Pinterest-Inspired Pumpkin

I am so ready for fall!  We started school this week and were blessed with a day of unseasonably cooler temps.  It's back in the 90s now, but I'm still anxious to start putting out my fall decor.

I got the idea from a pin on Pinterest, but I can't find the exact pin.  I used one of the smaller artificial pumpkins from Michael's.  It was originally $8.99, but I had a coupon and a gift card, so basically it was free--woo hoo!  The vinyl is Paper Studio brand from Hobby Lobby ($7.99 but I had a 40% off coupon.)  The ribbons are scraps from my bow-making days.  I used my Cricut to cut the vinyl (Storybook letter M).  There are actually polka dots all over the pumpkin.

Here's my final product!

Linking up to:

-- Delightfully Inspiring Thursday at Delightful Order
-- Get Your Craft On - Handmade Crafts at Today's Creative Blog

Trash to Treasure Key Holder

Yikes--it's been nearly four months since my last post!  Hopefully things will slow down in the summer...yeah, right!  ;)

I had been looking for a large shelf with hooks on which we could hang our keys.  Last year (on our way to our anniversary dinner to be exact), I spotted this on our neighbor's curb.

Note that I took this picture just before I started to paint it.  It had several broken hooks across the bottom when we found it.

So, it sat in our garage (technically two garages, since we moved in February) until earlier this week when  I finally got the mojo to work on it.  After a little cleaning, some wood putty, a couple of coats of black spray paint, and some new hooks from Wal-Mart, it now looks like this.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  I already had the spray paint on hand, so it really only cost around $6 (the cost of the hooks).  Not bad, huh?

Linking up to:
-- Get Your Craft On Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog
-- Delightfully Inspiring Thursday at Delightful Order
-- May Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick

Desk Homeschool Apprentice

Whew!  Nothing like a season of busy-ness to make you neglect your blog!  Let's hear it for the New Year!

I feel like I'm in a constant state of reorganization in our school--I'm not sure if I'm just THAT disorganized or if it's because I love to shop for office products (truthfully, it's probably a little of both!)  I've seen quite a few teachers and homeschoolers use the Desk Apprentice from Staples to organize their stuff, so I put it on my wish list for Christmas...yes, I wish for office products.  :)  Lo and behold, my mother-in-law bought it for me.  Woo hoo!

Here it is in action.  From the front, you can see my daily planner (The Well-Planned Day, if you're wondering) and a pack of Sharpies.  One side holds pencils/pens and the other holds my 3-hole punch.

Top view:  you can see other books around the sides (Life of Fred: Apples, Rod and Staff English 3 books, Classical Conversations Foundations guide, and Prima Latina) and a few other supplies.

The middle section is where I keep a few larger books as well as our daily worksheets.  I've found that it's much easier (for me) to plan a week at a time.  I organized hanging folders by weekday and then inserted tab folders by subject.  I even have a folder for media.  At the end of the week or over the weekend, I make all of my copies and write out our plans for the coming week.

So, there you go!  I love my Desk Apprentice.  It is a little big, but it's a huge help in keeping me organized.  

Cargo Pants to Cute Tote

My husband had a pair of hand-me-down cargo pants that were too short for him.  I wore them for awhile in my post-partum days when nothing else would fit.  What I liked about them were the pockets--they were big and closed with velcro.  Enter my new fascination with upcycling along with endless tote-making tutorials on the Web, and I found a new purpose for them.

When I started this project, I just wanted a simple bag in which to carry my calendar and schoolbooks for the kids.  It kind of took on a life of it's own, and I decided it was so cute, I would probably use it for my casual purse...which translates to everyday since I rarely go anywhere worthy of a formal bag.  :)

Supplies:
-One pair of adult cargo pants
-About half a yard each of fabric in two coordinating patterns--one for the lining and one for accent
-Fusible fabric bond (optional)
-Button

Cutting
1.  Take your pants and cut the inseam up one leg, around the crotch, and down the other leg.

2.  To make the body, lay out the pants and measure around the pockets.  I cut mine at 18" wide x 15" tall.  Do this for each leg and cut out the fabric.  CUT OUT JUST WHAT YOU NEED AND AVOID MAKING ANY EXTRA CUTS.

3.  Cut two pieces of fabric 18" wide x 15" tall from the fabric you chose for your lining.

4.  Here's why I bolded my statement in step 2.  Measure a piece of fabric 24" long x 3" wide from the legs of your pants.  (I didn't plan ahead for this step and had to cut two pieces of varying lengths for my straps, hence the knotted strap.)

5.  Cut a 24" long x 3" wide of accent fabric for your strap.

6.  If you want an inner pocket, cut a 12 x 12 piece of accent fabric.

7.  Find the closure on your pants and snip off about 3 or 4 inches from the end.  (I stopped at the first belt loop.)

Sewing
1.  Turn your two body pieces right sides together and pin.  Stitch around the sides and bottom.

2.  Take the fabric that you cut for your pocket and fold it right sides together.  Stitch along the open sides, leaving about a two-inch gap for turning.  Turn the fabric right side out and secure about 4 inches down on one piece of your lining.  Making sure your fold is on the top, stitch the pocket onto the lining, making sure you close the open edge.  Determine if you want this pocket divided into two or three pockets, and sew the appropriate lines.

3.  Take your two lining pieces, and pin right sides together.  Stitch around the sides and bottom. (This is the same thing you did with your body pieces in step 1.)

4.  Now you'll want to square the bottom of your body and lining.  With the pieces still turned right sides together, press the corners into a point MAKING SURE YOUR SEAMS ARE IN LINE.  Measure across 4 inches, pin together, and mark with a fabric pen.  Do this on both bottom edges for both pieces.  Trim off a little of the excess points, if you wish.

5.  Take your strap piece and strap lining, and pin right sides together.  Stitch the long sides only.  Turn the strap right side out.  Sew about 1/8 from each edge down the length of the strap.  You don't have to do this, but I think it adds a nice finishing touch.  (You may want to iron your strap before doing this step, unless you're like me and enjoy a good battle with your fabric and machine.)

6.  Take the body of the bag, right side out, and pin the straps to each side.

7.  Take the lining, wrong side out, and fit the body into it.  Repin where your straps are on the edges.  Now, stitch around the top leaving about a 5-inch gap (centered) across the back to turn it right side out.  

8.  Turn the bag right side out and fold in the unsewn edges and pin.  Sew again around the outside of the top of the bag.

9.  Take the button tab that you cut and pin it to the back of the bag.  Stitch across several times and seal any unfinished edges with fabric glue or fray check.   (NOTE:  You may want to tuck the button tab into the unsewn edge before sewing in step 8.  I decided I wanted mine after I had already sewn my bag, which is why it's on the outside.)

10.  Determine where you want your button closure to be and sew a button on the opposite side.  (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture!)

11.  If you want to get a little fancy, measure your pocket flaps and cut out some accent pieces.  Use fusable bond to attach them to the flaps.

There you have it!  A fun tote to carry around.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.  I'm new to tutorials, so I apologize if my directions aren't as clear as they should be.  :)

I'm linking this tutorial to two of my favorite craft blogs: Today's Creative Blog and their Get Your Craft On link party, and Tatertots and Jello: Weekend Wrap Up Party.  :)

Nothing Worse than a Naked nook

My sweet husband totally surprised me with a nook for Mother's Day!  Between homeschooling, college classes, and contract work with my previous employer, I suppose I need to find time to read!  :)  (We'll just pretend that my house and laundry are self-cleaning.)

So, I started pricing covers and decided they were either (1) too expensive for my cheap budget, and/or (2) too bland.  I love to browse etsy.com for inspiration and decided I would make one myself.

Supplies:

• 1 piece of fabric for outside cover - 9" x 12"
• 1 piece of fabric for inside cover - 9" x 12"
• 2 pieces of fusible batting - 9" x 12" each (my batting was pretty thick; I probably could've just used one piece)
• 1 piece of fabric for pocket - 7" x 9"
• 4 squares of fabric for nook anchors - 3" x 3"
• Button and 6" of ribbon
• Extra fabric and rhinestone for embellishment (optional)
• Fabric glue

Note:  My original plan included plastic canvas for support; however, it just didn't work since my batting was thick enough, and I discovered that I was creating more sewing work for myself.  :)  So, pretend like you don't see the canvas in the photo.

1.  Fuse the batting to the fabric for the inside and outside cover and set aside.

2.  Fold the fabric for your pocket in half, wrong sides together, and stitch about a half inch from the fold.  Set aside.

3.  Fold two of the squares into triangles (wrong side facing), and line them up with the right side of the inner cover. Pin the edges into place.  (Note that the fold should face inward.)

4. This is where a cutting mat comes in handy.  Place the inside cover on the mat so that it lines up with the ruler.  Place the other two triangles (fold facing inward) so that they are lined up with the 6" mark.  Then turn the vertical edge under about 1/4" and pin into place.  (Oh and if you're wondering about that extra little piece of the fold that shows, just clip it off and seal with fabric glue.)

5.  Sew the outside edges of the triangles onto the inside, using as small of a seam as humanly possible. ;)  Then, insert your nook and breathe a huge sigh of relief when it actually fits.  :)

6.  Remove your nook and place the pocket along the left edge, fold facing inward.  Pin into place.

7.  I now realized that I forgot to take pictures of the next few steps.  Take your outside cover and measure in about 1 3/4" from the center of the edge.  Place the center of your button on this mark and stitch onto the fabric.  Now, take the outside cover and place it on top of the inside cover (wrong sides facing) and pin together.  Make sure your button is facing the side with the pocket.  Stitch around the cover with a 1/4" seam, leaving a gap on the side with the triangles.  Clip across your corners so that they're not so bulky.

8.  Turn the cover right side out.  It takes a little bit of work, especially if you didn't leave a big enough gap like me.  ;)  Reinsert your nook and breathe another sigh of relief when it still fits.

9.  Fold your cover so that you can see where you need to insert the ribbon.  I tucked mine in about 3/4".  Fold the raw edges inward and pin together.  Stitch along the edge.

10.  Your sewn edge should look like this (I like to reinforce around the ribbon).  You may want to stitch around the entire cover just to finish it off.  Mine was pretty bulky, so I opted not to.     

11.  You're done!  You may want to press it open with an iron (without the nook, of course!)

12.  Oops, I forgot the embellishment!  I cut two circles from my fabric and glued them to the cover.  I then glued a rhinestone to the center.  Breathe your final sigh of relief as you fasten it closed.  :)

Unflattering Shirt into Cute Skirt

I have a list of craft, home design, and sewing blogs that I flip through every morning with my cup of coffee in hand.  A trend that I really enjoy is recycling clothing.  I have two boys and a girl, and let me tell you, I never thought that shopping for a girl after age five would be so difficult (she's almost seven and I prefer to have her not dress like a sixteen-year old streetwalker).  I thank God that he gave me a small portion of sewing talent. ;)

I have a few shirts that have either shrunk or just don't flatter my body type.  Rather than donate them, I thought I would try to recycle them into something for my daughter.  I always liked the bottom of this particular shirt, so I decided a skirt would be the best option.

(Note that your measurements will vary.)  For the length of the skirt, I measure from my daughter's bellybutton to below her knees, and then subtract about four inches (for the waist band).  One of my best sewing investments was this cutting mat and rotary cutter--it makes measuring and cutting so much easier!

Next, you'll cut the fabric for the waist band.  Measure your daughter around the fullest part of her hips (usually across her bottom), divide by two, and add 1.5 inches.  In our case, that measurement wasn't too much smaller than the width of the shirt, so I was able to cut straight across the shirt.  Take the top portion of the shirt and measure about four inches from the bottom.  In this case, I folded the shirt and pinned the bottom before I made my cut.  (My daughter is very tall, so I barely had enough fabric for the waist band.)

The one thing I love about this project is that the amount of sewing required is minimal--my side seams are already there!  (If your daughter is smaller, you will have to stitch one of the side openings on the waist band closed.  Simply turn the band right sides together and stitch up the open side.)

The next step is to gather the skirt and attach it to the waist band.  Use whatever method you want for gathering (I apparently like to re-invent the wheel and prefer to hand gather).  ;)  Attach the gathered skirt to the waist band as show below and sew.  (If you had to trim down your waist band, your skirt may be fuller than what is pictured, too.  That's okay--what girl doesn't love a full twirly skirt?)  :)

The last step is to add the elastic at the top of the waist band.  I used 3/4-inch elastic, so to make my casing, I folded down about 1 1/8-inches from the top.  Sew around and be sure to leave about a 1-inch opening in which to thread your elastic.  I find it's easier to use a large safety pin to work my elastic through the casing.

Stitch the two ends of your elastic together and then stitch your opening in the band closed.  Voilá!  You have a cute new skirt for your daughter!  :)

Getting Crafty: Easter Art

I just wanted to share a quick and fun project using the same frame that I featured in my Valentine Art post.  The paper is from my stash of Creative Memories papers. I sketched out the Peeps from a picture on the 'net and coated them in Crayola School Glue.  I then sprinkled glitter (Sugar Coating by Doodlebug Designs) that coordinated with the paper color. I used my charcoal Souffle pen to make the features.

Enjoy!