Minion Costume

This past year, Isaac has loved watching Despicable Me and we decided it would be perfect that he be a minion for Halloween.  (By the time Halloween rolled around, we wished I had made the purple minion.  He is wanting to be more and more independent and do what he wants.  Ha ha!) 

My original idea was to buy a pair of overalls and a yellow shirt and call it good. My husband came up with the idea of making it big and poofy.  I loved the idea and made it up as I went.  It took a while to make, but I am so happy with the end result, and Isaac loves it too!  His little sister also likes it!

This is his minion face.  It cracks me up.   Boys are so funny!  

The costume is made of felt, and old pair of jeans, and some buttons.  So, it is pretty simple and very affordable.  I spent around $15 for everything.  Here are a couple more shots of my cute little silly minion!  

I first thought that it would be easier to get Isaac into the back, so I made an opening with buttons, but it turned out to be easiest to slip it on.  (The original plan was to sew leg holes, but it was easier to keep the bottom open.)  If I made it again, I would not make an opening in the back, and have it as a slip-on.

Baby Girl Outfit {Gift}

I guest posted this cute skirt over at DIY Kinda Girl on Wednesday.  I included a tutorial with it, so if you are interested, please go check it out!

My friend is due to have a baby girl in October, so I decided to make some cute little girly accessories/clothing for her.  I have been dying to make girl accessories lately, but don't have any girls to make them for!  I was so excited when she found out she was having a girl!

I decided to make a little outfit.  I had to buy a few things, but had most of what I used in my stash!

Here is what I bought:
2- Fat Quarters (only used one)
Onesie
Tulle
Hair Clips

Here is what I had on hand that I used:
T-shirt (never been worn, but about to be thrifted)
Jeans (almost new)
Ribbon
Flowers
Brads
Thread
Elastic
Felt
Buttons
White Sheet

This onesie was on the clearance rack and says "Born in 2011" on the front.  No problem - these ruffles covered them up handsomely!  I made the ruffles using a 1" strip of t-shirt and 1 1/2" of pink tulle (same as from skirt).  I gathered them together and then pinned and sewed on the onesie.

I made this cute little pom pom embellishment to add some more pizazz to the ruffles!

I pinned the pattern for these booties a while ago, and shared it here.  If you want to go straight to the pattern, click here.  I used some of the fat quarter, t-shirt, a sheet (white inside), and I had some grippy sole stuff (not sure what it's called) that I put on the bottom of the booties.  It was leftover from my dinosaur project here.

I made the flower clips from things I had on hand: flowers, brads, ribbon, and clips.  I like to cover the clips with velvety ribbon so they don't slide down the hair as easily.  My favorite flower is the white one with the blue pearly center.

I will be linking this up here and here.

The Tohoku Tote {My Version}

I decided to participate in the "Create With Me" over at UCreate this month.  September's project is the tote bag from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar.

I payed less than a dollar for this bag!  I won some burlap from a giveaway over at Debbiedoos, the lining is a would-be thrifted t-shirt, and the paisley fabric is a $1 fat quarter from Walmart!

Unfortunately, I am not very good at reading and following directions (I just get too excited), so I had to modify things, so the bag turned out smaller...it is more of a purse size.  I love it though!  I got lots of compliments on it my first time using it!

Linking this up here and here.

It Roaaaarr's! {Two}

Remember my previous post of this little cutie?  This is the dinosaur costume I made for Isaac last year.  I made it with ultra cuddle fleece, so it is so soft, snuggly, and warm (perfect for Halloween).  He looked so adorable in it and I was surprised at how much he wanted to wear it (at least once a week).  Well, it turns out, he's not the only one that thinks a cozy dino costume is the cat's meow.

 Enter Dino Man.  Yep.  Isn't he handsome?  I think so.  The most handsome Dino Man I've ever seen.  My husband came up with this great idea that we should all be dinosaurs for Halloween this year.  He has been saying this since last Halloween.  I thought he was joking, but nope, he was serious. This was great for two reasons: 1.I got to go to the craft store. 2. I got to spend money there. :)  (Not that I don't get to do that anyway, but here's another excuse to go).

To make it, I used McCall's #8953 pattern. (Which consists of a lion, cat, bunny, etc.)  I knew I wasn't going to find a pattern of what I wanted exactly, so I looked for something that had a full body suit.  All I used from the pattern was the front piece, back piece, and sleeve pieces.  The other things I had to come up with on my own.  So, I designed the hood, spikes, belly, tail, and slippers.  It was quite the adventure, but it was well worth it.  I learned a lot, which will benefit me on future sewing endeavors.  My husband loves it and is currently wearing it.  It feels great that he loves it so much!  

 Let me show you the details. Besides being super comfortable and warm, this costume has many other great features:

 A cute blue belly, complete with zipper.  (I even got the zipper right the first time, which doesn't happen regularly).

 Check out these cute slippers.  They have blue lining inside and they are padded as well.  The bottom has the no-slip fabric on them (I am just realizing I forgot a picture of that...Sorry!).

 There are these two-toned spikes down the whole back.

 And check out this tail!  It wiggles when you walk, which makes it all the more fun!  Here's one last peek of the costume:

I am planning on making myself one of these dino costumes too.  The fabric is on its way and should be here soon, hopefully!  Any guesses as to the colors of mine?

I am linking up here and here.

It Roaaaarr's!

Meet the dinosaur.  The dino is my cute son.  He was a dinosaur for Halloween last year.  I love it!  His little tail bounces up and down when he runs.  Last year, after Halloween, he wore it at least once a week because it was so soft and comfy.  To make it, I used a toddler pajama pattern.  I was really happy to find a pattern with both a hood and feet on it. (Kwik Sew 2919 (baby))  I went to Joann's to find some fabric, and the little guy grabbed the ultra cuddle fleece as we were walking by, and he fell in love.  I bought some dark blue and some teal.  I also found some grip-tight that I used for the soles to help prevent slipping.

 

What little boy doesn't love dirt?

Here is a view of the front belly!

He loved the fabric so much, I made him a little blankie with the scraps.  It is still his favorite!

Gathered Pillow

This pillow was made from the gorgeous sheet set I found at Ross.  I cut lots of 4" strips of fabric, folded them together and sewed, then turned right side out, gathered, and sewed to my pillow.  Try saying that 4 times fast!  I absolutely love this one, and the pillow is so squishy!

Ruffly Pillow

This pillow took me sooooo long to make, but it was well worth it.  I am so excited with how it turned out.  I had one reader ask me how I made it, so I will make a quick attempt to explain.  I used polyester fabric (the slick stuff), and first cut out the squares for the pillow part.  I ironed fusible interfacing to them to make the sewing much easier.  Here's the time consuming part...I cut the remaining fabric into 3X4 inch squares, and melted the edges in a candle to help avoid fraying.  Then, I gathered each piece and sewed them on, turning each piece different directions.  I put each piece pretty close together so they could stand up.  After sewing all these pieces on, I attached the front and back piece.  Whew!

Linking up to: Making the World Cuter, Made By You Mondays, Market Yourself Monday, Making Monday Marvelous 
Talent Tuesday, Take a Look Tuesday, Running With Glitter

Monogram Pillow

The main fabric on this pillow is from a sheet set.  I found it at Ross, and fell in love with it.  I think I mentioned in my "project reveal" post that I bought some pillows at Ross to use for a pattern and the stuffing.  Well, the red fabric is from one of those pillows.  Originally, I had intended on using 9 circles of red, but there wasn't enough, so I had to think of something.  I am happy with the way it turned out.  This is my first time making a monogram home decor item.  Yay!

Layered Petal Flower

This pillow was made using some cute red flower fabric I found in the quilting section at Joann's.  I just love that craft store!  I used my silhouette cutter to cut out a pattern for the felt flowers.  I used the "layered petal flower."

Melted Flower Pillow

This pillow was made using polyester fabrics in dark brown and tan.  I used red thread and red beads to add a pop of color.  Since polyester is so slick, I ironed fusible interfacing to the fabric before sewing the pieces together - this made it so much easier!  The flower was made by cutting lots of differen't sized circles and melting the edges with a candle.  As the fabric melts, it curls - just be careful not to catch it on fire!

Felt Playhouse

I have to say, the first time I started looking at blogs was about 8 months ago.  I had no clue how big blogland was!  A friend mentioned on Facebook that she was making a felt playhouse for her daughter for Christmas.  I had no clue what that was, so I googled it, and I found myself browsing my first craft blog, Homemade By Jill.  I absolutely loved it!  I loved the playhouse so much, I decided to make one for my son.

Here is the front view:

For the mail, I embellished the top piece with a stamp and the "address" and then sewed together the three layers, as well as the back envelope flap on.  (Sorry, I forgot to get a picture of the flap, but I'm sure you can picture it.)  To hold up the front door, I made a long strip of felt that could reach around from the inside and hold the door in place:

I used velcro to hold the strip in place and sewed a little flap out of blue to cover up the velcro, since the white velcro really sticks out.  Then, using blue again, I sewed a piece on the inside, right behind the top brick, creating a pocket that the strip could fit into.
Here is the garden side:

I had so much fun coming up with vegetables and fruit to make.  I created the watermelon so it can be opened to see the fruit inside.  I also added round beads to the peas to make them feel real.  I came up with the idea for the wheelbarrow that could hold the "picked" food.
Here is the fruit tree and flower garden:

The fruit is removable with velcro.  (I failed to mention that most things are attached with velcro -everything besides the things in pockets).  I sewed pipe cleaners into the flower stems to make them stiffer and flexible.
And last but not least, the "toy" side:

Yes, the "big boy toys" is what I meant.  My little guy loves to go four wheeling, so I made a side with a four wheeler just for him.  I added a toolbox so he could fix the thing if it broke down.  I used a grommet on the tape measure to give it a more realistic look.  I attached it using my Big Bite Cropadile (by We R Memory Keepers - I love that tool! And no, they aren't paying me to say anything).

I am linking up to these parties: Inspired By You Wednesdays,

Project Reveal

Surprised to see me back to soon?  I told you to come back soon!  It is my goal to post more often.  Anyways, lets get to the reason for this post.  I have been working on pillows for my couch!  It has been such a fun adventure.  I bought three of the pillows at Ross (two of them were super ugly yellow, looking like old curtains, or like 70s yellow carpet color - get the picture?).  Anyways, I bought them there since that was so cheap.  I also found a full sheet set while I was there that I loved ($10 - awesome!)  The other two pillows came with our couch, but were kind of plain looking.

My inspiration came from a variety of blogs, months of thinking, and some pillows at Ross.  I had so much fun making them.  My favorite is the ruffly brown and tan one.  It took me the longest, but it was so fun!  Oh, I should also note that instead of sewing the pillows shut, I closed the bottoms with velcro, to make for easy washing.  Little hands seem to leave food and various smudges on things. (They are cute smudges :)).

Let me know if you would like to know how I made them.  I would be happy to answer any questions!

I am linked up to these parties for this post.  Come join in the fun!  There are so many different awesome ideas!  At Point of View, it is all about pillows!