Tree Skirt - cos a tree should keep some bits to itself!

Another Christmas post! Well it is only another 9 days (eeek!) so I thought I'd better squeeze it in before I run out of time.

So in previous years our tree has been sitting on three strategically placed place-mats to avoid the legs scratching our wooden floors - not so pretty. So this year I was determined to put those legs into hiding!

I started by cutting out two large circles - one in this super cute owl print and one in a plain calico for the bottom piece. The top will hide the legs while the bottom piece will sit underneath the legs to protect the floor.

Super cute owls!

Then I went about cutting a small hole in the top piece (using a cup as a guide for size), and from this small hole cut a straight line to one edge - in the top circle only. 

Pinning the two pieces together I overlocked the edges including the raw edge created by cutting the line - this opening is going to be where the legs fit in and be hidden away.

Once the overlocking was complete I added some buttons and loops to close up the slit once it was on the tree. These are the least festive buttons you could think of but they were all I had in my stash and I didn't fancy making a special dash to the shops!

Not so festive buttons with ric rac loops

Now the last step - putting it on the tree! This was a bit of a task as our tree was already up and decorated before I made this, so poor hubby had to hold it off the ground while I maneuvered the skirt around the legs. 

Its a little bit bunched up in the pictures because of the whole 'putting it on after the tree was up' debacle but it'll be on first next year and will sit nice and smooth! 

Ta-da! So now these lil fellas will visit each Christmas and I think you'll agree, they are much cuter to look at than these tired old legs....

Merry Christmas everyone!

Maternity Refashion

Its refashion time friends! I love these projects - partly because the hard work is already done for you in the form of an existing garment and partly because its so satisfying turning something reasonably hideous into a perfectly wearable piece!

So today I started with a thrifted dress I picked up for around $5 at the Salvos with the intention of giving it a little loving.

Now that the belly is starting to grow (its amazing how much earlier you 'pop out' second time around!) I am in need of some roomy clothes to accommodate it. Clothes preferably without the ridiculous pricetag that comes with store-bought maternity clothes.

Ok here's what I started with...

A bit potato-sackey! (ok, a lot)

So, I got to pinching in the dress by attaching a strip of elastic under the bust to give it a little shape and to separate the bust & belly areas. But it was still a bit lack lustre...

Elastic pinching! (with toddler running underfoot 

so mind the weird look here!)

So I raided my scrap pile and cut into an old white shirt to add some neckline detail. I simply cut strips from the shirt and played around with placement before sewing it in place.

And the finished product? I love it! And will actually wear it so we have a winner! 

Yay for refashions! And double yay for inexpensive maternity clothes!

'Tis the season...DIY Christmas Stocking!

Only 29 sleeps and the big guy will be squeezing down our chimney! Crazy crazy, and I have bought a grand total of one Christmas gift so far...aaargghh!

So although I may seem completely unorganised, I have been giving Christmas some thought and have managed to finish this cute little stocking to stuff full of mini gifts for Master Oliver. This is the first year he is right into Christmas - completely aware of all the decs hanging in the shops and gingerly eying off Santa Claus to decide if he's a trustworthy kind of guy or not!

The inspiration for this stocking came from memories of making a similar one back in school and it was easy peasy. I just cut a square template from a piece of cardboard and used it to cut my pieces required for the stocking. I used an existing stocking to get the shape of the toe bit. 

The back piece is just one whole piece of fabric which simply attached to the front patchwork puzzle. 

It proved popular with the little man, although he seemed to take the phrase 'Christmas Stocking' quite literally....

 

He's in for a real treat on Christmas morning when he realises its not quite the wearing kind of stocking, but instead a magic kind that fills with goodies on Christmas night!

Goodnight, cars.

It seems these days we are increasingly finding stray matchbox cars under foot so today they were given a 'garage' in which they can go to sleep after a big day's play! We started with a pair of winter tights that I never wore - too thick and itchy to be comfortable.

Said uncomfortable tights!

This was so simple - I chopped off one leg right up where it meets the crotch, then cut down the length of the leg so it was one open piece.

The over locker went for a spin and finished all the edges, then I folded the leg piece back over so the ends didn't quite meet (you'll see in just sec). 

Add in a piece of checkered material on the bottom to give it that race car feeling, sew some straight lines to act as individual garages and that is it!

See how its not folded quite to the edge?

This is a novel way to get little ones to pack up their cars - our lil guy loves it and the stretch of the tights allows cars of all sizes to be squeezed inside. 

Who knew packing up could be so much fun? 

Now ssshhhh, the cars are sleeping. ;)

We're going bunting!

Last weekend we took on the task of moving our (no longer a) baby into his big boy room. This was no mean feat given that his 'new' room had become a storage haven over the last few years. So! We got to clearing it out and headed to IKEA to pick up some inspiration and new wares for the boy cave. IKEA! What have I been missing? The place is amazing! We made it out of the 2.2km trek unscathed with hands (or trolleys, rather) full of cool new stuff.

Our lil man is a real boys boy - he loves cars, bikes, lawnmowers, power tools - anything that roars really! So we stuck with a (subtle) car theme and got to work..the IKEA flat paks were assembled by midnight (oh yeah, we were in for the long haul) and the room was completo!

I made these race car themed bunting flags for his last birthday party and still had it stashed away, so out it came to complement the room.

The string of bunting was long enough to reach right around to the other side of the window, I love how it looks in here and love the fact that's its not sitting unused in a craft box!

This is so easy to make! All you need is a triangle template, a mix of fabrics, some bias binding to hold it all together and the ability to sew a simple straight line. And hey, if its not straight no one will ever know!

Batwing Dress

So back in July when I got this baby up and running I mentioned that I was taking a few lessons. I managed to make two dresses throughout the course and I am sharing one of them with you today. Yep, this one is totally from scratch! No nipping, tucking or running in a few sides. This is the real deal..following a commercial pattern in all its confusion and managing to get it right! Yay me!

 I love love love batwings

And just so you get an idea of the length...

This is soooooo comfy! The stretch material allows for a bit of give and is still beautiful and light, perfect for frolicking on the beach. I might just get this pattern out for another run soon.

Kaftan-abulous!

I have been missing in sewing action for a few weeks but fear not - I am back on the machine! Today I tried my hand at some copycat action based on this light & breezy kaftan/beach throw I picked up a few months back. I love this little piece and I'm certain its going to get worn to death around the pool and beach this summer.

While doing the obligatory whirling and twirling one does in a newly purchased flowy number, I discovered it was really two big semi circles of fabric that made up the front and back. See?

So when lil sis mentioned that she also had a fondness for my new purchase, I thought I'd try my hand at doing a bit of copy catting.

I layed it out exactly as above on some colourful summery fabric I snapped up on spesh. Then I traced one semi circle for the front and one for the back and cut a 'v' for the neckline. I did tinker with the idea of making a yoke for the neckline but instead decided on simply overlocking and sewing under. That's right my friends - I am even testing the overlockering waters!

The end result? A fabulous little kaftan/throw with a great splash of summer colour. This fabric is a little thicker than the original and so doesn't have the same soft flow, but a couple of washes should fix that.

Yay for summer!

Lazy Sunday Table Runner

For a while now little pockets of my house have been annoying me. Just niggling away at me, in need of a lil somethin'- somethin' to give them a tad more interest, so today my tired old side table got a well earned facelift.

It usually looks a little something like this, all boring & a little sad looking.

Enter a few fat quarters and a scrap of calico! I pieced them together - not quite a patchwork masterpiece - but the end result was a cute little table runner with a bit more personality than the current table top.

I am loving the gorgeous burnt orange colours here, just the tonic for a little decor pick-me-up!

Bucket Head!

I have been inspired by sunshine! Yep, I think winter is now finally behind us and I've been soaking up the sun like a little lounge lizard.

Today I had a crack at this tutorial to make a bucket hat for the little guy and to my suprise it was relatively easy. I made some tweaks though - rather than doing a double sided/reversible number I kept it one sided as he is a sweaty little beast in summer & I wanted to keep the layers to a minimum.

Granted, its not as good looking on the inside as a double sided number, but it does the job nonetheless.

We can never have enough of these in summer...they seem to be right up there with odd socks that disappear in to the never never. Perhaps a double sided one next?

Dress Ups!

This weekend we took a drive up to little old Gulgong town to celebrate a friends birthday - Pimps & Ho's style! Now, I am partial to the odd fancy dress party and was pretty keen to put together these outfits. As much as I enjoy themed parties, I hate how pricey some of these outfits can be so off I went to the ops shops and put my bargain eyes on! First off a sparkly gold jacket caught my eye for the big pimp and was an absolute steal at $3!!! Next up I found this kids jacket for $4.50 and couldn't go past it. So, young Ollie was joining us on our trek and I got to pimping out this mini jacket.

I made a stencil by folding down the lapel and cutting out a piece in some zebra print fabric I had left over from a previous fancy dress. I then did the same thing for the flappy bits on the pockets and hand-tacked them on to the jacket. (Making them easy to remove if we ever want to use the jacket for real).

The finished product was ADORABLE, and I needn't have been worried that he wouldn't wear it - he LOVED it and has even asked if he can wear it again since. Cute. I'll enjoy this while he's still young enough not be bothered that 'mum made it'.

 Pimpin' attitude

Having success with the little pimp jacket, I tried my hand a little embellishing for the big pimp in my life. The above mentioned gold jacket was a little short in the arms (perhaps because I found it in the ladies section at Salvos - ssshhh... no one will ever know) so I got some more use out of that zebra print fabric and sewed on some cuffs. Perfecto! It was the perfect finish.

 Two perfectly fitted out pimps for $7.50!

So while this isn't strictly a sewing project, I did get out the needle and thread so that counts in my book. Thanks for reading!

Refashioned Skirt

In celebration of these past few days of warmer weather (I can smell spring around the corner), I thought I'd share this refashion I did a little while ago. These culottes were a steal at $4 and I immediately had inspiration for a little refashioning. Well hey, if I failed what's 4 bucks?

So, here's the unflattering before shot....

....and all that needed to be done was to undo the crotch seams and re-sew down the front, and down the back tapering in the parts of the old seams so they didn't poke out like a tail. And there was no need for hemming (yay!) as the length was good to go. So, for a couple of minutes on the wizbang sewing machine you get a new girly skirt perfect for spring! 

Its had a few wears already....

Perfectly girly, flowery goodness!

Banana Pyjamas Part II

...And we have a complete set of jammies! A few posts ago I made these pants based on some cute skinny pants from Bonds and ever since they've been crying out for a buddy...enter the 90 min shirt! (I warned you love this project...and this probably won't be the last of them)

Here's a few snaps for you...

This kid is not the easiest subject for outstanding pics, although a camera upgrade would help! Yeah...I'll get around to that one day.

Have to say I'm pretty pleased with my first complete outfit. And the best bit? They're only going to be worn to bed so only I'm the only one who'll notice their little imperfections.

Oh, and ignore the scrawl of pen on his hand - this has become a new hobby! "Its a star Mummy." Of course it is.

No-Sew Basket Lid

This little basket has been on my hit list for a while and I finally got around to giving it a facelift. The original fabric on the lid was black which got destroyed (don't ask) & I gave it a quick fix but it was always looking back at me with a sad face. (Truly, it was) Here's the before:

 Off came the black fabric and I stripped it down to its shell. I used the shell to trace a circle of this cute apple fabric and a circle of wadding which gave the top a bit of extra pouf. ("Pouf", is that even a word?)

So, first off I took the top circular piece from the shell and placed on the wadding followed by the fabric. Then I made small cuts all the way around the edges which could be easily folded over the edge and hot glued down. That's right, this is a completely no-sew project and I have discovered a new love for hot glue!

 Folding the edges & securing with my new buddy, hot glue

 Then cut a long strip which will go around the edge of the lid & secure every so often with hot glue. But don't use large amounts or you'll end up with lumps under your fabric. When you get to the end, fold the edge under for a clean finish & you guessed it, another dollop of the hot stuff!

Fold the edge under

Now its just a matter of gluing the poufy lid to the top and you've breathed new life into the tired old basket. I love the little pop of colour it gives to our bathroom.

I think the toilet rolls will be happy living here. Now I have a thirst for more home decor makeovers!

Easy Peasy Brimmed Beanie

I found this awesome little project over at Delia Creates while I was searching for some 'boy' projects in a cyber world full of tutorials for girls. This one is GOLD and literally takes 5 minutes - if you have a boy you must give this a go! I started with this (rather bright) red beanie I found at an op shop for a whopping 50c and cut a brim out of an old ice cream container which is perfect for this project as it's flexible but still holds its shape, and best of all can be thrown in the washing machine.

 

 Said ice cream container brim

Oh, and round off the sharp edges of the brim a little or it may poke through your beanie.

 So in the five minutes between Banana's In Pyjama's and dinner time, we have a brand new winter hat! Ollie insisted on wearing it for dinner and even suggested he could wear it in the bath...um, no. But nice try little guy. 

This honestly takes a zero skill level and would be equally gorgeous for a little girl.

Happy days!