Free Printables

I wanted to share some printables I made for my daughter's room. All you have to do is click the link, click the 'Options' button at the top right hand corner of the picture, and hit 'Download'
They're not perfect, but they're something! Enjoy!!

{download for free here}

{download for free here}

{download for free here}

Five Minute Leggings & Turban Headband

When Small Fry posted about these adorable 5 Minute Leggings I had a *facepalm* moment. How come I didn't think of that?! I made mine just a little bit different (these will not be perfect since there is no pattern to use) so I know they will have the stretch they need for a moving baby. Here's what you need!

• A pair of leggings that fit
• Scissors
• A washable marker
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• A cheap body contouring skirt

Start by turning your skirt inside-out. Lay it flat on the floor. Fold your leggings in half at the waist. Line them up with the edge of the skirt and the top of the skirt. The skirt is made to fit the curve of a woman's hips, so do the best you can to line the leggings up straight.

Sorry for the blurry picture!

Trace about 1/4"-1/2" around the leggings (the side facing away from the edge only). Cut along the line you drew.

It should look this this.

Flip the fabric you just cut over and line it up with the other side. Make a cut the same size.

You should have two pieces that look like this.

Open both pieces and place them, right (patterned) sides facing, on top of each other.

Straight pin the edges together, like pictured.

Sew together and trim excess fabric. Open fabric so that the seam you just sewed is in the middle. Start straight pinning the open edges together.

As you're sewing just continue from one ankle to the other.

When you're done you should have something like this. Before trimming the extra fabric, make sure they fit you kiddo. Trust me, you want to check! If they don't fit right you're going to need a seam ripper to take out the thread you just sewed.

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With the extra fabric I decided to make a headband. I love the way turban headbands look and they're surprisingly easy to make! Here's the how-to.

You need:

• Fabric scraps
• scissors
• 1/2" elastic
• Straight pins
• A headband that fits
• A washable marker

First, determine the headband size you need. This chart helps! You could also measure the headband that fits your child, which is what I did. This headband is 16 inches. I wanted the knot in the turban to be off to the side, like the bow on this headband. I measured the distance between 1 and 2 (4") then doubled it and added 1/2". Then I measured the distance between 1 and 3 (8") then doubled it and added 1/2". If you wanted the knot in the middle you would use two 6" (12 1/2" doubled) pieces for a 16" headband. I needed about 5" of elastic.

Lay out you scrap fabric to see where you should make your cuts from. Mine has a zipper, so I can't use that part. I also don't like to use the hems for this because they add extra bulk. You see what I was left with. I used piece number 2 for the shorter side of the headband and the elastic, I used piece number 1 for the longer side of the headband. If you don't have a piece of fabric long enough, don't worry about it! Just cut your elastic a little longer.

To give you an idea, this is what my first piece of scrap fabric looked like while I cut it.

These will be sewn into tubes. I wanted each tube to be about an inch wide so I cut my strips about 2 inches wide. Always remember to include a 1/4" seam allowance! After pinning and sewing, I trimmed off the excess fabric and turned the tubes right-side-out.

(left to right) Fabric strips, folded and pinned, sewn and turned

Lay your tubes in a cross shape and fold one end over to meet the other, do this with both pieces. I used the same technique for the tube the elastic goes in.

It should look like this.

Thread the elastic through the tube you made for it. After doing this, take one of your headband tubes and line both edges up with one of the edges of the elastic. Wrap headband fabric around the elastic (if there is enough) and sew together.

Loop the other headband tube through and repeat with the other side of the elastic. Trim off any excess fabric/elastic.

Ta-da!! A cute new pair of leggings that you didn't have to hem or put elastic in and a matching headband! :) I know it was a lot of steps, but I promise you its actually a really quick process! And genius to turn a skirt into leggings. You could also do something similar with a pair of adult leggings. I'll have to try that one some time!

Now go make a pair of leggings and feel free to 'Pin' this! *wink wink*

Bestie Mugs

When I moved, I left behind my daughter's Godmother and one of my best friends. I've really been missing her lately. I've had this little gift idea in my head for a while and figured what better time than Valentine's day to send it to her! And in case you're wondering I kept the AZ mug for myself and sent the WV one to her. I apologize in advance for my lack of pictures.

What you need

• 2 microwave and oven safe mugs, any color
• Ceramic pen
• Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover (to erase mistakes)
• Outline of states
• Tape
• Sealer/Sealant

*Please note that using a Sharpie will not work. You can bake it at any temperature for any amount of time and it will still come off. If you want to decorate a dish for decor purposes only, a Sharpie will work great! If you actually want to use your decorated dish you need a ceramic marker.

1. Print and cut state outlines. Tape to mugs.
2. Trace around states with marker.
3. Peel off paper states and mark city with a heart.
4. Write out verse (below). This step is optional.
5. I added a few extra touches to the handles and base of the mug. This is also optional. Let your creativity run free!
6. Finish off with sealant to keep the ink from wiping off. (At least, that's what the craft store employee told me)

Let me just say that I searched for a good ceramic pen, but I couldn't find one. When I asked a store employee I was led to a package of white markers with colored caps that looked like the cheap markers you let your kid play with. And they were cheap. I also bought the sealant I was told about to make sure that the ink wouldn't come off. Since I had already decorated the mugs with Sharpie (even baked it on) I tested the 'ceramic marker' on the bottom of the mug before starting my decorating from scratch. It wrote horribly and smeared. I even put the sealer on  it and it made it worse! To top it off, there were no directions on the marker case or sealant bottle that said how to make this permanent. Do I bake it? I still don't know. So, I left my baked Sharpie art on the mugs, put the sealant over that, and let it air dry. Just to be on the safe side I made sure I didn't decorate and seal anywhere on the mug that would come in contact with my mouth because I also couldn't find any label on the products that said 'toxic' or 'non-toxic'. I'm hoping this helps keep the decoration on the mug longer, but only time will tell! Make sure you hand-wash this to make it last as long as possible. Again, I'm so sorry for my lack of pictures and product knowledge. But I just thought this was too great of an idea not to share!

Striped Beanie

 

I can never find a beanie that covers Aubrey's ears. I don't know if she just has a big head, big ears, or if they just don't make hats the right way. Or maybe a little bit of all three. I feel so bad when we're outside and her little ears aren't tucked away all cozy by her head. I figured I would just make a beanie for her, quick and easy! You could also make yourself a hat if you'd like.

I had bought some striped fabric from a discount fabric store in Phoenix called SAS. It wasn't much, but it was plenty to make the pants for Aubrey that I wanted {here}. I had some left over and decided to use it for her beanie!

What you need:

• Pinking Shears (optional)
• Scissors
• Fabric
• Hat (that fits)
• Pins
• Sewing Machine

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures and some simple mistakes I made that caused me extra steps and could have been prevented.
Make sure that your fabric is stretchy, like a jersey knit. I traced 3/4" outside the hat that fits. Cut out two pieces with pinking shears (regular scissors will work if your fabric doesn't fray), make sure to align the stripes as best you can so that when you sew it together the stripes line up. If you're using a solid or patterned fabric, you could just fold the fabric in half and only have to make one trace and cut.

I wanted the hat to be slouchy and be able to fit Aubrey for a while, so I wanted to have an edge I could fold up, which didn't work out like planned. So, I would just add the extra length to where I traced instead of making extra cuts. If you can see above, I was working with a scrap of fabric and didn't have that option.

I sewed one of the top pieces to the bottom piece using a zig-zag stitch. Repeat for the other side. If you cut two pieces, instead of four like I did, skip this step.

I forgot to take a picture of this step, but fold the bottom edge of the hat up about 1/2 an inch, pin it, and sew along it. This will give your hat a finished edge.
Place the sides of your hat with the right sides (printed side) facing each other and sew around the edge. I made sure to line up the stripes here as best I could.

Then simply trim off the excess fabric and turn right side out.

There you have it! A quick hat for you or your babe! Sorry for the lack of pictures and extra steps. It really is quite simple, I promise! Now I have a hat that keeps my babe's ears tucked up nice and cozy against her head. I will definitely be making more, that should only take about 5 minutes instead of 10. Hey, it's a learning process!

Fabric Letters

I was browsing some local shops downtown and fell in love with the cutest plushy letters, but I didn't love the $30 price tag (that's per letter)! Upon further inspection I could tell it was a cardboard letter in disguise. Immediately I thought to myself, "I can make this for way cheaper!" So when we got home Pinterest had read my mind and showed me this perfect tutorial.

Mine are made a little differently. here's how! In case you were wondering, I bought my cardboard letters from a store called Crafts2000 for about $1 each, but I'm sure you could find them at any craft store (although I couldn't, thank you small town).

Here's what you'll need:

• Scissors
• Pinking Shears (optional)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Glue Sticks
• Stuffing
• Cardboard Letter(s)
• Fabric (fat quarters or scraps)
• Scraps of Cardboard (like a cereal box) or Cardstock

First lay out your fabric with the printed side down. Lay your letter down and trace an outline about 1/2"-3/4" around it with a pencil.

Cut the outline out using pinking shears so the edges don't fray. This will make it easier to glue later.

Hot glue the fabric to the side of the letter. I learned from experience not to glue the fabric to the face of the letter, it gets bumpy.

Repeat steps one and two for the other side. Start gluing stuffing to the front of the letter until its covered.

Begin gluing your fabric down in small sections while tucking the stuffing in. This part was tricky, especially when it came to the hole in the 'P'

Once that was finished I used some scrap cardboard (in my case, a Ritz cracker box and the cardboard from my fat quarters) and cut pieces to fit each side. I could've done it all as once piece, but I wanted my corners to be crisp and not rounded.

Lay your fabric print side down and laid out my cardboard pieces. Be cautious of where seams will show. When I say seams, I mean that the fabric probably won't be long enough to place all the cardboard in one strip so that there is only one seam (where one end meets the other on the letter). For instance, you don't want a seam along the curve of the 'P'

Cut the fabric, leaving about a 1/2"-3/4" edge, and begin gluing to the cardboard strips.

Once that is done just simply glue the strips along the sides of the letter and wha-la!

I know they're not perfect, but I saved about $50 by making these myself instead of buying them. I can't wait to put them in Aubrey's room! I just need to do a 'J' since the craft store was out.

front

back: notice the 'A' has dimples in it, that's why you don't hot glue the fabric.

Happy Crafting!