myself!

I used this tutorial that I came across on Pinterest and it was really easy to follow, although I did change it up just a little. The tutorial includes an inside pocket, but I didn't really see the need for one and a friend said she never used the pocket inside the cover that she had made for herself, so I skipped that part. I also sewed the hook-and-loop (velcro) closure on instead of using iron-on velcor, for added durability.

The main fabric is from Hobby Lobby and the brown with aqua polka dots is Chocolate Dumb Dot from Michael Miller. This was my second time sewing with batting and I must say, it's really not hard at all. Trying new things when I sew is always intimidating at first (probably because of the fear that I'll have to rip out stitches!), but it's not so bad once I get the hang of it. If you have a Kindle, Nook, ipad, or some similar device, you should try to make one of these covers! So cute and SO EASY!

Projects and Picnics

I've done some of sewing and embroidery recently and I must say that it feels good, albeit a little hectic, with a baby around who tries to put everything in her mouth. And I mean EVERYTHING. Just yesterday I had to fish a plastic wall anchor out of her mouth. Praise God she didn't choke! Here are some of the projects I've been working on:

A bib and burp cloth set for our local MOPS group to give away:

A skirt for my oldest niece's birthday:

A onesie for a friend's little girl, announcing some big news for their family!

Crazy-colors back-to-school skirt for our niece:

I'll be sewing a Kindle case for a birthday gift this weekend, too. I hope it turns out as cute as the one in this tutorial that I'm following!

The reason I was sewing skirts for my nieces is because they got to come to KY for a week to visit us all by themselves! My mom has been looking forward to hosting "Camp Grandma" for a long time, and her dream finally came true! While the girls were here, we had a few picnics at some local parks. The weather was gorgeous for August. Not unbearably hot and humid like usual, but just breezy and warm. After one picnic, we took a short little walk down to Lake Cumberland where the kids enjoyed throwing rocks into the water. A friend's two boys also came along and showed the girls the ropes.

Caitlin (7), couldn't resist the urge to go 'swimming' and jumped in.

Bella (almost 5) and Grandma

Me, Natalie, and Ashley (9)

A beautiful view from the shore!

The week went by so quickly, but we had a lot of fun and look forward to them coming back next summer!

*Fairly* Recent Projects and Such

Around Easter, I was bit by the sewing bug and got to work on quite a few projects. Here are pictures of a few of them:

Baby shower gifts for a former co-worker who is expecting twin girls in the next month! (owl design from www.appliquewhimsy.com)

(Design from www.planetapplique.com)

Nursing Cover

Receiving blanket made out of a flat-fold (unused) cloth diaper and scrap flannel

Shirt and ruffle-bottom capris for my niece (kite design from www.planetapplique.com)

Embroidered onesie (design from www.planetapplique.com)

Appliqued onesie (design from www.planetapplique.com) and diaper cover (I sewed a skirt, too, but haven't gotten a picture yet!)

Embroidered shirt for a friend's daughter for Father's Day (design from Embroitique on Etsy.com)

Suffice it to say that I have gotten over my fear of my embroidery machine and have finally broken it in a little! It's a little too much fun to sew for little girls! Now if we could just finish some house projects that seem to be dragging on forever.

The landscaping in our front yard is still not complete and the weeds are taking over again. We had a patio poured out back, which I'll post pictures of soon. That is still a work in progress, too. Thankfully, the inside of our house is coming along quite nicely. I scored a set of oak end tables at a yardsale this weekend for $15. Nothing else in our house is oak, but for the price, I can paint or re-stain them down the road!
They are in our family room, which has probably undergone the biggest transformation of any room in our house since we moved in. For the longest time, the only thing in the room was Alex's computer desk. But, we bought a couch from some friends after Natalie was born and it has taken shape little by little ever since. Here's the before:




And now 3 years later, the after:


Looking back, I can't believe how much we've done to change how this room looks. It has probably become my favorite room in the house since staying home with Natalie. We hang out in there a lot. Well, that's about the extent of my creativity these last few months. What kinds of projects have you been working on?

Eco-Easter T-Shirt Bags

After whipping up my first t-shirt bag without a hitch, I headed to Goodwill to see what I could find to make bags for our nieces and nephew. It took just 30 minutes to make 4 bags. How's that for a quick and easy sewing project?! Here's how they turned out:


The little knots on the shoulders were made out of the shirt sleeves since I found long-sleeved shirts for the older girls. The princess shirt was a hooded sweatshirt.


Strawberry Shortcake was a pajama top.


(I didn't want to lose the purple ruffled trim on this one, so I stitched it closed on the outside instead of turning it inside out.)


Sky has graduated from infatuation with Spiderman to quite an interest in Transformers.

On one hand, they just look like tank tops, but once you hold them up as bags I think they're a lot cuter. Now to get the Easter eggs ready for hunting!

T-shirt Bag Tutorial

I'm putting together an Easter egg hunt for our nieces and nephew again this year and was on the hunt for a thrifty easter basket/bag/bucket idea. I bought $1 buckets last year and they were ok, but I didn't really want to buy something like that again since they end up getting thrown away. A friend found an idea in a kids magazine that I fell in love with instantly: a t-shirt bag. Before I went to Goodwill to buy shirts for the kids' bags, I did a test run using an old t-shirt I already had. The logo on it is for our children's ministry at church, so I made it to give to the children's pastor's wife. Start with a shirt (can be long or short-sleeved) and cut off the sleeves and collar and trim off the bottom hem if you want to make the bag shorter. I've found that it helps to turn the shirt inside-out so you can more easily see to cut all the hem off. Jersey knit doesn't fray, so you don't have to worry about having raw edges!


With the shirt inside-out, straight stitch across the bottom of the shirt:



Using the neck hole, turn it right-side out.


Voila! The arm holes are now the handles of your bag! I added ribbon bows to the handles for a little decoration and to make it look a little less like a t-shirt.


I think I'm going to dig around for some more shirts so I can make reusable shopping bags. Stay tuned for the Eco-Easter Edition of the t-shirt bag! I found some cute shirts for the kiddos!

A Homemade Christmas Part 4

Today is the last part of the Homemade Christmas "mini-series". You survived! ;) This last gift was probably the most fun to make because what started as a simple ruffled skirt for my five-year old niece ended up as a skirt with a cute bow and a matching hair clip and purse. Of course, I can't take all the credit, because a friend gave me a LOT of supplies, made the rosette for the hair clip and suggested that I make a purse. Two really are better than one. I love it when a second person can add to ideas that you already have and then the end result becomes way better than you originally imagined. I hope Caitlin enjoys her new flirty skirt and accessories! And, I must add, that I reeeeeeeally wanted to ask Alex to model the hair clip and purse for your entertainment pleasure, but I just didn't have the guts to subject him to that. What a great photo that would have been for some Christmas cards! :)


Hair clip:


And because every girl needs a matching purse:


I'm getting more in the Christmas spirit with each passing day. Christmas will be here before we know it! Now I have to make and mail cards, mail gifts and wrap presents!

A Homemade Christmas Part 3

Welcome back! I can't believe that the year is almost over! Why does time go by faster and faster the older you get? I'm not so sure that I like it...

Before I show you my next sewing project, I have a confession to make. I'm not entirely in the Christmas spirit. There. I said it. Don't throw things at me! I've decided that I really don't like Christmas music unless it's instrumental only. Well, I'll make an exception for certain classic songs, but don't give me any of the stuff by Brittney Spears or anything like that. My halls aren't decked with holly and I don't turn on my tree lights in order to save electricity (Alex has always been the tree light Nazi. He wants them on all. the. time.). I haven't even baked the first batch of Christmas cookies or candy and I really don't want to. In fact, I'm craving Sour Patch Kids instead. But, despite my lack of traditional Christmas spirit, I am really in the giving mood. It's been fun to try and find the perfect gifts to give loved ones. I've so deeply enjoyed sewing these gifts for the kids and learning more about sewing that I want to do it all year long. I especially want to keep making stuffed animals like the ones that I made for our youngest nieces. Remember the lion and the cat stuffed animals? Well, I wanted to try my hand at another animal, so I made little Kalei a bunny rabbit. This is the first animal that I've made entirely on my own, but I did have guidance from a friend when I appliquéd the face. The zig-zag stitch is very scary, if you ask me!



The face and inside of the ears is soft, fuzzy fabric perfect for cuddling up with. I hope Kalei enjoys playing or snuggling with this little friend!

A Homemade Christmas Part 2

My second Christmas project was a tool belt for our nephew, Sky. He is quite the little handy man, even at 5 years old! I came up with the pattern on my own and put it together with a little experimentation. The main fabric (red) is heavy weight canvas from JoAnn's and the striped fabric was leftover from the play tent that I made for his birthday. It is actually a piece from the top of one of the bed sheets that I chose it because of the horizontal stripe detail and the finished edges, which meant less hemming for me! I also had some blue ribbon leftover from the tent as well, which were perfect for the ties. Here's how it turned out:




I'd like to get his name monogrammed across the top in the middle of the horizontal stripes to finish it off. My mom is looking for some kid-sized real tools to accompany this gift for Christmas. I hope Sky likes it!

A Homemade Christmas Part 1

As I've said before, I'm making gifts for our nieces and nephew for Christmas this year. By the end of my vacation (Why does it have to end!? Back to work tomorrow...), I had finished gifts for all the kids. I thought I'd show you one gift a day for the next few days so as not to overwhelm you with pictures all at once (and it's motivation for me to blog more!). The first gift I finished was a tote bag for my oldest niece, Ashley. She's only 7, but she picked out the pattern and, as it turns out, the bag is as big as she is! I hope she likes it and can use it for many years to come!

Pleated front


Button detail


Inside (I couldn't find the right shade or brown, pink, or turquoise to line it with, so I went with boring white)


Here's the pattern I used, on sale at Hobby Lobby for .99 cents! Sure beats Wal-Mart's price of $8 or $9!


Stay tuned to more sewing projects throughout the rest of the week!