Puppet Theater

First of all, let me just say that I love Bend the Rules Sewing! It has so many fun projects and also some really great instructions for beginners like myself. It's where I found this great idea for a doorway puppet theater. I've made two and they have both been a big hit. Here are some pictures of one of them: It even rolls up and fits inside this case! And some puppets and puppet bag to go with it:

Summertime Car Seat Cover

When my boys were babies, I was always trying to drape a recieving blanket over their infant carrier car seat to keep the sun off of them, but it seems like it was always falling off. With the new baby coming, I thought it would be nice to have a cover that is lightwight and breathable, yet keeps baby covered, and doesn't fall off. So, this is what I came up with.

I would love to see a picture if you make one.

**This tutorial is for personal and gifting use, please don't sell any covers that you make.**

You will need:

1 yard each of two coordinating fabrics

24 inches ribbon

Velcro

2 Buttons

1. Fold the fabric so that all four corners are lined up. Then, use a circle template to trace a rounded corner and cut all four layers. Repeat with the other fabric.


2. Pin the two fabrics right sides together and sew all around the edges, remembering to leave a gap to turn right side out.

3. Turn the fabric right side out and press.


4. Topstitch around the entire piece, being sure to sew the opening shut.


5. Take a 12" piece of ribbon and fold in half, right sides facing out. Topstitch around all sides. Attatch small Velcro pieces to ends, lining them up so that they will form a circle with the ribbon when shut. You may need to adjust the length of the ribbon, according to the size of your carseat's handle.

6. Fold the cover so that all four corners are lined up. Measure 3 inches in from the center of the fabric and mark both sides with a pin. This is where you will attach the ribbons.

7. Sew the ribbons onto the cover by sewing a small rectangle in the middle of each ribbon.

8. Sew a button on the outside of each ribbon, where the Velcro is attached.

Enjoy your new Summertime car seat cover!

New Diaper Bag

I was really hoping to get a cute diaper bag for the new baby but didn't want to spend a lot of money on one. Then, I found this tutorial from A Mingled Yarn, and it is exactly what I was looking for! The bag was surprisingly easy to put together, I even learned how to sew a zipper on! Who knew zippers were so easy?!

I love all the pockets in this bag!

So, thanks to a great deal on the fabric at Jo Ann's, I made the entire bag for under $15.

Another Guitar Bag

I made another guitar bag for a friend's birthday. This time, I used yellow and black canvas. Here's the link for the tutorial.

So Many Great Tutorials for Baby Items..... So Little Time!

Just wanted to share some wonderful tutorials for handmade baby items.

Baby Bear Blanket from Craftbits: Super cute bear attached to a soft blankie

Fabulous Fifties Bib from Living Creatively : Over sized baby bib with pocket

Cloth Shoe Pattern from Stardust Shoes: This is the best tutorial and pattern that I've seen for cloth baby shoes. She explains everything clearly and makes it very easy to make a pair.

Soft Taggie Baby Blocks another great pattern from Stardust Shoes

Hip Mama Diaper Bag from A Mingled Yarn: This is the coolest diaper bag! I just made one last week. This tutorial makes it so easy, even a beginning sewer like myself can make one! Here's my new bag.

Quick Ribbon Ring Teether Toy from Patchy Apple: Super easy and so cute!

Taggie Football from Grace Violet: What a great idea for a new baby boy, especially if mom and dad are football fans!

Diaper Changing Pad from Sew Take a Hike : This changing pad folds up nicely to fit in a diaper bag.

Roll up baby chair from Canadian Living: What a great idea to keep baby safely and securely on any chair. This would be perfect for restaurants or friends' houses!

Stroller Quilt from Sew Mama Sew: This looks like the perfect solution for keeping baby warm and bundled in the stroller with out worrying about blankets falling off or dragging on the ground.

Easy Burp Clothes from My Longest Year: These are a simple and easy baby gift! Here's pictures of the burp clothes I made with this tutorial.

Frog Hooded Bath Towel from Make Baby Stuff: This is a really fun towel, would also make a great gift for toddlers!

Easy Cloth Diaper Wipes from Make Baby Stuff: I really wanted to try cloth diapers with our new baby, but just don't think I'm brave enough. So, I thought I would at least make some of these cloth wipes and use them!

Wet Bag from Make Baby Stuff: Every mom could use a couple of these in their diaper bag!

Bath Apron from The Secret Stitch Club: A great idea to keep mom dry and the towel handy when giving baby a bath.

Dishtowel Bib from Create Everyday: I've heard that these are just the best bibs ever for messy babies and toddlers!

Scrap-Pieced Baby Bib from Make it and Love it: A very cute and trendy bib!

Baby Leg and Arm Warmers from Everything your Mama Made and More: These are so easy, you have to make at least a few pairs!

Linen Baby Shoes on Craftster: Super cute shoes for babies and toddlers.

T-Shirt to Newborn Gown from This Mama Makes Stuff: What a cool little baby outfit!

Appliqued Tie Onsie from Trey and Lucy: Every little boy could use one of these cute onsies!

Baby Gifts: Taggie Blankets and Burp Clothes

I have 8 friends and family members who have had new babies in the last two months and there are 6 more expected in the next 5 months. So, I've been busy making baby gifts! Two of the items I've made are Taggie Blankets and Burp Clothes: both super easy, inexpensive, and cute gifts. A dozen taggie blankets.

I bought the fleece when WalMart had it on sale for $2 a yard and found most of the ribbon at

Jo Ann's on clearance for TEN CENTS a yard!! When I went to pull up the tutorial that I used to make these, the web page was gone. If I can pull it up, I'll post it. Otherwise, Maybe I'll just write a tutorial when I make some more.

Forty burp clothes.

I used this tutorial from My Longest Year, except I made mine 11x15 inches.

Baby Legs: My first attempt

I love baby legs and can't wait to have our new baby wear them! There are a lot of tutorials out there that show you how to make them, I used this one, from Everything your mama made and more. They are SUPER easy, you can make a pair in about 10 minutes. Since I don't have a baby to try them out on yet, and the boys are bit too big, I don't want to make a lot before I figure out if they fit or not. Some of them that I have made seem too wide, so I'm going to experiment with cutting and sewing the sides to make them skinnier.

Restoring Order: Sewing Cabinets

One of my favorite blogs, The Homespun Heart , is currently working on "restoring order" in her home. I decided to join in this week because everywhere I look, I find an area that needs order to be restored. My intentions were to have the whole house organized and sparkling clean before the baby gets here in a couple weeks. However, my energy has been severely lacking. So, it makes me feel good to at least get some little projects completed. Yesterday, I worked on cleaning up my sewing cabinets. I don't have a space just for my craft and sewing projects and I usually end up working on them in the dining / living room. So, I keep everything in the cabinets there and take it out as I work on projects. Here are the before and after pictures:

Before, the top shelf was a cluttered mess of misc. things. It's still a bit cluttered, but now the containers have sewing items in them.

I don't think I realized what a mess this cabinet actually was, until I took a picture of it!

Thank you, Monica, for inspiring me to get going on Restoring Order in our home! It feels great to get even a small area organized.

Music Links

I just love these two websites and can't help but share them!

Pandora is free Internet radio that plays only the music that you like. Type in any song or artist, and they'll create a "station" with similar music- so cool!

On Groove Shark, you can find just about any song and listen to it for free. You can even create your own play lists.

Some great bands and artists worth checking out:

Waterdeep

Seeds

Maron

Rocket Man Toy

Thanks to another great tutorial for a fun sewing project, I made this cute birthday gift for a little boy. The little rocket man is a painted wooden egg that fits inside the little pocket on the side of the rocket.

Silly Face Cupcakes

I received the book, Hello Cupcake, from my parents recently. There are so many cute ideas in there! It gave us inspiration for these cupcakes. They're not nearly as cute as what's in the book, but my boys and I had great fun making them (and eating them, of course)!

Cute Checkbook Cover

Thanks to this tutorial, I made myself a new checkbook cover. I LOVE this fabric!

More Crayon Rolls

I finally made some more crayon rolls for the nieces and nephews. The tutorial I used can be found here. This time, I used a wider ribbon and Velcro, which is much more manageable for little hands!