Road Trip Count Down Poster

I wanted to do a count down with the kids for our upcoming road trip. We are pretty excited and the kids keep asking how many more days (still way too many) so I figured a count down would help them. I wanted something a little more original than your basic paper chain so I made a suitcase out of butcher paper.

I found pictures online of old fashioned luggage stickers, printed them, cut them out, and numbered the backs.Everyday, they get to add one sticker to the suitcase and once the stickers are gone from the stash, our suitcase will be filled up and it will be time to go on our road trip.

The kids loved the idea but were disappointed that I didn’t find stickers that specifically correspond with the places we are going. I really didn’t feel like putting that much time into a disposable project, so they are just going to have to deal with it.

Maxi skirt

A few weeks ago, I found this dress on the clearance rack at Old Navy. It’s a maternity dress and I am not currently pregnant, nor will I ever again be pregnant but I liked the bottom of the dress and it was super cheap so I bought it anyway.

When I got it home, I whacked off the top of the dress,made and attached a wide elastic waistband.and had myself a new maxi skirt.

Vintage Pillowcase Apron

Several years ago, I bought a bunch of vintage embroidered pillowcases from an antique mall with the plan to turn them into aprons. I finally made one this week for a friend’s birthday gift.

Here is the pillowcase I used. It even came with the lace trim already sewn on the edge.

Turning it into an apron is super easy. After determining how long I wanted the apron to be, I just cut off the the top part of the pillowcase, gathered it slightly,  and attached a very basic waistband and ties. That’s it.

Memory T-Shirt Quilt

I finished the T-shirt quilt that I’ve been making for my grandma out of my uncle Mike’s t-shirts. He passed away earlier this year and I asked her for some of his old shirts so I could make her a memory quilt. She  is one of those people who is always cold (I can totally relate), but soon she will be able to wrap herself up in a warm, snuggly quilt filled with memories of her youngest son.

I used a featherweight fusible stabilizer on the inside of the t-shirts  before I cut them out. This helped the squares keep their shape while cutting and piecing them. Some of the leftover backs were used to make the superhero capes for my nephew’s birthday.

I used flannel for the sashing, backing, and binding so it is extra warm and cozy. I had to hand quilt it because it was too bulky for my cheap-o sewing machine to handle, so I kept it extremely basic and just quilted around each square. It’s a simple quilt filled with lots of love and memories.

A few more just for fun

A bookmark for clowning around—These totally make me smile!

A ballerina bookmark:

I’m linking up:

What kind of shoes would your bookmark wear?

About a month ago, I saw the cutest bookmarks on SneakPeeq and actually bought one for a friend. Considering the book marks are regularly $25 through the Etsy shop MyBookmark, I got a pretty good deal.

 

These things are so cute that I decided I was going to try and attempt to make a couple myself because I can’t afford to keep paying that kind of money for a bookmark.  I have never really worked with clay before and have very minimal painting skills, but I went for it anyway. Although they aren’t nearly as good as the one’s sold at MyBookmark's, I think they are cute. I made one for myself and one for my dad for Father’s Day.

 

My dad has worn cowboys boots everyday of his life that I have known him and he also enjoys reading so I made him these. I thought the individual boots looked pretty even until I attached them to the bookmark. One leg goes higher than the other but we’ll just say that it adds to the charm.  

 

The bookmark I bought for my friend was called “Wicked.” She is moving away so everyone in the book club is going to give her a bookmark that has some sort of meaning behind it and she is a huge “Wicked” fan. I loved her bookmark so much when it came in the mail, that I decided to  make myself a copycat one. I’m pretty excited about the way it turned out and am seriously in L-O-V-E with the ruby red slippers.

I need to work on my clay sculpting skills, but I think these may become a staple in my gift giving repertoire for all my book loving friends.

 

So…What kind of shoes would your bookmark wear?

I’m linking up:

Recycled T-shirt Super Hero Capes

My uncle passed away a few months ago and I couldn’t make it back home for the funeral, but I asked my Grandma to send me some of his favorite T-shirts so I could make her a memory quilt out of them. I finished the top to the quilt this week but I still need to sandwich, quilt, and bind it so no pictures yet. BUT, after cutting out all the pictures from the fronts of the shirts, I decided to use the leftover backs of the shirts to make my nephew some Super Hero capes for his upcoming birthday.

They were so quick and easy to put together. I just cut off the arms and freehanded a basic cape shape of what was left of the t-shirt, making sure to leave the entire neckband attached. This way, I didn’t even have to worry about using velcro or making ties to hold it on. I found different Super Hero logo images online and printed them out to use as patterns for the logos on the capes, which I cut out of felt.

I just ordered a couple of Super Hero books to go along with the capes so I can get them sent off before his big day.

Usually when I’m crafting, I’m happy I have all girls because there are so many cute things out there to make for them. This was definitely an exception. These were so fun to make, it almost made me wish I had a boy. Luckily, I have nephews!