Tutorial- Garden Gnome Hat

 Remember this post where I asked for help with a Garden Gnome Costume for my littlest girl?

Well my awesome reader Vanina left a comment with a link to a pattern for the gnome hat!

THANKS VANINA!!!

I followed her link and it brought me to the blog called Acorn Pies.

I didn't want to use the same materials she had used in her tutorial, so I just used her tutorial for the pattern measurements.

I wanted my hat to be on red wool felt. So I laid my pattern on it and cut it out. The fabric is folded with the fold on the left side and will end up being the TOP of the hat.

After you cut it out it will look like this when you open it

Fold it back in half right sides together (is the a right side to the wool felt? I thought they both looked the same, lol) and sew along the diagonal cut (where I have the pins) ONLY. Do not sew anywhere else!

Turn it right side out and this is what it will looks like (I turned it so you can see how it is the hat- the folded part is the top and the part we just sewed is the underside.)

 I added ribbon to trim mine and make the ties.  I cut my ribbon at 23 inches- no reason for this length, just picked a length that looked good and I could tie a bow with! lol.  You will need 2 of the tie ribbons. You will attach them to the shorter side which is the neck opening.  I sewed mine on, but I am sure you could use Heat N Bond or something like that.  I also cut my tips at an angle so they didn't overlap at the center back.

And then just sew all around the edges of the ribbon to secure it to the felt.

Next I added the ribbon along the face part of the hat. I attached it the same way as the ties.

And that's it! Now you have a cute Garden Gnome hat!!

I was hoping to have some super cute pics of my little wearing it... but she is 13 months. That means: 1- she does not sit still

2- she does not like hats!

Hopefully I can keep trying it on her so she gets used to it by Halloween!

But for now, this is all I got out of her!

Let me know if any part of this did not make sense!

First Day of School Dress

When I was in the midst of getting everything ready for my little ones first birthday bash my older daughter asked if I could make her a dress for her first day of school.

I told her of course I would!

First I searched Etsy for a dress pattern we both liked.

I found the store Tie Dye Diva and fell in love with the Big Bow Dress.

After assuring Sam we could make the dress in pink {because if its not pink, she doesn't like it!} she was sold on it too!

So we headed off to JoAnns together and picked out some fabric. {mom having the final say of course. Three year olds pick out some interesting patterns. lol}

I had one question on the pattern and emailed my question to Jen, the owner of Tie Dye Diva, and she got back to me very quickly! It was a newbie question, and she didn't make me feel silly for asking it and she was more than helpful!

And the final product is awesome! Sam and I both LOVE the way it turned out! She wants to wear it every day and I have to keep reminding her we have to wait for the first day of school!

 

 

Sam picked the pink polka dot fabric :) I think it looks great!

 

the back

 

The great thing about this pattern is the bow can be worn in the front or the back. It was too distracting to Sam to have it in the front, so we are keeping it in the back

 

 

And here it is on my little big girl! She will be starting pre-school next week!

 

Usually she is not in the mood to model things for me, but she was totally into it tonight! How cute is she?!

 

 

 

A couple more, just because she is so stinking cute

 

So now Sam is all set and ready to go for her first day of school next week! I hope she likes school as much as she likes her new dress :)

Travel Shoe Bags

My little sister is going to Europe next week (LUCKY!) and she had asked if I could make her some travel shoe bags.

Being the super awesome sister that I am- I said yes. I asked her how many she wanted, she replied, "Six". 

Uh- What?!?! SIX?! Did she forget that I am in the midst of party planning right now and that the party is THIS weekend? 

But, seeing as I am so nice, I got them all made for her!

I found this tutorial here and used it for the general idea of how to make one.

The main thing I did differently was the top. Instead of having it open on only one side of the bag, I had mine open on both ends.

Then I just threaded some ribbon through!

I tied a bow on one side and double knotted it so that side will stay like that. The other side is the side she can un-tie and then cinch back up to put the shoes in.

So now she is all set to tour Europe for 2 weeks! I am so jealous!!!

Pinafore- FAIL

Well, I had my first major sewing FAIL this weekend!

I saw this tutorial on how to make your own pattern for a pinafore top.  Looked easy enough.

I got a dress from my little ones closet, made the pattern, put it all together and bam! A super duper cute pinafore top!

 

 

 

The reverse side

 

 

SO cute right?

I was so excited for Sadie to get up from her nap so I could try it on her. As soon as she got up, I went to put it on her and.... NOTHING! I couldn't get it over her head! LOL!!!

So I re-drew the pattern and made it a little bigger, and finally got one that fit her!

 

 

 

I gave the too-small one to my BFF who has a new baby girl, so hopefully it wasn't a total waste of time and she will be able to wear it!

And it was pretty easy to make, if you get your pattern right. lol

The Bapron

I saw this tutorial for a Baron {baby apron} on Craftiness Is Not Optional and thought it would make the PERFECT cake eating bib for Sadie's first birthday!!!

 

I already had the owl fabric on hand {since I have been hoarding Owl stuff ever since I decided on that theme} and then I just used an old receiving blanket for the back!

 

 

I didn't make my bias tape like she does in the tutorial, I just used store bought. I'm lazy cool like that. {or... I really am new to sewing and didn't want to try and figure out how to make it myself! LOL}

 

And here is her cake eating outfit! The Ruffle Butt Onsie and her Bapron!  She is going to look awfully cute as she smears cake everywhere :)

The Circle Skirt

I had a Circle Skirt I saw on Sugar Bee Crafts and the tutorial on Made on my sewing 'to-do' list for awhile now. Mainly because the tutorial said it was an easy project.  Since I am brand new to the sewing world, easy is what I need! 

And it really was easy!!! 

My stitches are not that straight and a little wonky in some places, but overall I am really happy with how it turned out!

Sam loves it too! She had so much fun spinning around in it! :) {please excuse the mess of toys. I took these pics without bothering to clean up.... because lets face it, my house pretty much looks like this if the kids are awake!}

I am having so much fun learning how to sew!!  I have a few more projects on my list that I think are easy enough for me to tackle with my limited skills!

Meet Sewkie

I figured it was high time to name my new BFF since I have been spending so much time with her lately.

Blog friends, meet Sewkie

*giggle* please tell me someone is a True Blood fan! I obviously am :)

Anyways, Sewkie and I are really having fun getting to know each other!

I also decided to make the party favors for Sadie's birthday party... in 3 weeks. I decided to make tote bags in the cutest owl corduroy fabric! {which you can kind of see in the background on the table} Only problem is I need 20 of them! So... that is why Sewkie and I have been spending so much time together- they are taking me a long time!  The hubster thinks I am crazy for deciding to make them, but I always seem to take on more than I can chew! Its how I roll! :)

I wish I would have joined the sewing band wagon a long time ago! I am having so much fun!!!

And don't foget to enter the giveaway for free party printables HERE!

Ruffle Butt Onsie

I did it!!!

I used my sewing machine!

I took your advice and just jumped right in. My first project is a pretty simple one, I know, but I am still so proud of it!!!!

In fact, I was so proud I couldn't even wait until it was washed and dried before I put it on my model! But doesn't she look so cute with a little ruffle tush?!? LOVE it!

And here it is after I washed and dried it.

After I took these pictures, I decided the front needed something, so I added a ruffle to the front as well. {again, pic is pre- wash and dry}

I know this is a simple project, but I still love how it came out and that *I* did it!!! 

And, I might be addicted to sewing now! I have already made a skirt for my older daughter {post on that later this week!}

Thanks for all the advice you guys gave me last week regarding sewing! :)