{DIY} Confetti Garland

Do you ever have left over confetti?  I always do, and most of the time I just don't have the heart to throw it away (does that make me a packrat?...oh well..).  So, I was digging through my Halloween decorations the other day and I came across a bag of old Halloween confetti.  It is probably about 6 years old - yikes.  So, I decided to put it to good use and create this sweet little bat garland.  

Simply thread your machine with two different colors of thread - I used silver and black - and then feed the confetti through as you sew.  

Obviously this works best with the larger pieces of confetti.  You can make the garland as long as you like, just keep feeding the confetti through.  I suggest using a new needle - and then throw it away when you're finished, this process will make it dull. 

I found that adorable printable at The Graphics Fairy.

This garland was the perfect addition to this little corner -it's starting to feel a little spooky in here!

Happy first few days of fall!

xoxo

jessica

Our Halloween

This post is really for my hubby - who's away at training - but of course, I assume everyone will enjoy looking at our beautiful daughter ;)

I'd love to tell you that I made at least part of her costume...but it's just not true.

I don't think she minded.

It's good to be three.  and we are very three.

We ate our traditional chili.  

Every Halloween for as long as I can remember :)

Dora made an appearance on the pumpkin.

We hope yours was full of treats!

 

xoxo

jessica and charlotte

Hey, Pumpkin!

Lots of pumpkin things floating around these days!  

Really wonderful looking recipes.  

 (although nothing looks as wonderful as that sweet girl)

So you know, I started wondering - what's in pumpkins?  

 Vitamins?  Minerals?  

So here's what I found, plus a roundup of some delicious and healthy recipes!

Pumpkins contain a lot of vitamin A (the orange color is a big hint - think carrots)

They are full of fiber

low in calories (49 in a cup)

also contain vitamin C and potassium

and pumpkins are a fruit.  Did you know that?  I didn't.

So go ahead and try some pumpkin tonight!

Pumpkin Soup

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Shake

Pumpkin Spice Pull-apart Bread

Gluten Free Pumpkin Sweet Potato Mash

Grain Free Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Happy cooking, and hope you have a lovely fall day!

xoxo

jessica

Halloween Outfit Part 2: {DIY} Tulle Skirted Leggings

These are so simple to make - you can do it in about 15 minutes.  I didn't even make an actual skirt.  Anyone can do this!! 

Here's what you'll need:

Step 1:  Cut the tulle into 10" x 10" squares.  Overlap two squares and pinch them together at the top.

Pin them along the waistband of the leggings.

Step 2:  Put elastic thread onto your bobbin and regular thread through the needle of your machine.  Sew the tulle on - just under the waistband.

Be sure to sew back a few stitches and then forward when you reach the end - otherwise the elastic thread will come undone.

And that's it!  Now, from what I've read, you should really hand wash tulle.  So I guess these aren't really roll around in the mud pants :)  But they sure are cute.

Happy Sewing and Happy Monday!

xoxo

jessica



Halloween Outfit Part One: {DIY} Applique T-shirt

Here's the great thing about this project: there's no construction of clothing. 

It's all embellishments.  That means it's EASY!

The first little dip in temperature had me feeling all fallish and halloweenish(?), so I headed out to the fabric store to scope out the Halloween fabric.  I came upon this adorable stuff from Riley Blake Designs by My Mind's Eye "Boo to You" - orange scatter. 
I knew those little creatures would make the perfect applique for a Halloween T-shirt for Charlotte!
This is a great way to get a one-of-a-kind look for your little one, and they can help you design it!
Charlotte picked out each little character for her shirts.

I don't know what really gave me the idea for the Tulle Skirted Leggings, but I'm kinda in love with them.  I'll put up a tutorial on Monday for those.
 But today we're going to focus on the shirts.
Here's the supply list.

Let me say - you really need to try to find the Steam-a-seam stuff. It is a.ma.zing!
 Really made this whole process easier.  I'll explain how to use it - keep reading.
I also added that little ruffle trim - it's actually elastic with a ruffle along the edge.  I found it at my fabric store, but I'm not sure what brand it is.

Step 1:  Select some characters from the fabric and cut them out.  Then peel back the paper portion of the Steam-a-Seam and lay your fabric pieces on top - press them into the S.a.S. with your finger.

Cut out each shape exactly the way you would like it to appear on for the applique.

Now you need to peel the paper off the fabric. 

You will see a sticky webbing magically left on the fabric.

Position your appliques where you would like them to live.  You can stick them to the shirt, even try it on, and if you don't like it just peel it off and restick it until you get it right. 

I'm telling you I love this stuff. 

 I put the center applique on first - 2" from the neckline.

Once you have it where you want it, iron it to the shirt.

Step 2:  Okay - now it's time to sew. 

Place the stabilizer behind the appliques and the layer of the shirt they are stuck to.

Set your machine to a zig-zag stitch.  Then adjust the width and length of the stitch.  I found a width of 3 and a length of .5 worked well for me, but I would suggest playing around on your machine first until you find the width you like.

Take  your time and stitch around the edge of each applique.  Be sure that the back layer of the shirt stays out of the way, and that the shirt doesn't bunch.

Step 3:  Clip the threads and gently pull off the stabilizer.

And that's it!!  Personalized, adorable little shirts. 

I'm dying to make more - it's kind of addicting. 

Hope you give it a try!

Have a great weekend.

xoxo

jessica

Pumpkin - 2 year old style

Last Saturday we went to the farmer's market and bought this HUGE pumpkin.  Instead of carving it, we decided to do a more toddler friendly decoration.  Ryan printed out a pic of Dora.  Then he put masking tape all over one side of the pumpkin.  Then he taped the picture to the tape.

Using an exacto knife, he cut out the outline of Dora - cutting through the paper and the tape-peeling away the fragments as he went.  Then all three of us got out the permanent markers and paint pens and went to town.

When we were done, we peeled all of the tape off- and it left us with this lovely outline of Dora! 

Charlotte thinks it is super cool. 

The variations of this could be endless - so use your imagination and have fun! 
If you make one of these, upload the pic to the flickr pool!

This year's costume...

recently Charlotte has been running around the house dressed up as a pirate.

When we ask her what kind of pirate she is she says, "a princess pirate".  So that is what we decided to dress up as for Halloween - a Princess Pirate.  Here's what it looks like:

Honestly the only thing I made was the crown/hat/eye patch.  The little red costume was a hand-me-down from Shannon's girls - thank you!  Upload pics of your costumes to the Flickr pool - I would love to have some ideas for years to come!
I also wanted to let you know that after the Ruffled Scarf Tutorial - I had a request for a custom ruffled scarf to purchase.  If you enjoyed that scarf, but are so busy you don't have time to make one - I would be happy to take orders.  You can either send me an email, or send me a custom request on my Etsy shop.  Here's the one I made for my first order:

Have a great thursday- it's almost the weekend!
jessica

Dashing Dryer Sheet Ghosts

Maybe this is taking "green" to a little extreme, but I have been "dying" (sorry) to make ghosts from dryer sheets.  Finally today I think I found a not-too-tacky way to do it. 

This would be a great craft to do with your little ones. (Plus it's extra motivation to do some laundry)  Here's what you will need:  dryer sheets, ribbon, hot glue gun/hot glue, sparkly black pom poms (available at any craft store). 

Find a corner of the dryer sheet and make it the "top" of the head.  About an inch down, pinch the dryer sheet to make the head.

Tie a ribbon around it in a little bow or knot.  Now, hot glue the pom poms onto the head to make eyes. 

Once you have finished all your ghosts (I made 6), lay out your background ribbon.  Hot glue the back of the bows to the ribbon. 

Hang in a happy place - we picked our window because we liked the way the sun shone through the ghosts - spooky!

Have a great weekend!
jessica