"My Favorite Things"

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

these are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels

Doorbells and sleighbells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things...

(from The Sound of Music...of course)

You can visit, click and comment here. :)

Treasury East

Etsy is trying out a new treasury format called Treasury East. I like how easy it is to make one, that you can make one at anytime, and that they don't expire.  I kinda dislike them for the same reasons & fear that it will be less special to be featured in one, when it's possible to make as many as you want.  I also liked the anticipation of waiting and trying for a treasury--it was a little bit of a rush.  We'll see how it works out :)

So here is my first Treasury East....it's all about the first thing that popped into my mind....Birthday Parties :) I hope you enjoy it & you can visit it here. 

The Sunshine Award

Thanks Leo & Junie for passing this great reward on to me & my blog :) Make sure you go check out her blog---it's a good one :)

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity & creativity inspires other in the blog world.

Here are my nominations :)

1. Anna Clo't & Me

2. Kate's Cottage

3. Little Green Shoot

4. Sweet Cakes

5. Two Little Bluebirds

6. The Vintage Pearl

7. French Press Knits

8. Amazing Mae

9. The Creative Crate

10. Fyrecreek's Bazaar

11. One Click Gallery

12. Finding Charm

They are all really great blogs...make sure you go take a look :)

**here are the rules--so you can pass the love along :)**

Put the logo on your blog or within your post.

Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.

Link the nominees within your post.

Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

2nd Life Tresury...

I love upcycling....I have mostly worked on furniture. Not only does upcycling cut down on cost a little bit (& of course, is good for the environment)...it makes it so that I can decorate my house with one-of-a-kind pieces that "go" perfectly in my house.

Etsy has TONS of great artist that upcycle & I am always amazed at what they can come up with....so I have devoted this treasury to 2nd Lives.

Go visit & leave me a comment if you get a chance--I always love to hear what you think :)

Color Wheel Treasury

I feel like I am hogging all the treasuries...but I had an idea I needed to try.

One night it popped in to my head (I am not a great sleeper...about a million things run through my head as I lay there trying to get to sleep)... to make a roy g. biv (the colors of a rainbow) treasury...that morphed into trying to replicate a color wheel. See the similarities?

You can click and comment here :)

color wheel image found here

Trying Something New...

I've been thinking about making a boy appropriate crayon apron for a while...something like a tool belt. Today I finally put it to the test...it's not perfect...and please don't judge my hurried sewing job :)

A couple things I need to change: make separated crayon pockets...maybe 3 pockets that hold 5 crayons each...so the bottom doesn't "ruffle" when it's full of crayons & make the notebook loop a little smaller/tighter. I think I am going to stick to solid colors for the fabric..I'm not loving the print.

Let me know what you think :) I would LOVE some feedback.

Super Hero Cape Tutorial (and a second way to use the pattern)

These make super fun party favors...that are really easy (and so much better than a bag of candy) + it's great to have a bunch of kids running around in capes. It doesn't hurt that they don't cost a lot of money either....I made mine for under $2.00 each. Watch for sales, but plain, colored cotton fabric is never very expensive.

You will need (for each):

1/2 yard...you may want a little extra just in case :), 45 width cotton fabric (wash & iron before hand)

1 sheet white felt

1 sheet colored felt (you will only use about 1/4..or less of it)

iron-on Velcro

thread

sewing machine, scissors, iron, letter template, pins

1. Cut out your letters and superman "decal"...out of the felt. Sorry there is no template for the "decal" I sketched the design on a piece of paper, folded it in half so that both sides were even & cut out...it's basically a triangle with all the points cut off.

2. Center your letter on the decal. Using your machine...stitch very close to the edge...go slowly & it's not too hard. If you are uncomfortable machine stitching it, you can always hand sew it on.

3. Create a pattern & cut out you cape fabric. Measure your child's shoulders, how long you want the cape, and how wide you want it at the bottom add 1 inch for your seam allowance. I used these measurements for my 5 yr. old... top: 9 inches wide, side: 22 1/2 inches long . Cut two pieces (I put the bottom edge along the fold, which makes one less side to sew).
Also, cut 2 strips- 3 inches x 7 1/2 inches for your straps.

4. Sew the letter decal onto the right side of one layer of the fabric you just cut out for your cape. Stitch very close to the edge again.

5. Press your strips of fabric in half long-ways...reverse fold and stitch right sides together, leaving one short side unstitched. Clip corners & turn right side out, press again. Attach Velcro per package directions...make sure you put your Velcro on the right sides :) one should be on the top of one strap, the opposite on the other strap.

6. Layer all your pieces together now...making sure the right sides are all together, with the straps positioned along the top about 1/2 to 3/4 inches in from side seams. (place fold of straps toward center, so that the fold will be the top when finished...also make sure one Velcro piece is facing up, the other down). Pin and stitch (use presser foot as your seam allowance) all the way around...leaving about 4- 5 inches unsewn, so you can turn it right side out.

7. Clip corners, turn right side out & press all seams. Top stitch, with your needle positioned to the right, around the entire cape (no need to do the straps)...and your done :).

********

now...another way to use this pattern...

You can make this super cute apron...

**See more pictures on my sidebar :)**

Follow all the same directions above...only leaving out the super hero decals & adding a sash (I also added some eyelet along the bottom. You can make these for boys too...use solid colors (or more boy appropriate prints)...and use a strip of fabric for the sash instead of the eyelet...use the same technique that we used for the straps, only make it longer & hand stitch the open end to close after turning. My sash is 50 inches long....adjust yours to meet your needs :).

I sewed on the details after the apron was completely sewn.

Cut a piece of eyelet a little longer than the bottom hem. Pin & sew on. Press the raw side edges of eyelet under (so it is even with the side of the apron) and secure with a few hand stitches.

For the sash, I used unfinished eyelet trim.... I folded over the top edge & ironed, then folded in each end to make a point. You can use the finished kind too...just fold ends over to make a point (or just roll under raw edge) & hand stitch.

Next find the center of the sash and center it on the horizontal center of the apron...I placed mine 8 inches down from the top. If you have unfinished eyelet, stitch from one end of the eyelet to the other, sewing it onto the apron in the process, stitching with your presser foot to the left & using the foot as your seam allowance. If you used finished eyelet or a fabric sash, just stitch onto the apron (stitch both sides of the fabric sash).

Have fun making them...I would love to see pictures of your projects...you can upload pictures onto my Facebook fan page :)

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