Wedding gift - Name & Est. plaque

One of my favorites gifts to give friends who are getting married is a wooden plaque with their names and established date...you know, you've seen them, they're very popular.  And easy peasy to make too.  I buy pine boards in long lengths, cut them into the sizes I want (why yes, I am perfectly comfortable wielding a circular saw), and sand them down nice and smooth.

Then I paint them, generally with acrylic craft paint or sometimes with spray paint.  I always check out the couple's registry to choose a color that will go with the linens and towels, etc., that they have picked out.
The couple that is getting married tomorrow registered for brown kitchen towels and bedding, so I chose a nice warm brown color (believe it or not, that IS brown...forgive my once-nice-five-year-old camera).

Next, I design and cut out vinyl on my beloved Cricut Expression (thank you husband and parents).

Then I apply the vinyl, and Ta-Da!  Finished.  And I'm usually always VERY pleased with it!  :)

Here's a couple more I've made in recent years:

Minnie Mouse ears for baby tutorial

My daughter has this darling red polka dot dress we bought for her the day we found out she was a girl.  So, with that in mind, we decided she would be Minnie Mouse for Halloween.  But, she'll be 8 months old at Halloween, and there is no way on Earth she would keep a regular headband on.  So I decided to make a baby-friendly version of Minnie Mouse ears.

First of all, if you are interested, here is the link to the pattern I made.  (If the image of the file doesn't come up, don't worry, just click download in the upper left corner.)

Okay, so here we go!  You need:
- Black felt
- 1/2" black foldover elastic (I get mine from this Etsy shop)
- Batting
- Fabric for the bow
- Sewing machine
- Hot glue gun

Cut out the pattern pieces out of black felt (To save time, I cut out two, then pin those to the felt and cut out another set, so they are already pinned together, ready to be sewn.)

Then sew around curving edges, using a small seam allowance (less than 1/4").  Leave the straight edges open.

Next, clip pies out of the seam so they will lay flat when they are turned inside out.  (Do this oh-so-carefully, or you might clip the seam and have to go back and reinforce it like I did!)

Turn the ears inside out, making sure all the edges pressed out.  Now time to stuff it!  Take the cardboard inserts, and bend it gently to slide it in.

Then take the batting.  I tore mine in half (in terms of thickness), and slid a piece on either side of the cardboard.

And then stitch 'er closed along the straight edge, where the flap begins from the circle (hopefully that makes sense!)

Now, time for the bow.  I used about a 4X8" rectangle.  Fold in half width-wise, right sides together, to make a square.  Stitch around, using about a 1/4" seam, and leaving about in inch open.

Turn the bow inside out through the open hole, then topstitch on that end (and the other one so it matches) to close up the seam.

Then fold the bow like an accordian, and put a sew stitches through the middle (I did this by hand, but it could be done by machine also).

Next, take a strip of matching fabric (mine was 2X3"), and fold in half length-wise, right sides together, to make a long 1X3" rectangle.  Sew along the long 3" edge, using about 1/4" seam, to make a tube.

Turn inside out, and top stitch down each long edge.  Set aside.
Now, grab your foldover elastic.  Measure your baby's head for how you want it to fit, and add 1/2" to that.  My baby needed 16.5" of elastic.  Cut your elastic accordingly, and overlap about a 1/4" to a 1/2" and sew straight across.  (Make sure you haven't twisted the elastic!)

Now, heat up your glue gun.  I didn't take any pictures of the glueing process, so read through this carefully before beginning.  (If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at diykindagirl@hotmail.com) I cut a small rectangle of felt and folded it over the seam and glued it into place, both so the seam wouldn't show at all (even though you'll be putting the bow there) and so it wouldn't irritate my daughter's head.  Then take the ears, and fold the flaps out flat.  Put a line of glue right down the middle where the seam is.  Line up the edge of one flap with the back edge of the foldover elastic and glue down.  Repeat with other ear.  Next, take the bow and the matching tube.  Line the short edge of the tube up with the back edge of the middle of the accordian you stitched into place.  Glue.  Then wrap the tube around the middle of the bow tightly, gluing as you go, again where you put the stitches, until it overlaps with the edge of the tube you already glued down.  Trim, then glue down.  Take the finished bow and glue it between the ears, lining it up with the front edge of the felt square that is covering the seam in the elastic.

Find a cute baby to put it on!

Coincidently, it's actually Disney week over at Someday Crafts.  They have lots of other Disney related tutorials up right now, so take a look if you are interested.

Stay tuned for my son's Yoda costume!

Reversible baby bib tutorial and template

Okay, so I finally finally finished the great American bib making project.  It took me forever because I tend to make baby gifts in mass...I'm a young mother, and lots of my friends are young mothers, so someone is ALWAYS having a baby.  So 16 bibs later, I have the tutorial ready!

First off, here is the link to the bib template.  It's just a tiny bit too tall for the original size to print on an 8.5X11 sheet of paper and maintain its dimensions..I really did try though.  The original size of the bib is 5 inches wide and 11.75 inches tall, FYI.  Adjust as you will.

I used terry cloth on one side and flannel on the other side.  The terry is a neutral color (because every mom needs a bib that will go with almost everything!), and the flannel is a cute print for some pizzaz.  So, pin your pattern (I like to trace mine onto leftover crumpled up tissue paper, then pin it on) onto your terry cloth, and cut it out.

Then, save yourself a step and use the terry cloth piece as the pattern.  Pin the terry cloth bib shape to the RIGHT (patterned) side of the flannel, and cut out.

Now you have the two pieces already pinned together and ready to sew. 

I used the edge of my presser foot, which is just under 1/2 inch, for the seam allowances.  Start on one of the straight sides, and sew ALMOST all the way around, leaving about 1.5 to 2 inches open.  (I used black thread here for the purposes of the tutorial.  Definitely recommend using thread that blends in (i.e., white)!

Trim your seams down to about 1/4 inch, EXCEPT at the open seam (see photo).  Then carefully clip the curves (pies out of outer curves, snip inner curves) as needed.

Now, the tricky part: turn the entire bib inside out through the 1.5 to 2 inch open seam.  Use a pen or a ruler or even your shears (provided they have blunt ends) to help push the corners out.

Iron the flannel side lightly to help the edges stay pushed out and in place.  If you'd like, pin the open seam closed.

Now, if your sewing machine has any decorative stitching, whip it out.  I chose a green thread with a curving stitch for my monkey bibs.  Again, using the presser foot as a guide, sew all the way around.  Make sure you are sewing close enough to the edge to close up that 1.5 to 2 inch open seam. 

I use snaps because I hate the way my kids' velcro bibs get stuck to my clothes in the washer.  They're simple to use, and look nice.  Follow the instructions on the package to apply.  I find that hammering them doesn't always work (especially with one of the two layers being terry cloth), so I employ my flat nose jewelry pliers to squeeze them into place.

And you're done!  Now all you need is a cute baby to put it on!

Any digital scrapbookers out there?

Okay, so I haven't come even close to finishing my baby gift projects, BUT I WILL.  And there WILL be a tutorial and a template for any readers I still might have. :)

Instead of sewing bibs, I indulged in another one of my favorite crafty hobbies - digital scrapbooking.  There are a couple American Idol-esque design contests going on right now in the digital scrapbooking world, which means lots of freebies.  I made this layout with one of the kits I got (Love Actually, by Lali Creations, found in Round 2, New Designers at Digiscrap Addicts):

So if you are interested, here are the links:

The Studio Next Designer Contest

Digiscrap Addicts Designer Apprentice

I'm not sure how much longer all the freebies for the previous rounds will be up, so if you want, head over and get them!