Very Homemade

Free Downloads..

2012-02-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a 100% free download for my Little Lamb drawing & my Love one Another print. : )

Hooray for Flickr!

Love One Another graphic print:
Love one another

Little Lamb drawing:
Little Lamb

Oh, and for the frames I used $3 frames from Michaels and painted them white. Those cheery yellow photo mats came white (from the Dollar Store 2 for a $1, I might add!!!). I just painted them with acrylic paint. Isn't that easy?

Enjoy!

Add a bit of spice to a pattern

2011-12-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here's how to make this...

from this...

I used McCall's 3531 pattern, which is just a basic dress (A little old fashioned, yea?) and spiced it up. Just as a warning...the pattern is not a beginner's pattern, but if I can sew this, I'm pretty sure you can figure it out too! : )

I pretty much followed the pattern's instructions except a few main differences.

First, I added the ribbon detailing on the bodice right after I cut out my pattern pieces. I just sewed the ribbon down the middle of the bodice front piece.

Second, I simplified the sleeves. The pattern calls for a tie detail on the sleeve. I just omitted that part. : )

The only other change I made was on the skirt. I narrowed the skirt significantly (like maybe 6-7 inches)because I knew I wouldn't need soo much fabric because of the ruffles. Before I sewed the skirt onto the bodice, I ruffled up some chiffon and sewed it row by row on the skirt. This takes a bit of time.. so be patient!

In addition, I also sewed a belt but did not sew it onto the dress. I wanted the options to change the colors of the belt if I wanted.

That's it.. A few changes makes a whole lot of difference wouldn't you say?

J Crew Inspired Headband

2010-02-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

J Crew, oh how I love you. Here's a pretty little number from JCrew:

Adorable, right? Yeah, and oh so out of stock.

So, lets make our own version of this beauty.
Here's what we'll make:

Here's how..

What you will need:
Headband to match your fabric (I wrapped and hot glued a strip of fabric around a headband to make it match perfectly.)
Fabric (I'd say 1/4 a yard would be plenty)
Needle
Matching thread
Fray check (if desired)
Scissors
Hot glue gun

Okay, so lets first cut some circles. You will need 7 circles (around 3 inches in diameter) per flower. So if you want three flowers, cut 21 circles that are roughly the same size. You an cut several out at the same time by folding my fabric together.

Now, let's fold the circle in half and then in half again (I did two circles at the same time). Until it looks a little something like this (minus the red lines of course!):

Here's where the red line comes into play, let's cut out the petals by cutting your folded circle(s) about where the red line is above.

Unfold and look how pretty! You just made a petal. Let's do that for all your circles. After all my petals were cut I put fray check on mine, but if you are going for a more shabby look, skip it!

I used six petals to make one big flower (you will need the extra petal at the end). So get six of the petals and fold five of the petals in half. Stack a folded petal on top of an unfolded petal like so:

Stack another folded petal overlapping half the last folded petal.

Repeat until you have all six petals on your flower.
Now, lets get your needle and thread and sew a few stitches in the middle of your flower. Make sure all your petals are sewn down.

Next, let's pinch the flower at the base and sew some stitches through the base like so:

Fluff the flower and admire the pretty little thing.

Time to warm up that hot glue gun. Hot glue the flower onto the headband where you want it.

Now, get the last extra petal you made and hot glue that on the back of your flower sandwiching the headband between the flower and that last petal like so:

You're all done! Hooray!

Excuse the photo quality on this one.. : )

Little Man Tie Tutorial

2010-02-26T12:38:00.001-08:00

I have had many requests to purchase rights to sell ties made from this pattern. Big thank you for those that are honest enough to ask!! I spent many many hours writing, photographing, and editing this tutorial for you all to enjoy. Please show respect and integrity by asking permission and fairly compensating me before selling these ties.

I have adopted an on your honor pay system here because I do want people to use the pattern for personal use for free.  (I love a good free pattern!) However, if you are interested in selling ties made from this pattern kindly email me at
amberdee311@yahoo.com   for payment information. Please put " Tie Pattern Selling Rights" as the subject.

Thanks!

Okay, so here's a tutorial on how to make a fabulous tie for your little man. So if you have 30 minutes and some basic sewing skills, this project is for you. Oh, and please...if something doesn't make sense to you, let me know and I'll try and clarify! (OH, and Click on the photos to see the image bigger and a few additional notes I made.)

First, download the pattern. (If you try and print direct from adobe it will print just a corner of the pattern. Also, be sure that view on one page is selected.)
So if you are making a tie for a newborn, download patterns A and B for newborn.
If you are making a tie for size 2-5 T download patterns A, B for 2-5T, and C

Print them out and tape together. If you are making one for any sizes in between just add extra inches to the skinny end of the newborn tie. I know, I know.. I'm not being very precise.. but you have to remember I'm simply not an expert pattern maker. : ) You can also customize this pattern by making it an oh-so-chic skinny tie or an oh-so-fun wide tie if you want by simply narrowing or widening the pattern.
A

B Newborn

B for 2-5 T

C for 2-5 T

*** Always check to see that the 1 inch by 1 inch square is just that. If it doesn't you can always try enlarging/shrinking. Or you could just get the basic shape (from the photo below) and draw it out yourself.****

Then.. gather your supplies..
You will need

1/4 yard of studly-print fabric (prewashed). I used cotton. I'll call this the main fabric from here on.
1/4 yard of lining fabric (prewashed). I used cotton.
OPTIONAL: 1/4 yard of light weight Iron on interfacing  (Some people said the interfacing made their tie too thick, I personally have had no problems with the Pellon brand light weight interfacing. But if you want to skip this part, by all means save yourself the time and money!)
3 1/2 - 4 inches of sewable velcro
pins
thread to match
scissors
large safety pin (this will make your life much easier!)
Iron, ironing board
and don't forget a sewing machine!

Ready. Let's go.
1. First, cut out your paper pattern pieces (A, B, and C)and tape together. Pin and cut or trace and cut the tie pattern from the interfacing.

2. Pin pattern onto your main fabric and cut across the grain. Do the same for your lining fabric. Optional: Iron on the interfacing onto your now cut main fabric (not the lining) according to product directions .

3. From your main fabric, cut a 2 1/2 inch by 17 inch rectangle for the neck band. (We'll use this later)

4. With right sides together, sew only the two v shaped corners at each end of the tie using 1/4 inch seam allowance. Clip corners.

5. Flip tie so that the right side of the fabric is facing out. Make sure the two end points are nice and pointy! Iron.

6. Fold your tie lengthwise with the lining fabric facing out. Line up all four layers of fabric. You can pin them together if you want. (I'm a bit lazy and skip that part!)

7. Sew along the length of the tie. You will probably need more than a 1/4 seam allowance here.. just make sure to get all four layers!

8. Iron the seam open.

9. Turn your tie right side out. Iron again. You're almost done sewing! Yeah!

10. Take the neck strap piece you cut earlier (2 1/2 inch by 17 inch rectangle) and fold in half length-wise (you know the drill, right sides together). Sew down the length of the fabric.

11. Turn the neck piece right side out. Here is where the safety pin comes in handy. Safety-pin one side of the fabric and then insert the safety pin through the fabric casing. Push the pin through to the other end pulling the fabric as you go. (Clear as mud, yeah?!?). Iron with the seam at the bottom (don't center the seam here.)

12. Now you will will simply tuck in the two ends of fabric into the casing of the neck piece. (I suggest folding a good 1/2- 1 inch into the casing.)

13. Pin the rough side of the velcro at one end of the neck piece. Flip the neck piece over and pin the soft side of the velcro at the opposite end of the neck piece (Make sure you have one piece of velcro pinned to the front and one pinned to the back.)

14. Sew along the velcro pieces as shown below.

That good old neck strap should look like this:

Horray! You're done sewing.. Now for the tricky part. Tying the tie.

Place the two pieces as shown below. The neck piece should be above the tie. The wide part of the tie should be to your right.

Wide part of the tie goes up and behind the neck piece like so...

Now bring it down and in front of the neck piece.

Tighten. Note where the knot will be. Now is when you should check the length of the tie and adjust accordingly.

Take the narrow part of the tie and bring it up and behind the neck piece.

Now bring it down and in front of the neck piece (Thank goodness for photos!)

Tighten. You will want to pull the tie down and the neck pieces out to tighten everything up. (This takes a little practice.. but you can do it!)

This is what the back of the knot should look like. I often (but some times I'm just lazy!) will tack the back together. Just hand sew a few stitches on the bottom of the knot to keep it in place.

Now find your own little stud and try it on!

Okay, so all I ask is if you use the pattern, let me know what I should change/clarify on this tutorial. And one additional favor, show me your handsome creations!

******Please do not use this to sell ties or for any kind of monetary gain; this was created for personal use only. (Unless, of course you plan on rewarding me handsomely : ) ) *******

Tissue Paper Flower Tutorial

2010-02-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

So I've recently discovered the wonderfulness of tissue paper. Tissue paper is inexpensive and found everywhere. What more could you want? : )
Here's a recent project:

The possibilities are endless with this quick and easy tutorial.
Wouldn't this make an adorable Valentine's wreath? Or a maybe a hanging flower ball? Oh, or a flower filled tree?

Here is how you do it.
You will need:
-Styrofoam ball, wreath, or tree (I did a Styrofoam ball cut in half that I stuck in a ramekin.)
-scissors
-tissue paper in color of your choice
-straight pins you know, the ones with the colored ball on the end (these will be the flowers center so pick a color that coordinates with your flower)

Cut tissue paper in small flower shapes. I folded the tissue paper and cut out a ton of flowers at once.

Layer three tissue flowers on top of each other then poke the pin through all three layers.

Poke the pin and flower into the Styrofoam ball or wreath. Repeat, repeat, repeat until desired fullness is achieved.

Now, wasn't that easy?
Here's an action shot: