Tweet

Recycling Tutorial

It's been a while since I did a how to - and since Ive been up to my neck in The Jump Off this week I though it appropriate to share the process - so you can start experimenting!


I start with a fabulous Tshirt - I wash and dry it and give it decent pressing.

Then I cut off the sleeves, the hem, cut the side and shoulder seams. Im very careful to cut strait so I dont damage any of the design space on the tshirt.

I put the sleeves and hem trim into my stock pile - I hoard up every tshirt I can get my hands on and even if I cant use the logo or if the shirt has holes, I can still salvage the sleeves and trim and I use the body of solid shirts to make the skullys to coordinate with the onesies/dresses.

From that fabulous stash of sleeves and such I find great coordinating sleeves and trim for the project Im working on.

Next, I find the center of the design - not the shirt - With tshirts, you don't match the edges because when you take them apart the edges stretch out of shape so the shirt edges are not accurate for centering. This step is crucial - b/c if your off the onesie image will be off center.

Now I take my handy dandy patterns that I made from taking apart actual onesies and making sketches (which took years :D - but it was worth it) You can just take apart a oneise or a dress that you have at home and use it for a pattern.


After the pieces are cut out I take this opportunity while the sleeves are still flat to attach my rock out label for the Jump Off.


I then, take the hem trim and sew it with a zig zag stitch on the the front and back neck edges of the garment.


I cannot stress how important pressing is to your sewing projects. A good press job can save you tons of time. Don't skip this step - Pressing makes the difference between a 'home made' look and a 'professional' one.

The same can be said for pinning. The only thing is you must be careful with pins b/c they can warp your machine needle and ultimately break it if your not careful.

So, I pin the front and back together, centering the two pieces to create an overlapping shoulder seam as on a traditional onesie and then I center the sleeve and pin it so I always know where the center is.

Ok - this is the tricky part (as with all set in sleeves). Set in sleeves are larger than the 'hole' they fit into, this gives your arm room to move. So the key is to 'ease' the extra fabric into the 'hole' with out getting any tucks or pinches into the seam. Do you see how much more blue fabric there is than the cream. The key to set in sleeves is, sew them in before you sew the side seams up and then make sure the sleeve is on the bottom so the feed dogs can ease the extra fabric in for you. This happens because the feed dogs pull the bottom fabric more than the top because it is touching the bottom piece, thus pulling it through at a faster pace.

OK - sleeve in, no tucks or pinches...off to the serger.

The Serger simply gives your sewn seam a finished professional look. You can use sergers for tons of different things, but for my things this is what I use it for. You can totally skip the sewing machine for construction and only use the serger - which will save you a step. I choose to use both because Im selling my item and the process I use give me peace of mind that nothing will come apart on the customer!

See how nice the finish seam looks? If you dont have a serger, you can certainly zig zag the edges, or actually - in this case - you can just leave the seams alone since knit doesnt ravel :) Im a little anal though - so I finish mine.

Okie Dokie Sleeve number 1 is in and pressed! I repeat for the other sleeve and then I sew the side seams and run them through the serger. The last step is to take the other piece of hem trim and put a colorful edge along the bottom edge of the onesie or dress in this case.

And now you have a totally rockin wearable for your little rocker girl to sport alone or with jeans, tights or leg warmers! If I were making a onesie instead all the steps are the same. I would just put the trim around the leg and crotch edge in one swoop and then apply snaps to the crotch. I hope you enjoyed getting to see all the fun I have making my wearables - make sure you stop by the shop sometime~ XOXO and get to sewing! Make something today!

Im off to the pool! Smooches Divas!

Tweet

Friday Finds: EtsyKids South region

Today's Friday Finds are based on one of our regions' team tag "EtsyKids Team SOU," which is the South region (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisana, Oklahoma, and Texas).

1. Baby apron - Butterflies - 6 months by Lizzypops.
2. LSU Purple and Gold woven Headband GEAUX TIGERS by Babiesbowsandbeyond.
3. Whats Your Number Baby Toddler Boutique Chenille Bib by Mudpies.
4. Green Olive Ring Sling by Babymoon.
5. Going out on the town tie onesie by Cindyjoy.
6. Bright Soft Texture Blocks for Baby or Toddler by PoppyPatch.

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

Tweet

Baby items - crochet

Alright so this week I am in love with baby items that are crocheted.

And here is an artist with sooo many adorable things that I want to buy half her store, LOL. But, I still don't know if I am having boy or girl so I am ohhh so trying to be patient. LOL.

A Mothers Crochet

She has the cutest hats and the most adorable booties. There is literally just soo many things here that I get lost just looking at the first page, now that isn't a bad thing, because I am lost imagining what my child will look like in these. LOL. I think it is all soo awesome and great.

Here is another with cute hats, I am sure she can make them to fit baby and soo many cute hair accessories too.

Sheepsclothing

I love the hat that I have the photo up for, absolutely adorable. If I have a girl I just have to come back here.

I hope you had fun shopping with me today and I look forward to our shopping next week.

Tweet

The Minivan Clan

Phew, okay, that was the longest two weeks ever, but I'm back, I'm alive and I'm ready to blog away. It's been over a week that I haven't had a voice (literally), but no more, dagnabit! That's what blogging is for.

Now that I'm well, next on the agenda; buying a new car. Not just any car, but one that will get killer gas mileage, seat 6 or 7 people and NOT be a minivan. Yup, all of those are requirements. I flat-out refuse to join the Minivan Clan. I know you pro-minivaners are out there, and probably reading this (or maybe you're not because you're busy chauffeuring your kids, your kids' friends and your kids' friends' friends), but I'm sorry, you can't make me one of you.

There was an episode of Oprah, (okay, don't laugh, I don't normally watch) it was about the truth behind being a mom and it was pretty funny listening to mothers from all over America talk about what it's really like and what they don't tell you. Anyway, one of the moms said that the day she went to buy a minivan, she knew exactly what her dog must have felt like when he had to get neutered. I felt a kindredness with this woman, but I will remain strong and not succumb to the lure of the minivan. I will not be neutured!

Sure it's roomy, gets great gas mileage and can seat more kids than you'd ever care to own, but it's a minivan! They're ugly and they just scream, "I'm a breeder and I need to keep them all boxed up!" I swore I'd never have enough kids to need a minivan, even if I did, they would make lovely hood and roof ornaments before I'd buy the dreaded van.

I will drive an SUV, a crossover or a sedan, so if you have any recommendations on those, I'm all ears. If you happen to drive a minivan, I'm sincerely sorry. :oP


Originally posted 5/24/09 here

Tweet

Cultural Tendency vs Principal

This is an excerpt from another book that I adore...the 7 habits of highly effective people. It evaluates the 4 dimensions of human nature (body, mind, heart and spirit) and the two approaches we can take to all 4. Cultural Tendency vs Principal...

Body:
cultural tendency> maintain lifestyle: treat health problem with surgery and medication.
principal> prevent diseases and problems by aligning lifestyle to be in harmony with established, universal accepted principles of health

Mind:
cultural tendency>watch television - entertain me!!!
principal>read broadly and deeply; continuous education

Heart:
cultural tendency>use relationships with others to forward your personal interests.
principal>deep, respectful, listening and serving brings greatest fulfillment and joy.

Spirit:
cultural tendency>succumb to growing secularism and cynicism
principal>recognize that the source of our basic need for meaning and the positive things we seek in life is 'principals'.

I hope you can use these to help you evalutate why and how you react to people and situations!
Happy Weekend Divas!

Tweet

Design Challenge for June:

Each month EtsyKids Team members are challenged to create a unique item within a chosen theme. This month's challenge is My Pet, picked by last month's winner Sunnybrookfarm. EtsyKids members will have until June 19th to submit their entries, and voting will be open to everybody from Sunday, June 21st to Saturday, June 27th. So, be sure to come back to the EtsyKids blog for a new post on the 21st to see all of the entries and VOTE! In the meantime, click here to get a sneak peek at some exciting entries so far!

Tweet

Boys Only

Too often our little men get overlooked for all the frills and pink, so today this is just for the little guys in our life....

Click on the pictures to visit the shop.

Enjoy!

Tweet

Apologies and Funny

I wanted to apologize for not posting last week. I have been soo busy with my family and etsy lately I dont seem to get a chance to breath except when I am asleep. LOL.

Proof of that is last week my four year old decided to entertain himself but boy did I have a mess to clean up. It was hilarious and I am posting photos of him, but this is one of my down falls of working at home, I get soo engulfed in what I am working on I forget to pay attention to my child. LOL. Nothing bad has happened so that is good, but still it worries me right now especially with another one on the way.

So here is what happened my four year old decided he wanted to help me out with house work, he wanted to wash the sink out for me after I washed the dishes, I thought good he wants to help out, so I let him. When I left him to it, he was rinsing the sink out with water and a scrub brush and that was it, after a while I hear a small little chuckle coming from the kitchen and this is what I found.

He was soo proud of all the bubbles he made, now mind you that sink ful is of only bubbles, there isnt a drop of water left in there, when I undressed him there was sooo much soap in his clothing, that when I washed them to get the soap out I didnt even have to include and laundry soap, they came ready to wash. LOL.

So, as you can see my son has kept me pretty busy lately, etsy orders have kept me fairly busy also, not complaining here, just making a realization, being a work at home mom is very busy work. LOL. So all of you out there that are parents and working from home, I hope your children are as entertaining as mine and keeps you as involved as mine does his best to do. LOL.

Tweet

Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (knees and toes!)

Heads ~ An adorable crochet hat from citefuzz

Shoulders ~ Super cute applique shirts from Green Apple Boutique

Knees ~ Fantastic samurai pants from Boutique Mia

Toes ~ wonderful baby shoes from funkyshapes

Tweet

The Pros and Cons

As with any job, there are pros and cons to Motherhood. And with any luck, your list of pros outweighs your list of cons, which is how your children manage to live for another day.

Surprisingly, being a stay-at-home-mom isn't all that different from my previous jobs in Corporate America; my boss is younger than me, knows more than I do and tends to make outrageous demands on my time. You want me to do your laundry, chauffeur you to preschool, pick up your room and make you lunch? All before noon? I nod and smile and hope that all of this leads to a promotion called Grandma, in about 20 years. This can also be secretly referred to as Payback and is high on the Pro List. Play your cards right and you can parlay that promotion into Great Grandma and be the CEO and Monarch over all your subjects. You will be "The Godmother" and know all. Of course, we all know you hold this power now but you exercise it sparingly in order to give your kids a false sense of hope because it's more fun when you yank the rug out from under them later. This is also high on the Pro List.

Unfortunately, your kids will eventually become teenagers and any way you spin it, this is a big Con. While they'll want to spend less time with you, be able to drive themselves around and hopefully start making their own money (yes all big Pros) they'll continue to mooch room and board, become experts of knowledge and cause you insomnia while you wait up all night for them to come home. *sigh* Con. But this is when the power of The Motherhood can be fun. The punishments are better at this age. TV? Gone. Cell phone? Disabled. Car? Hahahaha, yeah, that's mine and you can't drive it. Pro. Pro. Pro.

So this Mother's Day, I will personally revel in the fact that while my bosses may be big pains in my @$$ at times, they are still blissfully unaware of the power that Motherhood has given me. And I think I shall let them survive yet another day because the future could be fun and despite it all, I still inexplicably love them. But oh how the tables will turn. Mwahahahahaha....ha.





You Can't Scare Me tee from signaturetshirts

Originally posted 5/10/09 here

Tweet

De-Junking in Practice!!!

Hi Diva's! After last weeks conversation about de-junking...the kids and I went into over drive boxing up clutter from our rooms. The result was a car load of junk that we took to a community yard sale today (that's why I'm late with the post - hee hee). The yard sale was LOADS of fun with my friends and kiddos - and I finally got some much needed sun!!!

At the end of the day - I had only sold 4 items so I packed my stuff back in the truck and me and Krystal went to goodwill and unloaded the ENTIRE left overs before we even went home. It was SO liberating it felt like a weight was being lifted from my chest...just to hand all my junk over to someone else and know i would never have to see it again - WHEW!


So we got back to the house - pulled on the swimsuits and headed to the pool. I felt totally free for the rest of the day - and the funny thing is - when we got back home I started noticing TONS of other things that I can totally live without - kind of like - once I got the first load out - and knew how good it felt - I realized the happy feeling the 'stuff' gives me compares in NO way to the AWESOME feeling getting rid of the 'stuff' does. SO! my new commitment is (like Supermom suggested) to keep a goodwill pile in the house and then EVERY Saturday I'm taking it to good will - I dont care if it is nothing more than a purse, sweater, or book.

Im super excited about my new de-junking journey and look forward to making my house look the way I want it to - once I get all the clutter out!

I would LOVE to hear any stories or suggestions! If you missed last week's conversation - read it here :)
Happy Weekend! XO

Tweet

Friday Finds: EtsyKids Atlantic Northeast region

Today's Friday Finds are based on one of our regions' team tag "EtsyKids Team ANE," which is the Atlantic Northeast region (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania).

1. Knit Cup Cake Hat for Baby and Toddler by Onceuponahook

2. Green and Fabulous Waddle Ducky Plush Doll by Ecoleeko
3. Polka Dot Bloom Handmade Shirred Top 4T/5T by Uniquefavors
4. Butterfly Ponytail Scrunchie O's (Single) by Littlepagsboutique
5. Orange Green Yellow and White Loopy Bow by KatieBeanKids

Hope you have a great weekend! :-)

Tweet

Etsy Kids Party!

Everyone loves a party so I thought I would put together some elements from an etsy kids party!

You need some food.... guests don't like to go home hungry!

Theses scrumptious delights are from Suite 106 Cupcakery - all of their cupcakes are beautifully hand crafted, made with all natural and organic ingredients. They have over 30 tantalizing cupcake flavors to satisfy any sweet tooth craving.

Next you need some party favours...my favourite comes from modern art stamps.

At modernartstamps you will find here unique art stamps that are all handmade, 100% original and are artisan made; they design the graphics and then are made in polymer rubber and glued to hand cut wood blocks.

Of course you need a special outfit for the guest of honour!

A tutu is always a hit, from the lovely I luv u tutu much where you can find quality custom made tutus. There are an abundance of Petal Filled Tutus, Ribbon Tutu Skirts,Beautiful Dresses,All Knotted up Skirts,Short and Sweet Tutus, Long and Luscious Tutu's, Custom Ordered Tutu's you way. Tutus can be made in several sizes ranging from Infant, Toddler, Teen and adult girls.

or say it loud and proud with a mama monkey shirt

Available in boy or girl colourways!

Mama Monkey's shop is filled with fun, functional onesies and t-shirts for monkeys and their mamas! All items are designed and hand-printed in the home studio, using only quality materials.

You need decorations to get everyone in a festive mood...

There is no better way to decorate - string up a re-usable banner from the polka dot tot spot, here you will find a great range to suit any colour theme! There are also great specials that are worth dropping by for.

But really when you get all the food, clothing, decorations and party favourites together there is really only one thing that the kids look forward to and that is the presents!

My favourite pick for a present is from elcu - handmade children's backpacks from the highest quality materials and carefully crafted to last. Contact them about custom orders and private parties.

enjoy!

Tweet