Fleece Poncho

I've had this fleece laying around for awhile and finally got around to making something with it.  Boo Boo LOVES her new poncho and since the weather has been mild in the Southeast this winter, she has gotten many opportunities to wear it.  I used this tutorial and it was fairly easy.  I had a difficult time with the neck opening, but this was due to my lack of sewing experience and not the tutorial directions.  I would play around with the fringe next time, either tying them or adding beads for a little punch, especially for a little girl.  I'm thinking about making one for myself as well next time fleece goes on sale.

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Pennant Bunting

I have  been in the process of redecorating Boo Boo's room for several months.  We have done it in stages, as money and time have allowed.  This has actually been beneficial as we did not have everything planned out and going slowly has allowed us to pick and choose items we wanted to add to the decor and figure out what will work in her room.

Several months ago we painted it her walls a lovely shade of lime green and purchased a comforter set in lime, blue and purple.  One of the decor items we decided upon was a pennant banner, similar to the one we made for the 4th of July.   We selected several fabrics in her decor colors and got to work.  Once again, I followed the wonderful tutorial I found at My Homebased Mom. 

I cut all the pieces

Stitched them together

Sewed them to the bias tape

And hung them in her room.  It added just the right pop of color and interest to her new decor.

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Weekend Wanderer



Burlap Table Runner and Napkins

This is another kitchen project using the fabrics I bought at Hobby Lobby inspired by my Lemon Grass Fiestaware.  I also created a Menu Board and Burlap Wreath with these same fabrics. 

Inspired by all the burlap crafts I have see lately, I designed and stitched up this table runner and matching napkins for my kitchen table.  I got a new sewing machine for Christmas which made putting this together a breeze. 

For the table runner
1.  I cut the burlap the length I wanted (if I were to do it again, I would hem the ends for a more finished edge.)

2. Cut, press and hem the floral fabric to the dimensions of the burlap.  My kitchen table is really wide, so I made my table runner wider than average width.  Keep in mind the width of your table for this step.

3.  Sew floral pieces to burlap piece.  Press down seams.

4.  I then stitched matching orange grosgrain ribbon over the seams where the burlap and fabric met, giving a much more finished appearance. 

5.  Press and put on your table!

For the napkins -
1.  Cut fabric in 17" squares. 

2.  Press a 1/4" double hem.

3.  Sew hem, press and use.

Here is another view of the finished project -

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Simplifying Birthday Party Gifts - Pencil Rolls

I am always looking for ways to simplify my life.  As the working mom of 2 busy kids with a husband who owns a restaurant, we are always busy.  One of the things that used to fall through the cracks were birthday parties.  I was always forgetting we needed a present and we had to run into Walmart or Target on the way to the party.  This mad rush always meant spending more than I wanted to and usually resulted in a less than creative present for the birthday child.  Pencil rolls to the rescue! 

Last summer I found this WONDERFUL tutorial to make crayon rolls at Skip to My Lou.  The 7-8 year old girls are all into drawing and coloring, so this seemed a great gift.  However I felt they might think crayons were a bit babyish, so I altered the pattern to accomodate colored pencils.  I found the pencils on sale for $1 at the back to school sales.  I figured we usually attend 6 - 8 birthday parties/school year, so i bought 10 boxes of pencils, just to be safe. 

The pencil rolls are a HUGE hit!  Everyone wants them and the moms are super impressed with my "superior" sewing skills.  If they only knew how easy their were to make.  Just follow the crayon tutorial, but adjust the size of the fabric pieces to 16" x 9".  You will then have 15 spaces for pencils.  12 for colored pencils, 2 for regular drawing pencils and 1 for a Happy Birthday pencil. 

I make 4 or 5 up at a time when I have a free Saturday afternoon and we always have a ready to go birthday present.  Birthday party present stress alleviated!

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Spring Break Crafts #1

Craft #1

Boo Boo decided she wanted to craft all Spring Break, so we scoured some of my favorite craft blogs - Somewhat Simple, Simply Designing, Fireflies and Jellybeans, and many others. From there we came up with a hundred ideas and I trimmed them down to about 10. One was to make pillows for our dog, Rhett. He loves to sleep with his head on a pillow and was using my decorative family room pillows to do so. While, I love this adorable puppy, I do not love his slobber and hair on my pillows. Using fleece and cotton pearlized thread we created pillow covers for 2 travel pillows that can be taken off and washed.

I think he just might like them!