I am a mom. Not a seamstress, not an artist, not a craft extraordinaire. I probably should have more time in my days than I do, but I don't. I wish I had more dollars in the bank, but again, I don't. I am, however, far too easily inspired. So, if it can be done (inexpensively) in one hour, I will attempt it.

The goal: One day a week. One project. One hour. Think I can do it?

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Leggings


I think I went a little crazy with these (I actually think a few other pairs are in the wash), but who wouldn't when they are this cute...


and this easy?  Don't believe me?  See for yourself here.

And guess who has started crawling since wearing these wonderful things?

Hooded Beach Towels

Once again- I bought one of these when Gavin was little and have yet to see them anywhere since.  With all our excursions to the pool during the summer, a good beach towel is a necessity.  As are floaties and all sorts of other things that need carrying, so a hood is necessary to free up some hand space.  I found the towels in the dollar section of Target and paid a couple dollars each for the white hand towels to make the hoods.  Easiest/fastest craft by far.  (The hoods are a little bigger than expected, but you learn as you go, right!?)

This is, by far, the simplest hooded towel out there.  You can get pretty creative.  I have BIG PLANS for hooded bath towels, but I think I will wait until I have a more permanent bathroom situation for the kiddos.  Until then, see how I made these here.

Pillowcase Dress

This one is a personal favorite.  I bought one of these at a boutique when Emma was little and paid, who knows how much for it.  (Actually, I think grandma Tina ended up buying it, but still).  Long ago did she outgrow that one, but never fear- I found out how to make them myself.  You can use an actual pillowcase (as I did here) or just a yard of fabric, so the possibilities are endless (once, again!)  If you aren't completely in love with it already, check out these and you will be...
Add a cute little legging (post to come) and you are set.  Find out how I did it here.

T-Shirt Dresses

These were actually not inspired by me, but began the inspiration for this crafting blog so they may just be the most important.  Thanks to our wonderful Relief Society, Michelle and I got assigned to teach a sewing class for Super Saturday on making dresses out of T-shirts.  Sounds easy enough for a person who knows how to sew, right?  Well, it is.  Problem:  I don't REALLY know how to sew.  I can sew in a straight line.  I can probably figure out how to zig-zag if needed.  And, I can follow a step by step tutorial IF it includes pictures.  This project met, pretty much, non of those criteria.  So- we tried giving excuses.  1.  Our husbands work Saturdays.  Solution: they found us babysitters.  2.  Our machines are not working properly (if at all).  Solution:  the Relief Society had a machine they were happy to let us borrow.  3.  We have absolutely NO IDEA how to do something like this.  Solution: they found us written instructions.  So...we jumped in, did a few experiments and ended up with these results.  If you want to repeat our efforts, click on the links to see how.

This first dress is made from an adult fitted T-shirt, and who doesn't have a few of those hanging in the closet that no longer fit properly?  Well, now they can serve a better purpose than cluttering up your closet, constantly reminding you that not all of your clothes are, in fact, wearable.  If you ask me, it looks far cuter on her than it ever did on me!


Cute as those are, we ended up doing these for Super Saturday.  Turns out, the possibilities for embellishing, etc. are limitless.  Cute, cute!

Alright, so I typed this tutorial myself- pictures and all (surprise!)- rather than using someone else's, but I can't figure out how to get a link posted on here.  If you are interested, leave a comment and I'll email you the step by step instructions.

Rag Quilt Bedspreads

These ones I did without a tutorial, and with some help from grandma Tina, so no link- sorry.  They took WAY more than one hour, and cost WAY more than they would to buy (probably), but in the end- they were worth it. They don't exactly follow my guidelines for this blog, but I had to include the finished products anyway.  Call them my crafting crowning achievement to this point, if you will.

Nursing Cover

Because every car seat canopy should have a matching nursing cover for the diaper bag, I made one to match.  See how here.

Car Seat Canopy

I used to have two lime/pink/brown flowers clipped onto the straps, but I can't for the life of me find where I've put them.  I made this before little Emma was born, and obviously she doesn't use it anymore, but still.  I made it.  See how here.