Lyds had something on each of her bedroom walls, except for one, and I had no idea what to do.  I came across this site and decided it would be a easy, free, and quick way to dress up her wall.  And if it didn’t work out, hey, it was free because I had all the supplies on hand, and non invasive, so it can be removed anytime.

You need:

• Scrapbook paper (any square size: 12×12, 9×9, etc)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Adhesive Wall Putty

Directions:

1. You want to use two pieces of scrapbook paper that are the same square size.  I used 12×12, 9×9, and 6×6.
2. Fold the up and down, like a paper fan.
3. Crease each folded piece of paper in half.
4. Glue the outer strips to each other to make a semi circle.  Do the same thing on the other piece of paper.
5. Next, glue them together on the outsides.
6. Get adhesive wall putty, and roll it into a ball about the size of a ping pong.  Put it on the wall.  Stick the middle of the decoration into the putty, and you’re done!

Have you done any neat wall art you want to share?

I made Baby Legwarmers in two different ways.  The first way: a knee high sock went from this to this.

This way took less time than the second way, but it didn’t look as good, and the

legwarmers kept sliding off Abs’s thighs at church.

So, the tutorial is going to be how to make legwarmers that look the top 3 legwarmers in this picture:

Supplies

• Ladies Knee High socks
• Thread

Directions

1. Cut the sock right above the heel.
2. Then cut off a 3 inch section of the heels.  Then cut off the toes.  You don’t need those anymore.
3. Using the middle pieces: turn them inside each other, wrong sides together.  You’ll use this for the bottom cuff.  I liked mine to be about the side of the existing cuffs, so, I cut the middle piece to about 3 inches.
4. Now just place the leg pieces INSIDE each cuff, raw edges lining up.
5. Pin together and sew around the raw edges with a zigzag stitch for stretch.
6. Turn them out the correct way, and you’re done!

So far, I’ve made these two dresses from old shirts I had.  They are definitely not perfect, but Abs likes them, so I guess that’s what matters.

This was a super simple project.  Can’t believe I didn’t make one sooner.  Here’s a tutorial for you:

1. Lay a dress or shirt of your toddler’s on top of the shirt you’re going to cut.  Make sure the necklines match up and fold the sleeves in on the toddler shirt.
2. Draw around the top item with disappearing ink pen, and then, cut around the lines.
3. Cut around the neckline.
4. Then cut the back side of the dress to be closer to the neckline
5. Sew up the sides with a straight stitch and then a zigzag stitch.
6. Then sew around the arm holes and stitch the back part, too.
7. Then, cut the neckline in the middle on the back part (where the tag used to be), and sew the ends onto the back of the dress, to make spaghetti straps.

You’re done, unless you want to embellish more.  The first one, I decided to make some flowers with the left over fabric.  (I was a little worried that the flowers wouldn’t hold up in the wash, but they stayed perfectly intact!)

For the second dress, I made ruffles.  I’ve cut out 4 other shirts, but I haven’t gotten around to sewing them into dresses, yet.  Any ideas for other ways to dress up the dresses??

Oh, I learned from making the first one that I should’ve make the bottom part of the dress more like an A-line.

I also made these bows to match the dress themes:

Let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any questions.

I’ve been asked several times how I made the following projects:

The answer is with Freezer Paper Stenciling.  It’s super easy.  I’d say the hardest part is cutting out your design with an exacto knife.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Freezer Paper (I got mine at Walmart in the section that has Aluminum Foil, Wax paper, etc.)
• Exacto Knife (also purchased at Walmart, in the sewing section)
• Fabric Paint (I got mine from Hobby Lobby and Walmart.)
• Iron
• Paint sponge/brush
• Cardboard

I’ve made up a video to describe the process for you.  One thing though, at about 50 seconds into the video, I gave the wrong info. . . .  You actually put the middle sheet of paper waxy side UP (not down, as said in video).

Some extra information . . .

• ****I’ve been told by one person that she had a problem with printing her image (the paper got really stuck).  Sooo, you might wanna be on the safe side and trace your image onto the paper side of the freezer paper.
• Freezer paper is rolled up like wrapping paper.  I like to cut mine in 8.5×11 inch sheets, so they can go directly in the printer.  If you don’t want to print onto the freezer paper, you can print onto a normal sheet of paper and then trace the image onto freezer paper.  Regardless of how you print, you want your design on the freezer paper to be on the paper side because you want the waxy side to be ironed onto your fabric.
• Also, cut the image with an exacto knife on top of cardboard, cutting board, or a rotary board.
• I open the shirt and insert a cardboard in the middle, so the paint won’t bleed.
• You can use tweezers to remove the small bits of freezer paper after you’re finished painting.

Any questions?

Several women have commented on Lyds’s car seat tent, so I’m finally getting around to doing the tutorial.  It’s SUPER easy!

I remember going out with Abs and getting frustrated, trying to keep the sun completely out of her eyes with the car seat sunshade.  And don’t even get me started about when it would rain.  Also, the wind, oh the wind where I live is killer and blankets would always blow off, and it was a hassle to hold her car seat, while trying to keep a blanket over her.  So, thank goodness I discovered an awesome way to cover up your newborn with a car seat tent.  Here’s what you need to have on hand to make one yourself . . .

Supplies

• about 2 yards total of fabric (if you want it to be reversible, you can use 1 yd of one color and 1 yd of another color, or you can simply use two yards of the same fabric)
• thread
• velcro (not the adhesive kind; buy the kind for sewing)

Okay, so I started typing up a tutorial for this but erased it all, but I don’t have the patience to remember what all I did, since it’s been about 4 months since I made this.  So, I’ll just leave you some links to some car seat tent tutorials that will be helpful.  Also, here are some of my measurements that might help you (keep in mind that this won’t make sense to you until you look at the tutorial links):

• I cut 2 inches off the bottom; it left my fabrics to be 36 L x 42 W (35 long when sewed)
• For my velcro straps: soft side up, facing back (velro down, facing front) 7-8 inches long
• When I measured the cloth front to back, I sewed the straps directly in the middle lengthwise (21 inches) and measured side to side; 12.5 from outside (7 ¼ in b/t each other).
• 

Ingredients:

• Cake mix (I used one box of Betty Crocker Butter Pecan) and whatever it needs (eggs, oil)
• Frosting
• Food Coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a 13×9 in dish with baking spray (the kind that says it has flour).  Grease a 1 qt Pyrex bowl with shortening and then, coat with flour.
2. Make the cake mix and pour 1.5 cups of the batter into the 1 qt bowl.  Then, pour the remaining batter into the 13×9 dish.  [If you want the sheet cake taller or the soccer ball higher, then, you could use two cake mixes, but I just preferred to use one box).
3. Bake the 13x9 dish for 20-30 mins, depending on your oven.  [You might be able to bake the soccer ball and sheet cake at the same time, but I was too nervous to try that, so I baked the sheet cake first, and then, I baked the soccer ball.]  And then, bake the 1 qt bowl 25-35 mins.  Cool each cake for 10 minutes.
4. Then, turn an 8×8 dish upside down and spray the bottom/underside of it with flour baking spray.  Flip it over, and push the coated side onto the sheet cake, in order to get rid of the “dome” shape.  It really works!  With the soccer ball cake, I used a Tupperware bowl (sprayed) to push that dome shape down.  (Sorry I didn’t take a picture, but you can look here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4816098_soccer-ball-cake.html at step #3 for the idea).
5. Flip the sheet cake over onto the serving tray (I put wax paper under mine, so I’d be able to tear the paper off, in case I messed up with the frosting).  And flip the soccer ball onto a plate.  Freeze cakes for 1 hour each.
6. I frosted each cake with a thin layer of frosting as a skim/crumb coat (blue sky, green grass, and white for soccer ball).  Then, I put them back in the freezer for almost an hour.
7. Put the soccer ball on top of the sheet cake.  [Frost the soccer ball again, if you think it needs another coat (I didn't).]  Cut out a pentagon shape and a hexagon shape.  The pentagon needs to be smaller than the hexagon.  [I can't remember my measurements.  I wanna say 1 3/4 in for the pentagon and 2 1/3 inch for the hexagon.]  Use a toothpick to outline the shapes onto the ball.
8. Then, fill in the pentagon with a star shaped tip (I used a decorator’s icing tube) and the lines with a straight tip with whatever color you choose; typically black, but Abs wanted purple.
9. For the sheet cake: Re-frost most of the cake blue (for the sky).  Re-frost the bottom part green for the grass.  If you have fancy tips/bags, you can make it look more like grass.  I don’t, so I frosted it, and then used a spatula to pull at the frosting from different angles.  I used a decorator’s icing tube to make the soccer net, but I ran out and had to use a knife to do the soccer goal.
10. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

The camera was in Abs’s room while she was napping, while I was making the cake.   So, I didn’t get a chance to take pictures, until J got home, and we used his iPhone.  Sorry.

I started making this cake about 11 am on Saturday and finished around 4 pm (maybe?).  And the party was on Sunday, but the cake still tasted great on Sunday and the next day and the next day . . .

Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Any questions?

Here’s the tutorial for how to make a crinkle square mini blanket with taggies like the one below for a baby.  It’s super easy, quick, and doesn’t cost much.  If you don’t have ribbon on hand, that might be your biggest expense. 

Supplies

• thread
• 2 squares of flannel (I used 9×9 inches)
• ribbons cut to about 4 inches long and folded in half (I used 4 big pieces, 4 medium pieces, and 4 skinny pieces)
• crinkly sheet/package, the same size as your flannel (I used a wrapper from a sample diaper I got in the mail).  Some other options: wipes package, microwave popcorn wrappers, chips bag, clear gift wrap . . . Just make sure that you cut your flannel pieces to whatever size your crinkle sheet ends up being
  

Directions

1. Put one piece of flannel right side up and pin ribbons along the edges with the cut sides off of the flannel.  between the two pieces of material (wrong sides together).
2. Put the second flannel sheet on top of the ribbons right side down.
3. Put the crinkle sheet on top of the flannel and pin all layers together.
4. Sew along all the edges– except, make sure to leave a big enough section not sewn so that you can turn the blanket right side out.  Take the pins out.
5. After sewing, turn the blanket right side out.
6. Then, sew all the way around the square, and you’re done!