Photo dump and an update

As you may have noticed, I've been struggling with time lately - or lack thereof.
I seem to have so little time to sew and even less to post here on my blog.

So today, I'm taking the time to show you a couple of things I've been working on.

The living room update that I posted about here is moving along (slowly). We had a new bay window installed which seems to meet our cat Riley's approval. (I love it too)

He's claimed it as his own space. 
Plans to paint and sew a cushion for the window seat are in the works. One day.

I've been working on my mantel as well. I held my breath and painted the wooden mirror I had hung there before. 

My apologies for the crooked picture.

Thankfully I like how it turned out. And.... check out my new milk glass! Most of it I bought on a recent trip to New England. I love milk glass but it seems to be a bit more of a challenge to find it here in Canada. 

I've learned that I'm not one of those people who can just throw a bunch of stuff together and it just looks good. I'm always changing things up and have to really work at it.  

One of my beautiful nieces turned 12 this month. I'm late sending off her birthday gift but I hope she'll like it. She loves Wonder Woman (how cool is she, right?) so her mom asked me to make a WW apron. I made it big enough that she'll have it for a few years.

I've been working on a few other sewing projects but you'll have to wait to see those.
Sorry! Outta time!
Thanks for stopping by,

superhero capes

Here's little peak at another fun project for the dress-up bin.

...and a little tutorial for you in case you'd like to make some for your little superhero(es).

So what do I love about these?

They're fairly easy to make. Fun. And best of all, they don't wrap around the neck (creating a potential choking hazard).

So here we go. 

What you need:

Sorry I have no exact dimensions, but there's really a lot of flexibility with this pattern. You can make it whatever size you want. I like mine to come down to the back of the knees on a toddler/preschooler.

 

- 2 pieces of fabric (I like to use a shiny fabric with a flannel or quilting cotton)

-12-18 inches of elastic (1/4 inch to half inch width will work well)

- Safety pin, thread, sewing machine

Cut out the shape of your cape, using the 2 fabrics.  The top part of the cape can be anywhere from about 6 to 12 inches.

Optional: Cut 2 strips of the shiny fabric for the arm straps (at least 2 inches wide, and 10 inches long). Again, there is a lot of flexibility in the measurements here but you want the fabric to be a few inches longer than the elastic so that the fabric can stretch along with the elastic.

If you prefer, you can skip these steps of encasing the elastic and just attach it to the cape as is. 
 

Fold the strip of fabric lengthwise - with the right side in. 
Sew a straight line down the edge, making a tube with both ends open.
Then feed a piece of elastic through the tube and invert the fabric so that the good side is facing out and the elastic is encased. Top stitch the ends to keep the elastic in place.
They should look like this when you're done:

Pin the 2 cape pieces together, with right sides facing in. Also pinning the straps in place.

Sew along the edges, leaving an opening along the bottom for turning.

Reverse, so that the right sides are facing out.

Iron.

And top stitch along the edges, closing the opening.

I find it helpful to sew with the shiny fabric on top so that the feed dogs don't snag or pull the fibers.

You're done!

Enjoy!

As serious as he looks in this picture, my little ones actually love these capes. 
But you should know that really young children might actually believe they can fly (adult supervision required!)!

dress-up for little men

Okay so I know I'm not reinventing the wheel here. Ties for little boys are nothing new and they seem to be all over blogland these days.

But I had a lot of fun making these:

And the best part is...

...they're reversible!

So your little man can choose which side suits his fancy on any given day.

another crown

I made another crown this week. 
I seemed to be obsessed. Not sure why. Does it stem for a need for more bling in my life?! Maybe. More likely from my need for something girlie.

If you missed the other crowns I made, you can find them here and here. 

I wanted to make another hand embroidered one, but with a simpler design. I just did it freehand without planning ahead really. This time I used rainbow floss and I'm happy with how it turned out. 

This crown is reversible and adjustable like the others. 

And I think the yellow side could be used by a boy as well.

I've been busy with a few other things that I hope to show you this week. 

Thanks for stopping by!

will & kate - a celebration of sorts

One of my favourite things to sew for kids is aprons. 
My little ones love to wear them and role play. But aprons aren't just for the playroom. Why not introduce toddlers and preschoolers to the real kitchen?! Cooking and baking are great ways for children to learn math and science concepts as well as new vocabulary.

And with the Royal wedding this week, I decided to make a very special apron:

Fabulously fun and feminine!

Now I'll have to make another one for me when I watch William and Kate tie the knot...

Are you planning to watch on the big day?

star wars birthday - part 2

As I mentioned earlier, we've been busy putting together a Star Wars themed party for Malcolm.

And what's a Star Wars party without Star Wars costumes?!
So here's my little Jedi:

...he was still in his jammies when I made him try on the new robe.

Now those of you who have actually watched Star Wars would know that the Jedi robes are in fact dark brown. 
I did not. 
But thankfully, I am told that both Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobi have lighter coloured robes so my efforts weren't a total waste. Which is really good because I made 7 of these! There's one for each child attending the party.

Jedi in action

They were simple to make, especially because I finished the edges with my serger rather than hemming them. Oh how I love my serger.

I took pictures as I went but figured it would be more clear if I drew up a little tutorial. 

So here it is if you would like to make your own Jedi robe (no matter what colour you choose).

Each robe required between 1 and 1 1/2 meters of fabric (depending on the size of the child). I also made a hood for Malcolm's robe but didn't like how it turned out so I skipped this step for the other ones.

My littlest Jedi was too busy to stop for a photo but I managed to snap one of him on the move. 
Thanks for stopping by. 
I'll be doing one more post with all the final details of the party so stay tuned!

fairies, ballerinas, and princesses oh my!

I'm still here!!

This week turned out to be a busy one so I didn't get to post nearly as much as I would have liked. I have a lot to make up for so I'll jump right in!

When I was a little girl I took ballet classes and dreamed of one day having a big poofy tutu. I wanted one just like the Prima Ballerinas. In the end, I didn't follow through on my dreams of dancing professionally but I know that this is a common fantasy for many little girls. And any little girl who wants a tutu, should probably have one. Wouldn't you agree?!

I made this easy, almost no-sew tutu to add to our dress-up box. I used three different shades of tulle: a meter each of dark purple and pale violet, and about half a meter of soft pink. It doesn't come across well in the picture, but the mix of the three colours really adds depth and visual interest. 

To make the tutu, I cut out 3 inch strips of tulle (the length of the fabric) and folded them in half. Then I stitched the ends of an elastic together at the desired length.

I placed a tulle strip over the elastic at the fold and tied it into a knot around the elastic (so that the tulle was the same length on both sides). I repeated this step all the way around the elastic, alternating the colours of tulle. 

Once the tutu was at the desired fullness, I took a whole spool of matching ribbon and wrapped it over top of the elastic and tulle knots, leaving some extra ribbon at both ends for the bow.

That was it! A project easy enough for anyone to make for their little fairies, future ballerinas and even princesses to enjoy!