DYI Cardigan

If you asked anyone I know what my go-to wardrobe staple is they would answer: CARDIGANS!  I absolutely adore cardigans.  I have at least 25 of them!  I love that look of an extra layer and I like that I can leave them open on days I am feeling a little chubby!

Another thing you should know about me is that I will not wear anything tight on top.  I have self-conscience stomach issues since having babies.  How I long for the days of a completely flat stomach again, but for now this will have to do.

I came across this tutorial on pinterest.  I am assuming that everyone else loves that site as much as I do.  Little images that you can quickly browse through until you find one you like.  Genius!

Sorry for the horrendous picture, but with a husband that is out of town all the time, you do what you have to do.  Right?  The tutorial was great and super easy to follow.  Such a quick fix for a sweater that I would have otherwise given away.

One day I will not be afraid of my button hole foot on my sewing machine...

Not for the Faint of Heart!

That title is NOT an exaggeration.  This little project took awhile.  Thankfully I did it with a friend so we could chat the whole time.  And thankfully it turned out so cute, otherwise I would have been a little upset.

We found the idea here.

The project ends up being super cheap.  The foam wreath was $3.47 at HL regular price.  I used a 40% off coupon making it only $2.  The felt was half off at Joann's making it $2.50 a yard.  Including the straight pins the project runs about five bucks.

I will say this: use a comfy pair of scissors!  My ring finger is still mad at me.

Socks into Leggings

I am not really sure about the rest of you mothers of girls out there but I have been having the hardest time finding cute leggings/tights.  They are either not available in her size, WAY too expensive, or super thin and snag easily.

For a long time I swear Tana only had one pair.  They are a toasted marshmallow color.  Or what others may call "white tights that always look dirty"... 

Alas, I finally gave up and decided to try to make my own.  I bought a pair of knee high socks from Target.  They are only $2.50 and there is quite a selection.

I began by cutting off the foot section.  I made sure that I got as close as I could to the heel.  This way I could use the top of the sock as the bottom of the leggings.  With the seam already finished, one less step for me!

To construct the "bloomers" portion of the leggings I followed Dana's tutorial.  The only part I tweaked was I skipped the whole finishing the leg openings.  My material is from an old waffle knit shirt so it was already elastic-y.

I then sewed the unfinished edge of my sock to the unfinished edge of my bloomers.  Making sure my right sides were together.  I had to pull the sock as I went so that it matched the opening of the leg.  This then caused the opening to pull back smaller to fit her thighs more appropriately.

The bloomer portion is FAR from perfect but I figure it will be hidden under a dress anyway.  I think it had a lot to do with my material.

And what pray tell did the diva do while I was trying to get a picture?

As my husband would say "oh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth!"

Ipad Case

My friend from work asked me over Christmas break if I could make her a Ipad case.  She wanted something that had a slight lining to protect the Ipad, but that was cute enough to carry around.  I started doing a little research online and found this tutorial.

I tweaked a few things while I went.  I skipped the zipper.  The bag itself is big enough to add the cord, and to be honest I REALLY dislike sewing with zippers.  I also skipped to whole ribbon tie.  At first it was because I didn't have the right color ribbon when I was sewing.  But then it turned into the fact that Velcro is just so much more secure.

The middle is padding sandwiched between minky material and the outer fabric.  It is extra soft and cushy. 

Overall, I am loving how they turned out.  I made some extras for my sister-in-law and myself.  I am thinking I might try to downsize the dimensions a bit to make one for my Nook.

Mustache

Shawn's sister just came for a quick visit to see the babies and she brought some awesome gifts.

The mustaches are cut out of heavy weight felt and glued to tiny suction cups. 

The babies especially thought they were a hoot.  Now they can drink their chocolate milk in style!