a very hungry craft round up...part 3

I have seen many different types of bunting floating around blog land and pinterest for months now.  Bunting and banners are by no means new to the craft world, but they are new to me!  I thought I would share the banners that were made for the party this past week and how I put my version of this classic party decor together. I made two different banners.  One that followed the hungry caterpillar theme to display her month pictures.  For the other I wanted to make something a little more nostalgic that can be used year after year.  First, the hungry caterpillar bunting.  (sorry for the SUPER crummy picture!)

I made two different banners out of the supplies I had below. I used the butterfly and the fabric to make a banner that draped in front of her cake.  I used everything but the butterfly to make a monthly banner to display all those month pictures we have been taking. (sniff, sniff, only one more month picture left!)

To begin I took all of the dot scrap fabric that I had left over from her dress.  There was a ton of pieces that were all short and I needed to create one long, thin piece.  To do this I used my homemade quilt binding skills.  This is the same technique that I use to create binding for quilts.  I lay one piece facing up and another piece perpendicular facing down and sew horizontally.  When unfolded and pressed it will create a discreet connection between the two fabrics.

Once I had all the pieces sewn together to form one very long strand of fabric, I attached them to a piece of rope.  To attach the fabric to the rope I wrapped the fabric around the rope and then sewed right down the middle, permanently attaching all pieces together.

I then sewed on fabric triangles and attached her pictures with  miniature clothes pins.  This project took roughly one hour to complete and I think it displayed her pictures in a fun way!

The banner that I made for the front porch is one that I hope to have at Charlotte's birthday year after year.  This year it was hanging on our front porch, in future years it might take up residence in many different spots.  I enjoyed making this project.  The level of sewing needed is very minimal.  You only have to be able to sew a straight line.  This was more of a fun cutting project.  This is how I made it.

The supplies you need for this project include: scissors, two thick fabrics (I used outdoor fabric) and of course, my best friend, heat n' bond.

Trace all the triangles you will need (letters and spaces) onto the top fabric that has been covered with the heat n' bond.

Cut out all of the triangles and trace each needed letter backwards onto the triangles.

Cut out the letter, remove the paper backing of the heat n' bond and then pin to the solid color backing.  Next, sew all the fronts to the backs.

To create the long strand I attached all the letters. I used the same binding technique that I referred to previously.

I hope to use this banner for many years to come!  Isn't that one of the benefits of crafting- making family heirlooms that will be cherished for years to come! Hope you are enjoying our craft round up.  Tomorrow we are pushing the pause button on the crafting to celebrate our little girls true first birthday.  We have a fun and relaxing day planned.  I am sure the camera will be in tow and if we still have any energy left at the end of the day we may post some pics of our fabulous spring day!

-melissa

a very hungry craft round up...part 1

As soon as I knew C's theme for her first birthday party, fabric, patterns and textiles went flying around in my head.  When I think of most holidays, I think of what type of fabric I could use.  I think most sewers have that chronic condition, you may too! Of course pinterst inspired me in many ways.  Jay and I both had shirts that I saw straight from pinterest and the party girl's dress was inspired from a dress I saw on pinterest.  Both outfits were a cinch to make, here is what I did and some pics of the final projects. First our "congrats we made it one year" shirts.  All you need is two cotton tshirts, your desired logo printed on iron on transfer paper, plain white cotton fabric, heat n' bond lite, and letters with the font you like best (remember a chunky font will work best).  You will notice that the font that is shown here was not the font that I ended up using.  I noticed that I was not happy with how small the letters were with the lowered case letter and I simply changed the font and it helped with the final look.

First, iron the heat n' bond to the back of the white fabric, then iron on the logo to the other side of the fabric.  On the heat n' bonded side trace your letters upside down onto the fabric, cut out, sew around edges onto the shirt and you have yourself a personalized theme party shirt!  Much needed for two doting parents!

Next, on to the party girl's dress!  I used this McCalls pattern that I got from a closing JoAnns for 99 cents!  I spliced together several different dresses.  My requirements were a fitted bodice (dress d) with cap sleeves (dress e) and a full bodied skirt that I could add accent to (dress d).

I bought solid white kona cotton and a panel of the very hungry caterpillar fabric for the outside of the dress.  I used this fabric for the bottom portion of the dress, the two ties in the back and I attached the caterpillar to the dress the same way I do my fabric letters.

Tomorrow, a very hungry craft round up...food and cake!

-melissa

welcome spring

Nothing says spring like windows open, birds chirping, the warm sun, green grass and of course a little girl with a daffodil in overalls.  Now, you can really tell that Jay was out of town yesterday for a couple of reasons: I opened a couple windows early in the morning and did not think to close them until I heard the heater kick on last night.

And the most evident. C wore overalls all day long.  I think they are cute, especially with the bare feat.  Add the flower and bam you got a spring day that Dad is not home!

We have been busy around here preparing for Spring.  All of the snowmen have officially been packed up, I have no more wanting of snow, so bring on the warm weather. Obviously I had to replace some decorative items in the family room, so of course I had to hit up Ben Franklin and Michaels.  I made two wreaths, two frames and redecorated the mantle for just pennies.  Here are our new additions...

First I dug out some of the gazillion coffee filters that I have in my pantry, soaked them in yellow food coloring and water, dried them out, (that was the hardest part) glued them to a wreath form and I have one wreath that makes me very happy.   A more plain and classic version (if coffee filters can really be classic) has  been floating around blog land and pinterest and I have been wanting to try one for a while.  I am not really sure what Jay thinks of it......it is brighter than we usually decorate with, but it just reminds me of those crazy daffodils that are everywhere!

Next I painted some beans a robin's egg blue color to fill some vases.  Michael's has little tiny cans of spray paint that I never knew about...so much more cost efficient than buying a huge can.

Upon rooting around Michael's I found some moss that is attached to a clear mesh paper.  I love moss and with the coupon that they always have, it was pretty inexpensive. I got two 99 cent frames and now I have two very springy picture frames, that really add some much needed color on the mantel.

Overall, I am happy with how everything on the mantel turned out.  It is something new and fresh to our house, just like spring!

As for the wreath on the front door...not totally thrilled.  I am still kinda stuck on those cute little rosettes that I made with the sexy wreath in the winter, so I wanted to try a different more woodsy version.  It just doesn't do it for me.  I am not redoing it, I do not have time, I have a very important birthday party coming up in less than a week.  I think I do have time to rip off the flower cluster at the top left, those ones really bug me for some reason.  Oh well, you have some sexy times and some dud times..life lesson!

Hope you are getting to enjoy what spring we have had so far...it is such a refreshing season!  As for me and Charlotte we might go try to plant, or dig or fertilize something with her in her overalls!

-melissa

planners who love planning

Jay and I are big planners.  Even when we were kids we had a plan for everything.  I am not sure if Jay was a planner before me, but if he wasn't, I sure made him one!  Many people I know are not as planning happy as Jay and myself, but still love a good plan.  Today you will get to see two planners that I have been pouring over daily the last couple of weeks. First up the planner/organizer I made for our dinner schedules.  This planner is an Ikea chalkboard that my mom painted green for me many years ago and recently got a new purpose in life. The days of the week magnets are super easy to make.  All you need to do is print out the letters that you want in your favorite font and cut them out to create a stencil.  Next, glue different colored fabrics to magnetic paper, I actually decoupaged the letters because I had tons of it left from Christmas Crafting.  Trace the letters onto the fabric and cut out!  Super easy!  I also did this technique when I made a letter board for my nephew for Christmas.  We use this planner weekly.  I like it because it is not as obtrusive and tacky as some that have been floating around the internet.  I just needed something that was simple and pleasing to the eye!

The second planner that I have been devoting so much time to is a planner that Jay made for me a while ago.  It is a party planner to help me prepare for C's big one year bash that is coming up.  It seemed that I had all these ideas floating around in my head.  If I did not get them down I would forget and I hate having ideas scattered on several pieces of paper.  So I sketched something up, everything I needed to plan a party: theme, invitations, guest list, menu, decorations, activities, cake, tabletop and what to wear.  Many people may not put this much thought into a party, but I know a whole lot of people do!  So, my particular copy looks like it has been around for a while and I do not want to give away any of the great things I am cooking up just yet for her party, so here is a free download for you! Hope you enjoy planning!

-melissa