Father's Day Bunting

At about 9pm the night before Father's Day, I decided I wanted, no, NEEDED to decorate.

I had seen various versions of neck tie buntings, or garlands, or banners, or whatever and decided to just make a quick version my own way.

All I did was cut out two of each of the ties and then one piece of fusible web (the no-sew Heat and bond stuff.) I fused each of them together and then sewed some single fold bias tape to the top of the ties. Double fold bias tape would have given the banner a finished top edge, but I had some single fold lying around that I had no idea what else I would use it for. See? Quick. Easy. So cute.

And, my husband actually noticed. In fact, when he came home at 3am from work, it was the first thing he mentioned when he woke me up.

This project could be no sew if you pinned, ironed on, or glued the ties together.

Melinda's Photoshoot

My gorgeous friend, Melinda is having a baby and she asked me to take a few shots of her all preggo and such.

I am in no way a professional photographer, but I really enjoyed our little shoot.

I got to use my new 50mm fixed lens and it worked beautifully.

These photos are some of my favorites.

Lil' Man's Back Pack

We're in that stage where standing still for just one quick picture is, in fact, too much to ask.

That's okay. This post is more about the backpack anyhow.

This was my second attempt using this tutorial.

Of no fault of the pattern maker - I just didn't follow directions every well the first time.

I highly recommend actually using the interfacing (even if you are using a heavier weight home decor fabric) and cutting the long side strip first to make sure you have enough fabric.

My first attempt was made from a remnant of this same fabric. After messing it up - I went back to the store and bought a piece of the exact fabric at full price! :)

Oh well, Jake LOVES his backpack.

It is a fun little quick project.

I see many more in my future!

Abby Cadabby Tutu

On a whim one day, I decided to make a tutu.

I cut fabric for Hobby Lobby, and I get a lot of questions about how to make the tulle tutus that everyone is doing right now.

Since I don't have a girl, I didn't know.

I now know one way to make a tutu and I have answered many questions since.

I used two yards of tulle and cut it myself with my rotary cutter, but I do have plans to use the spools very soon in a Fourth of July variation!

Deciding that this tutu would be for my niece who is a Sesame Street fan, I made it in Abby Cadabby colors. Complete with a fairy wand!

This is the tutorial I referenced. Mostly for the wand.

(I corked those ribbons in the oven, another test I was running for customer questions.)

Jake was good enough to try on the tutu for me.

Just once.

My husband was not happy.

Yeah, I Rit Dyed My Couches

By request. I am showing you my newly dyed couches. The hubs and I bought these couches for $80 at a garage sale. As we were pulling up, I said, "Hunny! Are those the Ikea couches? If they are less than $100, we are SO getting them."

One borrowed trailer, bribed friend, and an afternoon later, they were in my house in all their STARK WHITE glory. :) No worries, right? We'll just go to Ikea and get some new slip covers. WRONG! These couches were in fact, Ikea. Emphasis on the were. As we found out, they were discontinued. Minor set back, but oh well. Ebay? Bemz? (The after-market Ikea stuff site) No. Nothing.

(Love Seat, Before)

Just when were about to give up complete home, my genius husband suggested dying the covers we already had. At first I was against it due to the high risk of failure, but then gave in.

I did some research on the internet and read almost anything there is to know about Rit Dying using the washing machine method. We predicted how much dye it would take and after 3 stores I gathered it all.

(Couch, Before - cell phone pic)

After discovering that our new high efficiency washer doesn't actually fill the drum like a standard machine, we moved on to plan b. This plan included a large outdoor garbage can, a hose, and a lot of stirring done by my amazing husband. (Man, how I wish I had a picture!)

First, we weighed all of the covers. At 16lbs we agreed that not all of that would be able to be free moving in any container, so we split the load by couch. The large one weighing 9lbs and the love seat 7lbs. We figured our ounces of dye to pounds of fabric ratio using the rit site and the amount of dye we had available to use.

While I was at work, and Jake was napping, CAMERON, yes, my. husband. Took a new, clean large garbage can and put it in my family room on top of tarp. Using a hose hooked to my kitchen sink, he filled the can with hot water and the dye. He stirred the covers in the dye for 30 minuted and then moved them to the washing machine to be washed and dried.

After hauling the can outside and dumping it out, he repeated the process with the other couch's covers. Crazy, I know.

(Couch, After)

We used the tan dye. I figured we should start light so that if we mess us we can always try again.

(Love Seat, After)

Is it completely perfect? No. But, it is great to have non-white couches and they are oh so comfy. I can't wait to make new pillows or to make them a little darker. (I haven't decided which one I want to do yet...)

The Cutting Table

This is the cutting table and storage of my dreams.

My hubs built it for me yesterday.

I am so excited!

The two cubical book cases are from Ikea. They are the Expedit line.

We saw this set-up in their showroom and I knew I had to have it.

The fabric cubes are from Target. They fit perfectly. Who would have thought?

They are their Itso line.

The red one has tools and commonly used items in it.

Another has kids crafts, another interfacings and battings.

On the other side are all my current projects in some bins from Walmart. They are by Sterilite.

The bottom fabric bins will soon be filled with fabric that I need to re-sort.

:)

A Gift for My Dad

Now, most people would think that giving your dad a bib for his birthday would be some kind of gag gift, but this is so not the case with this gift.

In fact, my dad asked for one! He wanted a "classy" bib. So I made him a suit. Check it out!

I used the Simplicity 2687 pattern, but modified it a bit.

He really liked it.