Tutorial: Ruffle Butt Bloomers

Problem #1: We cloth diaper at our house. Most of the time, anyways. I love those little dress and bloomer sets sold at warehouse stores, or even Target. However, I'm finding that those tiny bloomers don't accomodate Ruby's fluffy tushy.

Problem #2: We have beautiful granite tile counter tops. With a very rough edge. All of my shirts look like this. I refuse to spend more than 5 dollars on a shirt. I have seriously worn this shirt twice. Seriously.

Solution: Women's t-shirt to baby bloomers! With an awesome short-cut!

First, I cut out the holey part. (giggle, giggle) Cut across the top where you would like the top of the bloomers to be. Mine is about 7 inches from the bottom. I also pressed the top down about an inch. I always use spray starch when sewing knits. It make them a lot less slippery, bendy, and generally unruly.

Next I cut across the top in successive strips (omitting the pocket). I ended up with four 1" strips (picture shows two 2" strips, before I cut them in half.) Switch to a ball-point needle. Your regular needle will wreck knits. Trust me. A four pack is like 2.59. You will thank me.

I ruffled the strips with my sewing machine tension set to way loose, and thread length super long. (I love doing this!!)

I tacked down 3 of the strips on each side (not sure yet if I would use the fourth strip). I then stretched the ruffles to fit, while sewing them right across the gathering stitch with a zig-zag stitch)

Turn them back inside out, and sew the crotch together. DO NOT sew all the way down to the sleeve hem. You will use this little casing to thread the elastic through.

I used 1/4 in braided elastic in both the waistband, and the leg casing. Thread through, sewing the elastic securely together, then sewing the leg casings shut. Do the same with the waistband, finishing the opening where you inserted the elastic. Don't worry if it's not perfect, your baby won't care!

Enjoy the day. You could totally personalize these, with an applique of your choice. They took me about an hour, but I had all three kids at home today. And one had strep. Ugh. If I could've muscled through, I would say these are a 45 minute project. Even ommiting the ruffles would seriously shave down on the construction time. You could use some really cool shirts to give these some extra flair!

PS, I used the last ruffle to make this super cute flower headband! It took me less than 5 minutes!

Mail Organizer? Male Organizer!

So- my hubs is very organized. As in "balances his checkbook everyday" organized. Who does that? I don't even have a check-book register. I definitely fall in that "artistic, creative, unorganized" type. Some call it sloppy. It drives the husband crazy. I mean it is the single most troublesome thing in our relationship. Most people fight about money, or lovin'. Not us, man. My husband is a happy man if he can open our linen closet and not be pummeled with an avalanche of towels. So Noodleheads post for today could really be put to use at our house. I actually think I have most of these supplies on hand (is that weird?) And our mail and miscellanous papers totally accumulate all over the kitchen. I think I'll make the labels say "Mail" and "File". And I just got a half yard set of Wonderland's Momo to play with. My kitchen does have reds and greens, so I think it'll work.

I'll keep you posted! (No pun intended! )
-S

Hiring a decorator. Ummm, no.....

Hmmm, maybe you noticed the "Spice up Your Kitchen" button I posted. Recently I've been a little unsatisfied with our house. Not our house- our household decor. If you can call baby dolls and laundry decor. I really don't feel as if this house reflects who we are. Not that we really have visitors anyways, but isn't a house supposed to be your sanctuary? Our living room is just so brown. I'm finally motivated to take my crafting skills and put them to use. I recently bought this Krylon paint in several colors. Fun!

source

I am excited to try to spruce up the old abode, and when I saw this over at Noodleheads, I thought "Why Not?!" Let's go!
How about you? Does some area of your life need revamped? What are you waiting for?
Get going! Have fun!

-S

Birthday week, and the sniffles

A little cold and some beautiful weather has cut into my PC time. The girls and I have enjoyed being outside all morning! One thing about living in the desert - our summers are like winters everywhere else- you can't go out. We are trying to soak up as much of the spring sunshine as we can!

We had a great time at the park for C's 3rd birthday! I made these cupcake toppers with my Cricut.

Next time I would make the 3's a little bigger and bolder, but they were surprisingly easy, and cute!

Avery loving the water park!

Me and the chubby bunny

The birthday girl! Happy Birthday sweet 

(and spicy!) Carolina! Here's hoping 3 is easier than 2...

Mother's Day gift to myself

I ordered this at Amazon for my mom for Mothers Day, and to get Free Super Saver Shipping I added the new Anna Maria Horner book Handmade Beginnings.

I have her other book, Seams to Me ,and have made a few of the projects inside. I am just smitten with her adorable family! How does tha lady find time for all this with 6 children!? Her projects are functional, beautiful, and seem easy to sew. I can't wait to try my hand at a few of the patterns inside. I just bought a 3 half-yard set of her Little Folks voile, and am excited to try a top for myself.

I never thought I would like sewing for myself, but it's very rewarding! Not to mention completely customizable, done on your time-frame, etc. Any ideas for this lovely set of fabrics? Have to keep in mind that it is 100 million degrees here all summer long. Ugh.

Blog Schmog

So at dinner last night with my husband and in-laws I was explaining the blog. You know, journaling my adventures, etc. How shocked and amazed I am to have actual "followers" (don't drink the kool-aid...)
And my husband threatened to start commenting on the blog also. So if somebody starts saying things like "House sure could use a good mopping" or "Can you sew me some arm-pit pads?" or "This laundry isn't folding itself", you can rest assured that it's my hubs just keeping me in line. I'll try to keep him in check if he starts crashing the party!

Oh yes, and Welcome to the followers~!

-S

Wha-What? Finalist!?!

Okay, so I get this message that my top has made it into the STW2010 finalist pool for tomorrow!!!

Vote for me! Yeah, vote for me! Mine is the sweet yellow one. Yellow doesn't look good on blondes, but luckily my hair was cut off in this photo. Did I just say that?
Hmmm, do I look like I'm about to fight crime in this pic. Because I am. Oh yeah.