Well, here we are! Our first Christmas projects for 2012! How does it feel to get a jump start on the holiday season already? In all honesty, I’d planned on doing a fairly large project this month, but time got away with me with all our home buying and moving plans, so I fell back to an idea I’ve been wanting to share for quite awhile.

For Christmas 2010 I appliqued towels for my Mom, sister, and Aunt. I just put their last initials for a little personalization, but I was wild about the way they turned out! And best of all, they’re actually used on a regular basis!

I’ve been itching to make some for holidays. It’s an inexpensive and fun way to celebrate, and they make really great gifts! I think they’d even be great as a wedding gift, especially if the couple has registered for towels so you can get some you know they like and will match their home. Personalized with their initials or even “his” and “hers” would be darling!

These are a quick and easy project for sure! I simply chose some designs and appliqued the way I always do!

**For tips and information see my Applique and Applique Curves Tutorials.

To get the design in the right place, lay the towel down face down, with the inside of the towel up.

Fold in one third,

then the other third,

then fold in half. You’ll be left with a small area to work with, but is perfect for how it will hang. You can use the sides for reference points and begin ironing on your applique!

When finished, your design will be perfectly placed and ready for use!

I have more towels I haven’t had a chance to adorn yet, but I’ll get to them very soon! I did manage to sneak a generic one in for myself! If you don’t want to do holiday images as a gift, consider doing them this way instead.

Ready to share your creations? I can’t wait to see them! If you do not have a blog, please feel free to email me your photos. Some of you have done this already and I’m loving it! Keep ‘em coming!

Please add my Handmade Christmas 2012 button to your blog to spread the word about participation!

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Just a reminder that tomorrow is the 25th and we’ll all show off our first monthly Christmas project for 2012! I’ve got a great tutorial to share and can’t wait to see what you all come up with! Check back tomorrow for the linky party and to see what I’ve been working on…

Are you working on your first Christmas project? I can’t wait to see them!

I was laying in bed recently chatting with The Hubs while he worked, aimlessly bouncing around blogs, websites, Pinterest and everything inbetween. I didn’t realize he was paying attention to what I was doing until I was looking at this tutorial and he said, “You are making that, right?”

How do you say no to that?! I knew Sofie would be absolutely CRAZY about the idea, and I was right!

It was pretty quick to make, and she can get it off and on herself, which is huge for us both.

She’s always trying to do things with that hair. Open doors, grab her cup from across the room, you name it. And it doesn’t matter how long she wears it, it’s so weird to see my sweet brunette with blonde locks!

She’s been so sweetly excited about wearing this wig. After having her Mommy making things for everyone one else, she’s relishing my full creative attention lately. When she’s wearing her Rapunzel hair, she bats her eyes and asks, “Where’s the dress?” Gimme time, little girl.

This wig is ridiculously easy to make! I got a cream stocking cap at Walmart for $1.27 and used it for the base. Tights are too hard for Sofie to put off and on, so I wanted something she could manipulate herself. I also used 2 skeins of yarn I also got from Walmart. Caron brand, lemon color.

I put the hat on her head and folded it up until it fit her skull pretty close.

Then I marked it with a pen,

and stitched it down with a wide zigzag.

Then I put it back on her head, with the folded part in front (to make sure it didn’t stick out funny),

and marked the side part, then the drew a line from ear to ear. I used a yellow crayon so my marks would blend into the hair.

I placed 2 of my ladder back chairs 39″ apart and wrapped the yarn around them. I did one skein at a time (and only used about half of the second). If you don’t have 2 things to use, get your husband, mom, sister, someone to hold their hands the desired length apart and wrap around them. I cut one end of the yarn to give me 78″ length pieces.

Then I threaded a needle with regular sewing thread and starting at the very front of the hat, started placing hair and sewing it onto the part. I put it over my knee to sew.

To give it a little more volume, I placed anywhere from 2-4 pieces of yarn together for each stitch I made. It took me about 15 minutes to do the part.

Then I moved onto the crown. Once I started this point, I was having a hard time keeping it on my knee, so I put the hat on a ball. I didn’t want the stitches to show, so starting in the middle of my line, I laid the yarn pieces diagonally and stitched them down 1 at a time, so the top of the yarn would fall over the thread hiding it.

I stopped at the top of the ear, where my line stopped. Then I did the same thing to the other side, creating the back of the hair.

Then to fill in the top of the head more, I started at the part and moved diagonally towards the eye on each side. I did this second row down to the same point as the first.

It now covers the back of the head when all the hair is down.

When I put it on Sofie at this point I realized that as she moved the yarn moved and I could see big spots of the hat. So I decided to sew some of them down so they kept the hat covered and the top layer of hair could move freely.

I started on one side of the part, I pulled up half the hair and moved it out of the way.

Then I found where the crown pieces met the sides and started there.

Using my same needle and thread, I just quickly whipped across the yarn, attaching it to the hat.

I did the same across the other side, and along the back.

Then I pulled two pieces from the front on each side and secured them in the back with a little piece of yarn. She absolutely loves it and honestly, so do I!

Sounds silly, right? I mean, it’s only January! Well, after talking to you guys on Facebook, I realized many of us are in the same procrastinate/leave your stuff for the last minute boat, and many of us spend the days leading up to Christmas in a total sewing panic. And honestly, I’m tired of it! I want to do a handmade Christmas every year, and every year I bail at the last minute. Well, NO MORE!

So I decided this year I was going to spend all year making my Christmas gifts so that when the holiday rolled around I’d have this stack of handmade goodness to choose from. 15 gifts sewn in December seems like an overwhelming number doesn’t it? How about 1 a month instead? That sounds totally reasonable!

Every month I’ll post one Christmas project (maybe more!) and a tutorial to go along with it. We’ll have a little linky party and keep each other accountable to knock out our holiday sewing list early. I thought the 25th would be an appropriate date! I’m going to blog about my projects, but if the gift is for someone specific, I’ll leave that detail out so they don’t know it’s theirs (the ladies in my family read my blog (hi girls!)). I’m also going to do some home decorating things, maybe my girls Christmas pj’s, stuff like that.

So join me, will you? Have a project ready to share by the 25th of this month and we’ll kick off our best handmade Christmas yet!

Everyone else is doing it, so why not? Thank you for the overwhelming support and success for Sew Like My Mom this year. I appreciate each and every one of you!

11. Katie Dress

10. Easiest Pillowcase Dress Ever

9. Game Day Gym Bag

8. Peasant Dress

7. Makeup Bag

6. The Great Cover-Up

5. Applique Curves

4. Applique

3. Cosmetic Bag

2. Little Red Infinity Dress

1. The Shirt Skirt

I can’t even begin to count the number of times this year I’ve mumbled, “this is the worst year of my life.”

Grandpa died in June. There are still times I forget he’s gone and expect to see him walk through the door and hug me tight. It’s been six months already, but there are plenty of quiet moments when my mind drifts to him and I’m overwhelmed by tears.

We had major (read: expensive!) car repair work done 4 times between January and August. Just when we were sure it would run like new for years, a drunk driver totaled it and took away our family car, leaving us to pile 3 kids into a teeny sedan.

We had plenty of money and health woes, too. Nothing major, but it’s been one thing after another non-stop this entire year. Things had finally settled, we decided on a van to buy and as we were getting our ducks in a row, we got a letter in the mail on December 9th that the house we’ve been renting for nearly 2 years is going into foreclosure and is being auctioned on the county courthouse steps Jan 3rd. Merry Christmas. So now we’re rushing around trying to buy our first house and it’s just not exactly ideal.

I’ve had so much going on in my personal life I kind of checked out on my blog. I’ve been sewing, but mostly for gifts and family and things that aren’t especially blog fodder. I’ve just felt completely overwhelmed by everything we’re dealing with, compounded by Christmas, and who cares about blogging, right?

So while I was off licking my wounds, I was learning more about the year other people have been having. There’s something so humbling about a huge reality check on life, isn’t there? Sure, we had to have the car fixed, but we had the money to do it. We survived the accident with barely any physical signs. This isn’t our house we’re losing, and in fact, we’re in a position to buy right now. We’ve never had to worry about having a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs or food on our table. Life might not have been smooth this year, but while we mourn and grieve for the loss of my Grandpa, we’re rejoicing in the healthy, beautiful baby girl we welcomed. How lucky are we?

I’m not sad to see 2011 end. It HAS been rough. I’ve prayed hard, cried harder, and laughed until my sides hurt. I’ve grown to cherish life even more, and learned a hard lesson about how you can’t plan for the unexpected. I’m ready for 2012 and all the amazing things it has to offer. I’ve got some things to blog about in the coming weeks, but I assume with the (hopefully!) house buying, packing and moving, I might not be posting much in the way of crafting. I hope you’ll keep coming back, though, as I can’t stay away for long!

So enjoy some pictures of the three greatest blessings in my life enjoying the Christmas holidays! Happy New Year!

For years I’ve been putting “tags” in the clothes I make. They’re nothing special, literally just loops of ribbon that tell the wearer (or the parent dressing them) which is the back side of the garment.

But I’ve wanted labels. I’ve researched, planned, and hunted everywhere for them, but nothing I found really pleased me. I don’t want to buy 500 labels at once. What if I change my mind? I also didn’t like the idea of not really knowing what they’d look like and feel like until I had them in my hand. So when I ran across this tutorial on Pinterest recently (find me here), I was stoked.

The idea is about all I took from the tutorial, though. I figured out a decently easy way to make these in Microsoft Word and went at it. I’m thrilled with the outcome!

The best part about making my own labels is that they’re DIRT CHEAP. Like 4 cents each!

I started by getting my image ready. I took a thumbnail my sister created for me and tweaked it. Instead of pink on black, I made it black on white. I then saved it and opened the image in Microsoft Word by going to Insert -> Image -> From File.

Then right click on your image and choose Edit Picture. Once the edit box is open, right click again and choose Format Picture. Choose the Size tab and change the size of your image to fit the ribbon. My ribbon is 7/8″ so I made the image a .75″ square.

Once it’s the right size, click on that little icon to Reset Picture Boundary (this may look different on Word for a PC).

Then go to View -> Formatting Palette

Choose the little arrow next to Free Rotate for a drop down menu. One of the options will be Flip Horizontal. Choose that one to flip your image.

Your image will now be reversed. Click on Close Picture and it will take you back to your document with a flipped image.

**I’m sorry some of these are blurry, I’m not sure why!

Then adjust your margins (I made mine all .5″) and go to Format -> Columns and make as many columns as your image will allow. I was able to make 7.

Then right click on your image and choose Copy.

Then paste away through the columns until you fill the page!

I printed on a regular piece of paper first to make sure I didn’t need to make any adjustments. Then I printed 1 sheet on my iron transfer paper and started cutting!

For my labels I used 1 spool of 7/8″ white satin ribbon and 1 sheet of iron-on transfer sheets. They yielded me 54 labels and I still have a few transfers left (because 1 sheet gave me 70)!

The ribbon was $1.97 at Walmart. The transfer paper I got at Michael’s. It’s normally $9.99 but I had a 40% coupon, making it $5.99, or $.60 per sheet. The ribbon is 18′ long, or 216 inches. I cut it in 4″ sections yielding me 54 labels total.

$1.97/54 = $.036
$.60/70 = $.008

.036 + .008 = $.044 cents each!! So to make 54 labels cost me $2.40 and took me about an hour!

To make the labels I took 1 piece of ribbon and 1 transfer.

I put the image down on the ribbon, lining the bottom of it up at the 2″ mark so it would be on the top of the label (in the tutorial I found, her images are on the bottom for how I use them).

Then using only the tip of the iron and focusing only on the transfer, I gently pressed and counted to 5. There’s no need to leave them longer than that.

I left the paper on the transfers and I’ll peel them off as I use them.

I’m so excited this worked! I haven’t tried washing them yet, so I don’t know how they’ll stand up in the wash. But even if the images eventually wear off, it’s a ribbon label which is what I was using anyway!

It always surprises me the little ways my girls are just like me. Sofie’s always cold in the car and prefers to be snuggled under a blanket. I turned her car seat around to face forward a few months ago and since then she’s been having a hard time keeping the blanket in her lap. So I decided as the days were getting colder and she actually needed to have a blanket in the car, I was going to make her one that would stay attached to her car seat.

She is in heaven!

I didn’t want to interfere with the clips, since safety is the most important, so I designed the blanket to attach to the seat through 2 big button holes I made to go around the lower clasp.

Since it doesn’t fall out of her seat, she can either snuggle it up around her, let it fold in half over her legs, or she can put it entirely under her legs and not be covered with it at all.

I also thought ahead and made it long enough to cover her legs, but short enough that it couldn’t get dirty from her shoes. This makes it the perfect size to go from the car seat to the stroller!

The blanket can stay attached to the seat when they’re not in it, so you’re sure never to lose it.

To make the blanket I used:

1 yard of minky fabric
1 yard of cotton (I snagged it at Jo-Ann’s)

**If you don’t have a sewing machine or are cautious about the sewing for this blanket, you could achieve the same results by simply cutting 2 slits in a piece of fleece.

I cut my minky and cotton fabrics in half to make each piece 36″ by 22″. I also made Chloe a blanket for her car seat, even though she will rear-face for another year or so.

Place them right sides together and pin all the way around.

Sew around the perimeter, I used a 1/2″ seam allowance, leaving a hole a few inches wide to turn the blanket through.

Clip the corners at an angle to cut down on the bulk when they’re turned. This doesn’t have to be pretty (obviously!).

Turn the blanket and poke the corners out. Use your hands to “iron” the edges even, but don’t actually iron it!! I made the mistake of ironing dot minky once, and it was tragic.

Pin the hole closed and top stitch around the entire blanket, closing the hole.

For the buttonholes, I decided to make them 2.5″ wide (and in hindsight, wish they’d been a little smaller) and 3″ apart. I measured 12.5″ from the bottom of the blanket and marked the first hole, then measure three inches above it and marked the second.

The blanket is long and skinny to accommodate the shape of the car seat, so make sure you’re doing them the right way!

Make your buttonholes (again, doesn’t have to be pretty),

then cut them open and you’re done!

This was quick, easy, and will keep her comfortably warm all winter!

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!

It doesn’t take much to make your own set of personalized stockings! They’re also fast to whip up, I think this tutorial took me longer to write than it took to make all 5!

The finished size is 17.5″ long from top of folded cuff to toe, 21.5″ unfolded, and 6.5″ wide.

For each stocking you’ll need:
2 outside pieces
2 lining pieces
2 cuff pieces
1 6″ piece of ribbon
applique (optional)

This is actually a great project for fat quarters! The stockings I made for us came entirely from fat quarters and 4 out of the 5 of these did as well. To make your stockings fairly cheaply, and to have them coordinate instead of match exactly, search for a fat quarter bundle on etsy. It takes 1 FQ for each stocking, and 1 produces 2 cuffs.

First, iron the cuff pieces in half.

Then iron on your applique. For these, I used Pharmacy font and traced it from MS Word at size 550. Put the fold on the bottom and the raw edges on the top before ironing the applique. I know this seems backwards, but trust me, it needs to go on the top half. To center mine when the cuff is down, I placed the letters 3/8″ above the fold.

Then applique around the letter. If you need more help on this, see my applique tutorial and the tutorial on appliqueing curves.

Now decide which way your stockings will hang and with right sides together, sew the cuff piece with the applique to the front stocking piece. When you do this, make sure the applique is facing the foot of the stocking.

Then sew the same lining piece to the other side of the cuff with right sides together.

You’ll have something that looks like this:

Press your seams to the middle.

Repeat with the back pieces.

Lay the front and back together with right sides facing each other, lining up your cuff pieces.

Take the 6″ of ribbon and make it into a loop.

Place it between your lining layers on the BACK side (heel side) of the stocking with the loop on the inside. Line it up right where the lining meets the cuff. Pin in place.

Pin the stocking pieces together. I usually don’t pin things, but I wanted to make sure I kept this looking nice.

To sew them together, I started in the “sole” of the lining. I sew the lining together at 3/8″ seam allowance and when I get to the cuff, I gradually move it over to 1/4″ seam allowance. I do this to make sure the lining fits perfectly inside the stocking when put together and it doesn’t lump or bulge.

Leave a hole a few inches wide along the bottom of the lining to turn the stocking through.

To make sure your curves lay flat, you need to clip them. I cheat and use pinking shears.

Turn the stocking through your hole and iron everything flat.

Sew the hole in the lining closed, stuff the lining into the outer pieces, and you’re done!!

If you’re making more than one, I recommend doing them assembly-line style. It goes faster!

The Hubs and I had great fun creating words out of these! No words can be made from our initials, so we got a good chuckle before I mailed them.

Download the pattern here:

christmas stocking pattern

I can’t believe it’s been nearly 2 weeks since I last posted! Things have been outrageously busy around here lately. I’ve made and mailed several orders, spent all last week making Thanksgiving outfits for my girls, and this week has been all about grocery shopping and baking.

But on this fantastic holiday, I really am grateful for all the wonderful blessings in my life.

-My husband and how incredibly hard he works for us.
-That I’m able to have my dream job and stay at home with our girls.
-My amazing family and their never-ending support.
-The roof over our heads, the food on our table, and, of course, our health.
-This blog and all the doors it has opened for me just by following my passion.

But mostly? I’m thankful for these gorgeous little people. Only in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be the lucky Mom to three beautiful girls.

And what better way to celebrate than with new outfits! They each got ruffle pants with a different top so they coordinate instead of match.

I can’t get over how big Ella’s getting! She’s almost 9 weeks old.

Her shirt was just a fussy cut pumpkin from the fabric I used for the other 2 that I appliqued to a onesie.

And I recently learned how to do a rolled hem on my serger. I’m in love!

Chloe’s outfit was a saved mistake. Originally I was making her top to match Sofie’s, but I cut it the wrong size (as a result of sewing at 2am) and had to improvise. But she’s so adorable, who cares?!

She is overflowing with personality!

For Sofie I wanted to add some pant fabric to her top to tie them together. With a little creative math I was able to make this contrast casing for the elastic that adds the perfect touch.

From our family to yours, have a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your day is full of love, laughter, yummy food, and way more smiles than tears!