Crafting for Babies - freezer paper stencils

Happy Monday and Presidents day! Today I am logging in to share my stab at freezer paper stenciling. For my project I made two babies onesies. We are expecting child #4 end of March but we don't know if it is a boy or a girl. My solution: to make one of each so either way they have something to wear home from the hospital. So if it is a boy, he'll have a climbing frog:

If it's a girl she'll have a butterfly.

I used my cricut to cut the images from freezer paper. I used the settings depth 3, speed 3, pressure 2. I cut the butterfly (Home decor cartridge) at 3 inches and the frog (Paper Doll dress up cartridge) at 3 3/4.

I used Tulip fabric paints and simply ironed the stencil on, followed the paint's directions, let dry over night, pulled off and set with an iron. Super easy and they turned out super cute. My 21 month old keeps trying to put them on. lol

Sizzle

Baby Bullseye

Okay, so I remembered something that I did that actually did turn out, so I figure I'll share it to redeem myself from my failures. 

We went to the doctor this week for my baby's 2 month check up and on the info form they gave me it says "Your child can begin to regard bright simple contrasting designs. Hang mobiles or a bull's-eye of contrasting colors within baby's sight."  And what did it remind me of?  This post!

So, I pulled out my paper and markers and made this.  I actually made the circles in Word so they'd be even, then printed it to color.   

I saw the colors like that on an actual bull's eye and I figured it must help focus on the middle...maybe.  Anyway it looked cool.

So I hung this up in front of the baby swing so he can look at it.  And he just stares away.  I knew my killer art skills would come in handy someday.

Car Seat Cover: Tutorial Review

As I mentioned last week, I've been wanting to make a car seat carrier cover.  I wanted it specifically to block the sun when bringing his seat outside, or while pushing it in the grocery cart.  He doesn't so much enjoy the blinding of the sun.

Among my searching I found this tutorial at Make It Do.  (I mentioned it before regarding the Make Ahead Muffins  post there, which were super delicious by the way.)   I thought I'd do a little review of the tutorial in case anyone is interested in trying one out. 

I followed the Make It Do tutorial, mostly because it was a tad simpler than the other tutorial (mostly just the straps) I found at Vanilla Joy.
Here's how mine turned out.

[I included the dirty diaper in this pic for you :) ]

My thoughts:

Overall I like it, but it seems like there's so much fabric.  Maybe my seat is smaller... Still works though

I did do one thing different by making it just one layer of fabric.  It is so hot here already that I didn't want him to sweat in there anymore than necessary.  I ended up cutting out a strip of the different fabric and doubling it at the bottom where the curved edges are.  I just thought it would look nicer than just a hem if I wanted to flip it over (as in the bottom picture.)

My biggest complaint is the straps holding it onto the handle.  They are really loose which allows the cover to slide off the side and then you end up flipping this fabric all over trying to fit in back on the cover.  Turns out the Vanilla Joy tutorial might have been worth the effort because it's straps look more secure.  I'll probably just resew the straps a little so their tighter to prevent this. 

Anyway, it's nice to have.  And it turns out I'm just meant to have baby posts.  :)

I'm currently at my parents house for the weekend because my husbands in Boston for 3 days, and we're working on another fun recycling project similar to this post.  Stay tuned and check back next Friday for what it is!

Pacifier Clip

Hehe, sorry that my posts are all baby related recently...  I promise it won't always be like that.  This project isn't even for me, I've just been wanting to try one and decided to add it to a baby gift.  Turns out it's really easy.  I made a trial one bit ago with a snap and a different clip, and it didn't turn out so well.  This way is easier and more professional looking and functional.

Materials:
10 inches of ribbon
1 suspender/mitten clip
1 piece sew on velcro (cut to width of ribbon)

Step 1:
Singe both ends of ribbon to prevent fraying


Step 2: Put one end of ribbon through suspender clip and sew across it.

 

Step 3: Fold over the other edge a little and sew across it as well. 


Step 4: Sew one piece of velcro and the end or the ribbon, and the other piece about 1.5 inches apart. And sew it on well! (Try it with your pacifier to see for sure how far apart you want them)

And you're done!

Nursing Cover Tips

So I mentioned recently how I had made the nursing covers from Sew Much Ado.  I made them pretty much as instructed there, but when our mom was here a couple weekends ago we figured out a few tricks to make them just a little better and a little easier.

I was wanting to just rewrite the whole thing, but I really don't have time right now, so you'll want to use this in addition to the Sew Much Ado tutorial.

Supplies Needed:
1 yard fabric - the thicker cottons work great
16” boning (in fabric casing)
2 D-rings (1.5")
I've pointed out some D-rings (on the wall) and the boning (on the shelf) in the picture.  The 1.5" D-rings are usually sold with 4, and the boning you just buy by the yard (or inches...).








As changed above, you do not need 1.25 yards with most fabrics.

Everything I've used so far is about 44" wide so if you cut it right you'll still have a few inches extra with 1 yard.
The sizes you need are:
· one rectangle 28”x40” for main body
· one strip 4.25”x10” for neck strap
· one strip 4.25”x26” for neck strap

  This is how to cut it with 1 yard of fabric:

I keep the whole 44" width so it ends up being 2" longer on each side, which is fine with me.  You can cut it down to 40" if you want, but it's more work :)
Then with the bottom strip, once it's cut to 4.25" wide, just cut off a 10" strip and a 26" strip.  Toss the scrap and you're done cutting.

The Strap:
For ease in adjusting, its nice to have more than just the last few inches of the length narrowed .  Start narrowing it about halfway down the length.

The Straps:
This was the part that we noticed the biggest difference when changing it a little bit and it makes it a lot more functional.  The way I did it, the straps were sewn starting at the edge of the boning which caused the front opening to sag when you wear it.  The straps need to overlap the boning to prevent this.  *So, going back I realized that the Sew Much Ado tutorial actually did say to do it this way, but I didn't notice it from the instructions.  Hopefully this will clarify.

First, sew the boning as instructed, centered along the top edge.  When attaching the straps center the middle of the strap with the edge of the boning like this:

When you fold over the edge it will look like this:

The finger shows where the edge of the boning is. Pin and finish attaching as instructed.
And finish the rest of the edges as instructed.

*You can save a lot of time by not pre-folding or ironing all the edges over before hemming them.  Its really helpful for the top so you know where to sew the boning in, but with the others just press them afterward and they still look great.   

Hope this helps!

How to make Baby bows

When I first found out I was expecting a baby girl (after 2 boys) I started researching how to make everything cute and girly. I couldn't believe how expensive little girl accessories are - I would never pay that much so I tried different ways to do it myself and made a supply of clips and a baby headband.

The two main things you need are alligator clips and knee highs. I got a pair of white knee highs in the sock section for .33. They are on an end unit in little gumball machine type containers (small). They also come in pink and other colors but I think they go fast so if you see them...Grab them.

Alligator clips you can get at beauty supply stores. I got a box of 100 for 5 dollars. They come in different sizes. I got the smallest ones.

Depending om what you want the clip to look like you'll also need ribbon, flowers or felt (to cut into shapes and stitch). I used ribbon for the one I am demoing today.

Here are the steps:

1. cut off both ends of the knee-high

2. sew the ends together with a zig-zag stitch. (you can fold the tight in half or leave full - I left it full. That is the inside of the headband. The next step it to cover the seam. You'll need they top piece shown above of a piece or ribbon.

3. Wrap a ribbon or end of knee high around stitching. I used the top piece - cut it so it was straight - cut it down to the size that would fit around, folded it in half length wise, sewed the edges together, turned inside out and sewed the ends. Here are some pictures but with white it might be hard to see.

Make a tube - turn inside out and sew ends together

It will end up looking like this! That is where you will clip the alligator clips

3. Wrap a ribbon, using hot glue around the alligator clip - fully covering the clip.

Before and after - both sides inside and out.

4. Make your bow. You want to wrap your ribbon while still connected to the spool - get the shape you want and the sew the center together.

Sew where my thumb is.

5. Wrap a ribbon around the center and glue in the back.

Some people have the middle part go around the actual clip top and glue it there...

I just glue it and then glue it to the clip later.

6. Add any embellishments - I added a button. I also tied the middle part instead of wrapped and left the ends long. I clipped them later.

7. The last step is to glue the bow to the clip and clip it to the head band.

8. Repeat and make one for every outfit. Little girls can't have to many bows!

Other ideas:

I made these using paper scrapbooking flowers and they have lasted a long time - the only problem is rain.

Boppy Part 2 (Flap Details) & Nursing Cover

This is a continuation of my post Boppy Pillow, with more details on how to use this existing tutorial and adapt it for a flap. I don't have pictures of everything, but luckily took a few that will hopefully explain more clearly.

First, print out and tape together this pattern as instructed.

Now, you want to make a longer pattern to replace the "top zipper portion." You just want it to be a little bit longer so it will overlap with the "bottom zipper portion" several inches.

To make a new pattern take your front pattern piece and line up a piece of paper along the right straight edge. Then trace the outside (left) edge down further. I'd extend it at least an additional 5 inches. This will make your new top piece about 9 inches long on the right size.

So, when you cut out your fabric, instead of your little top piece (pictured) you'll have something like this:
Your 3 pieces:
Then you want to hem the 2 straight edges of your back pieces (where the pocket will open). I folded it over twice so it would leave a clean edge and sewed straight across, probably about 1/2 inch total. Sorry, don't have a pic of this, but look at the last pic in this post to see it completed.

Then line up your front and back pieces right sides together. You'll layer the back 2 pieces, with the larger one on top. You'll have the full piece (my brown spotted one) underneath so you'll be able to make the back pieces line up to the same size as the front. Should look like this with all 3 pinned together. Hope that makes sense...(it keeps flipping this...sorry)

Then just sew about 1/2 inch seam around the outside. Shove in your pillow and you're done!

Here's how mine is when completed. Yours should have more overlap is you use these instructions. Mine is a little shorter since that's all the fabric I had left.
It reminds me of those little bum-flap pajamas and makes me giggle. Fun times.

While we're on the baby page, I wanted to share a great tutorial from Sew Much Ado for a nursing cover. I've made 2 from this tutorial and I love it. So easy and great instructions. Here's the two I made :) Aren't they cute?


*I'm attaching a comment I left below for everyone's reference

I used the Absolutely Cotton fabrics at Hancocks (so not home decor weight). I gave away the pink one and she says it works great - not see-through or anything. I've haven't yet used one for real, but I didn't see a need to use heavier fabric so I didn't :)

As for cost, the supplies are really cheap. My fabric was usually 6.99 a yard I think, but I got it 40% off (that's like $5 for 1.25 yds). The D-rings were about $2 for 2 pairs. The boning is sold by the yard and was about 20 cents. :) (Kinda hard to find, but usually in a box around the notions wall)

So what's that... about $7?
Not bad eh? (and you're left with an extra set of D-rings to make another one!) Plus, you could probably finish this in an hour if you're focused. Sewing the boning in is the only hard/annoying part.

I actually bought one from UdderCovers to see what theirs were like when they were offering one free- just pay shipping. Shipping alone was $8.95, and they're way smaller. Does it even compare? :)

Till next time,

Boppy Pillow

So I'm trying to scratch a few of the things off my craft to-do list. Awhile ago I started browsing craft blogs and found so many baby-type things that I wanted to try. At the time I had many months before baby, but now that it's getting closer I may just have to slim my list down a bit.

This one I started forever ago, so I figured I should at least finish it. My way-cheaper Boppy pillow (and cover)! I found this tutorial at Vanilla Joy which was just for the cover, but I figured I could adapt it to make the pillow itself too. You can just print the pattern from the site and tape it together. For the pillow I just cut 2 of the front pattern, sewed them together and stuffed with fiberfill. I put about 1.5 16oz bags in it so it was nice and full. I used mulsin because it was cheap and I was going to cover it. This is it naked:



This is the back of mine. The pattern is for a zipper but I couldn't find the right size so I just extended the top piece about 4 inches and turned it into a pocket that overlaps. I lined it up with the front pattern to get the angle to extend it. I may add velcro or buttons to keep it closed because its a little looser than I wanted.
*You can see on my picture where the seam was supposed to be because I already cut it out before I decided not to do the zipper. I just attached it to another piece of fabric first.
Anyway, it's done! Check.

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If you're in need of homecrafted baby items for yourself or for gifts, here's a few off my list that I thought would be fun:

Hooded Towel
http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/07/bear-hooded-towel.html

Pacifier clip
http://angieasplund.blogspot.com/2009/01/soother-pacifier-clip-tutorial.html

RicRac Receiving Blanket
http://sewmuchado.blogspot.com/2009/05/ric-rac-receiving-blanket-tutorial.html

Cloth Building Blocks
http://amingledyarn.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/sewing-fo-building-blocks/

Happy Stacker
http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/product-p/sp003-hs.htm

Diaper case
http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/03/diaperwipes-case.html

Changing Pad & Wipes Holder
http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2009/02/changing-pad-and-wipes-holder-tutorial.html

With Love,