I'm busy packing for a secret business trip tomorrow morning to Colorado. I can't spill the beans on this crafty opportunity just yet but trust me... it's awesome!
As I'm packing I decided I needed a mini ironing board to take with me. I had to use stuff I already had at home and I needed to make one quickly! After a walk around the house I found the perfect thing to use as my base--- one of my kids' {many} wooden puzzles! It's the perfect size at 9" x 12", lightweight but still solid wood.
All you need is the wooden puzzle base, 100% cotton batting, 100% cotton fabric and a staple gun.
Thought I would share in case you want to make one for yourself to take on trips, or for classes/retreats. It's small enough to fit in a tote or in my case my suitcase.
Packed and ready to go!
Hope that helps you! If you enjoyed the quickie DIY tutorial feel free to Pin it! I love pins!
This project is easy and fun! Once you make one you will start cranking out a bunch more. No pattern needed. I teach you to take two simple measurements of your body and use that to cut your fabric pieces. This tutorial is NOT for an elastic waistband maxi skirt. I'm all for elastic waistbands in some projects but this isn't one of them. Personally, I don't like the way they look with a long flowy skirt. So, I opted for a smoother more comfortable option- a folded knit waistband. It's kind of like a yoga waistband. You'll see what I mean in the video. This is the most comfortable way for me to wear my maxi.
I made three of these skirts in no time at all and here are some pictures so you can see the variety.
All their fabric is while supplies last ONLY. So, once they're gone...That's it! Go get you some! Their prices are ridiculous! The blue cotton chambray is only $1.99 per yard.
I bought 9 more yards last week after I made this first maxi skirt. I have soooo many plans for this fabric including making myself some tops and dyeing it!
If you follow me on my Facebook page you've probably seen the pictures of the bento box lunches I've been packing for my 3 yr old son. He started attending a local summer day camp this week and I needed to pack him a lunch each day. This was my first time packing him a lunch so I knew I had to do some research to find the best option. After researching food packing containers it was clear to me that I needed stainless steel. We have dramatically cut back on plastic products in my house and I knew I wanted something environmentally friendly and reusable. I cam across a few different metal containers and finally decided on these- LunchBots Trio for my son and a LunchBots Uno for my hubby.
I love them! At first they look really small and you wonder how you are going to fit a proper lunch in them but as you'll see below there is plenty of space. These are a great idea for anyone looking to control their eating habits with portion control. It also helps me pack a colorful and nutritious lunch with a lot of variety. I really like the Trio for my son because of the compartments. I also picked up a pack of these 12 mini muffin silicone liners to further separate his food. {see pics below}
After posting this week's bento lunches on my FB page many of you have asked me to continue posting pics to give you some inspiration for your dinner menus and packed lunches.
Bento FAQs- These are the most popular questions I received on Facebook about bento lunches.
1) How do you warm it up, it's metal!?
•My son eats his food cold or room temp. We don't use microwaves so the metal part is not a problem. My husband reheats his lunch in a toaster oven at work right in the container because it's stainless steel.
2) How do you keep the hot foods hot and cold foods cold?
•The idea behind the bento lunch box is that you pack foods that can be eaten cold or at room temp {unless you have a way of heating it up}. We live in Florida and it's June= HOT, HOT! So, I pack my son's Trio in an insulated lunch bag with an ice pack underneath it and his glass water bottle with ice in it on top.
If you missed the pics here they are, one week's worth of bento lunches for my son.
Monday: garlic and kale rice, chicken with homemade
BBQ sauce, cherry tomatoes, roasted sweet potato slices and some organic
blue corn tortilla chips
Tuesday: steamed green beans, veggie meatballs [this recipe: http://bit.ly/1bpsAh3], sliced almonds, cheese and tomatoes.
Wednesday: steamed broccoli, tostones (twice fried plantain slices) cooked in duck fat w/ ketchup, cheese and kiwi
Thursday: garlic & herb roasted potatoes, baked whole wheat spaghetti and meatballs, kiwi, bananas and tomatoes.
Friday: roasted chicken, quinoa salad, cucumbers, corn, and a lime cornbread cookie
I live in Florida and summer is practically here! It's hot, rainy and we are always looking for ways to cool off! The kids and I had an opportunity to visit a local organic blueberry farm just up the road from us and pick 6 lbs of berries this week! So, we decided to make one of our favorites- blueberry lemonade!
Picking berries is so much fun and even the youngest kids can help. My daughter is not even two yet and she picked a good bit all by herself. We taught her which ones were ripe and once she got that she was off and picking! Do some research and see if you have any {organic, preferably} u-pick farms near you. It's a family outing we do at least a few times a year and the kids love it!
My kids and I picking blueberries at a local organic blueberry farm in Lake Butler, FL.
Jonathan (3.5 yrs) enjoys eating them more than filling his bag! LOL
Many of you often write me and ask how I get my kids involved in the kitchen and I thought I would whip up a quick video tutorial of how I have my kids help me make lemonade including the kind of tasks they can do all by themselves while helping. It's such an easy recipe and perfect for the hot summer days.
In the video I provide you with 3 variations for really simple and refreshing homemade lemonade- a simple lemonade, blueberry lemonade and mint lemonade. They are all delicious! Give them a try and let me know what you think.
My youngest sister (age 21) is visiting us and as you can imagine with an extra set of hands around the house I've been able to get more done around here! Yippee! I'm teaching her how to sew and she's really into fashion so I started her off with a super easy maxi skirt project. I made mine while she followed along making hers.
My new maxi skirt! Oh so comfy!
I had some 4-way stretch denim in my stash that was super soft do I made the waistband out of it and I'm so glad I did! I'm still debating whether or not to tie-dye this maxi skirt with a darker blue, or perhaps some of the other suggestions I received from you via Facebook- low emersion dyeing for a mottled look and ombre dyeing it were some of the popular suggestions I received. What would you do to this maxi skirt to give a little something extra?
Love my hat?! I made it using THIS crochet tutorial.
Totally love my new maxi skirt!
It is a pretty full skirt but the fabric is nice and light... plus, I had to make full because it's also semi-sheer and without the fullness I would have to worry about wearing some type of slip or shorts, etc. I don't have time to be bothered with all that. I need clothes that I can just throw on and go!
What do you think about my new maxi skirt? Would you like to see a tutorial on this?
{p.s.- I made the hat too! I followed THIS crochet tutorial. }
An easy quick tutorial for you this week- a pillow sham. You may have seen my regular pillowcase video tutorial HERE. Well, this one has an envelope closure on the back side and a 2" frame around the entire pillow form that goes inside.
{floral fabric print I used for sham can be found HERE.}
This project whips up super quick and is a big time money saver! If you've ever tried to decorate your room with pretty bedding you know how much one of these shams can cost at a store.
In this video tutorial I will teach you how to take measurements of the pillow you will be using so you can create a custom sham for it in any size. I use a standard sized pillow (20" x 26") but you can use the same method for smaller or larger pillows.
I teamed up with www.LowPriceFabric.com for this video and they were generous enough to offer me the fabrics I used to create this project for you. They are also offering a sale just for Crafty Gemini readers. Enter discount code: Crafty10 and receive 10% off your entire purchase. Code is valid one time per customer and expires on June 30, 2013.
If you don't know about www.LowPriceFabric.com definitely check them out! They are the online shop for Michael Levine, Inc. Their retail stores are located in Los Angeles, CA and I will be going shopping there next month! I can't wait! {more details on that trip later}
They pretty much have EVERYTHING you need for any fabric related craft project including- apparel & quilting fabrics, yarn, trims, notions, etc.
They are hosting a giveaway on my video tutorial so be sure to watch the video to learn the details on how to enter for your chance to win 2.5 yards of any cotton fabric off their website. Click here to watch video and learn giveaway details.
Many of you may have seen my first soapmaking tutorial I posted a few years ago. Well, since then I've received a ton of requests for another tutorial where I share my go-to recipe. You've asked and here it is!
In this video I teach you how I make a simple and all natural soap batch. I didn't add any colorants or fragrances to this batch to keep it as simple as possible. There are tons of different methods for making soap and over the years I have decided that this way works best for me because it's quick, easy and I don't need to measure any temperatures. Technically the method I show in this video would probably be called Room Temperature/Oven Processed soapmaking.
Emulsifying batter to reach trace.
I use four oils that can be easily found in your local grocery store or health food store- olive oil, coocnut oil, castor oil and sweet almond oil. Aside from that you just need some distilled water and lye (must be 100% sodium hydroxide).
If you're familiar with cold process soapmaking then you've probably heard about "gel phase." In this video I show you how I use my oven to make the soap go through a full gel phase. You can see the soap going through gel phase in the pic below. It's when the entire soap batch looks translucent. This starts in the center of the loaf and will work it's way to the outside edges if kept hot (or insulated) enough.
If you're new to soapmaking I definitely recommend you do some a lot of research before trying your first batch. Especially as it relates to soaping safety. The lye water solution I use for this batch is water discounted- meaning it is a highly concentrated solution and you definitely don't want to spill or splash it anywhere. Once you have the safety part down the rest is soapy fun!
This Memorial Day weekend, join Craftsy in honoring the brave men and women who have served in the US Armed Forces. For every class sold this weekend, Craftsy will donate a portion of the proceeds to benefit a veterans'
organization. Select classes will be on sale up to 60% off! They have all kinds of classes on sale- sewing, quilting, cake decorating, etc.
This is the perfect time to register for a course (or courses) you've been eyeing. I know I did! I've been looking for a class to give me some inspiration on trying out new bag making techniques so I went ahead and signed up for Brett Bara's Design Your Own Handbag class! Can't wait to be inspired by her really cool design style and techniques. Hopefully, I'll learn some really cool skills and will be able to bring you some new bag making tutorials based off my original designs. That would be awesome!
What class(es) are you signing up for?
{p.s.- If you're looking to learn how to make home decor projects check out my Craftsy class- Sew Little: Nursery Design. }
I've had this project on my mind for a very long time... just never set aside the time to figure it all out and do it. So when a new sponsor- Shannon Fabrics reached out to me about trying out their Cuddle Fabric I knew this was the perfect project for it!
I also provide you with the template you need to create the bags for FREE! Just click HERE
to access it. Make sure you "download" the project from the Google Doc
file before you try to print it. It needs to be printed while it's
open in the Adobe PDF reader. The full template is 3 printed (8.5" x
11") sheets of paper and I included a 1" x 1" square for you to make
sure your printers settings are printing it correctly. Do not adjust the
page settings to "fit to page" for printing. I wanted to make these specifically for our homeschool classroom for the kids to "read" on. As you can see they love 'em! I especially like that they are light enough to be moved out of the way or stacked in a corner.
No matter your sewing skill level I think you will be able to easily finish this project with the help of step-by-step video tutorial. It's 15 minutes long but I did my best to cover as much info as I could. Trust me when I tell you it is NOT easy to edit down hours of footage into 15 minutes. Phew!
The outer shell of the bean bag chairs is made of Cuddle Fabric by Shannon Fabrics. It is sooooo soft and as the name suggests- Cuddly! It's machine washable/dryable and they make it in dozens of different colors, prints and textures. You can find Cuddle Fabric HERE, at your local fabric/quilt shop, or at a number of other online retailers.
To fill the bean bag chair I used Fairfield's Poly-Fill® Bean Bag Filler. Which you can get at 20% off if you use our exclusive code: CG13BB and order from HERE. This code is valid until September 1, 2013 and is limited to one use per customer.
For the closure I tried two different methods and they both worked fine: For my daughter's bean bag I used my handy plastic snap kit {get it HERE} which I show you how to do in the video and for my son's I used hook and loop tape.
These should last us a good long time. Just remember to keep flipping the bean bag around so the Poly-Fil® Bean Bag Filler doesn't get compressed over time.
Hope you enjoy the video tutorial and thanks for following my crafty projects!
WOW. I cannot believe I totally forgot to blog about a video tutorial I posted last month where I show you how to take a pair of leggings you already have and create a pattern from it so you can recreate as many new pairs as you want! My apologies if you missed out on it.
{side note- If you would like to receive email notifications every time I upload a new video to my YouTube channel go ahead and click HERE to subscribe to my channel. It's absolutely free. Subscriptions are just an easier way to manage all the YouTube channels you like to follow without having to visit each channel to see if a new video has been posted.}
Anyway, here it is! Click HERE to watch the video tutorial.
As you can see I make these in all kinds of fabrics and even enjoy tie-dyeing them with Rit liquid dye. To learn more about how I tie-dye my leggings click HERE for a step-by-step video tutorial.
This video is Part 1 in a two part series where I first show you how to make the leggings and then in Part 2 I show you how to tie-dye them and give them new life! Check out the before and after picture below.
Last month I posted a video tutorial on DIY leggings. If you missed it you can check it out HERE. This week I'm back with Part 2 of that series where I'm taking the plain ol' white leggings I created in the first video and give them some life with a cool tie-dye effect using Rit liquid dye.
If you have never tie-dyed before get ready... it is soooooooooooo easy! I love that Rit dye is non-toxic and is pretty straight forward to use.
BEFORE: I would never wear these white leggings out in public. They make my thighs look bigger and the fabric is semi-sheer so you can see everything.
AFTER: I totally feel comfortable wearing these out and I love that I can top them with a hi-lo tank like the one I'm wearing in the pic to allow more of the tie-dye design on the front to show but at the same time cover up my backside.
I think this project is a great example of what a little inexpensive bottle of dye can do to boost your wardrobe. I only used the Black RIT liquid dye bottle but you could use multiple dyes to get a funkier look. Totally experiment with it and no matter what you get it will be fabulous!
Hat: Kingston Crochet Hat {made by me from this tutorial}
Top: Hi-lo hem tank {bought at Target, similar ones HERE and HERE}
Leggings: 98% rayon 2% Lycra fabric {Made by me using this tutorial, tie-dyed by me using this tutorial}
Shoes: Hot pink canvas sneakers {Got at Target on clearance, similar ones HERE}
I'm totally loving this chill outfit. Shows my fashion style while being comfortable enough to chase two preschoolers around.
GIVEAWAY: This week I'm also hosting a giveaway thanks to my friends at Rit! One lucky winner will get the 6 bottles of Rit Liquid Dye you see in this picture. Are they awesome or what?!
For details on how you can enter to win click HERE to watch the video tutorial. All details are in the video.
Giveaway is open to worldwide viewers and ends Wednesday, May 15th at 11:59PM EDT.
Hope you enjoy the video and will give tie-dyeing a try with Rit dye. Click HERE to watch my video tutorial on how I made my cute leggings.
I loooooooove uisng lightweight denim fabric for my picnic quilt backings. They are so pretty and different looking and hold up great on rough terrain like grass, dirt and sand.
In this video I bring you Video #4 in my Locally Grown Picnic Quilt Series. If you want to watch the entire video series (4 videos) just click HERE and I'll send you to the playlist. You'll be able to watch the videos in order without having to search all of YouTube for each one individually.
Here are a couple of pictures of our picnic quilts. We really do use them all the time!
Baby Allie taking a nap on my Starry Picnic quilt at the splash park.
Reading the kids my son's favorite book at a homeschool playdate on the farm.
I've already purchased the denim backing fabric for my Locally Grown picnic quilt and I wanted to share with you a few things to keep in mind if you're wanting to give it a try.
Have you ever used denim for quilt backing? I'd love to hear your responses below!
This is his "Snake Quilt." We submitted the finished quilt yesterday to be entered in a local quilt show that will take place next weekend. If you are in the North Central Florida area you should check it out! Lots of amazing & gorgeous quilts will be on display. Jonathan's will be on display in the Youth category. The kids' quilts don't get judged. They all receive participation ribbons which is great because my baby worked hard to make his first quilt. I know he will be beyond excited to get his ribbon.
He designed and pieced the entire quilt top including:
•selecting fabrics
•piecing the snake together
•appliqueing the snake to the leaves in the background
•piecing the sky to the ground scenery (and the seam is pretty darn straight!)
• helping me cut out the clouds with pinking shears
•placement of each cloud, etc.
Here are some action shots of him working on his snake quilt!
Selecting his fabrics from my scrap bins.
"Mama, this kinda look like a snake skin!" -a great choice, indeed!
Piecing the snake together.
"Mama, snakes like to hide in the leaves." Putting the snake on the leaves background he chose. Another great fabric choice!
Appliqueing the snake to the leaves fabric.
Piecing the sky to the leaves fabric.
Placement of clouds in sky.
Then I took it to my longarm machine and finished it off for him to get it ready for the quilt show!
If you have a child in your life who is expressing interest in learning how to sew or quilt I suggest checking out my Teaching Kids to Sew video to learn some of the tips & tricks I practice when I'm teaching my son to use his sewing machine. The video is really cute and you'll get to see my son in one of his sewing lessons. Click HERE to watch the video.
