Sponge Water Bombs

 I am going to have to start a whole new section of my blog called Saw it on Pinterest! I'm sure I'm with almost all of you that I have become seriously hooked on it. The ideas coming off there crazy awesome. So from now on there is going to be a mix of my own creative ideas, some that are inspired by others but I add my own twist to and then ones like this that are too awesome to not just plain copy.

This idea originally came from House of Hepworths. I remembered seeing it on Pinterest and made these up and did the picture for them, THEN I looked back to her blog and saw that she called them the exact same thing. Oops- I really wasn't trying to copy that far but I'm not sure what else you would call them. So, in the end, thank you House of Hepworths for creating this summer fun- it really is a great replacement to water balloons which can be a pain to fill and clean up.

I purchased two packages of large sponges, cut them into 3/4 inch strips (you could use scissors but the cutting mat is faster if you have one), lined up six strips with two layers of three and the tied fishing line super tight around the middle.

You seriously don't even need to be a "crafter" to make these- I whipped them up one morning before a play date. The kids even had fun helping me group the colored strips together!

Happy sponge bomb making!

Flower Applique Shirt Tutorial

This whole thing started off with these adorable jeans from Gap. I own two pairs for my daughter and needed something cute to go with them. My inspiration for the large applique was from mini Boden- I love their style- simple & cute. They regularly put a large applique off to the side of a shirt or dress like THIS and it so nicely adds to the garment without it becoming the center of attention. I added more stitching than they do but that was only in attempt to have the shirt more closely match that on the jeans.

Before I show you how to applique, let me show off a few pics of my daughter in the shirt:

          

She's been watching me work on this for a bit and was super excited when I told her that she could finally wear it! And if you're wondering about the last picture- yes, she is part monkey!

OK- so appliqueing can be super easy! Let me show you how:

Start by creating the design. I am not an artist so I try to find something the right size to help me. In this case it was a hamburger piece from a Melissa & Doug build-a-sandwich set. It took me moving the circles a few times and erasing the old before I got it how I wanted it but this was
the final shape. It's not perfectly in shape but that's OK-  it gives it a little character!

Next, place your pattern on the smooth, paper side of the wonder under. Then cut the shape out of the wonder under paper.

**If you are doing a doing a design that needs to be a certain direction, make sure that it is backwards when you trace it on the wonder under!

Place the rough side of the wonder under down on your applique fabric and iron, following the instructions on the wonder under which says to iron each section for 10 seconds. If you do not use the applique right away, I find that the paper peels off easier if you run the iron over it again just to warm it up.

This is the backside of the appliques. You can see here that I left a small margin of fabric around the wonder under- since this is knit and it won't fray, I wanted to have a tiny loose edge to give it more dimension.

Simply peel off the paper from the wonder under, place fabric side up on your project (so wonder under side down) and iron in place. Just to point out the obvious- in this case, iron down the white flower first and then the pink circle.

 This is a good place to mention that this is NOT the steps that you would take if using cotton to applique- you would trace the shape onto the wonder under, cut a larger square with the shape in the middle, iron it onto your fabric and THEN cut out the shape and proceed to iron it onto your project.

So here's the shirt with the flower ironed on. Honestly, if you wanted to stop here you could- it's stuck down for good!

I decided to go on and embellish some though:

This is what you use to do the embroidery. It is a special "thread" called floss. The most commonly found at craft stores is a brand called DMC. It is the same "thread" that is used for cross stitch (which I used to LOVE doing- still do actually but now I don't have that much time.) You can pull the strand apart into six pieces- for this project I used three at a time- so three "threads" in one needle.

From here on out it is just your own create expression on what you want to sew for decoration. It can be a super simple project if you just do the running stitch around the outside of each shape. Actually, I almost stopped there but again, I wanted to make the shirt match the jeans a little more so I did more in the middle.

That's it! Pretty simple, huh? Just think- you don't even have to know how to sew to be able to applique on clothing! You can use this same technique spice up canvas shopping bags, baby onsies, decorative pillows and on and on. From here on out, the sky's the limit!

Happy Appliqueing!

Burp Cloths

For my sister-in-law's shower I made this stack of super simple, super cute burp cloths! Everyone who is having a baby can use burp cloths and lots of them!

To begin, I purchased 1/3 yard of two coordinating flannels. I won't tell you that I made each burp cloth to be a certain dimension because I simply washed both fabrics, ironed them, layed them on top of each other and cut as large of a rectangle as I could get out of the two pieces.

I realize that this means that not all the burp cloths will be exactly the same size but my sister-in-law and I agreed that it didn't really matter since they would all be close enough and we didn't want to have to have all of them be only be as large as the smallest piece that I had (you know that they never measure each piece to be exact at the store nor do they wash up the same.)

Next, I placed an appropriate sized glass in each corner and traced a curve in each corner.

I tend to be a lazy sewer and avoid using pins whenever possible. I found that two pins on each long side and one on each end (so, six total) was sufficient to hold the two layers in place. Sew around the entire piece, leaving about 2-3 inches open on one end. Cut around each corner with pinking shears, turn right side out, iron flat and sew around the entire edge making sure to carefully sew the opening closed. Personally, I used a walking foot on this last step and I feel that it helps you get a more even, less wavy finish. Iron the finished burp cloth and that's it!

These burp cloths are a great way to use up extra flannel, they are super fast & easy and make a great go-to baby gift! Check out some other ideas for mixing different types of fabric with the same technique to create a whole variety!

Happy Sewing!

Amy

Baby Changing Pad Tutorial

OK- so this isn't  a baby but my daughter was kind enough to try it out for size before I give it to my sister-in-law for her baby shower!

This is a pretty simple project. Start by deciding what size you would like the changing pad to be and then add 1 1/2 inches (for the seams and you lose a little when quilting.) Cut equal size pieces fabric for the outside, inside & batting. I cut mine to 18x25.

Next, the strap:

 Cut a piece out the same fabric that you are using as the outside of the changing pad to be 4x13 inches. Fold the fabric in half and iron a stiff crease, then fold each side in half one more time and iron again. Make sure to be careful that the outside egdes match up nicely.

Fold over one of the ends about 1/4 inch and iron. Fold the strap back together & iron again.

Stitch a line along the entire edge of the strap. Next, sew on your two pieces of velcro. I sewed the "rough" side on the finished end. Then the other piece gets sewn on the OPPISITE SIDE of the strap about 1 1/2 inches from the raw end.

Then comes the quilting! I have to say that this was the most time consuming step but is super easy. First bast together the batting and the fabric you wish to be the inside of the changing pad by sewing a line around the whole edge at 1/4 inch seam. Then draw your lines with a fadeout marker on the fabric. I drew mine 2 inches apart and perpendicular to each other starting at a 45 degree angle from the corner. Sew all the lines.

Assemble the changing pad by facing the two right sides together. Insert the strap by placing between the two pieces, exactly in the middle of the long side, making sure that the raw edge lines up with the edge of the pad AND the velcro piece closest to the raw edge is FACING THE QUILTED PIECE. Sew the changing pad with a 1/2 inch seam, leaving a 6 inch opening on one end and being careful to never cross the stitch line from when you basted the quilted pieces together. Trim the edge to 1/4 inch EXCEPT where you left the opening. Turn right side out, pin the opening and sew a finishing line around the outer edge.

To roll up the pad, fold in thirds toward the middle and roll towards the strap!

This is what it will look like when it's all rolled up:

Matching changing pads! One for my daughter's dolly & one for my sister-in-law! One last thing is that since my daughter's doll pad is smaller, I sewed the strap so that it only fold in half rather than thirds.

Happy Sewing!

Amy

Pacifier Clips Mini Tutorial

These pacifier clips are a great addition to an baby gift. This is a fast, simple gift to whip out if you need just a little something more to give or if you like them sooo much that you just have to have one, two or ten:) for your own munchkin. Just in case you like these but never dust off your sewing machine, you can find these paci clips HERE at my site.

Here you can see how the reversible ribbon looks, it's the exact pattern on the back with opposite colors:

All you need is about 10 inches of 1-inch wide reversible jacquard ribbon (you can use other 1-inch ribbon if you like but jacquard is heavier and reversible so it just works better), 1/2 inch of velcro & a mitten clip. I have a small business where I sell some of my handmade items so I have a source for smooth, round top mitten but if you are just making a couple they sell these at Joann Fabric's:

At one end of the ribbon, fold over about 1/4 inch and iron down, fold over 1/4 inch again, iron and stitch down one piece of velcro making sure to overlap the fold. Sew the second piece of velcro about 2 inches away from the first piece. On the other end, fold over the ribbon about 1/4 inch, iron down, then fold over about 1/2 inch and iron down. Place the mitten clip under this fold and stitch a straight line across to secure all the layers of ribbon.

Folks, that's it! You're done!

OK, off to finish the next item on my sister-in-law's baby shower!

Amy

Apple Stamping Tutorial

I while ago I was thinking about what project I wanted the kiddos to do for our Harvestfest and I remembered coming across a picture of someone using an apple as a stamp and decided that's what they would do. I recently looked up apple stamping figuring that you can find anything online and came across another picture of an apple tree on Family Fun online (I love their magazine for ideas too!)

Start by pre-washing all items that you want to stamp (do not use fabric softener.) Next, cut a piece of cardboard to put inside the garments so the paint won't bleed through the other side. Try to make the cardboard large enough to fill most of the shirt so you have plenty of work space, especially if you are doing this project with young children.

You will need to purchase special fabric paint for this. I'm pretty sure they sell it at all craft stores.


I used a small, cheap brush to paint a trunk and some branches on each item. If you have older children, they can do this step themselves but I figured that my 2 & 4 year olds wouldn't do so well with this step. Let the shirt dry either by air if you have time or use a hairdryer.

Cut an apple in half, trying to get a nice apple seed design. I also cut some small wedges out of the back of the apple to give small fingers a place to hold onto (sorry the picture isn't very clear once I cropped it.)Place a good amount of green fabric paint on a paper plate and dip the apple half and simply stamp it on the shirt. It helps to hold it in place and push down for a few seconds to give the fabric paint a chance to soak in.

Remember to have everyone involved wear old clothing and art smocks since you are working with fabric paint!

My daughter's work in progress...

My son's work in progress...

My work in progress... I purposefully left "holes" in the tree to leave spots to stamp the red apples. My kids obviously did not do that and theirs turned out fine.

 I didn't photograph the last step but when the green paint is dry, go back and fill in the tree with the red apples! When stamping the red apples I used the half of the apple which had the stem and tried to get some of it on the shirt when I stamped.

The Finished Projects:

This is just one of those plain canvas shopping bags that I painted.

This is going to be a gift for someone special (no, it's not for me!) I plan to make a pair of matching knit pants to go with it. What is more comfy for a newborn than a onesie and pants? Maybe being naked but this little one will be born when it's still cool so it will have to wear something!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have fun with your own apple stamping!

Amy