Easy Pet Fashion Personalized Bandana with the Cricut Joy

This post is brought to you by Cricut. All opinions are 100% my own.
Our dogs are like a part of our family. I know I'm not the only one who feels this. Pet adoption rates during COVID have been soaring! If you didn't adopt a pet during quarantine, I bet you know someone who did! Today, I've got a little something for that furry member of your family...or to give as a gift! Create a fashion statement for your pet with these easy to make personalized bandanas. Using your Cricut, you can personalize just about anything for anyone, even the furriest members, and no, I'm not talking about my dad! Why not customize one of the most iconic fashion statements a dog can make and add some personality to a bandana. I'll show you how you can easily sew a basic pattern to make an over-the-collar dog bandana or personalize an existing bandana to fit the personality of your pet. Don't worry, you can even make these for your cat or other furry friends with some tweaks to the pattern. Want to find out how? Come check it out!

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$1 Homemade DIY Face Mask Using Dollar Store Supplies

There has been a lot of uncertainty, and I might also say, a lot of conflicting information as of late. As we start to see the weeks pass, and more doors open up as life starts to resume a new normal, more and more businesses and even airlines are requiring customers to wear a face mask. The supplies are in great demand, the shelves are often more empty than the toilet paper aisle and many people are struggling to find face masks they can wear. I decided to see if I could make a face mask {a no-sew face mask as well as a mask that is sewn} using supplies from the Dollar Tree. I was able to make both for you guessed it, under $1 and I'm sharing how you can make a DIY homemade face mask using Dollar Tree supplies.

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Slip on Collar Reversible Dog Bandanna Tutorial

I am just a little bit obsessed with my dogs. In case you didn't know, I have an adopted Golden Retriever named Sophie and a rescued Yorkie named Frankie. They have their own Instagram account {@sophieandfrankee}. You should follow it. Sophie, dare I say, is just a bit larger than her furry sister Frankie and she's got quite a bit more "fluff", so she doesn't need the same kind of wardrobe that Frankie has because she'd just be too darn hot in everything. But in an attempt to get them matching anything, I made them these slip on {or slip through} the dog collar reversible bandannas. They were super easy to sew and they have both been wearing them for more than a week and they are holding up nicely. You can tailor this easy sewing tutorial to fit any size dog. Come check it out! 

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Easy Hair Scrunchie Sewing Tutorial

So, part of me has died a little inside knowing that half of my adolescence is now coming back into fashion. I went shopping with my daughter and I'm grabbing clothing item after clothing item and thinking, I had something like this when I was your age. Geez. Why did I not keep it all??? And why do they have to be looking for this elusive white wash "mom" jean? Please baby Jesus come save us all! But first, let's make a super easy hair scrunchie because if we are going out, we are going out with a coordinating hair tie in holding our messy bun in place! I actually learned how to sew by making hair scrunchies. I can't even count how many I made, but dozens upon dozens. It's funny, how years later, I can still remember how. It's why I'm teaching you my dear friends, because we all need life skills and if sewing your own hair scrunchie doesn't do it, I'm not sure what will!

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DIY Leather Glasses Case Plus Shopping With Kids for Glasses

Thank you JCPenney Optical for sponsoring this post. Visit your local JCPenney Optical to find your perfect frames!

I got glasses in third grade. The frames were brown and kind of leopard spotted and my mom let me pick out a decal to put on the lens. I selected a lion because, well....I'm not sure why. My eyes continued to get worse and every few years I would have to replace my glasses. Picking out the frames was so hard! I remember that much. I didn't love the selection 30+ years ago and quite honestly, when you can't really see and everything is blurry, even your reflection in the mirror, it's hard to make your best choice. In junior high I picked out what I thought was a pretty awesome pair of glasses with wire frames. What no one told me was that those frames were actually boys frames. Seriously. In junior high. Why did no one tell me? Actually, people did tell me, just too late... after I already bought them and there was no replacing them because hundreds of dollars later that's why.

So I get it. Shopping for glasses is hard.

photo credit Nickl.Media

Wearing glasses as a kid sets you apart at a time when you really don't want to be set apart. However, not seeing isn't a better option! So picking out and making a statement with your frames is something we can help our kids roll with. There are so many great options now and I've got a great deal for you so you can find affordable frames and lenses just in time for back to school. I also have a great DIY tutorial so you and your child can protect your glasses with a fun leather case you can make together. Come check it out!

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Knit Cowl Tunic Pattern and Tutorial

I don't think that it was so much of a new year's resolution as it was a goal of mine to try to get back into sewing again. I started sewing when I was young. I remember my first project was a hand stitched dress for my kitten to wear in the 4th of July parade. I should have taken my idea of designing pet clothes and run with it then because holy cow, that market is huge! Months go by now though when I don't stitch a thing and I wanted to change that because I forgot how much I loved to create. In January, I made this zippered fold-over clutch, in February I made this leather laptop sleeve and now this month, I created this cowl neck knit tunic. It's an easy pattern you can make too and it can be adjusted for all sizes. 

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How to Make Curly Korker Hair Ribbons

How to Make Curly Korker Hair Ribbons

My daughter is nearly 8 and has never really been into hair thingies. Can you believe it's taken me this long into parenting a daughter to figure out how to make those little korker hair bows? I mean really?! Where have I been. So if you are like me, and haven't figured it out yet, here's a little tutorial to help you on your way. They are so easy and for me, it was about using up some of the ribbon I had lying around anyway.

Here's what you need: Scissors, pencils (the longer the better), ribbon, and clothespins and later, a sewing needle and thread

Start at one end of your pencil, clothespin in place the end of the ribbon and start wrapping around the pencil until the end. Put your other clothespin on to secure that end, cut off any excess ribbon at an angle and place aside.

You will want to cook a bunch. More than I have on this cookie sheet, but these were the only clothespins I could scrounge up. Cook in your oven at 275 degrees for 25 minutes. Let sit for about 30 seconds, then unwind from your pencil.

Cut each piece into 3-4 inch sections.

Get out your sewing needle and put a knot in the end about 3-4 inches up.

See where my finger is, that's where the knot is.

Push your needle through the middle of the first ribbon and keep stacking the ribbons on top in the order you want them. Then once your needle is through, go back through as close to the initial spot as possible.

Then, take your two ends of extra thread and tie them together in a knot. I always tie a few times, then I use the extra thread to tie it on to whatever hair accessory my korker is going on to. In this case, I tied it to a ponytail holder.

That's it! You can make them as full as you want them by adding more ribbon. Have fun with these!

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What to do with a yard of Fabric?

What to Sew with a Yard of Fabric

I happened to be shopping with my princess last week and came upon the half price red tag fabric sale. I decided to let Isabella pick some fabric out, at $2 a yard I couldn't go too wrong...or so I thought. My lovely daughter and I spent the next thirty minutes fighting over ribbon to accent the dress with! I was about to ditch the whole idea when I finally exasperated her enough to agree to my suggestions. I don't make many clothes because I don't think it's as economical as garage sale shopping but this dress cost around $3 to make, so it didn't break the bank. I will highlight a few of the things I did to make the dress, but I didn't make a pattern or measure so I can't really give you any specific tutorial, if nothing else you will find some inspiration.

I used two different dresses from my daughters closet to make the pattern. I folded the dress in half and used that to cut on the fold. Notice in the above picture I didn't go right to the edge of the fold, but instead gave myself about a half an inch of room. My fabric wasn't quite as stretch as the Jersey in the dress and I didn't want to mess with zippers or buttons.
I used the blue dress as a guide to make the arm and neck holes. I made this piece to be the back.

I had a little fabric left and racked my brain on how to make a front for the dress. I probably should have made the first cut on the fold as the front, but I made subtle pleats so it hid the seam that I was forced to make by putting the two front pieces together.
Then I cut the top. Again, I cut on the fold and used the blue dress as a guide. I only needed a front piece, since the back piece was cut from top to bottom.
I then used my old "change the tension and thread length" to make the bottom of the bodice gathered. This is when I stopped taking pictures of the process. But I finished the raw edges, pleated the bottom of the front, sewed the bodice and the front piece together, then sewed the two sides together and hemmed the skirt. It really only took me about an hour to make from start to finish...well, an hour if I hadn't been interrupted every few minutes to break up a fight or get a snack or ride bikes. And this is the finished product on my beauty queen. The ribbon is just tied around the middle with a bow in the back.






I added three matching flowers on the bodice. I will explain how I did that tomorrow.

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How to increase the length of your curtains

How to increase the length of your curtains

We have lived in our house for nine years and I have never quite figured out what to do with the window treatments in our formal living room/dining room area. The curved window has always thrown me off. A few years ago we had lighted crown moulding installed and I love the look of it. But as much as I love it, I still could not figure out what to do with the room. It's always confused me.
While on vacation in Cancun this past November, our hotel had these massive windows and these curtains that seemed to go on forever. I was inspired to get some really long curtains and hang our curtain rods up as high as I could. I love the result! I can't believe how grand it makes the room seem. I ended up finding some double tab top panels at Ikea for $14.99 (holy cow that was a great deal!) and if you have ever bought Ikea curtains before you know they are generous in size (about 98 inches to be exact). I had some leftover fabric from when we reupholstered our chairs and used that to extend the length a bit. I just sewed them on to the bottom of each panel and then used hem tape (love that stuff!) to finish it off.

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DIY Leather Laptop Sleeve Tutorial

Do you ever have an idea in your mind of something that you want but you can't seem to find it? Or if you do find it, it's {far} out of your price range? I recently got a new laptop and I knew I needed a case for it, but what I was looking for just couldn't be found. I love the look of leather everything right now. Like I'm obsessed with it. So I had it narrowed down enough to know that I wanted a leather laptop sleeve. Of course the first place I turn is Amazon because as a Prime member it gets here yesterday, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. I started to search on-line and all the cases I was coming up with were $150+. I loved the look of the handmade leather laptop cases I was finding but I just couldn't justify the cost. So like all things, if I can't find what I want, I set out to make my own. This DIY {faux} leather laptop case cost me less than $20 and an hour of my time to make. My goal is to inspire my readers to want to create as well so I'm sharing how I made my laptop sleeve with you. You may like aspects of the case and take inspiration from this to create one that fits your needs.

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reusable snack bag sewing tutorial and pattern

Going Green

Reusable snack bag Sewing Tutorial and Pattern

At the start of the school year, I was convicted to stop using plastic baggies for the kids' lunch boxes. I would ask the kids to bring home the baggies that weren't slimy but that was hit or miss. My hubby will reuse the same Ziploc bag for WEEKS...yep, weeks because he has the EXACT same thing for lunch every day. It's like groundhog day.

Anyway, I had bought some sandwich wraps that seemed easy enough to try to replicate but were really holding up quite well. I figured if the sandwich wrap was holding up so well, then the baggies probably would too. So I set to work. I tried a little bit of everything in my process of coming up with the perfect bag.

Vinyl is super cheap but my sewing machine will not sew with it in. I tried using old chip bags that I put fusible interfacing on but those didn't hold up very well (the velcro would pull away and rip the chip bag). I finally broke down and spent nearly $5 on a tube of iron on vinyl (on sale with the coupon at Joann's, normally it's nearly $10) and it works quite well.

I sew them with my serger. I love my serger. I picked it up at a garage sale on my birthday and paid $50 for it. If I could marry it, I would. Here is how I made this fancy little baggie that will hold anything from crackers to apple slices. You can wipe them out with a clean rag, or wash them on cold and hang dry.



I don't use a pattern, each baggie ends up being a different size. But I did like the size that this one ended up so I used it as a guide. Here I am lying it on the roll of vinyl and "measuring" it out.

This is what the bag looks like. You will find it in the notions department.

Here the vinyl is cut and then folded. You can see it's 8 squares across, about 6 squares in the main section and 3 squares for the top fold over section. Again, make it however big or small you want. My 4-year-old loves the little coin purse sized one for goldfish.

Peel the paper away from the vinyl, then place face down on the wrong side of the material (pre-wash your material). Put the paper on top of the vinyl so you can iron over it. Your iron should be on the wool setting. I turn the whole thing over and iron the backside too. Sort of like an iron on transfer.

At this point, I fold it again, with the paper still on it and iron it down making the creases as a guide. I don't peel the paper layer off until I get ready to sew it.

I then serge the top of both sides.

And then sew the velcro on. I have tried placing velcro on the whole length of the inside of the baggie instead of having a top flap and it works just as well too. It's just more velcro, and I haven't had an issue with food spilling out while it's packed, so it doesn't seem like an issue.

I then fold the bag up the way that I will use it and serge the sides together completing the whole line from bottom to top, but making sure the top is open so you don't sew it shut!

Trim off the extra strings and there you have it!

A new super cute lunch bag accessory. And what girl doesn't love a good accessory...even if it is just in your lunch bag!

I have since updated this and created a sandwich wrap as well. It creates a pretty awesome placemat for your sandwich and you can make coordinating snack bags.

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Easy Zippered Fold Over Clutch with Leather Accent

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of fabric.com. All opinions are 100% my own. One of the first things I ever learned to do was sew. I had a small sewing kit in a blue tackle box with all these miniature size spools of thread and since my mom had a sewing machine, I had access to a whole lot of scraps. I remember one of the first things I made was a shirt for my cat Alex P. Kitten to wear in the 4th of July parade.  I really should have jumped on that animal clothes bandwagon and capitalized on that far sooner because I hear that gig is a billion dollar industry!  By the time middle school rolled around I was sewing dozens of hair scrunchies to keep my 80's hair accessorized. I still love to sew, though it's not always something I make time for. I think in the new year, I am going to spend more time whipping some things up because I enjoy it so much. I started by making this easy zippered fold over clutch with leather accent. It's so easy that you can make one for yourself in under an hour.  And if you shop at fabric.com like I did, you don't even have to leave the house! 

I've got the full tutorial and all the supplies, so come check it out!

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