DIY Custom Tablecloth Tutorial

Think making a custom tablecloth is hard? It's not!  Let me show you how!

DIY Custom Tablecloth Tutorial

Materials needed:

• Table you wish to cover
• Tablecloth OR Fabric to cover (see TIPS)
• Marker
• 1/4in braided elastic
• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Scissor

TIPS: 

• Make sure that the tablecloth/material is large enough to cover the table and extends at least 5 inches outward
• A table with legs that are not flush with the edges works best
• I used a cheap flannel-backed tablecloth that I bought on clearance, but any fabric would work, maybe something from the outdoor section at the fabric store
• I used 1/4 in braided elastic, but anything similar would work fine, thin elastic is the key

Let's get started! 

Step 1: Lay the tablecloth upside-down on the table you wish to cover.

Step 2: Trace the edge of the table on your tablecloth

Step 3: Using a sewing machine, sew the elastic approx. 5-6 inches from the line you traced.
This may change, depending on the depth of your table, but the idea is that you're creating a pocket for the table.
Be sure to stretch out the elastic as you sew.
Note: It'll be under the table, so it doesn't have to be perfect! 

Step 4. Cut of the excess tablecloth, about 1-2 inches from your sewn elastic.
Again, this will be under the table, so it doesn't have to be perfect. 

Step 5: Put on your table and enjoy! 

And there you have it!  An easy, fun way to dress-up your table for the holidays, birthdays, whatever your celebration might be!  And once you're done with it (or your kids have poked holes in it and spilled nail polish all over it), you can just toss it and start again. 

Happy sewing!

~Patricia~

Countdown to Christmas!

Christmas is coming,

 the goose is getting fat

Please to put a penny in the old man's hat

If you haven't got a penny, a haypenny will do

If you haven't got a haypenny, then God bless you!

Anyone else remember this song? I remember singing it in elementary school, for our school "winter" program. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, not only for the music, but for the fun of giving (and sometimes getting too!) gifts. This year I wanted to make an Advent Calendar for my girls to help them count down the days. My oldest is also helping me make the "pockets," and she is loving it! 

I bought some glittery green felt, folded it in half
and cut out a Christmas tree.
It's about 35"wide by 60" tall.

We decorated "pockets" for the days out of felt and hot-glued them on. Halfway done!

Add a little treat or message inside the pocket!

I wish I could say that this amazing tree Advent Calendar was my idea, or that I even found it on Pinterest, but alas, it was from Pottery Barn. :)  For some reason, they started sending me their catalogs, and I'm hooked!! It apparently was a very popular item because I can't find it online anymore, so I'm glad I ripped it out of the catalog when I did.  Sorta how we used to get ideas for things before the internet, huh? 

It's still a work in progress, stay tuned for the finished tree, Happy Holidays!

(Pizza) Roll it UP!

I'm going to make a confession here: I love pizza. 

Really, I LOVE pizza! It's just so yummy!

Recently, we've been buying whole wheat pizza dough at the grocery store and experimenting with making our own 'homemade' pizzas.


While looking for ideas, I came across this idea for making a pull-apart pizza. So cool!  Here's the basics:

Roll out the dough into the shape of a pie plate that has been lightly brushed with olive oil.
Add yummies! 

Roll it up and slice, then place rolls into the pie plate.
Magically, it all fits!

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Enjoy! 

I couldn't believe how easy it was, and how fast we gobbled it all up! I used jarred pizza sauce, ham and shredded mozzarella in mine, but you can add whatever cheese / toppings are your favorite. Roll it up!

Two Minute Upcycle

Recently I got together with some friends for a night out and a clothing swap. A cute blue and white striped top caught my eye, not for the shirt, but for the fabric.  I was able to turn it into a fun skirt:

Don't mind my modeling! 

This upcycle took two minutes to make, literally. I was lucky enough to find a shirt that had an elastic empire waist, so all I did was cut the top part off. It was super easy and now I have a fun, comfy skirt to wear! Wahoo!

Update: I recently remade this skirt, adding fresh elastic for the waistband and taking it in considerably on the sides for a more fitted, a-line look. And I still love it!

Mmmm... homemade cinnamon applesauce!

Mmmmm....this was so good!  I was in a fall mood and whipped up some homemade applesauce on the stove the other day. I used 3 different kinds of apples, (probably 8 or 9 total), cubed them up, simmer them in some water and added about 3/4 cup of sugar and some cinnamon that I ground up in our coffee grinder. I just let it simmer until it "looked right" (the apples were nice and soft and the water was almost all gone) and smell up the whole house, seriously yummy!

What did you make today?

Trofast Ikea Hack

Does anyone really have enough storage?

I always ask myself this when putting away the girls' clothes for the thousandth time.  Maybe they just have too many clothes (darn you, Target clearance!) or maybe I just don't have enough places to put everything, so it gets cluttered.  I decided that the next time I went to Ikea, I would get another Rast dresser and jazz it up to match the one that is already in the girls' room. Here's a photo, and even though I am really much better at sewing than painting, I just have to point out that the middle drawer was completed by my daughter, who was 4 at the time, lest you think that was my handiwork. 

What I made.

What I wanted to make.

Now imagine my sadness when I finally made it to Ikea (it's two hours away) and their Rast dressers were out of stock. Ack!  What am I going to do? Thankfully, thanks to Pinterest, I had seen several different ideas already on making a storage bench out of their Trofast line.  Here's the original link I liked, as well as this one and this one too. I'm pretty handy, but actually building something without directions is out of the question for me right now (I'm also having a baby in a few weeks!), so I decided to go with the Trofast bench in solid pine (it's pretty solid and somewhat heavy).  After assembly, I spray painted it white and then added in the buckets / tubs from Ikea.  

Here's a snapshot of how the completed bench turned out:

Looks pretty good!

Obviously, I was inspired by the links above and wanted to make a cushion for the the top.  It just so happened that a few weekends ago JoAnn's was having a sale on foam (60% off!, that's a deal in my book!).  So I dashed over and grabbed about a yard of some 2 in. foam.  I found this girly print in the clearance rack for $5/yard:

This awesome print was a steal at $5/yard!

I ended up doing my own pattern for the cushion cover, and made the cushion just a little bit smaller than the entire top of the bench. It fits really nicely, and I'm super happy with how it turned out. I sewed the whole thing on the sewing machine and even got the corners to look nice, now that's an accomplishment!  The total size of the cushion is 35.5 in by 15.5 in.  It's has an underside like a pillowcase, so I can remove it and wash it. The cushion only took me one day to finish, sewing a little bit here and there so my feet wouldn't swell up too much, and I love how easy Ikea's furniture is to put together. I used one can of primer + white gloss to cover the wood.  The girls love it as much as I do!  On to the next project...

More storage = one happy mama. 

Let's use up those broken crayons!

If you're even half as much addicted to Pinterest as I am, you've probably seen this activity before. Here's a link I used to start with: Here. I was curious to see if itactually worked. (Spoiler alert: It does!) Another friend wanted to do it, but didn't have the space in her home, so I got some more friends together, and we got to work! It was actually really easy, but I learned a few tips and tricks along the way.  Check out how cool these turned out below!

It took me two tries to get these beauties!

My daughter thought they needed a friend.

Basic Directions:
Start by gathering all your broken crayons or pick up some cheap wax crayons at the dollar store. It's very important that they are wax, because I tried to use some fancy art crayons that the kids had already broken and they didn't melt at all. Then I had to try and remove them from a hot muffin tin of melted wax. Not fun.Ouch.

We sprayed our muffin tins with the tiniest bit of non-stick cooking spray and then filled them up as much as we wanted with crayons of similar color in each muffin cup. Let your imagination go wild here, any color combo would probably work and would make for some fun crayons! You can also use any kind of muffin tin that you want, there are some cool-shaped ones that go on sale around the holidays, so be on the lookout for a good deal. I think these would make fun presents!

Pop the tin in the oven at 225 degrees and check them every few minutes.  We found that some of the colors seemed to sink to the bottom and a clear-ish wax was left on the very top.  I tried to remedy this on my second go-around by mixing each color with a toothpick before letting it cool.  When the crayons are all melted, you can let it cool on the counter and then put it in the freezer to cool completely. This will also make the crayons pop right out of the tin! I did break one crayon by just dumping the frozen ones out on the counter, so be aware of that.

And that's pretty much it! Enjoy!

A tip:
One of the websites talked about using tin foil to line the muffin cups, I definitely don't recommend this! Either go out and buy a cheapo one or pick one up at a thrift store. Lining the cups with tin foil just made them look yucky and crinkly (I like them better smooth) and some of the wax leaked anyways, so it was a lot of work for nothing. I ended up combining the crinkly crayons with some leftover crayons and making new ones that I like a lot better.

Taking all the tin foil off my crinkly crayons. 

I like the color, but that's about it. Messy!

Happy Crafting!

End of Summer

So tomorrow is the big day! The first day of school for my oldest daughter, kindergarten! I cannot believe she's grown up so fast! In an effort to get out of the house on time (school starts at 7:55am, which is really early for us), I made a picture chart with all of the important things she needs to do to get ready and off to school on time. I'm crossing my fingers it works! I created a document that shows the basic outline of what I put on the checklist. You can edit it here. I added some basic clip art pictures, but it would be fun to add photos of your child doing each step too! Happy 1st Day of School!

Wordless Wednesday {finished}

Tape skirt

I saw this great idea on Pinterest from UCreate: use fabric markers to create stripes, etc. on a solid color t-shirt. LOVE!!! Here's a link to their post and tutorial.

Here's a photo of my work in-progress. I didn't realize that you could use blue painter's tape on fabric. Good thing I had some left over from when I painted our playroom! I bought this skirt for a few bucks at Target, so I wasn't too concerned with the outcome, especially since I had two little helpers!! The fabric markers I bought were sort of pastel in color, so I didn't turn out quite as bold as I imagined. Big sister got a skirt with stripes and little sister got a skirt with stars! I'll find the finished skirts tomorrow and post!

Wordless Wednesday {art}

Maternity Extravaganza!

Lately I've been getting tired of wearing the same old maternity clothes that I've been wearing for my last 2 pregnancies (they've survived some of my friend's pregnancies as well!). Last pregnancy, I purchased a dress from Old Navy that turned out to be just hideous. I've come to this conclusion after much thought about it, and probably only wearing it once, because I realized it had such potential, but something just wasn't right about it. So I turned it into this dress:

And I like it so much better now! I followed this tutorial, using an old tank, some elastic and the skirt off the hideous dress. My advice is to put the skirt on first, and then try it on over the tank top, pinning it where you want and then sewing it together. I tried sorta just eye-balling where to put the tank part first, and had to take it apart because it got a little bulgy in places and didn't lay quite right. I chose this particular tank for this project because 1) it was one size too big already (perfect for a growing baby body) and 2) because it had bleach spots on it. I honestly don't know where those spots came from, because I never use bleach, but that's another story! I realized that some of the little spots where near the top, so after reading about this tutorial on how to change up your dark t-shirts using a bleach pen, I decided to give it a try! Here's how it turned out up close, before I washed it:

And after (which really doesn't do it justice, the lighting is so bad it looks like two different shirts! I promise it's the same one, and that the background color remained the same):

Using the bleach pen was fairly easy (I just put a towel underneath and then washed it separately after about 10 minutes. I'd like to try it again, using a shirt that isn't ribbed, which I think would work better. And I'm going to have to work on my art skills too, maybe find a drawing somewhere that I like and copy it. Overall the dress took an hour or two to make, which made this a really easy, cheap project and finally, something fun for me! ~Patricia

Bangles!

This past weekend my husband and I were invited to an 80s "Rock of Ages" party--and boy, was it fun!!! To get in the 80s spirit, I decided to make a few things for my outfit, starting with some fun bangles. I hate having to go out and buy something for a costume that you'll probably only wear once, so why not up-cycle something that you have and make it work? I ended up making two different kinds of bangles. This first one involved painting some skinny bangles that I already had (pretty sure I bought them at Claire's way back in the day). I found some bright pink and metallic acrylic paint that I had and used this as a tutorial. (Found it on Pinterest, of course!) I didn't have masking tape, so I tried to use blue painter's tape to tape the inside of the bangles, but I ended up just putting them on my wrist with a paper towel underneath and painting away. I figured that they just needed to get the color across, and didn't have to be perfect. After letting them dry overnight, they turned out pretty good. The second bangle came from doing some basic searching and remembering how useful Modge Podge is. Seriously, you can do pretty much anything with it! I had some leftover zebra fabric, so I decided to use the Modge Podge to wrap an old plastic bangle that my daughter got at McDonald's in a happy meal (no joke). Again, I didn't want to go out and get something new, when I could just make the things I have better! It turned out super cute, but my daughter doesn't like that it isn't "soft".

Yummy!

So are you in love with all the cool stuff you can find on Pinterest too? I found this recipe The Easiest Mini Deep Dish Fruit Pizzas and it was seriously a hit! It took less than an hour to bake and assemble them and actually didn't use up that much fruit, like I thought it would. If I'd had been able to score the ingredients on sale or with a coupon, it would have made it a little cheaper, but it was around $5 for everything. Not bad, considering it was gobbled up at the Beginning of Summer BBQ that we went to today. Seriously a great way to "start" the summer (although I'm pretty sure summer started back in April for us here in FL!).

So much to do, so little time to post!

Hey y'all! I've been super busy getting our playroom organized, and after donating 3 large bags to Goodwill, I think I may finally have some control over the clutter! (At least until the kids start playing with it!) I've also been working on finishing up some projects that I started long ago, doing some sewing up of holes in shirts, etc., and working on a stash of hair clips and wands, so that I always have a last-minute birthday present on hand! I also refashioned a large t-shirt into one that will actually fit my 5 year old, and I'll snap a quick picture when she tries it on tomorrow morning. Nothing like getting things put together and checking things off my to-do list; feels so good! What have you been accomplishing lately?

Serge on!

Recently I have been

feeling the "baby itch." Maybe because I'm having one of my own, or maybe it's because there are just so many awesome things to create for little ones! So when a close friend off mine said that she needed some more receiving blankets, I jumped at the chance to finally get out my serger and create some for her! I was able to make three for her just today and I am so excited about making more! Enjoy the sneak peek!

Aloha!

Our family was recently invited to a Luau, so of course I had to get crafty! Last year, we went and didn't wear anything Hawaiian (except the leis they provided), so I thought that this year I would make the girls some cute outfits out of some Hawaiian print material I found at Jo-Ann's.

I finished the bubble skirt for my 1.5 year old yesterday:

I was so happy with the results! I used this awesome tutorial as a guide, but I made-up my own measurements for the skirt, as well as fudged my way along to make a casing for the waistband.

Now I've been researching on Pinterest for a dress for my 5 year old, as she said that she wanted a dress and not a skirt. Stay tuned!!

Organizing!!

So lately I've been super busy trying to organize, well, pretty much everything! This has left little time for crafting, except for making a bunch of baby bibs for presents. When we moved into our house, there was this one room with two big closets, but just one shelf near the top. Thankfully, a friend was about to come over and install nice shelving for me, oh about a year ago!! And finally, I've been able to get all of my crafts organized into one closet (well, sorta) and the kids' toys in the other. I don't have a huge stockpile of crafts or fabrics, but just a lot of little pieces that get cluttered around if they don't have a home. I have been searching on Pinterest for some easy ways to organize, and finally settled on plastic totes. Genius time, right? :)

So here's a photo of part of it, and like I said, it's a work in progress!! I just wish I could have my own giant room devoted to all of the fun things I've collected, then I could finally use them all (and then just collect more!).

Old Favorite: T-shirt Iron-on Transfers

Today was the first day of spring break here. The first day of finding things to do to occupy my kids-so neither of us go crazy!!

I was inspired by another child I saw who made a t-shirt using an iron-on for Dr. Seuss's birthday--of course!! So combine an unopened package of printable iron-ons that I've had for at least 6 years with a t-shirt that I bought at the dollar store and voila!! A fun, easy diy project that took about an hour to complete (and we have something to show wear for it!).

Birthday Bunting

Call it what you want, bunting or garland or a banner, these make awesome decorations for parties (like this example (c) Land of Nod)!

So after seeing all those cool pictures of flag banners on Pinterest, I decided to make my own for my daughter's 5th birthday party this month.

There are so many tutorials out there, but I figured it was as easy as sewing a bunch of triangles onto a piece of ribbon, and guess what? It was!! No tutorial needed here! And the sewing took about 20 minutes tops and I was able to cut the triangles out of remnants with pinking shears. Could this get any easier?

When my daughter saw the picture, her eyes lit up and she said, "Is this for my party? THANK YOU!!"

And that's really all the thanks I needed.

Pinning it Down #2: Unpaper Towels!

For my second try at Pinning it Down" I decided to make some "unpaper" towels. What exactly are "unpaper" towels, you ask? Well, they are re-usable towels that have flannel on one side and terry cloth on another. They are super absorbent and perfect for cleaning up those everyday messes. And then you just throw them in the wash and start again!

They were super easy to make using this tutorial. (Correction: They were super easy when my sewing machine was working properly!) I didn't do the snaps shown in the tutorials (just going to fold them up in my napkin basket), used a zig-zag stitch, and I only made four, because that was all I could make from the old towel and old receiving blanket that I decided to cut up and use. (My girls never really took to those cheeky dinosaurs.) So this project cost me nada! Bonus!

I am going to make a few more, but this is a nice start, and I already used them tonight to clean up the table. The girls had fun washing their play table and the windows too, but I think that it was actually the spray bottle of vinegar/water that they liked using the most. But, hey, I got to make supper in peace, so it turned out to be a beautiful day!

Check out my link-up as well as others on Pam's blog here!

Happy pinning and doing!

Fabric Flower Hair Pins

After getting inspired on Pinterest with this tutorial. I decided to make a fabric hair pin of my own. I was really pleased with how it turned out! In the tutorial, they mention that it's really easy to get burnt (and they weren't kidding!) so I ended up sticking a large stick pin in the middle of the "flowers" while I was melting the edges. And I used a Glade candle, because it was all I had. (This coming from a girl who hates open flames! I only lit the flower on fire once....the tutorial says mistakes add character.) Enjoy!

And my friend Patti told me about a great idea she heard about from her friend Pamela called "Pinning It Down"...basically where you actually DO something from your pinboards! I love this idea! So if you love it too and are actually "pinning it down" visit her at her blog and let others know about it!

Places to link-up for "Pinning it Down" Tuesdays:
http://www.amongstlovelythings.com
http://www.everydaysnapshots.blogspot.com

T-shirt redo photo!

Here's a photo! Suggestions?

T-shirt redo!

Tonight I also worked on embellishing a t-shirt for my daughter. I like how it turned out, but I feel like maybe it's missing something. Hmmm, I'm going to have her wear it tomorrow and then see!

Happy crafting and creating!

Fairy Wand

Feeing crafty again!

>Tonight I worked on an idea that I've had for awhile: a pretty fairy wand! I wrapped a dowel that I bought from Hobby Lobby with some ribbon (got on Christmas clearance-90% off-I couldn't believe it!) and used hot glue to secure it. I secured more ribbon on the top of the dowel and then glued a tulle "ball" that I made on top. Easy and I'm hoping my daughter loves it!
>

It's a Creative New Year!

Hello all!

I've been busy creating and crafting! With the start of 2012, I knew I wanted to finish up a few loose ends from last year, as well as start something new!

First I worked on making an infinity scarf from this tutorial. It was so easy! I made two yesterday from my husband's old t-shirts and it probably took me about an hour for both. Definitely going to be making more of these! And I've been wearing them all around the house, just because I can.

I also worked on embellishing a tank I bought from Target awhile back. When I brought it home, I realized that it had a stain on it, but not anymore! These cute tulle flowers covered it right up, and add a little touch of flair! Can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can actually wear it out!

I'll be posting more ideas and completed crafts soon! Stay tuned!

Find me on Pinterest!