September Challenge

Hi! It's Maren here and I am going to post our challenges for this month. I can't believe it is September already!!

I am so glad that Celia included LeAnne's Trick or Treat Tote in the challenge last month because that is on my list to do before Halloween. I was scrolling through some of her tutorials and remembered that she also had a cute felt Halloween banner which would be another fun Haloweeny thing to whip up for a decoration this Halloween season.

Since I have girls I am going to post a few links of some girly things that I have been working on or that I have been thinking about working on. They are great for either the little girls in your life or for yourself.

First: Fabric Hair Rollers from Life with Monkey. Have you ever tried those pink foam ones. Well check out this little girl's hair using rollers from this tutorial. WAAAY better results. I think I will be wearing these to bed.

Second: Shirring. I have been hit by the shirring bug. And I have LeAnne to thank for this! She did a tutorial for a cute little summer dress and tipped me off on some patterns that were for sale on etsy. I manged to snag a few patterns before the shop closed forever and I really have enjoyed them. I'll post more about them later. I think that LeAnne did a great job with her dress tutorial and the great thing about shirring is it is so easy and so cute and so versatile. You can add wide hems of coordinating fabric, ruffles, different types of sleeves. wider strips for cap sleeves, ribbons, spaghetti straps etc. You can even make a top for yourself as well!

 LeAnne also did a great tutorial on shirring. I am so glad that she included a picture of what the elastic thread should look like. Months before I started shirring I picked up some elastic thread at JoAnns because I knew at some point I wanted to give it a try. My thread was on a plastic spool. I kept hearing that it has to be on a cardboard one. I went back to JoAnns to find the stuff that I needed and could NOT find it. I even asked someone and they were pretty clueless as to what I was even talking about. The label on the thread I got said it was meant for shirring so I used it. And it worked. However, The first day my daughter wore her dress I noticed that some of the thread broke and now I will have to go back and do it again! Not Fun. So I will be finding another way to get the proper elastic thread. Just a word to the wise.

Third: I have really been wanting to make my oldest daughter some cute flower hairclips/headbands to wear to preschool. I love these kinds of projects because they don't take a lot of time and you can make a whole bunch in one sitting. Here are a few tutorials. These flowers can be used for anything - brooch, clip for a purse or bag, gift topper etc. No sewing machine necessary! (sorry I was not able to get any of the pictures up - but go ahead and click. You won't be sorry)

Felt Peony
Felt Flower - the scalloped roll method
Felt Flower - the glue method (love the button center)
Satin Flowers - the candle method - I soooo want to do this one
Rolled Fabric Flower
Fabric and Paper flower roudup from Little birdie secrets -I love the painted newspaper flowers. It would be a fun one to do with  kids to give away to someone special (Mother's day, Valentines day, birthdays etc)


 Recipe: Triple Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love fall desserts and I love this one. I made this on a couple of different occasions. Once for my son's first birthday and now that I have an October birthday I think I am going to make it for my baby's first birthday next month. It is very yummy. I have done it with three layers, but it would also be yummy as cupcakes or made in a regular old cakepan. Delish!

XO

Maren

Woman's shirt to girl's nightgown... sewing buttons, and a headband

Ruth needed some more nightgowns for the warmer weather and I had this shirt that I decided to re-purpose. I just took in the seams above the shoulders and under the arms to make it more comfortable for her. I have one more still to do.

I was mending Rex's sunday shirt, sewing some buttons that were about to fall off and Ruth got interested in helping. After we were done she wanted to do more, so she sewed these 3 buttons on Rex's apron. So I went through all my mending and found more work for her.

This isnt quite refashioning, but its one of the projects I'm pleased with. I just added the lace at the bottom of the skirt since I have a tall girl and some skirts are not long enough for her. I also added the lace across the bodice because I had it passed on to me and it matched so cute I thought.

This is actually a headband my sister sent me, but it is one I had been wanting to make. I had seen some at a store that were handmade and thought, this looks like nylon material! I experimented with cutting a ring off of old black nylons, but it was a little too thin. This one is a section of leg from baby tights sewn in a loop. Easy and comfy. It has a loop at the top to clip barrettes to, so its interchangeable. I like this idea.

I thought you'd appreciate this last one - my couch when I was crafting :) See the sewing machine in the background? I love crafting, but I love a clean house, too. So off I go to continue life! Love you, ladies :)

Maren's Headbands

So I am finally posting my headbands from last month. I hadn't posted them yet because I still am in search for the perfect headband and I want to try a few different styles. However, I am not sure when I will get to it so for now here is what I have done.

The white/blue/brown/green one was made using this quick 10 minute headband tutorial.

The other two reversible ones were made from this tutorial. The black/red one is the narrow version and the pastel one is the wide version.

I had really wanted to wear them on days when I wear a ponytail, but I find that they tend to work better with my hair down (or in pigtails). I still have to bobby pin them behind my ear to help hold them in place. But still really cute and I like them. I am going to try doing some with jersy knit and leave long tails so I can tie them. I think those would fit really well. Can't wait to find some time to experiment more with that.

Anyways...Since it was headband month I decided it was time to make Lou some more headbands. So I whipped up a few. I know some people are morally opposed to HUGE floral headbands, but I love them. Every time I have Lou in one I get stopped in my tracks so people can ooh and awe and perfect strangers tell me how cute Lou looks in the headband. It has happened so many times that Hubby who is usually oblivious to anything crafty that I do has actually taken note - hey my wife made something cool! Maybe we can make some money off of this. ha ha! Anyways, I also love them because when I have Lou Lou in one of these headbands I don't have people calling her a "he" or asking me if she is a boy or girl (even when she is wearing pink!).

These are the big ones. The white one is my fav.



These are a bit smaller.





And I made one for Bella, but I think the headband is too small so I am going to take the flower off and put it on an aligator clip.



XO
Maren