time to tackle a pattern

I've been avoiding tackling anything with a pattern..as in clothing forever. But having a 4month old baby girl and not much of a life outside of home (just moved) and turning 30 I decided it was time! So I bought this cute pattern off etsy Sewing with me 1 and seriously you couldn't get any simpler. It is 2 pattern pieces, some bias tape and then one piece for the optional frill. I must say it is so neat I love it!!

I have since made another out of a shirt incorporating the buttons down the front I will post a pic when I have added the frill.

hello..

Hi how's it going? It has been months since I posted last. Life got a little crazy, I got pregnant put our house on the market, went home to Australia for a 6 weeks, moved to the prairies, had a quiet Christmas then had bubba number two.

Turning the big 30 a couple of days ago prompted be to do more of what I love most. So after buying a plain sweater I thought it was a canvas I could not ignore. I had seen a shirt on I am Momma that inspired me, first of all I painted some tiny bubble wrap and simply pressed it down with my hands then I cute the 'M' stencil and screen printed it. I am really happy with the result.

This week I have done a little sewing.. but mainly alterations. I bought 2 tank tops, a blouse, and a tank top for my little man from the thrift store. The tanks for myself I just shortened the straps, so simple but satisfying. The blouse has a lovely swirly pink and brown pattern on it, but in long sleeve it was just too much. So I cut it off just below the elbow and put in a little elastic, I wore it today and love it.

The tank for my little man has a print on the front which says 'tiki beach party' I thought I would try some free-machine embroidery.. a palm tree seemed to fit. I went over the whole thing several times. Now I have a couple of new things I am excited to wear, all only costing a couple of dollars.

I have dabbled in hat making for toddlers before and thought it was about time to make one for myself. I bought 2 secondhand curtains that were heavy cotton a few years ago and have since used the fabric in a number of items. I decided to make a hat from my friends pattern over at Red Raven (her hats are a must have in our town). I was really happy with the hat, it did take me a few minor alterations... to get it to sit just right (due to my sewing ability not my friends pattern) I put a patch (of one of the screen printed birds from my course) on it. I love it! It is deep, not too tight and provides lots of shade. :)

rainy day craft for kids

it has yet to be summer for more than a few days at a time here, so today at 8am me and my little man decided to get crafty. I thought I'd do a little tutorial for some kid friendly fun, it is using the same idea as the post below this one.

first: you'll need something to paint on I chose a tee, you could also use a sweater, a tote etc.

second: tape of any kind, scissors, contact paper/draw liner paper (you can also use freezer paper and iron it in place), a bryer or a childrens rolling pin, a paint brush and cookie cutters or objects to dip in paint and stamp with.

third: paint, you can buy small tubes of fabric paint at Walmart and some dollar store it's about $2 larger ones are about $5 if you have the option I like the 'Soft' type (over the Slick). note: these paints can be a little thin so you could prepare a decent amount of paint in a container and leave it to dry just a little while you organise the rest of the project.

fourth: shapes to put on your tee, my little man is only 2 so I photocopied his hands then traced them on to the contact paper and cut those out but you could let you children cut out hearts, animals etc.

fifth: optional tape any areas you don't want pain on and cover any work areas you don't want paint on (paint wipes off my counter really well so I skip this). Then tape the tee to the work surface so that it doesn't move around.
note: don't forget you are working with fabric paint so wear a smock or like Rio, wear nothing at all :)

sixth: stick on your contact paper shapes (this I did in the picture above but the hands are clear so you can't see them). Then the part your children will really enjoy start painting. If you have chosen to use a roller of some sort use a paint brush to apply paint then roll it across the tee. Now you can see the hands as they are covered in paint.

note: you need to make sure that there is good paint coverage around your shapes so that when you take them off you'll have a good outline of the shapes.

note: to speed up drying in between colours you can use a hair dryer.

seventh: dip your stamping object in a shallow amount of paint and stamp away. (re-dip after each stamp)

hair dry when you are finished and peel away all the tape and your shapes and there you have it a little wearable piece of art.

nap time quicky

I had a very successful visit to the Thrift store today, I bought 8 meters of natural cotton,which I spilt with a friend because that would last me forever. I also picked up a plain tee for my little man.

I was reading I am Momma this morning and she did this super simple tee that used bubble wrap to apply fabric paint to a tee. I didn't have any on hand so I improvised, I cut out an elephant from contact paper/draw liner paper and stuck it onto the tee. Next I brushed a bryer (rubber roller) with fabric paint and dragged my finger nail over it to make squiggly lines then rolled it in different directions re-applying more paint to the bryer each time. I let the paint dry then peeled the elephant off. I hand stitched around the elephant with embroidery floss to make it stand out a little more an there you have it my new fave tee.

A dress for me!!

Inspiration can always be found while hanging out with A. from Our Ilan & Quinn, who was incredibly sweet and gave me 2 half yards of her new fabrics (from her Etsy store).

I headed home with a plan to use one of them in some way with some fabric I already had. I am not a pattern person, I run from them in fact. Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of crafts has a 'shift dress (pillow case dress) which is seriously a rectangle for the front and back, I thought this was do-able. As I am pregnant I thought I could cut the front rectangle in half and sew a triangle of the wood grain fabric A. had given me in the centre. I put a little elastic under the bust and it was done!! I love it. It is simple i know.
As usual I printed something on it, I put little ants around the hem line. The following evening made a fabric belt kind of like the one on Two Peas in a Pod. I plan to wear the belt tied at the back for this dress, but for other uses the tie can be at the front.

So here is the dress and belt.

a small gift

I needed a hand made gift for a friend's little man who just turned 1. I had been racking my brain till I found these bibs on a blog Delia Creates. They aren't super flashy but I could see them being well used so I made 2. Of course I had to print something on there somewhere, so the word 'messy' seemed to work. These fold and tie up really cutely for when you wrap them.