Tutorial Tuesday & Linky Party - Ruffled Fall Hand Towels for Under $2

Hello there lovely bloggers! 

So, you guys know I have been like crazy busy lately, working on my big order. Since I'm still trying to squeeze in projects where I can (if only to keep my sanity!!), I thought I would resurrect a tutorial from the past. Of course, I re-made the project to be a little more "Fall-ish" and to show you that I'm not cheating over here, haha!

My all-time most viewed tutorial is...

~ Dressed Up "Fall" Hand Towels ~

What do you think? Pretty cute huh? Not your "traditional" fall decor, but somehow it just feels right. 

I don't know what it is about these towels, but people love them. They're inexpensive to make, super duper easy, and totally customizable depending on what you have laying around in your scrap pile.

 Okay... so I see why it's #1. ;)

Ready for the tutorial??

~ Dressed Up Hand Towels ~

Wal*Mart, 2 pack, $1.68. 

SCORE!

My fabric was a little scrap left over from a jelly roll, ribbon was a scrap from my white felt wreath, and the lace stuff a scrap from a ribbon scrap pack I bought at Hobby Lobby ages ago. You don't need much of anything to do this project, these particular towels are only 15" wide to give you an idea.

First, lay your pieces out across the short side of your towel to make sure they are long enough with a bit leftover at each end to fold under and hem. I left about an inch on each end.

{UPDATE: If you're doing the ruffled version like my new set, use about twice the length of fabric as I mentioned above, so that you have plenty of ruffle room. Just run the top edge of the strip through your sewing machine on the longest stitch length, and it will ruffle right up before your eyes.}

I started with my fabric since I knew I wanted it on the bottom. I planned to sew the ribbon and the lace over the top of the raw edges of the fabric so I wouldn't have to do any more hemming than necessary.

I folded under and pinned the edges down first, then used the wonky little zig-zag stitch 

to attach it to the towel. Clean edges, pretty little ziggy zaggy.

{UPDATE: no need to baste down the sides of the fabric if you're using a ruffle... 

just tack it down along the top edge of the ruffle and let it ruffle away at the edges.}

Next, I pinned and basted down the long edges. I know I'm going to be attaching the ribbon and lace 

over the fabric, so I mostly just need it to stay down and in place. The real reinforcing will come later.

Now more pinning for the lace...

{Seriously, what is that stuff? I have no idea what to call it, so I'm just going with lace for now.}

And again with the wonky zig zag stitch to make sure this stays in place and can be machine washed.

I did the same thing for the ribbon on top that I did for the fabric: 

Pinned and basted on both the top and bottom long edge. 

Somehow I managed to miss taking the pic on this one so you'll just have to use your imagination, haha!

Iron out any wrinkles, and ta-da! Pretty little dish towel!

They're SO easy, and you already have an extra towel, so why not make it a pair?

 Two is better than one anyway, I think. :)

Since I made these two, I've been digging around in my scrap box for other coordinating colors to make more. I could seriously solve my entire house-wide towel problem with what I find in my scrap box. :) 

But wouldn't they make great gifts? Housewarming parties, hostess gifts, wedding shower, holidays... 

I'm so excited that our little linky party is growing so large. Thanks to you all for participating and spreading the word!! Grab yourself a button if you're linking up this week, and you can find all the parties I'll be linking up to this week up top under the "linky parties!" tab. There's lots of great spots on that list so definitely go check them out, and let me know if you have a party that I can add to my list!

Now it's your turn! 

Link up your projects below, and grab a button for your project post. 

Be sure to visit other links on the list and share the love! :)
Today's Creative Blog

{I'm linking up HERE this week!}

<a href="http://www.littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybpWehEcQYkr_bcTNwQtjMs-pSV-lbAnKMq0wQAbpkfm8Vn6I1fmUjYtVvzwqfTuazi67qG1Z7SWKRWPfgV3kkRVaYGnhKP7LJ0txiH6AQQj2x8KUcYdEuPtOudXo4oDmxEdFyxqjJ7RO/s800/Tute%20Tues%20LB.png" height="150" width="150" /></a>

Have a great week!!

XOXO

Oh! Don't forget to enter this week's GIVEAWAY here!


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Merchandise Monday - Leather Diaper Clutches!

Good morning, all! I just wanted to take a moment to pop in for a Merchandise Monday post (since we haven't had one in awhile) and let you know about some things going on in my etsy shop.

First of all, due to a huge increase in demand over the past 3 months or so, I've had to do some price adjusting. However, despite these changes I am happy to announce that The Little Birdie Baby Shop is now offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders! Yay!

And even though I have been up to my ears in a huge order, I've also been adding some new stuff! The Little Birdie Baby Shop is now carrying diaper clutches!

These little cuties are the perfect solution for carrying your diaper necessities in your purse. They perfectly hold 2 or 3 diapers (depending on what size) and a small pack of wipes. There's even room for a tube of diaper cream, and a pocket for your other extras!

Each one is made from high-quality upholstery leather in various colors and prints, and then lined with bright, fun, designer fabrics. Each clutch measures 10" wide by 6" tall, with a shiny nickel button stud closure. The great thing about these babies, is that while they're great for diapers, they're also great as a wallet, or for a night out!

Stay tuned to Merchandise Monday, because next week we'll be starting up with some new giveaways!!

Have a great week!

XOXO

Thankful Thursday - 4/7/11

I'm not sure why it is that Thursday always seems to sneak up on me. It's not quite the weekend, but we're well into the week, and I'm always surprised that we're already so close to Friday. NICE surprise!

I caught the Spring cleaning bug yesterday. Usually I am not a cleaner... not voluntarily anyway, haha! But I guess it's that time of year so might as well go with it. Plus, my printer has been giving me fits this week. I'm down to one of two solutions: a) buy a new printer, b) start replacing cords and see what happens, or c) throw this one out the window and beat it with a stick until it plagues me no more. Oh, I guess there was an extra option I threw in, oops! ;) Printer is a bummer because it puts a slight hold on my shipments. I don't live near a post office, so I usually do postal carrier pick-ups with my own printed labels but I may have to make a trip to the nearest P.O. this time. Oh yeah, also... my mouse broke. Annoying!

HOWEVER! The massive cleaning and house overhaul has made for an excellent way to work out my technological frustrations! With all this whining you wouldn't think this is the "Thankful Thursday" post, but I promise, it is! Here's my list of "little things" for this week:

1. I am ever-so-thankful for a clean house. I really hate cleaning, so I'm always happy when the mood strikes me unexpectedly. I actually found Christmas wrapping paper under the couch. Yikes. I'm not completely finished yet, but I'm seeing things shape up and I love it. Who doesn't love a clean house, right?

2. Sunshine and weather in the 70's! My goodness what a beautiful week we've had! Baby A and I took advantage of the lovely weather one afternoon and popped out for an impromptu spring photo shoot.

LOVE!

3. Remember last week, and how excited I was about our family weekend? IT. WAS. BLISS.

Baby A's first trip to the Aquarium

Did I mention she's a HUGE fish nut? I mean, for a 10 month old she is surprisingly aware of every single thing having to do with fish or the ocean. She LOVED it! We saw the fish, rode the train, visited the sharks, rode the carousel, saw the white tigers... it was a blast! This little cutie kept trying to grab the fish through the glass, and giggled and giggled at the tigers. What a day. :) Mommy & Daddy's hearts were FULL.

3,b. As part of super fun family weekend, hubby cooked! YES!! All-day smoked ribs with his secret sauce... YUM-O! See them just falling off the bone? I'm STILL drooling...

4. Hubby pulled 3 new contracts so that means more work for him (downside: not having him around as much), but we are thankful that there is more and more work coming in because it helps our mind rest easier when it comes to all the "boring" parts of being a grown-up.

5. Despite his busy schedule, my sweet and very talented hubby is working on a new line of onesie designs for my Etsy shop! I am trying to come up with a clever name for it, something like "The Husband Edition" or whatever... but not that lame. HAHA! Obviously, there will be lots of designs for the boys, but he has some great girl ideas too. I cannot wait to show you guys!! :)

6. I'm not sure if I've told you guys before, but I LOVE getting mail!! Love it! I have no idea where that comes from, but it's so exciting to me. This week, I got some yummy fabric in all kinds of spring-y colors from V&Co. {Vanessa has some of the best fabric-based tutorials on her blog, and her shop sells the fabric, patterns, and kits to make them!} Also, sweet Baby A got a cute new set of jammies from her GiGi {my mom}, and the new Bambi and Tangled Blue Ray sets from Grampa {my dad}. And of course, my mom always includes a big stack of diaper/wipes/Carter's/anything-she-thinks-I-need coupons for moi. Yay!

7. The Shape of a Mother. New site I found that celebrates all those parts of ourselves that are the tell tale signs of motherhood. If you're a mom, it's definitely worth checking out. I'll be posting more about it in detail later on.

8. SUPER excited for another giveaway coming up in 2 weeks... it's a secret for now, but lots of you have been asking for it, so you got it! :)

Our OCEANBELLE "Tree of Hope" Giveaway is still going on from now through Monday, 

so if you haven't entered yet, go now! 

I hope you all are having a wonderful week, 

and have lots to be thankful for yourselves!

XOXO

Tutorial Tuesday & Linky Party - My Super Cheap Easter Mantle!!

Yay for Tuesday! Before I get all happy and excited to show off my Easter decor, I have to gripe a minute about my SD card. I think it hates me. I work so hard on all these projects, and diligently take pictures throughout the whole process, only to go in to download said pictures and find about 25% of them missing. Just gone. Poof! So... there are a few gaps here {again, sad face} but I'll do my best to fill in. Oh yeah, and I'm super late today because I was waiting around hoping for some good natural light to photograph in, but after 3 days of overcast weather... nada. So, missing pictures, check. Sucky pictures, check. Ok, done complaining, moving on!

I have never really been a holiday decorator. I mean, Christmas, yeah of course. But not much else. Hubby and I go all out in the outdoor foyer for Halloween, because it's fun for the trick-or-treaters, but this year I've been making an effort to step up my decorating. I'm hoping that by working on it now, building up some stock decorations, and holding myself accountable to show it off, that it will become 2nd nature to decorate for holidays by the time Baby A is big enough to enjoy it. :)

I have to admit, my Valentine's mantle was less than impressive, but I think I'm getting better now that Easter is rolling around...

What's extra fun about this mantle collection, is that I only spent about $5. YAY!

I found some more great stuff in the Target $1 bin:

Birdhouse: $1

{originally green and speckled}

Daisy Stakes: $1

{originally multi-colored}

Easter Egg Candle Holders:

Eggs: $.44

Wood Disks: 2/$1=$2

{originally unfinished wood}

Already had:

 Picture frame 

{was also from Target $1 like 2 years ago}

Russian Blown Glass Flower

{gift from a well-traveled friend! Love you Nessa!}

Rustic Chicken

{Hobby Lobby last season, if you want to get picky, he was $5 then, haha!}

Vintage Milk Bottle

{got from Mom's stash when she was cleaning out the house}

Felt Ruffle Wreath

{Christmas Project, 2010}

Flower Pot

{repurposed baby shower decoration}

So, I sort of have a bunch of mini-tutorials this week. :)

Flower Pot Topiary

Bird House - $1 Target find painted a robin's egg blue

Daisy Stakes - $1 Target find, painted yellow and white {was crazy multi-colored}

Flower Pot 2/$1 last summer @ Target, bought for baby shower, repurposed!

Moss - leftover from monogram project

Floral Foam cut to fit the flower pot

Ribbon scrap tied in a bow

So easy, and adds a little greenery too.

Easter Egg Candle Holders

I can't take credit for this idea. 

I saw this tutorial on The CSI Project, guest posted by Paula @ JC's Loft.

She has all kinds of pretty little Easter projects!

Ruffled Felt Wreath

You can see the original here in my Crafty Christmas post.

I just took this beauty, dressed it up with a little purple ribbon and added a silver monogram.

Perfect addition to the Easter Mantle!

No- Sew Spring Banner

This may have been the easiest part! 

All I did was take some bright fabric scraps, cut them into triangles 

with 6" tops and 7" sides, and hot glue them to some white, medium sized ric rac. 

Done!

P.S. I also hot glued them TO the brick. Easy to stick on, easy to take down, no mess!

So there you have it! I'm pretty proud of myself. I had no idea how much planning actually goes into getting all this stuff together to decorate with. But, it was worth it, and fun to boot!

What have YOU been working on? Any fun Spring crafts, or Easter inspired ideas? 

Link 'em up below and grab a button! 

<a href="http://www.littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybpWehEcQYkr_bcTNwQtjMs-pSV-lbAnKMq0wQAbpkfm8Vn6I1fmUjYtVvzwqfTuazi67qG1Z7SWKRWPfgV3kkRVaYGnhKP7LJ0txiH6AQQj2x8KUcYdEuPtOudXo4oDmxEdFyxqjJ7RO/s800/Tute%20Tues%20LB.png" height="150" width="150" /></a>

I can't wait to see them. :) I'll be picking my favorite 5 to show off on Saturday.

XOXO

Tutorial Tuesday & Linky Party - Lavender Mommy Mask

I can hardly believe it's Tuesday again! But let me tell you, I am excited!
We had so many link ups last week, I can't wait to see what you guys bring this week. :)

Don't forget to enter The Taffy Box Giveaway going on this week through Sunday 3/27!

Click here for more info and to enter!

As for me, today I have a tutorial just for Mommy! I can think of about a bajillion reasons why you need one of these, so start gathering those fabric scraps because this week we're making a...

~ Lavender "Mommy" Mask ~

There are plenty of things we don't know as parents. 

But there's one thing that every mom knows for sure: Sleep is a commodity. 

That being said, we all know we have to take it when we can get it!!

The Lavender Mommy Mask is my way of helping you do just that!

Here's what you need:

- Fabric for front 

{just a scrap will do}

- Fabric for backing 

{there's that $1.99 Wally World washcloth!}

- Ribbon for trim 

{about a yard}

- Coordinating thread

- Rice for filler 

{1-2 cups}

- Lavender for relaxation ;)

- Pattern shape 

{think: kidney bean as big as your face, haha!}

Just a little explanation on my choices:

I chose a $1 Wally World wash cloth for the backing...

1. Because it works well wet {in case you want to use it for hot/cold compress}

2. It's 100% cotton, so it works well in the microwave

I chose rice as filler, instead of poly-fil...

1. Because it forms nicely to your face

2. It's all natural so it works well in the microwave

{haha, see where we're going here?}

I added lavender...

1. Because it smells de-lish!

2. Just to add a little "somethin'", but you can totally do it with just the rice

Ok, enough babble... let's get started!

First cut out 2 face-sized kidney beans from your fabric. 

{one from the front piece and one from the back piece}

Next, cut your ribbon and ruffle it. 

I cut mine twice as long as it would take to wrap around the edge of my kidney pieces. 

{don't forget that ruffles will shorten your ribbon length substantially!}

***

I am so, SO sorry I don't have all the usual pics for the steps, but somehow my SD card ate my photos and I didn't even realize it until I was trying to upload them to Picasa. On a high note, I do have some pics from another one of these I did with poly-fil for a gift that can fill in some gaps.

***

Next, take your ribbon and place it facing inwards on the right side of your front piece. 

Then pin, pin, and pin some more!

{other project... don't love it as much as the pink one, but you get the idea...}

After you get the edge stitched down, unpin, but leave your ribbon folded inward. 

Lay your back piece right side down over the ribbon and right side of the front piece. Pin, pin, pin!

Stitch around the edge, leaving an in opening for turning.

Be careful to stay as close to the edge as possible so you don't sew up your ribbon.

{I used a zig-zag stitch for this step.}

Now, carefully turn right side out.

I also ironed mine flat once it was turned so that my ruffles would look right.

Slowly fill with rice and as much lavender as you'd like. 

I used about a 4:1 rice to lavender ratio. 

Mine is still a little floppy so it lays comfortably across my face.

Finally, hand stitch closed the turning opening and enjoy!

{I seriously almost didn't get up after this photo, haha!}

Now it's your turn!

<a href="http://littlebirdiebaby.blogspot.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybpWehEcQYkr_bcTNwQtjMs-pSV-lbAnKMq0wQAbpkfm8Vn6I1fmUjYtVvzwqfTuazi67qG1Z7SWKRWPfgV3kkRVaYGnhKP7LJ0txiH6AQQj2x8KUcYdEuPtOudXo4oDmxEdFyxqjJ7RO/s144/Tute%20Tues%20LB.png" height="144" width="144" /></a>

Link up your projects below and grab a button!

I'll pick my favorite 5 to showcase on Saturday!

I can't wait to see what you guys have been working on!!

XOXO

The Big Reveal!

Remember the last post where I left you with a colorful little "teaser"?

Okay, so you've probably already visited my shop at least once last week (right? of course you have...) and seen what all the commotion is about, but if not, here goes!!

Introducing my new line of...

Each burpie is tri-fold, extra padded cotton, {for cleaning up all those huge little baby messes!} and measures 15" wide by 19 1/2" long. Some sets have 3 burpies, and some have 4... it all depends on the fabric collection I chose. Speaking of which, I have been searching high and low for some super fun, colorful fabrics that I am just pumped to share with you all. :)

Right now it's a relatively small sampling, but I'm really enjoying the "ready-to-ship" aspect of these items. With my onesies, each and every order is made to spec for each buyer, so it's a constant stream of work, and creates a delay when it comes to delivery. So, it's nice to have some things on the shelf that I can help my last minute shoppers with!

PLUS as an added bonus, these little guys are perfect for the craft show circuit. A nice little grab-and-go gift with no waiting. Yay!

I would love some feedback if anyone would like to offer some, and there will be more designs added to my shop in the coming weeks so be sure to stop in once in awhile for a visit!


Have a great week!!


XOXO