Belts

I wish I had come up with this idea...but regardless I am SO glad THIS site did!  My son (4-years old)'s waist still doesn't fit into 3T pants but length wise he's now in 4Ts.  They don't make belts for boys either...not ones that are easy to get in and out of anyway without complicating potty going situation!  I am SO glad I made some of these today:

Here's one shot of the super simple belt!

See how easy?  D ring on one side, the other side has velcro so the belt can grow a bit with him!

These were SO easy!  I made 4 in like 30 minutes!  The gray & brown one are spoken for for my son...I can't wait for him to get home to try them on...and the red & white one are for a girlfriend of mine's little girl!

If you want one of your own...I almost feel bad charging because they're so easy, cheap, and simple!  But you can call one (or more) yours for just $5 each! (see bottom)

**UPDATE**

My handsome belt model.  I discovered one "snag" but fixed that problem already on this belt (before I knew it was a problem) and fixed it on the brown belt as well.

Close up.  He loves it too, he's so proud he can do it all by himself!

Nylon Child's Belt

$5 for 1
$4 each for 2+

Also available with 2 D-rings, no velcro
$4 for 1
$3 each for 2+

Switch Witch

Last year we introduced a new "tradition" for Halloween for Jerimiah.  I cannot take credit for this idea, however, I forgot where I found it so I can't give credit where credit is due.  ANYWAY...meet the Switch Witch!

The Switch Witch comes the night after Halloween (well, Trick or Treating anyway) and switches out your candy for a toy.  I didn't know if Jerimiah would like this idea so I told him about the Switch Witch and how she comes and takes your candy and leaves you a toy and he was SUPER EXCITED!  I let him graze through his candy all Saturday and then the night before Switch Witch comes he got to pick out just a few of his favorites to save out and then we left his candy out for the Switch Witch.  She left him a note along with a Spiderman Puzzle and a Spiderman Nightlight!




He LOVED IT!  He was SO super excited and because he had picked out just a few of his favorite candies he didn't even miss the rest!

Now the big question...what is the Switch Witch going to do with all this candy!  HAHA, at least it saves Jerimiah from WEEKS of sugar over load!

P.S. Jerimiah's already made requests for what he would like the Switch Witch to bring this year!!!!

Adding Eggs

(June 2010)
I wanted to post a craft for you too I did while Jerimiah was gone that he absolutely LOVES!  I found it on one of my Crafty Mommy Blogs...but I can't remember which one to give credit to, SORRY!  I call them "Adding Eggs"

I used just a half egg carton and saved 6 plastic Easter eggs.

On the outside of all the eggs I wrote a simple equation.

On the inside I wrote the answer and also included decorative marbles to help Jerimiah figure out the answer.

HINDSIGHT NOTE:  I thought it might be helpful to write the answer on the inside.  If I did it again I would NOT do that.  You can see the answer through the egg on the outside...and because Jerimiah knows his numbers he doesn't have to count the marbles most of the time to come up with the answer.

He really loves those adding eggs though...great simple idea (wish I could give credit where credit was due though, sorry...can't remember where I originally found the idea).

New Skirt

Don't mind ME in this picture, this picture was taken at 4:45AM!  This new skirt I just whipped up. I've been envisioning and planning on making it for quite some time and I finally just did it!  It didn't take long.  I cut it out Tuesday night and last night I sewed it all together.  I used some of my loose gaucho pants as my "template" and just sewed.  The waist band is elastic which could probably be tighter than it currently is but I don't want it too tight because I want it to be comfortable.

I wore it to work today and it was SUPER comfy!  It's a good length too...maybe could even go a little shorter.  Overall though, I'm quite happy with it.  I used some fabric I bought at Wal*Mart a while back on their "$5 Bolt Sale."  I have the same fabric in a baby blue...I might have to make a sister skirt!

ACU Baby Gift Set

I had a dear friend of mine send me fabric and some of her husband's ACU military uniforms to transform into a diaper baby for her upcoming baby girl.  It was quite a project but it was FUN!  I enjoyed ripping apart the uniform WAY TOO MUCH! :-)

Now that Julie has finally received her gift I can blog about it!

After a full day of sewing this is how my bed looked...meaning I would have to finish the project if I wanted any sleep!

Action shot of me sewing the bag together.

Another action shot, thanks to timers.  Deep in concentration.

FINISHED!  The supports in the side helping it stand up didn't end up staying, that's a project I need to work on for later is figuring that out.  It still needed to be "dolled up" a little.  The two front pockets were camouflaged into the rest of the bag...you didn't even know there were pockets there did you?

Here's the inside.  There is an inside pocket on the back side.  I used a magnet closure which was fun to do, but a little pricey.

Diaper changing pad (rolled up).  There was a pocket on the outside but I removed that the night before I mailed it...would be nice to have a pocket for diaper cream, etc, but the placement would be right in the baby's back....need to think that one through a little more.

Unrolled changing pad, WITH diaper carry case in it.  Currently holding 2 diapers and a wipe container (for the picture).

Close up of final embellishments.  It's amazing how those little dragon flies and the bows really make the front pockets POP out!

The FINAL product!  I was really happy with how it turned out.  These go online for hundreds of dollars.  This one was made with love for a GREAT friend!  It's got 2 side pockets for bottles, 2 front pockets (with Velcro for "Army Wife" and "Lastname" name tags to stick), 1 inside pocket, and 1 literally hidden pocket on the very back side.

LOVED making it!  If you're interested in someone this elaborate you'll need to see how much I love you first :-)

HAPPY few months before baby-time Julie!

P.S. I am going to be making burp cloths to finish the set...just haven't gotten that far yet and was impatient for Julie to see the bag!  Stay tuned.

WINNER WINNER

And the winner is (picked using Random.org)

LARA who said: "Cute! I'm all for doing activities with my kiddos!"

 

YEAH!  Congrats Lara, I will be sending your email information to Cierra and you should be receiving the email of

shortly!  CONGRATS Lara, and thanks everyone for participating in my giveaway!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Activity Book-GIVEAWAY

Ms. Cierra over at CraftyCierra is offering her FREE Christmas Activity book for anyone who does a giveaway.  SO...enter MY giveaway and you and I will BOTH get an activity book! :-)

Visit her blog HERE or her Etsy Shop HERE for more details or to purchase one yourself.  The book comes via a word file which you can then download & print & put together.

HOW TO ENTER?  Just leave a comment here and on Wednesday, December 1st (at 9:00pm MST) I will pick a winner!

GOOD LUCK and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Halloween Costume

I've been working on a Halloween costume for my boy, he's really into Spiderman and I FINALLY finished it!  So, here it is!

The shirt I had some stupidity issues with.  The spider was supposed to be an iron-on BUT I didn't know how to follow directions (ironed it on right side DOWN instead of up) and ended up screwing it up, luckily it was on the black spider so it was an easy fix.  I traced the iron-on with a black clothing sharpie, ripped off the iron-on, and colored it in.  Turned out good though.

Back of the shirt.  Wish the spider didn't have a white boarder and wish it were a little red-er, but it works.

The pants.  I LITERALLY searched EVERYWHERE for a pair of red sweatpants to crop for the bottom webbing with NO LUCK!  NO stores carry red sweatpants.  Some carried red sweatshirts but most carried almost every color BUT red...I was getting a little frustrated and just when I was about to just give up BAM there they were, only ONE pair at Wal*Mart, size 4-T but they work!

Front of the whole ensemble!  I found the Spiderman socks at the Target "Dollar Spot" awhile back and thought they would be perfect to wear with the costume.

Reverse side...only thing missing now is my little guy inside the costume...don't worry, those pictures will come too!  This was probably a little more expensive than a store bought costume but better for several reasons: 1) "it was made with love," 2) it's warm, 3) he can wear it comfortable as PJs if he wants, and 4) once I sew the blue arms and legs onto the red shirt and pants sweatsuit, he'll have TWO outfits instead of just one.

Hope you enjoyed this.

Overnight Tote

My son is in need of an overnight bag (not really but I needed an excuse to make something for him)

 I seriously whipped this up in a matter of an hour...ok, hour and a half.

 I let Jerimiah pick the fabric he wanted, as you can see he picked the train.

The lining was made from an old curtain so it should be really durable.  The straps from the same fabric.  The straps were super easy, I used already hemmed portions and just sewed them in half (sandwich style) and there ya go!

This was a fun and really simple project, always looking for an excuse to make something quick for my boy...now to work on the PJs I had promised him awhile ago :-)

$10

52 Weeks of Sewing

I have created my new blog for my sewing challenge.  The hardest part for me is going to be waiting until January to start!  AGH!

http://52weeksofsewing.blogspot.com/

EXAMPLE Clothing Challenge

Ok, here is my first attempt at my sewing challenge.  This is just an example.  I'm not great with tutorials so I'm not even gonna try to do a step by step thing.

Here is a before:

The dress is WAY to short (maybe 6 inches at least), it has no sleeves, and the V-neck in the back is too low.  This is a dress I had in High School (that I wore with a shirt under & a sweater over top).  I really like it and every time I go out to my parents house I look at it and think what I can do with it.  Well, here goes.

I had this black T-shirt I remember getting with my Mom in South Bend for my 13th birthday (yeah, I know).  It still fits but ONLY as an undershirt.  It's a little tight and short so I thought it would be perfect.  First I cut the dress leaving the "skirt" about 21 inches.  Then I sewed the skirt to the bottom of the shirt.  Now I didn't take an after-after picture...I can't leave well enough alone and as you'll see in the after picture I'm going to post, the "skirt" part sits a little low and I raised it up about an inch.

Here is a picture of my WONDERFUL helper for the day.  He came with me to the fabric store and was a GREAT help there.  I had to pick up fabric for some other projects & all Jerimiah asked for was some horse fabric so I can make him some PJs (those pictures will come when I get to that project).  He let me sew most of the day.  My sewing machine is in my bedroom and he either watched me, played with some buttons I had out, or watched a movie while he rested behind me on my bed.  What a great little boy I have!

After I sewed the skirt on I hemmed up the bottom of the bodice I cut off the dress and tacked it to the top of the shirt.

Here is the final project:

As you can tell, the "skirt" did need to be raised up some but I am quite proud of how it turned out.

But because I have a hard time leaving well enough alone sometimes...I ALMOST completely ruined the dress!  I SO wanted to basically sew in a slip so I don't have to wear a separate one...problem was the fabric I used.  I almost had to cut myself out of the dress...luckily I just had to cut myself out of the slip portion.  I don't know what I was thinking but the fabric I used for the "slip" had ZERO stretch to it...the whole dress is stretchy so basically it failed horribly!  Anyway, I took out the slip and I'll just have to wear a separate slip, which is fine.

So, what do you think?  Does this project encourage or discourage you from my project?  See my previous post for project details (click here).

P.S. The BEST part is this whole outfit didn't cost me ANYTHING (well, unless you count the wasted "slip" fabric which I did buy)!!!

EBeauty Creations Facebook Clothing Challenge

Inspired by Marisa with "New Dress A Day"  (See her blog here) I think I have finally decided on a "challenge" I could do.

BUT I NEED YOUR HELP!

365 days is a little too daunting for me so I'm going to do a new outfit a week...that's only 52 weeks instead of 365 days.  How can you help?  My challenge to myself is your challenge for me.  I need each of you to mail me an outfit you are no longer wearing (too out dated, too small, too big, in need of some TLC, etc) and I will "re-purpose" the outfit (including making it modest).  This also will help expand my own personal closet collection as I feel like I'm wearing the same outfits week after week after week.

Ok, now that you're on board...I think I want to start this project the first of the year so I will take from this time through December to collect articles from you my friends so I can start in January (give me time to think and plan).

Mail your submissions to: (give me your email so I can send you the address)

Thanks and we'll see what wonderful things I can come up with.  You can try to stump me but try to be nice too :)

P.S. Submissions for Jerimiah's wardrobe would be acceptable too.

I will probably start a new blog for this challenge...stay tuned!


I'm also working on an "EXAMPLE" post with this dress...

(Too short, sleeveless, and a low V-neck back)

Winged Comforter

I honestly think this is one of my BEST creations!  Jerimiah tosses and turns a LOT in his sleep which means 2 things.  1) he always comes uncovered and 2) he gets tangled up in his sheets, therefore I don't put sheets on his bed.  Here is my FABULOUS solution:

I cut his sheet in half and sewed it onto the edges of the comforter

Here's what it looks like from underneath.

All tucked in...the verdict...AMAZING!!  Just last night I went to cover Jerimiah up when I went to bed and his foot was sticking WAY OUT but was completely covered from the sheet!  It gives lots of stability for tucking and I think this is probably the best idea I've ever had...only sad I haven't thought of it sooner!

Car Seat Cover

Made this car seat cover to hopefully protect Jerimiah's car seat from getting so SUPER hot in the sun while I'm at work.  Luckily I had this old curtain which was the PERFECT size, just folded it in half and sewed it to double thickness.  Then I sewed snaps on the upper corners and to the car seat so I can just snap it on and off.  Today will be the test to see if it works!

Cup Cozzy

Meet the cup coozy:

It's getting into summer (FINALLY) and so my ice water at work is not only melting faster (therefore not staying cold) BUT it's also sweating really bad and my cup in soaking wet!  I made some cute fabric coasters (for myself and my coworkers) but need to stop my cup from sweating...tomorrow I'll take it for a test drive.

Cost $3
(All prices are subject to change and are negotiable)
PLEASE NOTE: Themes are based on availability of fabric and buttons/small objects.

Give-A-Way

Visit Bobby Pins Boarwalk's blog (click HERE) to enter the give-a-way for Little Lizard King (click HERE for her blog)!


I have a REAL ADDICTION right now, it's creative craft blogs!  I know they are things I will probably NEVER actually make (well, most of them I won't) but for some reason I can't get enough of them!

Coasters

Since it's now summer and ice filled cups seem to sweat more in the summer I made myself a coaster for my desk at work (no picture).  Nothing fancy but it works.  So I decided to make some for my coworkers too:

(Please ignore the uneven sewing lines you see on the red one)

Cow Print is for Lisa: She has 2 gateway "stress" cows on her desk and a clip paper holder cow on her desk, therefore, I deemed this pattern appropriate for her.
Doggie Print is for Bonnie:  I don't have a big variety of patterns of fabric laying around right now and I thought since Bonnie does like dogs (although it's not her Maggie) she would like this.

Cost $4 (for a set of 5)
(All prices are subject to change and are negotiable)
PLEASE NOTE: Themes are based on availability of fabric and buttons/small objects.

Lunch Tote

Jerimiah's been taking his unfinished breakfast with him to daycare in the morning.  Yesterday we loaded it up in a gift bag I had around the house.  That evening I decided to make him one.  I let him pick out the fabric (he chose his army fabric).  After picking out the fabric he replied, "I so lucky!"

Here's the semi-final project:

I say "semi-final" project because I really wasn't prepared to make a tote last night so I had to deal with what I had.  Not wanting to do the whole turn the fabric inside out and make my own straps...I stole straps from a gift bag I had laying around...once I get to the store I will remedy that!  Jerimiah's gonna be SO excited when he wakes up and sees this this morning!

Want one?

Cost $6 (depending on straps)
(All prices are subject to change and are negotiable)
PLEASE NOTE: Themes are based on availability of fabric and buttons/small objects.

More i-Spy

Made some new i-Spy bags today.  My wonderful friend, Joli, wanted to order one for a friends little boy who does NOT like sports.  I haven't really found convenient HUGE variety of buttons so I settled on some car buttons.  Because Jerimiah was SO good while I was looking through ALL the buttons, I got him a special set of buttons too.

Jerimiah's special buttons.  I saw these and thought they were PERFECT!  I had some digital camo material at home so I thought it was time to make a new bag for Jerimiah.  (for some reason one of the buttons is missing from this photo)

Jerimiah calls it his rice bag!

The contents of the car i-Spy

The reverse side of this bag is a light blue.

Cost $10 (smaller in size)
(All prices are subject to change and are negotiable)
PLEASE NOTE: Themes are based on availability of fabric and buttons/small objects.

Child's Neck Pillow

This child's neck pillow will come in VERY handy on our next roadtrip for my 2 1/2 year old. I am so excited to put it to use and it's very cute and VERY quick to make.

Cost $6

(All prices are subject to change and are negotiable)