It's a bird...It's a plane...

Nope!  It is Super Tooth!!!

I have had this idea bookmarked FOR.EV.ER!!!  I knew that Kaden had to be losing a tooth soon.  He has been waiting to have a loose tooth since Kindergarten last year.

This weekend, we were eating corn on the cob & Kaden started complaining that his teeth hurt.  He seemed a bit alarmed by the whole thing at first.  I felt his little tooth wiggle & I SCREAMED!!!  Yes, I was so excited that I actually screamed & grabbed his little face to give it a kiss.  Okay, enough of my story. 

Super Tooth is Kaden's new little tooth pillow.  The idea & tutorial are over at mmmcrafts.  The tooth's mouth is a little pocket to keep the new lost tooth in.  Then, the Tooth Fairy will leave the reward inside of the pocket.  I love this idea & it makes it easier for the Tooth Fairy.  There are different variations.  I saw a Tooth Marshall, a Tooth Officer, a cute Tooth Ballerina, & a Tooth Fairy.  I came up with the Super Tooth idea.  My boys are really into Super Heroes.  Another fun tooth pillow idea is a Tooth Pirate.  I let Kaden pick & he jumped right on the Super Tooth idea. 

Laptop case

Back in July, I saw a great tutorail to make a zippered laptop case from Crap I've Made.  {LOVE her blog by the way...the name enough is great!!!}  I have been planning on making it, but never really got around to it...until today!!!  I used minky inside to give my laptop a nice, cozy place to hang out.  I love the feel of that stuff {it reminds me of little man because his keke or blanket is made out of that}.  If I can do it...so can you!!!  The zipper was the only part that threw me off for a while {that is why picture tutorials are so great!!!}, but in the end it turned out great & now my laptop has a fun place to hang out in.  Now, I just need somewhere to take it!!!

Embrace the Retro

I live in a house built back in 1948. We remodeled parts of the house, but the kitchen stayed the same. I have hated the look of my kitchen from day one. I have FINALLY come to accept that my kitchen is what it is. I have decided to embrace the 1950s kitchen. I have lived here for almost 2 years & have no curtains on my windows. SHAME!!! So, I decided to make a valance for my windows & embrace the retro.

I have NO idea what I was doing. I just kind of went with it. I knew I wanted the curtains to have a ruffle, but not sure if I wanted it on the top or the bottom. At first, I thought that I wanted ties to hang the curtains, but decided against it. So, here they are.

I LOVE the ruffle on the bottom. It makes me happy! I think that I captured the retro, but they are also a little modern.

Little Guy Ties

I am so excited to show this to you. I just can't tell you how much I enjoy sewing! I love my little boys in cute little ties. But, they are difficult to come by & can be a little pricey. I came across THIS tutorial/pattern for a "little guy tie".

My brother & sister in law got married about a month ago. I used this tutorial to make some ties my boys & two of my nephews for their wedding. It is really fun and addicting to make these ties. The pattern & tutorial are VERY easy to follow with a TON of pictures that will help even the most beginner of sewer!

Jammies!!!

I have been on a major jammie making kick. It all started with making the boys new jammies for when they get their tonsils out. They ended up being pretty easy to make & it was fun, so I kept making them jammies. Then, I decided that I could use some new jammie shorts. It was fun being able to use all of the cute girlie fabric for once too!

So, here are my jammies that I made. Yes, I am headless. I chose to sew instead of get ready today & I don't regret my decision.



Here is another pair that I made...TOTALLY girlie! This picture shows off the drawstring waist a little more.




I used an awesome tutorial over at MADE. I followed the tutorial to the letter. I didn't make the boys shorts have a drawstring, but 3 out of 4 of mine do. The drawstring just adds a little character I think.

If you want a tip...I made a little tag for the back of the jammies. It helps when sewing & if you don't put in a drawstring...it can get kind of confusing! I just used a little piece of muslin that I had left over. I usually sew it with white to finish off the edges, but on this pair...I got too lazy to change the thread...so you get black. Don't look to close at the stitching. I am not a pro AT ALL!!!




Here is a recap on some other jammies that I have made...

Jammies

My babies are both getting their tonsils out next week. I decided to get them some new jammies. Who knew that it would be so impossible to find short jammies in July. So, I decided to try making some on my own. I will tell you a little more how I did it, but I wanted to post the finished product!

Kiddie Neck Pillows

If you googled Procrastination..I think you will see my picture! I have had the stuff to make the kids' neck pillows for 3 months. Of course I put it off until the night before our 12 hour road trip. Luckily..they were VERY easy to whip up, even for me!

I started to do a tutorial, but realized that I didn't have time. It is probably the easiest thing to sew. I let the boys each pick out a fleece material. I had them cut to 1/2 yard each, but had a bit left over! I drew a "U" shape on a piece of paper. I like to use paper from the kiddos easel.



I pinned the pattern piece to my fabric & cut it out. Make sure you leave some extra for your seam.



Once you have your two pieces...place right sides together. Sew around leaving a big enough opening to fill your pillow. Once sewn...turn right sides out. I filled the pillows with stuffing from an old pillow. I worked perfect & was FREEEE!!!

In no time..I had little neck pillows ready for the road trip ahead. Whip stitch your pillow opening closed & there you have it!

They LOVED their neck pillows & used them the whole ride!

Memaw...Don't Read This

Ok...a while back I made some camera strap slip covers for my camera. My Mom loves the straps, but only has a point & shoot. She keeps joking that she needs one for her little wristlet camera strap.

Then, I came across an adorable camera case wristlet pattern. I knew that it would PERFECT for her for Mother's Day. I got the fabric at Hobby Lobby. I LOVE it! My Mom LOVES Vera Bradley & I thought this looked a little like her stuff.





I have never made 'darts' in any of my sewing projects. It was a new experience, but I love how it turned out. I think that my Mom is going to LOVE this.

Zhu Zhu Pets Sleeping Bag

Today, I finally caved & bought the boys each a Zhu Zhu Pet. While selecting their new friend...they noticed all of the fun accessories & immediately started asking for them. I remembered seeing a tutorial on how to make a sleeping bag for a Zhu Zhu pet. I knew it would be perfect! Here is the tutorial by Little Birdie Secrets.

I used some left over fleece & then some scraps of cotton material. The boys each picked what they wanted. It was really easy & the boys LOVE their little hamster sleeping bags.

Neck Pillow

I am really enjoying my new sewing machine. It is so fun to find the fabric & create something. If you have been following this blog at all...you would know that my hubby is off playing soldier. He has been on numerous flights during the month & plenty more in the near future. On one of his visits to the airport...he sent me a picture asking me to make him a neck pillow. It had to be light weight due to weight restrictions. I didn't take any pictures, but here is what I did.

I purchased some anti pill fleece {1/2 yard...with a little left over}. I cut a u-shape pattern out of a large piece of easel paper {you could also use a paper bag}. Using your pattern....cut out two u-shaped pieces out of the fleece.

Pin right sides together & sew around the edges of your pillow...leaving a small opening to flip pillow right side out. Once you have turned the pillow right side out...stuff it. We opened up an old pillow & stuffed the neck pillow with the stuffing from it. It was a great way to use what we already had! We stuffed it very full!!

Once you have stuffed your pillow..whip stitch the pillow closed. This is a great tutorial on an invisible whip stitch. It was perfect!!!

Here is the finished product. Hubby loves it. He is excited to use it {as excited as he could be to fly AGAIN!!!}



See...it is so comfy that he fell right to sleep. {He is a good faker!!!}


I am going to make the boys each a neck pillow next. Their booster seats just don't give them support when they are asleep. I will take step by step pictures when I make theirs!

Here is a tutorial, but I think it is pretty simple without one.

Car Caddy

I made Kaden his "man bag", but needed something fun for Preston. When I saw THIS super cute car caddy, I just knew Preston would love it. It would also be nice to take with us to Dr. appointments & church. I usually have cars floating around in my purse, but this will keep them together.

Preston helped me make it. He helped me pin & measure {& he is playing with it right now!!} I didn't end up using the denim for the backing because I couldn't find a big enough piece. The regular fabric seems to work just fine.

This is very similar to making a crayon roll, just a little bigger. Don't look very closely at the stitching for the velcro on the strap. I didn't have the right color of thread & was too lazy to fix it...so it looks pretty bad. Preston doesn't seem to care!

"Men Bag"

I discovered an amazing blog the other day. I found some awesome new projects. This is the first one that I decided to tackle. Kaden loves "men". We have a TON of men & Kaden loves to take them with him everywhere. I thought this would be the perfect little "men bag" for Kaden to keep his men together at church. I don't have a tutorial. This is my very first time sewing a zipper. It was a fun practice & I am really happy with how it turned out. I may add a nose later, but for now...here is the finished product:

Confession...{& how to make a valance}

I have lived in my house for over a year & a half. Only ONE window has curtains/valance. {GASP!!!} They are just never that high on my list, but they should be.

When we moved here...I bought new bedding for the kiddos room. It came in a set with a bed skirt. Well, we don't need a bed skirt with the boys having bunk beds. For the last year & a half I have had every intention of turning their bed skirts into a valance, but I never found the time or the means.

Yesterday we cleaned & organized their room & I rediscovered their bed skirts. I decided to tackle that project. I am going to attempt to show {& tell} you how I made them, but keep in mind this is my 3rd sewing project. I am a novice, but this worked for me!

I measured my windows. They were both 44 inches wide. I then wanted to give myself some room to let it bunch so I multiplied 44 by 1.5. That came to 66 inches. I added a few extra inches just to be safe, I didn't want my valance too bunchy. I have read other places where you double or triple your window width according to what you want.

For the height...measure your window height. Mine was 42 inches. I divided that by 3. So...my height for the curtain ended up being 14 inches.

Because I was using a bed skirt...I had to sew 2 parts of the bed skirt together that were 14 inches. If I had just one piece of fabric...it will need 28 inches x 66 inches.

I pinned the right sides of the two pieces together where I unpicked the stitches from the bed skirt. {The only unfinished sides.} This is an extra step if you have one whole piece of fabric.



Here is my "whole" piece of fabric.



Pin right sides together & sew leaving a 1/2 inch seam allowance. {You want your fabric to form a tube.} Turn right sides out. {This is the top!}



Iron the seam to form a crease. Then sew 3 inches down from the crease. This is for your header.

Sew another 3 inches down from the header seam. This is where your rod goes in. If you have a thick or thin rod...you many need to change the measurement.



Slide your rod into the rod hole & there you have it!!!!




The most time consuming part was picking the seams. I think I spent a few hours unpicking the seams.

With hubby gone, I decided to be self-reliant & use the drill. Wahoo! There is something about power tools & a finished project to make you feel good!

Now I am on the lookout for fabric to make some fun curtains for my kitchen. I also wanted to show you these really cute signs that I also rediscovered when we were organizing. My brother in law sent Kaden his sign while he was on a mission to Germany. Then, my mother in law made one for Preston {his nickname is P bo}. I love these signs. The boys asked to put them right over their beds...so we did. I love the 3M hanging strips. They work so well!!!

Crayon Roll

My hubby officially flew out yesterday. I am trying to stay busy & my new sewing machine is helping me with that! I have been working on a few things, but today I made crayon rolls for my boys. I wanted to make something "boyish"...monster trucks, robots, cars, something along those lines. Kaden {my oldest} asked for it to look like a flag. I try to fulfill reasonable requests & this one was doable. I finally found the perfect fabric this morning.

I used THIS tutorial from Skip To My Lou. This was the best tutorial that I looked at. Very simple to follow. I didn't have any ric rac...so I skipped that part.

Here is the finished product:

Halloween!!!

I really don't sew. I have an antique sewing machine that my mom was sweet enough to "loan" me, but the tension is all off & it doesn't have the instruction manual. Hubby & I are going to attempt to fix the tension & "create" our own Halloween costumes. Now, there isn't a TON of sewing to do on these & what there is is basic. I am excited to tackle this, but considering I have less than a week...I am down to the wire. Wish me luck & I will post when they are finished!