DIY Ironing Board Cover

Adam was just lamenting that we needed a new ironing board cover.  Ours is just the generic board cover and it hardly stays on.  I was actually going to purchase a whole new board when I happened to stumble upon this easy cover tutorial.

{via Say Yes to Hoboken via Momtastic}

I feel as though I've been posting a whole slew of projects and not actually completing them.  I should have a bunch of projects to share in the next few weeks.  Our lawn makeover, a quick living room revamp, a bedroom restyle, our kitchen overhaul and a handful of other sewing/crafty projects.  I finally am feeling settled and back into a routine.  Thanks for sticking around!

Doorway Puppet Theater

We're still out and about visiting family and friends, but I have internet now!  Woo hoo!  Sorry for the no show yesterday.

Two summers ago I saw an idea for a puppet theater in a Country Living magazine.  I loved the idea and decided to make it for my niece and nephews.  I never took any pictures of it before I sent it off for their birthdays.  While we were visiting them last week in California, they put the theater up and got out their puppets.  Here is the one from the Country Living magazine.

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And here is the one I made in action.

It was a really simple project!  Plus, what's better than a gift that inspires imagination and creativity!  For instructions on how to make a doorway puppet theater, see here.

Fabric Pumpkins

Stacy linked to a great kitschy house tour a few days ago and upon browsing I found this tutorial for fabric pumpkins.  These are now number 1 on my project list!  We're actually on a little vacation in California, but I was thinking I might even make these in my downtime since you can make these by hand sewing. 

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Find the tutorial here. 

We're off to the beach today!  Hopefully it will be sunnier and a bit warmer than yesterday afternoon.  Rilo didn't seem to mind the weather though...it looks like we have a little beach baby on our hands!  Pictures to follow!

Personalized Words Book

This is such a thoughtful and sweet idea for your children.  I have loved this personalized words book since Liz first posted it!  She took photos of things that were special or familiar to her son and then put them into a book.

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I think it would be fun to make it an alphabet book, but then what do you do with letters like 'x', besides "xylophone"?!  As soon as I have a better grasp on Rilo's likes/dislikes, I am most definitely making one of these!

Baby Blocks

I was going through some old posts of mine and found a link I had posted to a tutorial for plush baby blocks.  The post was titled "Distractions"...I was trying to think of ways to occupy my time waiting for Rilo to arrive.  I find it funny now because the date of the post was February 19th, 2010.  I went into labor later that night and had Rilo the next day.  Needless to say, I never got around to making the blocks until now.

They were really simple to make.  I think if I would make these again, I would make the squares a few inches smaller than the tutorial suggests...they are pretty big (but still fun)!  I added two bells inside as well.  Rilo loves them!

Skinny Ties

Adam is going to be so happy to hear that I can now alter "fat" ties and turn them into skinny ties.  If you know my husband then you know that he wears a tie nearly everyday, dressed down or dressed up.  Once upon a time, Adam sold suits at Macy's.  He is adamant that a man's tie should mimic the shape of the man's body.  So since Adam is more slim, a skinnier tie is more proportionate.  He's been telling me that it probably wouldn't be hard to alter ties, but I just didn't really know where to begin.  Design Mom just posted a great tutorial on how to alter ties.  Now I must head to the thrift store...

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Check it out here.

Cooler Cover Tutorial

Remember the awesome cooler covers Martha came up with for her party?  Remember how we almost spent at least $40 buying buckets for the drinks?  Instead we paid about $5 for thrift store bedsheets to make these great covers?  What a money saver...and they're pretty good looking too! Martha was awesome, and sent over some before pictures and some detail shots.  She created these the night before, on the fly, so we don't have step-by-step shots.  I think you'll get the idea though!

I said before they were pretty dingy and I wasn't lying!

NOT a pretty sight.  So here are the steps.  Note that the bed sheets we picked up were 2 single sized sheets.  They made 3 covers and could probably make 2 more!

Materials: Bed sheets (or fabric), 1/4" elastic, sewing machine, accessories (optional)

1.  Measure across the base of your cooler at it's widest point.  Add enough for your seam allowance + 3. inches.  For the height, measure from the base to the top, add seam allowance + 2 inches.  Cut out your rectangle from your bed sheet (or whatever fabric you decide to use).

2.  Fold your rectangle in half (hamburger style, if you will...) and pin right sides together.  Sew your side seam.

3.  Hem the top and bottom.

4.  Attach the elastic.  Martha used 1/4" elastic.  She pinned the elastic to the inside, near the hem and stretched it as tight as she could while she sewed on top of the elastic.  This will create the gathered effect.

5. Slide over the bottom and ta-da!  You're halfway there! So simple!

Now your lid shape can vary.  All three of these had different lids.  One came off completely, one was hinged and the other was hinged but had two doors.  Here are a few pictures to show what she did for each of them.  You're going to basically do the same thing that you did for the base on the removable lid and the hinged lid, except you'll sew on elastic to hold it in place on the underside of the lid (see below).

This last lid was the hinged double door kind.  Martha created a pillowcase type sleeve for this one, with elastic on the end to hold it in place.

You can also sew the base cover and the lid cover together on the sides so it doesn't slide around.

Martha also added handles and attached snaps on some flowers and the lids.  She can remove the flowers and wash the covers!

Finished, they look like this:

These would be great for an end of the summer/Labor Day party!

Paper Bag Skirt

Just another project to add to my list.  This skirt, in an adult version! 

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Rilo and I are on our way to Arizona today!  Can't wait to see family (most of whom haven't even met Rilo Jane yet) and throw a fabulous party, for the fabulous Martha! 

I have two goals for when we get back:

1.  Finally take photos of my $200 Rental Redesign.  The summer is almost over!
2. Sew, sew and sew.  I'm feeling a little guilty about my fabric stash.  It's just sitting and collecting cobwebs (quite literally, Chicago is pretty buggy!). 

Kid's Chair

I love when people come up with new ways to use old stuff.  How creative is this kid's chair made from old frames?  Seeing these kinds of projects always makes me take a second look at thrift items.  Full tutorial over on OhDeeDoh.

Weekend and a Garland

The weekend just flew by, but it was a fun one!  Our apartment complex threw us a party on Saturday night and Sunday night we played games with some of the couples until 2 am!  Needless to say, the intended post I had for today is not happening.  For now, enjoy this great garland tutorial from Me Oh My!

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Click here to see how she made this!

Leather Headbands

Here is an adorable (and seemingly easy) DIY headband that does not involve any flowers!  Disney at Ruffles and Such posted this tutorial, just before she announced she was going to stop blogging.  I love looking at all of her tutorials and I'm sad that they'll be coming to an end!  She also takes the most lovely pictures of her end results.  You have to browse her tutorials section...you will be so inspired!

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Such a sweet photo of her and her daughter!

Pillowcase Dress

Woo hoo!  I broke my sewing dry spell!  I picked up this vintage pillowcase over the weekend and decided to use Susan's tutorial.  It is an extremely simple project...I think I spent maybe a half hour total working on it.  I can't wait to put Rilo in it!

Baby Girl Tutorials

I've been in a sewing funk I suppose.  I have all this fabric I've been amassing, but I haven't gotten around to using any of it.  I'm trying to inspire myself so here are a few tutorials around the web:

{tights }

{ man's t-shirt dress }

{pillowcase dress}

{bubble skirt }

Perfect Timing

I FINALLY found end tables and a coffee table for the living room.  I've searched out Salvation Army several times and have been checking Craigslist daily.  I could not find anything under $100!  Finally I found someone who was moving and was desperate to get rid of their set.  So I got 3 huge pieces for $30. 

We are in the process of painting the dinged up wood a nice ivory color.  Each piece has a glass top and I've been brainstorming ideas for what I could do to jazz up the tops.  Today I was checking All Things Thrifty and Brooke just happened to post a tutorial on etching glass.  What perfect timing!

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I love this idea, however I'm a little nervous to do something so permanent when I plan on reselling the items at the end of the summer.  I have a few other ideas I'm mulling in my head, but would love other suggestions if anyone has any!

Fabric Covered Headboards

I think I've finally decided on what to do for a headboard.  Here are my sources of inspiration:

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All of these links include a tutorial.  Mine will be a modified, cheaper version of these involving way less tools!

T-Shirt Dress: Baby Version

Erica sent me a link to this great tutorial over on Smile and Wave.  It's a baby dress made just like the T-shirt dress, except using a onesie.  Adorable! (Did I have enough links in 2 sentences?!)

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It's about time I start working on and posting some of my own sewing projects!  I amassed a ton of fabric the last couple of weeks...time to put it to use!

T-Shirt Dress Tutorial

When we were in California a few weeks back, we stopped in an Urban Outfitters. I was tempted to buy a few simple t-shirt dresses. Essentially, it was just part of a t-shirt on top and a cotton skirt bottom. We all know my affinity for dresses, so it was hard to walk away but I realized I could easily make the dress. So, I spent a few minutes turning the dress inside out and checking out how it was constructed...it sure seemed simple enough. And guess what? It was! Especially if you've made the famous elastic band skirt already, because it is kind of similar. I can't find the exact dresses from Urban Outfitters online, but it looked similar to this but with short sleeves:

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I modified mine a little bit to make it a little more fancy for Easter (mine is more of a pencil skirt) but you can easily make a more casual version. I hope this makes sense...I wish I was able to take more pictures but I was frantically sewing and hanging out with Rilo in between sewing. Here's how to make it:

Materials-
2-3 yards fabric
1 t-shirt (this would be great if you shrunk a shirt or got a stain on it)
scissors or rotary cutter
sewing machine

First you need to measure around your natural waist. Then from your waist to where you want the skirt to hit. I went a little below the knee because I was going for a pencil skirt feel.

Now take your waist measurement and add 1". Cut a strip of fabric 3.5" by whatever your waist measurement is+1. This will be the waistband.


You're going to cut out 2 pieces for your skirt. Cut your skirt to your desired length. The width will be your waist measurement plus a few inches. I like to err on the side of larger than I will need it so I can better tailor it later. I added 4 inches...I know, like I said I like to make sure I have something extra to work with!

With right sides together, sew the 2 shorter ends of your waistband.

Again with right sides together, sew the side seams of your skirt.


Now you're going to attach the skirt to the waistband. To do this I first matched up the side seams and pinned, and then kept pinning the midpoint between 2 pins, until it was pinned all the way around.



Sew a 1/4" seam. Then sew a zig-zag stitch close to the edge so your fabric doesn't fray. At this point, I suggest trying on your skirt and tailoring it to fit. To do this, determine how much you need to take off each side (if any). In my case, about 1.5". Turn your skirt back inside out, so your right sides are touching again, and measure in 1.5" on each side and mark with pins. Then sew a new seam parallel to your old seam. Cut of your excess.

Then you need to hem the bottom (fold over 1/4" and press, then fold another 1/2", press and sew).

Try on your t-shirt and determine where you want the waistband to meet the shirt and make a mark with a fabric pen. Then cut your shirt.



All that's left is attaching your t-shirt to the waistband. You do this in the same way you pinned the skirt to the waistband. Sew your 1/4" seam and then zig-zag stitch again.


Voila! You have a t-shirt dress! And here is a terrible picture of the final result...Adam didn't get home until late so we lost all the natural light! (Also, could I be any whiter?)