Little eco owls...

I made these little owls from re-purposed wool sweaters.  So far they have been a good seller at market which has been really exciting!  Here is a pic of them...

I am hoping to do some crafty type shows in the fall so I wanted to get a feel for how they sold.  Looks like they are a keeper!

Shamrock Pattern at Mama G's

Head on over to Mama G's for this crochet pattern!

Save money by making your own toys!

Head on over to Mama G's to see how I made these cute toys!

Make an apron from a bed ruffle

So my favorite sewing projects consist of a couple things.  Sewing with something that is re-purposed, and something that takes less than 30 minutes.  I found a cute bed ruffle at the thrift store when I was pregnant with the baby and was going to make curtains out of them but I made some out of pillow cases instead (I will post on that project later...they turned out pretty cute!).  Well the nice thing about bed ruffles are they are already "ruffled" which I don't know how to do and am slightly scared to do anyways.  I love to cook and wanted to make an apron for my daughter for when she gets older.  I posted direcitons on how to do this but I will preface this by saying I am not an expert at sewing!  I am not sure how easy to follow this will be so if you have any questions just comment and I will try and answer them :)

Isn't it cute!  It turned out a bit bigger then I wanted but I still have almost the whole bed ruffle left.  I could probably make her aprons in enough sized to last her her whole life.

I used this little girl's apron I found at the thrift store as a template (I got this for .75!!).  As you can see I just laid it flat on the ruffle and then marked each side of the apron.

You can't see the mark to well but you probably get the idea.

Not the best picture but what I did here was I measured the ribbon I wanted to use to tie in the back.  This was 1 1/2 inches so I measured 3 1/2 from the top of the ruffle.  I also measured a half inch from the first mark I made.  I did this on the other side as well.  I made marks along the top of the 3 1/2 inch mark so I could cut straight.  Then I cut up the sides. 

Fold over, iron, and hem.

Do the same to the top.

Lay the ribbon down...

fold over the fabic...

and sew from the stop of the ribbon's side to the top of the ruffle as shown above.  If you want to be sure you get the ribbon in there you can pin it.  I prefer to do things the lazy way!  Hehe...  You can then sew the top of the top hem along the top of the ruffle to make sure this stays closed.  I did not.  Once again...I like the lazy way!

And here it is again!  Next I want to try a skirt and then maybe a dress.  Oh the possibilities!  I hope I didn't make these instructions over complicated...please let me know if you have questions!

A confession....

So I believe that part of the beauty of blogging is you can really focus on the part of yourself you like most.  Only write about that part.  Well although I am tempted to hide it Ijust can't lie.  I am a big, huge, dork.  Hehe.  I got a free counter for the blog a few days ago and I check it waaaay too much.  Well this morning, following the usual routine I sat down with my cup of coffee and checked the blog counter.  Yesterday it was at 43 so I am hoping maybe 45 today?  Wait...117?!  Woohoo!  Someone likes us!  As I scrolled back up the blog I noticed a comment.  Woohoo!  Our first comment!  Even better it turns out to be the talented Kimara from Wee Folk Art.  Wow it's like a celebrity too!  No seriously the stuff at there site is super cute stuff!  I like to fancy myself as a crafter although I mostly just follow the tutorials of talented peeps like these ladies over there.  This reminded me that I found a great fabric in my stash to make there super easy rip and tear napkins.  I got it for a dollar a yard!  It is that really soft fabric you find in the quilting section.  I still have no idea how it will wash.  I would like to have used some plain old cotton fabric but the only pattern I have is a kid's pirate pattern.  I know my son would like it but I wanted something a bit nicer.  Hehe.  The last ones I made were from a linen fabric that was really hard to tear.  I got red in the face trying to do it.  I probably could have some decent biceps if I had made a few more! 

Also me and hubby were at the mall and I saw these really cute flowers in the window of Anthropologie.  On closer inspection I realized they were made of pop bottles!  How cool is that?!  Well we don't generally drink pop here but my dad came over and brought some 20 oz. bottles with him so I thought maybe I could try it?  I think it turned out well.  Here is what I did...

I Cut the top off of the bottle.  I found a serrated knife worked best.  Obviously be careful!  This is not a good craft for kids as you end up with a very pointy finished project.

Peel off label.  Here are some idea's on how to get the glue part off. (I wouldn't suggest using the light fluid idea...especially if you have any kind of open flame in the house!)

I used the rigdes at the bottom as a guide to cut line from the top cut end to the bottom end all the way around.  I then folded each flap down and held it with a clothes pin. 

Get the clothes pin on really good as I had a few fly off. Do this all the way around and keep them like this for a couple of minutes to ensure they stay like this once removed.

I then cut the petals.  I made mine pointed as you can see but you can cut them rounded or any other way you want.  I them folded it down in the middle and held each one with a clothes pin.  Do this all the way around.

Here is the finished product!  Kind of cute huh?  Anthropologie had  bunch of these in groups in different colors, sizes, and shaped.  It looked really great.  I think this would be wonderful at a baby shower or wedding for the super eco peeps out there!

I also think that I might leave a note for hubby to drill a hole in the bottom of this so I can try putting a christmas light though it.  I can just see his face when he reads that note!  The thought of it makes me laugh till I have tears in my eyes!  I' m not the only one out there whose husband just doesn't get some of the things she does am I? 

P.S.  I would like to make a pattern for my produce bags.  It is pretty simple and I am hoping people would enjoy making these.