My Newest Love: Blurb.com

I am soooo behind on my scrapbooking! Isn't everybody? For me it is an overwhelming task that I will never be done with. I keep saying "When I have time, I'll do it". I have never found the time, and I'm at least 6 years behind. There's a point where you just want something done, and I have reached that point. Maybe someday I'll take the time to make my pages cute and "scrappy", but for now, I have discovered blurb.com.

I heard about blurb.com awhile ago, and put on my list of things to look into. Last week I finally got around to looking at it, and I'm hooked! Blurb.com is a bookmaking site. You just have to download their free software, choose a template, and drag and drop your photos and text. You can even put your blog in book form with blurb.com. The pricing is great. You couldn't print off pages you digiscrapped for as cheap as the printing is on these books. And from what I hear, the quality is fantastic. I haven't ordered mine yet, but I'm so excited to finish my first book, and receive the finished product! Catching up will be so much easier and not so overwhelming now! Check it out! www.blurb.com

Refashioning a Child's Shirt to a Dress

Does your daughter have shirts with stains on the bottom? Use it to make a cute dress! This is a quick and easy project, and it's always great to reuse things. My daughter wants to be Strawberry Shortcake for Halloween, and this dress is part of her costume. Now I only need to make a hat and shoes, and her costume will be complete!

Here is what you need to make it:

• Child's shirt
• 3/4 yard fabric
• Scissors
• Thread
• Fusible Interfacing (if you are going to applique)
  

Cut the bottom off of the shirt. You can cut it anywhere you want depending on what you want your dress to look like.

I didn't take pictures of the applique process, but I'll explain it. This is a great way to cover up stains. First, cut out the shapes you want. Get some fusible interfacing (I use Heat 'n Bond Light in the purple packaging). Following manufacturer's directions, fuse the interfacing to the fabric pieces. Peel off the paper, place the pieces on the shirt, and iron them to the shirt, again following manufacturer's direcions. Once your shapes are on the shirt, sew as close to the edges as you can.

Next, get your fabric out, and cut a shape like this (cut 2). Make sure the top of the skirt piece is 1/2" wider than the shirt on both sides to allow for seam allowance. Be sure to measure your little one from where the shirt ends to where you want the dress to fall and then add 1" to the length to allow for seam allowance.

Put right sides together, and sew along the sides of the skirt with 1/2" seam allowance.

Next, put right sides of the shirt to right sides of the skirt, and pin, lining up the side seams.

Hem the bottom of the skirt. There really isn't a science to this. I just rolled over 1/2", rolled 1/2" again, and sewed, rolling as I went. You can also use the iron to fold the fabric before sewing.

You're done!

So Busy!

I know I haven't posted in awhile. I have been so busy! Less than 2 weeks ago, I was asked to do a craft fair that started yesterday. I have been working day and night. In a week and a half, I have made 35 pairs of baby shoes, 11 dresses, and 15 hair bows. I can't believe I did so much! Despite the stress of it all, it has been fun, and I am re-evaluating my decision to only sell patterns in my etsy store. I might start putting a few listings with shoes, dresses, and bows in my shop, so watch for them. Now that I have things finished for the craft fair, I can get back to my own projects. I have some fun ideas, and I hope to start working on some of them next week.

All 35 pairs of shoes ready to go to the fair!

My favorite pair of shoes. If they don't sell, I'm going to make some just like it for my baby.

I love how these shoes turned out. If I had a baby boy, he would definitely have a pair of these!

One of my pillowcase dresses

Cute little candy corns

Winner!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway! We have a winner. I used random.org so that the results are truly random. The winner is #1, Valerie.

Valerie said...
Ohh I would love some! They are so sweet! my email address is ... So Fun!

Congrats, Valerie! I'll be contacting you to work out the details.

Wallet Makeover

Looking for the Baby Shoe Giveaway? Click here. I'm taking entries until 11:59 PM MST tomorrow.

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I found this wallet on clearance for $3 the other day. I saw it, and immediately started thinking of the possiblities. I have been wanting to try Mod Podge on fabric, so I decided this was a good project to try it on.


First, cut out two different pieces of fabric about 1/2 inch bigger than the wallet on all sides.


Next, put Mod Podge on one side of the wallet, and then put the fabric on and smooth it out. Do this with both sides.


Use a razor blade to even out the edges of the fabric. Then, put Mod Podge on the fabric, and let it dry.

So quick and easy! If I could do it again I would have used a different fabric so I could decorate it. Maybe next time!