Yay Homemade!

A few days ago, Janey picked out and put on this outfit all by herself:

And guess what? I made all of the clothing you can see on her. I'm so proud! :) I wouldn't necessarily have paired them together, but still. Pretty darn cute. The model helps though, for sure.

I made the baby legs a long time ago--like 1.5 years ago... and they're still going strong. The skirt is made from pre-ruffled fabric (there's a store just a few minutes from my house that sells it for $5 a yard!! I need to go back there), and is a super simple elastic waist skirt. I didn't even hem the bottom, thanks to the ruffles hiding the edge (which is some sort of knit that doesn't fray... hallelujah!). Love that stuff.

I haven't shown the shirt here before, but I thought it deserved a mention too.

I made this shirt a few weekends ago. I've been lucky enough to be a pattern tester for Shwin and Shwin lately, and I LOVE it. This is Shauna's basic bodice, which hopefully she'll release at some point, because it's great. I've also used it for cutting out both Breanne and Janey's costumes, with some modifications. I love having a good solid place to start for clothing--it definitely has helped me figure out how to make the stuff I sew look more decent. Now if I could just take decent pictures... one thing at a time though, right?

Halloween Bag Mini-Tutorial

So... I was planning on making another trick-or-treating bag so I could show you all how I made them. Turns out, though--I don't feel like making yet another bag. I did have Cory take pictures along the way while I was making a Frankenstein bag for a friend, but I actually made it exactly the same way Jill did here. Which is different from how I made the original bags, so I'm going to just show you the basics of how I made them. They're very, very simple bags, and are actually quite similar to the messenger bags I made a few months ago, so if you have any questions about the actual construction of the bag, you can just look there. Or leave comments or email me or whatever. I'm flexible like that. Just let me know.

And now, a mini-tutorial of sorts.

So this is what we're going for:

A cute little ghosty bag. Yay!

To start, you're going to cut out your pieces. You'll need two ghost shaped pieces, and enough strips of white to go all the way around the edges, and to make a strap the length you want it to come out. Then you'll also need your face pieces--eyes and a mouth for each side on this guy. If you plan to reverse-applique them, like I did, you'll need to make each piece a little bigger than you want it to appear when complete.

Once you have all your pieces cut out, you'll start by sewing the face pieces onto the back side of your ghost faces. When you're finished they should look something like this (keep in mind this is the backside of the ghost):


After the face is all sewn on, it's time to start assembling the bag. Take your strips of white fabric, and cut them to the lengths of the sides of the ghost--one to match the bottom edge, and one for each side, ending up high enough that there's a good-size opening to the bag. Then, like the backpack tutorial, sew them together into one long strip (don't sew the handles on yet though), and then sew them onto the bag. As fleece is very stretchy and shifty, I would highly recommend pinning a LOT, and start with the bottom, as it is the most crucial part to match up--the sides can be trimmed down if they stretch, but the bottom needs to match up fairly well too look nice. Ask me how I know. :) When it's sewed on, it should look something like this:

Next you're going to attach the strap--I'd recommend doubling up the fleece, and topstitching down each side (not shown on this bag) to give it more strength--the fleece, like I said, is just too stretchy--if you get a couple pounds of candy in there, it's going to drag it down. Strength is good with kids. :)

Turn the bag right side out, and cut out the white over your face features. Just pinch the two layers apart, then cut very carefully into it, and trim the excess away, revealing the black underneath. Feel free to play around with how you trim them out--for this side, you can see that I cut basically up to the stitch line.

On this side, however... oh wait, you can't see it. Dang cat. Does anyone else's cat seem to like hanging out in the most inconvenient area? Haha.

No seriously. I couldn't leave this photo out though, haha. The ghost is terrified of the cat! Ahhh!

Ok, enough with my lousy humor (though I am very funny. Seriously, guys. I am). On this side, I didn't trim the eyes all the way out--I trimmed out my initial cut to make the hole, and realized that I was in love with the scared ghost look.

So I left it.

And there you have it. One cute little ghost bag. Yay! If you're doing the pumpkin, you don't have to worry about the bottom of the bag, so it's even easier--just sew one long strip all the way around, stopping where you want to the top of the bag to be. The only tricky thing is making sure the two faces of the pumpkins stay matched up--so don't stretch it at all as you go. And then add the handle in green. Keep 'em lined up. And then, enjoy watching your kids fill those new bags with goodies.... that hey, you can sneak later, right? :)

Diaper Changing Pad Tutorial

So about a year ago, I made myself what is possibly the mostly useful thing I've had for a baby (besides the basics).


A diaper changing pad. So simple, so useful. I made it when Cailin was like 9 months old, and honestly, I thought it was sort of silly to be making it so late in her infancy, after the blow-outs were supposed to have stopped, but I tell you what--I use this thing almost every day of the week even still. It's that great. :)

The best part about it is that instead of using iron on vinyl, or trying to find a cute sewable vinyl, you just use a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth. Super cute patterns available (my fish one is from Target for $5, the purple one below is from Walmart for $4), and you get a TON of fabric for that price. So you can make a whole slew of them and give them to every baby you know. When I was invited to a baby shower this last weekend, I decided to make one for the coming baby, and along the way, I had Cory take pictures so I could put together a brief tutorial for you. I hope you find it as useful as I have. Enjoy!

To make a changing pad out of a vinyl tablecloth, you'll need the following:
Vinyl Tablecloth
Coordinating fabric (approximately 16"x24" piece, or whatever dimensions you want your pad to be)
Small piece of velcro (I used a piece maybe 1.5" long)
Usual sewing supplies (machine, thread, scissors, etc)

All seam allowances will be 1/4".

To start out, you're going to cut out your fabric and vinyl tablecloth to the size you'd like your pad, plus 1/2" added to each measurement to account for seam allowances. So for my pad, I cut it to be 16.5"x24.5". Then you're going to round the corners (I traced around the edge of a plate).

Sew the two rectangles, right sides together, and leave yourself a gap to turn it right side out. I would tell you to pin them first, as the two fabrics will slip around a bit and not stay quite even, but something to keep in mind when working with vinyl--any pins you put in will leave marks that you can't undo. The pinholes will not heal back up like they will with normal fabric. So only use pins where they'll eventually be covered up by seams. (PS please ignore my crazy messy sewing desk--it was a ridiculously busy week, the end of which was crammed full of sewing random projects that still haven't gotten cleaned up. Sorry.)

Turn the pad right side out through the gap you left, and top stitch around the edge of the whole thing. Once again, you can't pin, and you also can't iron (it'll melt the vinyl), so just pinch the edges together tightly to crease the fabric where your gap is, and sew it slowly so it doesn't slide around and get all wonky.

Yay, you've got a basic changing pad! Next, you're going to fold it up to create creases where you'll eventually like to fold it. I do this by folding in the sides so it ends up a width I like (around 3-4 inches per side), then it in half (hamburger style), then unfold it, and fold the ends in to meet the middle and crease it again. Since that last sentence probably made zero sense, the blue lines in the next pic show (approximately) where my creases are:

Make more sense? I hope so. You can mark the creases more obviously, or just make sure you can see them ok to sew along them.

Then simply sew on your creases. This enables you to fold it up easier.

Don't worry if the vinyl stretches a little bit and doesn't match up quite right--somehow it all works out enough in the end that you won't notice it once the pad is complete. Or at least I don't. Just try your hardest to keep it straight and stretched together.

Once your lines are all sewn, fold it up along those lines (sides in first, then basically roll it up), and get ready to place your velcro.

Once again, no pinning where you don't want it to show up. :) Just hold your velcro in place, and either mark it (I marked it with a pencil on either side), or memorize your spot (if you have a pattern that makes that simple). Sew it on, and...

Voila!! You are done!
Admire that beauty, and enjoy having a nice clean place to put your stinky baby on to change them. I love it because once I'm done changing even the worst of diapers (and let's be honest, entire outfits), I can just wipe it down with a wipe, or if it's really bad, I can toss it in the washer. It does fade the tablecloth a bit every time I put it in the wash though, just a warning. And do not put it in the dryer. I haven't done it yet, but I can only imagine the damage. It easily fits in your bag, and can even be folded up smaller, if you want. Yes, yes, if you have to change crappy blowouts (haha, pun totally intended), this is a pretty decent way to do it.

(In case you noticed and are wondering, I sewed one of the extra fish from my original tablecloth onto the outside of the velcro for a little added decoration. Not hard, and made it just that much cuter).

KCWC Fall 2011

Guess what guys? I was so excited to sew for KCWC again this week. I had all these great plans for dresses for Breanne, leggings for everyone, and most importantly, costumes.

You caught the past tense back there, right? Yeah, my sewing machine has been acting up for the last month or so, randomly skipping stitches, but still working *enough* to get through every project. Well. Not anymore. On Saturday, I was trying to finish up a last minute Jessica Bunny (not Rabbit, but pretty much the same) costume for a murder mystery dinner party (so fun!), when my machine decided it was done just skipping a few stitches here and there, and decided to just skip whole rows of stitching. I have no idea why it was doing it. I'd cleaned it, and kept it oiled, and everything.

So sadly to report, my sewing machine has been in the shop since Saturday. I think (hope?) it'll be good to go in the morning, but I haven't heard anything from the shop yet to confirm that. :( When I talked to the repair man, he talked fondly about my little machine, so I know it's being well taken care of, at least.

Anyway, as soon as I'm up and running, you can expect to start seeing some projects. There are some girls who are just getting too dang tall for their dresses around here. Leggings and longer dresses are most definitely in order. And there are some serious demands for costumes going on.

Poor baby.

Trick-Or-Treat Bags

So I was recently commissioned to make some trick-or-treat bags for our upcoming Super Saturday (where the women in our church get together on a saturday to create all kinds of fun craftiness). These are not fantastic, but they're what I came up with:


You can expect a tutorial soon, as I'll be making instruction pages for the women who will be taking the supplies home to make them there. A very few details about the bags--they're made of fleece (which allows for unfinished edges without unravelling)(I'm still debating the necessity of lining them with something slightly less stretchy, but at least fleece will stretch, and then return back to regular shape, unlike felt), and the little details I sewed on for faces are all reverse-appliqued. Way easier than it sounds.

Anyone wanna make some trick-or-treat bags? When I was a kid, we just used pillowcases... everything's so fancy these days! :)

My Heart is So Happy

If you've been around my blog for a while, you might remember this post. I was pretty heart broken when we woke up to the news that the Provo Tabernacle was burning down, just a few blocks from our home. The tabernacle was in our ward boundaries--we'd attended events and stake conference there, and also had worked on the grounds. It was a special building to us, and despite its old style quirks, we loved it. Every time I drove past it after the fire, then just an empty shell of what it once was, it made me sad inside.

Well, not anymore! It was announced this morning that not only will the exterior be restored, but it will be turned into a temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can see a rendering of what it might look like here. So beautiful, and such a wonderful transformation for the building it once was.

I can't even tell you how much this has touched my heart. Cory's been laughing at me all morning because I'm all teary about this, when I am not normally a cryer. It's just been proof to me, once again, of our Heavenly Father's love for us. The people in our Provo neighborhood will be so blessed by the temple being there, and I couldn't be happier for them. The only sadness I'm feeling is that we won't be there, to walk to the temple (instead of the hour-ish commute we have now). That building, which has been used for so many years to preach the word, will now become even more sacred. What a special, special thing.

Call me corny if you must, but I just keep thinking--They're turning a tragedy into a temple! My heart is so, so happy right now.

My New Bag

So I've been using the same bag since my birthday in 2008, and finally this summer, I decided to make myself a new one. After hemming and hawing over fabrics and styles for a few months, I found some fabric I loved, and just decided to go for an image I had in my mind. I'm sure there are a million bags like it out there in the world that probably influenced my thinking, but this one came purely out of my own head, my own measurements based on what I wanted the bag to hold, and my own way of assembling it. I really, really love how it came out.

The piping detail

the interior fabric is kind of what prompted the whole thing--it's a dusty coralish color, and I LOVE it in real life. Pretty here in a picture, but 10 times better in real life.

During the process, there were several moments when I questioned myself (most especially when I was trying to turn the straps, made of 3 pieces of corduroy for durability, plus the piping on the edges, which was where the real trouble was...), but seriously, now that it's done, I just love this bag. When I make this style of bag again (notice the when, not if...) I'll put a pocket inside, but in the meantime, I'm just enjoying the simple beauty of this bag.



I made this bag back in July at a RS craft night, but I'm finally posting about it now because I've decided, last minute, to enter it into the Purse Week competition over at A Lemon Squeezy Home. I don't expect to win, but I do love my bag, so I'm happy to show it off a little bit. :) Wish me luck!

PS. I'm also linking up to AmyLouWho's Sew and Tell for fun. I'm so glad she's back!

What's That? with Cailin

This video may start out a little bit slow, but around 30 seconds it gets super awesome. I recommend you watch it.

Meanderings

I'm sorry it's been a while, guys. Things have been just a bit crazy over here, with two big humanitarian aid events finally finishing up the last few weeks (that's what I'm doing for my calling these days, and I love it, but it's definitely kept me busy), as well as regular life with school drop-offs and pick-ups, playing, birthday-ing, and all manner of other stuff. It's been a really great couple of weeks, but super busy. I am grateful for the next week, in which I only have a few scheduled engagements. I'm just so tired! And no, I'm not pregnant. Just the regular bone-tired.

All this tiredness had me thinking today. Yesterday was the General Relief Society Broadcast for our church, and I loved all the talks that were given--several moments I was sure they were written just for me. But, oddly, more than that, I found myself thinking back to the last broadcast. I don't remember much of what was said, but I do remember going out for ice cream with some really dear friends after it was done. We had a great time, and I remember thinking on that day just how lucky I was to have such wonderful people in my life.

I think our move was so sudden that I hardly had time to mourn the friends and place that I was leaving. I try not to think about it too often while I'm here, too, because I don't want to dwell on sadness. It turns out--I love this place we're in, and I love the people here, too. I remember wondering, as I left Provo, how could I ever find another Amanda, Georgia, Holly, Lesley, Cindy, Michelle, Laura, Linda... all these names, and so many more. We truly loved the people we were with. And don't even get me started on the primary kids. How was I ever going to live without them all, seeing them every week?

I somehow realized yesterday that I am never going to find another of any of them. And I know that you can never really go home again. But at the same time, I love now knowing Kimberly, Tess, Tracy, Nancy, Ela, Britney, and a whole host of new names, and I can't imagine my life being complete without knowing them, too. And all I'm left thinking is how difficult it is sometimes to move on. We have all this wonderful technology that keeps us all connected, but it's so hard sometimes to still be connected--it's a very real reminder of what we're missing, no matter how happy we are in our new spot in life. I feel so torn--betraying those I left by being happy here, betraying those who are here by missing those back in previous stages of life.

Maybe I'm just too tired tonight to be thinking about such deep stuff. But mostly, I just want all my friends, from all the stages of my life, to know how much I love and appreciate them, and what we've had, whether currently, or in the past. I was changed by each of you, and I am so thankful for it. I can't imagine my life without you having been a part of it. Thanks for continuing to love me, too.

Poxed Again

So Janey started preschool last tuesday... but the sunday before that, I noticed a small rash on her side. I figured it was just something she'd rubbed up against while working in the yard with Cory, and didn't give it much (enough?) thought. When it hadn't gone away by Weds, though, I started to worry, so I talked to a nurse friend we've made here. I sent her a picture, and almost immediately she told me she thought it was shingles.


So we finally called the pediatrician I've been planning on taking the girls to at some unspecified point, and she confirmed my friend's diagnosis.

What the crap? Shingles? Seriously? On my 3 and a half year old? I thought shingles was a stress-related illness?

Well, it is. Apparently when you have chickenpox, it stays in your system (that's why you never get it again), and attaches itself to a nerve. Whenever your body is stressed, if it affects that particular nerve, it can result in shingles showing up. That's why it's always just on one side of the body, usually in a sort of stripe from the front to the back. Shingles, itself, is not contagious--it's something your body does to itself. If, however, someone with shingles comes into contact with someone who hasn't had chicken pox or the chicken pox vaccine, they can pass on chicken pox (but only through fairly direct contact with the sores). So even though we were out and about for 3 days before we figured out what Janey has, the chances of her having passed it onto someone is pretty slim, since she mostly keeps to herself, and the majority of kids she hangs out with are vaccinated. Still, ugh.

Anyway, so if you'll recall, a little over a year ago, in July, Cailin got hit hard with the chicken pox. Shortly thereafter, Janey also came down with it, even though she'd already had her first chicken pox vaccination. Her case was extremely mild, only resulting in a handful of sores that healed in a few days. I thought we'd seen the last of the virus in our house.


(You can see Janey's original chicken pox on her face here--just a couple, very mild bumps).

Well, apparently, something is super stressful for Janey right now (preschool? hair cut? seriously? she's 3.5!), and it brought it on. She seems to feel fine, though perhaps slightly more tired than usual, but I feel terrible for her--I wish I knew what was so upsetting to her body that it reacted this way. Anyway, we're almost done with it--like the chicken pox, we're just waiting for scabs (my favorite kind of thing to wait for, haha), and I think we're getting close.


Mostly, I just hope this isn't a sign of things to come--I want my healthy girl back!