First project in my new craft room

I couldn’t wait to lock myself in here tonight and start sewing. So, here we are…hard at work, enjoying our new space!

My new craft room

It’s hard to believe I’ve spent the last year sewing at my build in vanity. Don’t get me wrong…it’s beautiful and my machine fit perfectly…lighting was great, especially the dimmers when my daughter fell asleep on my bed just feet away. The main thing my old sewing area lacked was a place to lay my fabric out to measure, pin, cut. I often used the floor because there isn’t much counter space.

So, today I moved in to my NEW craft room! I’m so utterly excited that I want to share my photos with all of you

A little background…I got a new sewing machine in December…my husband also bought me a dress form and tripod for my (December) birthday.

Pic of my birthday present…dress form, tripod and Uggs…plus a beautiful seafood dinner on the river. I’m spoiled!

Today, I repurposed my boys old dresser to use in my craft room. This dresser has been *hiding* in my sons closet for over a year! I painted it and filled it with plastic bins full of sewing supplies.

My husband bought me a new l-shaped table and desk at Ikea. I also bought a new thread organizer that I painted last night as well as a pink cutting mat.

I really wanted to create a fun, cozy space for my little toddler. I repurposed one of the dresser drawers making it into a small bookshelf for her. My parents had given her the butterfly rugs a while back and they seem to fit perfectly. She picked a few toys and we decided to use the pink/white basket to hold things.

My husband found a great pink bean bag chair for her…and she LOVES it!

Here’s a few more pics around the room. I really like how it’s coming together…still need to hang my peg board and a few things on the wall. Also would like some vinyl to spruce things up a bit.

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Alteration: My new favorite way to keep original hem on jeans

Reblogged from Refashion, Repurpose, Redo...:

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I am short. There is no other way to put it. I’m barely 5′ tall. I think I’ve only bought two pairs of used jeans in my life that were already hemmed to my length…ever…in my life!

My mom always hemmed my pants, even as I got older. Then, I started taking them in to a shop for alterations to keep the original hem which cost me $20/pair.

Read more… 313 more words

My creation: Mama+baby+sling sleeve DIY

We went to Disneyland almost a month ago. My (then) 15 month old, loves being close to mama so I wear her in a ring sling pretty often. I’ve worn her this way since she was a few months old (especially handy when nursing!).

I walked around Disneyland with a blanket wrapped all around my daughter, tucked into the sling. This was bulky and the blanket slipped a few times in a couple of different places…even though I had it tucked in everywhere. By the time we were leaving the park, I also had my husbands sweater draped over the front of me as we were trying to keep our daughter warm and prevent her from getting sick.

My husband and I started talking about how we needed to create this blanket that goes over a sling to keep baby warm. I kept thinking some sort of mama + baby sweater would work…some sort of sleeve that you slide over both while baby is already in the sling.

Tonight, I had this vision of a quick version of a mama+baby+sling sleeve. I still plan to create a nicer, cozy, homemade version but since I’m all about refashion and repurposing, I hope this may come in handy for some of you…especially since its made out of something we all have lying around the house

So, I took my sling…Isn’t it beautiful? A friend of mine made me this when I had my daughter.

And I took this ol’ sweatshirt…

I cut off the sleeves.

My daughter decided she wanted to wear the sleeves on her head!

Next, I cut a wider neckline that would accommodate both my daughter and I (this will sit around moms chest and around her back, leaving room for babys head).

Now, sew up both sides of the sweatshirt. My sweatshirt was a 2xl so I had to take it in quite a bit. If yours is smaller (though remember it needs to fit over you and baby leaving baby enough room to breathe), you may only need to sew the armholes closed.

Put your sweet baby or toddler in your sling as usual then slide your mama+baby+sling sleeve right over both you and your little one. Since this is made out of a sweatshirt, it’s nice and warm, keeping the both of you warmer than before. When really cold outside, make sure and bring babys’ hands and feet inside of the sleeve, pulling it up over their head as well.

Stay tuned for my made from scratch creation as I will be working on this one soon! I want something cuter, warmer and of course easy to make…yet still homemade!

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Collection of things I’ve made

Tags

Alteration, nursing bra, nursing cami, refashion

I figured I’d share some photos of different things I’ve made this year. Some of them I may do a tutorial on but others I didn’t take before photos of.

From scratch: nursing cami

Alteration: Yoga pants

Refashion: Mama’s dress turned into baby’s new dress

Refashion: Mama’s flowy shirt turned into baby’s new dress

Conversion: Victoria Secret bra converted into nursing bra

Conversion: Bra turned into nursing bra

From scratch: Tunic for my daughter

Repurposed: Formula can into headband holder

Alteration: Jeans that were too large resized into fitted jeans

Refashion: Skirt to shirt

Refashion: Another skirt to shirt

Refashion: And another skirt to shirt refashion

Refashion: Maternity shirt into skirt

Refashion: Sweater into cardigan

Alteration/redo: Reattaching original hem after cutting

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DIY: Ring sling (Maya wrap)

This tutorial is for my September 2010 Wte ladies…love you, girls!

When my daughter was born, she was absolutely beautiful….and definitely colicky! So, I became a baby-wearer immediately . Now that she’s a toddler and new walker, I don’t necessarily need to wear her but I still do at times and prefer the ring sling.

Today’s tutorial is how to make your own ring sling. So, here it goes…take at least 2 yards of fabric. I prefer knit since it doesn’t fray (less sewing!) and it stretchy (more comfy!). You’ll also need two 3″ rings – I bought mine at Michael’s in the kids craft section. If you choose a knit, you won’t have to sew much at all, making this a very easy, quick project

Take the fabric and thread it through the rings. Fold the end of the fabric in half, then fold the other half over it.

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Now, fold this end over the rings and onto the other side of the fabric. Pin into place and sew here. I prefer to do a couple of different stitches, usually a zig zag stitch with a straight stitch on both sides of this just to make it extra strong.