Sewing 101 and a Christmas Idea

I have come to find out that many of you are young mom's, either wanting to learn how to sew, or just barely beginning. I think that is so great! So, in honor of you, I am posting a tutorial for the easiest thing in the world that you can sew..... a pillowcase.

And.....stay tuned at the end of the tutorial for a fun Christmas idea you can use this pillow case for. So, let's get started.....

Most store bought regular size pillow cases measure about 24" x 19".

You will need:

• 1 rectangle, for your main fabric, measuring 20" x 38".
• 1 rectangle of fabric (red in my case) measuring 38" x 8"
• 1 rectangle of fabric (green in my case) measuring 38" x 1.5"
  

Next you will lay the red and the green strips out and fold them in half (wrong sides together) so that they now measure 38" x 4" (red) and 38" x 3/4" (green). Iron them with a nice crisp crease.

Pin the two together as shown with the folded edge facing up, the raw edges together. If you would like you could baste them very close to the edge or....

...Skip that part and lay them on top of the 38" side of your big rectangle (right sides together) and sew all three pieces together about 1/4" from the edge, as shown below.

When you are finished it will look like this. Give it another once over with the iron, this will make it lay nice and flat once it's finished. You should now have one big 38" x 24" rectangle
.

Fold that in half with right sides together. Sew along the bottom and the long side, obviously leaving the red side open for the pillow. There you have it. The easiest thing to sew!

HERE'S YOUR CHRISTMAS IDEA.......

Every year I come up with some sort of fun "gimmick" (that's what the kids call it) that will get them excited about serving each other. After all that's what Christmas is about and if you can't be nice to the people in your own home then what's the point of being nice to anybody else. That seems kind of hypocritical to me.

So, tonight for family night, I introduced the kids to the "gotcha pillow" (oh yeah, there was eye rolling!!! but also smiling and laughing, so we're all good). Here's how the "gotcha pillow" works. I will start it tomorrow by doing some sort of kind deed for someone in the family. When I'm done I will slip the pillow case on their bed pillow (kind of like saying "gotcha!"). It will then be their turn to do a kind deed for someone else and give them the pillow case.

My prediction is this .... they will humor me for about 2 weeks, then we will slowly forget about it. We'll find the pillow case next season when we unpack the Christmas boxes and someone will say, "Hey mom, wasn't this last years gimmick?" But that's OK, because one day when they're parents I KNOW they will be asking, "Do you still have that gotcha pillow? Can I borrow it?"

Tear Jerker Giveaway

I am an adoptive mom. I am naturally drawn to childless couples, birthmom's, and adopted children....I just am. So, last week I was stopped in my tracks during Studio 5 when the following segment aired. (You have to watch the tail end of an add before the real segment comes on...sorry about that).

I was so touched by Kelly's positive attitude that before they could move on to the next story I was on her blog asking if I could introduce her to you. Not only did she say I could share her story, but she told me she would like to offer you a giveaway! The winner may choose the card design of their choice and Kelly will email you the pdf file and send you a disc so that you can have them professionally printed or print them out yourself.

HOW TO ENTER: Check out her blog and her etsy shop and tell me what you think. That's all you have to do to enter. You can get an extra entry by facebooking or tweeting about Kelly. I really want to help her get the word out...not just about her cards, but even more so about her desire for a child. Somewhere out there, there is a birthmom who would be the luckiest girl ever to find Kelly and her cute husband.

Make sure that you leave a comment about your initial entry and one about your extra entry. Please have an email address in one of your comments so that I can get you and Kelly together.

GOOD LUCK! Giveaway ends Friday Dec 4 at 10:00 pm

$100 Gift Card!

I'm totally breaking my holiday rule (no bobbity-blogging over the long holiday weekend), but I really need to let you locals in on this.

You know how I've been getting ready for Mindy Mae's Market? Well I just found out that there is a $100 gift card to Mindy Mae's Clinton show on Pinching Your Pennies. Check it out here.

This is going to be one amazing gift show. It is so big that they are using TWO model homes to house all of the booths. Click on Mindy Mae's button on my left sidebar to see some of the vendors.

I'm going to cross my fingers that one of my readers wins the gift card.... how cool would that be? GOOD LUCK!

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving. See you on Monday. Don't for get to enter Budz and Blossoms giveaway, it ends Friday night.

Hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving thought. I hope you watch it to the end. It makes me a little tearful every time I watch it. It is sweet.

While The Bread Sticks Baked.....

...We made some leg warmers.

(just that fast)

Liesl found this bright, big, bulky sweater at the D.I.

She bought it, not because it was cute, but because she saw

something else in it. Leg warmers and a sweater vest.

So, we cut off the sleeves.

Zig-zagged the raw edge. This was one loosely woven sweater.

We then turned the zig-zagged edge under about an inch and
a half. If she had wanted them to stay up I would have slipped
some wide elastic in the casing. But she wanted them to
slouch down so we just left them with a wide hem.

And before the dinger dinged (bread sticks remember)
......she had some leg warmers.

It's The Season Of Bows!

So I thought a bow giveaway would be appropriate.

Let me introduce you to Chandi, from Budz and Blossoms. There are lots of bow ladies, but she is THE bow lady around these parts. You can find her booth at every craft fair, Raspberry Days at Bear Lake, Peach Days in Brigham City, Cherry Days here in North Ogden (we're kind of a fruity bunch aren't we?). Where ever there is a craft fair you will find Buds and Blossoms. And of course.....you can find her on etsy.

The thing that makes Chandi unique is that you are absolutely assured a quality product from her. She heat seals the ends of every ribbon and attaches them super securely.

So, in honor of bow season.....lets give one away, shall we?

To enter to win you must do the following

• visit her shop and then comment back here on your favorite bow.
• make sure you leave an email address in your comment so that I can reach you

For extra entries you can

• facebook or tweet about this giveaway
• follow my blog
• heart her etsy shop

Make sure that you comment for every entry, that's the only way random.org can count you! This giveaway will end Friday the 27th at 10:00 pm.

GOOD LUCK!

All Different Kinds Of Creative

This little gal, A.K.A. Grandma is super great at creating memories for her family. Every year she makes a room full of gingerbread houses. The Saturday after Thanksgiving we all gather in her giant great room to decorate them. One of the funnest traditions ever!

Not only does she share her baking talent with us, many of these will go to families in the neighborhood so that they can make a masterpiece as well.

THANKS GRANDMA.....I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE YOU WHEN I GROW UP!

She's A Winner!

Julie is the winner of this weeks giveaway!

And she really is a winner....I know this girl!

Grammie will be emailing you to work out the details.

Congrats!

Ruffle Neck Onesie

It seems as though the whole sewing world is making knit ruffles these days.

I often wonder who comes up with idea's. My personal opinion is that there are no original idea's. One idea spawns a thought in another crafter, who tweaks it, which inspires another crafter to tweak it again, etc. etc. I love watching things like this evolve, I think it is so interesting.

So, here's a sneak peak at my tweak. I've been rufflin' my guts out getting ready for Mindy Mae's Market on Dec 4-5. These ruffles are actually made from ribbed knee high stockings. Go figure! Cut strips about an inch and a half wide. Sew the ends together to create one long strip, then all you have to do is bast down the center and pull your string. The trick to making it look so fluffy is to hand stitch the ruffle onto the onesie. That way there are no machine stitches to be seen. I would love to see what ruffley tweak you're working on....leave me a link.

Last day to enter for Grammies jewelry giveaway! Click button on the left.

The Girls Are Going To Go Ga-Ga!

I met a friend in Salt Lake for lunch today and decided to stop by, the highly RAVED about, Material Girls fabric shop. All I can say is... OH MY! I'm sure my tongue was waggin' and drool was flying as my head swished this way and that trying to take it all in.

I found this adorable boot pattern by Lila Tueller and had to buy it.

Luckily Liesl and Erika don't read this blog or they would know one of their Christmas presents. These boots just scream Liesl and Erika. I can't start them though until I finish all my Mindy Mae's Market stuff. I've been having fun will all kinds of new designs for Mindy Mae's, but now I can't wait to be done with it all so that I can start this project.

I think I have crafters A.D.D. --- I should be medicated (or would that be fabricated?)

Great Teacher Gift

Every year I give the same thing to our children's teachers (when they are in elementary school anyway, there are just too many teachers once they hit jr high)... I give them a rice pack....just in case my kids give them headaches! (Except for the one year that Big B's 4th grade teacher got a roll of duct tape, but that's another story for another day! :)

What is a rice pack? It is a cloth bag filled with

rice, which you heat in the microwave, to soothe

aches and pains, or just warm up cold toes.

This is Mrs. Johnson Christmas gift this year.

It's easy, cute and contains no calories.

I thought I would share with you how to make one.

Decide what motif you want on the front. Iron a piece of 'wonder under' on the back side of your fabric, draw your motif and cut it out. I am making each of our kids one to stick in the toe of their stockings this year. Theirs will have their initials on them because we fight over rice packs at our house.
I zig-zagged a stem, peeled the 'wonder under' off the back of my apple and leaf then ironed them in the center of a flannel rectangle.

Top stitch around each piece.

Pin right sides of two pieces of flannel together. The size doesn't matter. I have made them big, little, rounded to lay around the neck and shoulders. Any size will do.

Stitch all of the way around the fabric, leaving a 1.5" opening in an inconspicuous place. Clip all four corners. This will ensure that you have nice sharp corners once you turn the piece. Then flip it right side out.

Uh oh!!!! Look what I did. I didn't center the apple. Oh well, that's an easy fix.

I just ironed on a worm (if your iron is totally free of water - no steam - you don't need to sew it on).

Next you will need

• rice (you could use flax seeds or lavender if you like)
• a funnel (yes that's a Gatorade bottle - reduce, reuse, recycle)
• and some sort of cup for pouring

Fill the bag about 3/4 of the way up with rice.

If you fill it too full it won't mold around the body part that you're using it on.

Whip stitch your opening closed and......

You're done!

Man Towels

Yesterday I visited Brandi, from Rosie's. I got to see her latest creation, her adorable little kids, and her new stash of vintage patterns. She taught me how to use elastic thread (although it still isn't working on my machine) and we talked all things handmade. I enjoyed myself so much, what a doll. She told me that ever since she made Madi one of her little bath towel sets all Mad's wants to do is take a bath. I told her that she had inspired me to make Nate and Big B each a "man towel" (you know the kind that wrap around the middle like a...dare I say...skirt).

So, that's what I did.

(They wouldn't be caught dead modeling, sorry!)

They are super simple, another one of those "if you can sew a straight line you can sew this" projects . I bought two $3.00 towels from you know where. I cut B's in half length wise, since he's a bigger guy (he's got the body of an NFL player) and for Nate's I just cut the end off of the other towel.


I surged the raw edges, put a strip of hook and loop tape on both of the top corners and sewed a big monogram on the corner. And there you have it.....A MAN TOWEL.

Cute Is Overrated

Here's a little confession for you......I don't like my tag line (do your part to make the world a cuter place to live). I think it's great for the shop, after all I do make cute little skirts, but in general I don't think cute is all that important.

I sometimes wonder if we over emphasize things that just aren't important. The other day I was at Wally-world. There was a mom there (dressed to the nines) with a little girl who was all decked out in the latest fashions. The mom was cranky with her and all up tight. She kept saying, "Don't wrinkle your shirt. Stop that, you'll get dirty", etc, etc. I felt a little sorry for the little girl (I like to think they were on their way to a photo shoot or something....that could make any mom crazy).

As I wandered through boys underwear and past the little girls section I ran into another mom. She had two little ones in the cart and a little girl running behind her in footie pajama's with a tutu on top. That mom seemed like she had not a care in the world. I just giggled to myself. How cute is that!

The dressing rule at our house goes like this...... I don't care what you wear as long as

• it's modest
• it's clean
• and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg

I have to bite my tongue A LOT. Some of the get ups these kids go out the door in..... oh my! But one thing is for sure, they know that their value doesn't come from what they wear. They are of value just because they exist, because Heavenly Father made them.

So there you have it...... sometimes cute is overrated!

Spot On!

One of the things I love about the handmade bloggy world is that we are all happy to help each other out. My new friend at Glitter By Grammie asked if I would do a product review/giveaway for her. In return she would make a custom necklace/bracelet set for one of my girls. Heck yeah! I asked her to make something for Liesl, A.K.A. Funky Hippy Girl. I was interested to see what she would come up with since Liesl is not a girly-girl, or a froo-froo, in any way. Liesl is a nature girl. I told "Grammie" all about Liesl and then waited to see what she came up with...... She rose to the challenge and was spot on!

One of the many things I told her about Liesl was that she was a big Twilight fan. So the necklace she got was entitled, "Edwards Tear". Perfect!
Grammie sent Liesl a personal note with the set, explaining the name and meaning behind it. It made Liesl feel so special to think that someone she didn't even know took the time to make her happy. I was impressed with the workmanship as well. You do good work Miss Grammie!!

This weeks giveaway is a custom made necklace/bracelet set just for you, made by Grammie herself.

To enter you must visit Glitter By Grammie's shop, check out her stuff and then comment here on my blog as to which of her necklaces you like best.

For extra entries you can:

• Heart Grammie's shop
• Follow my blog
• Facebook or Twitter about this giveaway

Make sure that you leave a comment for every entry you have, that way it will be counted when I use Random.org.

This giveaway will end at midnight on Friday Nov 20th.

Mindy Mae's Market

I was recently invited to join Mindy Mae's Market.

That doesn't mean anything to most of you, but here, it's the

next big thing in northern Utah. Mindy Mae's was

featured last week on Studio 5's week long segment,

"What's New In Your Neighborhood".

What is Mindy Mae's Market?..... click below to find out!

So, I've spent this snowy Saturday afternoon trying to

figure out how to display my wares in a 5' x 2' space.

I decided to go vertical! This trusty door has come in

handy so many times, last time it was placed on

saw horses and used as a table at our grown up lemonade stand.

I've also been busy coming up with some new tags.

HERE'S A HEADS UP...... I will be closing my shop for the holidays on Dec 1st. I'll reopen January 1st. So, if you have been planning on buying something you might want to get on that. For you locals, I will be at Mindy Mae's Clinton show on Dec 4 & 5. I'll post more about that as it gets closer.

You Are Not The Biggest Loser....

.....Kelly!

You are the lucky winner of a 20$ gift card from Rosies. I will give Brandi your email address and the two of you can work out the details!

Yay you!

As Promised

As promised here are a few of my new little creations.

I have been having so much fun trying hard not to make any of them alike.

You know where to find them!

Last Day

Rosies giveaway ends Friday at midnight. Don't be a looser....enter!

Click on photo to the left.

Idea's That Are Better Than Mine!

I got my Country Living magazine today..... MMMM, I sat outside "Grandma's Closet", a local boutique where Miss Erika takes guitar lessons, sipped a D.C., watched the leaves fall and flipped through it's idea packed pages.

I love planning Thanksgiving.....the table scapes, the food, the fun.....just love it.

So, here are a couple of idea's I'll be adding to the "cute butter" this year.

How simple, but also elegant is this? This came from their website so I'm not exactly sure what it is. It looks almost like masking tape (?), whatever it is.....I'm using it!

Love this table scape. I've done the napkin rings with big monograms before, but not the line up of candles. You'd have to put your food on a side table, but I like that better anyway.

We aren't at the "kid's table" stage yet, but when we are I will remember this..... to cute!

New Item and Another Giveaway

Thanks to Tasha at "Catch The Drift" for hosting a giveaway for me.

Another Bobbityboo skirt up for grabs!

ALSO....

Here is the first of my new baby gown line to roll out of the sewing room door! I love a new baby in bright, big prints. It just screams "I've got a hip mommy!"

I've got 5 others all lined up down in the sewing room just waiting for their one of a kind look. The fun think about these gowns is that after I get the simple base sewn I can embellish them in so many different ways. This one is pretty plain (plain is sweet) but some of the others have many of my signature embellishments. You'll just have to check back to see what I mean.

POST SCRIPT: Fast forward 5 hours. I line my little gowns all up on the kitchen table and say to the kids, "Look! Didn't they turn out cute?" They all get these blank looks on their faces and Braden (19) ventures out to say, "I don't get it. What is it a carrying case? Do you hold them by their feet or something?" I'm shaking my head in wonder.