embellished cardigan tutorial

Another project made so much easier with my Go! Baby cutter. Love this thing, seriously. This project couldn't have been simpler, too.

I thrifted this really nice silk cardigan and shell awhile ago. I am not really the "shell" wearing type, so I knew I would cut it up to become ruffles or embellishments for the cardi. Then, of course, I caught a glimpse of my cutter hanging out on the shelf, and I knew I needed to use my flower die!

I cut out the 3 smallest sized flowers, and as many as I could with my fabric.

Then I layered and pinned them where I wanted. I went through and tacked each one by hand in the center of each flower.

 Then, since I wanted it to lay as flat as possible, I sewed around the largest flower in each stack, just underneath the second flower's petals.

Tada! a pretty quick update, and pretty darn cute.

And hey-don't forget about those awesome free patterns the folks at AccuQuilt have available for you!  Just click on the button below, register your e-mail, and they are yours!

another Simplicity 3835

I loved my first go at this pattern, so of course I knew another top would be in my near future! And once I saw this awesome fabric, I had to get some to use for it. It's Just Dandy Blue Jay Floral Crosshatch-by Robert Kauffman, and I got it from my fabulous sponsor, Ribbon Retreat. Seriously, love this fabric.

I left off the tie this time, and didn't even get out the directions. I know, what a rebel. I like it with this belt I thrifted a little while ago. My necklace kind of blends in though. I thought I was being all cool, matching my necklace...and then it blends in. eh. 

And just in case you though you'd escaped an awkward pic of my face, nope! gotcha.

The Lulu dress

So, getting Sadie to take some pictures in this dress was like pulling teeth. She is well aware that;

A. She get candy when we take pictures.

B. She does this ALL the time, and I have no patience for high maintenance models. ;)

and 

C. She gets CANDY when we take pictures. Hellooo? don't kids live and breath for sugar?

So that's why I'm posting this picture below. This is her best Mo-om-aren't-you-done-yet? face. Pretty good huh? She's 3 going on 13. 

Anyways-back to the dress! Or, onto the dress, since I haven't really talked about it yet, mostly just blabbed on about Sadie and her modeling habits, or lack thereof.

Let's start over. 

I made a dress. It's cute and simple. The top is made from knit (refashioned from an old tee) and the bottom is some quilting cotton from Joann's. It has an elastic waist and some ruched sleeves. It also has some gathering in the front. Did I mention it's easy? Cause it totally is!

She also happened to have these awesome sandals (from Old Navy) that she hasn't worn with anything else (cause they didn't match anything else) but now she can wear them with this dress! But only this dress, she informed me.

So how would you like to see how I made it?

Good, cause that's why I'm here, folks. To over-share and show you everything I make. In detail.

You'll need:

knit tee for the top, or knit yardage

cotton for the bottom, I used about 3/4 yard for size 3T (which is kind of big on the Sadester)

1/4" elastic

matching thread

ballpoint needle for knit (though i forgot and used it for the whole dress. no biggie)

Click below for the rest of the tutorial!

Go! Baby AccuQuilt cutter giveaway

****This giveaway is now closed****

See the winner below!

So you've probably seen some of the cool things this little cutter can do, right? You've seen my quick flower onesies...

...and even quicker hair clips....

...and my little ladybug softie.

 

Also, for the love of all that's crafty, please check out what Melanie-the-smartest-crafter-ever-is doing with hers. storage. coasters. dolly quilt. LOVE.

 Now how would you like a shot at winning one of these babies (pun intended) for yourself? Yeah, I thought so! Not only will you win the Go! Baby, you'll receive your choice of 3 dies! Fab. A few that I am wishing for:

The tumbler die...I want to make that storage thingy Melanie did!

 BIrdies! Easiest and cutest appliques ever, am I right?

I heart reindeers. The end.

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post with your favorite Go! Baby die. Please leave your email address if it's not linked in your profile. You can write it out if you like, ie: craftinessisnotoptional(at)gmail(dot)com. 

This giveaway will be open until Sunday, August 28th. Good luck!

And hey-don't forget about those awesome free patterns they have available! Everyone's a winner with those. (har har) Just click on the button below, register your e-mail, and they are yours!




The winner is....Jessie!

Mary Poppins hat+spray paint storage tip

So I found the perfect black straw hat thrifting ($3), and could NOT pass it up! I mean, it's the spitting image of Mary Poppins hat, right? I knew it would be perfect for a party prop.

All that remained was to add some cherries and daisies. Easy peasy, right? Only my craft store had no berries large enough, or red enough.

Woe is me!

My life is so rough.

Sad day....


So I had to get creative. I found these round wooden doll heads...and bingo-my problems were solved!  (whew! I was hitting a new low there for a minute)



I simply folded over the ends of some floral wire, glued them in the little hole...

...stuck them in some styrofoam, and spray painted them red with a glossy paint.

Here's a fun tip for storing your spray paint-I use a wine box. No I didn't drink that much wine just to get the cool box. ;) I don't drink any alcohol actually... but when I bought Rory's root beer, they put it in this box for me to take home. It just so happens that the little slots for bottles are the perfect size for spray paint cans. (and space for some gloves-a fingertip saver!)

I apparently have many shades of white. (this didn't include some of my more colorful cans, those were spread out around my craft room. See? I needed this box, so bad)

 

Then I simply hot glued on some fake daisies and trimmed down the wire as needed and glued on the doll heads-er-I mean cherries. 

Agh! too cute.

prize ribbon tutorial

Here's how I made some simple prize ribbons for the pony race winners at last week's Mary Poppins party!

You'll need:

crepe paper streamers

hot glue gun

cardboard

pin backs

ribbon

lighter or fray check to seal ends

labels

I cut out circles from my cardboard, nothing fancy...I used something hanging around my craft room-spool of thread or something. They were about 2" across. Then I cut out pieces of ribbon about 4-5" long, with the ends cut at an angle. I cut my streamers into 14" pieces.

First glue the ribbons near the bottom of the circle.

Then I folded the streamer in half like so.

Dab some glue around the edge...

Then place your streamers down, pinching to pleat it around the edge. I glued it-folded side in.

Keep doing that all around the circle, then tuck the end under, trimming if necessary.

Then I glued a pin onto the back of each prize ribbon.

I designed some simple tags, printed them on cardstock, and punched them out with my 2" circle punch, and glued them on as well. (if you'd like the printables I made, send me an email and I'd be happy to email it to you!)

Easy, but a fun little party detail!

You could customize these for other competitions or other party themes...equestrian parties, etc... (don't laugh, I would have LOVED one of those when I was younger) hehe.

DIY cake plate

So I almost didn't take pictures for this tutorial, since it's pretty straight forward and has been done many times....but what the hay? why not.

It's pretty and easy and they are oh so addicting to make! I think I made seven for Sadie's Mary Poppins party, and they only cost about $30 total in materials...that's much less than even ONE nice cake plate. Cha-ching!  That's the sound of money staying IN my bank account, for once. (Rory is grateful...well, he should be)

Anyways, these are so easy to make. All you need is:

a pretty plate 

a pretty cup, bowl, or short vase. I prefer them to be wider and therefore more sturdy.

heavy duty glue (I use Gorilla Glue-the foaming stuff, and it's fab.)

Tape (I also use Gorilla Glue tape. Not an advertisement, I promise you. I just like their glue and tape! My directions with the glue are for this specific brand and type. If you use another type, follow the instructions on the tube.)

Wash and dry your plate and cup well. Then slightly dampen the top of your cup with a wet rag. Squeeze out a THIN ribbon of glue where it will attach to the plate. This glue foams out, so make sure not to put it too close to the edge if you can.

Place it down on the bottom of the plate. I also laid out a towel to protect the plate.

Then using a strip of tape, secure it into place. Let dry for about an hour, remove the tape (it comes off easily), and then the bond is super strong and ready to go!

Make sure to wipe off the top of the glue bottle with a dry cloth each time you use it.

Then, TADA! you have a gorgeous cake plate for all kinds of treats! That you made for mere dollars!

My plate was $1.50 and my cup was 99 cents. The glue is about $5-6, and you use such a tiny bit of it, it'll last forever!

Pile it up with treats and show them off at your next shindig. Raspberry meringues this time...they're delish! and so easy to make. :)