Tutorial Tuesday - Pretty Storage Solutions

Welcome back to Tutorial Tuesday! 

I hope you all have your projects ready to link up... 

I can't wait to see them! :)

Today's tutorial is an organizational/storage solution. But, it's pretty! 

Because who wants a craft/work/play space that's not pretty? I don't! :)

but....

First things first!

Have you entered the Baby Shower Gift Set Giveaway? If not, go now! Winner will be selected Friday, March 11th at 5pm central time. Gift set includes, Eli the Elephant {from last weeks tutorial}, matching bib, matching burpie, and a cute little tufted block {perfect for those little hands!} all made from the super cute green flannel with brown polka dots. This set would be perfect for a boy or a girl!

There are plenty of ways to win, so don't miss out!

Now... on to the reason you're really here today! 

It's Tutorial Time!

I don't know about you all, but I think baby food jars are just perfect for storing things in. There are always plenty of those little tiny bits and pieces that are difficult to wrangle, especially when you have so many other things occupying your craft play space. But let's face it, not so pretty. So I took a few baby food jars, some pretty scrap paper, some ribbon scraps and the trusty old Mod Podge and went to town!


What you need:
baby food jars
scraps of pretty paper
scraps of coordinating ribbon
pencil
scissors or exacto knife
mod podge
rubbing alcohol
soft cloth


First we're going to take the rubbing alcohol and your soft cloth and clean these babies up. No matter how much you picked at that label, there is bound to be leftover goo... and well, that's not pretty. But with a little rubbing alcohol and some elbow grease it will come right off, as well as any printing that may also be on the jar.

See? Nice and clean and ready to dress up!

Next, flip your jar over onto the backside of your paper. Trace the shape of the lid. 

{See? I told you I was a nerd, complete with mechanical pencils, haha!}

Now, I don't know if any of you have one of these, but it is amazing! I picked up this little teeny tiny exacto knife with a swiveling head one day while I was at Hobby Lobby, and I llllllllllllove it! It makes cutting out circles a snap because it moves with your hand. Genius, I tell you!

OK, so cut out your circles by whatever means suits you. Be sure to leave about 1/4 inch or so around the outside of the circle so you have plenty of room to fold it down on the sides of the lid.

Next, slap a thin layer of mod podge onto your lid for sticking power. 

Careful not to overdo it, as too much will make the paper slide all around and, well, not stick.

Place your paper print side up over your lid and mod podge over the right side of the paper. 

{I did this upside down so it was easier to center.} 

As you're pressing it down, make little pleats around the edges to keep things nice and smooth.

{I should warn you- you're going to get dirty. Have some paper towels handy!}

Let this dry completely before doing anything else. If it's still tacky, that pretty paper will rip. 

Sadly, I know this from experience. Do over! haha!

Once it's dry, cut your coordinating ribbon scrap to fit around the edge of the lid and mod podge that bad boy in place too. {Don't you just love mod podge? It's like Super Goo or something.}

TA-DA! Pretty little jars to adorn your space and store all your little tidbits.

They look so cute on my shelf!

Now it's YOUR turn! 

Link up your projects below and be sure to go and visit each other's project posts so everyone feels loved. 

If we ever get more than 2 or 3 people linking up 

I'll do a feature post on Saturdays of my favorites!

XOXO

As for me, I'm linking up here this week:

Too Cute Tuesdays @ Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog
Take A Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee: Craft Edition
Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just a Housewife
Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Ten Buck Tuesday @ The Young Nester

Grab a button if you're linking up! :)

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Tutorial Tuesday - Eli the Elephant

Happy Tuesday! Or Happy Tutorial-ing... uh? Not sure if that one works, but in any case I'm happy to have you here this Tuesday. I'm really excited about today's tutorial because it's the first one I've done start to finish without an outside pattern or anything. And he's just so stinkin' cute!

Meet "Eli"

He's an elephant, just waiting to meet your little one. 

{even if your "little one" is a dog, it's still a fun project!}

OK, here's what you need:

12"x12" fabric of your choice

needle & thread or sewing machine {I used to be a needle & thread-er, I feel ya guys!}

coordinating piece of felt, or felt scraps

polyfill

Start by pressing out your fabric so it's nice and smooth...

Then, fold your fabric in half with the right sides facing each other.

Draw your elephant shape. He doesn't have to be perfect, he's plush!

Next, sew all around your outline. 

I used the wonky looking zig zag, but I like to see the thread on the outside all "rustic style."

I would suggest pinning your fabric together so everything stays straight.

 {I didn't pin but I used flannel, and it sticks to itself pretty well.}

Be sure to leave an opening to turn inside out. {see pin}

I like to use the space at the bottom because it's less noticeable when you have to sew it back up.

Now cut out your shape! 

I use pinking shears to keep things from fraying {just in case}, 

aaaaand I like the way the little zig-zaggy edges look. Never said I wasn't a dork!

Now get to turning!

{I find that it helps to start by pushing the trunk out first, since it's furthest from the hole.}

Now it's time to stuff him! 

I got this little chopstick-y thing in a bag of polyfil, I'm pretty sure they all come with one, but you can use a chopstick or even a pencil to help get the stuffing in all the little corners and crannies.

Ta DA! All stuffed and ready to sew. I don't usually stuff them too full, just because little baby hands can grab on and chew on it a little better when it's not sooooo full.

I don't know if this stitch has a name, but I stitch in kind of an X pattern. 

It's easy, sturdy, keeps the fabric flat when I'm finished, and goes along with my other rustic edges.

Now for the ears...

Cut ears from your scrap of coordinating felt. 

Mine are about 2 inches long, and just kind of floppy looking and oval shaped.

You can sew these on and they'll turn out great. 

However, I do something a little different...I use embroidery floss 

{because it's heavier duty and you won't run the risk of those sweet little baby hands pulling an ear off} Loop it all the way through the elephant to the other side so his ears are "tufted" to his head like a pillow.

Just pin both ears down to it's head, and it will be easy-peasy.

And here you are! A little Eli the Elephant of your very own. 

{Of course, you can always make him girly and name her Ellie. I don't mind. :) }

OH wait!! 

And if you partner him up with a matching burpie, bib, and jingle block, 

you've got yourself a rockin' baby shower gift set in no time flat! ;)

I hope you all enjoyed this week's tutorial! If anyone makes their own Eli/Ellie, be sure to show me! I love seeing what everyone's adaptations are. :)

Come link up your projects for the week below, I can't wait to see what you've been working on!! Feel free to grab a button if you're linking up!

XOXO

I'm linking up here this week:

Not Just a Housewife - Show Me What You Got #13

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Amaze Me Mondays @ Dittle Dattle

Sundae Scoop @ I {heart} Naptime

Take a Look Tuesdays @ Sugar Bee Craft Edition

Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog
We Did It Wednesday @ Sew Much Ado
Make it Yours Day {56} @ My Backyard Eden
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Hoo's Got Talent @ Night Owl Crafting
Ten Buck Tuesday @ Young Nester
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello

Merchandise Monday - The Animal Line

Well it's no secret that I have a little girl. She's everywhere! She's also our first child (with no immediate plans for another) so she's always on the brain. When I opened my shop, I was pretty proud of the fact that I had so much to list. However, it was only a matter of time before someone asked about "boy" designs. That I was no so prepared for. I guess it's just difficult to be inspired to design for a boy when you don't have one.

Baby A has such a personality that even thoughts of a baby boy have trouble creeping in. Enter my good friend Sarah. Her sister was expecting this fall, and expecting a boy... and as my friend, she had to be the one to light the fire under me to get me going on some boy designs for her sis!

When she contacted me, I had already been trying to roll some ideas around on the sketch pad, but wasn't getting very far. I had an idea for an "animal" line but nothing tangible. As luck would have it, Sarah and sis were planning a jungle theme for the baby shower- I had an idea!

...and the "Animal" line of boy's styles was born! Sea Turtle, Monkey, 2-sided Elephant, and Lion

     

     

These are hands down some of the shop favorites. People LOVE the sea turtle! Not that I can blame them, he's precious! Little Sea Turtle has been featured in 10+ etsy treasuries, and I'm even working on a special charity partnership for him. (But that's for another time...)

Anyway, so I did these designs and sent them to Sarah, and this is what I got back!

They decorated with them!! What a fun idea!! If you look closely, you can even see that they were so nice as to stick my business cards out the top! What great girls! And you can see the gorgeous mom-to-be above. I can't wait to see pics of her little man in these onesies.

Of course, animals are fun for everyone so they're perfect for that mom-to-be who doesn't know the gender of her baby yet as well. I've even designed some specifically for little girls...

This is the beautiful Miss Isabella, who's nursery is also a jungle theme. Her aunt ordered the monkey onesie in purple for her! I just love the way it turned out! I even added some little squiggles around the sleeves to "girly" it up a little bit. :)

{sigh} I love my job.

So that's the story of the animal line! By the way... I'm a collector of fan photos... so if you have pics of your little one wearing something I've made for him/her, send them to me! I'd love to feature your little darling on my site!


XOXO

      

Thankful Thursday- 1/20/11

Here we are again, friends! It's always surprising for me when it's time to sit down and write another Thankful Thursday post. Where, oh, where does the time go??

I just have to tell you all first, that all these new blog features have been really fun for me. I think it gives me something to look forward to, and I know I work better when I have a kind of schedule to adhere to. Plus, it gives me a reason to flesh out some of my project ideas, and actually get some of them done in a timely manner, haha!

It's got me thinking about how thankful I am to be back to my "old self" again after the pregnancy/baby fiasco. Don't get me wrong, I loved being pregnant (when I wasn't sick, or tired, or grossed out by some random smell invading my nose). It was fun, but I never felt like myself. I never wanted to cook because I never knew what was going to make me nauseous, and rarely did I have the patience to stand in the kitchen and prepare a full blown meal. That may have been the worst part, because I LOVE cooking... and boy did hubby miss it when it was gone!

Now that Baby A is 7 months old, most of the post-pregnancy side effects are gone too, (including the sleepless nights and 2am feedings!) So I'm cooking again, I'm doing projects almost daily, and I have more energy to get things done and not feel so tired and lazy. It's refreshing!!

As happy as I am to have our darling little girl, I'm just so thankful to be back to feeling like myself again! I hardly even realized when it happened, but it's nice to be back... I missed "me"! :)

XOXO

              

Tutorial Tuesday - Braided Sweater Scarf, Jr.

I was reading through all my favorite blogs Friday morning during Baby A's nap, and came across one that I was so excited about I had to try it right away! 

So You Think You're Crafty is doing "I'm Crafty" parties in conjunction with the current season of the "So You Think You're Crafty" competition. Each week, readers link up their crafts that go along with the theme of the contest for that week. Last week's theme was "Thrift Store" so you just know there were some really awesome submissions! If you're not a follower already, you should definitely go check it out. It's alot of fun!

One of the featured crafts was from Just Another Day In Paradise, for a Braided Sweater Scarf with Pom Poms. I loved it immediately! For her tutorial, go here. She has lovely pics, and easy-to-follow instructions.

Of course, I didn't exactly follow her instructions per se, but the end result was similar nonetheless. I made a Braided Sweater Scarf Jr. for my little snow bunny! I don't know about you other moms out there, but I struggle with buying the winter clothes because they grow so fast. I never seem to have exactly what I need when the weather strikes. Because of this, we probably spend more time in the house than we would otherwise, LOL!

To make my Jr. version of this project, I used the belt from this belted sweater rather than the sweater itself. (Oh, don't worry! I'll be making Mommy a matching scarf from the actual sweater!)

I cut the belt in half lengthwise, and then folded those two pieces over and cut them like ribbon to make 4 pieces. (3 for the braid, plus one extra) I took those pieces and followed the Paradise Instructions until I had my braid and pom poms ready to go. For the pom poms I used some really soft, white Baby Bee yarn I had lying around from another project.

OH yeah, did I mention this little project cost me $0?? Yup. That's right... all stuff I already had lying around. YAY!

Once I got everything together, this was the final product!

Super cute! Of course, you know I had to get my favorite model to give it a whirl for me to make sure it "fit" or whatever scarves do. Apologies for being in our pj's at noon still! Oh wait, did I say "our"? Yep... ya caught me! LOL

She seemed to like it! It took all of 3 seconds for her to pic up the poms and start chomping away. If you're going to do the Jr. version for a baby, I suggest reinforcing your pom poms so the yarn can't be pulled out and create a choking hazard. We want baby to stay safe! :)

Ok! Now go get 'em! And be sure to share your projects in the linky box below. I would love to see what you've been working on!!

XOXO

LINK UP!! 

Show me your tutorials for this week and be featured in an upcoming Tutorial Tuesday! :)