A Messenger Bag for a Reverse Walker

So my oldest boy uses a reverse walker, he had a nasty bag zip tied to it from the school P.T.(physical therapist). It was ugly,could hold all his stuff, so all it did was lighten his back pack but he still had to use one. I decided to make him one. Since I'm not clever enough to actually design a pattern I used See and Sew B4583 and left off the strap. instead I did 3 straps that button, those I did come up with on my own.

inside

I am super happy with it and now he doesn't have to carry a heavy backpack!

Harry Potter Wands

ok so I took regular copy paper and rolled it up, adding glue to the end to hold it. The skinnier it is the more sturdy in the end.

Start by filling with hot glue, make sure you have plenty of refil sticks on hand. I did the skinnier end first let that set then flipped it over and filled the rest. It helped to tap it to get the glue to move father down. Be patient this will take a while.

I set mine in a cup to let it settle and dry.

Next add swirls of hot glue to the outside in whatever way you wish!This will create the look of vines.

next begin painting with acrilic paint, I did brown first you could do black first.

Add your second color. lighly and add some  texture I did a third color even lighter, on one I did red, another blue and my daughters has a sparkly purple.



this is the one with the red.



next I took rub and buff, in silver and added that to the hot glue vines.This is liquid silver leafing. I used my finger and rubbed it on.

Then I spray sealed them, you could modge podge it with a brush.

and here they are drying.

look at those practicing wizards!

Later He made me draw a scar on his forehead!

I saw this on another blog, but have no idea where! I loved this project, very cheap and easy with awesome results! Who knew you you could make such an awesome thing with copy paper and hot glue!

Painted Pirate Map

A real treasure map for the little pirate at our house.

I started by drawing a design on paper- nothing fancy, just four pieces of copy paper taped together. I started with pencil, then traced with a marker so it would show through for the next part.

Then I put a square of white cotton fabric on top. Again nothing fancy, just a discounted scrap I found in the remnants bin at the craft store. I used a pencil to trace the lines onto the fabric.

I thought maybe the fabric was a little too white, so I dyed it using tea. I normally don't drink tea, so I just snagged a few bags from the breakfast bar of our hotel one weekend. I put a few cups of water in a pan, brought it to a boil, then added the wadded up fabric and the tea bags and left it there overnight. The next morning I had a nice dirty map!

Then I painted with some acrylics using a sponge brush, q-tip, and waded paper towel depending on the texture I wanted.

After the paint dried, I used permanent markers to draw in the details or add color where needed. By this time I had lost my original drawing, but I think I remembered enough of the cool stuff to make it work! 

To make a fun gift, I packaged this rolled up in a treasure chest with a lock and key, a bandana, and a play spyglass for some ready-made pirate fun!

Pajama Jam

When I was growing up my  mom sewed a lot of our clothes. I could pretty much count on a new spring dress and a pair of new pajamas every year. Although I am not nearly as proficient with the sewing machine as she was, I have tried to continue that tradition with my own kids.
My theme for the handmade Christmas gifts I making this year is "stuff I've already got in the stash." What is the fancy name for that? Upcycled? Thrifty? I am good with "free."
Anyway, I pulled out all my flannel scraps and played with the patterns until I had a few prints I could make each child a pair of pajama pants with. I used my trusty simplicity pattern for the two big kids pants, and just traced a pair of pj pants that I knew already fit for my toddler.
I only made pants, because we live in the south, where fleecy, long sleeved, flannel pjs would only get used about three times all year. We do better with bare feet, t-shirt tops, and pants that can be cropped into shorts as soon as summer hits. So these pants were destined to be topped with a comfy t-shirt. I couldn't make myself wrap up a package of plain white tees to put under the tree, so I decided to spruce them up a little.
I tried my hand at reverse applique. It turned out OK, but I was unprepared with how hard it is to sew all those tiny curves and details with my plain straight line sewing machine with no quilting attachments. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, and I was pretty much done with sewing for about two weeks afterward. It took a while for me to gain my confidence back. After all that though, here are the results and tiny tutorial for you.

1. Grab a package of plain t-shirts, or use a few you already have. Wash and dry and iron (I never iron, but I did this time. it helped).

2.Turn them inside out and pin on your contrasting fabric. I cut out prints for the pajama pants scraps and outlined in pencil the lines I wanted to sew. Be careful not to pin the fabric through both layers of the t-shirt!

3. Sew over the lines you drew. If you are skilled at applique, go all out. If you are a beginner like yours truly, go for something simple!

4. Next, turn your shirt inside out and cut away the t-shirt material that is inside the shape you sewed. Your design should show through.

 5. All done! Check to make sure you like the way it looks. Add to it if you need to. Turn inside out and trim off any extra fabric or threads.

 Ta-da! Three kids pj sets, all ready for St Nicholas to deliver on Dec 6th!

No-fuss Birthday Parties- Zoo Safari

My little boy turned six this year, and also started kindergarten. Which means the arrival of whole-class birthday parties! You know, the dreaded, "If you invite one, you invite them all" rule. Don't get me wrong, we don't know any of his classmates well enough to even know which ones we would want to exclude. It's just that the thought of 20 five and six year-olds running through my house gives me nightmares, as does forking over $300 to pay for them to run around at the pizza arcade, bowling alley, or bouncy house place. My shy little guy was a bit overwhelmed at the thought as well.
I asked him what he really wanted to do for his birthday and he responded he wanted to go to the zoo and see the tigers. Done!
I called or emailed the mothers of his closest friends- he was limited to a list of 4 because that is how many I could fit in my van for the 60 minute drive to the zoo. There was no arguing or negotiating or scrambling at the last minute to accommodate tag along siblings. You simply cannot change the number of seat belts in the car!
The day before the party I went to the party goods store and picked up a stack of plastic safari hats, binoculars, tiny toy compasses, and big bag of small plastic jungle animals. There is no outside food or drink allowed in the zoo, so I didn't have to worry about cake or candles, and no one seemed to mind at all.
On the day of our party, I picked up our band of safari hunters and my son passed out the hats, binoculars, and compasses. I carried a bag with water bottles, sunscreen, and a small first aid kit. We have a membership at the zoo, so we used our passes to get in free.
Each explorer was armed with a map, and I let them take the lead by having each boy choose one "must-see" animal. We then located each on the map and marked a trail to follow. I tried to arrange our route so that we would end up at the restaurant about lunch time, and end near the ice cream shop and exit. Their job was to get us from one animal to another, stopping to see whatever we passed in between. Mid-morning we stopped for an icee break, hit the cafe at lunch time to sing happy birthday over hot dogs and fries, and ended with ice cream cones on the way to the parking lot.

I drove a car load of very tired boys back home in time for naps, having spent less than an hour on prep work and under $50 for a great day that included food, entertainment, souvenirs, and a memorable experience for everyone.  

Quilt for my boy.

So when my oldest was 2years old I made him a quilt, he is now 8 and his feet stick out the bottom, so it was time for a new one. I'm not a fancy professional but he loves it and that is what counts! Plus his favorite color is red!

Fishing Picture Frame

My Boys love fishing so I decided to make them a frame for their fish photos.


So I took an unfinished frame from our local craft store and painted it blue.



modge podged alphabet letters





Added vinyl lettering and rubbed a little ink to age it a bit, make it look a little dirty.



used a spray sealer



added their photos, and hot glued a plant hanger frog to the top.

There you go, I put this on my boys dresser and can switch out the pics. as they grow!

A Quiet Book for Busy Fingers

My latest late night sewing project- a cloth activity book for my toddler.

I wanted something soft, portable, interesting, silent, durable, and inexpensive for her to play with while we were out and about and waiting. Places like office waiting rooms, church, club meetings, car rides, older sibling lessons, etc.  Something that would be engaging, age appropriate, and educational. I saw several for sale in specialty stores or etsy shops and really wasn't impressed. I thought most of them were over-priced, too small, or too simple and didn't include the activities that I wanted. So I decided to make my own. I looked at all the links on this site, took a few notes on the pages I liked, and made a plan. I had about 25 pages worth of really great ideas, and about 15 pages worth of supplies and attention span for the project. So I narrowed it down with a few requirements: it had to be simple, made with materials I already had in my stash, and adaptable for several skill levels (I know big brother is going to swipe it, and I want it to be just as fun next year when she can do more).

I am not a perfectionist or one who obsesses over details. I just made things up as I went. I sketched things freehand, so have no patterns for you to print out. I like to cheat, so if I could glue it with liquid stitch, I did. If I could stick it together with fusible web instead of sewing and turning, I did. If I could use the print on the fabric or draw it in with a sharpie instead of sewing on details, I did. I used fabric scraps from my stockpile and looked specifically for pieces with interesting and varied colors, textures, and patterns. So that is my little disclaimer.

Now, some pictures for you:

 The front cover- I used an old pair of jeans for the cover so it would be durable and thicker than the inside pages. I fused on my hand print, which I had traced onto corduroy, and hand lettered the title. A big colorful button and an elastic loop provide a simple closure.

 Snap on cupcakes and ice cream scoops. The cone and cupcake wrapper are fused on, I hand-sewed on the snaps, and used fusible web to make the scoops thicker and double-sided. I just picked out prints with interesting color combinations. My daughter is really into yellow, so I tucked some in wherever I could.

 Apple tree with birds and apples. The apples and tree are made from felt, so I only had to put velcro on the apples and they stick to the tree anywhere. The birds are just cut out and glued on. The basket has a pocket to keep the apples in.

Button on flowers. I took this pic before my glue dried- oops. More little birdies glued in place, along with the stems and grass. I sewed on the buttons, fused some fabric together and cut out flower shapes, then cut a button hole in the center of each flower. Easy but cute.

 Write a letter. or scribble for a few minutes, whatever! The pocket holds a small notebook and a pencil or crayons. The mailbox flap opens so you can stick a note inside to mail it.

 Fishing pond. My daughter's current favorite. I cut out some fish from an ocean print and fused it to a solid color backing. I put a paperclip in between the layers first, so each fish will stick magically to the magnet on the end of the pole. A piece of old shower curtain sewed on top of the pond makes a fun pocket. The pole is just a kitchen skewer, a length of yarn, and two sticky-backed magnets sandwiched around the yarn end. Right now, she just likes to pull all the fish out by hand.

 A bead abacus. Beads on yarn, sewn behind two fabric scrap poles. Simple but surprisingly engaging.

 Alphabet page. The pocket at the bottom holds velcro backed letters that stick to the velcro lines at the top. I found a package of sticky-backed felt letters, stuck them to the flat side of a strip of velcro, and sewed two lines down the center of the strip, catching as much of the letters as I could. I figured between the glue and the stitching they would stay on ok. I started by making sure I had all the letters required to spell her name, then added her sibling's, and threw in a few extras just in case. I figure I have a few years before she can actually start spelling words.

 Old McDonald's farm. Another favorite. Simple barn shape cut from red felt, with some white details.

 Open the barn door to reveal a felt pocket holding some animal finger puppets. I tried to keep them simple with just enough detail to tell what animal it was. Glue and sharpies and one zigzag seam to reinforce the glue on the edges.

 A big felt piggy bank with a slot cut in the top. I didn't sew around the head so the coins can be pulled back out by reaching through the neck opening. A stack of plastic coins (too big to swallow!) from the party favor store are great for counting.

 A dolly with yarn hair for braiding, tying, putting clips in, or just running tiny fingers through. The dress is a pocket to hold hair clips and ribbon scraps.

 A shoe to tie. I traced my daughter's foot on the green fabric, sewed it down, then added the white felt details. I added a yard shoelace.

The last page. A vinyl pocket (that shower curtain again) under some felt mittens I made by tracing my hand with fingers together. the mittens pull back to reveal a family picture. Babies and toddlers love peek-a-boo and looking at pictures of people they know!

 The last page just tells other families who to return the book to when my kids leave it under the bench at church. After all the late nights I gave up tv to sew, I figured it was worth trying to get it back.

Back cover. The pocket of the jeans and a fused on tiny hand print. A snack baggie full of snacks fits just right in the pocket, as well as cast off hair clips, hot wheels cars, or stray crayons.

So there you have it. I had to scrap a few pages because I knew if my ambitions were too high, I would just give up. But If I ever decide to add to it, I love the dinosaur eggs with little plastic dinos in them, the Noah's ark with jungle animals in a zipper pocket, the cupcake oven, and so many more! This is one project that will go on forever if I let it.

One quiet book, made by a very beginning sewer, for free! If I can do it, you can do it!

Linking to Made by You on Skip to my Lou