I can remember when a holiday was just that, one day of celebration.  Now that I have a child, a holiday turns into a week long event.  Not that I’m complaining:) For example, Halloween:

Tuesday was trick or treating.  Our town doesn’t do it on Halloween.  Weird I know, but it works for us.  This was followed by a parade on Thursday and more trick or treating on Sat.

Thursday we made Rice Crispy treats for the little one’s preschool party.  I wanted to do something a little crafty with her too.  The bat wrappers we made were inspired by a candy bar wrapper tutorial on Skip To My Lou.  This was a fun short craft that I’ll definitely do for other holidays.  Snowman, Easter Bunnies, you get the idea.

Lastly, on Halloween I got to see Phish in Atlantic City!  I was pretty thankful I took the little one trick or treating earlier that week so I could go guilt free.  The concert was incredible  and I had so much fun selling my Fishman Weezy Bands outside the venue.  I’m happy to say that my costume was almost all handmade.  I made the leg warmers and the skirt.  The super cute tail was made by Super Rad Cape Co. The gorgeous top (which I wish you could see better in this pic) was made by MarcellaModa.

I recently made a custom order diaper bag and burp cloths for my friend Erin of Krug’s Ecologic.  The burp cloths were easy to make and turned out so nice that I thought I would write up a little tutorial.  This is a sewing project for all skill levels.

Materials Needed

-One piece of fabric at least 7.5″ X 15″
-One Gerber Weave Flatfold Cloth Diaper
-Thread to match fabric

Directions

1.  Cut fabric into a 7.5″ X 15″ rectangle and the cloth diaper into three rectangles of the same size.

2.  Stack cloth diaper pieces on top of each other.  Place fabric on top of cloth diaper pieces, right side facing down.

3.  Sew pieces together, keeping an opening on one side big enough to pull the fabric through.  (Sew using 1/4″ seam allowance)  Trim corners.

4.  Turn fabric right side out through hole. Press

5.  Top Stitch around entire rectangle.

And you’re done:)  Roll it up, tie a ribbon around it and you have one super cute handmade baby shower gift.

*burp cloth pictured above is folded just to show what both sides look like.

The little one’s gymnastics recital is coming up so I made this hair tie to match her leotard.  These are so easy to make that I can barely call this a tutorial, but here it goes:

What you need
-16 strips of assorted ribbon that are 9″ long (I cut the edges on a diagonal)
-One elastic hairband (I used a small Goody ouchless one)

Directions

Tie each piece of ribbon around the hairband. Just a simple knot will do. Space them evenly around the hairband. That’s it. I told you it was easy:)

Looking for a quick and fun sewing project? Not only are these head scarves super cute, they are a great way to use up your fabric scraps as well.

Materials Needed

-2 pieces of fabric at least 11″x 15″

-32″ long piece of 1/2 inch double sided binding

Instructions

1.  Cut a triangle out of both pieces of fabric.  The measurements for the triangle are 12″ x 12″ x 14″

2. Put the 2 pieces of fabric right sides together.

3. Pin the two shorter sides and leave the longer side open.  Sew the shorter sides using 1/4″ seam.  Clip corners.

4. Turn fabric right side out and press.  Top stitch the two shorter sides using about a 1/8″ seam.

5. Open up the binding and place the long end of the triangle inside the fold.  Make sure it is in the center of the binding then pin it.

6.  Sew the two open ends of the binding together.   Use a 1/8″ seam.

7. Congrats!  You’re done.

Hope you have fun with this project.  Please send pics of your finished head scarves so I can share them here.

I love using appliques in my sewing projects.  I’ll put them on skirts, bags, shirts, you name it.  There are many ways to make appliques, but this is by far my favorite.

Materials Needed

-Steam-A-Seam 2 (There are different types of fusible webbing, but this is my favorite)

-Fabric for applique

-Fabric, an article of clothing, or anything else for the applique to attach to (in this case I am using a skirt)

Directions

1.  Peel apart a little of the corner of Steam-A-Seam 2.  The side of paper that the webbing sticks to is the side you will draw on.  Draw your design on the paper in reverse (this is important!).  This cute little birdie was drawn by my hubby, Chalkdust.

2.  Remover the paper liner that is not drawn on and discard.   Place remaining paper with webbing attached on the wrong side of fabric.

3.  Cut out applique along your design’s lines.

4.  Peel paper off the back (the webbing stays attached to the applique) and place applique on fabric.  In this case I placed the applique on one of my finished skirts.  The applique is not permanently bonded yet so you can adjust as much as you need on the fabric.

5.  Iron applique on steam setting for about 15 seconds.  Repeat.

6.  Applique is now finished and permanently bonded to fabric.  You can leave it as is or do any kind of stitching around the applique.  I like to do a machine satin stitch for a nice look and to prevent fraying.

I hope this post inspires you to give appliques a try.  Let me know if you have any questions.  I’d also love to see your appliques.  Feel free to leave a link to your projects in the comments.

Does it take a lot of prep work to make and can salsa?  Yes.

Does it take a long time?  Yes.

Is it worth all the effort? YESSSSSS!

This is my second year making this salsa recipe and its as delicious as ever.  Don’t get thrown off by the amount of zucchini in it.  You would never know.  Here’s the recipe via Recipezaar:

Zucchini Salsa, Canned Recipe #11217

1¾ hours | 1 hour prep

10 -12 Pints

Boo Boo Packs are a great way to ease the pain from your little one’s bumps and bruises. They are very easy to make. Basically it’s a rice filled pillow. You can use them as cold or warm packs. Below are sewing directions.

Materials Needed
-Cotton fabric (at least a 11.5″ x 11.5″ square)
-1 cup long grain white rice
-Matching thread

Directions
1. Cut 2 rectangles of fabric 4.5″ X 5.5″

2. Sew the 2 pieces of fabric together with the “right” sides facing inside toward each other. Leave about a 1 to 2 inch hole at one end. Make your seams 1/4″

3. Pull fabric through hole to turn right side out.

4. Using a funnel, pour 1 cup of rice in boo boo pack.

5. Sew up hole. And you’re finished!

Store in freezer in freezer bag to store. Just pull out to use as a cold pack. To use as a warm pack heat in microwave for about 30 seconds.

As always if you have questions on any of my tutorials just ask. Thanks:)

Tutorial for Advanced Beginner and up Sewers

Notes

* SA= seam allowance
* BU= bust measurement
* SP= spin at bottom of dress (I usually do around 80”)
* BL= length from under bust to hem
* If adding appliqué I suggest doing before sewing pattern pieces together.

Pattern Pieces
Bodice
-Cut one for bodice and one for lining. Be sure to cut them on the fold

A= 1 ¾”
B= 4 ¾”
C= (BU/2)-4+SA

Skirt Panel
-Cut 6 panels. Be sure to cut them on the fold.
A= ((BU+1)/12)+SA
B= (SP/12)+SA
C= BL+2+SA

Straps and Loops
-Cut 2 straps and 6 loops
-Since everyone sews straps and loops differently the measurements are what the finished product should be, NOT the size of the pattern.
A= 45”
B= ½”
C= ¾”
D= 2 ½”

**You will also need a ¼” wide piece of elastic, 3” long**

Sewing Directions
1. Sew darts in bodice and bodice lining.
2. Sew up straps and loops.
3. Baste straps and loops to right side of bodice lining as shown in pic below.
4. Sew bodice piece to lining (right sides together). Leave bottom open.
5. Turn top right sides out. Topstitch bodice (topstitching optional). Finished top shown below.
6. Sew skirt panels together. Turn right side out as shown below.
7. Sew bodice to skirt (right sides together) shown in pic below. Bra cups were added for extra support and are not necessary.
8. Sew elastic to open part of skirt in back. Be sure to stretch elastic fully while sewing.
9. Press this seam down and sew part around elastic down. Inside and outside pics below.
10. Hem bottom of skirt to desired length

Congrats!!! You’re finished. Here’s my dress.