SIMPLE PLATE DECOR PROJECT

PINTEREST inspired this project.  My mom has great handwriting, so I asked her to help.

Materials:  plates from Target, black Sharpie pen, nice handwriting, plate stand.

HANG UP KIDS ARTWORK IN PLAYROOM

Once again, YAY for PINTEREST!  This is another great idea stolen from someone very creative.

We used the word ARTE because my hubby is Italian and that is the Italian word for art.

Our girls bring home some beautiful art projects from school every day, so we needed a way to hang them up without crowding up the fridge.  The "JULIA" project is another idea you can see HERE.
 Materials used:  letters from Hobby Lobby, wood molding from Lowe's, stain, binder clips, and nails.

DO IT YOURSELF BAG/COAT RACK

This is one of the first PINTEREST projects my hubby completed.

I bought the knobs from Hobby Lobby and the piece of wood/molding from Lowe's.

The "FAMILY" sign I also found at Hobby Lobby and it is just sitting on top.

We use this to hang school bags, diaper bags, purses, computer bags, and even jackets sometimes.

KIDS HEIGHT MEASURING RULER

Got this idea from the Dear Lillie blog on a pin from PINTEREST!

Remember when your parents marked your height with a pencil on the wall of the laundry room?

This was really simple.  You just need a board, some stain, a silver paint pen, and some patience.
You can actually do whatever combination of colors that you wish.
Measure three times before hanging it on the wall, too.
We decided to hang ours 9 inches from the floor.
We love having this as a memoir instead of marking their heights on a wall.

HEADBAND MADE FROM T-SHIRT

I ran across this awesome idea for making a headband from t-shirt material on the make it love it blog.  I really liked the idea because there is no elastic as the t-shirt material is stretchy, so it is soft on baby/toddler's skin.   

Here is how mine turned out...

GO MAKE IT!

CROCHET TODDLER A-LINE SWEATER DRESS

I just finished this A-line sweater dress for my 15 month old daughter.  

I based it on this Cross Stitch Pullover tutorial from Bella Bambina Knits.  

It was a lot of fun to make!  I decided to leave the sleeves off and make it a "cap sleeve" kind of look after getting some input from the hubs when I tried it on my little one.  The details were also quite simple...I just sewed a star on the front and made a little flower for the bottom of the "V" opening at the back of the neckline.  I opted for this V opening instead of buttons.

GO MAKE IT! ;)

front

back

BABY TIGHTS FROM MOMMY'S SOCKS

I had a pair of socks that had holes in the toes, so I decided to use this tutorial from sew4bub.com to make tights for my daughter instead of throwing them away.  

There was a red seam at the toes area that wasn't ruined, so I used that to make the little bows that I attached.  Like the tutorial says, it really is very simple to make these.

MAKING NEUTRAL BABY CLOTHES FEMININE

Since being on my sewing frenzy, I decided to update some of our older daughter's newborn clothes that are neutral in color.  Just by adding a few bows and some lace/ruffles, it is easy to update clothes and make them look feminine.  It was fun!  Here are the results....

Sweatpants updated with bows and a lace heart on the butt...

Back

Front

Onesie with added ruffles and bows

CROCHETED RUFFLED BOTTOM SWEATER

I found this great pattern from Bella Bambina Knits to crochet a sweater with a ruffled bottom and ruffled sleeves look. 

 I made 2 of them...1 in 18 months size for our older daugher and 1 in newborn size for our daughter that should arrive in the next 2 weeks.

It was fun - GO MAKE IT!

Newborn Size

18 Months Size

BABY ROMPER FROM T-SHIRT

I have been on a sewing frenzy lately because I have enjoyed more time to sew due to the holidays and family taking turns playing with my 14 month old daughter.

  So, I decided to use this old bunny shirt of hers and attach some pants made from the hubs' t-shirt to make this romper for our new princess arriving in February 2012.  

Here are the pictures - GO MAKE IT!
FRONT

BACK

I traced the size of a pair of pants 0-3 months to get the correct size for the bottom of the romper.  

I followed some instructions from the butt ruffled onesie tutorial for making the ruffles and attached those.

Then, I just sewed it all together, inserted the snaps, and sewed a little bow at the waistline for extra "fashion."

  If you notice the grey cuffs on the shirt, I added those from this tutorial on converting a t-shirt to a onesie dress.  You can turn the cuffs over baby's hands to keep them warm and prevent them from scratching their face.

NEWBORN ONESIE DRESS FROM PARENTS T-SHIRTS

HAPPY 2012!!!
I found this awesome tutorial from This Mama Makes Stuff.  

I just had to try it out with some of our old t-shirts. 

 She gives you the pattern for FREE and the instructions are quite easy to follow.

Here is the tutorial link. - GO MAKE IT - IT IS FUN!

Here are some pictures of how mine turned out.
I added the heart with ruffle embellishment on my own from having read
this tutorial on making ruffled butt onesies.

LITTLE BITTY SHOULDER SHAWLS & LEG WARMERS - CROCHET

After I bought myself a warm shoulder shawl in Florence, Italy, I started looking around for them for my 14 month old daughter.  Well, I couldn't find any whatsoever, so I decided to crochet some for her.  Later I made this green one for my friend with ribbon woven into the top of it to make it adjustable, so it will last her a few more months as the baby grows.

Here they are - GO MAKE SOME!

LITTLE BITTY BALLET SLIPPERS - CROCHET

More fun with crochet.  I found these adorable ballet slippers on youtube made by The Jilted Ballerina.  There are 3 video tutorials for how to make them, so I just followed those
(I posted them below for you).
So far, I have made 4 pair - 1 for a friend whose baby girl is 3 mos old, 1 for the hubs' cousin whose baby girl is due in April 2012, 1 for our 14 month old princess, and 1 for our princess that is due in February 2012.  

Here are some pictures of them - GO MAKE SOME!

Here are the video tutorials on youtube:

Video #1

Video #2

Video #3

MY 1ST NEWBORN CROCHET DRESS

Lately, I have been on a crochet marathon. 

 It all started with making the blanket for our new little princess that should arrive in February.  

I found this really adorable newborn dress with a FREE pattern and got to work.   

I am giving it to my hubby's cousin for her daughter due in April 2012.

 Go check it out here at One Hook Two Sticks.

Mine turned out like this: 

FRONT

BACK

TUTU DRESS TUTORIAL - NO SEWING REQUIRED!

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Today I made my first tutu ever.  I decided to make a no-sew tutu dress for my little princess who will turn 1 in 11 days.  Since we are temporarily living away from my sewing machine, I needed to think of new ways to do things. I figure she can wear this dress for her birthday and also for Halloween.
I also made a wand to go with it - see it HERE.

Here is my attempt to explain how I made it...

What you need:

Tulle 

Ribbon

Scissors

Cardboard (for measuring/cutting the tulle)

Lighter (for burning the ends of the ribbon)

PATIENCE!

Tulle:

96 total pieces for this dress:

- 12 white 

- 42 lavender

- 42 purple
The width of each piece was about 3-4 inches - not an exact science.
For the length of each piece:
I measured how long I wanted the dress to be from my little one's armpit.
I added 3 more inches to allow for the knots and drop down gathering.

Ribbon:

8 feet lavender

9 feet purple

Cut the Tulle:

Check out this great tulle cutting tutorial from Treasures for Tots.

Measure the size of your little one's chest.

To mark the ribbon, make 2 knots in the ribbon for the diameter of the chest.

Tie on the tulle between the 2 knots.

I followed this awesome video tutorial for how to use ribbon as the holder instead of elastic

and for how to tie on the tulle to the ribbon for a basic tutu. 

I decided to put 2 pieces of tulle together of the same color for each knot that I tied.

I followed this pattern for colors: 

2 lavender knots, 2 purple knots, 2 lavender knots, 2 purple knots, 1 white knot,

repeat until reaching the other knot

I ended up with 48 total knots tied on my ribbon.

To make the drop down:

Weave a separate piece of ribbon about 2-3 inches (or whatever you think will work for your little one - be creative) down from the top.

Lay your dress out on a big flat surface or hang it tightly from something.

Pulling the tulle straight down, wrap the ribbon around each knot and continue to connect onto the next knot, make sure to leave extra on the ends for tying the dress together in the back when you put it on your little one.

(sorry for the lack of pictures for this, but I needed both hands)

Decoration:

Decorate the top and drop down by wrapping around more ribbon.

Make sure to leave extra on each end in order to tie the dress together and make a bow.

Tie 4 ribbons on the top for the over the shoulder bows.

Use the lighter to burn the ends of each piece of cut ribbon.

Voila' - you are finished!

Here is the finished dress laid out flat.

Here is the dress hanging on a hanger.

(will post pictures of the dress on my little one after her birthday)

AWESOME KIDS BOOKS

Here are a few of my favorites from when I was a kid.

(My 11-month-old LOVES Hand Hand Fingers Thumb and Goodnight Moon the most.)  

Look at these great lists, too...
Oprah's Kids' Reading List

Top 100 Children's Books List

Parents Magazine's 25 All-Time Best Books for Toddlers
Babycenter's Checklist: Favorite Toddler Books
Babycenter's Top 10 Children's Board Books
Amazon's Top 10 Toddler Books

Dr. Seuss - Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, Fox in Socks