On the button necklace bandwagon

I don’t know if you have noticed, too, but button necklaces have been popping up everywhere. I’d seen them all over Etsy, and in the windows of the fabric store in downtown Maryville. I’ve thought about making them but hadn’t gotten around to it. When I saw it on this blog, I finally decided it was time. It’s the perfect mindless task while watching TV. Plus, I already had all of the supplies – score!

I used white satin ribbon instead of cord, because I had it on hand. I also made a crazy long necklace – I can wear it with one loop down past my waist, or a double loop or a triple loop – the triple loop is my favorite. It would also make a super cute garland for a small tree.

I’m not really sure this necklace was business suit/job appropriate but … meh. You have to have some fun, right?

Some day, I will really learn how to embroider

Until then, I will pretend I know how. I had a bit of leftover cream-colored felt, and lots of embroidery floss.

I freehand drew a bird onto the felt and hand-stitched over the top. I thought it turned out pretty cute. Then I sewed on a colorful fabric back and a little piece of ribbon on top, and stuffed. It can be an ornament, a plushy toy, or sit happily on a shelf.

I need to learn proper embroidery stitches, and want to explore more of this art form. Quilting is expensive – I need to include cheap projects like this to satisfy my creative itch, too. 🙂

Quick, cute baby gift project

Have you ever had a baby shower to go to and needed a gift really quickly? Or just a little something to add a homemade touch to a baby gift? This is the perfect project for a situation like this. If you craft on a regular basis, you probably have everything you need already. The project takes fewer than 30 minutes, and best of all – babies actually love them.

Cute, easy and practical - can you beat that?

First of all, can we mention how cute the fairytale flannel fabric is??

OK. This is a taggie-style little blanket, perfectly sized for baby’s pincher grasps and small enough to stick into a diaper bag, tuck into a stroller pocket or comfort a baby in a baby carrier. Making these is super easy. Cut out two equal sized squares from flannel fabric. This project had 6X6 inch squares. Cut out a variety of different satin ribbons – about 2.5-3 inches long.

Place flannel fabric squares right sides together. Insert satin ribbon, folded in half, between the two pieces of flannel, with tails of ribbon sticking out. Pin into place. Repeat until you have enough ribbon ‘taggies’. Sew 1/4 inch seam around the entire square, leaving about 1.5 inches unsewn in order to flip the blanket right side out. Flip right side out, sew remaining space closed. Then, sew a second time around the completed blanket on the right side, half an inch in, securing ribbons in place so that ribbons do not detach when baby plays/sucks on the tags. And that’s it, you’re done!

Another gift for Riley

I mentioned my cousin’s upcoming fourth birthday and the first part of his present here. The other half, I completed Sunday night.

Riley is the quintessential boy’s boy – he loves trucks, cars, anything with wheels. And recently, he’s fallen in love with fire trucks.

When trying to decide what to get him to go with the aforementioned monster mittens, I wanted to get something fireman/fire truck related but didn’t want to accidentally get him something he already had/would get for his birthday. So, after much deliberation, I decided to try my hand at creating a fireman puppet.

To the rescue

If I were to do it again, I might make a few changes. The hat isn’t quite right, and I would have sewn a separate jacket and sewed it on top of a puppet base. Nevertheless, I think it turned out pretty cute and I think a 4-year-old’s imagination might overcome my pattern’s shortcomings.

One of our dogs was certainly fascinated with the creation, though:

Mmm ... firefighter puppet ...

Another Martha Stewart project – what can I say, I love her.

This is a super sweet project, and you may already have everything you need to complete it.

– Pair of gloves

– needle and thread

– Polyfill

– Buttons

– Ribbons

This project, from start to finish, takes about 20 minutes. Project found here.