Things to Make: Felt Happy Heart Pin

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CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO GO TO THE TUTORIAL!

Things to Make: Happy Little Heart Pin!

I also shared this fun little tutorial over at BeccaWilhite.com!

Pinterest Inspiration: Men's Shirt to Peasant Blouse

This week's

was inspired by...

Peasant Blouse Tutorial from madebylex.com

Isn't it so stinkin' cute???

Here's what I used:

I picked this baby up at my local thrift store for fifty cents.  The guy at the register said something like, "Wow.  This'll make a great Halloween costume, huh?"  When I told him that I was actually going to wear it, he looked at me like I was completely nuts.  Which, maybe I am, but I digress...

I loved the fun paisley pattern and the colors on this shirt...but let's face it...that collar and those cuffs.  Not so much.

And here's what I made:

Waaaaay better, don't ya' think?  Oh, yeah.

Instead of adding a cuff to the sleeves I simply added another turned under casing and elastic, to give them a loosely gathered look.

I love the way it turned out!  The tutorial was easy to understand and had great results!

If you happen to have a spare button-up shirt lying around I recommend giving this one a whirl!

Pinterest Inspiration: T-Shirt Refashion

Who out there is on Pinterest?  Who out there on Pinterest has about a BAZILLION project ideas that they're sitting on right now?
So do I.
So in an effort to not make my Pinterest obsession useless, I'm putting it to work.  My goal is to try out at least ONE PIN a month...if not more!  I'll be posting about my successes and attempts here at least once a month!
I'm starting my 

series with THIS, which I had pinned in my Things to Wear pinboard:

Easiest T-Shirt Refashion EVER - by The Naked Doll on Craftster

And here's what I came up with:

I love that I took one of my favorite comfy shirts (ie. FRUMPY and SHAPELESS), and turned it into something cute and feminine - that I can wear in public without being heinously embarrassed!  GENIUS!  And it was so simple and quick!!  Really!  You must try this!!!

Things to Make: Skirt and Scraps into Child's Apron!

This year one of my girls' asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for her birthday!  I found a screamin' deal on a brand new one on Craig's List, and wanted to add something extra to make the gift a little more special!
I went through my fabric stash and pulled out a couple of things, and then had my daughter choose what she liked best!  (She had no idea what I was making with the fabric...which made it even more fun for me!)
She picked out an old orange handmade skirt.  The other supplies were from various other projects:  a ton of eyelet lace, grosgrain ribbon, and a scrap of fabric.

(First off, I should remind you that I am a LAZY seamstress...I cut corners and do things fast.... so be prepared.)
I started out by cutting the side seams of the skirt away.  I wanted the apron to be a double layer of fabric, for more durability,  so I used both sides of the skirt.

Next, I folded over the top edges of the skirt and ironed them flat.

I used another apron as a template and cut out the 'armhole' shapes.

Next I cut four lengths of ribbon for the neck and waist ties,

and then pinned them to the right side of the apron, and basted them into place.

Next, I pinned the other half of the skirt/apron to the first, with right sides facing, and stitched the two together, leaving the bottom edge open for turning.

After I turned the apron right-side-out (and removed the extra pins, of course), I pinned the eyelet to the bottom hem.  (I gathered the eyelet a little to make it ruffle.)  Then I top-stitched the two the pieces together.

Next I took my contrasting scrap of fabric, and cut out a pocket shape...I wanted this to be double thick, too, so I cut an extra long rectangle out, and folded it in half.

I folded down the top edge, ironed it flat, and then stitched a piece of eyelet to the back side of the finished edge.

Next I folded the pocket together with right sides facing and pinned/stitched it together, leaving the top open.  After turning the pocket right-side-out, and ironing it flat, I pinned it and top-stitched the top together just below the lace.

Next I pinned the pocket to the front of the apron, and top-stitched around the sides and bottom.

Whew!
And here's the finished apron!!!

(I also made a matching hotpad, out of the rest of the scrap fabric...but forgot to take pictures of that process...Sorry!)
The very best part of this project was that I didn't spend a dime!!! (Well, ok.  Technically I'm sure I spent a little money on some of the supplies at some point...but if ,my memory serves me right, all the fabric was from the remnant rack about five years ago, the lace was a hand-me-down, and the ribbon was from the dollar store years ago!)
I love it when I can turn something old into something new and useful, don't you!?!

I'm loving spending time with my newest little kitchen helper!

Things to Make: Glove Bunny Tutorial

Happy Tuesday!!

For today's tutorial I thought I'd share this super cute and simple idea for making soft little Easter bunnies out of a glove!!!
That's right!  This cute little fellow was created using a knit glove!  I got these super-marked down at the dollar store...I think they were twenty-five cents, or something!  Are you convinced you need to make a basketful of these, yet?
Materials Needed: 1 knit glove, in color of choice  ( I used this soft minky-type glove) matching thread needle pink embroidery floss 2 buttons for eyes batting or stuffing scissors

The first step  is to turn the glove inside out:

Next, carefully cut off the thumb, pinky, and middle fingers of the glove...save the scraps for later!

The next part can be done on a sewing machine, but I like to hand sew these little guys!  It's fun, and it's a great way to teach kids how to sew things by hand!  (If I were making these with kids I wouldn't use the fluffy kind of glove, though...it's a little harder to see where you've stitched!)  LEAVE THE BOTTOM OPEN!

After you sew the thumb, pinky, and middle finger openings shut, turn the glove right-side out.  (This is the best way to check and make sure you didn't miss any seams!!

The next step is the trickiest:  Sewing on the face!  Using the embroidery floss sew on the button eyes, and stitch a little nose.  Be careful that you are only sewing through the front part of the glove!

Cut off about an inch of the tip of one of the leftover fingers, and stuff it with a little fluff!

After the face has been stitched on, you can start stuffing!!  Stuff the ears, head, and body...I use the leftover scraps from the fingers to stuff the very bottom of the bunny.
After the bunny is stuffed to your liking, stitch the bottom opening edge closed.  I used a blanket stitch.
The last part is adding the tail!  Turn the cut edge of the save finger piece under, and whip stitch it to the bottom/back side of the bunny.  The little tail will help to prop your bunny upright!

And there you have it!!

I also added a pink ribbon around this little guy's neck, but that is totally optional!!

These would make super cute additions to any Easter basket, or as a quick little add-on to a baby gift!

Have fun creating a little bunny farm of your own!!