Thursday, December 24, 2009

Convert a baby shirt into a onsie- Tutorial

I don't know about you, but my baby is a handful. If he doesn't wear a onsie, it's just a mess, his shirt is in his armpits, he's hard to handle, etc. I'm not sure why clothes manufacturers even make shirts for babies that DON'T snap under the diaper!!
So I needed my Colton's Christmas top to be a onsie, but be a cute looking top still. We found a great cowboy shirt for him, my big boy, and of course one from Daddy's closet (because daddy want's to BE a cowboy)
Here's how I turned it into a onsie...
Here's what you will need- your cute top, a junk onsie that you will cut up, and a onsie that fits well (for a guide)-
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Lay your top on top of the good onsie matching up the shoulders:

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Then lay your second onsie on top of that and line up the bottom and legs holes. Mark where you will need to cut... remember to allow about 1/2 inch on the bottom of your top and another 1/2 inch on the top of the onsie for seam allowance.

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Cut your onsie straight across- I used a rotary cutter
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Prepare the top- turn your tension all the way down and your stitch length all the way up to get a nice loose stitch. Straight stitch without backstitching all the way around your top. Then take the bobbin thread and gently pull to gather the shirt.

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Lay your top right side out inside the onsie bottom, which should be inside out. be sure to re-button your top if you need to.

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Line up the side seams and adjust the top as needed to line up with the onsie. Pin at the side seems and then at a few spots around.

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Sew a basting stitch around. Be sure to put your tension and stitch length back. I sewed with the onsie facing down so the presser foot would grab the whole thing evenly. If you sew with the gathered side down, it will probably get caught in the presser foot.
I checked it out after sewing the basting stitch, removed all the pins and then did a nice zig-zag all the way around.

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I trimmed the bottom seam of the top off to reduce the bulk.

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There you have it- a top turned onsie! Sew easy. xoxo
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Got my SSS Gift today!!


It's 3 very delicious vanilla scented soy candles!! Mmmmm... so yummy I could just eat them up, good thing I can't eat soy! :)
Thank you to my swap partner, they are great!




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Monday, November 30, 2009

The Port-a-Chair

So I had been admiring this fabric high chair at This Mama Makes Stuff and was super excited when she put up a tutorial about it.

We have a slight problem with that the little guy is only 5 months old (today) and is almost outgrowing his infant carrier. The problem lies in the fact that if we take the car with the convertable car seat in it, we can't put the little guy in a shopping cart and are forced to either carry him or put him in a dirty, cold infant seat attached to a cart.

So with Carrie's cool tutorial, I was able to make a portable seat that I can fit into the shopping cart!! I'm also going to make a standard shopping cart cover to protect him from other crud in the carts... but this is going to make things so much easier!!






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Free Lil' Whimsey!

All December long- get a free Lil' Whimsey (Your Choice) with
ANY purchase from my Etsy Store!!

Also Mention you are a blog follower, facebook fan, or twitter follower (in the "notes to seller" section) and get 10% off your order.





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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

New Stuff in time for Christmas!

I just listed a bunch of Lil' Whimseys. They are gift card holders that can be reused for ID's Credit Cards, Business Cards, and all of them will hook to a keychain! Only $3 each, and listings going up for multiples for $avings!!


Also listed a big bunch of Fall/Winter Whimsey Wallets. I have a listing up to get them 2 for $10! That's only $5.00 each... great stocking stuffers!





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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Felt FOOOOOD

Disclaimer- Amy don't look... and don't show Caraline. xoxo
So, in an effort to keep Christmas 'Handmade' here is the gift that I chose to make for my 4 year old Niece.... felt food!
BREAKFAST: Eggs Bacon and Pancakes with Syrup and Butter.
LUNCH: Balogna or PB&J Sandwich with Chips (see last pic for the insides of the sandwich)
SNACK: Banana and Strawberries



Oh, the banana comes out of it's peel...



DINNER: Bowtie Pasta and Chicken Nuggets. I have many more bowties to assemble, they are killing me!



DESSSERT: These are my favorites of all of it- Swiss Rolls, Frosted Cookies, Lollipops, and Popcicles... mmmmm....





And to bring it along- a roll up stove and cutting board with butcher knife, and some carrots...

And also a sink and placemat mat. Both mats roll and tie with ribbon. I forgot to take a photo.
Sink handle detail, my husband got a kick out of this part...


And here are the sandwich guts, I have two more slices of bread to sew up.
I made all of this in the evenings while watching TV... it's mostly handsewed I started with my sewing machine and clear thread, but that was a huge pain. I freehand cut all of it. I used a bowl to get the large circles to be round.
I hope she's going to love it!


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Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Color Book!

When my older son was little, he had a great board book titled 'Colors'. We read it all the time and all it was was a page of items that were all the same color. By reading I mean I would open to a page and say "Red Flower" or "Orange Umbrella"... By 17 months old (His second Christmas) he knew all the basic colors.

I don't have the book, and can't find one like it. So tonight I took matters into my own hands. Through Vistaprint I was able to order a "Free" photo flip book.

So I created 10 pages at 16X20 inches each (to get high resolution) and uploaded them to Vistaprint. I did pay $2.99 for a plastic cover, and $6 shipping, but for $9.00 I have exactly what I wanted. I found the pictures on the web and luckily was able to get most of them with white backgrounds.

Here's what the pages look like (click to enlarge):














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