Making A Toddler Drum While Ruby Naps

As my daughter gets older she has outgrown quite a lot; her clothes, the fresh beat band (thank goodness), and even most of her toys.  I hate going toy shopping because she will usually see something she likes bring it home, throw it in the corner and then play with a spatula for the next hour.  So with that in mind I am making an effort not to spend much money on toys that may be popular for less time than whoever sang the macarena.  Today I was inspired to do a little recycling and embrace her love of music and chaos, something I am sure I may regret later but hey no risk no reward right? 

Toddler Drum Made from scrap fabric, random debris and a Gerber puffs container.

materials:

modge podge

scrap fabric

seal able container

debris for inside rattle (i used bead and two jingle bells)

glue gun (just to seal the top extra tight)           

1. wipe out the inside of the empty container and then score the outside, i just used a bent sewing machine needle, really anything that will rough up the smooth cardboard a little bit, this is just to help the modge podge grip the fabric, super smooth surfaces don't tend to hold as well.

it only takes about a minute just make sure you get all the way around (you don't want you tiny human finding the weak spot and pulling)

2.cut you fabric to size.  mine was four inches high, and i made the length an inch or two longer for overlap, i made it a touch high so that when i sealed the top with the glue gun it would give the fabric an extra hold too)

3. put about a two inch wide layer of mogde podge down bottom to top smooth fabric on and continue adhering the fabric that way.  I do small section to avoid bubbling and modge podge drying before i can place the fabric over it.  Smooth as you go.

4. add your noise makers!

5. line the inside of the lid with hot glue,quickly cap your drum making sure to tuck the fabric inside. All Done just make sure the modge podge is dry before you let your little start making music!

(do this step quickly because you don't want your glue to cool down before you cap it!)

Baby Shorts While Ruby Naps

     I had a kid in a candy store moment the other day on fabric.com, they had about 400 free pattern downloads, safe to say I went a little bit batty.  I found about a hundred patterns that I downloaded and am itching to make.

   Particularly exciting was this one I found for children's shorts.  Summer is just gearing up here in Texas and I find myself waging a war against my little being too hot or too exposed to the sun. we use sun block but it just doesn't seem to cut it for my fair skinned lass so I was pretty jazzed to find this pattern.

    I made a size bigger than what she normally wears because we cloth diaper but it turned out to be great because they cover more leg, turning into a wide legged capri, blocking more sun and covering her knees for when she stumbles.  I have made six pairs in the last two days, they are quick to whip up and my peanut loves them!

here is where to find the pattern (and many more addicting ones to boot)

these are a couple of my examples

 These are bright and fun, I added ribbon to the bottom to dress it up

 I added length to the bottom to turn this eyelet pair into pants, she can still keep cool but it protects her whole leg from the sun!

This was the first pair I made that made me fall in love, she did too! she didn't want to take them off, even after they get all muddy!  

There are so many great ways to make these unique, fun fabrics, applique, ribbon embellishment, embroidery,  they list goes on (and i am certainly do my best to make it through each one...)

As soon as they come out of the wash I will be taking pictures of the other three pairs, there each have something special! 

if you make a pair of your own, send it in the comments, I would love to see everyone else's creativity at work!

Market Bag While Ruby Naps

These two girlies have be pretty tuckered out, during nap time today I had a but of a lie-in as well, waking up an hour after I laid down realizing I had spent my relaxing /cleaning time unconscious.  As much as I love those girls everyone needs to unwind, so instead of watching the hobbit with hubby and his friends I decided to grow my collection of market totes (the plastic bags from the store drive me bonkers so I am trying to free our family from the insidious rustling) using some lightweight canvass from my stash.
  It was a great opportunity to practice my french seams, a skill recently acquired through shameless pintrest surfing.  If you have never done them, here is a great tutorial ( I didn't bother the last step she mentions because my project was a bag and not a garment but I am going to keep it in mind for the garden party dress I am working on).  Since I do not foresee a time when my fairy-godmother drops a brand new serger in my lap or on my sewing table rather I have a feeling I will become much more proficient at french seams as time goes by.
     For the moment I am thrilled with my bag, it looks neat and clean from every angle and it gave me a chance to fall back in love with these two adorable prints.

I cant't wait to try this out!

Made something cute for me while Ruby Was Napping

     I have been watching another tiny human for a friend lately so most of Ruby's naps (and her buddy's) have been spent sitting quietly on the sofa trying to remember where I put my sanity.  I still have not found it but I did manage to whip up a couple of cute things to brighten up my summer.
     Before I agreed to watch my friend's daughter I had decided I didn't want to buy much , if any, of my summer wardrobe.  I thought it would be nice to challenge myself, to either make from scratch or refab what I had to get through this Texas heat.
     Here is what I have come up with so far, now that I have started I have a head full of ideas for more, if only I had the time!

this took me less than an hour! its nice, light, and washable, if I run an iron over it I can even wear it to church!

 This one is my favorite, a twirly circle skirt made out of knit and a cotton woven for the waist band, I just have to be careful on the windy days!

This purse was made from fabric in both skirts and I am in love, the first one i made was for my etsy shop but I loved it so much I had to make one for myself!

next I am refbaing last year's jeans into cut offs and capris with style!

Vintage music notes and Peacock Hat Box while ruby naps....

     For me gift giving is hard.  (as much as I love Christmas it is particularly stressful)  I don't want to make the effort unless I can find something that I think the person will really like. The older I get the more I want to find things that are not cookie cutter and mass produced.  This tutorial is one of the gifts I was very proud of this year.
     My sister L is an amazing human being.  I fully believe that cartoon birds braid her hair in the morning, she is an always honest support system and there is something about her that is just bright and awesome.  I wanted to get her something this Christmas that she would really like, but I didn't have a huge budget to work with.  I found a cool shop on etsy, (here)  that prints off beautiful images onto pages of old dictionaries.  There was a gorgeous one of a peacock that fit L's style so well I just could resist. It was only 4.00 and I figured I could mat it and put it in a pretty frame for a total under 15$  but of course the closer Christmas got the busier I was, I couldn't seem to find a mat or frame that fit the style and feeling of the print. (I don't have that great of a selection around her, hobby lobby and walmart -bleh) so Christmas came and went and the beautiful print sat where it was.
       When I flew to see my family for our belated holidays I brought the print with me thinking I could get it done there, luckily it turned out. While staying in my parents house I was going through things I wanted to bring back with me, I stumbled on crafting gold! In my old piano bench I found about a million old books of sheet music.  No one had looked at them in years and one in particular had the cover missing and was filled with progressive piano pieces that I had never liked and never bothered to learn.  Having a crippling pintrest addiction I knew just what to do. 

following along at home you will need:

an object to be covered (naked hat box at a craft store for 3$)

vintage paper (that you are ok with ripping up)

center piece (i got mine at ....)

modge podge

     To start I ripped some of the pages out of my music book and started going to town, shedding them into pieces I could easily wrap around my naked hatbox. I particularly liked the ones with hand pencil notations for the last person who had owned the piano.
     After I had a nice little pile of music note scraps ready I laid out the center piece on the lid and used massive amounts of modge podeg to put it in place, I wanted this to be a fairly hardy piece. I put a layer underneath and a layer on top.

      From there you just arrange your pieces to cover your hatbox, if you have some trashy television to watch you can multitask! (I usually watch project runway while I am crafting)
     You can make a patterns with colors of words or just go random like I did
      Once you have it all in place I recommend trimming the edges and then applying one last thick layer of modge podge on to be a sealant.

 I adore how it turned out. It was a project for under 10$ and took less than an hour!

And my sister loved it!

Shaded Baby Blanket While Ruby Naps

     I am a sucker for unique baby stuff.  After having my own I really began to appreciate anything that wasn't the cookie cutter stuff at Target and Walmart.  Theses baby quilts are car-seat sized, the same size as an average receiving blanket, you can snuggle them around your little peanut in the car without having yards of quilt dragging on the ground, they make perfect 'night-night' blankets and are more than sturdy enough to handle the washes that will come their way,

  for this project you will need:

• one pack of varied shades on fabric (they are about six dollars at hobby lobby and come in many color families)
• scissors/ rotary cutter
• ruler
• 1 yard of batting
• 1 yard of flannel or micro fleece for backing (for snuggly warmth, cotton would work for a lighter version)

      Pre-wash your fabric!!!!! for quilts this is very important, skip this step and your entire project is ruined once you throw it in the wash.

  I iron my fabrics once they are out of the dryer, this is mostly to help me when I am cutting, the flatter the fabric the easier it is to cut accurately with the rotary cutter.

   I used a template for 4 inch squares and used a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I cute out as many squares as I could from each color, I like to be able to play with my layouts until I find one that I like.

   Once I find a lay out i like i pin the squares together in strips then sew them.  Whatever seam allowance you are comfortable with, use, just make sure you keep it the same throughout the entire quilt. 

    When you have finished your strips pin them together, matching up the corners of the squares as you go, then just sew them together to finish your facing!  Press the seams open for a crisp look.

   Cut batting to the size of your facing, then doing the same with the flannel backing.  Put the backing fabric right side to the right side of the facing. then lay the batting ontop of that. 

     Sew the three layers together leaving a 3 inch gap, then use that gap to turn the quilt right side out.  Iron the quilt flat and sew down the edges.  I always use a decorative stitch for my edging stitch.  I turn in the 3 inch opening and sew it down when I am doing the edge stitching.  

This is a great opportunity that have some fun with contrast thread, if you are comfortable with your stitches I recommend it for some extra pop.

     

if you don't feel like sewing you can buy one of these here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RubyKei

Hair Bow Holder While Ruby Naps

My little girl has crazy curls. I adore them, but combing isn't going to make them look particularly presentable so ever since it got long enough I have been trying to tame them with the salon clip hair bows.  I have many,  to fit each outfit and mood. But they get scattered throughout the house and I have to search everywhere for one. 
I found a hairbow holder in the store and laughed as I walked away from its 20$ price tag.  That was when I decided to make one my self.

You will need:

Fabric (size is up to you)

Wood or cork board to cover

Ribbon

Staple gun or hot glue gun

I bought a wooden disc from hobby lobby for 1$ and used scrap fabric and ribbon.  I cut a circle around the wooden disc with two inches extra then hot glued the fabric tight around the wood, covering one side completely.  I wanted a simple hair bow holder so I just went with an X, you can get as creative as you like with your ribbon placement.  I hot glued the ribbons to the back side of the wooden disc.

 I had to make sure that they were securely fastened,as this is where the hair-bows will be clipped to. I used my staple gun to secure the hanger to the upholstered disc.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out, however I might make another one that will actually match her room, she has blue sparkly stars, the pink and black polka dots are a bit out of place......

I would LOVE to see any other homemade hair-bow holders!  Show me how yours turned out!