Sewing and Crafts

DIY Clay Bead Necklace

Kenny bought some oven-bake clay for work. He didn't need all of it so we spent an evening making Poké balls, Magic 8 balls, and shark-shaped earrings (it was kind of a challenge to see how weird we could get).

After that night, I decided it would be fun to make jewelry.

I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and chose the easier option of already-assembled necklace chains.

At first, it was challenging to make my beads look uniform and attractive. I found rolling the clay in just the palms of my hands made a nice, clean ball. Also, orange sticks made the best holes, not needles.

I baked my pretty beads for 15 minutes.

And put my necklace together.

I chose a $5 black and white Aztec shirt from Rue 21 to make the colors on my necklace pop. The jeans were $12.99 from Ross and the shoes $5 from Walmart.

I may now be a jewelry making addict.

DIY: Handkerchief Doll

 I have always thought the handkerchief and rag dolls that little frontier girls play with in popular nineteenth century books (e.g. Little House in the Big Woods) have always been so quaint.
During our family reunion last month, the girls made these easy handkerchief dolls on the trek.

My mother-in-law bought thick cotton napkins and decorated them with pearl beads (from her mother-in-law) and wooden hearts. She also bought wooden balls and cut four pieces of ribbon for each doll.

To begin, put the ball in the middle of the handkerchief for the head.

Tie the ribbon on the top to secure the head, and then the "ghostly" doll will be ready for some arms.

Spread the arms out and tie two knots.

Add a ribbon around the middle of the doll to give her a waist, and lastly add ribbons on the arms for the finishing touch.

Eliza enjoyed her doll for about two minutes on the trek (she quickly found a much more interesting stick to play with).

While the dolls can make decent toys (if your child isn't like mine), they are also nice little decorations.

DIY: Katrina's Pillowcase Dress (10 easy steps)

My beautiful, talented best friend creates heart warming home decor, colorful, detailed quilts, and the cutest children's clothing.

Here are 10 easy steps to make her pillowcase dress.

(Pictures and instructions by Katrina)

1. Choose your fabric. I sometimes like to have a coordinating color on the bottom, but that's not necessary.

2. Cut the fabric and fold fabric so that it's inside out. For ages 0-3, the width of the dress is 14 inches. The length of the dress differs with age. For a 2-year-old, I did a 14-inch top with a 3-inch bottom layer. You can adjust. After you decide on the size, cut armholes on either side of the fabric.

(Steps 1 and 2 pictured from left to right)

3. Sew on the bottom layer and hem. Or just hem the bottom by folding the fabric up 1/4 inch and sew.

4. Sew along the sides (dress should still be inside out) I had one side be the crease so I only had to sew along one side.

5. Fold the top down 1/2 inch and then fold over again 3/4 inch. Sew along the bottom. This will be your slot for the elastic.

(Steps 4 and 5 pictured from left to right)

6. Cut 6-7 inches of elastic. Attach a safety clip to one side to help move elastic through.

(Continuation of step 5 and step 6 pictured from left to right)

7. Sew along the ends to secure the elastic in place.

8. Cut ribbon for the ties. About 16 inches or longer if you like. You can also use bias tape. If you have thicker ribbon, you can fold it over to line the armhole, but I didn't do that this time.

9. Pin and sew along the armhole. Use a lighter to burn the ends of the ribbon so it won't fray.

(Steps 7 and 8 pictured from left to right)

10. Turn the dress right side out and it's finished!

Here are Katrina's two little princesses modeling her beautiful design.

Kwik Sew K3901 with baby model

Sometimes I want to put my active little girl in a dress but instantly regret it because her dresses interfere with climbing and running (some of her favorite activities).

I love this pattern because it is frilly yet practical. Eliza can still run and jump, but I can still dress her like a doll. It's also wonderful for church. Again, she's not restricted with playing by wearing a dress yet still looks dolled up.

Thanks to my mom for putting in the time and effort in making this romper and picking the cutest fabric that just matches my Eliza Jane!

How-to turn your acid wash jeans into frayed bermuda shorts and two ways to wear them

I was really craving some frayed acid wash bermuda shorts, but I couldn't find them anywhere. So I decided to work some sewing magic and make some.

I started with buying a pair of discounted acid wash jeans for $9.95 at Pacsun.

I put them on to get an idea of where I wanted to cut.

Use nice sharp scissors so it cuts evenly.

I cut way longer than I actually wanted them just to be safe.

Put them on and trim them a little more. Remember that about a half inch will be the frayed edges so make sure it's long enough above that.

Next, where you want the longest part of the shorts that's not frayed to be, make two stitches about a quarter inch apart.

With hems on both sides to prevent the fray from going higher, the shorts should look like this.

Next, the tricky part is getting the ends to fray. I tugged at the fibers and used a needle to pick at the ends.

The ends started to look like this.

I ended up trimming the fray until it was only 1/4 to 1/2 an inch long. Washing them will also help with the fray.

Here they are!

And here are two ways to wear them!

Kenny decided to pose too!

I am loving these shorts! They are a great length and fun to pair with a number of styles.

Thanks to my talented artist friend Christy Grace for the pointers!