Category: Tutorials

Two years ago I knew I wanted to make our family Christmas stockings. My Mom and I were out shopping at fabric stores and I fell in love with this fabric, but it wasn’t until last year that I finally got them made. I went ahead and made 5 stockings even though we didn’t have a third baby yet (I guess my subconscious knew she’d be coming soon!).

A friend of mine loved them and asked me to make a set for her kids. We’ve been planning them since March, I swear, and I was finally able to get them done last week. I really love how they came out and I’m seriously considering making more for us!

I appliqued each child’s initial to the cuff of the stocking with plain black fabric.

They just make everything more festive!

(I’m also making a tree skirt, so stay tuned for that!)

And because of the way they’re designed, when they’re stuffed for Christmas morning, you can stand the cuff up to make them a little taller to accommodate all the stocking goodies!

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Happy Veterans Day! Today I have a really special project to share. And since I grew up an Army brat, this one is near and dear to my heart.

Usually I share projects I make for my friends. But this time I was contacted by a friend who was making the bag for one of her friends. She wanted some help on construction so I documented our process to share. I love this idea and I’m completely excited with how it all turned out!

These totes are all the rage with military wives and Moms and with an ACU jacket and a few hours, you can have your own!

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For months now Sofie’s been obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake. She’s got tons of “Strawberry Cake” toys and they’re the most treasured playthings in our vast collection. We record the show on The Hub and she spends a decent amount of time every day lost in her own little world, playing with her “friends” and asking me to visit Berry Bitty City. As her love for Strawberry grew, I knew she’d be excited to emulate her for Halloween. I started planning the costume in my mind this summer and as the weeks have grown closer, I’ve been itching to get it made. I finally caught up on my orders this week and was able to give my girl the outfit of her dreams!

It was ridiculously easy to make, taking just a few hours, and I love that it’s real clothes, not a cheap, overpriced store-bought costume that either a) doesn’t go in the washer or b) falls apart after several rounds of laundry. But my favorite thing about it is how happy it makes my girl.

She’s been wearing it all week, fighting me over any reason I ask her to take it off. She wants to sleep in it, wear it to preschool, and show everyone she knows that she is now her beloved Strawberry Cake.

We argued a bit about whether she was going to have a hat (which she REALLY wanted) or Strawberry’s hair bow (which was more what I was thinking). But I’m a sucker for my kids, so she got her hat.

Making this costume was very inexpensive and really fun. In total I spent $17, and still have about 1/2 yard of fabric left over!

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Now that Sofie’s in school, I’m starting to get into the idea of her dressing up for holidays and seasons. In years past, we mostly hung around at home unless we were grocery shopping or visiting with family, so just 1 holiday outfit was enough. But this year I really wanted to start building her wardrobe with special handmade things.

I found this fabric at Hancock Fabrics a month or so ago and knew I had to have it. I’m not into most Fall/Halloween fabrics because I 1) don’t like orange 2) don’t care much for pumpkins 3) hate cold weather and usually protest the end of summer in any way possible!

It took me 30 minutes, start to finish, to whip up this precious little addition to her closet. And it’s long enough she’ll be able to wear it again next year! I typically don’t embellish my projects much, I’m very much a minimalist, so I like to choose loud fabrics that speak for themselves. I thought the rick rack was the perfect finishing touch, though!

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I love when I have ideas like this one, that come together so perfectly. I decided what I wanted this skirt to look like, cut the pieces, and it took me just a few hours to get it all done–and I was basically making it up as I went along.

But, I LOVE it. And so does Sofie!

It’s got a side zipper hidden by an adorable over-sized bow.

I swear she likes it, she just also likes to give me sassy attitude!

I like the way the high waist looks on her scrawny little frame.

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