Bed Sheet Headband

One more bedsheet project for those of you who are needing ideas for all that fabric and extra pieces!!

What can you do with the elastic edges of a bedsheet?

Oh I can think of a few things 😉 But today I’ll just show you one of them!

I took the elastic piece and wrapped it around Emma’s head and measured it. I then pinned it and grabbed some thread. All it took was sewing the two pieces together and tada! A cute little headband for my cute little girl!

She loved it so much she decided she wanted to make one so I let her “help me” with a second one. After cutting of a small excess piece I decided I was going to make a little flower out of it and attach it to the headband. I’ll have pictures of that later 😉

Love that little girl 🙂 and her new headband!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love Always,

J

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Scrap Fabric Baby Blocks

So I’ve been trying to find ways to use up some of my scraps and I saw some a cute idea for scrap fabric blocks on pinterest and decided I would try it out. Since there wasn’t a tutorial with it – I was going blind by trial but I am pretty darn proud at how they turned out!!

 

I drew out a plan and cut out my squares from my fabric pile.

 

I then began to sew each piece together the way I had it laid out.

Next came the two pieces on the side to start creating the box form.

Then I took the bottom and wrapped it around the sides.

I left an inch open in order to flip it right side out and stuff it.

Then it was stuffed!! I will say I need a little more practice with stuffing but overall – I am happy with the project!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Don’t forget to sign up for my book giveaway – the winner will be announced Saturday 15th!

 

Love Always,

J

If you like this blog, please click on the button below daily to vote for me!

Living in Fabric

I’ve stored fabric in so many different ways I can’t even begin to explain it! But what I can explain is that if you can’t see it – you’ll forget you have it if you have as much fabric as I do.

This was my previous way of storing fabric. Which was actually working out quite well for me until I moved into my studio and didn’t take this handy cabinet with me..

What happened to that fabric? It got stuffed in under the bed bins like this:

Under both tables you can see boxes and boxes stacked with fabric. One thing that I can’t stand – not being able to see fabric or having to search through, under, and around a pile just to find what I’m looking for. So what was my solution?

Since that old cabinet is filled now with yarn and stock grocery items I had to come up with a better plan. I cleaned off this old shelves we had in storage that were holding paint cans. My dad is building a shelf to put all the cans on so I went ahead and snatched them up, cleaned them, and hauled them to the studio space.

Welcome to my new way of knowing what fabrics I have and where the heck they are! Now if only find a way to stash scraps that are easier to find.. that will be my next thing to tackle 😛

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Love Always,

J

The Perfect Finds!

After a day long trip of thrift store hunting I found some AWESOME finds! I also found some awesome places to go back for some more shopping as well as other’s I’ll probably skip unless I’m looking for something specific..

Check out my awesome finds:

My mother-in-law found this perfect bench for Emma at the Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift shop! It doesn’t need anything done to it and we’ve already put it to use a few times 😉

I found this desk at Unique in Falls Church! I’m going to sand it down, paint it or stain it, and paint the top of the desk with chalkboard paint! I’m so excited to see how this turns out!

Here is Emma’s new desk chair! It needs a few touch ups so we’ll be sanding and painting this one as well. It’s a little big for her but she can get in and out of it on her own so I think this will be something she grows with perfectly!

This was an impulse buy! It was only two bucks so I’m going to touch up the paint, lay a thin sheet of wood down in it and wrap that with fabric to make a cute tray to place things in!

Heck yes for cheap patterns! Especially home decor patterns! I hate spending a bunch of money on patterns not knowing whether I’m going to like them or change them 😉 This is a great way to try new patterns without feeling that guilt of paying too much! I also bought some awesome fabric by the bunch that you’ll see when I show off my work with these new patterns 😀

Hooray for two dollar batting! I spend a fortune on batting and usually buy it in bulk like this but you can’t beat less than 50 cents a yard!

So those were my awesome finds this weekend! The Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift Shop in Purcellville is going to be my first trip each weekend from now on. That thrift store was AMAZING!

Stay tuned to see what I do with these perfect finds!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love Always,

J

Crafts – Work In Progress Wednesday!

Welcome to Work In Progress Wednesday! Here is where I show off whatever I’m working on for the week and I also give other shops a chance to show off what they are working on. I’ve always been a big fan of getting to know the person behind the shop and I feel like this is a great way to give everyone a chance to see a little bit behind the scenes of the lives of some amazing shops!

This week I’ve been working on a bunch of multiple things but sadly there is nothing in progress that’s worth pictures. So this week I’ll just be featuring a few other shops who have some awesome things to share!

“One of my passions is recycling and I wanted to start creating crafts from things that might other wise be thrown away. I thought sheets would be a great item to use as they always have lots of great patterns on them. I found these used sheets and loved the pattern so I am creating Pillows out of them as my first repurposed / upcycled project. I hope to create many more items using products that would otherwise be thrown away.”

Made by ThisandThatCrafter – Click on her link to see her shop!

“I start by cutting the fabric and ironing it smooth then I cut the pad patterns our and pin them in place. Next is sewing on the pad pieces. Then the front of the stocking is now complete with pads! Now I decide to make a cuff, stitch on a name, or make a name tag – this one features a fish name tag so I make the fish and attach it to the front piece. Once the front is complete, I sew the front and back pieces together. Now I write the name on the name tag, in this case it is for my cat, Butter. I chose red to go with the red around the fish and pads but I have many colors. Then the name tag is completed. All that is left now is to make and attach the hook.”

Made by AshDazzle – Click on her link to see her shop!

“This is a fun little project I am working on for my daughter, Briley. She’s just learned her ABC song and I hope these blocks are a fun way for her to learn what each letter looks like. It’s really a simple project, but it does take some time to adhere and seal each individual block. I’m going to further embellish the “book” box that holds the blocks, so it’s almost a complete set!”

Made by ScrapHappyMe – Click on her link to see her shop!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed seeing a little behind the scenes of these shops. If you have a favorite one please don’t hesitate to comment and tell us what you love!

Love Always,

J

Feature Friday: DoodlebugCrochet

Feature Friday Presents:

DoodlebugCrochet

         

Yellow crochet duck – 9…                White and Gray crochet lam…

DoodlebugCro…                                 DoodlebugCro…

$14.00 USD                                       $14.00 USD

          

Purple crochet teddy bear …           Pink crochet pig – 10…

DoodlebugCro…                                 DoodlebugCro…

$14.00 USD                                        $14.00 USD

          

White crochet bunny rabbit…         Blue crochet owl bird – 6…

DoodlebugCro…                                 DoodlebugCro…

$17.00 USD                                        $11.00 USD

          

Yellow crochet giraffe – 1…              Purple crochet baby blanke…

DoodlebugCro…                                 DoodlebugCro…

$17.00 USD                                        $32.00 USD

” I’m a mom of two fantastic boys and I’ve been a professional graphic designer for over 14 years. My husband and I live just outside of Boston with our kids and big swiss mountain dog. I’ve been involved in the arts for as long as I can remember and I love to make things with my hands. Crochet is a fantastic outlet for me to relax and rejuvenate after working on a computer in a very 2-D career each day. I’ve always loved being creative and I hope you’ll enjoy my shop! 🙂 “

What got you interested in crafting?

My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was a little girl and I mostly just made clothes for my barbies at the time. I hadn’t crocheted in about 15 years and I just decided last winter that I really wanted to make myself a scarf… so I took it back up again and here I am!

What has been your favorite project to make and why?

My favorite project so far has been my tan puppy. He was created because a friend of mine had a niece that was very attached to a yellow lab that her mother owned, but was very old and probably not going to be around to the end of the summer. She wanted to give her niece a tan puppy to remind her of her favorite dog and comfort her in the future…. and so the tan puppy in my shop was born.

What’s the secret behind your etsy name? (How did you come up with it?)

The secret behind my Etsy name has to do with my kids – they both are such little busy bodies around the house, they are always just “doodling” around tinkering with things here and there as they go – I started calling them my little doodlebugs. When I decided to start a shop catering to kids on Etsy – it just seemed like the perfect name!

What is the most challenging thing you have made?

The most challenging thing I have made is something I’m STILL working on! I’m looking to add a kitty to my shop and I think I’ve finally got the right pattern ideas in my head – I made one already but he didn’t QUITE look right – for me, it’s all the little details that need to be just right to make him too cute to resist… the size and shape of the ears, the right tail shape, etc. It can be challenging at times.

What are some of your goals you hope to achieve within the next year?

My goals for the next year are to continue to grow my Etsy shop by creating more animals, offering more colors and continuing to create beautiful blankets. I’ve had some interest in local galleries and not-so local shops to carry my work and I hope to also grow that side of my business next year. However, my biggest goal is to keep enjoying what I make, have fun, and keep those kid’s smiles coming!

What inspires you to be crafty?

I get inspired by kids – having my own and seeing all of my friends’ kids – they are just the best. There’s no better feeling than having a little kid squeeze the heck out of one of my animals and just HAVING to have it with them all day and night. That makes me so happy – and there really isn’t any better inspiration to keep going!

If you could have one thing to help your store what would it be?

If I could have one thing to help my store, anything at all, it would be another set of hands! Although I work fairly fast, crochet takes time – some days and weeks I find myself with more work than I can physically do myself. The handmade quality is what makes my shop beautiful and unique, but from a business sense, I feel that it does tend to limit how much I can grow.

If you haven’t already – check DoodlebugCrochet out!

Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/doodlebugcrochet

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Doodlebug-Crochet/166682183399111?sk=wall

Twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/ldefrancesco123

Thank you for stopping by!

Love Always,

J

P.S. If you’d like to be on a Feature Friday – please send me a message!

Daily Life: A Trip to Fibre Space

Yesterday I went with my mom and sister to a store in Alexandria, VA called Fibre Space. I haven’t been to a store quite like this and was stunned as soon as I walked into the door! Take a look:

They have all sorts of yarns. Some that are made by indie and local companies and some staples. What amazed me the most was the wide range of colors. My sister and I found out that we are completely different shoppers, she was going through the whole store saying. “WOW look at these colors, I want this one!” and I was walking around saying, “OoooOOooh feel how soft this is!!”. It’s amazing what a wide variety they have and it was hard to just narrow down my choices to one! I kept reminding myself that I can come back any time I want and that I was sticking to a budget 😉

This is what I ended up buying – but I have a list of things I’d like to go back and try too 😛

I bought two skanes of each color. I’m making a scarf with two of them and then plan on using the rest to make baby headbands. I found this awesome pattern that I can’t wait to try out and I think it’ll look adorable on E. But for now I’m making a skinny scarf:

Ignore my ends that need to be tied in! My favorite thing about this yarn is out soft and lightweight it is. After I crocheted this my hands felt baby soft and smooth and that’s exactly what I want around me neck 😀

I’ll keep you posted on how the scarf turns out and when I finish the headband I’ll post a picture of that too 😀

If you haven’t taken a look at Fibre Space here’s the website: www.fibrespace.com

Love Always,

J

Crafts: Diggin’ The Dots!

Today has been a non-stop crafty day! Not only am I quarter way through with the scarf I just started but I also made another burp cloth! Check it out:

 

 

 

It’s true I might just be obsessed with making these things. I have four other fabrics cut out and ready to be made just waiting for me! My goal is to get one a day done – and then I’ll be back out shopping for more fabric!!

So if you like this I just added it to my Etsy page here: http://www.etsy.com/people/DaydreamingGifts?ref=si_pr

Stop by and see what else I have to offer 🙂

Love Always,

J

Crafts: It’s Do or Die Baby!

I’m a little bit disappointed in myself. You would think with all this free time I have I would be crafting up a storm but instead it’s taking me ages to get anything accomplished. I have gotten a little work done with my embroidery but I really haven’t spent as much time on it as I thought I would.

I’ve only got five more days to do or die here! I’m going to start pulling out all the things that I’ve been putting off and start busting my butt to get them done. I’m going to try to finish one project a day. Five projects in five days. This is the beginning of my challenge. Let’s make it happen 😉

Love Always,

J

Crafts: A Family Affair

Thanks to my sister I have a few fun new projects to tackle! Her boyfriends sister is expecting a little baby boy so I got to go shopping for some bibs and I’m going to cross-stitch or embroider the letter M on them for the new baby boy. Since plain bibs are impossible to find, I found some a pack with some cute patterns on them and am hoping that the thread I picked will go well. These are my favorite projects to do, the ones that actually go to someone who can enjoy them! It’s fun to make projects for no one in particular but I love personalized gifts and can only imagine the excitement of someone else getting something just for them.

I’ll be taking pictures of the progress so you can see!

She also has another project for me! Turning a duvet cover into curtains!! Should be super easy and super fun!!!

I have a feeling I might get addicted to these things 😀

Love Always,

J