Sewing with a toddler

I don't think I'm alone when I say I do the majority of my sewing while my boys are sleeping.  However, those 2 hours of nap fly by and midnight comes all too quickly after everyone is tucked in for bedtime. 

So this is what works for me.  I do all of my time consuming cutting and ironing while my boys are awake.  The piles of fabric are far less interesting to my curious 1 year old, who is currently enamored with turning the dials on my serger.  So while they are entertaining themselves with cars or trains or building forts, I can cut and get my materials together.  I keep everything together with clothespins, and then, when my sleeping beauties hit the hay, I'm ready to start without wasting precious time!

This one's for the birds

The lure of summery weather has been drawing me outside and away from my sewing machine.  My 3 year old still managed a little crafting, though.

A $1 birdhouse never brought so much joy.

My crafty little protege

He dragged this out all by himself and then played with it for at least half an hour.  That's my boy.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Wristlet camera strap tutorial

 I think my lowly little point and shoot camera feels left out sometimes.  What, with all the cool camera strap tutorials out there like this one or this one, heck, even this one that I posted, it can't help but feel inferior. 

Well, here's a way to keep up with the cool bloggers and their dressed up SLR strap covers.

You'll need:

3" x 12" piece of fabric
5" piece of thin elastic cording

Start by ironing your fabric in half lengthwise, wrong sides together.  This will make a crease down the center of the strip.

Open the fabric and iron each side in, wrong sides together, to the crease mark.

Fold in half on crease and iron once more.  The strip should be 3/4" wide.

Top stitch 1/8" along each edge.

Fold in raw edges on ends.

And sew folded loop of elastic into the folded in ends.  Swear profusely under your breath during this step, because the elastic will shift and your machine will refuse to sew through all those layers.



There you go.  A camera strap that's just as cool as the others. 

Calling all show offs!

I've started a Flickr group where you can share the cool stuff you've made, whether inspired by projects on this blog, using tutorials from a pretty cool life, or other just generally cool things you've made.  I get so many awesome emails with pics of your projects...now you can show them off to everyone!

Click here to get there or just click on the flickr tab under the header.  I can't wait to see!!

SYTYC Week #3: Ruffled clutch

I'm sure everyone guessed this was my "teacher gift" submission for SYTYC. 

This project was a lesson in itself; had I not been on a deadline to complete it, I certainly would have quit.  Between my disobedient sewing machine and my blonde measuring skills, I was ready to throw in the towel more than once.  But at 1 am, I had little choice but to finish, and I'm glad I did. 

And now the voting is up for this week's challenge, dress up.  Head over now and vote for your fave!

I'm kind of a big deal

to these two little guys.  And I couldn't be happier.  Happy Mother's Day!

Just what I needed.

Every day we're inching closer to summer and my boys still have a total of four pairs of shorts between them.  Not good.  And instead of getting started, the mountain of work ahead of me is making me want to just take a nap.  Yeesh.

Well, luckily, Meg is hosting a kids' clothes week challenge.  No pressure, just motivation to get things done.  The kick in the pants (or shorts-ha!) I need. 

You should join, too!

Here are her rules:



Okay, there are no rules, but it sounds less wishy washy than guidelines or suggestions. Really there is only one thing you have to do if you want to participate in kids clothes week: sew. Sew one hour each day the second week of May. You should probably be sewing clothes for your kids, since it’s kids clothes week, but I think accessories are close enough. You don’t have to start a new project or buy new material, you could just finish those pants that have been waiting for cuffs or the sundress you started last summer that still needs buttons. The point is just to work a little each day and see what you have to show for it at the end of the week. There aren’t any prizes, but you can post photos of your finished work in the elsie marley flickr group and we will all oooo and ahhhh over them. And that’s better than a cheap trophy, right?

Sounds awesome, and totally do-able, right??

Hopefully, by the end of the week I'll no longer have to worry about having two pants-less babies this summer.  Wish me luck and a week full of productivity!

For the birthday boys

Are you sick of hearing about beanbags yet?  It's okay...I think I've finally exhausted the possiblities.

This time, I appliqued the letters on each one. 

Here's a peek at the gifts we brought to our twin nephews' 3rd birthday party.

All I did was iron on a layer of Wonder Under and then zig zag in contrasting thread around each letter.  While this way is much more time consuming, I think they turned out even more colorful and fun!

 
Happy birthday, boys!

It's that time again...

Time for voting on SYTYC Week #3!  This week's theme is teacher gifts.  Can you spot my entry??

SYTYC Craft: Vintage linen storage bins

Did you guess this was my submission for week #2 of SYTYC??

No one wants their overnight guests to struggle looking for essentials in the bathroom.  These fabric storage bins not only keep everything in plain sight and within arm's reach, they're as pretty as they are functional. 

Made from vintage linens and lined in cheery gingham, they're lovely to look at, unlike their plastic counterparts.

And once your guests have returned home, they're perfect to use for your own bathrooom belongings.