Monkey See, Monkey Do!

Sunglasses Case Tutorial

2013-05-23T13:15:00.000-04:00

After observing a few ideas for making sunglasses cases on others' blogs the past few weeks, I decided to design my own. I knew I wanted it to snap closed at the top. Also, I wanted to use supplies and scraps of fabric I had on hand.
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Pleated Chevron Bags with Trim

2013-05-20T07:09:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to show you some new variations of my pleated chevron bags. I used various trims to make the front of the bag more decorative. For one version, I used navy bias tape.
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Swaddle Blankets.

2013-05-16T08:03:00.001-04:00

I can’t walk past the flannel aisle at JoAnn fabric without wanting to buy various cuts of the prints. The flannel was on sale a few weeks ago so I decided to buy some to make some blankets to donate with my church to the local hospital. In the past, I have made some hats but now we’re donating both blankets and hats.
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Flat Zippered Pouch

2013-05-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was Mother’s Day. I wanted to make my mom something special since she’s my mom. Plus, she took my boys overnight one night over the weekend while my husband and I went to a homeschool conference. Since our trip to Toronto last year, we haven’t been anywhere with just the two of us.

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Aqua Pleated Chevron Bag

2013-05-07T07:10:00.000-04:00

I have had several requests for chevron bags. I’d stopped making them for awhile just to give myself a break and make something different. But a few friends have wanted to order them. So I have taken some custom orders and then am in the process of making a few extras to sell.

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A few things.

2013-05-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hi friends. Just wanted to share a few things with you from my week.

1. This past weekend, we worked on staining our barn. It’s a big job, we did not finish, but I also stained our sandbox. Last year, I shared how my dad made a great cover for it that folds into seats. We didn’t bother to stain the cover/benches to match and it was bothering me. So I finally got around to doing that this weekend. Yay!

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Scrappy Ruffle Headband Tutorial

2013-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

I love fold over elastic. Love it. I ordered a few colors several months ago (Etsy is the place to look for loads of sellers with great color combos.)
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Baby Boy Aviator Hat Crochet Pattern

2013-04-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

I posted a cute little pink pig hat a few weeks ago. Obviously, it was for baby girls. Since I have two boys, I like to do boy projects more often than girl projects. And I make newborn hats to donate for the local hospital and can’t only make girl hats.

I could not find a free pattern for an aviator hat, so I decided to draft my own. Keep in mind, I’m still new to crocheting and I’m especially new to drafting patterns. So if you have feedback, I’d love to hear it (please be kind, thanks!)
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Even More Crocheted Hats.

2013-04-22T13:30:00.000-04:00

Until the past week or so, it was still cold here. So I was still crocheting.
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Crafts for Kids: Felt Masks

2013-04-17T15:26:00.002-04:00

We saw a picture of kids wearing felt masks as part of a party theme spread in a magazine. That made my almost-four-year-old little guy want to make a mask. Usually he’s not so excited about crafts. So I figured I’d better jump on this opportunity to craft with him.
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Child’s Bathrobe Tutorial

2013-04-10T14:55:00.000-04:00

I started these bathrobes for my boys in October. (Talk about procrastination!!)

I did make my oldest his robe in October. And cut out the second robe for the little guy (who had just started walking…it’d be pretty tough to crawl while wearing a bathrobe). But the little guy’s robe sat. And sat. Then I moved the pieces to the closet. Where they waited.
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Winner of "The Sweet Unfolding" Giveaway

2013-04-10T07:05:00.003-04:00

Hi Friends. Thanks for entering the giveaway from "The Sweet Unfolding" a few days ago!
True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:10Powered by RANDOM.ORGHere's the winning comment: Karrie SMarch 29, 2013 at 12:52 AM

I follow on gfc karrie smith & twitter:karriesmith3

I like the chevron cards the best. I love smooth card fronts :)
ReplyDelete

Congratulations, Karrie!
I'll email you today.

Latest Favorite Recipes.

2013-04-08T08:37:00.000-04:00

What is something many of us have to do every day? Cook. Feed our families. I’ve made a few new recipes over the past several weeks and wanted to share some of my favorites with you.

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Little Pink Pig Hat: Free Crochet Pattern

2013-04-01T14:30:00.000-04:00

I’ve been doing a lot of crocheting lately. (See here, here, here and here.) But I’ve never developed my own pattern. Until now. I saw this hat and just had to develop a pattern to make a similar one. I figured I would try to write a crochet pattern to share with any of you who also crochet.
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“The Sweet Unfolding” Giveaway

2013-03-28T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hello, Friends! I’d like to introduce you to Sarah, the owner of the Etsy shop, The Sweet Unfolding. Everyone loves thank-you cards and stationary, especially in bright, fun colors and prints.

Check out some of my favorites from Sarah’s shop.

Everyone loves chevron. I love this chevron zig-zag notecard set:

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Five Children's Books we Love: Part IV

2013-03-27T07:30:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends! If you've been reading my blog for long, you know I love to read to my boys. We love going to the library and selecting new books to read. These have been some of our favorites lately! (If you'd like to see our recommendations from part I, part II or part III, check them out.)

My three-year old loves diggers and big machines. I have probably read this book to him 10 times already. And it is about toy diggers making a cake. Yes, a cake.
Who Made This Cake?
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Teach Your Child at Home: Part 5

2013-03-25T15:54:00.000-04:00

We’re still having snow and cold, windy weather here. That means I’ve been trying to think of lots of activities to keep my kiddos busy. Here are three we did this week.
1. Color sorting. I purchased these colorful pom poms at the dollar store. They are fun to organize by color into ice cube trays.

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Business Card Holders with Snap Closures

2013-03-18T07:50:00.000-04:00

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Pleated Yellow Dot Cross-Body Bag

2013-03-15T06:30:00.000-04:00

When I saw this fabric at my favorite store, I just knew I had to make just one more pleated bag.

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A Bunch of Pleated {Chevron} Bags

2013-03-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

I just completed a few chevron bags, like this one I made a few weeks ago.
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How to Insert Magnetic Snaps

2013-03-11T07:30:00.000-04:00

I love making bags. But they have to close. I’ve found that magnetic snaps are my favorite closure to add to a bag. They look cleaner than velcro, don’t snag things, last longer, and look better than a zipper.

While making these bags for a friend’s wedding last year, I panicked at the thought of sewing one in. But I learned not to be afraid of using them. They’re easy.
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More Crocheted Hats.

2013-03-08T06:30:00.000-05:00

If you want to see all my crocheted hats in one place, go 'like' me on Facebook and view my crocheted hats album.

Here are a few of my latest creations. I wanted to make an owl hat to donate to my church’s collection for the local hospital since the owl hat is so popular among customers.

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Colorful Scrappy Pouches (Old Guest Post)

2013-03-06T07:38:00.000-05:00

I originally guest posted back in November on the So You Think You're Crafty blog. I wanted to bring my guest post home. I loved the colors of these pouches.
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Hi SYTYC friends! I’m Jennifer and I blog over at Monkey See, Monkey Do! I hope you’ll come visit sometime. Check out my project gallery for crafty and sewing ideas and tutorials I have shared. I wanted to share this tutorial for making a colorful pencil case.

I like zippered pouches. [See evidence here, here and here.]

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Nursing Cover: Bound Edge

2013-03-05T07:34:00.000-05:00

I have spent a lot of time nursing both of my children as babies/toddlers. So my nursing cover got a lot of use. And it shrank. A lot.

And a tiny nursing cover sort of defeats the purpose of a nursing cover at all, doesn’t it???

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Handmade Tags and Some New Fabric.

2013-03-01T07:12:00.000-05:00

I started making crocheted hats and some custom (sewn) bibs for a local store, Perpetual Childhood. Read more about that in this post.

But anyway, the owner wanted me to have tags for my items. She suggested a print shop in town could do them for me. I checked them out, but at this point, they’re a little out of my price range.

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