Snow White Dress

My daughter's favorite princess these days is Snow White. I finally got this dress done for her and now the only problem I have is getting her to take it off!

I don't have a real tutorial for this but I thought I would still share how I made it.

I started with an existing Snow White dress that my mom found at Goodwill. It was in sad shape and one size too big for my daughter. I also found this red satin blouse for $1 at Goodwill because I knew I could use it to construct new sleeves, a cape, and a matching headband.

 For the cape, I cut out the back piece of the red blouse and hemmed the edges. For the collar, I cut out a collar shape from white satin and ironed on some craft fuse to the back to make it really stiff and stand up. I sewed the cape onto the collar and then the collar onto the sides of the shoulders of the dress.

I did not attach the collar all the way around the back of the dress because I wanted my daughter to be able to get into it easily. So, under the cape is the opening the back of the dress for her to get in and out.

For the sleeves I took some blue satin I already had and some red shirt material and used this tutorial from Craftiness Is Not Optional. Instead of putting a band around the bottom, I hemmed the raw edge under and then sewed elastic onto the edge (pulling it tight as I went so that it would pucker).

The tulle on the dress was ripping everywhere so I cut it off at the waist to leave the satin skirt on it's own.

For the headband, I covered an old headband with some red satin and then used this tutorial from Smile and Wave to make a big bow on top.  

 I ripped out the old stitching on the bodice of the dress and sewed on new silver trim that matched the glittery sleeves a little better.

Oh, and don't forget the red sparkle shoes;)



Happy Friday!

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Tatertots and Jello

Sunburst Granny Square Blanket

I finally finished my daughter's granny square blanket! It was my last project that I really wanted to finish before we have the baby.

(And yes...my 3 year old is still in her crib...she absolutely loves it!  Oh well, we will tackle the issue before she turns 4 in the spring:) For now I couldn't care less...Mama needs her sleep!)

I ended up only using 72 squares. The blanket was heavy enough already so I didn't want to add any more. I used this pattern....but only rows 1-4 and then a single crochet row around each square. No square is the same...so after 72 variations I was running out of ideas for color combinations:)

To assemble the blanket, I sewed each square together instead of crocheting them together.

Here is a view of the back of the blanket:

I also added a double crochet edge to the entire blanket once the squares were sewn together.

I love the way it turned out...and I also love that I am done with it! I am glad I went with a more random design. It's perfect for the little girl who's favorite color changes every day:) So, that was my last project to get done before this baby get here!

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Sugar and Dots

Tatertots and Jello

Fabric Covered Baby Wipes Case

I've had a string of crafty failures this week which has left me with a "blah" feeling. So I decided I needed a quick project to boost my crafting self confidence. So that's how we get to the fabric covered baby wipes case:

My daughter isn't a baby anymore...but we still have a case of wipes in her bathroom and the downstairs bathroom because they are still just so darn handy! After staring at this Disney princess case for over a year, I just couldn't take it anymore and something needed to change.

There are many tutorials online on how to go about redoing a wipes case and this is how I chose to do it.

I started with my case, some white acrylic paint, and a foam brush.

The material I wanted to use was a little too thin to cover the original image on the case, so I had to paint it white. If you are using a thick material or an already white case...then you can skip this step.

Next, I cut out a strip that was a few inches bigger than the wipes case in both directions. I cut my piece to be 25"x4"...but I recommend cutting yours 25" by at least 6" because I didn't have quite enough for the back.

Now, I brushed a coat of Mod Podge onto the case and started wrapping it with my fabric from the front (starting with the center of my fabric strip).

With more Mod Podge I worked around both sides. The case curved a bit so to avoid bubbles, I just pulled the fabric tight and trimmed the top edge as needed to be flush.

I used hot glue on the bottom of the case for the bottom edge of the fabric. I folded in the corners kind of like wrapping a present.

Here is a view of the back. I applied a little Mod Podge to the seam as well. You can see where I didn't have quite enough fabric at the bottom to accommodate the curve of the box. It doesn't bother me too much though since it will be facing the wall.

At this point you could also apply Mod Podge to the outside of the fabric to seal it, but I liked the fabric texture and decided not to.

Now this can go back on top of the toilet tank in my daughter's bathroom looking a little nicer than the princesses before it:)

Easy Applique Shirt

I've shown how to make an applique before when posting about my daughter's Cinderella silhouette shirt . Here is another basic "how to" lesson on making an easy applique...because they are just so much fun:)

I found this two pack of onesies at Walmart a few weeks ago for $1 (yes, $1 for the pair!) and decided they would make really cute appliques on bigger shirts for my daughter. She is in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse phase right now and loves everything with Mickey and friends on it.

I also used a plain t-shirt I found at the thrift store for $.50 and some super hold Heat N Bond (in the red package).

1. Start by cutting out the image you want to turn into the applique. I cut a large circle around it so I can cut in closer later. Also, cut out a piece of Heat N Bond the same size as your fabric.

2. Iron the Heat N Bond to the wrong side of your image per the package instructions.

3. Now go back and cut out the image with more detail, peel off the paper backing to the Heat N Bond, and iron it to the front of your shirt.

4. The next step is to sew around the edges of your new applique. If you don't do this...the Heat N Bond will eventually peel off your shirt. I like to sew around with just a straight stitch so that the edges curl a bit after washing...but if that's not your style, then sew around with a tight zig zag stitch.

Here is a view of the inside of the shirt:

That's it! Easy, right? Put the new shirt on your little cutie and have them love you forever:) My daughter had to tell everyone at the grocery store that she was wearing her new Minnie Mouse shirt:)

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Sugar and Dots

DIY Play Kitchen (from a nightstand)

I am finally getting around to posting the play kitchen my dad (and husband) and I made for my daughter! I am really ashamed at how long it has taken me to finish this. Oh well...it's done now, right?

I started with a nightstand that I got off craigslist for $5 and pulled the drawers out. Luckily there was a board between both drawers..so we didn't have to build one for the "oven" bottom. My dad took the front off one of the drawers and attached it to front of the nightstand with hinges at the bottom so it could swing down like an oven door.

The backing of the kitchen is just a large piece of wood with two smaller pieces nailed in through the back for shelves. My dad already had the wood in his scrap pile...but I also priced it at Home Depot for about $5.

Here is a view of the top. I used a wooden letter "J" from Joanns for the faucet and a round cake pan from the dollar store from the sink. I didn't want anything too deep, otherwise nothing would fit in the oven compartment. Also, here are the burners I showed earlier. The burner knobs were also made with pre cut round pieces of wood. I just layered them, glued them, and then cut pieces of a dowel to put down the center to make them look more like knobs. The faucet knobs were something I already had. All the knobs are attached through the bottom with a screw and a washer so that they can turn.

Remember these cups, saucers, and canisters? I love they way they look on the shelves:)

The nightstand had two drawers...so for the bottom part, we took the drawer out and I made a little curtain to go across it for storage. My daughter keeps her play food in there. I attached it on the sides with sticky velcro so that it can come off. I got the material while in California. I think it adds to the retro look of the kitchen.

Finally, on the inside of the "oven" we painted everything with silver paint:

I really love the way it turned out! My daughter loves playing with it too...so that makes me happy:) I am in the process of making her some more accessories to go with the kitchen for Christmas such as oven mitts and dish towels....but more on that later:)

Price:

nightstand: $5

spray paint (2 cans): $6.00

wood for burners and knobs: $3.50

letter "J" for faucet: $1.00

material for curtain: $1.50

cake pan for sink: $1.00

all other materials I already had

Total: $18.00

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Sugar and Dots

Someday Crafts

Sew Much Ado

Tatertots and Jello

Vintage Mickey and Minnie Birthday Party

My daughter's 3rd birthday was back in March and we had a vintage style Mickey and Minnie party for her. I'm going to be honest and confess that I haven't posted these pictures because I wasn't really happy with the way the party turned out. We had the party in February and I was still a mess (read the above "miscarriage" label if you care to know more) and had just gotten over a flu bug that week. Oh yeah..and I was also pregnant again...but I just didn't know it yet! Now I can look back on the pictures and be happy with it because it made my daughter happy. Sometimes we need not be our own worse "mommy critic", right?

For dessert, I made cupcakes for everyone. They are the easy way out and I love them for it:) No cutting cake and hoping there is enough for everyone!

I found the cute blue polka dot wrappers at Michael's and made little paper flowers for the tops (make sure to let everyone know not to eat them!). The ears were thin mint candies and I just used canned chocolate frosting and a large star tip to ice them. I was going to punch out little "buttons" for the front of the Mickey cupcakes...but didn't have time.

I just ordered some pizza for lunch and this was our "dessert" table:

I drew the Mickey and Minnie myself and put out my daughter's favorite sweet treats: licorice, M & M's and Hershey Kisses.

The cake for her to blow out her candles with was just something simple I whipped up. I baked half a cake mix in a bowl and then flipped it over and iced it. The "ears" are two rice cakes (also iced) and pressed into the cake with toothpicks. Then I just added the silk flower for an embellishment.

I made a Mickey tray for the candy but gluing two small black paper plates to one large one creating a Mickey silhouette. I bought the red and silver Hershey kisses after Valentine's day and picked out all the red, yellow, and blue M & M's from regular bags. (BTW: There are a LOT more green and orange ones compared to these colors. A weird fact that I now know...)

Oh, and the "cake stand" was a round cylinder Tupperware container that I covered with some blue and white polka dot material to look like Minnie's skirt.

For decorations I got some coordinating latex balloons, grouped them together, and taped some Mickey and Minnie pictures to the strings.

I used black paper plates, blue polka dot napkins, and red cups for lunch. On the red cups, I cut out white circles (from sticker paper) and made "buttons" for the front to make them look like Mickey's pants.

I also printed out some personalized labels for the water and juice boxes for the kids.

For my daughter's party outfit, I made her a little dress out of the same material that I used on the cake stand and pulled the red bows off the shoes she wore with her Minnie costume.

Lastly, my party favor bags were super simple. They consisted of handmade coloring books (seriously the BEST favor idea I have ever seen that I found at Prudent Baby), crayons, and little boxes of candy. I found the candy at Walmart during Valentine's Day.

For the coloring books I started with these books I found in the $1 section at Target. Let me tell you, I was SO excited to find an all vintage Mickey coloring book right before my daughter's party! It was meant to be:)

I tore out the pages and trimmed the edges (to get rid of the copyright stamps at the bottom).

Then I made a folded flap for the side out of card stock and used a zigzag stitch to sew them together. I didn't take the time to put covers on them...but I actually liked them that way.

For the crayons, I bought a large box of crayons and divided them up into different groups. I made the little bags by sewing together a little pouch made of wax paper. It was just a nice twist on a traditional crayon box. I then put all the items in fun polka dot party bags that I had found on clearance at Target.

So...that was our fantastic vintage Mickey and Minnie party! I'm glad I finally shared it on here. My daughter STILL talks about it...so I know she was happy that day and that's all that matters.

Plus, now she is already planning her Tinkerbell party for next spring...yikes!

Baby Clothes Quilt: Part 4...Finished!!

My daughter's baby clothes quilt is finally finished! It was a lot more work than I anticipated...but also SO much fun.

Once I got all my squares sewed together and the seams ironed on the back, it was time finish it up.

I took my backing material (a twin sheet) and laid that face up on the floor, then my squares went on top of that (face down) and then finally the batting on top of it all. I used the lowest loft batting by the yard at Joanns.

I pinned all the way around and stitched all the way around as well..leaving a 12" opening so I could turn it right side out.

Once I turned it right side out, I folded in my opening and top stitched around the entire blanket with about a 1/4" seam. I did it this way because I didn't want to put binding on the ends of the blanket.

Now I had a blanket...but it needed to be secured in certain spots to keep the layers from shifting.

Instead of quilting this in the traditional sense (a lot of stitching over the entire blanket)...I opted for a less noticeable way of securing the blanket in even spots. There are some embellishments (buttons, pockets, and bows) on this blanket so I wasn't sure how quilting it all over would work or look in the end and I didn't want to distract from the clothing.

I measured out equal spots to sew and pinned those areas. Basically I pinned the meeting corners of every other square (in every other row). Then, I sewed a small straight line on that seam where the squares met. It was very simple and is not noticeable from the front.

That completed my first baby clothes quilt!

I tried to cut out as much from each piece of clothing that had the most character such as pockets, bows, or buttons.

Here is the back of the quilt. I found this flat sheet at the thrift store and it had polka dots in all colors so I thought it complemented the front of the blanket nicely without distracting from it.

Here you can see my little stitches to keep the blanket from shifting:

I'm SO happy with the way it turned out! I also can't believe I actually finished it! It was one of those things on my crafting "to do" list that I am so happy to cross off. Cutting the clothes up was by far the hardest part (emotionally)...but seeing it all put together into something that can last years and years is so worth it.

I have to admit the first night I finished it, I sat on the couch and cuddled with it:) I know my daughter is only 3 (going on 30), but as she grows older and older I am finding out that they only stay little for a short amount of time. One day I will get to make one for our little guy too:)

Price:

clothes: already had

2 yds lightweight fusible interfacing (for stabilizing knit materials): $2.50

2 yds of low loft batting: $3.99 (with 50% sale)

polka dot backing material (thrifted twin sheet): $1.50

Total: $7.99

But really...this blanket it priceless:)

I'm linked to:

Tatertots and Jello

Sugar and Dots