DIY Tooth fairy Pillow

Believe in the fairies

That make dreams come true,

Believe in the wonder

The stars and the moon

 

When my precious O got her first loose tooth, I began planning how I would make her tooth pillow for the Tooth Fairy to visit. I planned and I envisioned a dainty pillow with a tooth shaped pocket. Well, you know what happens when you plan, right? Yep, the precious Little wiggled that tooth right out before the Mommy had stitched up her vision (sigh). So, I rummaged around in the stash and found some O approved fabric for her special tooth pillow. It came together quite quickly (thankfully). This is how I did it.

Materials for Tooth Pillow

 Two 7x7 inch squares of fabric

One 7x3.5 inch piece of coordinating fabric for tooth pocket

16 inches of lace or ribbon for trim (if desired)

fiberfill or stuffing for the pillow

scissors

needle and coordinating thread

sewing machine

To begin, take your 7x3.5 inch fabric and fold it in half with right sides together.

Stitch the sides together, leaving room to turn the pocket right side out.

Pin your tooth pocket to the right side of one square of your pillow fabric, like this,

OR you could pin lace trim to the edges of the pocket, and then pin it to the fabric, like this.

Top stitch the pocket to the pillow fabric, starting at the top right side and finishing at the top left, leaving the top open to form the pocket.

 

In this pocket you will find
A teensy, tiny tooth of mine

 

So sweet. Their teeth are so TINY!!!

So, to assemble the pillow, place the remaining fabric square right side down over the pocket.

Line up the edges carefully and stitch all the way around your pillow, leaving about 2-3 inches open to turn your pillow right side out. Remember to clip your corners.

Turn your pillow right side out, stuff it to your liking and slip stitch the opening closed.

Look at that toothless grin! O is so happy because the tooth fairy came to visit twice in one week. Busy fairy.

  

In the misty darkness of early dawn,
The Tooth Fairy descends undetected.
 

I found the cute little poems here. Drag your mouse over the page, its a clever thing.

Do you believe in Fairies? We do. The Tooth Fairy even left sparkly pixie dust on the tooth money. MAGICAL!!!

Happy Tuesday to you!

Heaps of Love,

Shannon

Free Fabric Frenzy!!!!! - a giveaway

Whose Monday just got better?!?!

I don't think I've told you yet, but we're moving in about 3 weeks.

In an attempt to start organizing things...

I went through my fabric stash and found tons of fabric to give to you!!!!!

It's all home decor weight fabric.

I separated it into three groupings - they have about the same amount of fabric each.

The pieces are all different sizes but they are big enough to make something interesting such as:

a pillow, table runner, or bag.

So here's how you enter:

First Entry: 

Comment on this post and tell me which grouping you like best.

Second Entry: 

Become a follower of this blog 

(if you're already a follower you'll get a second entry automatically)

Third Entry:  

Like me on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did :)

Fourth Entry:

Tweet/Facebook/Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment letting me know you did :)

This giveaway will be open until Sunday July 17th at midnight eastern time.  I will announce the winner on Monday the 18th to kick off my summer series

"Cure the Summertime Blues".

If you're email isn't in your profile, please leave it in your comment so I can contact the winner - otherwise you won't get your awesome fabric!!!

Good luck!

xoxo

jessica

The "Too Hot To Shop Shirt"

Need to boost your wardrobe, but really don't feel like loading up the kids and heading to the store?

Grab a box of popsicles for your little ones and whip this shirt up in under an hour.

It's basically a pillowcase dress turned into a shirt.

Before you turn your nose up at that - look at this shirt for sale at Anthropologie.

$68

So I basically copied that, but when I finished I wasn't happy with the way it was hanging.  I added the band around the bottom, and made it fit snugly over my hips.  You could make it with or without that step.

Here's what you'll need to make your own:

1 yard of fabric

5" x 45" of contrasting fabric (or wide ribbon) for straps

4" x the circumference of your hips for the bottom band

sewing machine/thread

scissors

measuring tape

Step 1:  Cut two rectangles - the desired length x your bust measurement +10".  

My rectangles were 19" x 46".

Step 2:  Turn them right sides together and zig zag or serge the sideseams, 

stopping about 8" from the top (to provide armholes).

Step 3: Finish the armhole edges by folding the raw edge under 1/8" then under 1/8" again.  

Topstitch it in place.

Step 4:  Make the casing for the straps - fold the top under 1/4" then again 1 1/2".  Press it, then top stitch it in place.  If you are not adding the strip along the bottom, hem your top by pressing the bottom edge under 1/4" then another 1/4".  Top stitch in place.

Step 5:  If you are making the band around the bottom, you will need to take in the sideseam.  Measure your hip circumference - mine is 39" - flip it inside out and mark that measurement along the bottom of the shirt.  Sew from the armhole down to your mark - like this:

Step 6:  Make the straps - ribbon is the easy route here, but if you want to use fabric simply fold the strip right sides together length wise and stitch down the length then turn and press.

Use a large safety pin to feed it through the casing.  Stitch the ends together, then hide that seam in the casing.

I didn't want the straps sliding all around, so once I had the straps to the right length I stitched them in place.

Step 7:  If you are adding the band, sew it to the bottom of the shirt right sides together.

Press it, then hem the bottom.

I know it looks like a pillowcase dress hanging there - but especially with that band around the bottom - it doesn't look like that once you have it on.

 

Happy sewing and happy weekend!

xoxo

jessica

*Inspired Homemaking* - wreaths

Everybody loves a good wreath.  It's one of the easiest ways to change your seasonal decor, and a homemade wreath is a wonderful housewarming gift.  You could also give one to an engaged couple as a shower gift.  So here's a roundup of some adorable wreaths and the tutorials to go with them!

Make this adorable burlap pinwheel wreath at Just Sew Sassy.

I loooove this vintage sheet wreath tutorial at In Color Order.

Delia Creates has a tutorial for this gorgeous wreath.

The Pretty Poppy shows how to make this sweet little wreath for $8!

happy wreath making! 
(If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from the sidebar)
xoxo
jessica

Cure the Summertime Blues...

you know the old song

"there ain't no cure for the summertime blues..."

Well, this year there is!  You know how it goes - all the excitement of the Fourth is over...it's really hot...school hasn't started yet...and everyone can get kinda cranky.  

So, I am going to be hosting a guest series called 

Here is my lovely lineup of guests:

July 18th - Shannon from Sew Homegrown

July 19th  - Jo-Anna from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

July 20th - Elizabeth from Simple Simon and Co.

July 21st - Melissa from Love Affair with my Brother

July 22nd - Anna from Ask Anna...

July 25th - Beverly from Flamingo Toes

July 26th - Tristin from Two Girls Being Crafty

July 27th - liZ from Simple Simon and Company

July 28th - Sunny from Love Affair with my Brother

July 29th - me from here

It's a great group of talented gals who will be sharing many many ways to beat those summertime blues!  

We'll have home decor ideas, recipes, clothing, kid's activities, and much more!

So if you're feeling generous, grab a button for the sidebar of your blog and spread the news - it should be a great two weeks.
xoxo
jessica

<a border="0" href="http://www.sewhomegrown.com/2011/07/cure-summertime-blues.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac39/sewhomegrown/sbutton.jpg" /></a><br />

Seeds Sprout and Minds Grow

The girls and I have been rather busy this summer. We have been swimming, going to the movies, going on adventures, exploring new places to play and meeting new friends. We have really been taking advantage of our break from school (all except for the sleeping-in part sigh).

However, the teacher in me wants to keep those little minds sharp, so we have been working on a fun science project that includes observation,writing, and coloring. We have watched a seed germinate and sprout. This project can be used and adapted for any age. It's so exciting too!

What you will need:

a seed (bean seeds are good, we used a cotton seed)

a ziploc sandwhich baggie

a paper towel

water

tape

sunny window

 

To start, fold your paper towel into fourths. Next, wet your paper towel and squeeze most of the water. It needs to be a little more than damp but not dripping. Place the wet paper towel in the baggie. If you need to manipulate the towel a bit to fit inside the baggie, that is fine. You just need to be able to close the baggie but not completely. The seed needs to gets air. Now place the seed in the bag. The seed needs to be between the wet paper towel and the baggie, so that you can see the seed. Tape the bag to a sunny window with the paper towel side of the bag facing the window and the seed side of the bag facing inside (you).

Now have a conversation with your child about being able to observe (scientific term) or watch the seed grow, like it would in the ground. Talk about what they think they may see each day. What do they think will happen first. Observe the seed in the bag and ask them to draw (and write) what they see.

We made seed journals out of folded copy paper. The girls stapled the paper in the middle and each day they record in their journals by drawing and writing what they see and how the seed changes.

The seed will sprout rather quickly, so the children see a change in the seed in the next day or two.

This is Day 6 of our seed. The seed sprouts fast. It is important to remember to observe your seed around the same time each day. We always do our observations and journaling after breakfast.

Around Day 4 you can introduce another scientific term, prediction (or guess). The child can guess what change they will see in the seed. Explain to them clearly that it is a guess and that it is OK to be wrong. If the child is wrong, they just get to learn something new. If the child is right, they can continue to observe and predict more of what changes the seed will make.

Once the stem pops from the seed shell, you can transplant the seed to a cup with soil in it, to continue to watch the plant grow.

Science with children is always fun and wondrous when they can see change happen. Growing a radish is also a good plant to try as they grow quickly and the children can eat the "vegetable" of their labor.

Hope you are having loads of fun this summer. Good luck with your sproutlings!

Heaps of Love,

Shannon

A Woman's Prerogative...

...is to change her mind right?

Well I promise this will be the last change ever in my little blogging life.

Coming soon, I am switching BACK to Sew Homegrown. 

After requests from many of you and after some research online I have decided this is the best thing to do. 

If you have joined me since I've been Make It Lovely - I certainly don't want to confuse you. 
The content here will be exactly the same and the Facebook actually never changed..so it will be the same

- Sew Homegrown on Facebook.

So the new(and final) web address will be

www.sewhomegrown.com

Thanks for bearing with me.
This change will be coming in the next few days.

If you have any questions for me or comments feel free to write me an email and I can explain more if you would like.
xoxo

jessica