Getting Started: Fabric & Notions!

Posted on December 28, 2011 by

Now that I have talked about supplies I wanted to move on to the fun stuff :) .  If you have seen the pictures from back when I last had a truly clean sewing room or if you have seen my fabric board on Pinterest you can tell I have a love for fabric!  I will say to get started you do NOT need hundreds of yards of fabric on wall to wall floor to ceiling shelving!    That being said if you are a bargain shopper or live in a rural location (which I am both) where you can’t  just run to the fabric store you will find you want to stock up here & there.

FABRIC

QUALITY:
Not all fabric is created equal!  I grew up sewing with the cheapest stuff I could find on sale, we were poor & that was what we could afford.  When I became an adult I about died seeing that quilt shops had fabric for $10 a yard!!!  I rarely ever paid more then $4 in the past so $10 just seemed crazy.  That being said I got some lovely designer fabrics from Micheal Miller & Moda on sale in the $8 range and took the plunge.  I will say though I do still buy some cheaper fabric there is a quality difference!  Nearly all the designer fabrics I have used wash much better, are thicker, iron nicer, hold up longer & don’t fade the same way.  To start out if you don’t have a lot extra money do I think you need designer fabric?  NO, but if you get serious & enjoy sewing I recommend making the switch if you can afford it.

WHERE TO BUY:
Locally you can check your local craft & hobby stores as well as some Wal-Marts still carry some & I love thrift shops and yard sales! The advantage to the digital age is there are plenty of places online to shop, though you do need to keep in mind the shipping costs when deciding if the price per yard is worth.  In the past I have used www.Fabric.com, www.JoAnn.com & www.Etsy.com as well as many smaller sites to find what I was looking for.  The two downsides are you can’t feel the fabric & monitor’s can vary so you don’t always know exactly what you are getting unless you have see the same fabric in person. I would compile a nice list for you but I already found a post form The Humble Nest who did a wonderful job & decided to just share hers with you instead!  30 Great Places to Buy Fabric Online. JUST REMEMBER many of the sites like Fabric.com & JoAnn.com offer 5-10% cash back through EBATES.  I got $33 in cash back from my JoAnn.com Black Friday order alone this year!

HOW MUCH:
I find the size of cuts depends on WHAT I am planning on sewing.  For most stuff I will get 1 yard but if I think I will be making toddler size or larger clothes out of it I always get 2.  If you have limited space and or budget I suggest keeping a list in your purse of projects & their requirements so you know what to get when you are out.

WHAT TYPE:
This can be a hard one, there are 2 main types of fabics… wovens & knits, there are many other variations of both of these including the fiber content (cotton, poly, rayon, lycra, etc.).  Patterns & tutorials a like with both tell you what you need.   There are other specialty fabrics like PUL, but to start out I am going to stick with the basics.  If you are a beginner I do NOT recommed starting out with knits… there are not as easy to sew & will go much better once you know your machine & basic skills better.

Wovens are like flannel… they are fibers woven together, they have no stretch & the raw edges unravel when cut.  Decor weight wovens that are thick, heavy, rather stiff & canvas feeling, these are great for drapes, furniture & bags.  Standard wovens generally come in 42-46″ widths with specialty fabrics like home decor come in 50″-80″+ widths.

Knit’s on the other hand are fabric made by knitting fiber together.  These normally have 2 or 4 way stretch & when you cut the raw edge it will stay pretty much the same even with washing.    With knits you will find major differences in weight, stretch & drape… for example swim/dancewear fabric is thin, light, VERY stretchy & drapes in a way that hugs what ever it touches.  That being said it is also not so fun to sew with! lol.  Fleeces are also knit but they have less stretch, are thicker & have soft fuzzy fibers all over them.  Knits also tend to come in 50″-72″.

PREPPING:
I generally do not prep my fabric when I buy it because I’m not always  sure what I am going to do with it.  I store it & wash it before I use it.  If you are going to use it right away many people prefer to wash it, iron it & then store it from the start.  For quilting I do not pre-wash my fabric, but for any other purposed I do.  Why?  Because not all fabrics are created equal & they can shrink different amounts & different directions which can lead to very wonky looking projects after the first wash when they looked perfect to start!

NOTIONS

THREAD:
There are many different brands & options out there & it can be confusing.  I personally prefer Gutterman brand my self, as it is a great high quality thread & can be found on sale frequently.  That being said the only ones I don’t recommend is the cheap $1 spool no name threads.  Why?  They are more likely to have splices & thread breaks and often not spun down as nicely & create more fuzz to build up in your machine.

Not only are their different brands but different types too.  Most people think cotton should be best right?  Well unless you are quilting I don’t recommend it.  It is soft & natural but has more fuzz & simply isn’t as strong!  I recommend using a multipurpose poly thread for most sewing needs.

ELASTIC:
There are again a lot of options out there!  I generally pick up a variety of sizes between 1/4″-1″ elastics to have on hands at all times because different projects use different sizes.  I recommend getting poly knit elastic.  I don’t bother with the no-roll because honestly it still tends to roll, is less stretch & thicker.

VELCRO, BUTTONS & ZIPPERS:
One again there are again a lot of options out there!  I generally pick up a variety of sizes between 1/4″-1″ thick velcro to have on hands at all times because different projects use different sizes.  That being said I ONLY buy sew on.  The no sew has adhesive on the back & if you try to sew through it it will gum up your machine & needle and can cause a whole slew of problems!  Buttons & zippers are the same way, I never know what I am going to need so I try to pick them up here & there when they are cheap.

RIC RACK, BIAS TAPE & TRIMS:
I don’t personally use a lot of these but they do come in handy depending on what you are sewing.  They can be pricy in store, but you can often find a great selection cheap at your local thrift stores.  Bias tape & trims are often used to finish off edges but can also be used for embellishments like the ric rack.  I generally have mostly double fold bias tape on hand because I find I use that more & it saves me some time vs. having to fold the single fold stuff.

INTERFACING, BATTING & STUFFING:
Once again there are a ton of options here, and not everyone uses them!  Interfacing comes in sew it & iron on and has a variety of weights & thicknesses, it is like a fiberish roll of paper of sorts..  This is often used in bags, around button holes and stuff like that to give some structure.

Batting is a thin layer of stuff rolled up by the yard!  You will find it in both cotton & poly contents and it is used for everything from coats, blankets, pot holders, the first layer in pillows & more!  It comes in many widths & thicknesses depend on what your project needs including heat safe versions for things like hot pads.

Stuffing, filling, poly fill… you will hear it go by many names!  Depending on what your project is you can go through a LOT of this.  I often look at thrift stores for  bags for cheap.  I also save our old pillows & wash them with bleach on the sanitize cycle… then I pull all the stuffing apart & save it in bags.  The best part is not only is It cheap but good for the environment too!

I am sure I have left out lots of stuff & if any of my experienced readers have something to add feel free to leave a comment!  I think this list of basic information should be a great place those new or newer to sewing to get started!  If you questions about specific items let me know.

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Getting Started: Basic Sewing Supplies…

Posted on December 26, 2011 by

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday!  I am still struggling with a nasty case of strep but the new meds are working at the moment so I wanted to check in since I had a a little while to myself.

Every year the week after Christmas is busy here on Everything Your Mama Made & More! with lots of new readers who got sewing machines, sergers & other sewing supplies for Christmas.  Because of this I thought I would share a little bit about other items you might want to get to get started or to use some of those GC’s on!  As silly as it may seem having the proper supplies can make sewing SO much easier & prevent beginners from easily getting discouraged.  Many of the items below are affordable & what I consider staple supplies.  You can find many of them at your local craft & hobby or fabric store but I actually prefer to purchase many of mine online at Amazon because most of them offer free prime shipping & they have a good selection of select brands & models… and as I have learned some are MUCH better then others.

EXTRA LONG STICK PINS WITH THE BALL ON THE END ~

Yes the extra long pins with the balls on the end ARE WORTH THE EXTRA BUCK OR TWO!!!! It makes using them SO much more enjoyable, they are easier to get in & out and much nicer on your hands.

CLOTH MEASURING TAPES ~

This is just one of those things that you can never seem to have enough of! They are inexpensive and seem to walk away a lot, so I always appreciate having a few extra’s on hand.

A REAL SEAM RIPPER ~

The ‘thing’ that comes with the sewing machine is not a real seam ripper. I HATED ripping seams until I got one of these clover ones. They are sharper and SO much easier to use… still not my favorite job but SO much easier!!! There is simply no comparison. My friend who has been sewing/quilting for years used mine once & about died, she couldn’t believe it! I actually have 2 of them. There are a bunch that range from $2-$8, this one is right in the middle & the best by far!!! Clover Seam Ripper 5″
. It’s also very comfy in the hand.

GOOD SCISSORS ~

Gingher makes very nice scissors & JoAnn’s carries them & you can often get a 40% off coupon for them. I have also been VERY happy with the Mundial set my DH got me off Amazon 3.5 years ago. All but one pair is still sharp as new & I have never had any of them sharpened. Mundial Scissors & Shears

You will want a few different sizes but at least one large & one tiny pair for most often use.

WASHABLE CRAYOLA MARKERS & OR DRITZ CHALK WHEEL ~

I actually suggest skipping the fabric pens/pencils, I don’t care for them, they are pricey don’t always do what they say & dry out easily. I LOVE Crayola Washable Markers
because I KNOW they will wash out with a little cold water. I also really like my Dritz chalk wheel. It isn’t tailors chalk, though similar. I have used a lot of chalk wheels & this one is super smooth & works VERY well. I just by bottles of sewing chalk to refill it instead of the special ones that go with it. I use this 90% of the time. My friend actually spent the last month looking for one in stores but all the other ones she tried had stiff wheels in them, so it’s worth the few extra dollars for this one… Dritz Chalk Wheel

ROTARY MAT, CUTTER & RULER~

I also cannot live with out my rotary mat & cutter. I prefer the Omnigrid Self Healing Mats and the Olfa’s are also very nice, but the Friskers kits are great for starters! JoAnn’s has one that goes on sale for $27-$35 all the time that has an 18″X24″ mat, a 45mm rotary cutter as well as a 6″X24″ quilting ruler… I highly recommend this for beginners. You can get all 3 pieces from walmart for around $50 I think? You can also get the Fiskars Rotary Cutting Set on Amazon for around $28 with free prime shipping!

HEM GAUGE~

And this Dritz hem gauge is also awesome & makes sewing hems SO much easier… Dritz Ezy-Hem Gauge

MAGNETIC PIN CUSHION~

Also a magnetic pin cushion is AWESOME!!! Not only is it easy to use (just lay the pin near the top & the magnet pulls it down) but it is GREAT for finding stray pins that have fallen on the floor! Magnetic Pin Cushion

PATTERN EASE, SWEDISH TRACING PAPER OR PARCHMENT PAPER~

I almost NEVER cut tissue paper patterns. Growing up it was simply to expensive to re buy them for each size! So if you use pattern ease, Swedish tracing paper or parchment paper you can see through it to trace out the size you need saving your other sizes and they are easier to work with then the tissue paper pattern pieces!

Birch Street Clothing Swedish TracingPaper 29″x30′

PATTERN WEIGHTS~

These making tracing and/or cutting out pattern pieces much easier! You can pin them but that leaves holes & they can rip loose. Honestly you can use just about any kind of small weighted items… which makes them easy to make or you can buy them as well. You can find tons of cute one on Etsy.

STEAM IRON & IRONING BOARD~

This is probably the priciest suggestion I have… but if you want to sew & have stuff turn out nice there really is no way around it, you need an ironing board & iron! Honestly a cheap $10-$15 board from walmart will do just fine! You can get more expensive ones that are larger & make ironing large pieces of fabric faster, but they aren’t needed. Now iron’s are another one of those tools, you get what you pay for! You want a good steam iron… I always had cheap ones (they most expensive was around $27 new?) and HATED ironing… they kinda did their job but not super well. Then one day I stumbled upon a Rowenta Professional that was only about 1 year old at the thrift store… I can say it changed my opinion on irons & ironing the very first time I used it! It got FAR hotter then my old irons, but not scorch the fabric hot, and the steam was amazing. Suddenly ironing took little effort & got done much faster!

Now they aren’t cheap… I think new the model retailed for around $120? If mine broke today I wouldn’t replace it with a full price model, but if I could get one 25%-30% off I would pay the price in a heart beat. I have used it a ton in the last 2 years with out issue. My friend has a similar model that is 9 or 10 years old & cracked from her dropping it right after she got it & it still works great. Models are changing constantly & I don’t have feedback on the newer ones but I suggest doing some research & buying a steam iron with good reviews in the $40-$70 range if possible. If you have the money to buy an even nicer one go for it!

Here are a few nice irons with good reviews on Amazon & free prime shipping as well.


Hamilton Beach 14875 1500-Watt Digital Iron with Backlit Display


Black & Decker D2030 Auto-Off Digital Advantage Iron

Rowenta DW5080 Focus 1700 Watt Steam Iron with 400-Hole Stainless Steel Soleplate

I hope this helps you get started & check back soon for a list with information on fabrics, patterns & notions!

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‘Tis the Season!

Posted on December 1, 2011 by

I can’t believe it’s December 1st already which means there are only 23 days left until Christmas!  I get so busy this time of year with my Etsy shop that the time just flies by. Now that it’s actually December Christmas is just around the corner and like usual I between Etsy orders, PTA stuff with my kids school and my own holiday plans I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

This is just 1/3 of the capes I have cut, sewn  & shipped out the last 3 days with many more to go over the next 2 weeks!  I was happy to finally find the perfect bags to package them in for shipping though, and they even have a safety warning printed on them to remind people not to let their kids have the bags.  This year better bags (I was using ziplocs before and they cost more and added weight to the packages) next year cute labels to go with them!

That being said even though I don’t have time to completely update my current tutorials lists I DO have some plans to help you with your handmade holidays plans.  I am going to try & post some of my favorite newer tutorials (ones I have found more recently & that would make great gifts) as well as link my blog & pinterests lists together to make them a little easier to find.  My hubby is also working on making over the site so I have access to a very cool giveaway tool which would mean more giveaways for YOU my readers.

 

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Black Friday Shopping Crafter’s Edition!

Posted on November 24, 2011 by

So for all of my readers who aren’t from the states & haven’t heard of it today we celebrated Thanksgiving in the US making tomorrow ‘Black Friday’ it’s one of the biggest shopping days of the year where many stores finally go in the black financially.  One of the big advantages to crafters is that this means great sales on craft supplies for making your own handmade gifts!

I don’t often go in-store any more because A.) I don’t want to get up at 5am & B.) Some of those shoppers are way to serious about their fabric & craft supplies!  So the last few years I have ordered online because they have offered free shipping codes for orders of $35+.  The downside is you can’t use their 25% in store coupon BUT that doesn’t apply to door busters anyway.  They will also have their online door buster prices slightly higher but it is totally worth it to me to get my stuffed delivered & I don’t have to leave the house!

The other big downside is every year their site crashes!!!  That being said 2.5 hours later it seems to be more stable & I got my order through.  I ordered 95 yards of fleece at $2.99 a yard & 32 skeins of homespun yarn at $3.79 a yard & an OTT-LITE for $19.99!  The best part is I used EBATES first which got me 8% cash back and then I paid with my PayPal debit card which when ran as credit earns me 1.5% cash back making the fleece that is normally $8.99 a yard $2.70, the yarn that is normally $6.29 a yard $3.43 & the light that is normally $89.99 just $18.09!  I wanted some of the snuggle flannel but for right now it won’t stay in my cart for check out so if it’s still there in the morning I will think about it.

An upside to the site having issues is they are posting frequent updates on their facebook page including posting some free shipping no minimum purchase required codes!  Here are a few codes for the Joanns.com website but don’t forget to sign up for or log into your EBATES account first & click on the JoAnn’s link there to earn your 8% cash back!  You can also find printable in-store coupons for 11/25/2011 & 11/26/2011 HERE.

11/25/2011 UNTIL 3AM ONLY:
Free shipping NO minimum purchase WJV328

11/25/2011 ONLY:
Free shipping with minimum $35 purchase  PAC329
50% off one full price item RED329

11/26/2011 ONLY:
Free shipping with minimum $35 purchase JBR330
50% off one full price item YFS330

Now that I am done with my shopping I am off to work on crocheting a scarf for a while & then I am going to bed!  I hope all of my fellow US readers had a wonder Thanksgiving.

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My Big Fat Ebates Check Arrived & Money Saving Holiday Tips!

Posted on November 14, 2011 by

My Big Fat Ebates check from my summer purchases arrived today.  It’s not anything extreme but almost $10 more then I had in my bank account yesterday!  Last year I got over $30 back from my holiday purchases from JoAnn’s alone with my check totally $134.18 for Oct. 1st- Dec. 31 purchases.  I don’t use it a ton during the rest of the year but really it helps this time of year.
PhotobucketLet’s face it, no matter how crafty you are or how much extra time you have most of us still buy at least some retail items for holiday gifts or definitely some supplies!  Just as I like to consider myself a savvy crafter I would consider myself quite a savvy shopper as well and thought I would share some of my biggest money savers!

This year the Black Friday ads are rather disappointing (unless you are looking for a TV or computer and want to stand in line to fight for the good deals), I have been finding the same deals, but often times much better, online. For example most of the stuff from Kohls is almost just as cheap on their website already & they have a offer many discount codes and through out the holiday season now making many items cheaper then the BF pricing, PLUS you can earn $10 Kohl’s Cash for ever $50 you spend AND you get cash back with Ebates as well!  In the last few days I have earned $33+ in cash back buying stuff I planned on getting anyways with out worrying about fighting the store crowds.

For the cash back I used Ebates which now as 1200+ stores & offers 1-25% cash back on your purchases!

It is totally free & a must have if you shop online! the last few years since learning about Ebates I have received $434.35 cash back and have a bunch more currently pending.  Honestly I’m bad about using it during the rest of the year or I am sure I would have a bunch more. The best part is you don’t have to wait forever for your rewards, you only have to have $5 worth of cash back rewards to redeem and they send out the check once every 3 months & you can get it put directly into your paypal account or have a check mailed to you which normally arrives with in just a few days!

How does it work you ask? Well its a rewards system for shopping online! If you shop online you should check out ebates, its FREE to use, no strings attached!!! It is a program that is free to sign up for. When ever you want to shop online go to their site & click on the stores link… then shop as usual. After submitting your order it takes 2-3 days, but ebates will give you CASH back into your account. Then every 3 months they send out Big Fat Checks, & you can even get them put directly into your paypal account or a check in the mail.

They have over 1200+ online stores now that offer cash back… any where from 1%-25%. Most popular sites like Old Navy, Wal-mart, Childrens Place & Target offer 2-6%. But there are TONS more including sites like Expedia, NewEgg.com, Shutterfly, Apple iTunes, drugstore.com, Overstock, Home Depot & much, much more!  For all those craft lovers they also have 5% cash back on fabric.com as well as tons of arts & crafts sites!

If you are going to be shopping online anyways you might as well be getting free money right? There are NO strings attached to this. The best part… you get $5 just for signing up no matter how much you spend (but you do have to earn $5 worth of cash back to get the additional $5 sign-up bonus cashed out). Heck it’s at least worth checking out right? To Check Out Ebates Click Here.

Another similar cash back site that I have just started using is ShopAtHome.com.

ShopAtHome Banner It is set up almost identically to Ebates except sometimes it has a higher % cash back for certain sites.  I always check both before ordering because both sites can changing the % up or down for a single site daily.  The only down side to ShopAtHome.com is that you have to reach $20 worth of cash back in order to get your check not the much lower $5 offered by Ebates. To Check Out ShopAtHome.com Click Here.

AND during the holiday’s a lot of sites have promotions with much higher % of cash back!!!!  Recently Old Navy had 8% cash back so I received $5.30 cash back for a $66.29 order, which since most of the stuff I bought was already 75% off made it quite the steal.

Another way to save on top of the cash back is to look for coupon codes from one of my favorite online coupon code sites RetailMeNot.  Combining those discount codes with a lot of the current sales & free shipping offers it really starts to add up!

Also one of my favorite BF sites offers a GREAT shopping list tool plus they keep track of the online sales too!!!!  BFAds

Another thing I have started doing after reading about it on some of the parenting forums I am on is Swagbucks.  You earn points just for use their search tool but they also have offers you can complete, survey’s you can get rewards for & more.  Some of these forums have daily threads just about how to get free points.  Then what do you do with these points??? Why get giftcards to some of your favorite sites like Amazon.com, Starbucks, iTunes, Target & more ranging from $5-$50!  Even CASH through PayPal!!!  I signed up right before Chrsimas last year and didn’t really start using it until after the baby was born in Feb.  but I cashed out 19 $5 amazon.com cards worth of rewards in the first 6 months which was $95 worth of free money! But a lot of the mom’s I know have earned $100-$150 in gift cards already in just the last few months (they are serious about it & follow the daily threads many of them require NO CC, I just set up a new email to use for it) but not bad if you want a little extra money for the holidays!

Search & Win

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Holiday Cards for HEROS

Posted on November 14, 2011 by

We are not a military family, but we live near a navy base and have made many friends over the years who are.  I have watched what these men, women & their families go through on a regular basis and I am always looking for ways to help.

One of the hardest things is hearing about all the soldiers who get injured and have to come home to spend months in the hospital and rehab. This year when filling out your Christmas cards please keep these soldiers in mind, take one more and send it to this address:

Holiday Mail For Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful, special people, who have sacrificed so much would get. If you are on Facebook or have your own blog please spread the word!

Card Guidelines:
Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country.
Please observe the following guidelines to ensure a quick reviewing process:

  • All cards being sent in for 2011 Holiday Mail For Heroes program should be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9, 2011.
  • Ensure that all cards are signed.
  • Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
  • Only cards are being accepted. Do not send letters.
  • Do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
  • Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
  • We encourage participants to mail as many cards as they are comfortable sending. If you are mailing a large quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes or use a flat rate box from the post office. Each card does not need its own envelope, as cards will be removed from all envelopes before distribution.
  • Please refrain from sending holiday cards with glitter. Many of these cards will be delivered to military and veterans medical facilities and the glitter could interfere with a patient’s recovery

For more information please click the picture at the top of this post to be taken to the Red Cross website with all the information or go to http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail.

Thank you to my friend Amy for taking the time to look into this & get us all the correct information!

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Handmade Holidays: Making My List!

Posted on November 13, 2011 by

Well it’s that time of year again!  Over the last 3 years I have been trying to have more & more of our holiday fun & gifts be handmade, and as you have seen in  the past I love sharing the process and all the great ideas I find with my readers.

Before I get started crafting each year I like to make a list of who we would like to get or make gifts for and ideas of things they might like.  Then I set out do refine my ideas & run the numbers.  Why do I run the numbers?  As much as I would LOVE to make 100% of our gifts & decorations handmade by myself there are simply not enough hours in the day and the cost of certain craft projects can add up FAST.

For example the wonderful baby blanked I just started crocheting for Parker… time wise it’s pretty simple & I can do most of it while watching TV in the evenings with my hubby.  It is going to be super cute, warm and yet still very practical, the perfect gift to put under the tree from mommy & daddy.  Now I would LOVE to make some for my friends & families little ones but once I add up the cost of the yarn & fabric alone (this is with Wal-mart prices) I will be pushing $35 just for the supplies.  The simple crochet sampler throw I am making for my MIL  was over $50 for the yarn alone… I do know she will appreciate it but I don’t know if I would do it for anyone else because it is also many hours worth of work when I could make another type of throw for much less or buy a very nice throw in a store or on Etsy.

So while writing my list I like to take this into account… I compare the costs & times of the projects and try to come up with a reasonable list of projects and gifts I would like to purchase.  One of the biggest things I have learned is if you take on too much you will be rushing & stressing the holidays away instead of getting to enjoy the season with your friends & family.

I recently saw this quote on my new favorite time waster place of inspiration Pinterest and I have to say I find it very fitting… now I need to get it in vinyl to put on the wall of my sewing room.  As a person who tends to bite off WAY more then she can chew I am working on making this my new motto!

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Hutch Makeover Part 1

Posted on November 12, 2011 by

I have to say that our house is quite big now at almost 2200 sqft from it’s original just over 1400 sqft size.  But like with most additions adding 700+ sqft to one end of the house couldn’t fix the rather cramped general living space that we started with.  2 years ago when it was finished (well except flooring & trim, but we are getting that done soon hopefully) a lot of our stuff has been moved up into our new offices & our family room.  That being said that left our general living space a bit sparce… don’t get me wrong I love the more open space but with 4 small kids the lack of storage down there was simply killing me!  We literally had one small drawer in our play area/casual living room/dining room AND I had given it to the kids to store their DVD’s.

So this summer hubby & I agreed that I needed a few more pieces of furniture to help give us some much needed to storage for all of our books, magazines & the bigger kids art supplies and any other items that the baby does not need access too.  I started hitting the garage sales but didn’t have a much luck.  I did score a nice full size bookcase for $25 in greet condition.  It wasn’t solid wood but it wasn’t the super cheap  kind either which was a okay with me.  Then we got one of the cheap black bookcases in the back to school section of Wal-mart for $25… so we swapped that out for the nice solid wood one in hubbies office that fit much better down stairs.  2 bookcases along made a HUGE difference, but I still ran into one problem, what about all the stuff we don’t really want to see displayed on a bookcase?  Then it came to me, a hutch was just what we needed!

So I set out to find a simple hutch that fit our needs… let’s just say we had a case of serious sticker shock!  The cheapest hutches we could find new were $650+ and online only so we had no clue what we were really getting until it showed up.  The stuff we found in stores was even more at $900+.  So I decided to start looking for a project on Craigslist.  I have to say even that gave me some serious sticker shock!  Most people wanted $200+ for 80′s china cabinets & hutches that were huge, weighted a million pounds and no matter what we did would NOT fit in with our house.   So after weeks of searching when a hutch the style I liked popped up for $125 I nabbed it!  We spent about $55 on paint (with built in primer since it was red), stain & new hardware making it about a $180 hutch which considering it’s just the style we wanted I think is great.  Hubby worked on it 30 minutes at a time here & there over the last few months and finally finished the bottom half which is which has all the closed storage so today he finished putting the tip back on & brought it upstairs!

I have to say the color is spot on because when I set out recent family picture on it temporarily the reds are nearly identical, now I really can’t wait for him to finish the other half!  If I wasn’t so busy sewing & crocheting for Etsy and family gifts I would help him, but that’s okay because even as it is I am loving it & it is already helping in our lack of storage area and he enjoys the quiet time by himself working on his projects in the garage.  Anyway they aren’t great, but here are a few pictures.

BEFORE:  This is the picture used in the Craigslist ad.

BOTTOM AFTER: Sorry for the bad cell phone picture I will replace it soon!

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Crochet Scarves

Posted on November 9, 2011 by

Let me start off by saying I have a lot of ADD tendencies, one of those is the need to be doing something with my hands.  So over the last few months I have found that when I am bored in the car, watching TV or listening to people talk at things such as the PTA meeting crocheting scarves keeps my hands busy & actually helps me focus better at times.

I have a basic stitch pattern that I have found to make a wonderful quick one skein scarf that I have simply fallen in love with. The best part is it is a long scarf that is suitable for knotting which is my favorite way to wear scarves!

That being said I don’t need 14+ scarves so I have decided to try posting them on my Etsy shop.  I don’t know how they will do since comp’s were all over the map, but I figure they will make great gifts for family & friends otherwise.  Here are just a few pictures, the rest can be found in my shop.  I am hoping to write up a pattern for these soon, but the odds are is it won’t be until after the holidays.

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Parker Want a Cracker? w/ Mini Tutorial!

Posted on November 1, 2011 by

I didn’t think I would be able to last years Cat in the Hat with Thing 1 & Thing 2.  But I think I was wrong!

I showed you the twins costume last week… but the cherry on top was the baby parrot in the pirate stroller.  We got just as many or more compliments then we got last year.  A lot of people said the they wanted to dress their little one up as a parrot but there are very few costumes to buy and no patterns to make one.

So not only am I sharing pictures but links to a similar free pattern I based my costume on as well as what I did to make it from a penguin into the cutest little parrot ever!

First pictures of all 4 kiddos with a few extra of the little parrot.  I made everything but the black pants my oldest son Zander is wearing & the ship stroller covered was made by & borrowed from my friend Jenn.

SUPPLIES: (for an infant size)

1 yard red fleece

1/2 yard yellow fleece

Green, Blue & White Scraps

Googly Eyes

Poly Fill

1/4″ Elastic

Needle

Thread

Scissors

Sewing Machine

Glue Gun

All my self drafted pattern pieces…

BODY:

The body of the parrot was constructed the same way as this adorable penguin costume. Just using different colors.

WINGS:

For the wings I measured from little man’s shoulder blade to his wrist & cut out a square of paper that size… I then free handed my feathers & traced a pattern for each color.  I also made a similar pattern for the tail. (see picture above)

In order to prevent bulk I cut each layer so that it was 1/2″ taller then where the slits of the feather from the row above it. The blue fleece is the only color that is 1 layer.  The rest of the colors have two layers that sandwich the layer below.  I then used marching thread and sewed a straight line across the top of the feather slits. Sorry I didn’t get better pictures but this should give you the general idea. My feathers were about 2″ long by 1.75″ wide at the top/base of the feather.

When finished I attached a small ring if elastic on the tip of each wing.  I then put the body on little man and the hooked the wing on his wrist to find the placement spot and pin them in place and sewed them down.  I then repeated the process for the tail!

HAT:
For that hat I just made my own based on his head measurements, but anything will do.  I then cut out 2 nose peices sewed them together, turned it right side out, stuffed it and hand sewed it on.  I didn’t quite love the nose but it was still cute.  I also cut out white eyes and sewed them on finally using hot glue to attach the giant Google eyes the 4 big kids insisted he had to have.

PANTS:
I just used a self drafted pattern on hand, but you can easily just trace a pair you have on hand.

FEET:
I used the tutorial from the penguin costume again, except I skipped the stuffing.

Then all you need is on cheeky boy (or girl) to put it on!  It’s extra cut watching him crawl in it!  I hope this helps someone out in the years to come.

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